Using up the Bits for Rudolph Day

As I hinted at in my Wednesday blog hop post, I decided to use up some old stash and snippets for my Christmas card this month. I recently came across a pack of cream cards with a Christmas die cut aperture that I must have had for at least ten years. They probably came in a 'job lot' from the QVC seconds shop I used to visit in Shrewsbury. I didn't like many of them but two caught my eye as having possibilities.

First I took the plain bell aperture, drew through it onto plain paper and

constructed a sort of template for iris folding. I went through my recently sorted snippets boxes and found small pieces of red and green papers and started cutting, folding and sticking. It always surprises me how little paper you actually need for this technique. The centre hole and the 'clanger' and hanger were backed with tiny pieces of silver card dabbed with green alcohol ink. Not being one for empty spaces on my cards, I filled the corners and lower space with green stickers that are even older than the cards, and a red sentiment peel-off. Amazingly they were still really sticky!

The second card I picked out was a snowman. He was not big enough to use for iris folding so I just did some paper piecing for this one. I used the die cut snowman to cut up as patterns for the scarf and hat and added tiny black gems for the face. I punched out little black circles of card for the buttons, and then added two strips of similarly ancient snowflake peel-offs down each side. Some holographic silver paper went behind the cut out stars and snow lines, and a touch of stickles crystal made him sparkle.

Now I am off to link these to the Rudolph Day Challenge at Sarn's Stamping for Pleasure.

The first card I am also linking to Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge: use Red and Green.

Also, when I had a mammoth clear out of all my off-cuts of paper and card, and sorted them into colour boxes to make them so much easier to use, I did say I would start making cards for Pixies Crafty Snippets Playground, and I think these two make me eligible to tip-toe through the gates. See you there!