My Favorite Things

National Scrapbooking Day Tag Tutorial

Hi there, Crew....

Tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day and Studio Calico has all sorts of fun activities planned for you all weekend!  There are challenges, make & takes, and prizes, plus you can chat with design team members in the Studio Calico forum during the designated chat times!  I'd love to chat with YOU!  I'll be chatting in the Studio Calico forum tomorrow (Saturday) at NOON EST, with Celine.  Pop over and chat with us!!  :)

To view the entire schedule of events for the day, head over to the Studio Calico blog.  You can see all of the challenges and tutorials as well. 

I have whipped up a little tutorial for you, to create the set of tags in the photo above!  You could make these up to have on hand for your own gift-wrapping needs, or you could make them and give the set away as a little gift themselves!  OR, you could plop one of these on a card or even a scrapbook page and have a really fun embellishment!

To download the free pdf of my tutorial, including more pics of the tags and complete instructions, head over to this post at the Studio Calico blog!

I'll be back tomorrow for the Studio Calico blog hop with some of the other Design Team members.....and with a prize up for grabs!  See you soon!

 

P.S.  How about a crafty shopping link before I go?  :)  

Two Peas has a special right now...purchase $10 in My Mind's Eye product and receive a free MME gift of paper, while supplies last.  You can click here to view all the My Mind's Eye products.

 

 

 

{Tag Supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Kraft card stock Stamper's Select White card stock Abroad 6x6 paper pad 6x6 Abroad Paper Pad Abroad Printed Tags Abroad printed tags Abroad Adhesive Badges Abroad Adhesive Badges Take Note Adhesive Badges Take Note Adhesive Badges Abroad Alpha Stickers - aqua Abroad Alpha Stickers - aqua Fabrips - gray stripe Fabrips - gray stripe Mister Huey's spray mist - sunset Pure Poppy baker's twine Tag Sale #6 die Notched Flowers dies Double-Ended Banners dies Vagabond Sizzix Machine by Tim Holtz Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter

InLinkz.com

Felt Flower Gift Toppers

Hey there,

So glad you could join me today!

I am a girl who loves pretty packaging and believes that it really is worth that little bit of extra effort to make someone feel really special before they even open your gift!  Perhaps it comes from years and years of being a Martha Stewart fan *wink*, but I happen to love pretty gift wrap!  Adorning your packages is easy if you pull out the crafty supplies in your stash and put them to work for you!  You bought those goodies....why not get some extra use out of them by using them to 'pretty up' a gift for a loved one?  

Not only are little gift boxes such as these, perfect for birthdays and a wide variety of other occasions, but Mother's Day is on the way...you could decorate a little gift box for Mom to show her just how much you care!

 

For today, I created two boxes to show you.  I bought a set of these kraft nesting boxes at my local hobby store and have had them for awhile now, just waiting for the perfect time to use them.  I think there were 3 or 4 in the set for maybe $5.  They're the perfect little blank canvas to decorate and the best part is, you wouldn't technically have to 'wrap' them, since they look so cute as is.  This means that you can decorate the lid of the box, making it totally reusable!  The recipient can use your pretty box to pass on to someone else!

I used small and medium sized boxes today as well as some standard paper doilies from the cake decorating section at the hobby store.  On the larger of the two boxes, I had a doily that was too small for the look I wanted to achieve and one that was too large and hung over the edges of the lid.  To solve this little crafter's dilemna, I simply put one accordian fold in the middle of the doily, turning the circle into an oval.  I then turned the doily on a diagonal so that my little oval doily fit perfectly on the lid!

Next came the fun part.  I pulled out the Frilly Flowers dies and a roll of vintage cream felt plus a roll of kraft felt.  I die cut the flower layers from the cream, and the leaves from the kraft.  I mixed up the flower layers so that each flower would be a little different than the other.  The layers were stitched together with a kraft button at the center, using chocolate baker's twine and rustic jute button twine.  I adhered the flowers to the box with foam adhesive (securing the foam to both the flowers and the box with scor-tape).  I wanted to be sure and give them a little height, which is why I used the foam adhesive, but it's not quite sticky enough to hold the felt flowers, which is why I added scor-tape too.  ;)  The leaves are adhered with scor-tape.  Lastly, I added a few Basic Grey opaline pearls.

