Quick Tricks: Last minute gift tags

 

It’s Christmas Eve and there isn’t a gift tag in the house (and of course, none of the presents are wrapped yet!). Rather than fighting your way through the crowds to buy some, why not make your own? All it takes is some scrap card stock, a couple of punches, some glue and a just a few moments to spare. Not only will your tags be more interesting and pretty than the generic ones found en masse in the stores, but you’ll also be putting your own personal touch on each gift you wrap.

Supplies:

·      Scrap pieces of patterned and solid coloured card stock in coordinating colours

·      Coordinating ribbon

Equipment:

·      Tag paper punch

·      Snowflake (or any other festively shaped) paper punch

·      Single hole punch

·      Glue stick

·      Glitter glue (optional)

Directions:

1.     Punch an equal number of tags and snowflakes from your card stock scraps.

 

2.     If desired, spread glitter glue on the snowflakes to make them sparkly (not recommended if you don’t have time to let them dry!)

3.     Glue solid coloured snowflakes on to the patterned tags and vice versa.

4.     Punch a hole in each tag with the single hole punch.

5.     String ribbon through the hole and attach the tag to your gift!

I hope you and your loved ones all have a very Merry Christmas (or if you don’t celebrate Christmas, a wonderful holiday!). See you on Monday for a special card for a very special person!

Wrap it up!

Want a great way to impress your loved ones on Christmas morning? Dress up and personalize your gifts by making your own gift bags and matching mini cards. While this project requires patience, the wow factor of the resulting gift bag set is completely worth it!

Materials (makes one 10 1/8” h x 3 3/4” w x 1 7/8” d bag and one 3” x 3” mini card):

·      12" x 12" sheet of printed card stock

·      3" x 6" piece of matching card stock (either the same print or a coordinating one)

·      10" piece of coordinating ribbon (narrow width)

Equipment:

·      Cutting mat

·      Craft or utility knife

·      Metal-edged ruler

·      Pencil

·      Eraser

·      Glue runner or other suitable adhesive

·      Bone folder

·      Single hole punch

Directions:

1.     Using the template below as a guide, measure and mark guidelines on the reverse side of the 12" x 12" piece of card stock (make sure the design on the patterned side is turned the right way up before marking). If you don't want the pencil marks to show inside the bag, use two or more small notches for each line (as shown in image below template) or have a really good eraser ready to erase the lines after step two. 

Bag template

2.     Use the cutting mat, ruler and knife to score (use the flip side of the knife blade to score without cutting through the card stock or use the sharp edge of your bone folder) and cut the card stock as shown in the template.

Scoring using the dull edge of the blade

Cutting

3.     If desired, erase pencil marks.

4.     Fold at the scored lines. This will help make the edges crisp and will make it easier to shape the bag.

5.     Glue the upper overlap flap (put glue on the patterned side of the card stock) to the reverse side of the other edge, tucking the flap in to make a box shape with the bottom flaps still open.

6.     Holding the card stock so that the lower overlap flap is on the bottom, begin folding over and gluing the bottom flaps in place, starting with the left small flap and continuing to the bottom large flap (remember to tuck in and glue the lower overlap flap before moving on to the right small flap). Finish by gluing the top large flap in place at the bottom.

7.     If desired, make creases in the top half of either side of the bag by pinching together the corners and creasing the middle. This gives your bag more shape and allows for the top to be fastened together to hide the contents.

8.     Fold the small piece of card stock with the bone folder to make a 3" x 3" mini card.

9.     Punch a hole in the upper left corner of the card. Attach it to the handle of the bag with the ribbon. Trim ribbon, if necessary.

You can use the template to make your bags bigger or smaller as desired. Just keep the 2:1 ratio for the sections (the front and back sections are twice the width of the sides and the bottom flaps). Try playing around with different heights and designs. If you plan on using solid coloured card stock and decorating the bag with stamped images, stamp the images before assembling.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday! See you back again on Friday for more paper crafting!

