Recycled Christmas Card Tag -Gift Bag

Last year after the holidays, I went through my Christmas cards and using Spellbinder dies, I cut the card fronts into tags. Great way to recycle them for presents for the next year!

We went over to friend's house for dinner Saturday night, so I quickly made up another little gift bag to hold jam using one of the recycled tags. I added some glitter to Santa's beard, a resin holly and berry embellie, and some die cut branches from a Martha Stewart punch. It was appreciated!





Sharon
Dec. 29/2014

Happy New Year Tag

The other night while tidying up my craft room from christmas stamps, papers, dies, etc., I spied  a fireworks stamp I bought several years ago. So I decided to play with it using many colours of embossing powder, most of them the Wow or Zing really sparkly ones (platinum, silver, copper, gold, irridescent green, holiday red, midnight sparkle blue). I wanted the effect of many fireworks bursting in the sky! Before I did the actual embossing, I spritzed the tag with Biscotti and Heritage Gold Perfect Pearls and let dry.

The Happy New Year verse was cut on my Cricut machine from the uber sparkly, silver glitter paper that was available from Stampin' Up last winter.This paper is SO sparkly it is hard to directly look at it, and I love the fact that the glitter stays put & doesn't rub off.  I wish I had bought two packages last year as I'm down to half a sheet left.

The clock and hands is a die and I used black shiny cardstock that has some glitter embedded in it. Champagne glass and foil stars are older Martha Stewart stickers from my stash. I swiped Tim Holtz Gold Distress Paint along all the edges. Shiny ribbon & gold string at the top, and gold braid at the bottom finishes the tag.

Unfortunately I could not seem to take an adequate picture which shows all the sparkly glitter as it is in real life on the tag.  You just have to take my word for it! LOL

click to enlarge

Sharon
Dec. 22, 2014

P.S. Dec. 29/14   Eeek! I thought I had entered this on the Unruly Paper Arts blog, but today I see the link didn't go through. So am entering again. The challenge runs for the month of December, so I hope I am OK.

Challenge: Unruly Paper Arts - Reader Art Quest Fireworks

Final christmas card - new stamp

I got this stamp last winter on sale, so decided to try it out making one final card. It is an Alesa Baker Design from Impression Obsession #F8489.  Fun colouring with Copics, although the tree needles were a bit picky. Cut out the image with a Spellbinders die and edged with Forest Moss distress ink.

I also added some tree needle diecuts (Martha Stewart punch) in the upper left corner, along with a ribbon bow, and stickles glitter for the snow on the greenery top right, window ledges, flower pots and star.

The ribbon banner is Spellbinders popped up with foam tape.The verse is an old stamp I've had for years.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge -close-up of detail

Sharon
Dec.15./2014

Little Gift Bag

This is a little gift bag which I made to give as a hostess gift for parties we attend and also one for my massage therapist containing a little jar of my homemade raspberry freezer jam. This past summer was one of the best crops I've had - 21 quarts of berries!

I cut the bag from my "Chic & Scary" Cricut cartridge at 5" (the base including the handles). Also added a snowflake diecut, stickles glitter, a snowflake rosette, and little cardinal diecut. I will place the jam jar in a clear cello bag tied with red Maya Road cording, then into the gift bag.

 Sharon
Dec.14/2014

A few more ...

I finished up these last week (a new santa/reindeer die and another take on the reindeer card). Even though there are layers with diecuts, these two are not too "fat" for posting. I have always thought the reindeer die by Tim Holtz looked sort of odd with three legs. So I cut an additional one, just the leg part, and glued it underneath at the deer's shoulder area. All the cards are out in the mail now. Phew....glad that's done, but I enjoyed every minute.

Now this week I can concentrate on baking my shortbread cookies, each with a little rosette of pink or green frosting,  which my daughter always asks for each year. She says it reminds her of going to her grandmother's house for the holidays (my husband's mom who passed more than 23 years ago). Nanny Grant must have made dozens because the cookie tin never seemed to empty!

Sharon
Dec. 14/14

Brother's Christmas Card

Quick masculine Christmas card for my brother I finished last night.

New stamp by Indigo Blue embossed with Zing Copper ep ; deer die by Dee's Dinstinctively, antlers covered with copper stickles; little copper tree brad; and Maya Road glitter  cording. Glitter deer paper is from my stash that I'm finally using

Sharon
Dec. 1, 2014

Christmas card

This card is for my sister who loves figure skating and vintage photos (the little image of girl with the fur muff on the silver glitter snowflake). Thankfully she lives away and isn't aware of my blog so it will be a surprise.

