Put Some Fiber in Your Diet!

Or, "Put Some Calories in Your Crafting"???

Hello Dear Readers! I've got a question for you... Do you love food and paper crafting? Well if you do (and I know I do!), then have I got a sneak peak for you!

It's Paper Crafts Gourmet! That's right! It's a cook book and a craft book! Two of my favorite things in one place! Now, you can't even purchase this book yet... it is only available for preorder... But using all my powers of persuasion and at great personal risk to myself, I managed to obtain an exclusive PC Gourmet project -- complete with recipe, supply list and instructions! (OK, if you want the truth -- PC asked me if I wanted to participate in their Gourmet Blog Tour, I said "Yes!" and they emailed the project to me. I wasn't even in danger of getting a paper cut...)

So here's your Sneak Peak Project... Designed by PC Pro Alisa Bangerter and just in time for Halloween!

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Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits
Alisa Bangerter

This is a perfect recipe to pull out if you are short on time because there is no rolling or cutting. The cheese and garlic add extra kick to a plain biscuit, and kids love them. They are the perfect accompaniment to serve with soups or stews, and are great served with a salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 c. flour
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• Chives (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is fine. Add cheese and mix well. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped dried or fresh chives if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.


Enjoy Halloween Tag
Designer: Alisa Bangerter
Finished size: 3" x 4 1/2"

SUPPLIES:
Cardstock: (ivory)
Dye ink: (Black) Stewart Superior Corp.; (Summer Sun) Stampin' Up!
Specialty ink: (Mango Lemonade color wash) Stewart Superior Corp.
Color medium: (black chalk) Craf-T Products
Accents: (black brads) Making Memories; (chipboard bat, moon) Melissa Frances
Fibers: (black striped ribbon) Pebbles Inc.
Font: (Black Family) www.dafont.com
Adhesive: (foam tape)

1 Make tag from cardstock. 2 Crumple tag and smooth out. Spray edges with color wash; let dry. Apply chalk. 3 Ink chipboard moon; let dry. Chalk edges and adhere. 4 Ink chipboard bat; let dry. Adhere with foam tape. 5 Print sentiment on cardstock; trim and tear edges. Chalk edges and adhere with foam tape. Attach brads. Attach ribbon with brad.

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Not enough, you say? You want more??? Then check out this link for eight (Count 'em ... EIGHT!) more complete projects! And don't say I never got you anything...

They're Creepy and They're Kooky...

Well, perhaps I should say "They're CUTESY and they're kooky..."

They're my Halloween Paint Chip Cards that I designed for my World Card Making Day Challenge!

I designed two cards for my Challenge. The first is a quick and easy, simple card in the shape of that enduring Halloween treat... Candy Corn! This was a very easy pattern to create. I based the size on the usable (non-printed) portion of my Behr paint chip. The fold of the card is along the long edge of the left side of the candy. Just for fun, I decided to decorate my card with a goofy face. I know, I know... technically candy corn has a yellow base, orange center, and white tip. Oh well. I think it still looks like candy corn!

The second card that I designed is definitely a bit more complex. And perhaps just a teensy bit creepy. It's my Frankenstein's Monster Paint Chip Card! I really like how this one turned out. I again used a Behr paint chip -- I like its larger size -- and just trimmed off the manufacturer's text along the left side. The base of the card is a 12" piece of orange cardstock trimmed the width of my paint chip. Part of the fun aspect of this design is that it is a gatefold card that opens at Frankie's mouth!

Another fun aspect of this card was in the design of the monster's face. I kept moving different shapes around to find the appropriate expression. At one point, Frankie was lookin' kinda Veggie Tales. Later it was more Sesame Streetesque. You know, like the taller, yellower half of that popular duo, Bert and Ernie. Must be the unibrow...

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In honor of World Card Making Day, here is the complete tutorial for my Candy Corn Paint Chip Card!

