Wednesday 26 October 2011

The Long and Winding Road of Inspiration


I hadn't planned to make this advent calendar.  It just sort of happened and this afternoon I found myself with the finished object on my kitchen table.

The seed was sown last Thursday when gorgeous god daughter Genevieve said she thought it was about time we made something for little Louis (her brother).  Immediately we agreed that the Robotz Cricut cartridge was the place to start and after a few minutes browsing the handbook discovered the 3D models! Hurrah!  Way better than a card we decided and so we began.

A few hours later we had these two cuties.

This awoke some sort of deep buried need in me to make 3D paper things and so I found myself cutting and inking and glueing on Friday and ended up with this little house from Winter Woodland.

I thought it was adorable- but what the heck was I going to do with it?  I pondered a bit and then remembered that the talented Mel Heaton had made a winter scene using the flat houses from the same cartridge and I was off....

I made a couple more houses, some trees and a little sleigh and Rudolph. The houses were all cut from whit card stock and then the pieces coloured with Distress Inks before being glued together.  I used clear embossing powder on the windows to give them a bit of shine, and made the icicles by drawing them with PVA glue on my craft mat and covering them with glitter.  I left them to dry before peeling them off and gluing them to the house. 

The background is white card covered with Faded Blue Jeans and Dusty Concord Distress Inks.  A few drops of water to make the snowy effect and then some glittery snowflakes and the 'Let it Snow' cut on the trusty ol' Imagine.  (Using the Cricut Craft Room which in these few weeks has become ESSENTIAL - I love it!)

I liked it - but I still felt it needed something.... and as I was falling asleep on Sunday night I realised it NEEDED to be an advent calendar.

Resisting the urge to get out of bed and start crafting I waited until Monday morning when the Boxer Board got a real workout as I made the 24 boxes to frame the scene.  Gold ribbon around each box is perfect to open the drawers and green sparkly numbers finished it off.

As proof that this was MEANT to be an advent calendar I will confess that I did not plan or measure the boxes before I began.  I just picked a size (1 1/4" x 1 1/4") and went for it.  In a little crafting miracle the 24 boxes fit around the scene exactly.  I doubt I could have done it if I'd tried!!!

So impressed by my ad hoc creation I made another 24 boxes and created this simpler - but still cute- advent calendar this morning.

So much inky and glittery fun..

3 comments:

  1. Brilliant projects, very creative, the little robots are so cute. I bet Louis loved them. The winter scene is stunning, so clever. XX

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  2. Wow - love all of it particularly the jazz hand robots and the winter scene advent. I am always fascinated by small boxes and think I now need an advent calendar. Anyone who thinks they are too old for an advent calendar should hang their heads in shame!

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  3. OMG - I came here from Mel Heaton's blog cos noticed you had commented below my comments - so I thought I'd take a look too... (i'm nosey like that)! I am totally stunned by your creation - that definately looks like a labour of love, you must have been so pleased with the final project. I recently bought the Robotz cartridge and can't wait to get going - I don't own the Winter one - but seeing this and the one Mel did has really inspired me. Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone.

    Paula Gale x x x

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Thanks so much for dropping by!