Monday, November 28, 2011

Christmas Emporium Gift Bag

I love the gift bag from this post so much, that it only made sense that I use the same directions for the base and just use a different die cut for the front and make it out of the Christmas Emporium collection.



















Add some gorgeous Midori ribbon, a tag for a to and from and it is all set to fill with goodies.

Easy Peasy!!
B-






       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   




Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Graphic 45 Giving Thanks Gift Bag Tutorial

I wanted to share the instructions for making the gift bag that Graphic 45 shared in their newsletter today. It is a very simple project and is great for presenting yummy treats or small special gifts for your Thanksgiving celebration.




















1) Cut a piece of Building Blocks at 8 1/2” wide by 12” tall. Place the card stock into the scoring tool with the tall side along the left edge. Score at 1 3/4” and 6 3/4”. Turn card stock so the tall edge is along the top and score at 4 1/2” and 7 1/2”. Fold along all the score lines.














2) Score at a 45 degree angle between the 1/34" score on the sides and the 4 1/2" score in the middle, repeat for the other 6 3/4" and 7 1/2" scores.














3) Apply Scor-Tape to the top left of the paper, fold over and adhere to the back.














4) Repeat for all the other corners.














5) Apply Scor-Tape to the angle scored sections and adhere to the back.


























6) Cut a piece of Bedtime Stories at 4 1/2” wide by 2” tall and ink edges with Frayed Burlap Distress ink. Cut a piece of Games and Playtime at 4" x 1 1/4" ink edges, and adhere to center of Bedtime Stories. Use die cut to cut leaf from One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, ink the edges and adhere to Games and Playtime. Cut out letters from The Three R's, ink edges and adhere to Games and Playtime alternating between flat and dimensional adhesives. Adhere to front of the gift bag with dimensional foam adhesive.














7) Trim Bedtime Stories at 4" wide (finished width of gift bag) by 4" tall and use a decorative punch or die to finish edge. Ink edges, then score at 2" from straight edge and adhere to back of gift bag. Tie around with May Arts black silk ribbon and natural colored twine.














8) Apply Scor-Tape to both sides, adhere one side and leave the other open until you fill. Once filled adhere other side to close.














Many thanks to all of my amazing family, and friends. You are truly my loved ones, and what I am most grateful for this Thanksgiving.

With a full heart, Happy Thanksgiving!
B-





       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   





Sunday, November 20, 2011

Quick Gift Card Tutorial with Imaginesce

In the spirit of gratitude, a gift card can go a long way in letting someone know you appreciate them and all they do for you. So with that in mind I am sharing a quick way to put together a darling gift card that uses their  cute fall line.
1) Cut a piece of paper at 3 1/2" wide by 12" tall, place the paper in a scoring tool with the pattern of the paper pointing to the left edge of the tool.
2) Score at 1", 3" and 8" and then fold along the scored lines.
3) At the 1" score line fold the pattern up and at the 3" line fold it back. Punch two holes about an inch apart and tie a bow with twine.
4) Punch small holes in the leaf die cuts and tie through with a tiny twine on one leaf, loop through the side where the bow was tied and then tie the other leaf onto the other end and let dangle.



















5) Trim a piece of paper at 2 1/2" tall by 4" wide and punch half a circle into the right side.
6) Place adhesive on the top, left and bottom edges and then adhere to the center of the card.
7) Adhere the cute apple die cut with dimensional foam and insert gift card.
8) Fold bottom up and under the top flap and let the leaves do a cute dangle  :o)




















Happy Monday!!
B-

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Attitude of Gratitude

I think Thanksgiving here in America is at the perfect time of year. That transition from fall to winter, where we go from raking leaves to shoveling snow can get me in the dumps. And I love the winter, so I don't know or understand why that is. But it happens and when it does I take a step back from everything. I do some reflecting and always come back to how blessed I am, in most every way.
A beautiful home that is heated, has working plumbing, no leaks in the roof and provides a place for my family to love and care for each other. The food that we need to be healthy, Working vehicle that gets us to the places we need to be. A kind, benevolent and generous Heavenly Father who knows my heart and loves me unconditionally and my savior Jesus Christ who has set an example of how to live and love others.























Finding an attitude of gratitude is the quickest way for me to get my right side up and to move forward. It reminds me that I have two legs that can go out into the beautiful world and have a brisk walk, or use my two eyes to sit in a quiet place and read from a book. I can go into my studio and use my two hands to make something crafty or sit on my healthy bum and crochet while I listen to my family with my two ears. There are might be a few more "things" on our wants list, but there are very few things on our needs list and for that we are extraordinarily blessed.

B-

Gift bag supply list:




       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   
       
           
                                                               
       
   



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Christmas Gift Giving with My Mind's Eye

For my Heartland design team projects I was asked to create some gift and treat packaging and also some home decor items from the My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas collection. This was a fun assignment, and in spite of the glitter that was shed in the cutting of innocent paper, they still have a beautiful glisten when the light hits them just right  ;o)



















I love covering handled bags with pretty paper, and what makes me even happier is when I get to re-use a bag that has come from a store and give it a new life.

