Crafty Collage Catchup - November News
Crafty Gifts for Christmas ...
If you are shopping with Art by Jenny during November to December 2025, you will find handmade surprises in your parcel ... little festive envelopes with a groovy tag!
Delivery Special Offer ...
(Offer has Expired, left here as info for a short while) FREE Upgrade to Express Post - for all orders Australia wide from my ViCs (Very Important Crafters) until 12noon (SA time) on 12th December 2025. Whether you pay for delivery with orders under $85 or choose FREE delivery when you spend $85 or more, your parcels will travel using the fabulous and fast Express Post snail mail speed of transit :) Offer has expired on 12 noon (SA time), 12 December 2025.
Scroll down to read about - Christmas holidays, November product news, crafty makes, fabulous finds ...
Christmas Break ...
Holidays for Christmas 2025 through the New Year!
We are closed from Friday 12th December 2025 ... Saturday 13th is the start of holidays with a few weeks of arty crafty days, Christmas shopping, family celebrations, drinking coffee and tea with friends, outings with my daughter, more arty moments, sleeping!
Last day for posting parcels for this year - Friday 12th December 2025. As of now (1.30pm) we have finalised the last orders to be posted and any stragglers will be posted on Monday. Thank you all so much for a wonderful art-filled crafty year of creativity!
First day back to work in 2026 - Monday 12th January. Posting parcels will begin on the Tuesday, 13th January.
If you need anything urgent during my holidays, contact me via text message or telephone because I won't be checking emails often. Australia Post are open right up to Christmas Eve as well as all the business days inbetween Christmas and New Year's, therefore it is possible if there are urgent crafty supplies you desperately need before January.
November 2025 Arty Treasure News ...
Time evaporates fast! It's already November, Melbourne Cup was raced and won by a horse, the other day Adelaide had their annual Christmas pageant in the city and we've enjoyed some rain with sunshine! Our local pageant down Beach Road at Christies was the other day on 23rd Nov and just like that, Christmas is merely days away! 🎄
Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions ...
the fun festive everyday always-fun-to-use adorable gnomes, borders, decorations, holly leaves and Archival inks are ready for your input!
We also have the gorgeous metallic colours of Dyamond Rocks, fresh packs of Adhesive Canvas and Dyamond Boards (preprimed chipboard shapes) in cats, skulls and basics!
Find all these wonderful new arty treasures in this 'What's New!' category or enjoy a wander through our Dylusions shelf!
- click here to see everything by Dyan Reaveley and Dylusions -
Dina Wakley MEdia ...
latest arrivals include wonderful designs in Collage Tissue, Stamps and Stencils plus we have the amazing Watercolour Journal (an ideas book, swatch book, diary, calendar, collagy-painty-anything-goes-book) with 28 pages (28 sheets of awesome paper plus the inside covers) of smoothish beautiful paper that is ideal for wet and dry media. Happy Arty Days to You!
Recently arrived to our Christmas and Dina BetterPress Shelves are beautiful designs featuring birds, baubles and deer, from her BetterPress Spellbinders collection. They're die cutting and printing plates. The designs are beautiful and the leafy frame embossing folder is gorgeous! Use Dina's BetterPress plates with the Archival Inks, any Distress or Oxide inks, or Dina's BetterPress Inks (which are simply slow drying Archival inks in gorgeous colours). I know I say it all the time, but I love how all our favourites work together so beautifully! Make art your way and enjoy every moment!
Dina's Ledger Journal - We will hopefully be getting more of Dina's very cool book sometime between now and then - cross your fingers for January!
At least we have heaps of the beautiful watercolour paper art journal to use while we wait for more ledger journals :)
- click here to see the Dina Wakley MEdia arty shelf -
Tim Holtz ...
Distress Oxides - All 18 sets of Mini Oxide Ink Pads are inStore! With 4 colours per set, they are the perfect combinations of colour and a fabulous size to share and use to create smiles! We have all the Oxide Reinkers too :) Did I mention they are here? :D
Distress Labels - Those very cool and useful stickers to organise our Distress collections will be online and inStore in the new year. Send through your wishlists by email with which variety you would like, either black text, white text or both.
