A Gift Card Holder
I subscribed to Sandi Maciver’s Christmas newsletter and followed her tutorial to make this great gift card holder.
My youngest granddaughter Ava has proved a little difficult to buy for this Christmas. As the youngest child, she has more than enough toys to play with. So I bought her a book to put under the tree and then purchased a gift card for her Mum to buy her clothes as necessary. I needed something nice to house the gift card and Sandi’s Gift Card Holder was just the thing. I actually cased my own Owly Santa to make this.
I cut the real red cardstock to Sandi’s dimensions and added the pocket inside. To decorate the front I added a Whisper White card layer which has been embossed with the Petals a Plenty Embossing folder. Then another layer of Real Red card and a Whisper White layer embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I added my Owly Santa made as per this post. I added some of the beautiful 5/8″ organza ribbon to tie the holder closed.
Here is the inside of my card. I added a Rounded Tab and a Filigree brad to a piece of Real Red card and used my Slit Punch (retired) to make little tabs to hold my gift card.
This gift card holder is made so that it could house a slightly more bulky item as it has a 1/4″ wide pocket on the inside.
I’m thinking chocolate or jewellery or chocolate!!!
I’m sure you could think of any number of things to put in this great little card. Thanks for the free tutorial Sandi.
Well must run.
Bye for now, Kris.
Sad News
I got news this week that a previous work colleague had lost her daughter in a car accident. It’s hard to lose someone you love at any time of year but especially hard at Christmastime. I wanted her to know that I was thinking of her.
I started by following an old Mojo Monday sketch and the colours Naturals Ivory, Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip.
My base card is Always Artichoke and I added a layer of Naturals Ivory. I embossed the Chocolate Chip card with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder before attaching to the bottom half of the card front. I cut a circle of Naturals Ivory using my Circle Scissors and stamped the leaf image from Just Believe using Always Artichoke ink. I added another circle cut from Always Artichoke card. I stamped “thinking of you” from the Three Little Words stampset and punched it out with my Modern Label Punch. I added a Chocolate Chip modern label cut with my Movers and Shapers die. The words are attached to the circles and then the whole piece is attached to the card front using dimensionals. I added a Chocolate Chip photo corner to the top left hand side. I punched out three Naturals Ivory flowers using one of the punches from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. I attached the punched out flowers to the back of the matching Bitty Button and then added them to the lower left hand side of the card.
Not my favourite kind of card to make but I am pleased with the finished card.
Bye for now, Kris.
A December Wedding
My cousin is getting married next weekend and I had almost forgotten to make a card in the rush of the pre-Christmas preparations. When I saw the Stamping 411 sketch this week, I decided that I had better use it to make a card.
I used my favourite wedding colours, Basic Black, Whisper White and Real Red. The base card is Real Red and I have added a Whisper White card layer. Then a piece of Newsprint Designer Series Paper. The Whisper White layer on the bottom of the card has been embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The ribbon is Real Red 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon. I used my Scallop Heart of Hearts Embosslit to cut a Basic Black and a Real Red Heart. I punched a Whisper White heart using the Full Heart Extra Large Punch and then put it back in the embosslit to get the tiny polka dot effect. I added two small Clear Rhinestones to complete the “bride” heart. Then I punched a Whisper White and Basic Black heart also using the Full Heart Extra Large Punch. I cut a slit in the Basic Black heart and folded the card back to create “lapels” A tiny piece of Basic Black 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon and a small Clear Rhinestone finishes off the “groom” heart. These are added to the card on the left hand side, with dimensionals under the “bride” to give it more dimension. I stamped the greeting from the Occasional Quotes stampset (level 3 Hostess set) using Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card and punched it out using the Scallop Oval Extra Large. I used my Movers and Shapers to cut the Basic Black scallop oval. The greeting is attached to the card with dimensionals also. I think it has turned out quite well. Hope they like it.
Bye for now, Kris.
More Gifts
Today I am holding a Christmas Party for my hostesses and downline so I am scheduling this post to go live whilst they are travelling to my home.
These are the gift bags all decorated and ready to hand out. I love white gift bags because you don’t need a lot of decoration to make them look special. I buy my bags at spotlight since Stampin’ Up! doesn’t have them any more.
To decorate my gift bags, I inked up my Soft Holly standard wheel with Old Olive ink and ran it over a 5cm wide strip of Whisper White card. I sponged the edges with Old Olive ink and layered it onto a piece of Real Red card which has been punched along both edges with the Eyelet Edge Punch. Very simple but I think it is very effective.
