Warm and Cocoa-zy!

It always feels good to get a project checked off my to-do list; especially since it's been there since last Christmas! ha ha! I bought some flannel and heat-resistant thread so I could sew up some holiday rice warmers last year and I never got around to it before Christmas was over, and then I planned on using the plaid flannel (not the tartan one) for Valentine's Day or just winter gifts and that never happened either! I even bought 10 pounds of rice that's been sitting in my pantry all year! Wow! So, now that I've confessed, let's get started!

I'm sharing the details of the rice warmers HERE, but I really thought I had a tutorial from a few years ago, but I don't. I shared some quick steps because this is such a quick and easy, beginner friendly project!

This particular gift consists of the rice warmer, a canister of hot cocoa, a package of Pepperidge Farms cookies, and then a little house box filled with some Ghirardelli chocolates and mini candy canes to be used as add-ins for the cocoa, if desired. I just couldn't resist using the Cocoa Cozy Stamp Set because it was the perfect choice to complement this gift.

There was a particular tag die I was searching for and just couldn't locate it so I threw my hands up in surrender and frustration and just cut some plain tag bases using Pure Poppy cardstock and then cut the tag shape at the top using an old SU! paper punch. Once that was done, I cut out all of the main sentiments using the Cocoa Cozy Die and then stamped them using Frayed Burlap distress oxide ink. I like how it looks like creamy hot cocoa!

I stamped the tags with the accent sentiment using Fresh Snow pigment ink and then added the die cut sentiment using foam squares. The greenery and berries were cut from white cardstock using the Into the Blooms: Swag Die because it's basically living on my desk! ha ha! I colored them with dye inks and blender brushes (my green brush snapped in half because I've clearly been hauling out too much holly....ha ha!)

I spritzed everything with Hickory Smoke distress spritz and allowed them to dry. The cute peppermint is from the In-Stitches: Gingerbread Builder Die and I kicked myself when I realized this great die has been hiding in plain sight and I'd forgotten about it. I only remembered it when I was decorating the Christmas tree in my kitchen and saw THIS little cutie! I've been missing out on using such a great Christmas accent die, but now I fear, I will be using it ALL THE TIME!

As you can see, I made 8 tags in total. Each one is slightly different because I was just grabbing different greenery and such and different pearl for the centers of the peppermints. I was almost done and was cleaning up my supplies and realized the snowflakes from the sentiment set would be perfect so I stamped a trio of snowflakes on each tag and then frosted the corners with a small blender brush and white ink. I threaded each tag with green baker's twine.

Here it is all packaged up!

I had a lot of fun putting this project together and I'm so pleased I got everything sewn and used from last year! 

Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Handmade Holiday Hostess Gift

Happy Monday! Thanks for your sweet comments on yesterday's post! I'm sharing a post over on my other blog that you can read HERE. I'm mostly posting this here for people who use the link to my blog on Instagram....I don't have my other blog posted! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Project Inspiration {Merry Christmas to You and Yours}

Hello and welcome! It's my turn for the Project Inspiration feature for Papertrey Ink and today I'll be sharing step-by-step photos and directions on how I created this card. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when Christmas crafting is over because I love making Christmas cards SO much!

I love the vintage style of this card and I hope you do, too!

Step 1: Cut a panel of Pale Peony cardstcok and hot foil it using the Fanciful Snowflakes Hot Foil Plate using Blush Glimmer Foil. Trim it down to measure 4 by 5 1/4 inches and add some Pale Peony ink to the corners using a blender brush.

Step 2: Cut the ribbons and bow using the Wrap-it Ribbons Die from Pure Poppy ink. Add Scarlet Jewel ink to the center portions of the bow and the edges of the ribbons using a blender brush. Attach to the base using foam squares and liquid glue.

Step 3: Cut and color the foliage and berries using the Into the Blooms: Swag Die from white cardstock and blender brushes. Spritz with Frayed Burlap Distress Spray and add some white acrylic paint splatter. Attach to the background using foam squares.

Step 4: Stamp the sentiment in black using the Vintage Holiday Flair Stamp Set and a stamp positioning tool; I used a mini MISTI. Leave the stamp in the MISTI while you color the letters using a red alcohol marker. Place it BACK into the MISIT and stamp it again using Versamark ink and then heat emboss it with gold powder. Cut the banner using the Vintage Holiday Flair Die from white cardstock and stamp it with Pale Peony and Scarlet Jewel ink with black ink for the sentiment. Attach to the background using foam squares.

Step 5: Add a trio of sparkling clear sequins and attach to an A2 panel of Pure Poppy cardstock. Adhere it to a white card base using liquid glue.

Step 6: Add glitter to the foliage, berries and bow using a 2-Way Glue Pen and glitter of your choice. I used Rock Candy Glitter for this card.

Some extra tips and tricks: Use foam strips for the ribbons so you can tuck the greenery in seamlessly. 

