Pinwheel Treat Holders

Knew I wanted to make free standing treat holders for July 4th so I dug out one of my older bag dies to use for the treat bag. Had already made lots of pinwheels using the pinwheel dies.. .. .. but where to go from there? I searched for the Sizzix bag die projects and this came up:

http://www.ablogcalledwanda.com/a-blog-called-wanda/2015/07/4th-of-july-treat-bags-happy-summer-.html

Her treat holders were too cute and although I do not have all she used on her treat bags I had enough products in the craft room to make my holders. Here is a photo of my Pinwheel Treat Holders:

To start with I used these dies for my treat holders:

This is the die for the treat bag:

This is the die for the top flap for the treat bag:

Second smallest die was used for the window on the treat bag:

Second smallest die was used for the greeting banner:

To begin with I used these pinwheel dies from Lil' Inker Designs to make the pinwheels: (Be careful -they are addictive! :0) haha)

First I cut out all the bags -- two pieces for the bags - front and back. Used the Spellbinders die on the front pieces only of the bags to cut out the windows. To keep the candies/treats from falling out of the the window I cut on the front pieces of the bags I needed to put something behind the window. I used the clear packaging I had on the work table from a metal die set I recently bought at a stamp show. I measured the window opening and cut the clear packaging piece a bit larger to allow for room on all four sides for red sticky tape. Once all those pieces were cut out I put them behind the window pieces before I assembled the bags and they were flat. This photo shows the clear packaging behind the window:

Using tear and tape I put all the bags together including the bottom. Set these aside. For the top flaps to the bags I cut out three of the Top Note die pieces using double sided card stock -- except -- the holder that has the red background and white stars is just a piece of one sided printed card stock. Since that is lighter than the double sided card stock it would not hold up well as a closure piece. To fix this problem I cut the stars print larger than what I would need for the die. Then I cut a piece of white/GP card stock to match and put these two pieces together using the ATG.  I cut out these with the Top Note die and now I had a thicker flap piece.

Cut all my banner pieces from various printed card stocks. Scored the Top Note die cut pieces in the center and used a bone folder to crease that fold. Used the ATG and put the banners onto the Top Note die cut pieces -- only on the front side. Using the ATG I added adhesive to the back side of these Top Note die cut pieces and put them on the back of the treat bags. But how to keep this treat holder closed????

Decided on a favorite -- velcro. I put the front and back velcro pieces together. Kept the plastic on the velcro and cut them in half with scissors. (If you take the plastic backing off the velcro and then try to cut them with scissors you will have quite the mess and glue all over your scissors).

Here is a photo to show my velcro:

After I cut the circle in half I removed the plastic backing and opened the flap on the bag -- put the velcro above the bottom edge of the holder. Carefully closed the flap and that puts the velcro backing piece on the bag in the exact place I needed it to be. Pressed down to be sure the velcro would stick to the treat bag piece. I put the velcro close to the bottom of the flap because my pinwheel was going in the center of the flap and I did not want the thickness of the velcro to be in the way of the pinwheel.

Using a stamp from 1997 by Darcies I stamped my holiday greeting with red ink onto scrap white/GP card stock. Used the banner die and cut these out. I put glue dots behind the pinwheel and held it over the closed treat bag to decide where to put the banner. Once that was decided I put the banners on with glue dots and then pressed a pinwheel onto each bag.

The pinwheels were made using double sided card stocks -- these two holders I used the same card stock for the pinwheels but they look totally different depending on which side is the outside of the pinwheel:

At the bottom of the blue treat bag I used the star die from the Mini Treat Bag die set from SU and scrap white/GP card stock:

Used paper shred from the dollar store inside the treat bags and holiday candies from Hershey and Almond Kisses fill them up. Added three stars to the kraft card stock treat bags using glue dots. Easy holder to put together and I esp like they are free standing. Thanks to Wanda for sharing her ideas for this treat bag!  TFL  