Now no gift bag is complete without gifts. So each of the girls received one of the gift boxes I posted yesterday. I also made each of them a set of three Christmas Tags. The first tag is a 2″ x 4″ piece of Whisper White card. I scored some lines across the middle, cut the corners at the top of the tag and sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink. I inked “jingle all the way” from the Christmas Classics stampset using my Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped onto Whisper White card. I added a layer of Cherry Cobbler and “to, from” which is from the Fabulous Phrases stampset using Cherry Cobbler ink. The middle tag is cut using the ornament from the Movers and Shapers Holiday Windows. I cut this on the fold so that the tag opens up and inside I have stamped “to, from” using Concord Crush ink. After I cut the ornament shapes I stamped the ornament image from Contempo Christmas using Concord Crush ink. The third tag is cut from Old Olive Cardstock using an old Sizzix tag die that I have. I added a layer of Very Vanilla card which has been rolled with the Soft Holly standard wheel using Old Olive ink. The top edge has been punched using the Eyelet Edge Punch. I added a small folded tree cut from the Jolly Holiday Designers Series Paper. The “to from” has been stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink.
To present the tags, I used a Medium Cello Bag. I cut a piece of old olive card the width of the bag x 6cm and added a layer of Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper. I used snail to attach the Medium Cello Bag inside the folded card and then punched two small holes and threaded some gold cord (now retired) and tied a bow.
A quick and easy presentation bag.
No gift is complete without chocolate, especially at Christmas. I made a simple pull treat to house a chocolate for each of the ladies following the tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. I used River Rock card and rolled it with the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel using River Rock ink. The ribbon is Real Red 5/8″ grosgrain.
To decorate the front I stamped the large flower from Vintage Vogue using Real Red ink onto Whisper White card and then cut it out. I stamped two leaves using Old Olive ink onto Whisper White card and cut them out. I punched a Wide Oval from Whisper White card and sponged the edges with Real Red ink. I attached the flower and leaves to the Wide Oval and then stamped “for you” from Fabulous Phrases using Real Red ink. The whole piece was then attached to the front of the pull treat.
I hope the ladies like their gifts. I want them to know how much I appreciate their support throughout the past year.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Gift Idea
I have been working on this project for a while now and thought I would pop in and share it with you.
So here it is. A cute little box with a few small gifts. There are two coasters, two candles and two wine glass charms.
The box itself is made from the cardboard packaging that comes with Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper. I love this cardboard, it is strong and sturdy, great for boxes. The dimensions of this box are 16 x 19.5cm, scored at 2cm on each side, cut to the score lines on two sides and then assembled into the box. The large divider is 11.8cm x 19.3cm, scored on the 19.3cm side at 4 (valley fold), 6 (mountain fold) and 8cm (valley fold). I use a little adhesive to hold it in the box and also between the score lines to hold the scored section upright. The small divider is 3.8cm x 16cm, scored on the 16cm side at 8 (valley fold), 10 (mountain fold) and 12cm (valley fold). Again a little adhesive to hold it in the box. My cover is a medium window sheet cut 15.6cm x the length of the sheet. I scored it on the long side at 2cm, 14.1cm, 16.2cm and 28.3cm. I used sticky strip to hold it together and then it just slides over the box.
The coasters are cork sheets that I cut using my Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die. I stamped the grass from Inspired by Nature using Crumb Cake ink across the whole tile and then inked the image from Just Believe with Early Expresso and stamped it on the left hand side. I sealed my coaster with some Workable Fixative to protect the stamped image.
To make the wine glass charms I stamped a butterfly image from Butterfly Prints using Rich Razzleberry ink and the heart from Punch Potpourie (Level 1 Hostess Set) using Pacific Point ink onto Shrink Plastic. I punched a hole in each one using the largest hole punch on the Crop-a-Dile. Once they were shrunk I added the little gold rings which I purchased at Spotlight. I stamped the snowflake image from Season of Joy onto tissue paper, pierced a hold through the centre to take the wick and then used my heat gun to set the image into the top of the candle.
Altogether I am really happy with the way this little gift has come together. The box will hold up to 4 coasters, the two candles and up to 6 wine glass charms. I hope that the recipient of this little gift is as pleased with it as I am.
Bye for now, Kris.
Not a Christmas Card
I decided to make a card that has nothing to do with Christmas after I saw a fabulous tutorial on Butternut Sage’s Blog. It shows you how to make a partial impression with your impression folders, e.g one flower or a section of dots. It is a fabulous blog and absolutely worth the visit.
I started by embossing the top section of my Whisper White card with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Now what I like about this is that although I only embossed half of the piece of card, I didn’t get that line that you get from the embossing folder when you run it through the Big Shot. I added 3 score lines underneath my embossing – just because I liked the look. I inked my image from the Just Believe stampset using my Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped it onto Whisper White card. “Just for You” was stamped using Concord Crush ink and the stamp-a-ma-jig to get it straight. I added a layer of Pear Pizzazz and attached it to the bottom section of my embossed Whisper White card. This was then layered onto my Pear Pizzazz base card (I really love these two colours together). I cut Concord Crush card using the Big Shot and the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. I attached the butterflies to the front of the card, and there you have it. My first share that wasn’t Christmas in a while.