For the small box, I used a standard small doily and then created a 6-layered flower!!  I used every one of the flower dies from the Frilly Flowers collection, to make this flower.  The more layers, the better, right?  :)    

I'm pretty sure giving a gift box like one of these, is guaranteed to make the recipient smile.  :)

I hope I've encouraged you to bust out some of your own crafty stash and whip up some gift toppers soon!  Whether you've got a specific gift in mind, or just want to get a jump on having some pretty packaging on hand and ready to use, this is a perfect little weekend project!  

Take care, dear readers, and have a great weekend!

{Felt Flower Gift Toppers supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Frilly Flowers dies Vintage Cream felt Kraft felt Vagabond Sizzix Machine by Tim Holtz Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter American Crafts Adhesive foam tab squares Scor-Tape Rustic Jute button twine Chocolate Baker's Twine

InLinkz.com

Rosie Posie Love

Hello there!  

Well, after my extreme overuse of Rosie Posie when it first came out, I gave it break but to my horror, realized today, that the last time I used it was over a month and a half ago!  Obviously that's a little bit tooooo long of a break!  SO....I busted that little gem of a stamp set out today, along with the coordinating dies, to create a pair of gift tags.

I also used the Background Basics: Medallions stamp set because we all know I love that set dearly too.  And I used the new Garden Variety II to create the seed packet frame for the tags.

I went with a fun color combo of raspberry fizz, melon berry and new leaf.  It doesn't show up very well in the photo, but I did stamp the frame from Garden Variety II on the die cut frames, in this case, using raspberry fizz ink on raspberry fizz card stock.  It shows up much better in real life.

Anyhooooo......I hope you're having a great day!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project to share with you.  Bust out your felt....we're gonna have some fun!  

See you then!

 

{Rosie Posie gift tags supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Rustic Cream card stock Melon Berry card stock Raspberry Fizz card stock Garden Variety II stamp set Rosie Posie stamp set Background Basics: Medallion stamp set Rosie Posie die collection Seed Packet Frame 2 Die Button Card Collection dies Vagabond Sizzix Machine by Tim Holtz Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter Rustic Jute button twine Melon Berry ink

InLinkz.com

Joy Planter Tag

Hello again,

Today, I've got a fun little project to share with you that makes for a really sweet hostess gift.  It's that time of year when holiday parties are happening left and right and I think it's always a fun thing to take along a gift for the hostess.  Right now, poinsettias make gorgeous (and inexpensive) hostess gifts however when I went to the store to get one for a party we were attending, the poinsettias didn't look so hot, but this plant looked gorgeous!  So, we opted for this beauty.  I just wish I knew what kind of plant it is!  

Anyway, I wanted to attach some sort of gift tag, so I decided to create a sort of "floral pick" that could serve as a tag-on-a-stick!  Ha.

I used a couple of my Damask Snowflake die cuts here and topped them with a tag image from the 2011 Holiday Tags stamp set.  I used scor-tape directly on the dowel rod as well as foam adhesive (several pieces thick) on either side of the dowel, to hold it all together.  (I got this package of dowel rods ages ago at Michael's.)

I also die cut a second hawaiian shores snowflake which I adhered on the back side of the hawaiian shores snowflake you see here, and that's where I wrote my little gift tag message.  Cute and simple!  You could totally do this even this week, if you still have a party or two to attend.

I also wanted to point out that Two Peas has quite a few sales and special offers going on right now including a Year-End Clearance Sale and free shipping on purchases of $35 or more.  Just use December Shipping Code: NKFFRL

Also before I go, I have a bit of a PUPDATE for you.....I'd like to ask for your prayers, if I could.  We woke up at 3am to Windsor getting sick in his kennel (right by my side of the bed) this morning.  Got the kennel cleaned up, took him outside to go to the bathroom, brought him back in and got everyone settled down again with the lights turned off and 2 minutes later, he got sick again.  He's now gotten sick 4 times since the first time at 3am.  We've been on the phone with the veterinarian a couple of times this morning and after this last time getting sick, the vet said to bring him right in.  So....I took the puppy to the vet's office and they kept him and said they'd call after the vet has had a chance to examine him.  It felt just a little too much like the last time I drove a very sick Riley to the vet's office, earlier this year.  I'm hoping it's absolutely nothing serious. 

We've also been doing a food trial lately (that seemed to finally be going well) with Win -- it's suspected that he's either allergic to beef or grain.  Anyway, that may have nothing to do with his getting sick today......I have no idea.  But my prayer is that our sweet puppy will be fine and we'll get his tummy troubles (all of them) figured out.  