Tussy Mussy Treat Holders

Today I made two of the Tussy Mussy Treat Holders that will hold some small chocolates. These are mini Tussy Mussy holders in that they are made from the card board toilet paper rolls. They can also be made using paper towel rolls cut to the length you want. Here are the two Tussy Mussy Treat Holders I made:

To begin with here are three of the card board toilet paper rolls that I began with, although I have only made two of these so far:

For the green holder I used scrap card stock and cut that approx 4 x 6. I ran the printed card stock over the bone folder to make it bend easier around the card board tube. For both of my treat holders I used tear and tape to put the printed card stocks onto the tubes. Once they were on the outside of the tube I used a glue gun and closed the bottom of the treat holder. I used binder clips to keep this closed until the glue cooled. Using a matching strip of printed card stock I cut that approx 4 x 1 and put that inside the open end of the treat holder. You will see the inside of your holder when you have your treats inside and having the printed card stock inside makes your holder look more finished. Here is a photo to show the binder clips:

The black floral treat holder has a piece of printed card stock from a 6 x 6 pack of card stock. Trimmed that to size for my holder and the inside.

With the card stocks on the card board tubes now I could decorate them. For the floral I used white trim for the bottom with a string of pearls across the top of that. Both of those are from Hobby Lobby. I used the glue gun to attach the trim and the pearls:

For the handle I used satin pink ribbon and pink satin ribbon trim around the top. To decorate the front I put three flowers together with the glue gun and added a pearl to the center of that. Then made a flower from black tulle and put the stacked flowers on top of that using the glue gun. To the back of this I added a small strip of pearls and used the glue gun to add this to my treat holder front:

For the green holder I had the green flower in the stash. Used Pearls shimmer mist and spritzed the flower to give it some shimmer. Using the leaf die from the Heartfelt Creations All Geared Up die set I cut out two green leaves from scrap card stock. Sponged the edges of the leaves with green ink. Used the glue gun to put the leaves behind the flower:

Put these onto a black feather using the glue gun. For the trim pieces on the green treat holder I used gather black trim and added a strip of green sequins on top of that:

Used this same trim for the top of the holder but did not add the green sequin strip to that. For the handle for this treat holder I used black velvet ribbon from the stash and the glue gun:

This photo might show the shimmer on the flower better:

Both holders have room for a tag or a greeting tag or a beaded stick pin or other accessories to dress them up before filling them with chocolates to be given away. A change from the same old same old box treat holders and each one looks different depending on the card stocks, trims, and accessories you add. Good use of the pads of 6 x 6 card stocks as well. TFL

All Geared Up Birthday Card

Last weekend went to the stamp show in Chantilly, VA and I bought this die set from the clearance basket at the Heartfelt Creations booth:

I had seen a card done by Heartfelt Creations using this die and since it was discontinued I figured I had better pick it up while I could. I searched for other cards made using this die and since I needed a masculine birthday card I decided to make this card first:

I had seen a card by Jeane V on her blog and she had the how-to's to get these colours on the die cut pieces for her card:

http://jvcreate.blogspot.com/2015/08/lets-get-geared-up-with-heartfelt.html

Did not have all the products she used but used what I had on hand. First I cut out scraps of #110 weight white card stock from Mikes for the gear die cut pieces. Then added a red, blue, and brown distress inks to my die cut pieces:

With that done I then used the Walnut distressed ink to over the die cut pieces. Using the dark brown ink over these pieces really knocks down the red and the blue:

Did not have the inks she used to add the finish to the die cut pieces so I used Perfect Pearls since they were already in the craft room. Used a cup of water and a small paint brush and I added the bronze, then the gold, and then the silver Perfect Pearls to these pieces:

With the die cut pieces cut out, then the distressed inks added, followed by the Perfect Pearls I set these pieces aside and worked on the rest of the card:

Cut and scored the Crumb Cake card stock base. Found a dark plaid printed card stock in the stash and cut a piece for the card front. Cut a piece of rust card stock smaller for the card front. Using scrap cream Close To My Heart card stock I embossed a piece using a diamonds embossing folder. Once that was done I cut it to the size I wanted for the front of the card. Using the distressing tool I distressed the edges of this piece. Using the Walnut stain sponge I added colour over the embossed piece.

