Christmas Wrapping

Howdy! and thank you for stopping by!  Glad you are here.   I have another gift I 'wrapped' and wanted to share with you what I did.  Typically, my favorite Christmas colors are Blue, Green, and Kraft/Brown.  And so, I have made a few gift bags using those colors {smile}.

The lovely ladies over @ Vintage Cafe Card Challenge  have a 'Gift Wrapping' challenge.  And so I want to play along.  If you want to play too, you still have time, as this challenge is open until Dec 26.  {yahoo!}  So even if you are finishing things up on Christmas Eve, take a photo and upload it as soon as you can, and you too, can play along {smile}

Their only requirement:  your 'play-along' must be in 

Shabby Chic, Vintage, or Rustic style.

*Please be aware, that this challenge site is in Russian language.
They do have a translate button. 

here is what I did:

Recipe:  I used a plain kraft handled bag as the bones of this gift.  I used mint macaroon card stock as my matt.  I machine stitched a scrap piece of the holiday kraft DSP from Stampin' Up! (retired).  I added a strip of holiday music sheet to the center, from Stampin' Up! (Home for Christmas DSP)  I added a strip of burlap ribbon and mint macaroon lace the center.  I machine stitched the ribbons to the front of the bag, but didn't stitch to the ends.  I tied my gold sating ribbon through the center of the large snowflake cut with a Paper Trey Ink snowflake die, using dazzling diamond glitter paper.  I tied a few trims to the bow: aqua pom pom trim, gold tinsel, and a gold sequin mini ornament.  For my tag, I wanted a pop of color, so I added a Starbucks gift card to the handle with thin gold ribbon.

closer look at the embellishment

This gift wrapping is for a very best friend.  N, has been through it all with me.  And I love her dearly.  She is the one who ran my first marathon with.  And she is the one who has encouraged me to join the Duke City Challenge.  She is my confidant and the one I turn to when I need a shoulder to cry on.   The gifts inside are trivial.  I have a small box of chocolates:  Lindt Peppermint Truffles, a small box of Christmas Jelly Bellys, a Doterra hand cream and lip balm, and a gnome Christmas ornament. The sweets are because I love her.  The hand cream and lip balm are for her soul.  And the Christmas ornament is something she loves: gnomes.  So, I made sure that the wrapping was special!  

N, paper crafting style is 'less is more' while I just want to keep adding things.  I hate 'white space', and N, she loves 'white space'.  I love all things shabby chic and vintage with a little retro thrown in there.  While N, loves classic and modern.  So, I tried my very best to make something a bit more her style.  

Well, I am off to another holiday gathering.  But don't fret.  I will be back to play along with a few more challenges I eye spied.  {smile}  And I need to get my Christmas ornament photographed.  Take care, and I hope you come back soon {smile}.

Tulips, Please Card

Happy Friday!  I hope this post finds everyone well, happy, and ready for the weekend!  Me, I am!  I have a wonderful friend who needs a German Chocolate Cake for a party on Sunday.  So, she asked me to deliver her cake on Saturday.  So, I am excited to bake something wonderfully yummy!  (I'll post a photo or two this weekend {smile})

But, before I tie on an apron and get the oven heated, I wanted to share a sweet card I am teaching tonight.  Yes, I do workshops on card making.  LOVE it! and I really get energized by the ladies who come out to my classes.  A lot of fun!  So without further ado, here is tonights workshop card:

Recipe:  (all products used to create this card are from Stampin' Up!)  The card stocks used are: pool party, lagoon, and whisper white.  The stamp sets are: Dictionary, and Love is Kindness.  

I stamped the dictionary stamp onto the lighter blue cardstock and heat embossed the lettering with white embossing powder.   I stamped the Love is Kindness stamp with Black ink.  I used my blender pen and ink pads to 'color' the tulips.

I poked a hole on either side of the newspaper roll and threaded my gold bakers twine through and tied in a simple knot.

I wrapped gold satin ribbon across the large, embossed panel, before adhering it to the card front.

I matted the small panel with lagoon card stock and used foam adhesive to adhere it to the card front. Viola!

Ok, some tips and tricks:  You want things to repeat, so that they belong.  Use a small print back ground stamp, or pattern paper that coordinates with your focal image.  You don't want the background to be too busy.  Also, use 'matching' ribbon and twine, so the colors repeat.  You also want your ribbon/twine to compliment the card stock.  And finally, use the same color of card stock, but different shades, to ground the card.  

The card is pretty, didn't use every technique or tool in your craft space, and you didn't have to spend a $100 in supplies.  Remember, to use what you have.  And have fun doing it {smile}

Thank you for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day!

Angel Gift Card Holder

Whew!  Sorry I have been absent.  I have been crafting all hours.  I did very well at the Tramway Community Church Arts and Craft Fair last month, and have been busy making more stuff to sell at todays Arts and Craft Fair @ La Cueva High School.  And, well, I did very well at todays craft fair, too. So, I am heading back into my craft room to get more stuff made.  My next (and last) Arts and Craft Fair this holiday season is Friday, December 12th, at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Here was one of the new gift card holder I made:  

I found these adorable angel buttons at a big box craft store.  I just love how it looks with this holiday pattern paper.  I was busy getting these crafted, and packaged, that I forgot to take the photos before it was packaged.  {frown}  

What is stamped on the bag topper is what is stamped inside the gift card holder.  Also, it is heat embossed in white.  (the back of the topper shows what color of embossing powder I used on the inside.)  The tiny tag says: Holiday Happiness

I used Snow Village pattern paper by Pink Paisley.  The base is made with pool party card stock by Stampin' Up!.  The tiny tag was made with the tiny tags die by Paper Trey Ink.  The tag was stamped in Baked Brown Sugar classic ink by Stampin' Up!  The sentiment is from a tiny sentiment stamp set that is easily 8/+ yrs retired by Stampin' Up!  I believe that it was from a spring/summer occasional catalog.

Thank you for stopping by.  I will try harder to get some photos posted before the Arts and Craft Fair.  I know for sure that I will be making another dozen of the dry snow globe jar toppers.  Take care, and have a great weekend.  {smile}