Shimmer Set

Batch cards that sparkle and shine

Today’s post is part two in this week’s series on batch cards. These shimmery and glittery cards were made using materials that I had on hand: silver text weight paper left over from my wedding invitations, the extra red card stock from last year’s Christmas cards, silver wrapping paper that I had in my gift wrapping storage container and silver sheer ribbon left over from the pillows I made for my ring bearers.

I have a few more batch card making tips to pass on, based on my experience making these cards:

·      Glue runners (like this one) are perfect for attaching ribbon to card stock quickly and easily. As an added bonus, the glue doesn’t show through or change the ribbon’s colour at all, a problem I’ve had before with ribbons and adhesive.

·      To keep the ribbon looking neat, wrap it around the back of the front flap of the card stock so that the ends won’t show on the front of your card. If you want the ends hidden all together, line the card.

·      Add depth and texture by adding layers of paper, card stock, paper punch cut outs, glitter and other embellishments.

·      Line all of the cards together at the end. If you line the cards before you’re finished, you won’t be able to create peek-a-boo shapes or hide ribbon ends.

·      Sign up for Michael’s coupons. Since doing so, I don’t think there has been a single week where I haven’t got a coupon of some sort, usually one for 40 per cent off a regular priced item. This is a great way to stock up on the more expensive equipment and supplies, like card stock pads, paper punches, cutting mats, paper trimmers, etc. If you’re in the States, you can sign up on the Michael’s website. If you’re in Canada, sign up for coupon alerts on Flyerland.ca, since the Michael’s website will only send out coupons good for use in the States.

That’s all for today, folks. Next week will showcase some non-card projects that are perfect for use during the holidays.

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday.

The 12 cards of Christmas

One set of materials, 12 (or more!) different cards

Once again, it’s time to start gathering the addresses of your nearest and dearest (including, of course, your wonderful mail carrier, Hank… or was it Howard?) to send out holiday greetings near and far.

Creating cards in batches is a great way to make lots of one of a kind cards in an easy, efficient and cost-effective way. Using one set of materials, you can create several different designs with an underlying theme. You can also come up with one design that you love and use it for every card – it’s completely up to you.

Tips for making batch cards:

·      Clear a large work surface. By doing so, you’ll have enough room to put out all your equipment and keep it all within easy reach. You’ll also have room to spread out your cards so that you can work on several cards at once and see the overall effect of your designs.

·      Pick coordinating supplies that look great together. For this project, I used seven sheets of red cardstock (six sheets cut in half to make 12 cards, plus one left over for punching shapes), two sheets of printed 12” x 12” card stock (I ended up having about 1/3 of each sheet left over, which I’m saving for my next batch) and red glitter glue.

·      Save your scraps. You never know when that little piece of left over paper from one card will be perfect for another. Even if you don’t use them in this batch of cards, you can always use them in future projects.

·      Decide which tools and equipment you will need (paper trimmer, punches, bone folder, glitter glue, etc.). Have your other equipment nearby (but out of the way), just in case you have a stroke of inspiration and need another tool to create the look you’re going for.

·      Group equipment by use and set up little stations for each set (i.e. cutting station, adhesive station, etc.). This will let you keep track of your equipment so that you always know where it is when you need it.

·      Cut and fold your cards all at once to help save time. Group other tasks, too, like painting glitter (technique here - steps six and seven) and gluing layers.

·      Test your designs before you attach them. That way you’ll be able to see whether you like the look of your card before committing yourself to the design.

·      Stick to a couple design variations on a theme or make all your cards with the same or slightly different design to help aid in planning, and to make the process easier and faster.

·      Trust your judgment. When a card looks finished to you, it is. If you think it needs something more, test it with different embellishments until you find the one that you like best.

Above all, have fun. Put on some music, relax and enjoy the process. If you start to get frustrated, walk away and do something else for a while. Your designs will look better if you’re happy with what you’re doing. Besides, this is meant to be a fun project, not a chore!

See you on Wednesday, everyone!

P.S. The lovely creator of Heinous Hats is celebrating her birthday today. Happy Birthday, Caela!

Baby, it's cold outside

Over the past week, winter didn’t so much as creep up on us here, but swooped in with a vengeance. Everything is now blanketed with snow, without any days in the near future that haven't had at least a few centimetres of snow forecasted.