Stamped "Happy Birthday" onto scrap Close To My Heart cream card stock for the greeting piece. Cut it to the size I wanted for the card and trimmed a piece of rust card stock to fit behind that. Put these together using the ATG. Using the ATG I put the plaid and the rust card stocks onto the card base. Used a piece of brown dotted card stock across the front of the card. Put the embossed piece on top of that. Using the ATG I put the greeting piece on the card front.

For the gear die cut pieces I used two brads that are screw heads and one square brad. Cut the gear pieces apart and put them on the card front using glue dots and liquid glue. Added a few pieces of the chain die cuts. Here is a closer photo of the shine on the gear die cut pieces:

Thanks to Jeane V for sharing her card and her how-to's to get the card stock die cut pieces to have a metal finish look to them. TFL

Treat Holders - Patriotic

Made some patriotic treat holders for July 4th:

Bought the paper patriotic cups at the dollar store -- 8 for $1.00.  Filled that with paper shred and candy treats. Used a cellophane bag from the candy aisle at the craft store to keep this in tied it closed with ribbons and added a patriotic decoration from Hobby Lobby to the center. Used a felt star with adhesive back to put on the front of the bag. Here is a better photo of this holder:

The Tootsie Pop holder is a die from MFTstamps.com and I used white card stock for the holder base. Used the Stampin Up Solid Strip stamp to add stripes to that, front and back. Sponged the edges of this using Stampin Up Crumb Cake ink. For the flower on the top I used the Stampin Up stamp set Triple Treat Flower and used the 5 Petal Flower punch and the Fancy Flower Punch to punch out the flowers. Here is a closer photo of this holder:

Used red and blue inks for the flower. Tied them onto the holder using red and white twine. Added small stars and clear crystals to the front of the holder using glue dots. The Fancy Flower Punch is good for flowers but also comes in handy at holiday time for the Gingerbread guy:

This third project is an older die from Lifestyle Crafts that I recently picked up at a used stampers sale for $10.00:

Perfect sized box to hold three of the Ghirardelli candies. Added some patriotic decorations:

For the box I used Kraft card stock from Paper Trey Ink. Cut and formed the box. Sponged the edges using Stampin Up Crumb Cake ink. Used a star circle frame die set from Spellbinders for the star circle behind the 4th. Used a circle punch for the blue circle and the white circle. Layered these together using glue dots. The "4th" is part of this stamp from the Hobby Lobby stamp line, Stampabilities:

Used a red marker and the huff method to stamp the "4th" for my white circle. The small red stars around the greeting on the box front are stars that the die cut out of the frame. "Celebrate" is a stamp from a summer stamp set from Paper Sweeties.  Used the Stampin Up Classic Label punch to cut that out. On the two sides and across the bottom of this box I added patriotic washi tape:

Used the Stampin Up Mini Gift bag die and make a small bag to hold a couple of the fun sized candy bars. Wanted to make a shiny bag and decided to use a roll of red gift wrap from the dollar store for my bag. Used accessory dies in that die set for the decorated pieces on the bag front:

With the bag front decorated I added white paper shred from the dollar store and the candy bars:

Easy treat holders to put together and best yet -- they are all full of chocolates!! TFL

Stained Glass Butterfly Card No. 2

Another card using the Sue Wilson Stained Glass Butterfly die. Had seen this video on Youtube using this die but had none of the products used so I made this card with supplies on hand:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X3W66DT1gg

Very good video and she offers a lot of tips and how to's -- but I do not have anything on hand for the Pixied and Beaded Techniques. Using cheap watercolour paints that I have on hand here is my version of her card:

Used #110 black card stock from Mikes and cut and scored that on the side. Used the Sue Wilson Stained Glass Butterfly die and cut out the black die cut piece. Using Strathmore watercolour card stock I used cheap watercolour paints from Mikes.

