Stampin' with Kristin

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week Six

Welcome back to my Twelve Weeks of Christmas!  This week I wanted to share with you a treat bag we made at a workshop this week.  I designed it using products from another one of the Holiday Promotion Bundles - The Gift Packaging Bundle.  I think I might have to make a bunch of these to use as favors for our annual Christmas Party!

The Gift Packaging Bundle contains a package of Mini Lunch Sacks and the Gifted Stamp Set for only $19.92 or $26.32 - depending upon if you choose wood or clear mount stamps).

I also added some Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper, Old Olive Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink, Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, and 1-3/4" Circle Punch.  They were so quick and easy to make!

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week Five

Friday gets here quicker and quicker each week it seems!  But, I was ready for today's project!  If you attended my Die Cut Divas class this month, you were lucky enough to make this adorable banner absolutely FREE!  Yes, hard to believe, isn't it?  But, my Die Cut Divas get to attend a class every month for free.  Usually they make three projects, but this month they only made this one.  It was a bit more involved than the usual projects.  How do you become a Die Cut Diva?  Easy!  Just buy a Big Shot from me!  It's that simple.  Do you already own a Big Shot?  No problem, you're welcome to join, too, but I ask that you pay a small materials fee.

So, onto how we made this banner!

• I cut chipboard pieces into 3-1/4" x 3-1/4" squares.  This enabled me to get one banner out of our chipboard sheets.  The excess was used on the letters.
• Because I was preparing supplies for twelve banners, I glued an entire sheet of 9-3/4" x 9-3/4" Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper to a 9-3/4" x 9-3/4" Sizzix Adhesive sheet.  I then ran it through my paper cutter to cut the squares down to 3-1/4" x 3-1/4".  Does that make any sense?  I ended up with DSP stickers!
• I repeated that step with each of the four patterns of DSP. 
• I then cut 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles of chipboard out of the excess created in the first step. 
• And, similar to the DSP, I adhered a sheet of card stock to a Sizzix Adhesive sheet and cut the card stock into 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles in Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, and Early Espresso. 
• That was my pre-work!

When my Divas arrived, they did the following:

• They carefully cut scallop squares out of the new Scallop Square Due Die in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  It was a tight squeeze, but it definitely worked!  They then cut their letters out of the Alphabet Simple Numbers die.
• They adhered the letters to the scallop squares using Tombo Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
• Next, because they are Divas, I simply put out an assortment of coordinating embellishments so they could customize their banners.  But, do you know what?  I think they all copied mine!  (I'm flattered because that means they approved!)
• For the "N", I ran a strip of Snail (yes, Snail) down the left side of the scallop and bunched some of the Always Artichoke Seam Binding (in the Holiday Mini) and trimmed up my edges.
• For the "O", I took an Always Artichoke button (in the Holiday Mini) and tied Linen Thread through the holes and tied a bow.  I attached mine with Glue Dots, but some of the girls used the Tombo Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
• For the "E", I actually decorated the background first because the "e" is over the trim.  I cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler Card Stock using the Ribbon Punch.  I then wrapped more Linen Thread around the square twice before making a bow.  To finish the edges, I snipped the Cherry Cobbler with my paper snips as close as I could after it was glued to the square.  I then took a sanding block and smoothed the edges.
• For the "L", I simply adhered three of the Basic Pearls - I think I used the large ones.  I also took a small piece of the Victoria Lace Trim and glued it to the back.
• Finally, to string them all together, we laid our finished squares out on top of some Early Espresso Striped Ribbon to figure out spacing.  We then took a hot glue gun and adhered the squares to the ribbon.  We left a loop at the top - I used a HUGE O-Ring as a hook on mine.  Some didn't glue the top until they got home if they wanted to use something else.

Everyone who has seen this banner seems to like it.  And, as much as I was worried, my Divas didn't complain that they only made one project.  This is one I hope that they'll proudly display for years to come!

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week Four

Better late than never, right?  So, this was supposed to be last week's holiday tip.  No worries - there's another one coming this Friday.  But, life happens and I'm just now getting around to posting it.  Did you know that there's a "Handmade Holiday" promotion going on?  Stampin' Up! put together a selection of bundled products - and put them on sale for 20% off!!!  One of those bundles is a Simply Adorned bundle.  It contains a 1x1.25" Charm and a 24" Chain for $39.88.  I just love these as holiday gifts.  Why?  Well, you can stamp an assortment of inserts for the charm so that the recipient can change them out to match her outfit!  I also love that we have cute baubles to attach.  The one pictured here is actually a 1" charm.  I made this for one of the members of my stamp group.  She recently promoted to Senior Supervisor. And, I reward my girls with charms, bracelets, and necklaces for sales and promotions.  I used the insert that I received from Shelli as my inspiration and changed the colors and sentiments a bit.  It has the Eiffel Tower in Marina Mist with the flourish from Charming.  I stamped "Inspire" on the front with additional flourishes and "Create" and "Share" on the back since those are the SU Tagline words.  I used blue because I thought I remembered her saying it was her favorite color.  If not, oh well.  She seemed to like it!