Although I’m not a fan of the cold weather (I’m barely warm enough in the summer sometimes, let alone the rest of the year), I love the look of the snow from inside my house – the drifts glistening in the sun, the snow-covered branches and the pretty little snowflakes drifting to the ground.

And so, here is a pretty little card dedicated to those beautiful little flakes of frozen precipitation. With a peek-a-boo liner and glittery snowflake cutouts, this card is elegant and easy to make.

Materials (makes two cards):

·      8 1/2” x 11” sheet of blue cardstock, plus an extra scrap piece big enough to punch out at least two snowflake cutouts

·      8 1/2” x 11” sheet of silver text weight paper

Supplies:

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Snowflake punch (I used Martha Stewart's Alpine Snowflake Punch)

·      Blue glitter glue

·      Paintbrush

·      Piece of wax paper, approximately 8” x 8”

·      Double-sided tape or glue runner

·      Glue stick

·      Ruler

·      Pencil

Directions:

1.     Using the paper trimmer, cut the card stock in half so that you have two pieces, measuring 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”. Cut the silver paper so that you have two pieces, measuring 5” x 8”.

2.     Fold each piece of card stock with the bone folder to make two cards, measuring 4 1/4” x 5”. Fold each piece of paper into two liners, measuring 4” x 5” (technique here).

3.     On the inside top flap of each card, measure and mark the middle of the card vertically, about 3/4” from the edge.

4.     Using the paper punch, cut out a snowflake on each card, using your marked measurement as a guide.

5.     Punch out two additional snowflakes (or more, depending on how many you’d like on your finished card) from the scrap piece of blue card stock.

 

6.     Lay the wax paper on your work surface. Place the four snowflake cutouts on top (make sure you flip over the two that came from the cards so that the pencil guide marks don’t show). Using the paintbrush, paint the glitter glue on to the four snowflake cut outs.

7.     Nudge the glitter painted snowflakes to a clean spot on the wax paper with the end of your paintbrush. This will help prevent them from sticking. The wax paper will also help prevent sticking - I tried just using scrap paper before and found that, more often than not, the snowflakes would adhere to the paper, despite moving them to a clear area. Allow the snowflakes to dry completely before using them.

8.     Line each card with the silver paper (technique here). Be careful not to put adhesive on the liner in the place where the snowflake cut out will land, otherwise it will show through and be sticky.

9.     Measure and mark where you would like to glue the snowflake cutouts.

10. Using the glue stick, attach the cutouts to the cards.

Tip: Before gluing on the snowflakes, try playing around with different layouts until you find the one you like best.

See you on Monday, everyone!

He was made of snow...

Today’s card was inspired by a post on Heinous Hats, my friend Caela Rue’s blog, which is, to steal her description, “dedicated to hats with character, as well as the people who wear them.” If you haven’t yet checked out her brilliantly written blog, be sure to do so, for it is absolutely chock-full of extraordinary hats of all shapes and sizes, from the fantastically gorgeous, to the adorably sweet and all the way to the wonderfully weird. If I only had unlimited funds, I would be buying these hats left, right and centre.

Anyway, last Wednesday’s post, Now Begins The Age Of The Snowmen, featured, you guessed it, snowman hats. Suddenly I was overcome with the desire to make glittery, texture rich cards for my nephews. So, I ran out to the craft store, got giddy with what I discovered there and came up with this:

Materials (makes two cards):

·      8 1/2” x 11” sheet of white card stock

·      Sheet of white glitter foam (with sticky back)

·      Approximately 8” of red ribbon (at least 1/2” wide)

·      Four googly eyes (approximately 5/8” in diameter)

Equipment:

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Pencil

·      Scissors

·      Two different sized drinking glasses for tracing (the ones I used were 2 1/4” and 3 1/4” in diameter)

·      Black permanent marker

·      Orange glitter glue

·      Hot glue gun

·      Pinking shears (optional)

Directions:

1.     Using the paper trimmer, cut the card stock in half so that you have two pieces, measuring 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”.

 

2.     With the bone folder, fold the two pieces of card stock into two cards, measuring 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”.

