Candy Cane Seeds

Had to make something up quick for the craft show for Saturday . .   what are the holidays without a candy cane or peppermint candies? Did not want to make the Elf Pillows --- had done that before . . .   Did not want to use the candy canes as antlers for the reindeer . . . found a candy cane seeds poem but it was too long for what I had in mind . . .   so off to my bakers rack of loose stamps I have and I found this candy cane stamp from Hero Arts.

Used Stampin Up Riding Hood Red ink and stamped this onto white card stock from GP/Walmart. Using the Spellbinders Labels 8 dies I cut out the candy canes using the Cuttlebug. Then used a small circle punch and made a hole on the upper left corner of the tag and added red/white twine. Using candy making bags from AC Moore ( 4 3/4" x 3" )  I put four peppermint candies. Used red ribbon to tie the bags closed and ran the ribbon through the twine on the tag to attach that to the bag. Added red Stickles to the berries on the holly on the candy cane stamp.

Using the computer I printed out onto red card stock from the packs of card stock from Michaels and that says "Candy Cane Seeds". I used the Stampin Up Word Window Punch to punch that out and used my ATG for adhesive and put that on the bottom of the tags. See better photo below:

When I put the candies in the bags I put them in there and then made them flat so they lay flat or can stand up in the holder I will be using for them:

Did these in assembly line style and they went together rather quickly. Wanted something quick and easy and very Christmasy and what is red/white or candy canes/peppermint but Christmasy?

This is the last craft show I am doing this year and the first one was in August so I had Boo Day (Halloween) items, then Autumn and Thanksgiving and a little Christmas. Last month I did a craft show the week before Thanksgiving so I had Autumn and all my turkeys for Thanksgiving and about 1/2 of my table was only for Christmas. This show is only Christmas items and although I have some items that are not the typical red/greens for Christmas I still have to remember to keep some of the traditional items. Peppermint candies with kids are always better than a candy cane -- you do not have to hear the tears if the candy cane breaks, or they get 1/3 through the candy cane and want you to hold it . . . so these candies are just the right size to satisfy your taste for peppermints.  TFL

Sympathy Card

Always sad to have to make a sympathy card but I tried to make one that is not all black. Best girlfriend of mine -- her husband worked with his friend for 18 years and the friend retired last week . .  one week later he passed away in his sleep. Wanted to make this card but needed it to be masculine. The photo does not show the ribbon as choc brown but it is. The card base is Choc Chip card stock from Stampin Up and I used a piece of lighter brown behind the top cream piece --- both are also SU. The ink for the tree and words is SU Close to Cocoa ink. I used the SU stamp set "Thoughts and Prayers" for the tree and for the inside piece. The saying on the front "Blessed are they . . ." is a stamp from Stampabilites at Hobby Lobby. On this stamp by "Matthew 5:4" is a flower. I inked the stamp and then put a piece of painters tape over the flower as I wanted no flowers on this card. Did not want to make a black and white card so opted for the browns and creams. It is always sad to make a sympathy card but it is something we need to do -- life is just a reminder to not make life long plans for 'when I retire' but plans for today for that is all we have . . .

As for this stamp set --- this is a set of 4 stamps and SU put it out with 1/2 the amount of wood blocks for mounting. This means you have two stamps per wood block. Do not like that but it is what it is -- to easily see what stamps are in this set I used a piece of copy paper and stamped each stamp onto that and cut it to size. I put this stamped paper in the clam shell box with the stamps so I can easily read what these stamps say:

This set of stamps -- the trees --- can easily be used on many cards and this stamp set also has a stamp for Get Well wishes. TFL

Two Tags with embossing

These are tags I made using the Stampin Up Bigz Two Tags die. You could use these as gift tags or put coupons in there for free babysitting or bartering for items -- lots of ideas. I did not use the tags as they were cut . . . I also used embossing folders and a Cottage Cutz Reindeer die . . .

For the tree tag I cut the tag out using Kraft card stock from PaperTreyInk and then used the trees embossing folder by Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) to emboss the front piece. Using SU Close to Cocoa ink I sponged the ink over the tree impressions and also on the edges of the tag. Used scrap green card stock and using the Fiskars tree squeeze punch I punched out a tree and put a little gold star at the top. Used ribbon from the stash. Here is a close up of the tree tag:

For the reindeer tag again I used the Kraft card stock and for that embossed front piece I used the Reindeer embossing folder from Cart-US.  I then used the SU Close to Cocoa ink to sponge over the deer impression and the edges of the tag. Used the Reindeer die cut from Cottage Cutz for my reindeer head and added a red crystal for his nose. Again ribbon is from the stash.

