Perfect Party/Treat/ Gift Containers

Whether your hosting a party or giving a little gift, these party containers are SO cute and super easy to put together!

I made this treat container above as a "Thank You" candy holder. I love it because it doesn't take much paper and there are so many things you can do with it. Thanks to Tammy Smith from A-Muse stamps for the darling stamps and paper that I used. If you are in the market for some new stamps check out Tammy's site where she has ton's of cute stamp ideas and where you can learn more about A-Muse product.

You can see the complete tutorial as well as another treat container I made on today's segment of My Craft Channel. This one is definitely a keeper am thinking of so many ways to use this container. I hope you enjoy it too!!

Tye-Dye T’s with Sharpies Tutorial

Tye-dye t’s are still GROOVY but making them with kids can be less than GROOVY unless you are doing it with sharpies! I pinned this idea off the sharpie website forever ago and just realized this is a great spring break activity that we really needed to try.
Check out my complete videos of kids crafts on My Craft Channel! Lot’s of fun ideas to get you ready to ROCK spring break!

My 10 year old absolutely LOVED this craft, which means her younger sisters are going to love it too. The best part is that she was able be as creative as she wanted to be.

The first time my daughter played around with it the colors were fairly light. Later on (after the above photo) she sat back down and was much more aggressive with her coloring and the colors ended up deeper and darker.
To get started on this one you will need:
Bottle of Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (at least 70%)
Medicine Dropper
Sharpie markers
Paper cup
rubberband
White t-shirt

To get started we put put a piece of the t-shirt over the opening of the paper cup and used a rubberband to hold it in place.


She started by making round dots all over the designated area. She was afraid to go dark at first but once she got going she started playing more with the colors and tried lot’s of different designs.

The more color you add and the less space you leave, the better. Thin lines didn’t work as well. The colors were able to spread the best when they were thick.


Next we filled the medicine dropper with alcohol and began applying it to the colored areas.


Once we added enough color to one area to get the color to spread, it was time to adjust the fabric and work on the next area.


Once the shirt is colored to your desired look, throw it into the dryer until it dries and that will set the colors.
Happy Crafting!

Gifting Gift Cards Part 4– Pocket Card

As soon as I saw the Kneehighs & Bowties collection from BasicGrey I was totally in LOVE!
There is absolutely something for everyone in this collection! Yesterday I shared a gift card wallet for a girl and today I have something for the boy (or man) in your life. I will stop drooling now but just one more comment on Kneehighs & Bowties. How about the blue and orange together?? I really like this combination!!

This card is perfect for Father’s Day coming up in the next few months! The paper is light and fun but perfect for a male recipient. I love how snug my gift card fit into the pocket. It is a perfect fit and is simple enough but makes a great gift as well!
Make sure to stop by Basic Grey’s booth at Scrapbook USA (just over 2 weeks to go) and pick up some fun product!
Until then,
check out all my Gifting Gift Card ideas on My Craft Channel. My latest episode features all 5 of my ideas.

You can also take a peek at my first 3 ideas on our blog:
Part 1: Homemade Snowglobe gift card holder
Part 2: Gift Card Wallet
Part 3: Gift Card/Candy Envelope

Gifting Gift Cards Part 2 (As Seen on My Craft Channel)

I really went a little crazy with gift card ideas! I was looking for one fun and new idea and ended up with a number of ideas that I plan on using over and over.

You can check out ALL my ideas at once at My Craft Channel by watching my latest segment or you can follow me today and tomorrow while I roll out each one individually!



Earlier this morning I shared my Gift card snowglobe idea. Make sure to check that one out, it is SUPER cute! Now, I have a quick gift card wallet idea that works great for any occasion.

Today I am using BasicGrey’s new “Kneehighs & Bowties” collection. It is a super fun and young collection. This will be perfect for my niece’s birthday.



I cut my paper to 12X6 and scored it in 2 places. I just “eyeballed” my folds to get it the size that I wanted. To get my rounded edges I used a cereal bowl as a template (very high-tech) and rounded it to my desired look. I added a pocket to the inside and some velcro for my closures.

I like how there is plenty of space on the inside to write a little note, personal message or add a photo. This space is perfect for my family of 7 because I like everybody to write their own names on cards and most of my kiddo’s names end with flowers and hearts (at least when they write their own names) so the extra space is perfect.

I think I am going to make one of these for Mother’s Day as well. Instead of a gift card I could add little notes and poems from each of the kids.

Super versatile and best of all SUPER easy! I hope you have as much fun as I have had putting together and personalizing one of these little Gift Card Wallets!

