I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Good morning stampers!! I have to say, this is my favorite time of year - I just adore Christmas! All the fun decorations, the baking, the presents, the music, the family and friends, I love it ALL!! I especially love to create fun gifts and cards for all the special people in my life! I tend to make sooo much more than I ever could use, but boy, is it FUN!  And, we have such fabulous holiday items in our Holiday mini this year that well, I went a little crazy with it and had to have it all, lol!!! So, I thought I would share a fun little craft that we made during my Santa's workshop classes - it is a box filled with fun Christmas tags to use on all your special gifts! I actually saw this idea somewhere and tweaked it somewhat to make it my own and I love how it turned out!!! The box itself is made of chipboard and then covered in Cherry Cobbler card stock - we also did that with the drawers to this cutie will last for lots of seasons in the future! The top and bottom of the box are 6x6 in size, and then the drawers were cut using the Matchbox die for the Big Shot, lined up with the edges of the box, and sticky taped down. The top of the box has two more layers, one of Old Olive card stock and then another using the Letters to Santa Designer Series paper - looooove it!!! The image is also layered - the base layer is Early Espresso card stock and then the image is stamped on Naturals White card stock. This pretty tree comes from the Christmas Lodge stamp set, available in the Holiday Mini (but only until the 3rd of January so you better get is soon!). I love this tree because it is a nice, big image which makes a great focal point! We used the Old Olive, Early Espresso, and Cherry Cobbler stampin' write markers to color in the tree and then stamped it, making a beautiful watercolor effect that gives this box a wonderful vintage look!

Then, we added some Dazzling Details to make the tree look like it had hundreds of pretty lights on it - check out the close-up here! Doesn't it look fabulous, all sparkly and twinkly??!! I swear, this made the whole box for my stampin' ladies -they just loved it!! We added a pretty Cherry Cobbler button from the Regals designer buttons group, which we threaded with Cherry Cobbler twine. We tied a knot and then distressed the ends to add to that vintage look. The sentiment is also from the Christmas Lodge stamp set, and it is stamped in Early Espresso on some Old Olive card stock, then adhered to the box. And, of course we needed to have a little more bling so we added a rhinestone to the top of the tree and to the sentiment to give it that extra WOW! factor. Now, for the drawers! There are four drawers on this box, one on each side. As you can see from the picture, they can slide in and out, and they are easy to open since each one has a large brad that acts as the drawer pull. Each drawer can hold up to 20 tags and pieces of twine, but we did eight for each drawer, all in different shapes, colors, and styles so there is something for every present that gets wrapped and put under the tree! I am not going to name each and every stamp set we used to make the tags, but if you have a question about any of them, feel free to email me and I am happy to answer you! We had a blast making this Christmas box, and I am sure it will be put to good use over the next few weeks *wink* I know I have used all the tags and made some more :-) If you like any of these products and want some for your very own, you can order them in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to help you place your order! Now, I am off to bake a birthday cake for my sweetheart who turns 44 today - yep, he has finally caught up with me, lol!!! For ten months I am older than him, a fact he never lets me live down :-) I hope you all have a fabulous day and take some time out to be creative!!!
Box Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Naturals White card stock, Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper
Inks - Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist stampin' write markers and classic stampin' pads
Stamps - (image and sentiment) Christmas Lodge
Tools - Matchbox die, Big Shot, Ornament Punch, Designer Label Punch
Accessories - Regals Buttons, Dazzling Details, Cherry Cobbler twine, Basic Rhinestones
 

MAD BUSY BUT STILL CREATING :-)

Good morning stampers! I have been a bad blogger lately, but I cannot seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to do!! I have been teaching a lot of holiday classes lately as well as finishing up some of my own Christmas projects so there is a lot of creating going on! I thought I would share another fun project with you today that we made in my Santa's workshop a couple of weeks back.  This is a jar that is filled with all the ingredients you need to make a wonderful mint hot chocolate, something we have each and every year, and that we all look forward to as the weather gets colder! We used some of the holiday fabric called Candy Cane Christmas - the patterns are so fun and festive, they make me smile! We cut a piece out using the Scallop Circle Bigz Die on the Big Shot - it fits perfectly for these little pint jars! We placed it over the inside ring of the lid, pulled it tight, and then screwed the lid back on - super cute, right??!! We then added a punched flower created from the Scallop Circle punch and the 1 3/8 inch Circle punch with a Holly Berry Bouquet Real Red button. To Top it off, we threaded some Whisper White twine through the button and tied a cute little bow - simple but oh so cute!! We then wrapped the lid with some of Baha Breeze Seam Binding ribbon that is attached using Red Sticky Tape - have I told you how much I love this stuff??!! My customers and friends tease me about my obsession with this tape but it is a wonderful adhesive and I keep myself well stocked with it, lol!! The tag is made using the Two Tags die on the Big Shot and Real Red card stock. The sentiment is layered with Baha Breeze card stock punched out with the Designer Label punch and then the sentiment itself is from the Sweet Season stamp set, which has some super cute stamps that are perfect for gift giving. We stamped it in Real Red classic ink on Naturals White card stock, then punched it out with the Wide Oval punch. It is attached to the jar with some twine that is threaded through the ribbon and then tied in a knot, then trimmed close to the knot so it does not show too much. The inside of the tag has the typed out recipe and directions on how to make this yummy chocolatey treat! This little gift item was a huge hit at the workshop - but nobody wants to give them away, lol! They ARE darling, and look great on the kitchen counter :-)  I hope you like this little treat, and find some time to make some of your own handmade gifts this year - they are always the most well received! Who wouldn't want to receive something as totally cuts as this?? *wink* I will be making several more handmade gifts this week as I get things ready for my husband's staff and our friends. If you like the items that were used on this project, you can purchase them in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to take your order! Now, I am off to get my many errands done so I can come home and play in my stamp room - yippee!!! Have a wonderful day and check back tomorrow for another gift idea that you are going to love!!
Jar Recipe:
Paper - Real Red, Baha Breeze, Naturals White card stock
Inks - Real Red classic ink
Stamps - Sweet Season
Tools - Big Shot, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Two Tags Die, Wide Oval punch, Designer Label punch, Red Sticky Tape, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8 inch Circle punch
Accessories - Holly Berry Bouquet buttons, Baha Breeze seam binding ribbon, Whisper White twine, Candy Cane Christmas fabric