I would so appreciate your prayers this afternoon.  I'm trying not to be anxious as I wait for the dr's phone call, but I'm afraid at the moment, I'm not doing a very good job.  I keep reminding myself that I trust the Lord with Windsor's life just like I do with my own.  Praying for health for our puppy and peace while we wait to hear from the vet's office.

Thanks so much for listening and being willing to pray with us....

 

{Joy Planter Tag supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Rustic Cream card stock	Hawaiian Shores card stock	2011 Holiday Tags stamp set	Damask Snowflake Dies	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies	Big Shot die cutting machine
Scor-Tape	American Crafts Adhesive foam tab squares

InLinkz.com

Christmas Cards for Neighbors' Treats

Hi-ya,

So yesterday I showed you the gift bags I whipped up for treats for our neighbors and today, I'm popping in to show you the coordinating cards I tucked into each bag.  These are simple enough that if you're running behind, you could still whip some of these up to use this holiday season!

 

Is it just me, or do you love seeing a little berry basket full of little cards and envelopes?  Makes me happy!

 

For the cards, I used the tag sale #5 die as well as a limitless layers die and a doily details die to create my focal point.  I stamped one of the images from Star of Wonder and punched it out with a 1 3/4" circle punch to top things off.

The sentiment is also from Star of Wonder and was stamped in smokey shadow ink to help tie in the gray from that super fun washi tape.  Um, I realize I'm a little late to the washi tape party, but man, is it fun to use and so darn easy too!  I just tore off a strip and added it to the card front, wrapping the right side around to the inside of the card just a bit.

Here, you can see that bit of washi tape peeking around on the inside of the card.  I stamped this pretty sentiment from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday inside the card, also in smokey shadow ink.

And since I had the washi tape out, I figured I might as well add a bit to the kraft envelopes.  Coordinating envelopes are always more fun, right?  :)  These envelopes are Papertrey's A1 kraft envelopes (3.625" x 5.125"), so the cards are a bit smaller scale to fit the envelopes.  

Here's the whole little ensemble before they got packaged up and delivered.  Fun!

Do you take little treats to your neighbors?  If not, I highly recommend it....it doesn't have to be anything major, just a little something.  It's a great way to meet your neighbors.....we met some of our neighbors this way, years ago (right after they had just moved in) and now, they're like family!

I hope you're having a great day so far.  Are you remembering to RELAX and ENJOYYYYYY the season?  :)  Christmas is in a week.  If you don't take time to enjoy the season now, you just might miss it!  

much love, sweet friends,

 

{Silent Night, Holy Night card supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Kraft card stock	Rustic Cream card stock	Hawaiian Shores card stock	New Leaf card stock	Star of Wonder stamp set	Stylish Sentiments: Holiday
Tag Sale #5 die	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies	Doily Details Collection dies	Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com

Gift Packaging For Neighbors' Treats

Hello there!!  Happy Sunday!  It's been a busssssssy weekend over here.....filled with lots of Christmas-y things like Christmas parties w/church friends, delivering treats here and there, visiting my Grandmas, etc.  Lots of busy, but the good kind of busy.  I'm happy to be home now with my fuzzy slippers on, feet up, fire in the fireplace, Christmas tree lights glowing and a puppy & hubby at my side.  (Or under foot, as the case may be.....the puppy, that is.....the hubby's not under foot.)  Ha.

One of the things we love to do each year is deliver some sort of little treats to each of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac.  I had great fun this year, dressing up simple kraft gift bags to hold those gifts.  I also created little coordinating cards to tuck in to each one.  For today, I thought I'd show you those gift bags, in case you want to use the supplies in your studio to dress up some gift bags for yourself this week. 

I used one of my Damask Snowflake dies to cut out a rustic cream snowflake.  On it, I added a scalloped tag that was cut from new leaf card stock with a limitless layers die and topped it with my favorite tag from the 2011 Holiday Tags stamp set, stamped in hawaiian shores ink.

The large hawaiian shores "tag", was cut with the wine bottle tag die.  I simply cut the top, rounded portion off of the tag.  I used one of the wonderful words: holiday dies to cut out the "merry" and stamped the "& bright" from the Wonderful Words: Holiday stamp set using ripe avocado ink.

Don't they look so cute all lined up in a row?  Heeee.....