Click here to shop online to take advantage of the Handmade Holiday bundles or order other Simply Adorned Jewelry as gifts for your holiday season.

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week Three

Happy Friday!  It's time for another fun Christmas project!  I've seen similar wreaths online and I immediately knew I wanted to make my own - and I even had the materials sitting around the house to make it!

The base of the wreath is a wire wreath frame.  It has 4 wire circles.  I simply cut 1-1/3 packages of Deck the Halls Designer fabric into 1"x6" strips.  Then, I tied them around the wires with a single knot.  No sewing required!  I didn't even actually measure the fabric!  I eyeballed the strips.  I let it fray.  I didn't even iron the fabric first!  Yes, it's so simple, anyone can do it!  I will warn you - make sure you have a lint roller handy!

Here are a couple of additional close-up photos of the front and back of the wreath.

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week Two

It really feels like I was posting the week one post just a few minutes ago!  WOW!  Christmas is now one week closer and I'm not any more prepared!  But, never fear, I still have a Christmas idea for you.  How about a home decor project?

Luminaries are really fun to make.  I've seen all sorts of luminaries online.  I designed this particular projects for a workshop tonight.

I took an 8.5x11 sheet of Real Red Cardstock and cut it in half.  I scored the long edge at 4" and 8" leaving a 1/2" tab for adhering on both halves of cardstock.  Next, using our Paper Trimmer, I cut a window in each of the four sides.  I adhered some cardstock vellum to the inside and then stamped my images.  I used markers, Whisper White Craft Ink, and blender pens to color my images - from the inside.  For a final touch, I used my Tombo Multi-Purpose Adhesive on the front and adhered some Glass Glitter around the edge for a finishing touch.

This style folds flat - perfect for storage!  And they're SO easy to make.  I can just picture a display of assorted luminaries as a holiday centerpiece!

Twelve Weeks of Christmas - Week 1

For a couple of years now, I've wanted to give you fun gift ideas for the Twelve Weeks leading up to Christmas.  And, if I want to do it this year, I have to start TODAY!  Why?  Because there are only 12 Fridays between now and Christmas - including today!!!  Can you believe it???

My first gift idea is my current hostess gift.  It was inspired by Shelli's (and her daughter's) Founder's Circle swap.  And it's SO SIMPLE to make!  Oh my gosh it's simple!

To make this adorable pouch, you will need to cut two large pennants using your Big Shot and Pennant Die.  I love this die because it has a built in strip along the top of each pennant that you can use for the "tunnel" for your drawstring!  I pulled out and dusted off my sewing machine and did a happy dance when I realized it was already "loaded" with white thread!  I'll have to figure out how to "re-load" it at some point!  And, maybe learn the lingo along the way! 

If I can sew this thing, anyone can - and if you're a seamstress, feel free to chime in with ANY tips!  So, first, I sewed the flap along the top of the pennant die to make a "tunnel" for my drawstring in each of the pennants.  Next, I threaded narrow grosgrain ribbon through the "tunnels" I'd created - the colors vary depending up on the fabric I'm using.  The one I made today used Whisper White.   Then, with the right sides facing out, I laid the two pennants on top of each other and sewed them together!

I embellished this particular pouch with some inexpensive fleece that I picked up at the local fabric store.  They were having a 50% off sale and I've been using it up!  I used the Flower Folds Die and Circles #2 die on this one.  But, the Pennant die actually has a built in scallop circle shape that I've used too.  I used my hot glue gun to adhere the embellishment together and to the pouch.  And, I topped it off with a giant button from the Holiday Mini Catalog! 

If I didn't get 200 kids for Halloween, I'd make fun Halloween treat bags for all of the kids!  But, they'd make a fabulous favor!

Here's a photo of the pouch that Shelli and her daughters gave me in Utah last month!  It uses the Deck the Halls fabric collection and screams Shelli!  Her and the girls made up pouches in both fabric collections, but the one I chose was just "So Shelli"!  If you want to see all six versions of the "Shelli Pouch", click here to view her post.

If you'd like to make your own fabric pouches, here are the supplies and tools you'll need to make my version:

• Candy Cane Christmas Fabric - 121715
• Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons - 121718
• Whisper White Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon - 109025
• Linen Thread - 104199
• Big Shot - 113439
• Pennant Die - 113483
• Extended Cutting Pads - 113478
• Circles #2 Die (Optional) - 115970
• Flower Folds Die (Optional) - 114526