Supplies:

• Cardstock: black by DMD; green, white
• Accents: Leaf Self-Adhesive Felt Decorations from Scrapbooking line from Target Stores
• Tools: 1-3/8" and 1" circle punch from EK Success; 5/8" circle punch from Marvy Uchida; hole puncher; Xyron sticker maker
  
• Other: paint chip by Behr; patterns (right-click to download)
  

Instructions:

1. Cut black cardstock and paint chip following patterns. Fold cardstock in half along dashed line. Adhere paint chip to front of card.
2. Punch one 1-3/8" circle from black CS. Cut in half to form "mouth." Punch two 1" circles from white CS. Punch two 5/8" circles from green CS. Punch two small circles from black CS using hole puncher.
3. Adhere circles to paint chip to form eyes.
4. Freeform cut out "tooth." Adhere to mouth. Adhere mouth to paint chip.
5. Adhere felt leaf to top of card for "hair."

Tip: To cut patterns from black CS, print pattern on white paper. Adhere to black CS using removable tape. Cut along lines and remove white paper.

Finished Size approx 3.75" x 4.5"
Enjoy, and Happy World Card Making Day!

My Three-In-One

I just got my copy of the October/November 2008 issue of Paper Trends magazine. And what to my wondering eyes should appear -- but my three Halloween Treat Boxes, plus four Sgro Holiday cards filled with good cheer!

That's right! This is the very first publication in which I have more than one project -- and I have THREE in this one! My loyal readers will recognize two of the projects. The first is my trio of Halloween Treat Boxes. They made their original debut on my blog last Halloween.



The second is my trio of Paint Chip Tree Cards. I was surprised by how popular these simple cards turned out to be when they first appeared on my blog last November. Hmmm... I believe that was about the same time that I started lurking in the paint aisle of my local home improvement stores. Coincidence? I think not!



My final project is new to my blog. The editors of Paper Trends contacted me back in June and asked me if I would like to be a part of their "1 Sketch, 4 Styles" feature. (Would I!!!) I call the resulting design my "Holly and Snowflakes" card. This is a very easy card to recreate, as I used a premade card base and just added some embellishments. (Full details in the Oct/Nov 08 issue of Paper Trends.)


Happy (Early) Holidays, Everyone!

Paper Crafts Magazine Has Been Tagged!

That's right! The third volume of Paper Crafts magazine's Holiday Cards & More is now out on the newsstands. And featured in their "Wrapped with Love" section are my Holiday Photo Gift Tags! Once you have the photo, these tags are über quick & easy to make. And they're great to use with your toddlers, as they don't have to know how to read to identify the recipient of the gift!

I love this edition of Holiday Cards! And no... it is NOT because I have a project published in it! The whole magazine is chock-full of great ideas for holiday cards, decor, gift wrapping, not to mention the gifts themselves. So many gorgeous and creative projects, that it puts my simple little tags to shame! It almost makes me want to get a record early start on my Christmas projects!

(I did say almost...)

Happy Grandparents Day!!!

I'm a teensy bit early -- the holiday is actually not until Sunday, September 7th this year. But here is the card that I made for my MIL from Baby Sgro...

When trying to come up with a design for this card, I found inspiration in Nichole Heady's Daisy card. Like Nichole's card, the front of my card is a piece of transparency sheet. The base of my card is a 5" x 5" piece of glittered, patterned cardstock. I added a strip of green gingham patterned paper along the bottom. I then cut the piece of transparency to 5" x 5.5" and folded down the top 1/2". I glued that top part to the back of my patterned cardstock to form a top-folded card. Then I adhered two pieces of ribbon on the front of the transparency, layering the smaller teal ribbon on top of the gold ribbon. Finally I designed my sentiment in Photoshop, printed it out, punched out the scalloped oval, and attached it to the front of my card. So quick and easy!

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Nana's Nursery - Baby Boy by DCWV
  
• Patterned Paper: Bitty Scrap Pads - Ginghams & Stripes Backgrounds by Provo Craft
• Transparency Sheet: write-on by 3M
• Fibers: ribbon from Jo-Ann Stores
• Fonts: Beautiful, Minion Pro
• Tools: Mega Scalloped Oval by Marvy Uchida, sticker maker by Xyron

Tip: These square cards cost an additional 20¢ in postage!

