Saturday 25 October 2008

Mini Treat Holder

These are sooooo cute to put small treats in.
3 Hershey's Kisses fit nicely in them!
You will need:

4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of patterned paper (or cardstock if you wish)
Adhesive such as double sided tape or tacky glue
Paper crimper
Embellishments (ribbon/tag)
3 Hershey Kisses candy

1.Cut your paper to 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 in.
2. Pull the paper a little along the side of a table. This helps to round the paper and the paper will stay together when you glue it.3-Place double sided tape on the inside of paper. Cover the full length of one long side and ONE short side of your paper. Then stick them together. It should look like this.
4. Crimp the side that you glued. 3-4 crimps should be good.
5. Now add the treats.

6. Next, glue the other side, but remember to glue it the opposite way you glued the first side! Then crimp that edge. See the pic to help you here.

*If you don't have a crimper, no worries!!! You can use a ruler and stylus and make crimp marks on the edges.
7. Now, it's time to add a few of your own special touches!!! Punch 2 holes at the top and put a piece of ribbon through it. You can tie it in a knot or a bow. You can add a tag if you like, a flower embellishment or a button-whatever your heart desires!!!
Enjoy! This little treat holder can be used for just about any holiday, not just Christmas. I've made them with Halloween treats in them, as well as for Easter. They would be great for birthday party favors, too!
If you try these we REALLY WANT to see them, so hook us up in the comments so we can visit your blog!!!
Thanks!

Thursday 23 October 2008

Cuttlebug Embossing Border tips

I LOVE the embossing borders that Cuttlebug has came out with! But I found that if I use the borders the same way I would use a full sized embossing folder (A2 size), they leave marks on my cardstock. This is true particularly with textured cardstock like Bazzill (my favorite!). If you wrap the embossing border folder around the cardstock and place it between the two "B" plates with the "A" plate on the bottom, you sometimes get this:

You can kind of see where the textured part was flattened out in some spots and there's a line where the edge of the border is. Now some cardstocks work fine and some don't.


HOWEVER, if this DOES happen to me, I just use my Scor-pal to make a line down the edge of the border area. Kind of separates that section so it looks like it's supposed to be different.


You know the packaging that Cuttlebug folders some in? Well I took the back "chipboard" piece and cut it in to 1" wide strips. I then adhered 7 strips together in a stack as shown. I started out with 4 or 5 and experimented until I had the right thickness for my Cuttlebug. If you're using glue, don't use too much or it will squish out the sides when you run it through your Cuttlebug! You'd need to experiment too - start out with less layers and add one layer at a time until it embosses the way you want it to without leaving the flattened area and line. It depends on how tight your Cuttlebug is, what thickness of adhesive you're using to hold your strips together, and what thickness of cardstock you generally use. Read on to find out how to use your stack.


Here's what I do different with the borders: I wrap the border folder around the cardstock and place it directly on the "A" plate. I don't use a "B" plate yet.


Now place the 1" wide chipboard stack directly over the embossing border folder.


Place a "B" plate on top of that. Yes, my "B" plate is well LOVED! Now sometimes my border folder slips a bit and I have to readjust to make sure it stays where I want it before I roll my stack through the Cuttlebug.


Here is the result from using this method. You can't see where the edge of the border folder was and there's no flattening of the textured cardstock. I like this nice crisp clean look better! And it's so simple!

Check out my blog, Angel Stamper, for more inspiration!

Hope you have a great day! Tootles!

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Inch by Inch!

Something new to do with all your scraps!

Inchies are just like they sound - one inch square of paper covered in various scraps of other papers and rub ons, then punched out with a one inch square punch.

For inchies to be successful, the key is NOT TO THINK about it. I mean it. Don't think. If you stress about how the thing should be looking, you suck the fun out of this whole experience!

Inchies can be used as embellishment on scrapbooking Lo's or on cards or OTP's. They can be used flat or raised. Such versatility!

For this you need:

Marvy Uchida One inch Square Punch.

Lots of scraps of paper and run ons.

Ink to colour the edges of the punched inchies.



Start by layering all your scraps on top of one another. DO NOT make the whole thing too thick or the punch will just not go through it.





