Gettin’ Gifty

I know this isn’t a card, but don’t be too shocked. I’m trying to get ahead on my assignments.

This altered tin will be made at Mom’s October 3D camp. This is a DVD-type tin with a few 3×3 cards. It would make a great gift that could be put together relatively quickly.

I went pretty simple with the tin relying on the pattern paper for interest. The cards are so tiny I found it hard to design. Again I kept them very simple.

To make the flower for the tin’s belly band, I punched 2 flowers from the DSP using the Extra Large Flower punch. The bottom one I left as is; the top one I cut into it to make petals and folded them a bit to give some dimension.

Altered Tin with Notecards
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Sincere Saluations;
Colors: Baja Breeze, Vanilla, Always Artichoke;
Other: DVD-tin, Elegant Soiree DSP, Leaf die, Tag die, Build-a-Brad, Extra Large Flower punch;

PRO-crastinator

Yep, I put the PRO in procrastinator! I’ve been thinking about teacher gifts since school started. But when did I actually start working on them? The night before the last day of Teacher Appreciation week (thanks to Furlough Friday, no school on Friday and so one day less to procrastinate). *sigh* This year I made gifts for 4 teachers. And thankfully all of them are wonderful teachers so I did want to make the gifts.

I made each teacher a set of 6 notecards. Because of the late hour I made all of the cards the same. Though, honestly, if I had thought it out I would not have designed a card that would result in 576 total impressions!

Next up I made covered notepads. I don’t have a lot of stock in my SU stash (because my stock is in Purcellville – hi mom! lol), so I pulled out my PTI Poppy cardstock. I was in luck I had 8 pieces left (I only needed 4)! Plenty to make these covers. I carefully cut the first one and lucky me made it perfectly the first time (never happens). But don’t worry, I made up for it by cutting the next 3 all at the same time – 1″ short!!! Thankfully I had those extra sheets – but now Poppy cardstock is on my next purchase list! I’m not overly happy with these notepads but that is because I designed as I went.

Finally I created these paper clip bookmarks. I was so happy I had dies that would work to do this, that I forgot the PTI dies are not symmetrical, so I wasted quite a few minutes lining up my pile of cut pieces to the die so I could mark them for easier stamping and assembly. Even still they didn’t line up nice. One day I’ll figure out how to do that! Or maybe PTI will see the error of their way and make them symmetrical (but I doubt it, lol). I do like them – but then I love bookmarks!

And no gift is complete without chocolate. I added a little box of macadamia nuts to each package which was simply stacked and tied with a piece of grosgrain. My kids made a thank you card that accompanied the gifts.

ETA: I should have mentioned this, as I think it is a good tip 🙂 I buy my kids’ shoes at discount places. The shoes are held together with little elastic strings. I keep those strings because elastic can be handy in crafting. I used those strings to hold the pens onto the notebooks!

Thanks for taking a peek!

I used PTI Teacher’s Apple and Take Note to create the cards and notebooks. The inks are StampinUp. If you want to know about anything else, just ask!

Gift Ensemble

This notebook and candle have been on my desk for-evah! They will be finding a new home this week (fulfilling a very old promise).

kth_giftensemble_fabulousbird

What finally got me to finish the ensemble was a challenge. I stumbled upon a challenge blog – 365 Cards – and the current challenge was to use stuff from your stash (Day306). All the pattern paper and punch-outs (flowers, letters, tags) come from a Deja View package that I’ve had for awhile. Very cool how well the greens in the paper work with the notebook.

Another challenge I found was at sketch at Our Creative Corner (SASSC46). What a fun sketch – lots of layers one of which is at a jaunty angle.

Gift Packaging

kth_tropical_longbox

I needed a box to put in a little hair chopstick (I have no idea what you call those things). I started with a Nugget box template I found on SCS and modified it to the dimensions I needed. I learned a good lesson – always make a prototype before using your precious paper! There isn’t much to this box, but it serves its purpose well. I used an old SU scrapping kit for paper and die-cuts. I did decide that I must buy some wide white grosgrain!

kth_ornamentbox_closed

This box was created to hold an ornament. I found it by searching on SCS, but here is a link to the PDF Template from Scor-Pal. I am *in love* with this box. I’m not sure what I would do if I needed a larger box as this uses the whole sheet of 12×12, but it is 3in sq, so it fits most things.