Finished Size 5" x 5".
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Holiday Gift Card Tags (Part 3)

As promised in an earlier post, here is the complete tutorial on how to create two additional Holiday Gift Card Tags -- one for a Birthday and another for Easter. Enjoy!

Birthday Present

Supplies:

• Cardstock: blue from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: pastel dots from Baby scrapbook kit by DCWV
• Fibers: green ribbon from Scrapbooking line from Target Stores
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Contemporary Brush Bold
• Other: pattern

Easter Egg

Supplies:

• Cardstock: green from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: Easter Ribbons by Reminisce
• Fibers: yellow ribbon from American Crafts
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida; Paper Edgers Pinking decorative edge scissors by Fiskars
• Font: Blackjack from Font Bros
• Other: pattern; crepe paper
  

Instructions
Insert:

1. Cut 2.5" x 9" piece of patterned paper. Score & fold 3.75" from top and 1.5" from bottom. Adhere bottom flap up at sides to create a pocket.
2. Adhere ribbon at top of insert to form a loop and insert gift card into pocket.
   Note: For Present, extend ribbon down the middle of the front of the insert.
   

Holder:

1. Cut 3" x 8" piece of solid cardstock. Print name on front of CS. Cut out shape following pattern.
2. Faux stitch the sides using serrated tracing wheel and white gel pen.
3. Score and fold CS in half to form a 3" x 4" card, fold at the bottom. Adhere sides together to form a pouch.
4. Punch half circle at top of pouch.
   For Present, knot ribbon and attach at top of cut-out.
   For Egg, trim strip of crepe paper using decorative edge scissors; adhere to bottom of holder, making small pleats in the process.
   
5. Slide gift card insert into pouch.

Hint: Vary the paper colors, patterns and ribbon to create Present tags for other occasions, such as Christmas, Baby or Bridal Showers.

Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Holiday Gift Card Tags (Part 2)

As promised in my previous post, here is the complete tutorial on how to create your very own Holiday Gift Card Tags for Valentine's Day and Christmas. Enjoy!

Valentine Heart

Supplies:

• Cardstock: pink from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: from Foof-a-La Paper Pad by Autumn Leaves
• Accents: Fall#1 paper flower from Got Flowers? line by Prima; mini snaps by Making Memories
• Fibers: Dashes, Dots & Checks pink & brown ribbon from Michaels Stores
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Little Lord Fontleroy from dafont.com
• Other: pattern

Holly Leaves

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Celery from Savory Simple Sets Collection by sei
• Patterned Paper: Joyful All Mine by KI Memories
• Accents: Fall#1 paper flower from Got Flowers? line by Prima; red buttons from Winnie's Walls Collection by sei
• Fibers: red ribbon from Scrapbooking line from Target Stores
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Fontdinerdotcom Loungy from fontdiner.com
• Other: pattern

Instructions
Insert:

1. Cut 2.5" x 9" piece of patterned paper. Score & fold 3.75" from top and 1.5" from bottom. Adhere bottom flap up at sides to create a pocket.
2. Adhere ribbon at top of insert to form a loop and insert gift card into pocket.

Tip #1: When folding the patterned paper to form insert, hold the paper so that the patterned side is facing down and the pattern is upside down (if applicable)

Holder:

1. Cut 3" x 8" piece of solid cardstock. Print name on front of CS. Cut out shape following pattern.
2. Faux stitch the sides using serrated tracing wheel and white gel pen.
3. Score and fold CS in half to form a 3" x 4" card, fold at the bottom. Adhere sides together to form a pouch.
4. Punch half circle at top of pouch. For Heart, attach snap to flower and adhere to pouch. For Holly, attach buttons.
   
5. Slide gift card insert into pouch.

Tip #2: I used Therm O Web's 1/8" SuperTape (the red-lined stuff!) to adhere the sides of my inserts and holders. Its narrow width and straight edge made it the perfect choice for this project!

Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Stay tuned for my Birthday Present and Easter Egg Gift Card Tags!

Holiday Gift Card Tags Go LIVE!!!

Here they are! My Holiday Gift Cards Tags as seen in Paper Crafts magazine's latest special issue, "Cards, Gifts, & More: Paper Crafting 3 Ways." The issue just hit the newsstands this month. The photos of my Tree, Onesie, and Chick tag trio appear on page 19, while the patterns are on page 89.

I designed these tags to adorn a present or Easter basket, but they can also be used as the gift itself. The outer layer is actually a pocket which holds a patterned insert. Once removed, the insert opens to reveal a gift card. Or you could replace the gift card with a wallet-sized photo.

In addition to the three designs shown here, I also created other versions -- a Birthday Present and an Easter egg -- which may be featured on Paper Crafts' website in the near future. If they do, I'll be sure to post the link here. Meanwhile, check back soon for additional tutorials and patterns to create your own Holly Leaves and Valentine Heart versions of my Gift Card Tags!



Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

More Happy Holidays!

And a Happy Halloween, too!

I just found out that my Halloween Treat Boxes and my (in)famous Paint Chip Tree Cards are both going to be featured in the October/November 2008 issue of Paper Trends magazine! Woo hoo! That's TWO in one publication! A first for me...

I'll give you a heads up when the magazine hits the newsstands. In the meantime, I do have to remove both projects from my blog. So sorry! But I promise to re-post them in December!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Just a quick post to share with you an easy Easter Basket that I made with the kids at my family's Easter gathering. There are many variations of this basket on the web. My version uses just one sheet of 8.5" x 11" cardstock or construction paper, a small hole punch, and two brads. Once completed, I let the kids embellish them as they wished with silk flowers, stickers, die-cut letters, etc. In the sample above, I used silk pansies which I separated from the wire stem, and removed all the remaining plastic except for the flower's "stamens." I then attached them to the basket with the same brads that hold the basket together. Enjoy!

1. Starting with a letter-sized piece of cardstock, cut off a 1.75" x 11" strip. Trim this strip to 1.25" x 11" and punch holes where indicated. Put strip aside to use as your basket handle.
2. Trim the remaining piece to a 6.75" square. Score 2.25" from each side. Cut where indicated on solid lines and fold on dashed lines.
3. Punch holes where indicated. Fold the sides up until the holes align. Insert a brad through the holes in the basket and the handle.
   
4. Embellish as desired.

Click for full size pattern.

Finished size approx. 5" x 2.5" x 6".

Valentine Chocolate Box

This is the "chocolate" box that I created for my husband as a (belated) Valentine. Lift up the lid to reveal six pieces of Valentine candy, with secret sentiments hidden beneath. It's fat-free, sugar-free, but still oh-so-sweet!

For the box base, I altered a pair of heart-shaped containers that had held some handmade sticker embellishments from Michaels' $1 bins. I added scalloped cardstock to both the front and back of my heart box. I also adhered heart-shaped mulberry paper to the inside of both to cover up the raw cardboard, and an additional strip of mulberry paper to act as a lip for my box. I covered the sides with brown satin ribbon, added a ribbon loop for hanging my project, and accented the front with paper flowers and a custom tag.

On the inside, I adhered six sets of mini baking cups to the bottom - one normal cup and one turned inside out and placed inside the other cup. I did this so that you could see the heart pattern from both the sides and top of each cup. I created six sentiments, punched them out with my circle punch, and accented each of them with a paper flower and silver snap. I then glued one to the bottom of each of my mini baking cups.

For my "chocolate," I chose felt stickers for the tops. Then began the search for something to use as the bases for my candy pieces. I thought mini wooden spools, or checker pieces, or those foam marshmallows would be perfect, except for the fact that I didn't have any of these lying around the house. I tried slicing off rings from a cardboard wrapping paper tube, but that was too wide and flimsy. I thought about stacking buttons, but discarded that idea also. Finally, EUREKA! Plastic bottle caps! They're the right size, lightweight, and available! (Well, if by "available" you mean emptying out a couple of half-filled soda bottles, ransacking the recycling bin, and swapping out blue caps for the white caps on my milk containers...) Voilà! My project is complete!