The best gifts need not come with a receipt--swap babysitting for baked goods -- yard work for painting a room -- the list is endless as to what you could use these for beside a regular gift tag. They are also a perfect size if you want to enclose cash.  TFL

Treat Holder from tags

Used the Stampin Up Bigz Two Tag die for this treat holder. I have four candy nuggets inside and I cut and wrapped the nuggets with the printed card stock. This holder is made using two of the larger tags from the die. I used red card stock from Stampin Up and the holly print card stock is from Joanns. I cut two tags from the red card stock and one tag from the printed card stock. I then adhered the print to the tag. Then used red sticky tape to put the bottoms together. See below:

I wanted the printed card stock to be on the bottom as well rather than having to cut it off.  Here is a photo of the wrapped nugget candies inside:

After I wrapped the nuggets I used glue dots to keep them inside the tag holder. This is the back of this holder:

Quick and easy to make up and good use of a die that makes tags only. TFL

Season for Tags #2

Can't really make holiday tags with Santa and not tags with snowmen . . .   but as I began this project I soon found out the Murphy's Law theory can apply to the craft room....  :9(      Knew I had a Sizzix die for snowmen but it is Snowman #2 and too large for the tag size I was using. . .   ah ha --- knew I had the Martha Stewart punch to build a snowman but on the size tag I was using he was quite small . . .  rather than hop in the car and head to the craft stores I decided I would have to just make my own snowman.... I may be creative and crafty but have difficulty drawing a circle -- even if I trace a nickel . . .  but I have many of the circle punches so what to do???

Trial and error --- what I did was use white card stock from GP (Georgia Pacific @ Walmart). I cut the card stock sheet in half and ran my tape gun all over the one side. Then I put the other half of the white card stock on top of the adhesive piece. I then smoothed this out with my hands. This will give me a more sturdy snowman for my tag as it is a double layer. I will be using pop dots behind him on the tags and the double layer will help to prevent him from getting bent or ripped. I ended up with both tags using two punches for my snowmen. See below:

The tags are from the tag die by Sizzix Tags, Scallop Combo #2 and I used the largest size tag. I cut them out of Kraft paper from PaperTreyInk. The blue tag I used scrap blue card stock for the top and cut out about 1/3 of the tag with that so I would have a tag topper of this. Then used snowflake card stock from Hobby Lobby for the print and also cut that out with the die and used 2/3  of that on the tag. Then used a small scallop punch and a small circle punch for the greeting. I used a stamp from the Stampin Up Holiday Sampler for that. Used SU Bashful Blue ink for that and also sponged that on the edge of the blue piece and then the edges of the tag. The snowman for this tag I made using a 3/4" circle for his head and the body is the  1 1/4" circle punch. Once I had those together I again sponged the edges of him with the blue ink. Used twigs for his arm from the Sizzix Snowman #2 die and his hat is the Build a Snowman punch from Martha Stewart. Cut out a scarf for him and clipped the ends of his scarf so it looks like fringe. Added two blue ribbons for the top and he is done.

The Kraft paper tag on the right is just Kraft paper from PaperTreyInk and I put that in the Snowflakes embossing folder in the Cuttlebug. This folder is from Sizzix and it is the Plaid and Snowflakes set. For this snowman I wanted him to be larger so I used a 1" circle punch for his head and a 1 1/2" circle punch for his body. I sponged SU Sahara Sand ink on his body. For the tag I spritzed Shimmer Mist on it for an extra 'pow' factor. The camera did not capture it so I tried to take a different photo below that may show this. I also sponged the edges of this tag with the SU Sahara Sand ink.  I cut his hat out freehand and again used the twigs from the Snowman die. Used a small circle punch for the eyes and buttons on the snowmen. The red checked scarf is card stock from Joanns. Red and green ribbons are from the stash. Used pop dots behind the snowmen for dimension. Here is the close up photo of the brown tag:

To make a snowman like mine use two punches that are 1/2" different in size. Instead of a scarf of card stock you could use ribbon, raffia, or whatever. No rules here... TFL

Season for Tags

Had seen the Santa Tags by Lisa Lara but could not find directions so I will explain how I made mine. I used Kraft paper from PaperTreyInk for the tags. The first photo is of the three tags that the Sizzix die Tags, Scallop Combo #2 makes. I used the larger of the three for my tags. I used white card stock from Georgia Pacific and the red and green are from the scrap file. Used the Stampin Up 2 Step Bird punch for the mustache. Used the Martha Stewart Holly/Berries punch. Used the Cuttlebug and the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder for one of the beards. Ribbons are from the stash.