Thankfully my mom just shared some of the flocked paper with me – it was a perfect paper to use for this box. Decorating the top was a bit nerve-wracking though!

kth_ornamentbox_top

I’ve never made Ribbon Flowers before, and it was a PAIN, but they are so cute! The ribbon and buttons are PTI. Thankfully the Poppy color works with the SU Red when it comes to embellishments. The leaves are an SU die-cut that I love! I debated about decorating the wide sides, but I decided not to.

kth_ornamentbox_open

Thanks for visiting!

Warm Winter Wishes

Winter Gift Ensemble

Before I left Virginia, I sent a little care-package to a friend. The package contained (starting in the back row, moving clockwise) lip balm, book store gift card, lotion, tea bags, chocolate bar, and more chocolate (in the tin).

I had fun creating all the little holders. The lip balm holder was made by following this template, but I would suggest using the slit punch to make the top and bottom ledges – sorry I couldn’t find a template, just found them in the SCS gallery (wish I had found them before I tried to make the other, lol). The tea bag holder was made by following this template (scroll to the end of the post) that I found at the Scrap Bitz blog.

This is the first ensemble that I’ve put together where I decorated everything. I chose to use snowflake paper from the old Stampin’Up! Holiday Thyme DSP pack. I think I’ve always shied away from doing coordinated gifts because I was afraid it would use all my paper. ALL of these were done with 1 piece of 12×12 DSP and a couple pieces of 8.5 x11 cardstock.

Winter Gift Ensemble
All Stampin’Up! unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Lace Snowflakes, Snowflakes, Best Yet, Mailbox Greetings (PTI);
Ink: Bashful Blue;
Paper: Bashful Blue, Holiday Thyme DSP, White (PTI);
Other: blue gingham ribbon, ice EP, rhinestone brad, Labels 2 dies (Spellbinders), clear top tin (source unknown);

Teacher Gifts, part 2

Altered Lunch BoxToday’s post is another Lunch Box gift ensemble for a teacher back home. Mrs. A is a wonderful teacher (first grade) and a wonderful person. Because she is such a star, I went with the ‘star’ theme. She also loves rainbows (no wonder I like her so much 😉 ). I didn’t have the paper I wanted to use, so it took me a few days to mourn that and move on. I ended up choosing a favorite paper of mine from Stampin’Up! – Cutie Pie – it is so bright and cheery…just makes me smile! I don’t have the new teacher set from PTI yet, so the sentiment for the box was done on the computer and cut out using a Spellbinder’s Label 2 die. The star stamps are from Verve and they fit wonderfully in the punches from SU!

Note cardsFor this gift ensemble I even got the cards to match, hee hee. I wanted the cards to be mailable in case she didn’t want to just use them for school, so I did a very simple design with no ribbon knots. Did I mention the Verve stars fit into the SU punches? {I love that!} To do the sentiment I used a couple different PTI sets to get just the words I wanted – and since they are clear stamps, lining it all up was a breeze.

Post-it Note Holder and SweetsFinally, the gifties for inside the lunch box. I did a acrylic Post-it Note holder and a bag of cookies (her favorite). I used the same paper so it would match the lunch box. Putting them together is pretty straight forward.