Gifting Gift Cards Part 1 (As Seen on My Craft Channel)

Happy Monday!! When I was planning my segments for My Craft Channel I wanted to put together a cute and creative way for gifting gift cards. Once I got going I ended up with a number of different ideas that I really LOVE!

Since some of them require some measurements and instructions I am breaking up today’s posts into 5 parts that I will share throughout today and tomorrow. You can wait for each of my posts OR better yet, check out a sampling of everything by watching today’s Creative Insights segment on My Craft Channel.



Sometimes gift cards are “gifted” as last resorts because we really don’t know what else to give but more often than not I like giving gift cards because I want to give my friend or family member the opportunity to pick up something special for themselves.

So, I have been brainstorming some fun and creative ways to give the gift card so that the receiver knows that it is a personal gift meant just for them…..

My first idea is also my personal favorite. I probably love it because I have 4 daughters and believe me, I am SO out of gift ideas. In my opinion, they have everything they need and if they don’t have it, I don’t really want it in our house. I have recently started giving them gift cards more often. The gift cards are meant to be used on dates with Dad or I. Last year I gave my 8 year old a gift certificate to Hales Theatre. We ended up having a fabulous time together seeing “The Sound of Music”. So with all the little girls in my home you can imagine that they would probably be intrigued if they received one of these for their birthday…



My 4 year old loves snowglobes and asked for one for Christmas. I had seen tutorials for making them (which I meant to do over the holidays) but never did it. So instead, why not make one with the gift card inside. Putting together this temporary gift is super easy.

Just take a canning jar and fill it with water. Add some glitter (amount is up to you). Next get a ring with a canning lid inside. I used a couple glue dots to attach the gift card to the inside of the lid. I found this cute minnie around my house and she was a perfect fit inside the jar. I had planned on using glue dots to attach her to the lid but I didn’t need to because she fit in so snuggly.

Lastly I put the lid in place, screwed it tight and turned the jar upside down. Of course it needed a little more so I cut that trim with some BasicGrey paper and attached it with the bow and there it is, a cute and intriguing way to gift a gift card.

In addition, I love that after a special gift card is used , like this DisneyLand card, the memory can be remembered by keeping it safe in a homemade snowglobe.

So, Happy Gifting! Stay tuned for more gift card ideas later today...

Five-Fold Card

Today’s Scrapbook USA Expo segment on My Craft Channel features a fun and super easy Five-Fold Card.


You can watch the video version or follow my tutorial below.
I love My Mind’s Eye product for this card because their cardstock is really thick so it is nice and sturdy plus their 2-sided paper is fantastic. Both sides are always equally as nice as the other.



Today I am using My Mind’s Eye’s brand new “Collectable” series. (I love every last piece of this line!)
Start out with a sheet of cardstock 8X12
You will need to score it on the long side at 4 inches and again at 8 inches.

Then turn it and on the short side score it at 2 inches and again at 6 inches.


Then you will want to make 4 cuts (free hand or with a cutter, either way.) Cut on the score line and end
when you hit the cross score.



Now you have 4 flaps. Completely cut off the top 2 (as seen below) then on the bottom 2 flaps you will want to cut off 1/2 so they are now shorter. Fold them in to check their size. you don’t want them to overlap just meet up with each other.



Next you will make a diagonal cut. I am not good with scissors so I lined up the top corner with the bottom corner and used my trimmer but I am sure free hand works well too.

‘
Almost done, Use some embellishments to jazz up the inside. You could add a gift card envelope to one size or put a wallet size photo in if you wanted.



Now, just fold it up….



…add an embellishment and ribbon and there you go.



Super cute! Plus lot’s of different fun things that can be done with this card!

Pin Wheel Cards Using My Mind's Eye as seen on My Craft Channel

Happy Monday!

Today on My Craft Channel my episode is a tutorial called "Pinwheel Cards". I really LOVE this technique and I am sure you will love it too.

You can visit My Craft Channel to watch the video plux  check out the photos and details are below.

This card is SUPER easy plus is perfect for any season and can be made with just a few leftover scraps.

I used the brand new "Collectable" collection from My Mind's Eye. This is a great collection with TONS of coordinating papers and embellishments. It is perfect for spring and summer as well as many different occasions. I am doint a "Thank You" card today but this line would work for almost any occasion.

Check out the complete collection at My Mind's Eye's site.

To begin this card you will need two 4.5 inch squares to use for your pinwheel template. You will not see them in the end so any scraps will work. You will also need:

eight 1 3/4 inch squares
eignt 1 5/8 inch squares
These squares need to coordinate. Layer them with one another.

Next, Layer your 2 square scraps as shown above.

