Christmas Gift Tags

A short post to share the Christmas gift tags we will be placing on gifts under our tree this year.

These tags were real simple to create and I was able to get them done quickly by creating a small assembly line.  I first cut strips of paper that were 2 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches long, and then punched the tops with my Tag Topper and rounded the bottoms with a corner rounder.  I proceeded to stamp the different text and images from the top of the tag to the bottom.  Cute red and white bakers twine was used to attach the tags to the packages.  I was able to get about 36 tags from just three sheets of card stock.

As with anything else that seems to come from my craft room - the hardest part is coming up with the design!  

Supplies:
Paper: White
Stamps:  Santa Stationary 
Ink:  Real Red, Ripe Avocado, True Black
Other:  Tag Topper Punch, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, Bakers Twine

Menu Place Cards

Thanksgiving is just a few days away!  Our house is in full prep mode - the hunting and gathering process has begun.  We hunt and gather the serving pieces, table extenders, extra seating and the ever popular multiple (matching) tablecloths that are stored in the basement and/or cabinets.  Am I the only person who irons tablecloths anymore?  Talking with my co-workers, I discovered most people don't even bother.  I find it VERY necessary..... I guess I'm a dying breed.  We are attached to our ever popular checklist:  we are adding things as we go and crossing them off as they are completed.  There is something to be said for physically crossing off an item on the To Do list.  As I type this, Jon is in the midst of mowing our lawn for the last time of the year.  He has announced that after the lawn is complete he will be rearranging the garage to make room for the snow blowers, as there is a prediction for snow this week!   Ugh.  Now?  Already?  Our guest list of 10 for Thanksgiving may end up as a party of 3.

On to a little crafting.... I decided this year to change up my place cards.  As you know, I'm a huge fan of them and find they calm the chaos just as the cooking has finished and guests move to the dining room.  It appears I have a creative block with how to change it up, so I finally decided to combine the menu and place cards.  As usual, I created them in PowerPoint and printed them out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Beauty "Advent Calendars"

My collection of small beauty samples treasures is out of control, and I found the perfect way to share these items with my sister and my bestie. While stuck in the vortex called Youtube, I stumbled upon multiple videos made by beauty gurus showing fabulous advent calendars manufactured by cosmetic companies filled with their products.  The store bought beauty advent calendars are popular in the UK, but harder to come across in the US.

When I thought of the idea to give my beauty samples away, my mind went first to the packaging.  I thought about assembling a proper advent calendar kit --- *blush* I actually have two in my stash waiting for me to put together and decorate.  However, the samples I wanted to include in the calendars are just too large for those kits.  So I went another route.  I wrapped some of the larger products in tissue paper, and others I tucked into boxes and bags created using the We R Memory Keepers Punch Boards.

Some of the samples I received free with cosmetic purchases (from places like Sephora), others came in a purchased subscription box (like Epsy and Fortune Cookie Soap), and the remaining items were bought individually (like the Zoya nail products).

When it came to numbering all of the boxes I created a quick Power Point file with standard circle designs in a size to fit my 1 1/2 inch punch...THEN I saw this stamp set from Stampin Up! and took another direction.  I'm thankful Stampin Up is so quick to ship!  I tucked all of the wrapped goodies in descending order into an open top gift box I found at a local Home Goods.  I made a little gift tag with the instructions "Begin December 1st with gift number 1.  Each day, open a new treat".   Not sure I could be so patient and wait to open 25 gifts!

Harvest Thanksgiving Card

Fall is here!  We live is such a beautiful state for the season.  The trees have changed color and the leaves are just beginning to fall.  The temperature is still warm enough not to need a coat.

This is the card we will be sending out for Thanksgiving.  I have to admit that I stole got inspiration from a thank you card I recently received.

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink), Rustic Cream (Papertrey Ink), Recollections Solids (Michaels) 
Stamps:  Fall Elegance (Papertrey Ink), Fancy Flourishes (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Canyon Clay (Papertrey Ink) Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink) 

What A Magical Day!

 A good day is when you meet someone from "the crafting world" and get a photo of the meeting.  The BEST day EVER (in my eyes) is when you are seated at the same dinner table with Tim Holtz, and discover he is pretty darn awesome to talk to....all while in the Happiest Place on Earth!  Tonight was that night for me.  I'm star struck. <<mic drop>> That's all for now.  :)

Wishing You The Happiest of Holidays

Our 2014 Christmas Cards are now COMPLETE!  As I mentioned in my previous post, I was able to knock them out while on 'vacation' in Ocean City, Maryland.  It's difficult to tell by the photo, but I used a clear glitter pen over the embossed snowflakes, which added a touch of sparkle to the cards without the mess of actual glitter.  I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out!

