Christmas 2012

As mentioned in my previous post, we had the family coming to us this Christmas. So I wanted everything to be just perfect. I did my tree early this year (2nd Dec) and wanted it to be different from the usual decorated trees you see, so I decided to go with a knitted theme and use Lace instead of tinsel. I loved my tree this year! I loved the colours and the homespun feel it had to it.

Here are some of my wrap designs I did in Work on the presents which were under my tree

Both Sold in Primark 2012

Sold in Primark 2012

 

I had such a lovely time with the family! It really was special this year as both myself and my boyfriend could share it with our families, Usually its one or the other. As in the previous post you know I made my own Table Placecards, so here are a few photos of my table arrangement for our Christmas dinner...

 I also wanted to make dessert as my boyfriend was cooking the dinner, so I decided on a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake

This was so good!! I most definitely need to make this again!

 

Please Note all Designs are copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co. Please do not copy!

Homemade Placecards

This Christmas, I had the whole family coming over to me and my Boyfriend, and I was very excited. I have a small family so to be joined by Ash's family too was going to be lovely. As it will be the first time both families have met, I was a little nervous to say the least but I knew everything would be fine! So in preparation for our Christmas day together I thought I would design and make some little place cards which matched my room decorations and Christmas tree, for when I set the table. Here was the result...

Photo taken into Instagram and altered using the 'Amaro' filter

 

Designs Copyrighted to Leanne Carpentier

Christmas Presents

I've been pretty busy this month, along with shopping for my Christmas gifts, I have been making some too. I found an interesting image on Pinterest a while ago, and kept it safe for me to invest some time and make myself. This was the image that inspired me...

Image and Tutorial taken from http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2012/07/diy-glitter-vases/

(Take a look, there's some interesting things on this blog!)

 

If you would like to see some more of my inspiration boards on Pinterest then please click here.

 

So with this in mind, I thought I would slightly change the idea to become a candle holder instead of a vase. I checked to see if the glue/base coat and top coats were flammable and lucky me, they were ok to use. 

 

I bought my little vases from Ikea, here, then bought some ModRock, Glitter and a sponge brush. 

I then used the sponge brush to glaze the vase with a thin layer of ModRock glue (it works both inside and outside of the glass, so I chose to do the outside just to be safe, I didn't want a naked flame to touch the glue or the glitter). I Then sprinkled the Glitter over the glue, I found that by tapping the vase on the bottom, I shook some of the glitter off and it stuck itself to the remaining glue. Repeat this process about 3 times to get an even coverage of glitter. Then paint another layer of Glue over the glitter to seal it in place. I used another two thin layers of glue to properly seal it and to also make the outside feel smooth. I would recommend this if you do decide to have a go. (Remember to use thin layers of glue!) 

 

And here is the final result...

 

I also wanted to make some packaging for my glitter candle holders as I wanted to give them as a gift. I wanted something quite simple looking so it didn't retract from the glasses themselves.

I then printed and cut the box out making a die cut window to see the product inside the box. I stuck some acetate to the inside of the box to make the window. I also wanted to raise the glasses up slightly so made an insert in the box for the glasses to sit in (as the bottom of the glass has a little ridge), this way the Glasses won't move about in the box and damage each other. 

The box with the Insert to hold the candle holders in place.

 

What do you think? I hope mum likes these!

Primark Christmas Wrap

I finally got around to posting it, here is the remainder of the Primark wrap that I've designed in work. It's in stores Nationwide now, so fill your boots!

I really like this wrap, I have it on my presents under my christmas tree.

For this range, I also designed a matching bag and some tags, again these wraps are under my tree this year. I originally designed this wrap without the red dot in the background, but the buyer for Primark wanted it with a spot, personally I prefer it without.

 



 Please excuse the quality of the photos, I need to get myself a light box as these dark nights aren't helping me at all!!

Please Note All designs are Copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co. Please do not copy.

Christmas Time Is Here Again...

Yes! I love this time of year. Christmas is so magical. It always makes me feel grateful for what I have. I love going out in the frosty crisp weather (that's when its not raining) with my furry boots, coat, scarf, hat and gloves, all cosy. This is unusual for me because I hate the cold, but this year for some reason it feels different.

I've had a busy couple of weeks lately, I've been to Aberdeen and London and have spent time with the people who matter the most to me, and I've really enjoyed myself. I have been neglecting my blog lately, just because I haven't made time and I know it's a little early to think of the 'New Years Resolutions' but that will be one of mine! (Make more time for things that matter the most to me! Including this blog, the one you are reading right now!)

So stay tuned for some more posts coming soon. Oh and if you're feeling grateful for something and want to share it with the world, feel free to tell me below! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Just a little Illustration of mine for the Holidays, Copyright to Leanne Carpentier.

Wilkinson's Christmas Range 2012

I went into Wilkinson's not so long ago and saw that my designs had made it to their shelves. I was asked to come up with something similar to what they had seen in the past and this is what I came up with for their Woodland Theme...

They also wanted this design to be worked up into a range for tableware.

I also designed some crackers for their Festive Theme, I quite like these ones, think I might get these for my Christmas table this year...

These Crackers have a circle in the middle of the star for you to put a photograph in them.

Let me know what you think.

Please Note that these Designs are copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co and Wilkinson. Please Do Not Copy!

BHS Christmas Crackers

So I've been waiting an awful long time to see these in store and they are finally here!! Yay. Last year in work I started the very long process of designing some Christmas Crackers to be sold in BHS stores Nationwide. The process was very long and selective but I did end up having 2 of my designs picked and then go on to production and here are the results...

So what do you think?

Please Note that these Images are copyrighted to BHS and the Designs are copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co and BHS. Please do not copy!

Frightful Nights

 

 

Happy Halloween Everybody!

 

Pinterest

I Have been using Pinterest for a little while now and I love it! It's such a brilliant creative tool to collect images seen on the Internet, saves me having to remember which website I was looking at to get an image. If you have a Pinterest account and would like to see some of my daily inspirations then follow me here.

Here are a few of my boards...

 

And if you do decide to follow me, Let me know on here as I would love to see what things inspire you!

Primark Christmas

Yes, It is that time of year again! Christmas is fast approaching so it seems, and some of my designs have now entered Primark Stores Nationwide, take a look...

 

These are the Tags to go with the Wrapping Paper

 

I really like these designs, I think they're quite quirky and fun, I have bought these wrapping papers to wrap up my families presents, so I hope they like them too!

The Bag behind my owl design was designed by a fellow colleague, Louise Rowley. I really like her design, it's really pretty.

If you buy any of these Bags, Tags or Wrap, I'd love to hear. Hope you like them. I'll have some more Christmas items to post up soon, so stay tuned!

 

Please Note All designs are Copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co. Please do not copy.