Begin the process of layering your squares around your template. It is just like a puzzle. You will need to do some tucking as you work your way around so make sure you are aware of where you are putting your adhesive.

Once you are done it should look like the above photo.

Finally, add an embellishment to the middle and place your pin-wheel onto your card.

There you have it....A Pinwheel card!

Have fun!!

"A Note of Love" by Fancy Pants + Giveaway!

There is nothing more fun than hunkering down in my craft room with just me and a super cute paper collection. I really outta do it more often! Well, recently I found some time and I spent an evening with Fancy Pants new Valentines collection "A Note of Love" and I gotta say, I love the results!

The projects were specifically done for my 1st segment on "My Craft Channel" (airing February 11th!!!). I really wanted to focus on Decor that you can start and finish in a reasonable amount of time without using much more than the paper collection and items you already have at home.

The Fancy Pants collection practically did the work for me thanks to all the fun designs. I really loved the variety of paper, stickers and punch-outs that were included. In addition to the double sided cardstock it also included a sheet of pink corrugated cardsotck and a sheet of red glitter paper which were really fun additions.

Here is what I put together:

This cookie cutter wall hanging is so much fun! There is just SO much you could do with some cookie cutters and cute paper! I used some embellishment glue to adhere the paper to the cookie cutters. Make sure you use the thick side of the cutter as the back. It is a bit thicker and gives you a little more for the paper to adhere to. I ran ribbon down the back and used a hot glue gun for that. The back doesn't look too great so I tacked mine to my door so it doesn't move around. You could do a backing piece so that the back side looked nice as well. I used a metal ring from an office supply store for the top with some tulle wrapped around the edges. Hurry and get your cookie cutters. I bought a set of 5 at Walmart and 2 more individually at Hobby Lobby. They were already picked over a bit.

I have a bunch of "staple" items that I keep on my shelves and then I change them out for different holidays. I use these candy/candle dishes quite a bit and just switch out the vinyl and embellishments. My kids love them too, since candy appears in them every so often.

This "kissing booth" page was the first thing that drew me into the "Love Notes" collection. It is SO cute! Actually it is part of a 12X12 sheet of paper. The paper would be super cute in a layout but I cut it out instead and made this banner. My 8 year old smiles every time she sees it! The 2 small banner's were punch outs in the collection and I used a sticker strip to cover the clothes pins.

This 12X12 frame from Ikea is another one of my family room staples. I change it out for each holiday. If I don't have holiday decor on display I like to use a recent layout from a vaction or family photo. The best part of this is that the grey vinyl is on the outside of the glass so the paper is still good as new and I can use it in my album after the holiday.

If you are interested in "A Note Of Love" for yourself - Fancy Pants is generously supplying one of our lucky fans with the complete collection. Enter below AND Good Luck!!

Also, mark your calendars- my first segment on "My Craft Channel" will be February 11th. I will be highlighting these projects!!



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What's New in 2013? My Last CHA Wrap-Up

Once I got home from CHA and back to the normal race of life I totally forgot I have a few more CHA photos that I really want to share.

I saw so many fun things at CHA this year. I am really excited for up and coming product that we will be seeing on store shelves pretty soon!



Graphic 45: I love their spring colors! My favorite thing about G45 is that I know which booth is their's as soon as I see it. They have a style all their own and they are always true to it!




Graphic 45: Their booth was  full of darling and creative ways to use paper.




Imaginisce: I just became a dog owner a few months ago and I can't wait to put together my first layouts of our dog Lucy withi this cute paper. I LOVE the colors!

 


My Mind's Eye: I already shared some MME product in my previous posts but I couldn't resist another peek at the fun colors in their upcoming lines. Watch for my segments on My Craft Channel. I have some fun cards I will be demonstrating using this new MME product. They turned out super cute!



DCWV: Our friends at DCWV did not disappoint! They always have the most darling displays with unique paper folds. Love these shades of green, pink and blue together!




DCWV: I am sure everyone has already seen the DCWV elephant! This purple beauty had her picture taken hundreds of times I am sure. She is made of paper (of course) and is just pure awesomeness!




DCWV: Cute layout! I love the elegant style and the flowers are so pretty!



Just before heading out on the last day I hooked up with Kristine McKay from My Craft Channel for a few minutes. I am SO excited to have them at Scrapbook USA this March! We talked about a few of the plans she has in the works for the show and I know their booth is going to be lot's of fun!

 There you have it, my final photos from CHA! It was s super fun week getting a first look at what is new in the crafting and paper crafting world! Our vendors had fantastic booths and all of them have some fantastic product heading into stores in the coming months. Make sure to be at Scrapbook USA Expo coming March 22-23, 2013 and pick up all your crafting supplies. See you soon!