3.     Trace four circles on to the back of the sheet of foam (two small, two large) with the glasses. Cut out the circles.

4.     Peel off the backing paper on the circles to reveal the sticky back. Stick the circles on the front of each card to make the snowman’s body. 

5.     Cut the ribbon in half. Using the pinking shears, cut the ends of the ribbon to make it look like scarf fringe. If you’re not using pinking shears, use your scissors to cut a fringe. Fold over the ribbon to resemble a scarf tied around the snowman’s neck (see image below) and use the glue gun to attach it to the snowman’s body. Use the glue gun to glue the googly eyes on to the snowman’s head.

6.     Use the black marker to draw on the snowman’s mouth and buttons.

7.     Use the orange glitter glue to draw on a carrot nose. If you want more of a 3-D effect, cut some of the scrap foam in the shape of a carrot nose, attach it to the snowman’s face, then use the orange glitter glue to make it orange.

Tip: Glitter foam is easy to work with and can be used to make many
different cards for kids. Buy it in multi-colour packs at the craft store
and have a supply on hand for when you have a birthday or other
occasion to make a child’s greeting card (or for when your
children want to make cards of their own!).

See you on Wednesday for an easy and professional-looking way to finish cards (it also makes writing on them much easier!).

O Christmas Tree!

Yesterday morning, I woke up to tree branches lightly dusted with snow, while more snowflakes fell softly to the ground. Although the snow has yet to cover the ground, it and the fact that it is now December, has got me in to a holiday mood.

One of my favourite holiday activities is heading up to the tree farm with my family to get our Christmas tree. Despite being born and raised farm girls, we would always insist that we go to the farm with the horses, even though there are numerous other tree farms around that are much closer to our family farm.

Picking out a tree was never a fast task. We’d all head out with the best intentions, clomping through the snow and looking for the tallest, most perfectly shaped tree. Then, the first of the snowballs would start to fly (usually instigated by my dad) and we’d spend the next half hour or so dodging between trees, throwing snowballs and tackling each other until we were all absolutely soaked. Only then would it be time to find the Christmas tree at last, a process that, in our wet and cold state, would only take an additional five minutes or so.

Today’s cards are born out of memories of those afternoons up on the tree farm. Made with green card stock, silver metallic paper, a silver metallic pen and a steady hand, these pretty and shiny cutout Christmas tree cards are well worth the effort put into making them.

Materials (makes two cards):

·      8 1/2” x 11” sheet of green card stock

·      8 1/2” x 11” sheet of silver text weight paper

·      Spare piece of card stock (colour doesn’t matter) measuring 2 1/8” x 5 1/2”

Equipment:

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Pencil

·      Eraser

·      Metallic silver gel pen/marker

·      Scissors

·      Glue stick

·      Wax paper

Directions:

1.     Cut both sheets in half with the paper trimmer so that you have two pieces of each, measuring 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”. Cut the silver pieces of paper in half again so that you have four pieces, measuring 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”.

2.     Using the bone folder, fold the two pieces of green card stock in half (technique here) to make two cards measuring 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”.

3.     On the spare piece of card stock, draw half of a Christmas tree outline (see image below) that fills the entire height of the card. Cut out the outline to use as a tracer.  

4.     Trace the outline on to the right side of the front of each green card (hint: press lightly so that you can erase stray pencil marks later) and on to the right side of two of the silver pieces of paper.

5.     Cut out the tree outline on the green card stock. Carefully erase any stray pencil marks that remain.

6.     Cut the silver pieces of paper so that the negative space remains (see image below).

7.     Using the glue stick, spread glue on the silver cut outs (on the side with the pencil marks), then flip them over and glue them to the left side of the cards, finishing the tree outline.

8.     Take the remaining silver 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” pieces of paper and glue them to the inside right sides of the cards. Take a piece of wax paper and lay it over the closed cards. Put a couple of books on top of the wax paper covered cards and press them until they are dry. This will help prevent the silver paper from bubbling or peeling.

9.     Once dry, draw decorations on the trees with the silver metallic gel pen/marker to finish the cards.

Voila! Two cutout Christmas tree cards. Come back on Monday for a card inspired by a very cute post by Heinous Hats.