I'll be back tomorrow to show you the little coordinating cards I tucked into each gift.  We had so much fun delivering these to each of our dear neighbors.  We took Windsor along while to help us play Santa.  You should have seen him sitting patiently on each porch, while we waited for someone to come to the door at each house.  Sweet boy.  He just knew if he sat like a good boy, he'd get some lovin' as soon as someone answered the door!  

So I dug out another old skein of yarn from the closet......you know, from a past crafty project that never happened.  You don't have any supplies like that at your house, do you?  Craft supplies that you bought but never got used for one reason or another?  I'm sure I'm the only one that has stuff like that in the closet.  :)  It's ok though, because I'm finally gonna use this bright gold skein of yarn (WHY did I buy this again?  Oh yes, I think it was because I was attempting to make yarn pom-poms to put on our suitcases to make them easily identifiable in the sea of luggage at the airport.  WHY would I want yarn pom-poms -- in Kansas City Chiefs football colors, no less (red/gold) -- on my suitcase, I ask you?  Perhaps because I was planning to make Bart some suitcase pom-poms in purple and white in honor of his beloved Kansas State University Wildcats.)  Thank goodness that project never actual came to fruition!  LOL.  And now that this yarn has sat, sad and unused, in the closet for 7 or 8 years, it will now be put to good use (sort of) as I use it to learn and practice the half double crochet stitch.  I've now crocheted my way thru an entire skein of old white yarn (single crochet stitch) and crocheted my way thru an entire skein of old red yarn (double crochet stitch).  I will now half-double crochet my way thru this lovely, lovely, extremely bright gold yarn.  :)  Wish me luck!  Haha.  Never mind that I'm not making anything actually usable.  The point is, I'm practicing the stitch a millionty times over and I'm having fun "crocheting" while I'm at it!  

I also bought some scrummmmmy wool blend yarn in a gorgeous shade of winter white.  I just look at it every day.  Once in awhile I touch it to remind myself of how soft it is (in comparison to this horrible old yarn I've been using from the closet - lol!).  I keep telling myself that one day, I will make something beautiful with that winter white yarn.  One day.  Just as soon as I learn a few more crochet stitches.  If you'll excuse me now, I must run to YouTube to see if I can find a half double crochet tutorial.  :)

Wishing you a lovely finish to your Sunday evening.....and if you're on the other side of the world and it's already Monday for you, then I wish you a very happy Monday!

xoxo,

 

{Neighbor Gift Bag supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Hawaiian Shores card stock	New Leaf card stock	Rustic Cream card stock	2011 Holiday Tags stamp set	Wonderful Words: Holiday stamp set	Wonderful Words: Holiday die collection
Damask Snowflake Dies	Wine Bottle Tag Die	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies	Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com

2011 Holiday Tags (+ Christmas Poinsettia & Star of Wonder - Day 5)

NOTE:  If you're here to see my Studio Calico Field Guide Blog Hop post, thank you for visiting!!  This is my second post for today, so be sure to scroll down to see my Studio Calico projects in the post just below this one!!  Hint -- there's a giveaway in that post!  ;)

Hello there and welcome back to the final day of the Papertrey Countdown for October.  That means that all of the new products that you've been getting peeks at will be available beginning tomorrow, October 15 at Papertrey Ink!

For today, it's another Group Post day which means that each of the Design Team girls have projects to share with you!  I've got a photo-packed post for you, so settle in and get comfy!

To start off, Nichole challenged each of us on the Design Team to create a card and tag using the new 2011 Holiday Tags stamp set as well as the Wonderful Words: Holiday stamps and dies, that Nichole designed.  I had SO much fun making these projects!  

For my card, I used the new Mega Mat Stack 3 die to cut out the raspberry fizz layer.  On top of that is some patterned paper from the Simple Valentine collection that I die cut with the new Tag Sale #5 die.  

Next, I used the limitless layers dies along with my FAVORITE image from 2011 Holiday Tags, to create the tag focal point.  I added a snippet of pure poppy grosgrain ribbon at the top of the mat stack layer, and topped it with a raspberry fizz button.

For that fun sentiment, I die cut the "merry" using one of the new Wonderful Words: Holiday dies -- love those -- and then stamped the remainder of the sentiment "Christmas to all" followed by "& to all a good night." using dark chocolate ink.  Such a simple card, really, but all of the elements work together so well to pack a powerful punch!

For my tag, I decided to go big.  Who says tags have to be tiny little things?!!  Ha.  This beauty will look darling tied to a kraft gift bag this Christmas.....I can't wait to wrap up a gift with it!