Altered Lunch Box
Stamps: Seeing Stars (Verve);
Ink: Certainly Celery (SU);
Paper: Cutie Pie DSP (SU), Certainly Celery (SU), So Saffron (SU);
Other: Label 1 (Spellbinders), star punch (SU), brads, chipboard, star punch (SU), ribbon (various), computer font;
Note Cards
Stamps: Seeing Stars (Verve), Star Light (Verve), words (various PTI);
Ink: Bashful Blue (SU); Certainly Celery (SU);
Paper: Cutie Pie DSP (SU), Bashful Blue (SU), So Saffron (SU);
Other: star punches (SU);
Notepad and Bag Topper
Stamps: Mixed Greetings (SU), Seeing Stars (Verve);
Ink: So Saffron (SU), Rose Red (SU);
Paper: Cutie Pie DSP (SU), Bashful Blue (SU), White (PTI), So Saffron (SU), Certainly Celery (SU);
Other: star punch (SU), oval nestie (Spellbinders), pen, beads, acrylic frame, celery grosgrain (SU);

Teacher Gifts, part 1

I normally don’t do big Christmas gifts for teachers, I prefer to spoil them during Teacher Appreciation week. But this year I knew we wouldn’t be around during that time and we had such awesome teachers that I *had* to do something at Christmas time. We miss them something bad right now! *sniff*

Altered Lunch BoxOn to the projects. I’ll post in two pieces – some today, some tomorrow. First up is Mrs. B (third grade). She likes school/office stuff, so I made an altered Lunch Box using some old Stampin’Up! Notations paper. I too love office stuff, so making this box was pure fun for me 🙂 As soon as I saw the paper, I knew I had to use the ‘ruler’ part around the center. The ticket (from the Stamp of Authority set) was added because tickets are a big deal in Mrs. B’s class – you earn them and then can use them for fun stuff – like sitting at the teacher’s desk!

GiftsInside the lunchbox I included a matching post-it note holder, made from an acrylic frame, and a matching beaded pen. Of course for the pen I used the “number” paper….forgetting that once you bead it you can’t read the numbers any more…oh well! I also created a tea-bag book. For the tea-bag book, I used a template by CookieStamper that I found on SCS. The tea cup is from a BlockHead Stamps set.

Note CardsFinally, I also included a set of note cards. I knew I wanted to use the doggie image – my kiddo says Mrs. B. loves her dog. My attempt to make the cards (sorta) match the rest of the ensemble, I added the notepaper background. The dog is colored with Stampin’Up! markers, if you work fast enough, you can get it done without the marker lines.

Altered Lunch Box
Stamps: Office Accoutrement (SU), Stamp of Authenticity (SU);
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU), Cool Carribean (SU), Certainly Celery (SU);
Paper: Notations 2 DSP (SU), So Saffron (SU), white (PTI);
Other: ribbon (various), circle punch, silver brads, chipboard, Take Note? rubons (SU);
Notepad and Tea Bag Book
Stamps: Coffee & Tea (Blockhead Stamps);
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU);
Paper: Notations 2 DSP (SU), Certainly Celery (SU);
Other: pen, beads, acrylic frame, red sticky tape, Celery ribbon (SU);
Note Cards
Stamps: Ruff Day (SU), Crayon (Clear Dollar Stamp), sentiment (Rubber Stampede), Notebook Paper background (CHF);
Ink: Lovely Lilac (SU), Close to Cocoa(SU), Creamy Caramel (SU), Bashful Blue (SU), Noir (Palette);
Paper: white (PTI);
Other: purple ribbon;

Snazzy Zippers

My kiddos started school on Tuesday. They came home and told me that they saw TONS of other kids with their very same backpacks! Each of my kids even has another student in their class with the same (even same color) backpack and lunchbox. I decided I needed to help. So I pulled out my stamps, Xyron laminator, and wire and created zipper pulls. Now there should be no more confusion!

The zipper pulls for the backpack are the same for the lunchbox – but one side has an image and the other side their initials.

Supplies:
[Fish Pull]
Stamps: Kissy Fish, Giggle Alphabet (CTMH), Simple Alpha (PTI);
Ink: Pacific Point, Green Galore (SU);
Paper: Basic Black (SU), White (PTI);
Other: wire (SU), laminator (Xyron), circle cutter (CM);

[Floral Pull]
Stamps: Island Blossoms (SU), Giggle Alphabet (CTMH), Simple Alpha (PTI);
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Orchid Opulence (SU);
Paper: Basic Black (SU), White (PTI);
Other: wire (SU), laminator (Xyron), circle cutter (CM);