Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Making a Christmas Card and Tag With Paper Pumpkin

I’ve been saying that Paper Pumpkin has been getting better and better every month! I think the November Kit hit it out of the park! Paper Pumpkin is the papercrafting kit that comes to you in the mail, all wrapped up in a cute red box, for your crafting pleasure! This kit contained contents to make a 3D Christmas card with snowflakes, rhinestones, silver baker’s twine, and washi tape and a coordinating tag for packages! There is so much included in the kit! You can follow the directions and make the exact project provided or you can change it up or make something completely different with the materials.

Here are all the contents of the kit!

Looks like fun, right?! Read about Paper Pumpkin HERE. You can either do a monthly subscription, which you can pause or cancel at any time (so no risk!) for $19.95 a month (which includes shipping!!) OR you can add a subscription to your regular Stampin’ Up! order. You can see those subscriptions HERE. These are paid with your order. Either way, you get a kit in the mail once a month, it is almost always a surprise, and being a subscriber allows you access to past kits or refills (when available) if you want to make more or if you want a kit that you missed.

You can gift Paper Pumpkin subscriptions as well so consider that as you look over your people you have to buy for. Someone on your list might be the perfect person to receive a Paper Pumpkin Kit in the mail!

Be sure to check the Stampin’ Up! Online Store for the Year-End Closeout on the Clearance Rack! Great Deals! Even Christmas products! While supplies last so don’t wait!

Iridescent Ice Snowman Coaster Magnet

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You’ll never guess where I got inspiration for this Iridescent Ice Snowman Coaster Magnet! I found it on Pinterest but what I thought was an outdoor Christmas decoration actually was a Snowman candy pop on a stick! So even if you see something cute to eat, you can also make it into a stamping project!

When I went looking in my stash for some round coasters to make an ornament, perhaps, I found these much larger 5″ cork coasters from a craft store, which I thought were great. When I turned them over, here they all had a magnetic strip on the back! So this is really a magnet! Cute to stick on the fridge for sure!

I traced around a piece of Whisper White card stock to cut out, but ended up gluing the coaster to the card stock and trimming off the edges, but I think it would have been better to just cut out the circle in the first place. As I was getting ready to glue on the embossed cap, I remembered I had thought to stamp Versamark ink all over the card stock face of the snowman and emboss with Iridescent Ice to get the glittery sparkly snow look. THEN I glued on the cap, the band at the bottom, and the tassel at the top. I think I should have sponged some Craft White ink on all the pieces to make them stand out a little better. Then I punched out black circles for the eyes (1/2″ Circle Punch) and circles to form the mouth (Owl Punch) and just hand cut his carrot nose. The little highlights on his eyes are with the Chalk Marker. You should always put a little highlight in eyes.

If you need any stamping supplies, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

FYI: TOMORROW, Dec. 5, Stampin’ Up! is adding new items to the Clearance Rack so be ready to check it out and order your favorites right away. You know they are only available while supplies last!

Shop the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack HERE!

Christmas Candy Bar Wrapper Ideas

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For a fun and delicious Christmas craft project, get some candy bars (regular size) and wrap them in paper and decorate. If you are looking for Candy Bar Wrapper Christmas ideas, here are three for you! I swear I only bought these Hershey Bars with Almonds for the purpose of crafting and creating! You will have to measure your own candy bars, but for mine, I cut the card stock at 6″ x 4 1/2″ to wrap around the candy bar. You could also use designer paper. Then just decorate! It’s a good way to use up some of your scraps!

For the snowman, I just used three circle punches in different sizes for his body, a scrap of designer paper for his scarf and the 1″ Square Punch and Word Window Punch for his hat! Plus a little flower punched out with the Boho Blossom Punch with a little Rhinestone for an accent. I just drew on his face with markers.

For the Santa candy bar, just tear a strip of Whisper White on both sides after wrapping the candy bar in Real Red card stock. Punch some black buttons with the 1/2″ Circle Punch. The belt buckle is Gold Foil punched with the Curly Label Punch and a square of Basic Black in the center to make it look like a belt! And of course the belt itself is a 1″ strip of Basic Black.

The elf legs are made with strips of designer paper from Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper. The shoes are fashioned out of the Curly Label Punch trimmed down to look like shoes. The wrapper still needed something so I glued on a strip of Real Red around to look like shorts and a belt around the middle. See, you can just play around and see what you come up with!