I did this in different colours to make it easier to see. I cut the large die out of yellow and from the bottom up I trimmed the tag to leave approx 2 1/2" inches. So you are cutting off the top of the tag. I then used a circle punch that is 1 3/4" and punched the blue circle and on my tags this is the blush face. I put the blue circle on top of the 2 1/2" tag piece and centered that and used a pencil and drew around this. Your circle face will be about 2/3 on the tag and 1/3 off. Of course I used a light pencil line for my tags but made it darker for you to see on this sample. The curved pencil line will help you when you use the 1 3/4" circle punch to punch the opening in the beard for the face. Once you have your beard piece trimmed and cut then I used the Stampin Up Sahara Sand ink and sponged the insides of the cut circle and then sponged the edges of the circle for the face. I adhered the beard to the tag matching up the bottom. Then adhered the face circle. Then using red scraps I cut the top of the die only out of the red--see below:

Then adhered this red piece to the face piece on the tag matching it to the top of the Kraft card stock tag. I then cut a small piece of the white card stock, sponged the edges and adhered that for the brim of his hat. Used a circle punch and scrap black card stock for his eyes. Used the 2 Step Bird punch and punched out two pieces of the bird wings for the mustache and sponged the edges of those and put those on his face. Using a light pink chalk I put chalk on his cheeks and for his nose. Once I had all the pieces on the tags I then sponged all the edges of the tags. Used the holly/berries punch and put a set on each tag. Added ribbons and he is done. Made a plain one and also the swirled beard. This was simple to do and it uses up more scraps so that is always a good thing! Hope to be making more tags as I go along. . . But this is what these tags look like:

So thanks to Lisa Lara for too cute Santa tags and best thing is they use up scraps... TFL

Ghost Treat Boxes

Made some Boo Day treat holders/boxes. Used the Scallop Bag die from Sizzix to cut out the bag. Both the orange and black card stock are from Stampin Up. For the ghosts I used white glitter paper from Hobby Lobby and I used the Stampin Up 2 Step Owl punch. Once the owls were punched out I cut off their feet (ouch) and turned them upside down for the ghost. Used glue dots behind their black eyes. For the orange bag I embossed the front panel with the Paper Studio Spider Webs embossing folder from Hobby Lobby. I then used a die to cut out the spider from black flocked card stock and put him on the front panel with a pop dot. I used candy corn ribbon to tie the bag closed. For the black bag I used the Boo to You embossing folder by Cuttlebug and embossed the front panel. (Being black it is hard to capture that embossing). I used a white Signo pen for the white dots on the scallops. I used Halloween ribbon to tie it closed. See other photos for close ups and the backs:

As you can see on the back of the ghosts I used a piece of plain white card stock. I used thin sticks to hold the ghosts together. The thin sticks are from Michaels and they are called "Woodsies" and come in a pack of 75. Once I cut out the bag and assembled that I used a square hole punch and punched off the top of the bag on the score line for the opening for the stick. The ghosts are shorter than the turkey I had made using this so I had to use an Exacto knife and trim a little piece off the end of the stick so the ghost would cover the stick. Having candies/treats in the bag will keep your stick straight. Once that hole was made I used a small circle punch and made a hole on either side of the stick for the ribbon. I left the tails of the ribbon long so the recipient can open and re-tie the ribbon easily. As you can see on the back of the orange bag I lifted up the ghost so you can easily see the stick that he is adhered to. TFL

Turkey on a Stick . . . holder

Decided to make treat holders for Thanksgiving -- can be used as a table place marker or just as holiday favors . . . Love the turkeys you can make using the Stampin Up Owl Punch so I used that. I also used the 5 Petal flower punch and a scalloped punch from Stampin Up. Used scrap card stock for the turkey. For the sticks he is mounted on I bought a package of wooden sticks called "Woodsies" from Michaels. These are thin and measure 5 3/4" long which is the perfect size for my holder.

To begin with I used textured green card stock from Stampin Up and I used the Sizzix die "Bag with Scallop". This is a longer die as it has the bag and the sides on the same die. I have found if I use the crease pad that Stampin Up sells with these Sizzix dies that the creases/score lines are more prominent. This will help when you are using a textured card stock or perhaps a heavier card stock. Once the bag was cut out I used autumn/harvest patterned card stock from Debbie Mumm and put a piece on the front side of the bag with double sided tape. I then used red sticky tape for the pieces that are cut that make up the bag. This is what I made:

After I cut out the bag, sides, and adhered the patterned card stock to the front of the bag I then used the red sticky tape and put that together. I set that aside and began to make the turkey. He is made using the Stampin Up 2 Step Owl Punch and I used scrap card stock for the turkey and his tail. I punched the owl out of the brown card stock and then trimmed off the ears (ouch). I used a glue pen to put the pupils of his eyes on the white circles. Used glue dots to put those on the turkey face. Then I cut out with scissors a tiny square for his beak and folded that like a triangle. I used the Trio Flower punch from Stampin Up and punched out one flower from rust card stock for the wattle. I cut off petals from that piece leaving 3 to put with the small square for the turkey wattle. Adhered that to the turkey face. For his tail I used the 5 Petal Flower punch from Stampin Up and I punched one flower from rust and another from a gold tone card stock. Trimmed the
rust flower to 3 petals only and the gold flower to 4 petals and then put the rust piece in front of the gold piece and adhered those together. Then I used the Stampin Up 1 3/4" scallop circle punch and punched out 2 brown circles. Trimmed both of those pieces to having 10 scallops only. Put the rust/gold flowers on top of one of the brown scallops and adhered those together. Adhered the turkey to the front of this.  Used red sticky tape on the wooden stick and put the turkey on that centering him. I  used the second brown scallop circle and put that on the back of the stick so you will not see the stick from behind.

I closed the bag and put the wooden stick on the front of it and measured where the stick would be in the center of it. I used a pencil to mark either side of the wooden stick. Then using a square hole punch I punched off the top of the bag for the stick to go into the bag. The stick is slightly larger than the punch so I had to punch the first hole and then move the punch over to punch a little more off so the stick can easily fit in the hole. Once that was done I put the stick into the bag and made a pencil mark on either side of that on the front of the bag.  Removed the stick, folded the bag closed and then used a small circle hole punch and made the two holes for the ribbon to go through. You will be punching through the front scalloped flap, the front of the bag, and then through the back of the bag so it is three layers -- you will have to punch hard.

Once the holes were made I put the candies/treats in the bag and then put the turkey/stick in the top hole and then tied the ribbon. I used a larger piece of ribbon so it can be tied and untied easily. The candies/treats in the bag will keep your stick straight and also by not making a large hole for the stick will also help with that. Here is a photo from the back so if it is used as a place marker at the holiday table it looks finished from the back as well.

You can also add a name tag if you would like on the front of the bag or perhaps hanging off the ribbon or even on the stick. With the stick going all the way to the bottom of the scallop bag holder the turkey is not wobbly and the bag will not tip over. I did not have to cut the thin sticks at all as they are the perfect size for this project....   TFL

Happy Birthday Wishes Card

Had seen a card on Splitcoast by Melissa Banbury and decided to make one myself. I used Stampin Up Real Red card stock for the card and then Very Vanilla for the front piece. The flower/leaves stamp is from the Stampin Up stamp set Thoughts and Prayers.  I used a Mellow Moss and a Real Red marker to colour the stamp and then stamped it on the Very Vanilla piece. I used the "happy Birthday wishes" stamp from Stampin Up Petite Pairs and SU Real Red ink for that. For the lower part of the Very Vanilla piece I used one of the border embossing folders from the Stampin Up Adorning Accents set. For this card I used the hearts border. I used red ribbon from my stash. I then used the Stampin Up Trio Flower punch and punched three flowers from Real Red card stock. I put the three flowers on the card front with glue dots and then added a red crystal on each flower. For the inside of the card:

When I make a card I score and cut the card base and then cut all pieces for that card. Once I had stamped the flower/leaves stamp on the front Very Vanilla piece I then stamped the inside piece. I did not re-ink the stamp -- just stamped these two pieces right after the other. The inside is lighter but it is inked enough to be seen and brings the outside of card to the inside. TFL

Butterfly Clip Angels

Well . . .   you start with these items  -- butterfly clip, pearl, and ribbon . . .  and you get this:

Butterfly Clip Angels - -  saw this on craftyjournal.com and thought they were too cute. NO sewing---just three knots and you are done. You can buy the butterfly clips at any office supply stores -- Office Max does sell small and large clips. I got the white bead (12MM) at Joanns. They have pink, white, blue, gold, and silver as well as other colours to choose from. You need an 11" piece of ribbon for the bead and the hanger part and these three things make up the angels. I think they will be cute on holiday packages or with treat holders, etc.. If you have crafty kids at home this is something they can help with. No sewing or glues to deal with. TFL

Autumn Treat Holder

Used the Sizzix/SU Scalloped Envelope Die for this holder. I used textured card stock for this holder and with this card stock one side is textured and the other smooth. So when you fold the front flap down it is the smooth side. I used a pack of paper for the cream/dotted card stock piece on the front of the holder.  I used a squeeze punch by Fiskars for the pumpkin which I made from scraps. I sponged the edges of the pumpkin with SU Pumpkin Pie ink and used Old Olive on the green pieces. Used pop dots behind the pumpkin. For the rosette I cut a piece of patterned paper 5/8" x 12" and scored that every 1/4" inch. I did not want the rosette to be too large for the front of the holder. I used a circle punch for the circle behind the button and for the button I used ribbon and put that through the button holes and trimmed the bottom of the ribbon off. Used glue dots to put the rosette on the front of the holder. TFL