I used many of the same elements as on the first card, but I changed up some of the colors and such, for a bit of variety.  I love how well the tag & card coordinate, without being exactly the same.  

The base of the tag shape is again, raspberry fizz card stock, die cut with the new Mega Mat Stack 3 die.  (Love that thing.)  This time, I used the new Tag Sale #5 die to cut out a pure poppy tag that was added to the mat stack layer.  The same "Just for You" tag from 2011 Holiday Tags was stamped on rustic cream card stock with raspberry fizz ink and a scalloped craft circle was tucked behind.  I added a length of vintage cream twill ribbon to the top to hang the tag with, and then added a little bow on top of that.

This time, I die cut the "merry" from kraft card stock and simply stamped "& bright" from Wonderful Words: Holiday to finish off the sentiment.

Nowwwwww, I'd like to show you how you could use that same gorgeous tag image from 2011 Holiday Tags, to create a card ideal for year-round use.  I LOVE this card.  So many of my favorite things on this one.  

For the tag itself, I die cut kraft card stock with the tag sale #5 die and added a snippet of raspberry fizz grosgrain at the top.  

Can we pause for just a moment and talk about buttons?  I realize that some of you out there, don't really use buttons much.  They're just not your thing.  But for those of you that do.....for those of you that love digging thru your little button jars to find that perfect button for a project......I'm sure you'll understand what I'm about to say.  I LOVE that shiny, irridescent raspberry fizz button at the top of my tag.  I've got lots of buttons and I've dug thru my raspberry fizz button jar countless times before and never saw that button, but that is just about the prettiest fizzy button I've ever laid eyes on.  When I saw it in my jar, I knew it had to get some special use on this card.  I wish you could see it in person, in all it's irridescent fizzy glory.  It just makes me happy.  You button lovers, have you ever found a button that just made your whole face light up?  Please tell me I'm not alone in my button love.  :)

Anyway, back to the card.  So there is, of course, my favorite "Just for You" tag again, this time on scalloped raspberry fizz card stock as well as a doily details die cut.

Along the bottom of the card, I added a simple strip of card stock stamped with "Hugs & Kisses" from Wonderful Words: Holiday.

As for the background, the card base is rustic cream and to that, I added some Damask Designs patterned paper as well as some 2008 Bitty Box Basics paper and a stip of kraft card stock.  I machine stitched along the kraft layer.  Happy sigh.  I love bright pink.  And flowers.  And doilies.  And damask.

All righty, moving right along......next is felty little number using several new releases!

Firstly, is a felt poinsettia die cut with my new Christmas Poinsettia dies from pure poppy and hawaiian shores felt.  A hawaiian shores button was stitched thru all the layers with button twine to hold everything together.  I used the mat stack 3 die and the new Layerz Mat Stack 3 die to create the frame for my flower.  

THIS time, I die cut that same "merry" that you saw on my first couple of projects, from vintage cream FELT!!  How fun is that?!  And of course, the "& bright" is from Wonderful Words: Holiday.

One more felty poinsettia card for you -- once I started making the those darn felt flowers, I couldn't seem to stop!  On this one, I piled on the sparkle!  Christmas calls for sparkle, right?  :) 

I die cut the poinsettia layers using the Christmas Poinsettia Dies from pure poppy felt and the leaves from fine linen felt.  A Making Memories brad is holding the 3 flower layers together and the entire flower is mounted on a new Tag Sale #5 die cut.  Yellow Hero Arts rhinestones were added to the center of the flower, around the brad, and then I piled on the Martha Stewart glitters -- bronze and a chunky crystal glitter.

The sentiment was stamped in dark chocolate ink and is one from Christmas Poinsettia -- "May your heart be filled with joy this Christmas and always".

Ok, so one more project before we wrap up this marathon post!  I had to show you one more little somethin' featuring Star of Wonder, didn't I?  :)  So how about a set of simple gift tags?

These tags were made from some strips of kraft card stock.  I punched a hole in the top of the tag, so I could run some baker's twine thru it to hang the tags with.  The top two corners of the tags were rounded with a Corner Chomper.

As for the bottom of each tag, I simply ran them thru the Big Shot with one of my Edgers #2 dies, to create that pretty doily edge detail.  Love.  

A sentiment from Star of Wonder was stamped on the bottom of each of the gift tags and one of each of the Star of Wonder circle images was added as the focal point.

Each tag is layered on some Sweet Symphony patterned paper that was die cut with a Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" circle die.  A looped strip of pure poppy grosgrain and a button finish off each tag.

