Holly Joy Tag

Here's the third and final Christmas tag from last year.  I used the Spruce & Sprigs stamp set and dies from Papertrey Ink to stamp holly images.  I have some other holly images, but at this point, I didn't want to do any more fussy cutting.  I was making these on Christmas Eve and just wanted to get the presents wrapped and under the tree.  Did I mention that December was a crazy month?  I definitely need to plan ahead better this year.

I cut some tags from Dark Chocolate cardstock with the Tag Sale #5 die by Papertrey Ink and then embossed them in the Woodgrain folder by Stampin' Up.  I love the texture!

After stamping the holly leaves and berries in Pinefeather and Pure Poppy inks, I added Glossy Accents to the berries for dimension.  (hard to see in the photos)  I cut the layered JOY word with the Holiday Double Cuts dies by Papertrey Ink using Pinefeather and white cardstock and adhered them to the tag with foam tape.

The finished tags were very striking!  I added some red ribbon to match the berries.

Stamps:  Spruce & Sprigs (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Pinefeather, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Dark Chocolate, Pinefeather (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Tag Sale #5 die, Holiday Double Cuts die (Papertrey Ink); Glossy Accents (Ranger); Woodgrain embossing folder (Stampin' Up)

Blue Snowman Tag

Here's the second Christmas tag that I made for my kids last year.  I seem to always grab a snowman for one of the tag designs.  This one is from Paper Smooches.

I cut a tag from Enchanted Evening cardstock using the Tag Sale #1 die by Papertrey Ink and then stamped the Peppermint Stick Background by Catherine Pooler Designs across it with the matching ink.

I stamped the snowman image from Swanky Snowdudes on white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers.  After fussy cutting around it, I glued it to the center of the tag.  I stamped a sentiment from Holiday Trimmings by Wplus9 Design Studio on white cardstock that I cut with the Skinny Strips dies by My Favorite Things.  As a final touch, I added glitter to the little hat for some sparkle.

A lot of stamp companies are represented in this one tag!  It's a simple design, but it turned out super cute. 

Stamps:  Swanky Snowdudes (Paper Smooches); Holiday Trimmings (Wplus9 Design Studio); Peppermint Stick Background (Catherine Pooler Designs)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Paper:  White, Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)
Copic:  0, C1, B34, B37, B39, YR07
Misc:  Tag Sale #1 die (Papertrey Ink); Skinny Strips die (My Favorite Things); white ribbon; glue pen; Crystal Fine glitter (Martha Stewart)

Gnome Tag

It's a bit past Christmas now, but I want to post the tags that I made for Christmas last year.  I'll post them over the next three days.  This first tag uses an adorable gnome die that I bought recently from Simon Says Stamp.  I just had to use it for a tag!

So cute!  I cut the gnome from both white and patterned paper and then pieced it together.  The nose and beard were colored with Copics for some shading.  On the back piece, I also colored behind the little triangles to avoid gluing them back in.  I wish there was a version of this die with a solid body to expand the possibilities.

I adhered the completed gnome to a Kraft cardstock tag cut with the Tag Sale #3 die by Papertrey Ink.  Then, I stamped a sentiment from an older set by Waltzingmouse Stamps called Jolly Old Elf.  I'm still sad that the company went out of business.  So many wonderful designs!

After adding some ribbon, this tag design was done.  Nice and simple!

Stamps:  Jolly Old Elf (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper:  White, Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Nordic Holiday (Basic Grey); Candy Land (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Copics:  0, C1, YG67, E30, E42
Misc:  Li'l Gnome die (Simon Says Stamp); Tag Sale #3 die (Papertrey Ink); green ribbon 

Simple Gift Box

A friend owns a mountain cabin and invited several of us to spend a weekend there last November.  It was a lovely time and I made this little gift box for her at the last minute to bring with me.  I filled it with several bite-sized Snickers bars.

I used a sheet of Springtime Vintage patterned paper by Stampin' Up  to make it using the Curvy Keepsake Box die.  I then added a simple tag stamped with a sentiment from the Tag-Its #12 set by Papertrey Ink.  Simple and easy!  My friend really liked it.  :)

Stamps:  Tag-Its #12 (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Baja Breeze, Springtime Vintage (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Misc:  Curvy Keepsake Box dies (Stampin' Up); twine

Several Earring Designs

It's been awhile, hasn't it?  I am popping in to post a few earrings that I made last year.  Creativity has really fallen by the wayside, but one day last October, I got an itch to make earrings.  I had purchased these cute balloon animal charms per my daughter's request.  She never got around to making them into earrings, so I just decided to do it myself.

Aren't they fun?  It was a quick and easy project.  While I had everything out, I made several other pairs of earrings too.  This series of three designs have an ocean vibe.

I bought these beads at Michaels ages ago.  Ages!  My daughter fell in love with an octopus charm and was going to make a bracelet, so we bought a string of fish beads.  It never happened.  I bought the seahorses for myself at the same time, but I'm fairly sure I bought the faceted and ball beads on another shopping trip.  Anyway, I thought they would make some fun earrings.

I gave the fish earrings to my daughter, but kept the other two for myself.  I posted the earrings on Facebook and a friend immediately requested to purchase the seahorse pair.  I ended up making another set, because I didn't want to give them up! 

Just for fun, I decided to create some packaging for the earrings to dress them up.  I'm so glad I did because I found out later that my friend was buying them to give to someone else. 

I pulled out an old stamp set by Papertrey Ink called Boutique Accessories for this quick project.  I cut the earring card from white cardstock using the Boutique Accessories Card die by Papertrey Ink and stamped the Handmade image across the top with black ink.  I pierced two tiny holes in the card to hold the earrings in place.  Naturally, I stamped my info on the back.

It certainly made the earrings look more professional since it turned out to be a gift!  I'm so glad I took the time to do it.  It's the little things.

Stamps:  Boutique Accessories (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Misc:  Boutique Accessories Card die (Papertrey Ink)