Watercoloured a piece of Strathmore card stock larger than what I needed. Set it aside to dry over night. Using the Stick It sheets from Ken Oliver I put the die cut piece onto the dried watercolour piece:

As done in the video I punched out flowers from scrap card stock and for my top flower layers I used cheap colored vellum flowers from Mikes I had on hand. Used a black Sharpie marker to cover the center crystals in black. Added sprig pieces and a leave die cut piece behind the flowers:

 

Used a stitched frame die and cut out the white frame to go around the black die cut piece. On this card I put the butterfly body on the card and added three black crystals to the upper left corner to help balance out the flowers on the bottom right corner:

Easy card to put together -- only time that was long was waiting for the watercolour card stock to dry! Good video to watch for tips for this die -- thanks to Sue Wilson for such a nice design. TFL

Stained Glass Butterfly Card. No. 1

Recent trip to Daphne's store, the Paper Muse in Matthews, NC, brought this new die by Sue Wilson into the craft room:

LOVE Daphne's store with all her inspiring cards on the wall near all the products she used to create them. She had a card hanging on the wall near this die and for her card she used a shimmer sheet for the background... Simple enough and a pretty card so the die came home with me.... only to find I did not have the same colour shimmer sheet Daphne used so I used what I had on hand. Here is my card:

VERY hard to photograph shiny cards but this is the best I could get. Cut out the turquoise card stock using the die and then decided to use the Stick It die adhesive sheets by Ken Oliver to get the die cut piece to stick to the shimmer sheet. These Stick It sheets are great - they are perforated so you are not spending twenty minutes trying to peel a corner off to get it started and they leave no messy residue which would easily show up on the shimmer sheet:

Cut and scored the white card base from #110 weight card stock from Mikes with the scored line at that top. Using a stitched rectangle frame die I cut out a white/GP frame and put this over the shimmer sheet/die cut piece using red sticky tape. Then used the foam edges of my pop dot sheets behind the white frame to raise it off the card front for dimension.

Did not want a greeting to cover my die cut piece so I used the SU stamp set Lotus Blossom and the "thank you" stamp from that set for the greeting. Stamped it with turquoise ink onto scrap white/GP and punched it out with a circle punch. Then punched out a scalloped circle using scrap turquoise card stock and put those together using the ATG. Put this onto the lower right corner using glue dots:

Problem -- wanted to put something in the center of my flowers so tried Stickles and also the white Pearl Pen but not sure what would stick to the shimmer sheet and look good -- did a sample of each and decided to use the white Pearl Pen. They both stuck well but the Stickles was too glittery for the shimmer sheet. Here is a photo of the Pearl Pen flower centers:

Love Sue Wilson dies not only for the details but the designs and how well they cut out. TFL

Tri Tranquil Tulips Card

Just made some cards using my new Stampin Up Tranquil Tulips stamp set and wanted to make a card with different colour of tulips and here it is:

Card stock base is yellow card stock. Embossed a piece of white/GP using the Cuttlebug embossing folder Caramelo. (Used two sheets of that to emboss at the same time so my image is softer and the folder does not tear the card stock during embossing). Cut and scored the yellow card stock base with the scored line at the top of the card. Trimmed the white embossed piece and put that onto the card stock base using the ATG.

Decided I wanted to have a pink frame around my tulips so I cut that out using a stitched scallop frame die. Using a piece of white/GP larger than what I would need I stamped my imagine. Started with the three stem stamp and then stamped the tulips. Once those were stamped I stamped the leaf stamps. Then the stems and purple flowers at the sides of the tulips. Then stamped the black centers to the tulips using a Post It note so these are not so high.

Once all the stamping was done I laid the scalloped pink frame over the stamped piece and used a pencil to trace around the pink frame. Trimmed the excess off the tulip piece using a trimmer and used TomBow glue to put the pink frame piece over the stamped tulip piece. Wrapped pink and white twine around the bottom of the frame piece. Tied a bow on that.

