New Year's Party Favors

Hi Everyone!

It's been a very busy month, but I had a lot of fun creating Christmas cards, gift bags, gift tags, and stocking stuffers.  Crafting is most definitely addicting and even though Christmas is over I still have the urge to craft.

I wanted to create some simple party favors for the potluck luncheon we are having at work on Friday. I searched through Pinterest and Google Images, but couldn't find anything that worked for me. As I looked at the bottles of champagne and the sparkle of silver and gold an idea popped into my head. 

I went down to the basement and found tiny (just 2" tall) champagne glasses from the Dollar Tree store.  I looked through my stamps and in the Hero Arts "Celebrate Everyday" clear stamp set I found a stamp that says, "Happy New Year." 

I used a Sizzix tags die to cut some medium white tags.  I used Versamark Ink to stamp "Happy New Year" on each tag.  I used gold embossing powder to heat set each sentiment.  Then I stamped some stars on the tag and used red embossing powder to heat set them. 

I used gold and silver thin ribbons to tie the tags to the champagne glasses.  I put Hugs and Kisses candy in the glasses. 

 

 

Happy New Year!
Carol

PS  I have been sitting here looking at the favors I made.  I decided that they needed a little more sparkle so I added a thin piece of silver or gold ribbon around the top edge of each glass.  I used 1/8" Scor-tape to adhere the ribbon.  That simple addition of ribbon made the glasses even more festive!

Denami Design Faces

Hi Everyone!

I am excited about something I just made.  Snow people from Hershey Nuggets and Twix Fun Size Bars!  I saw some snowmen that were made from Hershey Nuggets on Pinterest and decided I'd make some.  While I was looking through for something to use for the snowman's eyes, nose and mouth I suddenly had an idea.  I knew that I had a Denami Design face stamp in with my Halloween stamps.  A stamp that I have used many times to stamp a face on a Denami Design pumpkin.  So I dug through my Halloween stamps, found the stamp I wanted and stamped the image onto a piece of 1" x 3" tag.  I adhered the strip of tag to a Hershey Nugget, added a hat, and my snowman was done.

The hats are fingertips snipped from dollar gloves.  I prefer the smoother "hats" to the fluffy ones and plan to pick up a few pairs of the smooth gloves. 

Well, I liked the little snowman heads, but then I thought why not make a full size little snow person.  I decided that Twix fun size bars were exactly what I needed.

Isn't she adorable!  I think I am going to package them up in sets of three. 

Here's the link to the stamp I used for the faces, right here.  Here's the link to some other adorable faces.  You have lots of great choices!

Enjoy what's left of this evening!
Carol

Gift bags Day One

Hi Everyone!

I've been giving my sisters, Paula and Pam, card sets as gifts for years.  Most of the time those gifts have arrived after their birthday or after a holiday.  Well, this year I changed things up big time.  I set a goal and I achieved it.  I am guessing that as I type this e-mail Paula's gift is arriving in Washington and Pam's is arriving in California. 

This year I didn't send them cards.  I am sure they both have a lifetime stash of them by now.  This year I made them gift bags with coordinating tags.  They can put gifts for their friends inside the bags. 

I posted a question on Facebook asking if people decorated one side or both sides of a gift bag.  Some people responded that they decorated just one side, while many others responded that they decorated both sides.  I decided to decorate just one side of all of the bags. 

I pulled out my 12" x 12" paper pads, some Martha Stewart Christmas borders, twine, and border punches and got to work.  My plan was to "dress up" the papers that I had.  My goal was to use supplies that were already in my stash.  I put a 2 to 2.5 inch header across the top of most of the bags and added a strip of a Martha Stewart border to those headers.

This was a paper from last year's Recollection's Christmas paper pad.  I added some tiny pompoms for the reindeer noses, wiggly eyes with tiny "pupils" for their eyes, bows that are from a roll of bows ribbon, and some sparkly stars that I bought at the Dollar Store years ago.  There are trees near the reindeer so I decided to add a Martha Stewart border that had trains delivering Christmas trees.  Note that the gift tag has a scrap of that train border on it. 

 

Next up a bag with a piece of holly patterned paper on it.

 



Note the holly border that coordinates with the patterned paper.  I used a Sizzix die to cut out the holly for the embellishment in the center of the bag.  The red scalloped circles and the white standard circles were cut using Nestability dies.  I used a Swiss dots embossing folder to emboss the white circles.  The holly is attached to the white circle with foam tape and the entire circle is adhered to the bag with foam tape.  The holly berries are buttons.  The holly sprig on the gift tag is a dimensional sticker.

That's it for today, but I have other bags to share another day.

Have a nice night!
Carol

Hershey's Nuggets

Hi Everyone!

If you search for "Hershey Nuggets" on Pinterest you will find a variety of adorable ideas on ways to use them to create a candy gift.  I put the 8 packages of 4 candies each that are shown below together in no time at all. 

The directions can be found at this link.  The pretzel bags that the candies are stored in were inexpensive and easy to find at Michaels in the candy making aisle.  I used some removable adhesive to adhere the candies to the paper tray.             

