Another Quick Gift

I was trying to think of something I could do a quick demo on to give my hostess when I did an in home workshop last weekend. The idea was to show how you could make a quick gift with Stampin' Up products. So I had a bunch of these small glass jars that you can get at Ikea or Hobby Lobby and thought I will put Hershey Kisses in the jar(for now) and fancy up the jar with ribbon and a design on the lid. After I made it, I changed my mind(of course) and made another item which used a larger number of our products. But I digress... This is a quick and easy item to make and fill with whatever the person you are giving this to likes the best. Personally, I think chocolate is a safe thing to fill a jar with because ALL my friends LOVE chocolate! You could also fill the jar with homemade candies or mixes. The supplies that I used for this project were:

STAMP SET: Berry Christmas

PAPER: Real Red. Old Olive, Whisper White

INK: Real Red, Yoyo Yellow

ACCESSORIES: Glue Dots, 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon(Old Olive), Scallop Cicle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch

The last few days, I just wanted to show you quick and easy items to help your gift giving easier. Well I am off now to paint. I am in the process of painting all my trim in my family room. Then I will edge in the wall paint. My husband does the painting with a roller but I have a steadier hand to do the more detailed work so I prefer to do that. Hopefully we can get this project done by Thanksgiving. Go out and enjoy your day because I know I will be stuck in the house, painting today!

Magnetic Gift Box

In the Holiday Mini, there is greatest packaging for gifts. It is the Magnetic Gift Box. For $4.95, you receive 2 gift boxes. They arrive flat, which is great for storage until you need them. But the boxes are 4" x 4" x 1-1/2" and can be used for your gift giving this Christmas. You can use them to place gifts of jewelry or any small item. After I assembled the box, I decided that I could spiffy up the packaging. I decided to make a Belly Band to place around the box. I used Old Olive card stock and paper from the Merry Moments DSP. I then took 5/8" Red Grosgrain Ribbon to tie a nice bow around the box. The Delightful Decorations stamp set was used to create a name tag for the package. What a quick and easy way to embellish a box for your gift giving! People will love receiving a gift with this simple but impressive packaging.

This is the season that we are always looking for quick and easy ways to give gifts. Hope this idea will help you make the Holiday gift giving a little easier. I intend to go out today and start buying some gifts for the upcoming holidays. I will be enjoying my day so go out and enjoy yours.

Gift Card Swap

On Sunday, My Up-line is having a meeting for all her down-lines. When we have these meetings, we always make a project or card to swap with the others. This is my swap for this month. It is a great idea to use as a gift card holder. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I think we are all thinking of gift ideas. This is a quick way to make gift card holders to make giving those gift cards a little more festive. All you need to have is an envelope. I folded the envelope in half, cut the flap at the fold. I adhered the left side flap to the envelope but left the right hand side open so that you can place the gift card in the opening. Then you just decorate the holder anyway you wish using card stock, Designer Papers, or a combination of both. Place ribbon underneath the card stock that you placed on the front of the envelope. After you place your gift card in the pocket, close the envelope and tie the ribbon. There you go, all ready to give a gift card to that special person! The materials that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: All Holidays

INK: Real Red

PAPER: Cocoa Specialty Paper, Real Red, Soft Suede

ACCESSORIES: Envelopes, Adhesive, 1/4: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

I put a very simple greeting on the front because the paper had such a busy design. You do not want to make the design busy when you have a busy background. It is just too much for the eye to take in. So if you need a quick and easy way to present your gift card, this is it. I received a swap with this pattern at a Regional a few years ago. There was no name on the back so I can not give them credit. But I thought it was a great idea. Thanks and everyone go out and have a great day.