Remember the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza is still going on through Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. Be sure to double-check the Doorbusters on Monday! Are the Blendabilities calling your name??!

And any orders placed through Tuesday, I will send you a free PDF of some Christmas treat projects you might find easy to do!

Thanksgiving Wine Bottle Tag

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If you are going out for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and want a little something for your hosts, make a quick and easy tag for a wine bottle you are taking to them or some other beverage of choice! Or just make the tag portion to accompany some other hostess gift.

The tag is made with a base of Brown Sugar card stock, cut at 2 7/8″ x 8 1/2″ and scored at 2 3/8″. Punch a hole to fit over the bottle (sample uses 1 3/8″ Circle Punch) and if you like, also punch out a 1 3/4″ Scallop Circle to fit around the punched hole. Layer the tag with a piece of the beautiful Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper. I also love the stamp set For All Things and stamped the images on the Deco Labels Framelits die cut piece and the greeting just on a scrap of Very Vanilla which I hand-trimmed in a banner shape and sponged with some Cajun Craze ink. The leaves are just cut out of some of the Color Me Autumn DSP!

Keep the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza in mind that will be going on this whole holiday weekend and on through Tuesday, Dec. 2. Don’t forget the Doorbusters on Monday, Dec. 1st!

Click HERE to see the Extravanza PDF.

And for any order placed during the Online Extravaganza, I will be sending you a Bonus Gift, a PDF for some easy Christmas projects you will enjoy making!

You can also add a Paper Pumpkin subscription to your order! Just click HERE to see the Paper Pumpkin options that you can add to an order for varying lengths of time!

Click to Shop!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Top Note Thanksgiving Cello Bag Treat

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If you haven’t had time yet to make some kind of Thanksgiving treat or table favor, here is something easy. Put your candy or treat into a cello bag and decorate with a topper made with the always popular Top Note Die and Big Shot. Just fold it in half and decorate! I stamped some leaves from the Fall Fest Photopolymer Bundle and cut out with the matching framelits, both of which come in a Bundle so you can save 15% if you buy the stamps and framelits together. The words are from a stamp in the For All Things Stamp Set, only the words I wanted colored in with an Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker and punched out with the Extra-Large Oval Punch.

Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for November 25 – December 1:

Don’t forget, the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza is ongoing! And more Doorbusters coming Monday, December 1st!

Sneak Peek!! Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza 2014 – Starts Monday!

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Get your Wish List ready because the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza begins on Monday! Get Hot Deals Monday, November 24 through Tuesday, December 2, 2014. There will be discounts on select products and bundles, Plus DOORBUSTERS on the first day and again on Monday, Dec. 1st! You don’t want to miss them!

Click HERE to print out or view the Online Extravaganza List!

Don’t let the term “Online Extravaganza” scare you off if you don’t like putting your order in online. Just contact me and I can put it in for you!

Print out your list, think about it over the weekend and be ready to get your deals on Monday! Let me know if you have any questions that I can answer for you!

Click Here: Karen’s Stampin’ Up! Online Store

Thanksgiving Turkey Candy Favor

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If you are looking for a Thanksgiving favor with a candy treat for your dinner table or maybe a little gift for someone, here is a bag of M&M’s made into a Thanksgiving turkey! I filled a Stampin’ Up! Cellophane 4″ x 6″ Bag with candy and tied the top with the Tangelo Twist 3/8″ Satin Stitched Ribbon. I cut off about one inch of the top of the bag and then adhered the turkey head (1 3/4″ Circle Punch) with SNAIL Adhesive. Make the turkey facial features however you like, but I used the Owl Punch for the eyes and just colored with a black marker. The beak is the tip of the Triangle Punch and the wattle is made with the wing on the Bird Punch but trimmed down a little more evenly. You don’t need punches for any of these pieces, just cut them yourself. For the turkey feathers, I just punched with the Scallop Oval Punch. You could also use Oval Punches, and you could emboss the feathers with an embossing folder. You could also use designer paper for a little more interest and varied colors. So many options!

Pssst! There’s a Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza coming next week! Be sure to keep in touch! Better yet, make sure you are signed up for my Mailing List as I will probably send out an email with these specials! Sign up in the red box at the top of this page on my blog!