In this picture you can see my line of dots, then my lines with my butterflies over the top. The impression of the dots is maybe not quite as deep as you get when you run it through the Big Shot, but my stylus was a little on the small side and I was worried that if I pressed too hard it would tear the paper. I am off to Spotlight to see if I can get a couple of different sized styluses to make it easier to get a better impression. Overall, I think it is just a fabulous new way to use all the gorgeous embossing folders that Stampin’ Up! sells.
I really love the technique and will be experimenting with other ways to use it. I am also pleased with the way the whole card has come together.
Well Mum and Dad are arriving today so I had better get moving, tons of things to be done before they arrive.
Bye for now, Kris.
My Last Christmas Card
Maybe….. You know how it is, you have done all your cards and someone sends one that you didn’t think would. Well I decided to use the Colour Challenge on Late Night Stampers – Blue, White & Silver – and the Sketch challenge on SUDSOL.
The card is pretty simple really. I stamped the tree from Snow Swirled using Versamark and then embossed with Silver Embossing Powder onto Night of Navy card. This is layered onto Whisper White card and I added Whisper White Photo Corners. Season’s Greetings from the same stampset is embossed using Silver Embossing Powder directly onto the Night of Navy base card. Although it is simple, I love Silver embossing on Night of Navy – to me it just screams Christmas.
Just a quick post today, things are getting a little hectic this week.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Card For Me
I received this gorgeous easel card from the daughter Sarah and just had to share.
My photography doesn’t do it justice, however, it is the most gorgeous photo of Abi, Ethan & Elyssa. Sarah has made a beautiful easel card, so that I can display this photo for a long time to come.
I am sorry I haven’t been on for a couple of days but I have been working very hard to prepare for a special event I am holding this weekend.
I do have a few things to show you, so will try and pop in tomorrow.
Bye for now, Kris.
Another Christmas Card
Sorry guys but at the moment I am working hard to get my Christmas cards finished so that I can get them posted this week. This card is made using the sketch challenge at Stamping 411 this week.
I have taken a little liberty with the sketch but I think it still holds true to the format. I have had a template to make the folded Christmas Tree for a while. Some kind soul shared it with me but I cannot remember who. So thanks to whoever it was. The template is a printable one, so I printed it out onto copy paper, cut it out and then using dotto attached it to a piece of Holly Jolly Designer series paper. I cut it out and scored the fold lines and then removed the template. I used dimensionals beneath all of the folds to add a little lift.
The base card is Old Olive and I added a piece of Whisper White which has been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (how did I ever do without my Big Shot). I wrapped a piece of Old Olive 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon and then attached my tree over the top, again using dimensionals.
The “jingle all the way” from the Christmas Classics stampset has been inked using Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped onto Whisper White card. I added a Cherry Cobbler layer before attaching it to the top left hand corner of the card. Another fairly simple card, but I love the way it has turned out. I am kind of wishing I had used this template earlier, because I would have made more cards like this.
Bye for now, Kris.
Simple Christmas Cards
Today I am going to share with you a couple of simple Christmas cards which I have cased. The first one is a case from Tina Taves and the second one didn’t have a watermark so I do not know who to give credit for this design.
I have used Certainly Celery and Whisper White as my colour combination for this card. The base card is Certainly Celery. The Whisper White layer has been embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. I added a layer of Certainly Celery with both edges punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch. I added 3 Certainly Celery flower punchouts using one of the Itty Bitty Shapes Punches and covered them with one of the matching Bitty Buttons. These have been attached to the bottom right hand corner. I stamped Joy at Christmas from the Perfect Punches stampset and punched it out using the Scallop Circle Punch and then attached it to the card using dimensional. The card was quick and easy to make even though my Grandson was helping.
Here is another one I made using Baja Breeze and Whisper White. I omitted the Bitty Buttons on this one. I will be making more of these in different colours as I still need about 20 cards to send out for Christmas (I had better get a move on).
This is the second card I made – thanks to the designer. I used Cherry Cobbler as my Base card, added a Whisper White layer. Then I punched 4 1 1/4″ squares from Holly Jolly Designer Paper and attached them to Cherry Cobbler card. I layered a Old Olive Star Extra Large with a small star (retired punch) in Cherry Cobbler and added it over the designer paper strip. Seasons Greetings from Snow Swirled as been stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink in the lower right hand corner.
This version uses Old Olive and Whisper White, with the addition of a little Cherry Cobbler in the form of the large star.
I love the way this card uses up scraps of designer series paper. I can see this one done for a male birthday card. I will try and make one and post for you to see.
Well we are off to a Christmas luncheon so I had better fly.
Bye for now, Kris.
Stamping with Kris 