Have you seen how Tim and everyone have been using them? Luise Heinzl made a little storage cabinet for her Mini Oxides, including a centre area for the day's combo of colours! Talk about organised! And it looks so amazing :)
- click here for Tim Holtz Distress shelf -
Tim Holtz is having fun decorating Santa Mugs, making Christmas tags and cards, playing with fabrics and papers and stamps and stencils ... he's just like us, he loves it all - Curated Collections by Stampers Anonymous are full of wonderful designs and beautiful makes, and there new things are on the arty horizon.
- click here for Tim's arty crafty blog ... here you will find the index, videos and FB Tim Addicts group info.
- click here for Stampers Anonymous 'Meet the Makers' page with all the Talented Creators -
Tim's Christmas Curated Collections ... Tim has been rereleasing old favourites that haven't had a moment in the spotlight while all the other designs were being released into the wild. The showcased stamp sets used over the weekend in Tim's live are all Christmas themed, so check your collection to see if you have them and if not, we have them on our Tim shelves. They're all wonderful versatile designs, and the cards Tim and his team created for the weekend are beautiful and inspirational.
- search for CMS or THMM or use check out our new easier to find drop down link under "Tim" in the menu above. We've just received some more, so pls sing out if you cannot find your fave.
- click here for the Tim Holtz Curated Sets THMM -
Idea-Ology Halloween is full of a curious mix of fresh designs intermingled with old essentials --- look out for Mummy Wrap, Bones, Paper Dolls, Ephemera, Baseboards, Jack O Lantern Pumpkins, Skulls, Metal Adornments, Tissue, Backdrops, Large Collage Strips and so much more! It is always a fun occasion for crafting :)
- click here for our Halloween shelf -
Tim's Christmas ... Festive Idea-Ology - Enjoy the abundance of exquisite (and useful) Tim Holtz Idea-Ology treasures which includes Backdrops, Paper Dolls, Layers, Ephemera, Baseboards (chipboard lanterns, frames), Collage Strips, Tissue, Transparent Sheets (for windows, shakers, fun) - it's a marvellous mix of traditional Christmas with Tim's faves and new designs!
- click here for all the Christmas Idea-Ology and Festive Fun -
Distress Rock Candy Glitter in Clear and Chunky, Snowflakes and Twinkles Texture Paste - Beautiful mica flakes, magical glitters and twinky glossy texture pastes are perfect for every excuse imaginable to create more art :) Chunky glitter goes with everything, just sayin'.
Tim's Sizzix Thinlits ... Noteworthy, Snowglobe no.2 and Gift Card sets and bunches of others are inStore with all our other favourites!
New A5 large embossing folders ... this large size is so versatile and we now have over 10 different designs to choose from. Some designs are bigger, others there is simply more of it over a larger surface... all are amazing!
- click here for all Tim's Thinlits and embossing folders -
Sizzix Studio Mixed Media Kits ... Wonderful designs and inspiration has landed in the form of stencils and stamps by Mark Montano. Think lacy layers, mandalas, street-art and vintage imagery!
- buy your new favourite Sizzix Studio sets here -
For all the newest product release updates and excitable arrivals, check out our What's New shelf .
Crafty Samples Created For You ...
Every little envelope is different, so showing off my crafty efforts won't spoil any surprises. Took ages longer than I expected but I enjoyed every moment, especially the rummaging through my stash and sticking bits down. Lucky Dyan's Dylusions glue dries fast and holds the papers and string really well, so no waiting. Fa la la la la 🎶 walking in a crafty wonderland.
Plus you'll have a little unmade kit to create your own little envelope :) Because it feels good to be crafty!
Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits used : Christmas Cookies (no.665566, retired) and Postale (no.665927). Other shapes make great bickies too, simply cut a base with kraft and an upper layer in white. Dust the edges with a gingerbreadish colour (Distress Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo or Brushed Corduroy, Dina Wakley MEdia Syrup, Dylusions Chocolate Drop, 49-and-Market Salted Caramel).