A quick and easy container to make for stocking stuffers, teacher and friend gifts or neighbor goodies is what has been nicknamed a "sour cream" wrap. Cut the paper in a square (4" x 4" for smallish all the way up to 12" x 12" if you have bigger and softer items) and adhere end to end on one edge. Apply adhesive to one end (I recommend a double sided adhesive like Scor-Tape), pinch to close, put in gift or goodies, apply adhesive to other side going the opposite direction, pinch to close.














To add a few extra finishing details pull the crimper out of your older crafting supplies and crimp the ends. Punch a hole in the top and tie on a cute die cut with a rustic twine, elegant silk ribbon or cute printed ribbon. You can write a to and from on the back of the tag if you feel the need.

Now just to clarify, I am not even remotely close to having any of my holiday preparations done (or even started for that matter, lol!!) But with Thanksgiving fast approaching and Christmas right on the heels, it can't hurt to have lots of ideas at your finger tips!

It is getting ready to have a nice big snow storm here, so my family is going to put on some college football for the afternoon (U of U is playing UCLA and U of O is playing Stanford, good games!!) and I am going to get crafty  :o)

B-

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium Banner in a Box

Right now I am sitting in my snowflake patterned pajama pants and a thermal shirt, watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (got to get ready part 2 comes out tomorrow!!) and doing a little crafting. On my desk are a few Christmas projects and some other assignments and such that need attention. With the chill in the air and my fuzzy slippers on my feet I am reminded why I enjoy crafting so much this time of year. I can't be outside for hours at a time, and all of that energy gets funneled into my creative projects. If I am not in my studio, I am in the family room in front of the tv with the kids crocheting a blanket to give to the next recipient of my blankie happiness.

So if you are like me and looking for a few projects to keep you occupied during these delightful, crisp fall evenings, here is one that might catch your fancy  :o)

Go sign up for the Graphic 45 newsletter and you will get the instructions to make the "Christmas Emporium  Banner in a Box" that I designed for them. The outside of the box looks like this and the inside is...



















FUN!!!











I have some more Christmas projects to share over the next few days, so come back if you are wanting more ideas, (can we ever have enough ideas or time?).

If you are craving more inspiration, pop over to the Ruby Rock-It blog to check out the design team introductions, this team is stacked with talent and personality!!

Well that is all I have for now, I can't keep Harry waiting   ;o)

B-

p.s. The project is now on their blog as well!!

Monday, November 07, 2011

Youer Than You!

What could be better than a friend who sees you for who and what you are, loves you and encourages you to stay truer than true? Not many things in my opinion, and I am most fortunate in that the people that I have the luxury of calling my friends are just like that for me! To celebrate and give tribute to these friends I made a card with that delightful Dr. Seuss quote using beautiful poppy paper from Graphic 45.















And to the friends that noticed I spelled Dr. Seuss wrong on the cards and informed me in a gentle way, thank you!! I often get in a hurry and need to spend just a few moments proofing my work. The story that I am going to stick with is, "that is how you know it was hand made"

:o)

B-

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Giving a Little Love to My Paper Craft Rejects

The acceptances went out for the Paper Crafts May/June 2012 issue today. And while I will have a project in there, I also have a few that didn't get picked up that I LOVE, and want to share. Not just because they are fun, but because they have a story and it is one I think is worth sharing.
One of the calls was for projects using inspirational quotes on projects. I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and the art form he perfected in crafting beautiful, wise and whimsical phrasing that has meaning to all who read his works. From the youngest child just learning to read to the older and more experienced, he left no one in need...

With that in mind I am going to share a crafting challenge that I tried to use and make an opportunity to overcome and grow my design skills.

First I found a quote from Dr. Seuss that could be very inspiring to graduates, teachers and hopefully most anyone who would need a little pick me up or encouragement. Then I used some favorite fonts and colors that would compliment the Ruby Rock-It paper line I had in mind to make the card from. The paper was then trimmed and run through the printer. So here is a first suggestion so we can all learn from my experience, do a test run first. Why you might ask, well if you are running out of ink and you don't know it or aren't paying attention to the computer message center your little work of art could turn into something a little different than what you had planned and imagined.















That would be where this first card comes from. The colors are not what I had planned, but I am stubborn and decided that it was cute and worth making a card to submit. The papers are from the Ruby Rock-It Bella Boy collection and Basic Grey's Out of Print collection.

So with the submission deadline looming, I made the run to Office Depot to pick up refills for my blue and black ink wells for my hungry little printer. $37.86 later I was back at home hitting the print button again after loading the ink.



















This inspiring card was what I had imagined from the beginning, and was thrilled to see it come to fruition! Now that I look at it and see the scale of it, it wold have been much better executed as a gift bag. But that is the fun of going through this process with each call. I learn so much and love the challenges that come from pushing myself to go through this process. Even with the "rejection" I feel empowered and inspired to enjoy the creative process more and to learn more so I might be more successful the next time around.

What do you enjoy about your creative process and how does rejection affect you? Does it shut you down or do you grow from it? I am curious and would love to hear about your experiences. Do you take flops and try to save them or do you circle file them?

Inquiring minds want to know!!!
B-