The reason why I colored the letters before I embossed them is because alcohol markers have a tendency to ruin embossing, so this is a great way to get the coloring done AND the embossing powder is a little bit thicker than the original stamping so it hides any little mistakes! (wink)

This particular card was supposed to look like a gift/present, but if you go back to step 3, I think it would look great to add other layers and use a stamped image (nutcracker, bell, tree, etc.) for the focal point rather than a sentiment.

I always use a large sequin next to a small one and then add a medium size to create a visual triangle across the card.

I chose to keep the Merry Christmas sentiment the same color as the background for a more seamless look.

I try and add glitter (especially for a winter or Christmas card) so it looks like fallen snow.

Once I was finished with this card, I couldn't help thinking it really could have used some candy canes! So....I might recreate it with some different layers like I mentioned earlier and a candy cane or two! 

Thanks for fluttering by!

 

A Thrill of Hope

I'm back today with a pair of cards that are *almost* identical. I had the two "gift/present" die cuts already put together that never got used last year, so I decided to take some time to put them to good use! 

I cut the base and lid of the gifts using a pad of holiday pattern paper using the Perfect Present Die. The bow portion is cut from Antique Gold cardstock from the Cardstock Warehouse. I used liquid glue and foam squares to attach everything. I think I was planning on making a pair of tags last year, but I can't remember for sure.

For both backgrounds, I used a retired stencil from The Greetery. This particular stencil has really precise and delicate pieces, so I used Pixie Spray on the back of the stencil. It can leave sticky residue, but it's easily removed with a quick swipe of an Adhesive Eraser. I definitely needed the eraser for both backgrounds, but it's worth it for the precise lines that are achieved when  using the purple spray on the back of intricate stencils. I trimmed both panels to measure 4 by 5 1/4 inches and rounded the corners on one of the panels.

I layered the stenciled panels onto A2 top-folding card bases using foam squares. I also added the gifts that were ready to go using additional foam squares.

The greenery and foliage is cut mainly using the Into the Blooms: Swag Die but I did pull in a few other pieces I had already made that were laying in my "leftover" pile.

I arranged everything around the gifts using foam squares and liquid glue until I was satisfied with the placement. The sentiment, which is from the Just Sentiments: Heaven and Nature Sing mini stamp set, is heat embossed in gold on Stormy Sea cardstock and then cut using one of the dies included in the Hold That Thought Die.

Now, if the gifts weren't already assembled, I would have threaded the cord for the little tag around the bow, but since they were already glued down, I simply arranged it over the bow as best as I could.

I added glitter and a trio of sparkling clear sequins to finish off the two cards. This was a really fun project to work on and I was thrilled to use those two neglected die cuts. Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Have a Holly {JOLLY} Christmas

 Hello and welcome, friends! I hope you're having a wonderful week! I've been having the best time creating and crafting, getting in the Christmas spirit! I love this time of year and wish I could savor it a bit longer; it seems to go by in a flash!

My card for today is based on a store-bought Christmas card I had saved in my Christmas inspiration folder. The reason why I am particularly drawn to the card is because of its colors, clean design, and I knew it would be loads of fun to put together!  It became a scavenger hunt as I shopped my stash to find just the right elements to bring it to life!

To begin, I used two different alphabet die sets for the letters; Kelly Alpha Uppercase and Heather Uppercase for the pink L. These appear to be discontinued, but they are the ones that worked the best to recreate the look of the inspiration piece. I cut the J from More Mustard (SU!) cardstock, the O and the Y from Forest cardstock from Cardstock Warehouse, the pink L is Lovely Lady from PTI, and the other L is Pure Poppy, also from PTI. I cut all of them twice with the exception of the green ones because that cardstock is incredibly heavy, so it didn't need any reinforcement. I wanted sturdy pieces and the double-thickness did the trick!

Once the letters were all cut, I got to work on each of the tiny elements and details that are included. The holly and berries are from the Curio: Attic Ornaments Die as well as the little bows on the ornament and the tiny gift, and the red "sparkle". I cut the leaves from New Leaf and Pure Poppy cardstock, both from PTI. I didn't have a gift die that was small enough, so I simply cut a tiny box from the same New Leaf cardstock and added the red bow using liquid glue.

The little sparkles and dots are from assorted die sets: the sparkles (besides red) and the dots are from the Build--a-Christmas Tree Die as well as the ornament and ornament topper. The tree and star are from the Winter Globes: Believe Die.  The bow at the top was an add-on (the inspiration piece did not have bow, but a flower that I couldn't replicate) and was cut using the Wrap-it Ribbons Die from Lovely Lady cardstock.

Once I had all of the letters and details ready to go, it was time to assemble the card. I tried the Press n-Seal technique, which has never failed me before, but it didn't work with this card so I just did everything with as much precision as possible using tweezers to help. I cut an oval from vellum using the Love to Layer: Ovals Die and placed everything using tiny bits of foam tape and liquid glue. Once it was all done, I gave it a spritz of Shimmer Spray-Sparkle. I also gave the bows, ornament, star and holly berry a tiny gem for added sparkle.

