There is nothing faster to show off your stamping skill than a homemade tag. We ended our Christmas in August class by doing just that.
1. First tag was made using the ever faithful Lovely as a Tree. Ink your stamp once, stamp it several times and make a forest. The Merry was made using the Thinlits Expressions. The ribbon used to tie it off is the Always Artichoke seam binding.
2. Second tag was made using the O Holy Night single stamp. It was stamped twice once in Gumball Green, and again in Rose Red. This is a great stamp for a tag because you can highlight whatever word you choose. I cut out the Merry Christmas and glued it onto the green words. The tie for this tag is Baker's twine.
3. The last tag had to use my favorite....punches. The wreath is made by first punching a 1 inch circle, then punching the 1/3/4 scalloped circle punch around the circle. Anytime you want to use two punches remember to punch the smaller punch first. The holly on the wreath was punched using the owl's eyes.The saying in the center, from the set called More Merry Messages, was punched out using the smallest scallop circle punch. The tie for this tag is white baker's twine.
Can you see yourself making a bunch of each one of these designs for your Christmas packages?
You've probably heard about the new Envelope Punch board that helps you make over 60 different sized envelopes. Check out this video. Well, I had my stamping friends make an envelope at the Christmas in August class. The envelope used an 8 by 8 piece of designer paper. That left me with a strip of paper that was 4 by 12. Not one to waste paper, I decided to try and make a tiny gift card with matching envelope out of this strip. Here's how.
1. Cut a 4 by 4 square. This will be the envelope. Your first mark on the new envelope punch board will be at 2 inches. The rest of the punches and score lines will be as directed for any sized envelope.
2. The matching card to be inserted in the envelope measures 4 by 2 inches. When folded in half it will fit nicely into the envelope.
It is a great feeling to find a way to use up all the scraps from a project. Now, I have lots of gift enclosure cards to share with others.
What would you do with the extra DSP?
You always need a simple box to put some cookies, candy or a small gift in for that special someone you want to remember at gift giving time. We made this box at my Christmas in August class with several new items from the both the Annual (AC) and Holiday Catalogs (HC).
1. Decorative Window Gift box, comes with 6 boxes and a clear window in the top flap. HC
2.Pretty Presents Designer bows. 10 pre-punched bows, 5 of two different sizes. These bows are double sided HC
3. Season of Style designer paper HC
4. Tag It the Ronald McDonald stamp set for this year AC
When I first saw this card on Mary Fish's website I fell in love with the simple design. The poinsettia is embossed with gold embossing powder on vellum. The red dots in the center of the flower are small punches glued on with glue stick. Cherry Cobbler ink was used to stamp the saying. And the wonderful envelope liner was used to line the envelope. A perfectly simple but elegant Christmas card. Thank you Mary for your inspiration.
When you go to use the envelope liners make sure you choose the largest framelit for the standard envelope. And make sure you insert the liner before applying any type of adhesive. (The voice of experience speaking here.) The next smaller size liner is intended to be used with the card and envelope sets we sell. The smallest liner is meant to be used with a 3 by 3 card. Doesn't the liner add the just right finishing touch to this card?
Do you ever just want to make a card and not worry about designing it, or cutting out cardstock? Well, SU now has kits that you can purchase. This kit is called Merry Little Christmas and includes supplies to make 8 cards including the cute envelope liner. I did buy the saying stamp separately but loved the final look of the card. My friend Julie showed on her blog how to turn the card into a birthday card. Clever idea I would not have thought of. Now, I need another set for some ready to mail birthday cards. What would you use as an alternate saying on this card ?
Last year one of my stampers suggested having a Christmas card class in the summer. So, I did and decided to make it an annual event. Last weekend I had Christmas in August. People that came made 4 Christmas cards, 3 tags and a decorated box. They got to use several new items from the Holiday catalog. This card was made using the trio of tiny Christmas punches. It is no longer in the catalog but still available to order. If you are interested in order them send me an email and I will be glad to help you out. The designer paper I used for this card is actually called Birthday Basics. But I liked the look of the design and thought it would be great for this card. How much easier can you get, punches, designer paper, and a simple saying.