Keep overlapping until you have covered the page.





Start using your leftover rub ons and some stamped images to add another layer over the top of the collaged papers.





You will end up with what we call a "Master Board" - one large piece of mixed papers that will form the basis of your inchies.





Grab your punch and start punching out one inch squares from all over the Master Board.



Ink the edges of the punched inchies.



Now it;s up to you to use the inchies either in a LO or in cardmaking - the sky's the limit!

Here's my sample for you to have a sticky beak at:





Have fun and happy scrapping!

Sares x

A note from Julie : WOW Another stunning layout Click HERE to visit Sarah's gorgeous blog !!

Monday 20 October 2008

Christmas Planner

Last year at Christmas, I remember seeing Christmas Planners made from file folders on several blogs. I thought they were really neat but never took the time to make one until now. So here's my version:

I purchased this patterned paper at Hobby Lobby. It's from the "Out & About" line by My Mind's Eye. As you can see, it's not really traditional Christmas colors but I still like it for this project. The ribbon is American Crafts Elements (which coordinates with the papers quite well I thought!) and I used Palette Burnt Umber ink. The title was stamped using the Simple-bet stamp set by The Angel Company.

Here's the inside. I used a regular 8 1/2" x 11 manilla file folder to make this planner. I used my Scor-Pal to score at 8" from the top and folded the bottom section up to create the inside pockets. Then I scored each side of the folder in half. The front of the folder (with no tab) was scored at 4 1/4" from the center and the back of the folder (with the tab) was scored at 4 1/2" from the center. So two of the pockets are 1/4" wider than the other two.

I adhered patterned paper to each section and solid cardstock to the front of each pocket. I just measured the file folder sections and deducted 1/4" from each number to cut my pieces.

One of my favorite sites right now is Organized Christmas. They have some awesome printable forms in .pdf format for Christmas Planners. You can find them HERE. They all have 3 lists per page. For some categories, that will be enough (trim them apart to have 3 lists) and for other categories (like Christmas Cards), you made need to print more than one sheet. I highly recommend them - all the work is done for you!

The Organized Christmas site also has a few different variations of Christmas Planners HERE with links to instructions.

Here's the first inside pocket. My list in this pocket is for "Stocking Stuffers". As I mentioned before, the forms are printed 3 lists to a page, so I trimmed each list down to to 7 1/4" by 3" and attached all 3 of them with brads to a piece of 7 1/2" x 3 1/4" Bazzill cardstock. The reason I used brads is so that I can easily take the lists off and print new lists to attach for next year's planning.

Here's a close-up of the image on this pocket. The stamp is by Studio G. I used my Giga and Mega Scalloped Oval punches. The background swirl is an image from the Spring Dream stamp set by The Angel Company. I stamped this background on every pocket.

Also, you can see the 3 white flower eyelets. I added 3 to the pocket and 3 to the front of the folder. Then tied the pocket together with ribbon to hold it closed on the side. (See picture #1 for the front view).

In pocket #2, I have "Gift List" and "Menu".

The stocking is a retired image by The Angel Company. I colored it with BIC Mark-it markers and used my Giga and Mega Scalloped Circle punches.

In the third pocket, I have "Shopping List" and also a "Receipts" pocket.

The Receipts pocket was simply made from an envelope (3 5/8" x 6 1/2" size). I sealed the flap, trimmed about 1/4" off one end so there is an opening, covered one side of it with patterned paper, and used a 1" circle punch to make a notch at the top. I used the Simple-bet stamp set by The Angel Company and the Fiskars Threading Water Punch here also.

Here's a view of the image on pocket #3. It's also a retired TAC image, colored with BIC Mark-it markers, and mounted on Mega and Giga Scalloped circles.

Pocket #4 contains a "Christmas Cards" list. I printed more than one sheet of this one! The sentiment on the file tab is by Stampin Up.

Another retired TAC image was used on this pocket as well as the Giga and Mega Scalloped oval punches.

Last but not least, here is the back of my Christmas Planner.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed looking at my latest project. If you make one, I would love to see it! Leave a comment with a link! Also, check out my blog, Angel Stamper, for more inspiration.

Have a wonderful day! Tootles!