Tiny Christmas treat bag by Tim Holtz

Hello everyone, I'm here with my second project for our November challenge at the Country View Challenges. The theme is Christmas gifting, so I made a tiny treat bag. 

To make this tiny paper bag, I used the Sizzix Thinlits die, Treat Bag and one of the papers from a 8x8" Christmas paper pad (TH94085) by Tim Holtz.

After assembling the bag, I created a little scene to add it to the middle. 

For making this, I cut out a scallop circle with a Sizzix Framelits die, then a circle with another Sizzix die. I used 3 elements from the Tiny Snowglobes die set to make the scene. I have a few process photos.

As you can see I inked the top of the circle with Distress Oxide Broken China ink but I added the ink with a dirty sponge which was used for brown inking before. This way, it looks more vintage :-)

The pieces of the elements were cut out from different coloured cardstocks.

I added the snow with a white Sakura Gelly roll pen.

I punched two tiny holes with a Crop-A-Dile Big Bite to the top of the bag, then I glued the scallop circle to the middle of the bag.

What I used:

Sizzix Framelits die, Scallop Circles (657552)

Sizzix Framelits die, Circles (657551)

Sizzix Thinlits die, Tiny Snowglobes (663119)

Sizzix Thinlits die, Treat Bag (663096)

Sizzix Distress Oxide ink (Broken China)

Sizzix Distress inks (Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo)

baker's twine

If you have a Christmas project which is not a card and would be a good gift please don't hesitate jo join our November challenge where a randomly selected winner can have a £20 voucher in the Country View Crafts online shop.

Little Christmas gifts with Sizzix - Treat Popper by Brenda Walton

Earlier I showed you the little boxes that I made for my daughter to give to her friends for Saint Nicholas Day. Although my daughter is not very talkative nowadays she said briefly that her friends really liked my boxes. And I'm sure about this because she asked me to make treat boxes for Christmas too but not just six but fifteen!

So for this project, I used a retired Sizzix die, Brenda Walton's Treat Popper, papers from the First Editions, tissue paper, Sizzix Scallop Circle die and a Tim Holtz's stamp set, the Holiday Postmarks.

I had to make 5 boyish and 10 girlish gifts. These are for the boys:

And these are for the girls:

I hope you like it!!! Thank you for stopping by!!!

Paper boxes decorated with Santa

Saint Nicolas (Mikulás) was coming to town tonight, so the children have found tiny gifts, mostly candies in their socks or boots this morning. 

I think I've already written a lot about our special situation.  But if you don't get the picture, I try to explain again. We are Hungarian, but we live in Luxembourg but my daughter (Eszter) goes to French school. And to make it more complicated, Eszter's favourite language is English and in her early ages, she loved the American stories about Santa. So somehow I merged the French and the American traditions keeping the Hungarian Mikulás for December 6. Anyway, it's not unknown for the French either, mainly in the Alsace region. 

So I made 5 little boxes for my daughter's friends who will get these today.

For making the boxes, I used an old and retired die from Sizzix, the Milk Carton box die and decorated with Santas from the Jingle All The Way MFT stamp set. 

The paper is from a First Edition Christmas paper pad.

MFT Pure Innocence - Happy birthday to you

I made one card to join two MFT challenges. How tricky I am!!! 

And here is the challenges I want to enter:

MFT Color Challenge 96

MFT Summer School: White Space

Vintage Christmas with Tim Holtz Toy Soldier and Retro Packages

During the summer I had made two Advent Calendars for my nephews and in the centre of the calendars, I created Christmas interiors with Christmas trees, gift packages, toy soldiers, windows etc. Here you can see them.

But as you know little boys don't like vintage :-) so I wanted to create a Christmas interior with nearly the same elements but in vintage style. 

I chose a 14x21 cm canvas board for my project.

I love the toy soldier! For me it looks like a Hungarian hussar (huszár) so this die, this form is very dear to me.

I cut out my elements from chipboard and I covered them with patterned papers. Sanded the edges, inked with Vintage Photo but after I smeared a tiny watery white acrylic paint too.

To the canvas I put a thin layer of modelling paste, then I painted with DecoArt Americana Buttermilk. I also painted the face, the hand and the upper leg of my soldier with Buttermilk and Light Buttermilk.

I inked the edges of the background too and here too I smeared white paint.

The stars are embossed with Ranger Princess Gold, like the bows, ribbons of my packages. 

I used the Handwritten Mini Holidays Stamp Set (CMS211) for the texts of the ornaments.

As a protection, I put a thin layer of Ranger Distress Collage Matte.

The ornaments were fixed with cellotape at the back, so I covered with a nice patterned paper this part too.

I fixed the picture hanger with hot glue.

With my canvas, I would like to join the challenge of A Vintage Journey: Winter Magic

I hope you like it! Happy crafting and Christmas preparations!

Christmas matchbox

Let me show you one of my Christmas matchboxes I have recently made. 

What I used:

Sizzix Movers&Shapers XL Die, Matchbox by Where Women Cook (659198)

Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die, Medallions by Brenda Walton (658339)

Sizzix Framelits Die, Scallop Circles (657552)

First Edition Papers (Christmas Wishes, Jingle All The Way)

Organza Ribbon

I hope you like it! Happy crafting!

Jar for the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans

This was made for a Harry Potter fan schoolgirl as a Christmas present. Because you have to know that lately it’s very hard to find the “real” Bertie Bott’s sweets. And if you  happen to come across it, you will realize immediately that you have to pay a lot of money to have a teensy-weensy pocket.

And by the way, I’m sure that most of the little ones don’t have the courage to taste a vomit, a rotten egg or a booger flavour “candy”. I also bet that even we, adults are not brave enough to put these yucky taste into our mouths. 

In case that I’m wrong I have bought a tiny pocket marked HARRY POTTER - BERTIE BOTT’S EVERY FLAVOUR BEANS which supposedly contains the flavours I have just mentioned and many more besides: soap, earwax, sausage, black pepper and so on.

In case that I’m right, I prepared this special candy jar. For this I have used an empty jam jar and I have made a label in one of the text editors with the sign: Bertie Bott’s Every Falvour Beans. I printed the label, I cut it out and I glued on the jar.


I have painted four coats of green on the lid with imitating the same green you can see on the shelves of the Honeyduke Sweetshop. In the end I added two coats of lacquer as well. 

After the first coat of paint

The lacquer is drying

I have bought a box with 36 yummy tastes from the same company - JELLY BELLY - that also produces Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. 

So I just filled up the jar with those candies, I tied a yellow ribbon under the lid and voilà it looks like a candy jar from the Honeydukes Sweetshop.

Some interesting details about the Jelly Belly Beans:

• the Jelly Belly beans are gluten and nut free 
• they sell sugar free beans too
• one jelly bean is 4 calories
• the Jelly Belly beans were the favourites of Ronald Reagan

My other blogpost on this subjects:

Alternative party bag