Tags from Christmas Past - Parts 2 and 3

Hello all, and a very merry Christmas all round.  I'm dropping in to share some festive inspiration and delight that's available on my YouTube channel.  Yes, there are more Christmas tags, but also some non-tag projects, not to mention a gentle festive reading with musical accompaniment.  

First of all, there's the second part of the crate unboxing... digging deep into my crafting history for some tags and other creations, some of which I'd almost completely forgotten about!  And some are much more recent - those recycled tape rolls you can see in the photo below, for instance. 

You'll find that here: Tag Time - Christmas Projects Unboxing Part 2

And then, as I said, there's some words and pictures and music to enjoy in the Christmas Eve episode - a gentle reading of the words on each of the 25 countdown tags I made a couple of years ago, along with some favourite festive creations from other Christmases past. 

Find that episode here: Tag Time - Christmas Words and Pictures and Music

I know I've only been an occasional presence here in Craftyblogland this year, but I do love to drop in every now and then to catch up with you.  Love and light and peace to all for 2025, and happy crafting, all!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Norman Vincent Peale

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

Calvin Coolidge

I don't think Christmas is necessarily about things. It's about being good to one another.

Carrie Fisher

Tags from Christmas Past - part 1

Hello, all - hope your festive preparations are going well.  I've been unpacking my storage crate of Christmas and winter creations so that I can decide what gets to go on display this year... and it's not easy to whittle it down! 

(You can watch the unboxing over on my YouTube channel and see all of these as they emerge from storage - and hear a bit more about the products used.)

I've got a seasonal corkboard which can display 21 tags at a time, chosen to reflect the time of year.  Halloween/Autumn had been up for far too long, so it was time to make a change.  But I'm only halfway down the crate, and already I've got far too many to choose from... I sorted them into groups so that I could try to make more sense of them all.

There are the reds... 

There are the blues and greens and neutrals...

And there are the jumbo tags created from the 12 Tags of Christmas inspiration provided by Linda Coughlin, the Funkie Junkie, when she used to share a Christmas inspiration challenge in the weeks leading up to the festival... 

It's a little bit overwhelming seeing them all together... and as you'll see if you watch the video linked above, we're not done yet!  

There are some non-tags in the crate too, and they'll be coming up next, and then there's an Advent set of 25 numbered tags for the final countdown.  

I'll aim to share those with you over the next week or so in the run-up to Christmas.

But in the meantime, which 21 would you put on your corkboards, if you had to choose?!  See you again soon for the next bit of unboxing.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy crafting, all!

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.
Edna Ferber

It’s coming on Christmas, they’re cutting down trees. They’re putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace.
Joni Mitchell

Getting in the festive mood...

Hello all... well, I did quite well there on posting for a few weeks, and then it all slipped out of focus again!  I'm just hopping on quickly to keep you posted about what's going on over on my YouTube channel - which is also called Words and Pictures, of course.

I always find it hard to get into the festive swing before December arrives - I prefer to keep Christmas confined to as close to the twelve days as possible.  (24th December - 6th January are when I feel properly Christmassy!)  But things are starting to look a little more festive as I try to get myself in the mood.  Tougher than usual this year, what with everything that's going on in the world.

But you can join me for some starry, snowy backgrounds with lots of stencil techniques here... A Few Minutes of Fun with Mixed Media Winter Backgrounds

Enjoy some watercolour stamping with Distress Inks and Tim Holtz stamps here...  A Few Minutes of Fun with Winter Greenery

And/or see a couple of those backgrounds take the next steps, with my PaperArtsy EAB29 Mistletoe Edition stamps and lots of Tim Holtz die-cuts here... A Few Minutes of Fun with Mixed Media Mistletoe Tags

There's a final (for now, at least) episode of Books Books Books, looking at a couple of festive book-based creations - a couple of altered covers and some art journalling here...  Festive Art Journalling and Altered Book Covers. (Over the next couple of Wednesdays, I'm planning to take a look back over past years of Christmas tags... it's a big crate!)

And if you're not ready to go full-on Christmas yet, how about a flip through - including readings of the poetry fragments - of the accordion album I created for my recent PaperArtsy stamp launch.  I promise this one will bring you a few moments of calm in the hubbub of the run-up to the festive season.  Here you go... Winter Sunrise Accordion Album

There's lots more to explore on the channel since I last updated you, so join me at the craft table for the perfect escape from all your festive to-do lists.  I hope you're all doing well, and good luck with the preparations!

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.
Paul Theroux

Christmas is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.
Freya Stark

Santa Claus has the right idea... visit people only once a year.
Victor Borge