Finished Size Approx 5.5" x 5.25" x 1.75", exclusive of ribbon.
Lots more pics in my online portfolio!

Happy Holidays!

No, I'm not stuck in a time warp...

I just found out that my Holiday Gift Card Tags have been accepted for publication in the upcoming Paper Crafts: 3 Ways special issue from Paper Crafts magazine! So excited... just had to share!

I'll let you know when the issue goes on sale in August. And perhaps I might even be able to share some related bonus projects with you, my loyal readers!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone of you gets to share this special day with someone you love! Whether it be a significant other, a family member, a friend, or even a pet! But if not, you could at least spend it doing something you love! And for me, that is paper crafting. So, on this special day, I'm combining my two loves by showing you a Valentine's Day card that I made for my Dear Hubby!


I actually designed this card a while ago, with my husband in mind. The base of this square card is a transparency sheet on which I mounted a pink swirl heart "pocket." The cover asks the question, "How do I Love thee? Let me count the ways..." (Although, I suppose technically it should say "WHY Do I Love Thee?"...) I provided five of the answers on flower-adorned strips of double-sided cardstock, which are stored inside the pocket.

The inside of the card reveals another, slightly smaller heart that reads, "Happy Valentine's Day."

Materials:

• Cardstock: Classic K McKenna by K&Company
• Transparency Sheet: 3M
• Accents: Prima Flowers, Making Memories brads
  
• Adhesive: Therm O Web & Xyron
• Fonts: Contemporary Brush, Beautiful

Honestly, I could count way more than five reasons why I love my DH, but from an aesthetic point-of-view, five looked good sticking out of the pocket. Sorry, Dear!

Finished Size 5" square.
Want to see more of this card? Check it out in my online portfolio!

Tag! I'm "IT!"

Woo Hoo! The editors over at Paper Crafts magazine have informed me that my Holiday Photo Gift Tags have been accepted for publication in their upcoming special issue, Holiday Cards & More, Vol. 3! Yay! The issue won't be going on sale until October, so I have a loooong time to wait until I can see it in print.

I actually submitted a whole bunch of projects for this issue, and the one that they accepted is actually one of my simpler designs. Which goes to show, that you can't predict what the editors will choose!

Starting the New Year with a BANG!!!

Happy New Year, Everyone!


Hope you all had wonderful holidays! Mine is starting off with a bang! (and a crash, but more on that later...) Last week I got an email from Kelly over at Paper Crafts Magazine, informing me that my "Santa Gift Boxes" were one of three winners in their December Gallery Challenge. Woo Hoo!!! The theme of this challenge was Holiday Gift Wrap.

I decorated my "Santa Gift Boxes" to look like the Big Guy himself. The smaller box's lid lifts off. The larger box's jacket opens to reveal the gift inside. Both boxes are held close by Santa's "belt."

I modeled the larger box after Williams-Sonoma's Handcrafted Marshmallows package. I find a lot of inspiration from their package designs. Not to mention some really Good Eats!

Congrats also to my fellow winners, joey73 and MOlin! Joey73 designed an absolutely adorable gift tag, and MOlin created a very elegant holiday tea tin. You can see all three winning entries (plus dozens more) in Paper Crafts' gallery for the month of January.

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And what about that crash that I mentioned earlier? Well, my cellphone/PDA (that's Personal Digital Assistant, not Public Display of Affection!) died early last week, and I've been spending DAYS trying to recover as much of my data as possible. My PDA is my address book, my calendar, my recipe files, my shopping list, my diary, my memory, my LIFE! Lemme tell you, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the Sgro household! Why do I share all this with you, Dear Reader? Well, the moral of the story is... ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA!!!

Thank you. That concludes my Public Service Announcement. You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled life...

