A Christmas for Ellen

Hey Y'all,

Our Neighbor Ellen went into a care facility about 4 yrs ago and it really seems like it has been longer, as her absence from our lives is really felt at this time of year. Since she has gone in, we take care of her Tortoises  and her property along with visiting her as often as we can. She seldom knows what day it is anymore, or whether it is night or not,  but we do our best to cheer her. That is why I made this tree for her and added some presents. ( I will fill them with  M&M's)  Mark and I talked about if this should be traditional colors or if she needed bright colors as her eyesight is failing. We decided on the brighter colors.

Using the Santa's Surprises SVG Kit I made the tree at the size it imports. The accent pieces were cut using Echo Parks Winter Park Collection. This is an older collection I had, it but had the brighter colors I was looking for. To continue the snow theme this tree had, I put snowflakes on it here and there. The top snowflake was glittered using Stampin Up's Heat and Stick, Versa Mark and Art Glitters Ultra fine Translucent Crystal glitter. ( Leo Kowal hates glitter clean up and I think about him every time I use this glitter as I glitter all over me for days.) Use the Number 1 snowflake from the Santa's North Pole Workshop SVG collection sized at W.0.917 x H 1.058. I cut a full page of these as you never know when you can use some for something else. They will go in my winter extras box. Glue one snowflake on top of the other angled to give a flowery affect. I curled the the glittered one a bit with my fingers as using a stylus would have removed the glitter. I used plain snowflakes bending one point to fit over the edge of the tree and glued those into place. I did not put them on all the edges as I didn't want to over power the tree.

To make the Star for the top use the same snowflake from Santa's North Pole Workshop SVG Collection and size two of them at W 1.655 x H 1.910. As you did on the smaller snowflakes, angle them and glue one on top of the other. Now cut one at W. 1.202 x H 1.378. Glue that on top of the other two also at an angle. Now use one of the snowflakes sized at W. 0917 x G 1.058 for the center. I glittered this one and put a light blue rhinestone in the center. I made two of these to use for my star as Mary suggested for the top of my tree.  I adhered it in the same way as was shown in the tutorial for Santa's Surprise SVG Kit.

 I had already decided I wanted to use the packages from North Pole Express SVG Kit. I placed all the pieces for the packages onto my virtual mat and sized them at (Box 1 and 2 are the same size) W 2.510 x H 3.248.  Note: you need both box 1 and 2 . I have made this mistake a couple of times maybe because my brain was fuzzy by the time I get to making the boxes. The bow I sized at 2.723 x H 0.999. The bow is a little tricky to put together but if I had used my reverse tweezers I don't think I would have had so much trouble.

Knowing this would most likely sit on the small table next to her bed I wanted a little doily but also wanted to use pieces of the snowflake to further the theme. I used the Pompoms doily from Dawns Doilies SVG Collection and deleted the inter circle. Then I made one Snowflake at W 2.789 x H 3.220 and place it in the center of the doily. Un-group the snowflake and remove the outer star, leave the petals in the center of your doily. Place a circle of small snowflakes on the outer inside edge of the doily so that you aren't ruining the pretty pompom edge Mary made. Now remove the outer edge of the stars. If you forgot how to do that you release compound path and un-group then delete the outer star edge. You can group all of the doily after all the stars are removed. Cut it out and glue the tree bottom onto the center of your doily. You can leave the larger snowflake center out if you wish. If I had made the doily a bit bigger I think she would have been able to see it better but with the small table next to her bed there isn't room to make it bigger.

  We will fill the boxes with the mini M& M's for her before we take it to her on Thursday. I hope you enjoyed my tree for Ellen. Make a tree for someone you know in continuing care or the hospital and make a lot of little presents to fill with a goodie. This way you can  make one tree and not exclude the other residents. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog, and Happy Crafting Y'all!
Blessings, Sharalyn

SVG Kits and Collections Used:
Santa's Surprises SVG Kit
North Pole Express SVG Kit
 Santa's North Pole Workshop SVG Collection
Dawn's Doilies SVG Collection

Supplies Used:
Echo Park: Winter Park Collection
Bazzill Card Stock : Admiral, Smooth White 
Art Glitter Ultra Fine Translucent Glitter: Crystal
Stampin Up: Heat and Stick
Versa Mark
Hero Arts Light Blue Rhinestones
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive
Silhouette Cameo
Designer Addition Studio for Silhouette Cameo

Note: I am hoping to have one more really amazing thing posted before Christmas for you. Hang in there with me your going to flip over this one!