In The Stars Gift Bag Set

Hi Stampers! Stampin' Up's! Free Wheelin' promotion has inspired me to get rollin' again. While this project was not made using a set offered in the Free Wheelin' promotion, it occurred to me that the Classic Stars jumbo wheel is a perfect companion to the In The Stars stamp set found in the Spring Occasions mini catalog collection.

I used this fun combo to make this gift bag and matching card. These started out as very plain & inexpensive white tissue paper and a brown paper gift bag. First I stamped the bag in Real Red Classic Ink with two different sized stars from the In The Stars set. I stapled 5/8 inch Real Red grosgrain ribbon and 1/4 inch More Mustard grosgrain ribbon to a strip of striped paper from the East Coast Prep Designer Series Paper pack and a strip of Real Red cardstock. Using the Large Star punch, I punched a star from the More Mustard polka-dot paper from the same pack and a small Real Red cardstock star using the regular-sized Star Punch. Using the 1/16 inch handheld punch, I punched holes through the stars and through the ribbon and paper mat. I adhered all of those together using a Tempting Turquoise Bold Bright brad and then adhered that to the bag using Sticky Strip. Once in place, I cut another length each of Real Red and More Mustard ribbons and knotted them around the original ribbon to form a make-shift bow which also covered one of the staples.

I rolled the tissue paper using the Classic Stars jumbo wheel and Real Red ink. Voila! Matching tissue paper and bag! So, while we are talking about it, do you hate to use your wheels because your lines come out curvy, crooked or unevenly spaced? What you need is Stampin' Up's! Wheel Guide. It provides a steady guide to keep you wheeling straight and doubles as a ruler so that you can readily measure your lines for perfect spacing each time. It will absolutely change your life for the better. :D

I am also a huge fan of ink cartridges. Sure you could wheel back and forth a few times on your Classic Ink pads; but, it really is a bummer when your wheeling fades at the end due to lack of ink. Ugh. Go ahead and invest in the ink cartridges. You will not regret it.

Anyway, on to the card. Actually, the card is stamped much the same as the bag. The card itself is Kraft cardstock stamped with Real Red Classic Ink using the same two stars from the In The Stars stamp set. The argyle-patterned paper is from the East Coast Prep DSP pack and the ribbon is stapled to the paper before adhering to the card much the same as the bag. Of course, you see that I stamped three varied sized stars from the In The Stars set with Real Red and More Mustard Classic Inks. The stars are all embellished with Tempting Turquoise Bold Bright brads and adhered to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. An appropriate greeting stamped inside readies this dynamic duo for gift giving.

Thank you for stopping in and sharing some stamping time with me. Please visit again soon. EdieB

Holiday Post-It Notes

Angie Juda at Chic n' Scratch shared the instructions with me to make this fast & easy post-it note holder. Check out Angie's blog. She updates often with adorable projects & cards. Very fun blog to visit. Anyway, for my post it note, I used Real Red and River Rock cardstock layered with my favorite Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper - Dashing. I might as well warn you now. I am already thinking about what I can do with the Dashing paper over the Valentine's Day holiday. Dashing isn't just for Christmas anymore! :O)

I used the Merry Christmas sentiment from Tags on Board, stamped in Real Red Classic Ink on Very Vanilla cardstock. Next, I punched the image out with the large oval punch and trimmed it down a bit smaller so I could mount it on a large oval if Old Olive cardstock. I adhered these together and embellish with gold brads and used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop it up on the cover. I plan to sneak these to my co-workers desks today as yet another Secret Santa gift.

To make your own post-its, cut your cardstock 8 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches. You can get 3 post-its from one piece of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock. Fold this in half and crimp at the middle about 2 inches. Embellish as you wish and you are done!

Thank you for stopping by my blog again & a BIG thank you to Angie for sharing this fun project with me. Happy Stampin'! EdieB

Secret Santa

Isn't it fun to see a bunch of these cute little boxes together like this!? I am playing Secret Santa for the girls at work this week. They all know it is me, but I am vehemently denying it. I even put little treats on my own desk. They think I am crazy, of course, which only makes it more fun.

Anyway, I made 20 of these cute Q'bee boxes which are filled with Peppermint Patties, Hershey Kisses, and mini Hershey Chocolate bars last night and 10 candy canes the night before. You can find the directions to make your own Q'bee boxes here and you can see pictures of my boxes open & closed in my December 2 post.

The candy canes actually have three tags each on them and they are tied with Always Artichoke and Real Red grosgrain ribbon. I used stamps from Perfect Presentation, Tags So Much & Season of Joy to stamp the tags on Very Vanilla paper. I mounted them on Real Red & Old Olive cardstock and then, on the back of each tag, I adhered Dashing Designer Series Paper. I should have took a picture of the tags too, sorry about that. They were very festive though. And, you know, I just have to say-the Stampin' Up tag punches are so handy to have around. I use them for all my little gift items. They are not only fun, but they are practical-which means it was a good purchase (rationalizing stamping spending).

Have a great day & happy stampin'! EdieB

Seeing Spots

Hand-crafted gift cards not only make great last minute gifts, but they make great gifts with a personal touch. When I am making cards for gifts, I like to make the same card but in a series of complimentary colors since it is so eye catching to see the coordinating cards all together like these cards here. The card layout does not have to be difficult, but you should use at least one simple embellishment like the ribbon on this card. Another easy addition is using Stampin' Dimensionals to pop up the focal point. A wow technique is stamping on Designer Series Paper. On this card, I added the flourish or curly cues from Doodle This to provided more detail leading from the focal object. I punched the focal embellishment from Basic Black with the Scalloped Circle Punch and layered it with a 1 3/8 circle in colored cardstock and then a simple circle design stamped from Seeing Spots in Basic Black on Whisper White.

CASE yourself with any card that you have already designed by changing up the colors. I'm sure you will love the results. Happy Stampin'! EdieB