- click here for Tim's Thinlits -
- click here for all the inks -
Papers and Idea-Ology used : Tim Holtz Heavystock Kraft and Watercolour papers, Idea-ology Christmas themed Ephemera, Layers, Backdrops, Large Collage Strips, Jute String and Stickers plus the Postmarked (vintage stamps) and Cello Tape Stickers.
- click here for Idea-Ology -
Each envelope is cut out out of Idea-ology Christmas Backdrops using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits "Postale" envelope die cutting template. The scoring is built into the template, so making the envelope is as simple as folding along the crease lines then using a boning tool to flatten out the fold.
Each envelope is then decorated with various pieces of Idea-ology... I've created them in batches adding each style of layer at a time - vintage postage stamps then banners cut from scraps, bunting, candy cane stems, labels, holly, mistletoe, pine fronds, pointing hands, phrases, bookish quotes, paperclip and on the back stickers and or phrases.
You can use whatever you have in your stash to make and decorate little junk journal envelopes! They're a great size for miniature photos, heartfelt messages written in fountain pen and handmade gift cards.
Inside each envelope is a Christmas paper biscuit (cookie) cut out of Tim's Heavystock Kraft and white cardstock using Tim's Sizzix Thinlits "Christmas Cookies". Tim has a few different designs of Thinlits that are perfect for this kind of tag. Look for those with basic shapes and use kraft for the base and white for the upper layers.
The piece of red and white string is Idea-ology too, glued using Dyan's papercraft glue. I've tidied the back with a tag shape cut from the Backdrops packaging.... the packaging has all the designs in miniature, perfect for cutting up for collage!
Edit - I've changed the little tags to have a back and front with foam tape inbetween making them perfect to hang on a tree, save for Christmas, pull apart to make two tags or glue into your junk journal - do whatever You wish!
When I run out, I will dream up something else to share. As I do 😻 I started giving out samples with every order because I found that the only thing with online shopping is you can't see and feel products in real life (which we all love to do, especially for crafts). Everything is better shared, especially art supplies!
I'm learning to embrace filming video with the camera on a stand, which will be great because then I can use both hands to create. It's tricky navigating interruptions but I was reminded recently, that you can always press pause! 😂 It feels odd talking to the camera but I will improve!
Link to my video on YouTube : https://youtu.be/IyMygsl2uUU ... no sound, I didn't know what to say! lol ;p
Arty Treasures Found ...
A Flying Bat, Angel and Reindeer ... Shaped Paper Mache Characters to make personalised hanging ornaments, a mobile, home decor decoration or simply enjoy some arty crafty fun because it feels good to get paint everywhere.
While wandering about my wholesaler, I found these premade paper mache shapes and simply had to have them to alter, especially the bats - and now we only have one left (18th Nov, hopefully we'll get more next year if they make them again). Paper mache isn't hard to do, however premade is a great shortcut to the decorating!
My plan for mine is to use maybe Dyan's colourful collage sheets, and or Dina Wakley's or Tim Holtz's paper tissue, along with Idea-Ology ephemera and maybe some splatter of paint, some Spritz or Mica Spray, some wobbly eyes and whatever else I find while rummaging through my craft cupboard (looking for the eyes).
edit . I have drawn out a plan and am going to make a batty mobile with them tied to daggy old long brushes! Watch my Creative Space sometime in the future, definitely soon, I've got heaps of ideas! As we all do... lol :D lol
Even when we run out of readymade bats (that are seasonal, retired), we can mould clay or make homemade papermache. Fun fun fun!
Customise paper mache using all your favourite arty treasures - tissue paper, scrapbooking or cardmaking scraps, collage prints, fabric, felt, ribbon, string, yarn, glitter, texture paste, grit paste, paint, ink sprays, wax finishes and more.
The paper mache base is not primed, therefore it may be a good idea to apply a thin coating of clear, white or black gesso to stop colours from soaking into the kraft substrate, enabling your layers of tissue papers, inks and paints to dry at their true colour.
These are bit different to what we normally stock but they are so totally cool, I know you'll love them too!
Thanks so much for readings this far! I know I prattle on and on and on 😂 But it's all helpful 😁
Have a creative arty crafty Happy day!
😻🎨🌻
Jenny