For the greeting "hello" I used the Gina K Designs stamp set Simple Flowers. Stamped it onto scrap white/GP and cut that out using a banner die. Put this on the framed piece using mini glue dots. Added pop dots to the back of the frame piece and put it on the card front.

To add some sparkle to the card front I used clear Wink Of Stella on the black centers of the tulips:

Hardest part was deciding what colour tulips I wanted to put together. Easy two step stamp set to use since it is clear stamps and you can see where you are stamping. TFL

When Plan A fails . . .

When Plan A fails . . .  Off to Plan B . . .

Prior to the new Stampin Up catalog being released videos on new products popped up on Youtube and stamping blogs were showing new projects made with new stamp sets and dies. I waited for my new SU catalog to be delivered and was happy when it arrived. I had already seen cards made using the new Tranquil Tulip stamp set and had made up my mind that that would be a stamp set I would be buying.

Looked through the catalog -- but nothing really caught my eye other than one or two of the embossing folders. Plan A for me qualifying for a Host stamp set was out the window -- off to Plan B. Checked with Ebay and no one had listed Tranquil Tulips stamp set so what is a stamper to do??? I signed up for a "watch item" on Ebay and waited to get notification when this stamp set was posted for sale. Figured it would take awhile to hear anything -- imagine my surprise two days later this stamp set was posted for sale!

Had not really thought about how much I would pay for this set if and when it was posted but I checked out the Ebay listing. Brand new stamp set not used. This stamp has 22 stamps and I was surprised the seller was asking a low price for the set. Lucky for me it was a "Buy It Now" price and so I did and three days later it arrived. Here is the first card I made using a new favorite stamp set of mine, Tranquil Tulips:

White card stock base is #110 weight from Mikes. Print is from the stash. Used a stitched scallop die to cut out the tulip piece. All inks are from SU. Added clear sequins to the card front:

This next card is has more detail than the first:

Card stock base is #110 weight ivory from Mikes. Print is from the stash. Used cream card stock for the stamped piece from Close To My Heart. For this card I used the tulip stamps, the small flower stamp (Hyacinth?) and a small dots stamp in the set. Added a bow to the front of the stamped piece. For the "hello" stamp I used the Stampin Up Teeny Tiny Wishes and I used the "hello baby" stamp and just inked the "hello". Used a small tag punch to punch that out.

This next card was inspired by this video on Youtube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdjDTJfxGV4

Card stock base is on ivory #110 weight card stock from Mikes. Used prints from the stash. For this card I used a doily die and cut out a piece of cream card stock from Close To My Heart. With all my pieces of card stock I cut them out, distressed the edges, and I used a dauber and added SU Crumb Cake ink to the edges. Added twine from SU to the front of the stamped piece and added a pearl to the center of the twine. "thinking of you" is a stamp from the new to me stamp set Peaceful Petals. Thanks to Areli for her video for this card filled with tips and tricks. Here is a closer photo of this card:

For the black parts of the tulip - stamens? For the first card I stamped that stamp on the edge of one of the curves of the tulip so you see those clearly. For the other two cards I used a Post It note and placed that even with the curve of the tulip and stamped it so you see them peeking out of the top of the tulip -- here is the Post It note to show I stamped it over the edge:

Tips and tricks I learned using this stamp set for the first time. First I cut my piece I was stamping my tulips on a bit bigger than I was needing. This allowed me space to use a frame die or to trim this piece closer to the stamped image. The first stamp I stamped on this was the stamp with the three stems. Then stamped the tulip stamps. Once those were stamped I added the leaves so that the leaves were not stamped over the tulip flower image.

With both the coral tulips and my pink tulips I stamped the base tulip in a lighter ink, then the detailed tulip stamp in a darker ink, and then stamped that stamp a second time to add colour and depth to the tulip. This stamp set has the look of watercolour stamps so it will seem "splotchy" when you stamp but it is meant to stamp like that.

I used different inks for all my leaves/stems and flowers and each card looks different. This stamp set is a favorite in my stamp room for sure. TFL