Crafty Christmas Wrap and Handmade Cards

I can’t believe its almost Christmas!! Where did this month go? Where are all the months going!? I blame the lack of blog updates on my job and blossoming social life. It’s been a great year, but I certainly don’t have as much free-time to craft as I used to. Fortunately the winter holidays come with mandatory crafting; it isn’t Christmas without the trimmings, trappings, wrappings, and arrangements. I have not been known to decorate half-way. That is not to say that I go overboard, but the projects that I do take on, I do just-so.

Last week while I was wrapping gifts, I got the urge (prompted by a Michael’s sale’s flyer) to fashion a few with extra creativity. Handmade cards? Yes. That sounds like fun too.

Here are some of my more photogenic gift exteriors. May they provide you with all the inspiration you need to finish your shopping, and make your gifts look great! Everything you see here I bought from Michael’s craft store. Some of it I had hanging around from last year, and some of it I bought fresh. The cards came with pre-cut scalloped edges, and I added the 3D scrapbook stickers and ribbon. Honestly, deciding what to write inside the card was much more difficult than assembling them—anyone can make cards like these. All it takes is some ribbon, stickers, and good paper glue.

The gift boxes were also pretty easy to put together. The most complicated element was the bow, made more difficult because of its small-size. One tip I will toss out there is that pretty ribbon doesn’t go very far. I went through two yards of ribbon on these gifts alone, and they are not big boxes! Decorative ribbon doesn’t come in very long lengths, so I say go for the clearance ribbon and get more than you think you need. Happy wrapping~!

Read Full Post »

Custom Christmas Card

Here is a commission that I finished some time ago for a custom Christmas greeting card. This portrait of a house was done in watercolors on cold press paper.

As always, I worked from a photograph. Starting with a sketch, I refined the drawing and transferred it onto my watercolor block with tracing paper and graphite paper. I did an outline in ink, which is especially helpful for geometric objects like this, and then I went to work with the paints. Most of the piece was rendered in watercolors, but the stars and lights were added in afterwards with colored pencil. You can view this and other commissions in the commissions gallery on shaunart.net

Read Full Post »

Holiday Ornaments

I recently finished making two cute and cozy holiday ornaments out of vegetable tanned leather. They were hand cut, carved, and painted using a waterproof acrylic ink. I modeled the ornaments after cliche vintage christmas sweaters, to give them an extra warm an cozy visual appeal.

 

The ornaments are strung on a hemp cord which is tied in a picture perfect bow. Each ornament is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

 

Read Full Post »

Black Friday Sale in Etsy Shop

Hey readers! If you are looking for some unique gifts to get the cosplayer, geek, or art enthusiast in your life, I will be having a Black Friday sale in my Etsy Shop!

Starting Friday, Nov 23rd at Midnight, Enter the code “Turkey” to receive 20% off any item in the shop! The sale will run all weekend and through Cyber Monday, ending on the 27th at Midnight. I understand that most of you will not be shopping online for Black Friday, and would rather hit the stores. That’s why I’m having the sale last all weekend, so that everyone has a chance to take their time and browse at their leisure. Many other Etsy shops will also be having sales this weekend, so be sure to search Etsy for other gift ideas as well. I have listed some brand new items just for this sale, and if my work schedule goes well, I may have even more new listings Saturday and Sunday. Happy Hunting! And Happy Thanksgiving.

Read Full Post »

Resourceful Gift Wrap

Here at school I don’t have access to stock piles of gift wrap, ribbon, and tags like I do at home. Instead, I had to get creative for a pre-holiday gift or two. I did some research online to see how others mad unique, but totally on-the-spot gift wrap before me. I took a couple of tips from Martha Stewart and turned to a roll of brown drawing paper.

For this little gift box, I actually had to build the box that appears under the wrapping paper. So I cut up a tissue box and put together my own jewelry display box. I found a little bit of tissue paper to wrap the gift inside in, and then I wrapped the home made box in my brown paper. I wanted to make it more exciting than that though, so I decorated its sides with a stamp, glitter, and puffy fabric paint.

Here is another view of this box.

For another gift, which I helped a friend to wrap, we once again turned to this brown paper. We didn’t have to make the box inside, and forwent any frilly embellishments here and instead accented the box with a simple black ribbon and hand made bow.

And another view….

Im really enjoying this brown paper wrapping, and I think I could have a lot more fun designing my own packaging when I get home and have access to more crafting materials.

Read Full Post »

A Reindeer Painting to Welcome This Winter Weather

Ah, the first snowfall of the season! Who would have thought that it would be such a major storm? As I sit under the threat of loosing my power at any moment, I would like to get in a blog post while I still can. I have for you today, a recently completed painting of a reindeer. This reindeer is designed to appear on a Holiday card, and he is therefore, quite simple and idealized. I left plenty of dead-space for some happy, warm, holiday text, and kept my colors rich so that they will be appealing from a distance. I will be entering a card contest with this piece, so wish me luck!

Read Full Post »