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink), Real Red (SU!)
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes (SU!), Think Big Favorites #20 (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Real Red (SU!)
Other:   Real Red 1/8" Ribbon (SU!), Red Bakers Twine (Papertrey Ink), Clear Glitter Pen (Wink of Stella), Snowflake Embossing Folder (Sizzix)

Christmas Cards with a side of Canine Crisis

Our annual beach vacation to Ocean City, Maryland brought on way too much excitement and heartache for this crafter.  Four hours after we arrived at our pet friendly timeshare on Friday, our 9 year old Yorkshire Terrier was attacked by a much larger dog (an unprovoked Weimaraner).  Thankfully, my husband was there to save Piper (and did NOT get hurt in the process).  Since the event occurred after regular business hours, we rushed him to a Pet ER 30 miles away.  Our little guy required surgery to fix his multiple wounds.  Thankfully, he made it through and we were able to get him from the ER the next morning.  Piper was heavily sedated and required constant care - we were basically on lock-down at the beach condo until we could revisit the same vet on Tuesday.  We passed the time by watching Netflix movies and I started our Christmas cards!

A few years back I decided to make our cards each year versus purchasing them, and always found myself pressed for time to get them completed.  I knew I didn't want to rush this year, so I made a card kit for myself just in case we had a rain day and were stuck inside while at the beach...little did I realize.

I set myself up on the coffee table in the living room of the condo right beside Piper and knocked them out between medication doses, hand feeding and general tending.  Made good progress!

Tuesday we took Piper back to the ER for a checkup and have his wound drain removed.  They gave us the green light to head out of town.  We ALL were ready to leave and get back home.  Thursday we took him to our regular vet for a check up.  He's on the mend though he still has over a week before his staples can be removed.  This pup is tough and his caregivers are so very thankful!

Shaker Cards

I finally received my Make It Market Kit: Shakers + Sprinkles from PTI a few weeks ago.  This kit was very difficult to order - their web site couldn't handle the high demand for this product and as soon as it was released, the site crashed.  The product sold out before some could even order, so PTI created a wait list for those of us who were not able to order.  After two months, mine finally arrived, and boy am I very happy with the kit.  I've tried to make a few shaker cards in the past (here) and found this kit makes it fool proof!

All of the paper used on these cards are from PTI.  (sorry about the glare)

Organization - Die Storage

My die collection seems to be growing in leaps and bounds.  I found a binder storage solution a few years back to house my wafer thin dies, but it's time to expand to something more flexible.

The picture on the left shows my current setup.  The photo box on the bottom left houses my embossing folders; nothing will change with that system (maybe I'll update the label on the front of the box).  The CD box on the top left houses four CD cases containing my Nestibilies (seems like a large box for four CD cases).  The two binders on the right measure 5 1/2  x 8 1/2 inches and I use those for my thin dies.  These two binders are stuffed to the gills and I needed to come up with a solution but didn't want to expand into another section of my Expedit.

Here are some shots of the way my binders were organized.  I purchased the binders from Staples (Martha Stewart) as well as the three different formats of page protectors.  The first picture below shows how I stored individual dies and smaller sets.  There are four pockets per page and I cut magnet sheets to fit into each pocket.  This controlled the placement of the dies and also gave the pocket some structure.  The next two pictures show a version of the pockets that have two per page.  The last picture with the book on the right shows a full sheet page protector, these are great for favor or border dies.

 

I've decided to take all the smaller dies out of these binders and use a system I recently saw on Jennifer McGuire's blog.  She uses CD sleeves and labels the sleeve with a P-touch label maker.  I cut white card stock to give the sleeve structure.  I also used the same method Jennifer did when it came to making dividers; I cut poly file folders (5 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches) and rounded the corners.  Since I already had a CD box housing my Nestibilies crying to be used, it's just a little switch-a-roo, and also not expanding outside the current footprint in my Expedit.  This will free up one of the binders for new favor and border dies (with just a purchase of new protectors).

2014 Graduate

Our friend's son will be graduating from high school this Saturday.  He'll be attending Drexel University in the Fall (where my husband received his B.S. Electrical Engineering).  We are giving him a gift card and a Drexel tumbler.  I always have gable boxes on hand so I decided to spruce one up for the occasion.  Thankfully both schools (the old and the new) are the exact same colors, so it made my choice easy!  I decided to create a simple tag for the gift box versus a card.

Supplies Used:
Paper:   Enchanted Evening, Recollections Yellow
Stamps:  Football Frenzy Additions, 2008 Holiday Tags
Ink:  Night Of Navy
Other:   Letterman Number Dies,  Letterman Number Mat Die, Mat Stack 1 Die, Mat Stack 1 Layers Die, Mat Stack 1 Mega Die,  Harvest Gold Felt

Wishing You A Very Happy Birthday

Our niece turns 18 next week.  Gosh, where has the time gone?  She's in her last months of high school and will be off to college in August!

This was my first attempt at a shaker card and since PTI will be coming out with a kit making them easier to create, I'll be doing more in the future!  I knew I wanted to make it bright and cheery (just like Rachel), so I chose to stack stripes of paper like a rainbow behind the text block die.