Holiday Gift Packaging

Hope you all had wonderful holidays! I know I did! And now that the gift-giving is over, I can share with you a few of the projects that I created to wrap up some of my presents this year...

Guitar Gift Card Holder

This first one is a guitar shaped card that I used to hold a music store gift card. I used the pattern and instructions from PaperCrafts magazine's "Card Creations, Volume 5" issue. It is the card titled "Always in Tune" that Nichole Heady created for the Father's Day section. I love the realistic effect that Nichole achieved using the embroidery floss and mini brads!

I embellished Nichole's design with my own holly leaves to make it more appropriate to the season. I completed the holder by attaching the gift card to the inside with removable adhesive dots.

Finished size 4" x 5.5".
Additional photos in my online portfolio.

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Holiday Gift Card Tins

These are two more CD tins that I altered to hold gift cards. I chose cardstock from Reminisce's Snow Globe collection. Similar to my "Hoppy Birthday" Gift Card Tin, I again used a paper sleeve to wrap the tin. And I finished both of them off with more of my personalized tags which I attached using colored safety pins.

For the "Blue Snowflakes" tin, I chose Reminisce's Snowglobe cardstock for my main patterned paper. I attached two layers of ribbon to the outer sleeve using eyelets and some adhesive. I embellished the cover using rub-ons and a plastic snowman.

For the interior of the cover, I again used the Snowglobe paper, and accented it with diecut stickers, green tree buttons and some more ribbon. For the actual gift card holder, I created a flapped pocket using Reminisce's Frosty Frame Up cardstock, and held the flap closed with a piece of Velcro. I wrapped the gift card holder with a length of ribbon and a plastic snowflake. Finally, I finished the look with some additional rub-ons.

For the "Red and Green Stripe" tin, I used Reminisce's Polarity patterned cardstock for the sleeve. I wrapped it with a length of gold ribbon tied in a bow. I again accented the cover with a rub-on.

I covered the inside of the cover with more Polarity cardstock and gold ribbon. I also added some plastic snowflakes and a diecut sticker. I created another flapped pocket from the Frosty Frame Up cardstock to hold the gift card, and used my slot punching tool from Making Memories to create a half circle slot to hold my flap down. Finally I embellished it with an additional plastic snowflake and ribbon bow, and added some rub-ons to the tin.

Finished size 5.5" x 5".
Want to see more? Check out my online portfolio!

HP's Activity Center

I found another great website with hundreds of FREE print projects. It's HP's Activity Center and right now they're featuring a whole bunch of great holiday downloads, including these fun 3D Holiday Ornaments.

Stuck for some last minute gift wrap and tags? I found these cute tags and stickers on HP's site. You can also print out your own gift wrap and boxes. Not to mention dozens of creative cards and paper for your very own family newsletter. Already done with all of your holiday cards and gifts? HP also has calendars and party kits for the New Year!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
~ Angela

Holiday Boxes and Bows... Oh My!

Here are a couple of gift boxes that I created for the holidays. I got my inspiration from a number of different online resources. The box is your basic origami box. There are a many great websites offering instructions on how to create this box. To find them, just enter "origami box" into your favorite search engine. One of the best is Kristina Werner's video tutorial which can be found on her blog. I chose one patterned paper and one solid paper to create my box. Then I tied the two color schemes together with my bow and accents.

The paper bow is my own variation of the tutorial which can be found on SplitcoastStamper's website. However, instead of cutting and gluing 13 individual loops, and using multiple brads, I used fewer strips of longer paper and just one long-pronged brad.
Here's how...

Materials:

• 6" x 12" piece of double sided paper
  (Note - heavier double sided cardstock will also work,
  but it will be more difficult to manipulate)
  
• brad/paper fastener with long prongs
  (you can find these at your local office supply store)
• paper piercer (or a thumbtack, for an inexpensive alternative)

Instructions:

1. Cut eight 10" x 3/4" strips and one 4-1/2" x 7/8" strip of the double-sided paper.
   Tip: First cut your paper into two 6" x 10" and 6" x 2" rectangles. Cut the eight strips from the larger piece and the small strip from the 2" piece.
   