Once I had everything glued and in place, I realized it was off-center! Eeek! I decided to balance it out by adding a trio of sparkling clear sequins. I really didn't want to do that, but it was the only way to fix it without ruining the entire thing! The original card was very white and CAS, but I chose to bring my own style to the project and layered it on a piece of floral holiday paper. I simply turned the oval over and strategically added foam squares where they were directly underneath and attached it to the floral paper and card base. 

I love how it this card came out and now I can get it out of my head! ha ha! Thanks for fluttering by!

May the Holiday Spirit Find a Home in Your Heart

Hello friends! It's December, it snowed the other day, and things are starting to feel festive! I mentioned in my last post that I was going to see The Nutcracker....it was absolutely magical and the perfect start to the Christmas season! I'm ready to feel all the holiday feelings that are so warm and wonderful!

My card for today evokes these same sentiments, so let's get started!

To begin, I cut the leaf background twice using the Cover Plate: Lush Foliage Die and then glued them together with liquid glue. Once that was done, I added New Leaf and Garden Green (SU!) ink over the top using blender brushes. My original idea was to layer this over plaid pattern paper, but instead, I created a stenciled panel. In the end, it's hard to see the stenciling, so if I did it over again, I'm not sure if I would do that again! ha ha!

I used the Holly Berries Stencil Collection on an A2 panel of Vellum White paper from Cardstock Warehouse (it is a very lightweight blush paper). I used the same colors as I did on the Cover Plate with the addition of Scarlet Jewel ink for the berries. I glued the leaf portion over the top using liquid glue and then spritzed it with Shimmer Spray-Sparkle.

I cut a bunch of holly and berries using the Into the Blooms: Swag Die from white cardstock and colored them with the same ink as the background to keep everything cohesive. I added the berries here and there using liquid glue. In the end, I felt it need some added detail, so I grabbed a few leftover berries I had from THIS project. At this point, I didn't have any additional ideas as to the direction of this card, so I toyed around with a few ideas, but in the end settled on adding the heart. 

I die cut the heart twice using the Elegant Heart Die and glued them together. The heart was competing with the background, so I adhered it to a strip of vellum using foam squares and then added liquid glue to back of the vellum where the heart would hide it, and adhered it to the background.

I decided to search through my sentiments to find something that was Christmas-y and talked about a heart....BINGO!  I used the Winter Globes Sentiments Mini Stamp Set with gold embossing powder and then cut it using one of the dies included in the Hold That Thought Die. I love the gold on the Scarlet Jewel cardstock! I placed it in the center of the heart and then added a BOW. You all know I have a weakness for using tiny houses and since the sentiment was practically begging me to use one, I added it to the bottom.

I had one leftover in the storage sleeve for the Bring Home the Holidays Die and then I cut a heart from Pale Peony ink using the Larger Than Life: Home Die. I gave it a coating of Glossy Accents. I added some glitter to the berries, leaves, and bow and attached the entire background panel to a top-folding A2 card base using liquid glue. My next project needs to be to add inside greetings to ALL of my Christmas cards! I know I should do it when I create them, but unfortunately I don't! ha ha! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Warm Holiday Wishes

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm headed to The Nutcracker this afternoon with my mom, sister, daughter, and her boyfriend so I thought it would be fitting to share this card with you today! To begin, I cut a 5 by 7 piece of Weathervane cardstock and embossed it using the beautiful Merry Moments 3D Embossing Folder. When I bought this particular folder a few months ago, I didn't realize it was 5 by 7, but it works well with the amount of flowers I chose to use and the tall nutcracker. I added some Stormy Sea and black ink around the edges and over the raised embossed portions to give it some added depth.

I cut quite a few poinsettias in varying sizes using the Into the Blooms: Poinsettia Die from white cardstock and then colored them with ink and blender brushes. I layered and glued them using both liquid glue and foam squares. I inked up the four leaves from the same die set and set those aside.

I die cut all of the pieces that I would need for the nutcracker using the Lovely Layers-Nutcracker Die. 

The pictures are washing the poor guy out a bit, but his skin is a peachy color and his hair and beard are cream. This is the first time I have used or assembled this nutcracker, so I learned that the base layer should be the color you want his hair and pants. I initially thought it would be the color of his face, so I went with peach, so now this dapper fellow is wearing peach pants! ha ha! He DID have peach hair, but I decided to cut the top portion again to give him the cream hair and just glued it to the base.

I adhered the poinsettias and leaves using foam squares and then secured the nutcracker in the middle using a double-stack of foam squares. I added some white acrylic paint splatter and then got to work on the sentiment.

For the sentiment, I chose an older one from Honey Bee Stamps that I bought a few years ago and haven't used yet called Home For the Holidays. I heat embossed it with gold powder and then cut it using the coordinating Home for the Holidays Honey Cuts. I secured it to the card front using foam squares. Each of the flower centers got a gem and then I also added a trio of sparkling clear sequins. It was looking just a bit bare, so I turned to my leftovers pile and found some bits of foliage that I tucked here and there. I gave it a spritz of shimmer spray and called it done! 

Thanks for fluttering by!