Sharon
Dec 1, 2014

More Christmas Cards

A few more cards I finished. I have 12 ready now!

Sharon

Nov.29,2014

Christmas cards

Here's another finished card. It took a while for me to get inspired, especially since I try with Christmas cards to not add too many layers or embellies due to the high cost of mailing.  Clean and simple is not easy for me to do!


The stamp is by Just Rite "Christmas Labels 20" cut out with the coordinating Spellbinders die, embossed with Zing gold glitter ep and PSX Red Tinsel ep. The poinsettia die is by poppystamps.com #861 "Blooming Poinsettia". Paper is Authentic sponged on the edge with TH Forest Moss distress ink.

I did two of these cards and may possibly do a couple more as they made up in a relatively short time.

Showing glitter

Challenges
Inspiration Journal Happy Holidays

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes

Sharon
Nov. 28/14

Christmas cards

Well it's been such a long time since I posted, in fact last April! I hardly stamped at all during the summer except a birthday card for my friend Marilyn. It was so close to her special day and in the rush to get to the post office I forgot to take a pic of the card.

Now it's Christmas and I have started my cards to friends and family.

Here's a tag I did today using a new die set of carrollers

Impression Obsession DIE221-H. I really like these dies, they are less expensive than some other companies and cut cleanly.

I cut out the lamp post from a Flower Soft topper, added the red gingham ribbon, silk holly leaves and glitter berries. Added a bit of yellow stickles glitter to the lamp bulb. The background is an embossed brick folder and I used Tim Holtz distressed inks to color the brick- aged mahogany,  brick red, brushed corduroy, and tea dye. The top icicles and bottom snow are covered with German Glass glitter. It is actual bits, shards of glass and you have to be careful handling it; however once the glue has dried around the glitter, it is not sharp on the finished project. I love the frosty look of it!

The tag is by Just Rite -"Antique Christmas Tags One" covered with "Wow" glitter gold embossing powder, red embossing powder, and Shabby Shutters distress ink . It is cut out with the coordinating Just Rite die "Antique Tags One". Red sheer ribbon at the top completed the tag.

I am entering this in the folowing challenge:

www.simonsaysstampblog/wednesdaychallenge/

Sharon
Nov. 26, 2014

Tim's Tag for April, 2014

I started this the day after Tim published his April tag and got most of it done; that is, except for the pinecone die roses. I have tried twice to create them and gave up! So this morning I made a tattered flower and added it to the bottom of the tag, along with a leafy flourish, and locket at the top.

I didn't have the strip die Tim used and had to improvise. I found a design on the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge, placed 8 of them on the screen and "welded" to create a lattice pattern. Then cut it from grungeboard and followed the rest of the technique. Silver Mirror cardstock was used in place of the Tim's Mirror sheets.

Sharon
April 10, 2014

Tim's Tag March 2014

I really like Tim's tag for March - it is pretty, a nice change from steampunk. As usual I had to improvise as I didn't have the large feather and bird nest stamps, so I chose to do a butterfly, bee and foliage theme.  Can't say that I'm a fan of the "smudged stamping" technique, but it was something new to learn! I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Tag it!



click to enlarge picture

 

Supplies:

-Butterfly stamp Martha Stewart clear acrylic
-Bee stamp by Crafty Secrets Clear Art
-Bug trail dots by savystamps
-Astible #3872H Penny Black
- Figure and Plate stamps by 7Gypsies "Steampunk"
-Chicken wire stencil by Clear Scraps
-Tim Holtz tissue tape
-Crushed Olive, Forest Moss, Shabby Shutters, Rusty Hinge,
  Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain distress inks
-Tim Holtz Type Key embellishment - I cut a dream word with a 1/2" punch and mounted inside the circle
-Gold thread Hemp twine, gold sheer ribbon

Sharon
March 5/2014

Simon Says Challenge - Tag it

-


Valentine for Sister

I have so many critter stamps from Penny Black and I haven't used them for a few years. Time to bring them out and give them some love! LOL.   My sis and I both don't have phobias about little grey house mice and this one is cute binging on a cupcake.

click to enlarge picture

 

 

I coloured the image with copic markers and decorated the cupcakes with stickles glitter, pearl pen and crystal glaze. Also a bit of stickles glitter around the tag on the top of the box.  I cut out the image with a spellbinder die and sponged a bit of Spun Sugar distress ink around the edge.  It is popped up on a doily heart by Cottage Cutz (CC4x4-155) and also a round diecut doily that friend gave me last year.

