Christmas Collage Matchbox

Time for more fun with the big dies for the Big Shot. This time I made a Christmas matchbox perfect for wrapping a pair of earrings or other small gift. It's too bad that that Early Espresso stamping on the Bravo Burgundy doesn't show up as well in this photo as in person. The Christmas Collage stamp provides a great background/wrapping paper. It covers the whole piece of Bravo Burgundy so that it appears as designer paper. Fun and easy...just what crafts need to be as the holidays approach & time becomes more and more scarce. It's hard to believe we just have a few more days until Christmas! The snow here yesterday helped out a bit, but there is still much to do. Not to panic though, I've decided that what gets done is great and the rest will be okay too. I think sometimes we get so attached to the idea of perfection that we forget to appreciate and enjoy what we're doing. So, remember to take some time today and just enjoy!

Holly Berry Bag

Sometimes it's the little presents that make a big impression. This little bag made out of a half sheet of Holly Berry Designer Paper is perfect for holding just a couple of treats & for bringing a big smile to a special someone. At class, we filled them with two shortbread cookies stamped with the snowflake Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamp. Using these new stamps is super easy and fun! Be careful though, I attempted to use them with a ready-made roll of sugar cookies and that didn't work at all. As my cookies baked the snowflake slowly disappeared. I've been told you can stamp these ready-made cookies just as you take them out of the oven, but haven't had a chance to try that yet. I do know that the shortbread cookie recipe that comes with the Sweet Pressed Stamps works great! It's a simple way to add an extra touch to a heartfelt gift. Right now there are stamps for Halloween, Winter, & Valentines and soon there will be even more! What a great way to combine baking & stamping, especially since they're dishwasher safe to make clean up a cinch!

Fancy Favor Gift Card Holder

I just love discovering new things to make with some of my favorite toys! I have already made a bunch of little bags with the Fancy Favor die & have decked them out for many different occasions. Then, I found out that the same die makes a great little gift card holder with just a few modifications. Thanks so much to Cindy for passing this one on to me! The outside is very cute with just a little Deck the Halls designer paper & my very favorite stamp from the Tags Til Christmas set. Then you pull out the super cute little card that fits so nicely inside. Finally, you can open up this little number to find your gift waiting inside! Oops, looks like a little free advertising for my favorite cheese shop, huh? Trust me, they are well worth checking out too!

Owl Punch Penguin

And so it begins! This Sunday's theme class is all about having fun with punches & using them to create something other than their intended purpose. I've seen the little penguin folks have made using the Owl Punch and knew I would have to make one of my own. Thanks to Sarah Wills for publishing a step by step tutorial for these little guys. They aren't complicated, but it's always nice to have photos to follow!

My hostess for tomorrow's bag classes also requested a whimsical bag, so I think I'll switch this little card into a bag format for her too. Presents are quick and easy to make thanks to my Square Punches & little bows provided by my Flower Trio punch. The pre-glittered paper from Candy Cane Christmas gives these little gifts a nice extra pop.

Sorry it's not a Mojo Monday for today. I needed to make this one last night so I could post it before work this morning. I'm back in the fourth grade for a day. It was my favorite grade in elementary school growing up, so I guess it makes sense that I keep finding my way back there.

Candy Cane Christmas

One of my favorite things about teaching classes is just how much I learn! We were in a bit of an experimental mood at class on Thursday & tried out some things that worked great & others that we won't need to try again. :) These little peppermints are one of the keepers! Laura found that punching the little star/snowflake from Delightful Decorations using the 1/2" Circle Punch creates the most adorable little mints! Once she showed one to me, I knew they needed to be paired up with some of the designer paper from Candy Cane Christmas. Such a match!

I also wanted a sentiment that was food related, so I took out my Tags Til Christmas set & went to work. I don't actually have the Scallop Square punch (GASP! I know...) but the image fits great inside the 1 3/8" Square so all was not lost. :)

The fun with this card makes me want to decorate one of the little houses from the Holiday Mini gingerbread style. Perhaps that's a class in the making for stampers young & a bit less young alike!

Tag Bag

Sorry for my absence! Fourth grade was great fun, but also pretty energy draining. And then, of course, I had computer issues so everything had to be re-formatted. Now I just have to get it back to where it used to be. :) Ah, the joys of computers.

This little guy is a lunch bag sized project for my bag class tomorrow night. I just took a normal brown paper lunch bag & cut it at 5 1/2 ". Then I created a front & back panel for it & spiced things up a bit using Tags Til Christmas & the Soft Holly Wheel. You could add handles at the top with a Crop-a-Dile or Word Window Punch, but I rather liked it as is. The whole cover won't fit in the Square Lattice Emboss Folder, but it works great to just leave out the bit that was stamped with the wheel. A fun new discovery for future bags of this size!

Bag Turned Card

Today's challenge was to change the Glimmer Bag from a while back into a card. Folks really seem to like the bag, so I wanted to create an opportunity for people to make a card version even if they aren't hosting or attending one of my bag classes.

I think it turned out pretty well. Each time I create a big tree from Lovely as a Tree's pine, I find it goes a little better. This time around I did a lot more "second generation" stamping. In other words, I didn't re-ink each time before stamping. Just like on the bag, I mixed re-inker with shimmer paint to stamp the ornament. This time I used the ornament from Tags Til Christmas instead of one from Delightful Decorations. Just a reminder that right now if you order both Tags Til Christmas & the Ornament Punch you will save 20% on both! If you already have the Ornament Punch you can replace it with the Decorative Label Punch for the same deal.

I'm off to get ready for another Christmas Card Class tonight at a friend's home. If you would like to get your friends together for a card or bag class this holiday season, contact me & we'll set you up with an evening or afternoon of fun. For that matter, I even do mornings. :)

Mojo Santa

I'm doing things a bit out of order this week, but I think that's okay. Mojo Monday on Wednesday seems appropriate for a week when I can't seem to get the days of the week straight. Short weeks always do that to me!

When I saw that the Mojo Monday sketch for this week included the Tag Punch, I just couldn't wait to use some more of my new Christmas stamps! The Santa tag from Tags Til Christmas is way too cute and goes so well with my favorite of our Santa stamps. There's nothing really fancy on this one beyond sponging the embossed bottom section to make the dots pop out a bit more, but I still like it. Besides, if you're making BUNCHES of your Christmas cards, simple is the way to go.

Xmas Bag-A-Lope

I am always looking for new things to do with normal objects. So imagine how excited I was to discover I could turn a normal envelope into a mini gift bag. And it's super easy too! I decided to turn my first bag-a-lope into a great pre-view of items form the Holiday Mini Catalog which are all available starting TOMORROW! I stamped my bag with the Christmas Collage stamp and added a little extra to the closing band using the smallest stamp from Tags Til Christmas. It's a great image and even better when punched out with the new little oval punch. I really enjoyed making this one, so don't be surprised if there are others in the future!