Make it Monday: Christmas Cards #2

 In a record late finish for me this year, I finished making Christmas cards this weekend. I sent fewer than usual this year but it still took forever.

 I used one design from last year and came up with two more using my Gonis stamps, cutter and pointer pens. I really like the finish.

 Also using Gonis products I did some special finger-painting cards with the kids which was messy but fun. They don't look as smart but I think they are a lovely keepsake for friends and family.

Make it Monday - Ceramic Drawing with Children

Through my Gonis sideline, I came across ceramic drawing recently.  I bought a turquoise pen to try out for myself and knew that Isabella would love to try it.

A few months ago when Nico was donating blood, they had a kids corner where she did something similar on glass.  Last time we were at Ikea, I snopped around the bargain corner and picked up a couple of dirt cheap mugs (because you can never have too many, right?) and let her loose on them.

I love that she tried it and liked it, I also love the relaxation that the activity brings out in me.  It's so nice to let your mind wander and really doodle. The pens are washable if you don't bake the finished product in the oven, so it's up to you whether you keep your design or start over with something new.

I really recommend trying it whether, you do it yourself or let the little ones go wild.

Make it Monday - Salt-dough Christmas Decorations

 This week I promised myself I would do more with the kids so we started our Christmas projects and made these decorations over two nights.

 On the first evening I made the dough from 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water. It was very easy. Isabella loved making her own shapes. Joshua got confused between playdough and cookies but managed a few shapes too, with guidance.

 Once we had baked them a few times in the oven and let them cool, they were ready to paint.

 I let them loose with my Gonis acrylic paints and again, Isabella loved it. Joshua hated it. He liked the idea but preferred using his hands over the brush and just wanted to run around with paint everywhere. He managed a few designs though.

It took a lot of self-control to let the kids get creative and paint how they wanted but I love that we have some real keepsakes here. I would definitely recommend it. 

Make it Monday - Glitter Christmas Decoration

Today I had another Gonis presentation and I wanted to try one of my new Christmas products quickly to be able to show the guests an example.

I ordered the glitter creme last week and it is so easy to use and works really well with the other Christmas products that I have.  

This transparent Christmas bauble was the perfect surface for a self-sticking template and I applied the glitter with a spatula.  As with most of the Gonis products, I didn't need a lot.  

The bauble needs more colour for definite and I'm thinking about how to finish it but with the glitter itself, I am very happy.

Make it Monday: Christmas Tree Decorations

And so it begins...

This week I made my first Christmas tree decorations of the year using one of the customer gifts from Gonis.  I painted them red with acrylic paint, stencilled some shapes on the front with relief paste and finished them off with my decopointer edging.

I am really pleased with the result and I'm looking forward to making more of these as there are two more shapes to the set.

Make it Monday - Inspirational Sign

This weekend I finished my second quote sign using Gonis products and I love this one as much as the first.

I made the board itself using spatulas (like large lollypop sticks). They are attached with some more spatulas in the other direction along the back.

The blue is actually ink for stamping. It doesn't cover as much as the acrylic paint but I actually like the effect of the wood showing through.

The quotation is relief paste on a flex template. Very easy and one of my go to techniques.

After a couple of presentations in November I'll find a home for this on the landing.

Make It Monday: Frosted Glass Gift

At the weekend, we went to a wedding and I made one of these little keepsake for the happy couple to hold our gift to them.  Today I finished another one that I'm going to let Isabella have for Christmas.

The little glass jars are from Ikea.  I frosted them using my Gonis frosting and decided to keep it plain white.  I also have a new set of stick on stencils for leaving a gap in the frosting.  Unfortunately, I don't have a heart shaped one so I used this star, which is pretty Christmassy anyway.  

To complete the effect I used my favourite Deco pointer.  Cream for the wedding gift and red for the Christmas one, to make the star really stand out.  It was so simple and easy.

Make it Monday - Glass Tea Light Holders

Recently I have been experimenting with different products and techniques on glass to make these centrepieces for my Gonis presentations.

Three of them are made with a product called Frost. One is completely covered using a sponge and for two I used stencils - the flower and the brown squirrel. This is one of my favourite products and I'm looking forward to experimenting more with it.

The pink squirrel was a new spin on the candle holders I made last Christmas in that it's relief paste mixed with colour.

On the glass that is completely frosted, we stamped it with colour and added a few pearl drops to decorate.

All of the glasses are recycled from baby food. I think they add a lovely touch to table decorations.

Make it Monday - Sign

Last week I made this sign for our kitchen using some of my Gonis products.  

It is on an MDF board which I painted with two coats of the yellow paint. 

Then I used a flexi-template and relief paste to add the saying on the front.

While it took three days to finish (each coat had to dry overnight), it was easy and I look forward to trying more projects like this.