November Technique Class-Card 1

This card is one that I will be doing with my customers in my November Technique Class. This technique is called "Cracked Glass". It can be called other names but I prefer to go with Cracked Glass because that is what it looks like. I like this technique because it tends to make your image look more vintage and that is why I chose the stamp set that I did. The stamp set is "WINTER POST" and I think it has a very vintage feel to it. I love the old time skaters and that is why I stamped this image in Chocolate Chip. I did not want to use a lot of bright colors in order to keep that vintage feel. That is why I used Very Vanilla, Real Red, Kraft, and Chocolate Chip card stock. I stayed with this color scheme even when I chose the ink colors. The red gives it a winter feel without taking away from the older look of the card. If you wish to attend my class this month you can contact me through my email or call me. I will be holding classes on Wednesday, November 11 at 7PM, Saturday, November 14 at 9AM, or Tuesday at 9:15 AM.

I have been working on projects over the weekend and will be posting more Christmas cards this week.

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

I am starting to get into the Christmas Spirit. Halloween is over and now my mind is focused on Christmas. Tomorrow I have a workshop at one of my friend's homes and we are focusing on what can be made for Christmas. So I have been busy trying to come up with some designs for my workshops, technique classes, last minute Holiday Stamp A Stack, and of course my own Christmas cards. Because people do not have a lot of extra time as we head towards Christmas, I tried to come up with very simple cards which are easy but still are impressive looking. I think this card is an example of that. It starts with 1/4 sheet of white card stock for the base. I took 3-1/4" sheet of that beautiful flocked designer paper from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper from the mini and folded a 1/2" flap and attached that to the back of the card base. I took Old Olive card stock and scalloped the one edge but also folded a 1/2" flap and adhered that to the opposite side of the base. I took the stamp set "BERRY CHRISTMAS" and stamped the wreath , berries, and bow on to Whisper White cards stock. I matted that with Real Red card stock and mounted it to the Old Olive card stock. I ran the Merry Details Sizzlet through the Big Shot and took the bird from that and place him on the wreath. Then the final touch was the sentiment on the inside along with the bird again, but this time sitting on a branch. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Berry Christmas, Many Merry Messages

PAPER: Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP

INK: Real Red, Old Olive

Accessories: Big Shot, Merry Details Sizzlet, Dimensionals, Scallop Edge Border

This card was so fast and easy to make. It would not take long to make a whole batch of them for the holidays. Elegant and easy. Your friends will love it! Enjoy your day but start thinking holidays!

I Think I Got It!

I think I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and why I couldn't get this scrap book page uploaded to my site. Please be patient with me while I try getting to used to all this new technology.

These are pictures my daughter took when she went to Las Vegas. I told her to take a lot of pics so I could use My Digital Studio to make her a book. This is one of my pages I made using her pictures. I think it came out alright. I love what Las Vegas looks like at night. I think she did a great job with the photos. And I am getting more used to using the program and so the next page that I make will be more complicated. Hopefully!

I went to the dentist today and had 2 temporary crowns put on my teeth. So I really did not feel up to posting anything until now. I had TMJ a few years back and so when I go to the dentist to have work done in my mouth, it becomes a bigger deal than for most people. I hope you can see the whole page this time and I hope you get to enjoy what is left of today.

Digital Card-Part 2

Using the My Digital Studio makes creating cards extremely easy. I was able to make this simple card in 10 minutes. I needed to make some Christmas cards for my daughter but I really did not have the opportunity to drag all my supplies out. I am not as lucky as some to have a craft room. When I stamp, I take over the whole dining room. No one in the house is happy when I do that. So this week, we had so much going on that I needed to keep the dining room nice and neat. When I got a request for cards, I thought My Digital Studio was the answer. I could create the cards without turning my household upside down. This was a big plus for me this week. My daughter loved the card and will be ordering them from me.

I love how easy it is to work on. I also liked that I could play around with colors without getting all my papers out or finding out that I ran out of the color I wanted to use. After she gets these cards, she could also add other embellishments to them. There are many ways that you can use this program. I am going to play around with it more today and see what else I can come up with. I know I will enjoy the time creating today. You enjoy your day also!