A sweet season

I wanted to make a little holiday gift for the team leaders at work, but I didn't really have a lot of time. I decided to mix up a little sweet treat that the recipients could use in a variety of ways -- jars of cinnamon sugar.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Holiday Bingo Bits, 1-3/16" wood stamper (JustRite Stampers)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Real Red card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red
Accessories: 1-3/8" and 1-1/2" circle punches, linen thread, ribbon, hot glue gun (unknown)
Other: Spice jars, cinnamon, sugar, cinnamon stick, whole star anise

For the cinnamon sugar mixture I used 1/4 cup sugar to 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and I think each jar held about 1/2 cup.

To make the tag, I spelled out my message using a customizable circle wooden stamper, stamped the sentiment on thick Whisper White card stock and punched it out. I added a stamped candy in the center of the circle, adhered the ends of a piece of linen thread behind the circle and glued it onto a slightly larger Real Red circle.

To complete the jars I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the top of the jar, tied a knot around a cinnamon stick, slipped on the tag, and trimmed the ends of the ribbon into a V. For a finishing touch (and a nice scent) I hot glued a whole star anise onto the ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowman tealight ornaments

Merry Christmas! I hope you and your loved ones had a joyful celebration. And now that the holiday is passed and gifts have been exchanged, I can share the projects I made for my friends and family. I'll start with some adorable tealight snowmen ornaments:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, textured Real Red card stock; red, gold glimmer paper
Ink: Crumb Cake
Accessories: Circles Collection Framelits dies; Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler sweater trim; metallic sequin black paint (Plaid); black buttons (Michaels); hear tborder punch; snowflake punch; 1-3/8" circle punch; twine; Mono Multi liquid glue; Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal); sponge
Other: Battery-operated tealight candle, wooden skewer

Cute, right? I had a bunch of battery-operated tealights that I wanted to make into ornaments, so I did a Google search and found some adorable ornaments made by Karen Day. That was my inspiration.

I used two dies from the (retired) Circles Collection Framelits for the snowman's body pieces. I sponged the edges of each piece with Crumb Cake ink and punched a 1-3/8" circle so the back of the tealight candle was accessible. (I sandwiched the ends of a piece of twine between the two circles when I glued them together.) A punched snowflake with the "branches" snipped apart provided the arms, and I hand-cut the top hats.

To make the face, I used some black acrylic paint and a wooden skewer. I squeezed a little paint onto a plastic container, dipped the flat end of the skewer in the paint and then touched it onto the candle.

I struggled to find a ribbon that I liked for the scarves -- nothing seemed to be the right size or color or texture. (And that surprised me because I have a good-sized ribbon collection.) I finally settled on the sweater trims since they look warm and cozy. But it is skinny, so I wrapped the trim around the candle twice to give it a bit of oomph.

I think they all turned out pretty adorable (I believe I made fifteen of them total), and I'm pretty sure all the recipients liked them, too. And the fun thing about snowmen is that you can leave them out all winter -- and in Minnesota that's a long time!



 Thanks for stopping by!

'Tis the season

For my last Christmas card design, I had to pull out one of my all-time favorite Christmas sets: Polar Bears.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Polar Bears
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Cucumber Crush, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Gold-striped washi tape, Candy Cane Lane baker's twine, rhinestones, Dimensionals

I don't think I'll ever get tired of this stamp set, and I don't think I've ever made a card I didn't like using this set.

For this card I stamped the image on Whisper White card stock, colored it with markers and cut it out. I didn't use permanent ink to stamp the images, so I colored carefully and tried not to go back and forth over the outlines.

I used Dimensionals to attach the image to a Kraft note card and stamped the sentiment directly on the card base a little below the image. Below the sentiment I added gold-striped washi tape and wrapped a piece of Real Red baker's twine around the card, tying it in a bow. Of course I needed a little sparkle, so I added three rhinestones surrounding the polar bear.

I hope you and your loved ones have a peaceful holiday season. Thanks for stopping by!

Winter night

The last few days before Christmas are just flying by, and I think I might actually get everything done. It was more stressful than I would have liked, and I'll be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve, but at least I'll be finished.

One of the things I have to wrap up (pun intended) is to post my last two Christmas card designs. I'll share one of them tonight, and the other tomorrow.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Christmas Story (Penny Black)
Paper: Night of Navy, Shimmery White card stock; gold glimmer paper; snowflake vellum (unknown)
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Ovals Collection Framelits dies; Country Houses and Country House Roofs and Background (Poppy Stamps); gold glitter ribbon; gold sequins (The Makery); Dimensionals, Glue Dots, liquid adhesive (Art Institute Glitter)

This batch of cards was a little time-consuming because I had to cut out and then glue together the layers of the houses. (They used four dies: one for the outlines of the whole piece, one for the back of the trees, one for the back of the houses, and one for the roofs.) But I love the end result, especially with the Shimmery White card stock to create the look of a snow-covered village. And with the gold glimmer paper peeking through the windows and doors, it looks like a cozy little village on a cold winter night.

I used a Night of Navy card stock stamped with a Christmas background (in Night of Navy ink) for the card base and adhered an oval piece of  snowflake-printed vellum near the middle of the card. Using Dimensionals, I attached the houses at the bottom of the vellum and added three gold sequins. For another gold accent, I adhered a piece of gold glitter ribbon along the fold of the card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple and jolly

With a snowstorm last weekend, another one on the way, and temps near 0°F, it is very clear that winter has arrived in full force. I am not tempted to be outside in this weather (Not. At. All.), so I thought I'd share a card featuring a jolly snowman whom I'm sure would think he was in heaven.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: KB's Heart Looking Up (Endless Creations), Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party, Cucumber Crush
Accessories: Frosted sequins, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), fine-tip glue pen

This is about the ultimate in clean and simple card design. I used a white note card for the base, stamped the image and sentiment directly on the card, added a bit of color with markers, and used a few silver sequins to create the look of falling snow. I also rounded the two right corners just to give a little finishing touch.

Do you like to make elaborate Christmas cards or do you stick to simpler designs? I do love some of the fancy, over-the-top cards, but I find that when I look back over the cards I've made, I always seem drawn to these "clean" cards.

Well, that's it for me for today. I've still got a plethora of Christmas tasks to accomplish, so I've got to get busy! Thanks for stopping by!