 

I used a Sizzix Scallop Tags Combo #2 die to cut my tags.  The sentiment was created from an Inky Antics wooden stamp, but I am guessing you have many different sentiment stamps that you could use. 

 

Have a great day!

Carol

 



I "wisk" you a Merry "Kiss"mas

Hi! 

Today I have another idea from Pinterest to share with you. 

I only made a couple of these, but they were so easy to make. The candy kisses slipped easily into the whisk.  They also slipped easily out of the whisk so I put a clear bag around them and added a strip of patterned paper to cover up the top of the bag.

I typed the sentiment on my computer and used a Sizzix Tags die to cut it out. 

I am planning to pick up a bottle of Wisk laundry detergent for Marie and adding a similar gift tag to it. 

Have a great day!
Carol

Reindeer Noses

Hi Everyone!

I know that it has been months since I posted anything on my blog, but I am hoping to at least post some of my cards and projects that I am making for Christmas and then we'll see what happens.  I use my blog as a place to store my ideas and then I use the search feature on my blog to me locate a specific creation.

Marie recently gave me Dan's old tablet.  Before I go to sleep at night I read on it for a while and then I ooh and aah over the amazing ideas that are posted on Pinterest.  Today I made multiples of some of those ideas to use as stocking stuffers for Robbie, Marie, and my sisters. 

First one of my favorites, reindeer nose.  I love the way my header turned out.  I used my EK Success reindeer punch to create the reindeer.  I cut the reindeer out of dark brown and kraft tag.  I trimmed the antlers off of the dark brown reindeer and then I adhered the brown tag to the kraft tag so that you could see the kraft antlers.  I used foam tape to adhere the reindeer to the header.  I added a rhinestone nose, a wiggly eye, and a cool fabric bow that came from a strip of bow ribbon that Toni gave me. 

On Pinterest the red nose is usually shown as a gumball.  I would have been happy to use a red gumball or a red hot ball, but couldn't find either one at Target so I decided to use Lindor chocolates that are wrapped in red paper in place of the gumball.  The brown "noses" are malted milk balls.

I typed the sentiment on my computer and printed it on patterned paper. 

The snowman idea is often made with a roll of Rollo candies.  I bought some Rollo candies, but they never made it to my crafting table.  Yeah, Robbie I am talking about you!  So in place of the Rollo candies, I used rolls of Mento candies. 

I cut the fingers off of some pairs of dollar gloves to use for the snowman's hat.  I used a variety of rhinestones for the eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons.  The scarf was created with a scrap of ribbon. 

That's all for today, but I will be back tomorrow to show you some of the other fun things I have been creating. 

Have a great day!
Carol

Even More Herbs & Honey

Hi Everyone!

Well, this may be a first.  I have used nearly every paper in the Basic Grey "Herbs & Honey" small paper pad that I bought a few weeks ago.  The funny thing is that I ended up not creating the cards for the person I originally planned and I didn't make the cards I had thought I would make.  But I have had a lot of fun using the paper and even using the scraps.

 

 

 

 

Have a great day!

Carol

 



Go, Marie, Go!

Hi Everyone!

As I mentioned a few days ago Marie has been studying for her OT exam.  I have been cheering her on by leaving little note cards on her desk.  She has been laughing at me and telling me that I "need a life." 

The other night I discovered that this is the background picture on her cell phone.

Ah ha!  She could have chosen any picture in the world for that background, yet she took a picture of one of her cards and used it. 

Here are a few of the other cards.

 

 

Have a great day!
Carol

Simon Says Stamp Lunch Box Dies

Hi Everyone!

About a week ago I watched a video by Jennifer McGuire and knew I NEEDED the lunch box dies and one of the stamp sets that she featured.  I learned about the video from her blog which I follow everyday.  Here's the link to the post that inspired me.

http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/2014/08/video-lunch-box-notes-for-kids-giveaway.html

I ordered the die set and one of the stamp sets from Simon Says Stamp and was thrilled when they arrived at my home just 4 days later. 

Marie has been spending hours each day studying for her OT exam.  I decided that some "lunch box notes" would bring a smile to her face.  They're working.  She laughs and says, "I'm crazy." and "I need a life."  Yet she's laughing and smiling with each of those comments. 

I've also been using the dies and stamps to create some cards for Jill's nephews.  Here are a few of the cards I made for them.

 

The layering paper that I used is from the dcwv "All About Boys" small paper pad.  The super hero image was already on the paper.  I think the sentiment works perfectly with it. 

 

 



This is one of the images and sentiments that I also used on one of the mini cards I created for Marie. As Jennifer suggested while I was using the dies I cut multiples of each die so I can easily grab one when I want one. 

The sentiment on this card is from The Alley Way Stamps "adoraBOWL" clear stamp set.  The layering paper is a Halloween paper that was in my stash.  The wavy lines appear to move as you look at the paper so I thought it was a fun one to use for a boy.