All right, Dearies......that's it for me today.  I so hope you leave today, feeling inspired and ready to get crafty!  I'd love to hear from you!

Don't forget that it's Group Post day, so be sure to visit each of the Design Team girls as well as Melissa Bickford, Tiffany Pastor and Beth Silaika, for lots more inspiration.

Nichole Heady

Mish Wooderson
Betsy Veldman
Heather Nichols
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Danielle Flanders
Jessica Witty
Lisa Johnson
Erin Lincoln

Thanks so much for coming by today.....I so appreciate you spending a part of your day with me.

much love, 

 

 

{Merry Christmas to All... Card supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Rustic Cream card stock	Kraft card stock	Raspberry Fizz card stock	Pure Poppy card stock	Simple Valentine patterned paper	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies
Big Shot die cutting machine	Pure Poppy Ribbon	Raspberry Fizz buttons

InLinkz.com

{Merry & Bright Tag supplies}

Rustic Cream card stock	Kraft card stock	Pure Poppy card stock	Raspberry Fizz card stock	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies	Big Shot die cutting machine
Vintage Cream ribbon

InLinkz.com

{Hugs & Kisses supplies}

Rustic Cream card stock	Kraft card stock	Raspberry Fizz card stock	2008 Bitty Box Basics patterned paper	Damask Designs patterned paper	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies
Doily Details Collection dies	Big Shot die cutting machine	Rustic Jute button twine	Raspberry Fizz buttons	Raspberry Fizz ribbon

InLinkz.com

{Merry & Bright Card supplies}

Rustic Cream card stock	Berry Sorbet card stock	Hawaiian Shores card stock	Vintage Cream felt	Pure Poppy felt	Hawaiian Shores felt
Hawaiian Shores buttons	Rustic Jute button twine	Mat Stack 3 die	Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com

{May Your Heart... Card supplies}

Rustic Cream card stock	Kraft card stock	Pure Poppy felt	Fine Linen felt	Pure Poppy Ribbon	Big Shot die cutting machine
Martha Stewart Glitter	Hero Arts yellow gems

InLinkz.com

{Nativity Tags supplies}

Rustic Cream card stock	Kraft card stock	Sweet Symphony patterned paper	Edgers #2 dies	Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle dies	Big Shot die cutting machine
Corner Chomper	Pure Poppy baker's twine	Pure Poppy Ribbon	Pure Poppy buttons

InLinkz.com

3-D Snowflake Ornaments

Hello there!  

I've got a fun project to share with you today.....did you know that the new Damask Snowflake Dies are perfect for creating gorgeous 3-D snowflake ornaments?!  Their larger scale makes them ideal for putting together ornaments that you can easily hang on your Christmas tree or even give as gifts and the best part is, you can create them in any color you'd like.  Not only are the results stunning, but this project is simple enough that you could even create these snowflake ornaments with your kiddos.  All you need besides the Damask Snowflake Dies is some card stock, a bit of ribbon, glue and gitter!

I've created two snowflake ornaments to share with you today.  For each one, you'll want to die cut 6 snowflakes.  As you can see in the photo above, I cut out 6 aqua mist snowflakes and 6 rustic cream snowflakes.

Next, you'll want to score each one down the middle and fold it in half, folding the front side of each snowflake inward.

Once they're all scored and folded, you can glue 3 snowflakes together, back to back.  I used a combination of scor-tape and Tombo mono-multi liquid glue for this.  

You should then end up with 2 "halves" of a completed 3-D snowflake.  When you have your two halves ready to go, adhere a loop of ribbon to the back of one of the snowflake halves with more scor-tape and then glue the two halves together, back to back.

For my ribbon loop, I used some 1/4" white silk ribbon.  Lastly, embellish the snowflakes however you'd like.  I used my mono-multi liquid glue again, to go around the edges of the snowflakes and then poured on the Martha Stewart glitter.

 

These snowflakes will look so pretty hanging on our tree this year and the glitter is sure to sparkle in the Christmas lights!

I used more Martha Stewart glitter on the aqua mist snowflake....this time in "white gold" for a bit of a vintage touch.

I hope you've enjoyed today's 3-D snowflake project!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

 

Rustic Cream card stock	Aqua Mist card stock	Damask Snowflake Dies	Big Shot die cutting machine	1/4" white silk ribbon	Martha Stewart Glitter
Tombo Mono Multi Liquid Glue	Scor-Tape

InLinkz.com

Birthday Gift Wrap & Other Birthday Fun

Hello there, Dearies....