2. Pierce 3 holes down the center of each of the 10" strips: 1/2" from each end and one in the middle.
3. Pierce 2 holes in the 4-1/2" strip: 1/2" from both ends.
4. With the prongs facing up, place the end hole of one of the 10" strips on the brad, inside pattern side up. Using a figure eight pattern, place the center and second end holes on the brad. Always keep the inside pattern facing up on the brad.
5. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat step 4 so that the loops form a plus sign.
6. Continue with the remaining 10" strips, rotating so that each new loop falls in between existing loops.
7. Finish with a single loop made from 4-1/2" strip. Bend prongs to secure bow.

Bonus Tip! Since I knew that I would be attaching this bow to my paper box, I pierced a whole in the center of the lid of my box. I then inserted the brad from the inside of the lid so that the prongs protruded up on the outside of my box. Next I put my box lid over a jar, so that I would have a stable surface to create my bow. Once I finished my bow, it was already neatly attached to my box! Voila!

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I based the design for my personalized tag on Nichole Heady's Mini Gift Cards. I love the simplicity and elegance of Nichole's design! Since I didn't have her stamps, I decided to use a graphic from a Digital Kit instead. I chose the holly leaves from Kate Teague's "Berry Days" Kit which I downloaded from the Two Peas in a Bucket website. I finished it off using Font Diner's Rickles font, my Marvy Uchida Mega Scalloped Square Punch, and some ribbon. I attached my gift tag to my bow using a small safety pin.

Finished size of boxes approx. 4.25" square x 2.75", exclusive of trim.
Bow is approximately 4-1/4" across.
Additional photos in my online portfolio.

Holiday Frame Ornaments

Here is a super quick and easy (and inexpensive!) holiday idea that would be a great project to do with the kids. I designed them as ornaments, but they would also be wonderful as package decorations and as gift tags.

Here are the basic instructions for the base:

1. Cut a 3" x 6" piece of patterned cardstock.
   (Heavier cardstock works better for this project than the lighter weight patterned paper.)
2. Fold in half to form a 3" square.
3. Using a 1-3/8" square punch, cut out a hole in the center of one of the squares.
   Note: I really like using EK Success' square punch for this project, because I can simply insert my paper all the way into the punch until it stops. And then I center the punch visually on the paper and squeeze. That's it! No measuring required! Of course, if you do not have this punch, you can cut out the square with a craft knife or scissors.
4. Glue your 1.5"-1.75" square photo in place.
5. Glue the frame closed.
6. Attach wire or ribbon to hang ornament.
   

That's it! Now it is up to you to embellish as desired. My only caution to you is to not go too crazy with the embellishments, especially the heavier ones, as the base is only paper. And also keep in mind that you want your ornament to hang straight, so you may need to balance out an embellishment on one side, with an additional one on the other side.

Blue Snowflakes Frame Ornament
Finished Size approx 3" x 4.25", exclusive of wire hanger.

I attached snowflake brads to the top corners and wrapped the ends of a length of wire around them to form the hanger. You could also attach eyelets and thread ribbon through.

I then added a playful plastic snowman using mini glue dots. Finally I attached three plastic snowflakes using jump rings. I really like the dangling effect that I achieved here!



Red & Green Striped Frame Ornament
Finished Size approx 3" x 3.25", exclusive of ribbon.

I chose to have a photo on both sides of this ornament. Simply do steps 3 & 4 on both sides of your cardstock.

I added a sheer cream ribbon as a hanger. To attach it, I carefully cut a slot through the top of my photos, where the pictures meet the frame. I then slid my ribbon through.

Hint: use a thin piece of metal or plastic to help guide your ribbon through the slot.

I then knotted my ribbon at the top to form a loop and tied a red bow around my ribbon at the top of the frame. Finally I adhered a ribbon poinsettia to each side of the frame using glue dots.

Enjoy!