Cheerful Christmas Wrapping

Good morning friends!  So I've been spending a lot of time this week completing and wrapping gifts for Christmas.  One of the things I vowed to do this year is to try to use as many of the bags, boxes, etc. that I already have in my stash before buying anything new.  While going through my stores I found these cute little white bags that would be perfect for wrapping little gifts for our family (can't say what it is since some of them read my blog).  All I did was add a piece of Be of Good Cheer designer series paper matted on a piece of coordinating cardstock.  I used a hole punch to punch two holes in the top and threaded either Gumball Green Stiched Satin or Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Polka Dot Ribbon to tie the bags shut.  The tag was made from the Tags till Christmas stamp set and I used Stampin' Write Markers to color in the stamp so it would perfectly coordinate.  The tag fits perfectly with the Decorative Label punch so it's easy to cut out and I used dimensionals so it pops up.

 

These bags are so cute and festive, and the best part was I used supplies I already had so I didn't have to spend any money.  The bags were also super simple to make so you still have time to make your own.

 

Enjoy,

 

Diana

Convention Swaps, Perfect for Christmas Gift Giving

Good morning friends and happy Friday!  We've had a busy week of getting settled back into the regular routine and adjusting back to our normal time zone, thankfully I think we're finally there.  So I have lots to share including and I've been busy editing pictures so I thought I would continue sharing some of the swap projects I took to convention, can you believe there are still more?  I was definitely a busy little bee leading up to the big event.  Today I'm sharing my second gift bag and tag, this time Christmas themed.  I decided to go with something more vintage and classic so I used the Bells and Boughs stamp set.  I stamped the Crumb Cake background with the large image with Crumb Cake ink.  Then I used a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  This was layered with a piece of Always Artichoke that I punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch.  After I glued that to the back I spritzed the whole thing with Champagne shimmer mist so it sparkles.  I greeting uses the same stamp set and was punched out with the Large Oval punch and sponged around the edges before adding it to an oval embossed with the Designer Frames folder and I tore around the edges and sponged with Early Espresso ink.

For the tag I used the Two Tags die to cut the basic shape and then stamped it with the same Bells and Boughs stamp set and used the Tags til Christmas stamp set for the To and From.  I used a mixture of Stampin' Write markers and ink pads and blender pens to color in the bell and sponged around the edge with Crumb Cake ink.  The final touch was to tie the tag to the bag with Early Espresso Baker's Twine and a Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon bow. 

These bags turned out so pretty and since I use tons of gift bags for all sorts of occasions I'm thinking about starting to decorate my own (if I can plan ahead of time).  Would you like to do this, let me know as I'm working on planning a gift bag and tag class so we'll be all set for any further gift needs.

Enjoy your weekend!

Diana

Jolly Old Santa

Good morning!  Where has the summer gone?  It seems like school just ended and now we're getting ready for school to start in a couple of weeks which means the holiday season will soon be hear.  I really enjoy participating in the Stamping 411 challenges and this one definately had me thinking.

Since my holiday mini preorder arrived last week I've been looking forward to spending some time playing.  I decided to use the Jolly Old Saint Nick stamp set for this challenge, the santa is oh so cute!  The card base is Baja Breeze and I used the little snowflake stamp to create a snowy background.  For my circle element I cut out a large snowlake with my Big Shot and the White Shimmery paper.  I stamped the Santa with Basic Black ink and then colored him in with various Stampin' Write Markers before matting him on a piece of Garden Green Cardstock.  I added a pice of the new Candy Cane Christmas DSP (love this paper and this design reminds me on candy canes).

The ribbon element is a piece of 3/8" Real Red Taffeta ribbon wrapped around the corner and then I tied a bow with the same ribbon and attached it with a Glue dot.  The greeting is stamped with Early Espress in on Real Red and punched with the Oval punch.  I used dimensionals to help it "pop."

I love how festive this card turned out, it makes me want to cuttle up with hot cocoa (if it wasn't 94 degrees outside). 

I have a bonus today.  When I had all the paper sitting on my desk it was just screaming for me to try out the new Candy Wrapper Bigz die.  I used real red for the wrapper and then used another piece of the striped DSP to wrap around the center.  I used 2 pieces of 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta ribbon to tie around the ends (it's not required to hold the box shut I just liked it.  The stamp is from the new Tags Till Christmas set and is puched out of Baja Breeze cardstock with the 1 1/4" square punch and them mounted on a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock cut with the scallop square punch.  YUMMY!

I hope you are as excited as I am for the new mini catalog and all the great projects we can make.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Diana