So over the weekend, Bartley and I went to a birthday party for one of my sweet friends from church.  I've been super inspired lately, by Tara Anderson and her gift-wrapping posts for Crate Paper.  I wanted to wrap my friend's gift up really cute, so I headed to my studio to raid my crafty stash.  I had already made her a card (see photo above) and wanted everything to color coordinate with that card.  The sentiment on the card is from the Half & Half stamp set.  Love that set! 

One of the gifts we got her was a pair of earrings.  You know how earrings often come on a little card?  Well, I didn't want to remove them from the card in case she wanted to exchange the earrings, but I also wanted to really cutesy up that part of her gift, so I slid the card into a medium glassine bag and decorated the outside.

I have a basket on my desk that's filled with odds and ends die cuts and other embellies that I've made or cut out but haven't used on anything yet.  Admittedly, I'm not the best about using up those little goodies -- the basket is quite full, however I raided that basket and used lots of those items here.  The button card was one I'd created awhile back with the Button Boutique stamp set and Button Card die....it was just waiting for the perfect home and I definitely think this little earring bag was IT!  I also used a bit of Damask Designs patterned paper and some die cut borders made with the Banner Borders die. 

The earring bag got tucked inside the box along with the rest of her gift and then I wrapped everything up, taking care to color coordinate the wrapping with the card.

The little pocket is one that I'd created for a video awhile back using the Edgers #2 die, but hadn't used yet.  I used it to house a gift tag and added a die cut flower that I made with my Friendly Flower die, doily (Doily Details die), leaves (Harvest Berries stamp set & Harvest Berries die), a butterfly (Signature Series: Butterfly stamp set & die) and even a postage stamp (Postmarks stamp set & postage die).  It was so fun piling everything on the pocket!  The ribbon is some that my sister-in-law gave me not long ago.....a whole spool of bright pink ribbon.  I'm thinking I'll have no trouble at all, using that up!!  Ha.

The card was too wide for a standard envelope, so I just slid it into a large glassine bag and slid the bag underneath the bow on the gift.

 

The birthday party was held at my friend's in-laws "farm".  It's a really pretty house on a gorgeous piece of property out in the country with a lovely pond out back and when we got there at 5pm, the light on the trees and water was spectacular!

The birthday girl (Palloma) and her family are from Brazil and many of them only speak Portugese, so we had a BLAST listening to them talk to each other all night in their native language!  We also had a great time trying to communicate with the non-English speaking relatives!  So darn funny!

Palloma's Dad saw our camera (we know her as Laverne) and asked to see it.  He then proceeded to take LOTS of photos of Bart & I together!!  Haha.....we had our own mini-photo shoot.....with a mostly non-English speaking photographer!  LOL.  It was cracking us up.....he was telling us where to stand or what to do, but mostly he was having to use sign language.  Hahaha.  He took some really great pictures of us, and then again later, he took pictures of Palloma and her hubby.

Here's me with the birthday girl.  Isn't she gorgeous?  But you know the best part about Palloma?  She's equally as gorgeous on the inside.  She just radiates joy and I love that about her.  We haven't known each other for very long, but I'm really grateful for her friendship.  She's a gem, truly.

I couldn't resist snapping a few piccies around the property.  The colors everywhere were just soooo pretty.  Plus, it was so quiet and peaceful out there.  I'm telling you, if I lived out there, I think I'd never want to leave home.  Except maybe for Target.  And Starbucks.  And sometimes the mall.  :)

My friend, Palloma, and her hubby Josiah.  Aren't they adorable?!

Make a wish, Birthday Girl.  :)

I'm so glad I could share such a fun night with all of you.  I sincerely hope we get invited out to the farm again, someday!  Hee.  We had such a great time!

I also hope I've inspired you just a bit, to raid your crafty stash when wrapping gifts!  It's so fun and goodness knows, you've bought all of those crafty supplies.....you might as well use them whenever you can!!  Haha.  Hope you're having a great week, Everyone!

Much love,

 

Candy Cane Christmas, Holiday Lights & Think Big Favorites #8 -- Day 3

Hello there!!  This is my second post for today, so be sure to scroll down to see my Love Lives Here: Holiday group post!

For today, I have another really fun product to introduce you to -- one that I'm over-the-moon excited about!!  May I present to you, Damask Snowflake Dies!!!