Make it Monday - Flamingo Stencil

Here's a summery flamingo stencil that I finished before my Gonis party at the weekend to highlight a few different products.

I started by gluing together some lollypop sticks. I'd seen examples where the background is also painted but I quite like this effect.

Then I used one of my stick on stencils and Gonis Paint to make the flamingo. A little really goes a long way.

Finally, I used a Decopointer to do the eye. I love the pointers for finishing different projects.

When I have finished showing this one, it will go in Isabella's room.

Make it Monday: September Birthday Cards

Preparing for my next Gonis presentation, I've gotten a little ahead of myself with birthday cards for September.

I've stuck to a balloon theme this month and enjoyed getting out the stamps, coloured card and deco pointer to make cards for a range of ages, genders and reasons this month.

Looking forward to more card making soon. Gonis is really inspiring me on this front.

Make it Monday - Candle Holder

This week I did my first Gonis presentation, at my Mum's in England. It went well. It wasn't perfect but considering how much translation and use of the exchange rate was involved, I was really pleased.

We made this candle holder for my Mum as a hostess gift. It showed off different techniques and four Gonis products including the candle holder, the crystal which is painted around the inside using the permanent glue, the temporary glue, used to attach the ribbon, and the deco pointer used to decorate the ribbon.

I was really pleased with the finished item and will be doing it again.

Gonis

As I have mentioned, I've recently decided to become a Gonis rep.  I was at a party last October and ordered a few little bits which I used to create some Christmas cards and gifts.  While at that party, I also booked my own, which unfortunately, has yet to happen due to illness and work commitments.  As it seemed so difficult to organise a party, I decided to do it myself.

I'm not always a fan of these companies but Gonis is very flexible and fits in well with my own hobbies so I am keen to get started once I get my head around the business side as well as the creative one.

My first party is going to be on Monday in England.  Unfortunately Gonis hasn't really hit England yet but I'm hoping to tap the market and build up  a customer base there too.  I have a further three parties planned in August.

It's something that I can fit in on an evening or weekend around work and the kids and it fits in with a lot of the things I do already such as making my own cards and getting creative with fabric.  I'm looking forward to the new ideas and projects I can do around here.

So far I have worked on cards and candle holders using Gonis but I am looking forward to trying more and keeping you up to date soon.

Make it Monday - August Birthday Cards

I'm currently preparing for my new sideline as a Gonis rep.  I combined the prep for the first presentation with getting my August birthday cards ready and I love the results.

I used a combination of techniques that were partly new to me.  I did some stencil painting, stamping with a range of colours and deco pointing.

I really like all of these.  I think the flamingo is my favourtie, just because of the colour, which really pops and contrasts with the pointer.

I think adding the pointer to each of the cards really finishes them nicely.  It's my favourite Gonis product at the moment.

I did a couple of cards that aren't pictured here because I am waiting for a different product to dry.  I'm really glad I got around to doing this today and using a few new products and techniques.

Make it Monday - Tree Decorations

 At the Gonis party back in October, my order merited a free gift of two clear plstic tree baubles.

I bought some red and gold feathers to put in the baubles to add a bit of colour that matches our scheme.

I used my red and white Gonis paints. I was making some white snowflakes when the paint spluttered so I improvised, making a white background with a red snowflake too.

It's nice that they are different yet complementary. A lovely addition to our decorations in my year of create!

Make it Monday - Christmas Cards

 After four attempts, I finally got all of my Christmas cards made and written this weekend. Nico had ordered me some lovely cream cardstock and I put my Gonis products to work.

For the most part I used their stamp set with gold ink. I also took advantage of their example designs, just changing up the last one, which ended up being my favourite.

 Some of the designs had cut outs which stood off from the card with the help of some sticky pads. By far my favourite technique was the new paint pen used for the red baubles above.

I used the white paint pen to make this, the only December birthday card this year. I love the results and will be using more of these products in 2018.

Make it Monday - Christmas Tea Light Holders

 While Mum was here I got cracking on the first of my Christmas gifts so that she could transport them back to England.

 First we went to Ikea and stocked up on glass tea light holders.

 Then I got out my gonis stencils, relief paste and some spatulas and Mum helped me whip up forty of these holders with the help of some mulled wine.

 I love these designs and made up different pairings to gift to different friends.

 It's an effective technique. I look forward to making some non-Christmas ones next year.

Make it Monday - Stencilled Candle

My Gonis products arrived last week and I got busy straight away with my new stencils. I'm really pleased with this first attempt with relief paste on glass.

It was the first time I used relief paste and it was quicker and easier than I thought, with a lovely result. I left it to dry overnight.

I'm planning on some more Christmas themed candle holders soon!