Have a great day!
Carol

More Basic Grey "Herbs & Honey"

Hi Everyone!

As I mentioned yesterday I am working with my "Herbs & HONEY" paper from Basic Grey and trying to use my scraps up as I work.  Here's one of the cards I made.

I originally planned to use this card the wide way, but now I am thinking that I like it the tall way.  Either way will work as it doesn't have a sentiment on it.

Love this next card.

The card is a "different" shade of brown. I love the way it looks with the floral paper.  I have become so comfortable using white embossing powder.  First I rub an Embossing Magic Pouch over my tag and then I sprinkle on the embossing powder.  After I heat set the powder I brush off any excess powder that's on the paper. 

This card looks similar to the previous one.  Same sketch.  Different papers. 

But that's okay.  I told you I am using up my scraps as I work.  I used some Maya Road and Mister Huey mists to add color to the white paper flowers.

Have a great night!
Carol

Basic Grey "Herbs & Honey"

Hi Everyone!

I had a 3 day weekend, but I was so busy it didn't seem any longer than a 2 day one.  I accomplished many tasks, but not as many as I had hoped to do.

Janet and I spontaneously went shopping at Absolutely Everything on Friday.  I bought 4 sets of clear stamps and a 6" x 6" Basic Grey "Herbs & Honey" paper pad.  I've already created 5 cards with it and hope to make a few more before I head to bed. 

Whenever I use a 6" x 6" pad to create cards I always end up with scraps that I eventually use, but I have decided to try to use them while I am still "excited" about the new paper. 

Here are three of the cards I made so far.

"Hello" was stamped with an A Muse Artstamp.  I used my Classic Circle Nestability dies to cut the circles.  The circle with "hello" on it is adhered to the card with foam tape. 

I used my Classic Square Nestability dies to cut a frame for the patterned square.  I think that the strawberry and floral embellishments are from Martha Stewart.  They've been in my stash for ages.  You cannot tell from the photograph, but the dots on the ribbon totally mimic the dots on the strawberries.  The sentiment was created with a PaperTrey Ink clear stamp.

The sentiment on this card was created with a clear stamp from PaperTrey Ink.

That's it for tonight.  Will hopefully have time to share more cards tomorrow.

Have a great night!
Carol

Bachelorette Party

Hi Everyone!

Marie and her friend made the cutest cookies for the Bachelorette Party they are hostessing this weekend.  I am guessing that they saw the idea on Pinterest.  Here's a sample of the cookies.

They used a heart shaped cookie cutter to create the sugar cookies and trimmed off the top of each heart.  Then they piped on the frosting and added tiny heart sprinkles. 

I was inspired by the cookies and decided to create a card to go with them.

I used clear stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Swimsuit Season" to create the bra and panties.  I used a hearts Nestability to create the "bottom" and the "top" and trimmed them just as Marie did for the cookies.  I used a stamp from Lawn Fawn's "Say Cheese" clear stamp set to create the framed part of the card.  The sentiment was created with a clear stamp from Lawn Fawn's "Just My Type Too". 

That's it for today. 

Have a great night!
Carol

Happy Birthday Robbie!

Hi Everyone!

I just studied my picture files and found quite a few pictures that I haven't shared with you yet.  Robbie and I had a hard time coming up with a theme for his birthday this year. We ended up going with red, white, and blue because we celebrated it on 4th of July weekend. 

I wanted his card to be more reflective of his interests. So I chose the animals that I have used on some of his other cards and put them together on one card.

 

The turkey was created with a Whipper Snapper Design's wooden stamp called "Let's Talk Turkey."  The owl, squirrel, and rabbit were created with Lawn Fawn stamps.  I used a Sizzix die to create the tree.

 

I glued the squirrel and turkey directly onto the layering paper.  I used foam tape to adhere the owl and the rabbit.  I wanted to give the turkey a little more personality so I gave him a pair of wiggly eyes and loved the way he looked.  Then I added larger wiggly eyes to the owl.  Looks good to me.

 

Robbie loved his card and added it to his collection.  He saves ALL of his cards. 

 

Have a nice day!

Carol



Red, White and Blue Thank You Cards

Hi Everyone!

My friend's daughter celebrated her 2nd birthday recently.  The theme for her party was red, white and blue.  Fran likes to send out handmade cards so I made her some red, white and blue thank you cards to go with the theme of the party. 

Here's the card I made for her daughter's birthday.

 

I used some mini glue dots to get the ribbon to stay inside of the straws. 

 

 

 

A while ago my friend Sandy gave me a cigar box that was filled with little bags of buttons.  There was/is a lifetime supply of red, white and blue star ones.  Thanks Sandy!

 

 

I used some of my standard circle Nestability dies to cut these circles.  I've got to use them more often.  I really like the results.  

 

 

The last card is my favorite.  I used some Maya Mist to tint the flower red.  I was trying to create a flower that was similar to the ones on the patterned paper and it worked. 

 

You can look at the sketch of each card, change the colors and sentiments and create cards for any occasion. 

 

Have a wonderful day!

Carol