Here is a look at the set of two dies.  I've included a punched out 1 3/4" circle for you for size reference.  These babies are BIG!  They measure approximately 3 3/4" in diameter and they're perfect for use on cards, scrapbook layouts and even gift tags!  I am in LOVE with these dies and I hope that after today's post, you will be too!  Not only do they cut card stock beautifully, but they cut out absolutely gorgeous FELT snowflakes!  Happy sigh.....

Let's get right to it......all of today's projects incorporate these dies along with each of my new stamp sets for this month.

First up is this super soft and sparkly snowflake card......GAH!  Um, can I just say FELT SNOWFLAKES......with GLITTER?!  SO fun.  I mean, seriously fun.  AND, may I just point out to you how completely simple this card is, and yet it looks really amazing, right?  These Damask Snowflake Dies make it SO easy to whip up gorgeous projects in no time!  I die cut both snowflakes from vintage cream felt and layered them together, stitching a button to the center.  Then, I used a Tombo mono-multi glue pen to trace around the edges of both snowflakes and then sprinkled on Martha Stewart coarse glitter in "crystal".  I love, LOVE how shimmery and sparkly this is in real life.

You might notice a pretty, scalloped edge peeking out below the snowflake.....that was created with one of my new Edgers #4 dies -- more info about those tomorrow!  After die cutting the bottom edge of the aqua panel, I swiped my fresh snow ink pad all around the edges to soften things up a bit.

The "Noel" sentiment from Think Big Favorites #8 was stamped along the bottom of the card in aqua mist ink.

Next up is a bright and cheery little number!  I started out with a hawaiian shores card base and die cut the bottom edge with an Edgers #1 die.  The white layer was die cut with the new Mega mat stack 2 die and on top of that, peeking out on either side, is a strip of pure poppy card stock that was die cut with another new die from this month's release -- Nichole will have more info for you about that in a few days!  ;)

Again, I die cut two snowflakes from raspberry fizz and pure poppy card stock and stacked them up (just think of all the snowflake color combo options!) and adhered them with foam adhesive.  Then, I topped them with a peppermint image from Candy Cane Christmas and a pure poppy button.

The sentiment, "Wishing you the Sweetest Christmas ever" is also from Candy Cane Christmas.  Before adhering, I inked the edges of each layer with vintage touch tea dye ink.

Mmmmm......here's a soft and sweet little number.  Again, so simple, but so striking, don't you think?  It's those snowflake dies, I tell ya!

I layered a scalloped strip of vintage book print paper to the kraft card base and added a dark chocolate snowflake as well as an aqua mist snowflake.  These were topped with a die cut circle of vintage cream felt as well as a large aqua mist button and a bit of rustic jute button twine.  (For those of you always wondering what to do with those large buttons in your stash, they work great on these snowflakes!!)

The sentiment, which was stamped in dark chocolate ink, is one from my new Holiday Lights stamp set.

Before I go, I couldn't resist showing you what cute gift tags and package decorations the snowflakes make!!  Who wouldn't love to receive a gift with a darling felt snowflake tied on?!!

On this plain old kraft gift bag, I adhered a felt snowflake with scor-tape!  It totally dresses up the bag and makes it gift-ready!

On this smaller gift bag, I chose to tie the snowflake on the handle with a bit of baker's twine.  So simple, but such a fun way to dress up an otherwise ordinary gift bag and turn it into something really special!

I hope you've enjoyed today's projects!!  What do you think of these new Damask Snowflake Dies?  Are you as excited about them as I am?

Be sure to visit Nichole Heady for more Countdown fun!  Melissa Bickford and Tiffany Pastor will have more peeks for you as well, at their newest stamp sets.

Thanks so much for dropping by!
Have a goodie!

{Noel supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Aqua Mist card stock

Vintage Cream felt

Vintage Cream button

Rustic Cream button twine

Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com

{Sweetest Christmas Ever supplies}

Stamper's Select White card stock	Hawaiian Shores card stock	Raspberry Fizz card stock	Pure Poppy card stock	Vintage Touch Tea Dye Duo ink	Pure Poppy buttons
Edgers #1 dies	Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com

{Happiness & Cheer supplies}

 

Kraft card stock	Aqua Mist card stock	Dark Chocolate card stock	Aqua Mist buttons	Vintage Cream felt	Rustic Jute button twine
Small Scalloped Border die	Big Shot die cutting machine

InLinkz.com