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Harvest Gold, New Leaf, Enchanted Evening, Royal Velvet, White
Stamps: N/A
Ink: N/A
Other:  Birthday die

Easter Bunny Bags

I made a few little "bunny bags" for Easter using the die from PTI and some felt.  I filled them with candies and put the recipient's name on the front.  A cotton ball adhered with Glossy Accents finishes it off with the perfect cotton tail. These would make cute place cards for an Easter meal or maybe a favor box for a baby shower.







Supplies Used:
Paper:  Fine Linen Bitty Dots, Beautiful Beads Pink Orange, Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz, Terracotta Tile, White
Stamps:  On the Links (for the eyes)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate, Melon Berry, Raspberry Fizz
Other:  Bunny Bag die, Raspberry Fizz felt, Melon Berry felt, Autumn Rose felt, Cotton Balls

Bride & Groom Card

 I finally made it back into my craft space where I hope my creative juices begin to flow again.  The new products that Papertrey Ink has introduced over the past few weeks sure are inspiring.  They finally came out with a new color of card stock, Tropical Teal!  Which is a color that I've been missing in my collection supply.  Also, they introduced a new Luxe Letterpress kit featuring a fantastic impression plate and die system and all kinds of embellishments and paper samples.   These two items gave me inspiration to create a card for the wedding of a relative in a few months.

On a non crafty note....we were able to get away for a few days to see my good friend in Ocean City, Maryland.  Piper was able to leave his footprints in the sand!

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Vintage Cream, Tropical Teal
Stamps: Luxe Letterpress
Ink: Versamark Watermark
Other:  Luxe Letterpress Impression Plate, Gold Sequins, Gold Embossing Powder

Ikea's Expedit And My DNA

Ahem....< tap, tap, tap > is this thing on?

Hellooooo (echo) helloooooo, is anybody out there?  It's been a while since I've posted.  Honestly, it's been a while since I've crafted.  General life events sometimes just take over.  I'm looking forward to getting back in my space very soon.  I'd thought I'd pop in and share some news I discovered this past weekend at my not-so-local Ikea..... hang on to your lingonberries:

THE EXPEDIT SERIES WILL BE DISCONTINUED.

When I first saw the 'last chance' signs in the store, I actually thought there was no way it could be true.  It took me a few moments to gain my composure and not freak out in the middle of a very crowded showroom.  Now, I realize I sound silly.  I hear ya, I get it....it's just furniture from Ikea (tiny voice in my head repeating "but it's the Expedit").   I've had my DNA tested a few times in my life and besides knowing that my mother and I share 50% and 23 segments of our DNA, and my sister and I share 44.2 % and 54 segments of our DNA, I also have a "panic the product is discontinued" gene.  If I own something that becomes discontinued, the uncontrollable need to acquire enough of that product to last a lifetime occurs.  It has happened with my Christmas dishes, my everyday dishes, any MAC eye shadow and now the Expedit.  Like many other crafters, I mix Ikea furniture in my craft space with other brands of furniture.  In my case, it's the Expedit from Ikea, Bedford from Pottery Barn and a splash of Stanton from Home Decorators.

After we returned home, I began to search for any information I could on the new news.  Here it is...an official statement from Ikea.  Not as horrible as I originally thought.  In a nutshell - new finish, blah, blah, blah, sides will be slimmer, kid friendly corners, blah, blah...new name is Kallax.  Here is the best part of this announcement - all the existing storage baskets and boxes will fit in Kallax.
Not Earth shattering after all.  Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Here's some shots of my old, now discontinued Expedit.

Punch Board Practice

Happy New Year!  I have been able to spend some time in my crafty space now that the holidays are behind us.  Thankfully I'm back into the swing of things and into my old routine.  I must admit I did not miss the 6:30 a.m. alarm clock, but it was a strange feeling creating my own schedule for those 10 days I was off work.

I received some really great craft oriented gifts at Christmas.  Obviously I really appreciate these types of gifts, not only because they are crafty, but also since I realize the folks purchasing those often aren't into crafts as much as I am.  It's probably boring to shop for such things if you don't have the same interest.  I'm very lucky, my family DOES gift me craft supplies (or craft store gift cards).  I'll admit, the items usually come off the wish list my DH slips them, but still it's so very appreciated!  From my mother I received two of the We R Memory Keepers punch boards, the Gift Bag board and the Gift Box board.  Here are a few items I've made so far using the boards.  (I purchased the Candy Box board prior to Christmas;  I used it a few times to present gift certificates!)

The boards will be very useful to create favor boxes for kids parties, as I am often making party packages for my friends to use.   They will also be great to create little gift holders for use at table place settings.   I can already see these being useful at Easter.

Punch Board Demos

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Lemon Tart, Hibiscus Burst, White
Stamps:  With All My Heart
Ink:  Hibiscus Burst, Scarlet Jewel, Lemon Tart
Other:  Heart Dies, Love Die, 3804 Floss, New Leaf Ribbon