The background paper layer of x's and o's (My Mind's Eye) was cut at the bottom with a heart border punch. Also added some paper flowers, a dotted ribbon bow, and some sparkly hearts for embellishments.

Sharon
Feb.7/2014

Penny Black & More February challenge: Make it Sparkle: Shiny pearl brad, glitter on the cupcakes & tag, three sparkly heart embellishments

Shabby Tea Room Week #204 All that Glitters in Love: (include burgundy, pink & red, heart, glitter) I used burgundy tiny paper flowers, cupcake & letters on background paper; pink and red in image, heart doily; glitter on cupcakes, tag and sparkly heart embellishments

Simon Says Wednesday challenge: Have a Heart : Heart Doily.

My Mind's Eye "All You Need is Love challenge:  My Mind's Eye paper "Love Me Pink Hex"

Tim's Tags February 2014

Got excited about doing Tim's Tag for February as the verse I chose really suits a certain friend. Hope she likes it!

I created my own stencil using a Spellbinders heart and a thicker piece of acrylic. I chose to place the stencil and use Tim's technique for the hearts only on the top part of the tag since the chalkboard verse covers a fair bit of the bottom. Verse stamp is by Tim Holtz " Way With Words" collection. It was an interesting technique to do the chalkboard effect!

I placed two glitter hearts, the smaller on top of the larger, at the centre bottom; a silver arrow and scalloped border (Tim's Industrious Stickers); and a silver heart locket tied with baker's twine for embellishments. I also stained seam binding ribbon with Brushed Corduroy and Aged Mahogancy distress ink for the top of the tag.



Sharon
Feb.4/2014

Thinking of you

This card is for a friend who slipped on the ice after visiting her mom on New Year's Day. She broke her leg in two places, is in a cast up to her knee and is immobile for 6 weeks - I hope it brightens her day!

Click to enlarge pic

Stamps are Bold Bella Rose by Heartfelt Creations. I swiped Worn Lipstick, Aged Mahogany and Crushed Olive distress inks, along with dark green SU marker for the veins, directly on the rubber stamp, sprayed very lightly with water mist before stamping on white cardstock. I used the co-ordinating die to cut out the roses and leaves, along with a bit of fussy cutting.

Spellbinders Opulent Ovals dies are sponged lightly with Pumice Stone to "age". Verse is by Stamping Up embossed in gold E/P.

Background paper is by 7 Gypsies, distressed with TH distress tool, sponged with Pumice Stone distress ink and zig-zag machine stitched around the edge. Pearls, lace, ribbon and a crocheted "rose" with large pearl brad finishes the card.

I'm entering this in the Shabby Tea Room challenge "So Romantic, Roses". I know the colour is not like the picture - I'm not a pale pink gal, but my card has lots of roses.

Sharon
Jan.7/2014

Challenge:

The Shabby Tea Room - Week #200 So Romantic; Roses

Tim's Tag January 2014

Here is my take on Tim's January, 2014 tag.   Creating this tag and getting inky fingers is a great way to herald in the new stamping year.

click to enlarge pic

I didn't have Tim's timepiece die so had to improvise using a clock die from my stash. Also since I didn't have any of Tim's foil on hand, I embossed black cardstock with a Cuttlebug clock folder and brushed silver distress paint over the raised design. - sort of reverse what Tim did  (he used silver foil brushed with black distress paint). Then I covered it with clear acrylic before gluing on the silver clockface and hands.

The numbers were cut with Tim's alteration strip die "Once Upon a Time" from black kraft core Co-ordination paper with edges sanded to reveal the kraft.  I've been hoarding some black German foil paper for two years, and finally decided to use some on the top and bottom edges. It's sort of lacey, but not feminine.

EEKS!!! After I published this to my blog, I noticed something. In case you were wondering what "TODFIY"is...... (the word on the timepiece), it is TODAY.  I took several shots at different angles, and they all came out the same. I even asked my husband to read the words- he got them right, and then seeing my face, wanted to know what was wrong. After I pointed it out, he said he could see what I was talking about. It must be a Murphy's Law that you notice these things AFTER everything is glued down! (wink!). They are little stickers called Bookworks by EK Success.

Hubby sort of hinted his old bookmark that I made two years ago is getting shabby, so I'm giving him this one.

Sharon
Jan.3,2014

Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2014