Shop anytime at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store for all the best in stamping supplies!

Glass Jar with Burlap and Paper Flowers

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I found this glass jar in my craft stash and decided to add some Stampin’ Up! Burlap Ribbon and paper flowers made with the Originals Flower Spiral Bigz Die. The Burlap Ribbon also has a piece of Venetian Crochet Trim adhered to the bottom of the ribbon. I made the paper flowers with the Flower Spiral Die using the Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper. It’s the same sheet of paper, just using the other side for one flower. The center of the big flower is made with a strip of Old Olive card stock, cut with the Fringe Scissors and rolled up and glued to the inside of the flower. For some extra embellishments I snipped a piece of Gold Sequin Trim and attached it with a Glue Dot. Then I took another piece of Burlap Ribbon, pulled off the bound edge and pulled several threads off to fray the edge of the ribbon. Then I just circled those burlap threads and adhered them behind the flowers with Glue Dots.

There is a white candle inside the jar although it can’t be seen very well in this photo. You could add some candy corn to the bottom of the jar and set the candle on top of that, or add some coffee beans or whatever you can think of to make the bottom of the jar more interesting. I bet if you look around your cabinets or craft supplies, you can find something like this jar to make into a bit of fall home decor and use it for Thanksgiving! If you don’t own the Flower Spiral Die, just make flowers with punches or simply tearing some circles out of paper, crumpling them up and distressing them a bit and putting them together into flowers. Or attach some paper or real colored leaves, perhaps even a Thanksgiving greeting. So many choices!

Burlap is so trendy right now. I was surprised walking around a craft store the other day how they have burlap on just about everything! And mason jars and similar are very popular right now as well.

See what you can find to make a piece of home decor for the Thanksgiving holiday….before it is time for all Christmas decor!

Make Your Own Gift Bag

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Make your own personally designed gift bag by decorating a regular shopping bag you probably received at the store yourself, or you can buy plain sacks at the craft store. For this bag, I used the retired designer paper Sweater Weather from last year because it matched the gift that was going inside. If you want to see the Thanksgiving banner I made that went in this bag, look back at this post. I even used a couple embellishments leftover from a Paper Pumpkin kit. I added some Neutrals Designer Buttons tied with some Linen Thread and adhered with Mini Glue Dots.

Here’s a tip dealing with buttons like this – put the thread through and then adhere the button to the bag with the Glue Dot. THEN tie the bow or the knot because now it is stuck on to something and won’t be flipping all over the place while you try to tie it!

I tied a piece of Natural 5/8″ Chevron Ribbon on to the handle of the bag. It seemed to match perfectly. The leaves and pumpkin were stamped and adhered to the bag.

Stamp some tissue paper that will go inside, too!

It’s so much fun to be able to make a personalized gift and gift bag with just your stamping supplies!

Stampin’ Up! has many packaging supplies available now for purchase in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store or you can probably find boxes and things around your house. Use some of your older papers and scraps to decorate and embellish!

Simply Created Thankful Banner

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The Simply Created Banner KIt was a new product in last year’s Holiday Catalog, but it is still available in the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. This is a “Thankful” Banner I made with the Simply Created Banner Kit for a birthday gift for a friend since she had been over recently and admired my “Spooky” Halloween Banner in THIS POST! The Simply Created Banner Kit comes with the stencils to decorate the banners as you see here,even the alphabet letters. You can spritz the ink on lightly (lightly is all it takes) but for me I preferred sponging on the ink. You can use a piece of a Stamping Sponge (I cut mine into 4-6 pieces) or Sponge Daubers. I think I used Sponge Daubers!

For the leaves (since I do not have the Autumn Accents Die, which would have made this SO much easier!), I simply stamped some leaves to cut out with my Paper Snips and then used some of those “negative spaces” as stencils and sponged in several colors of ink on the banner pieces to make my fall leaves. The Designer Series Paper I used on the in between strips is retired, I believe from last year, but of course you could substitute anything you like. Of course I was using some samples I saw online to make my banner and liked the idea of using chalkboard style pieces to write names with my White Stampin’ Chalk Marker. As a long-time lover of chalk, this marker is the next best thing! You should have one on hand to use when the mood strikes you in a project! My friend can clip on some photos of her family if she likes on the extra strips in between the banners or just leave them plain for decoration.

When this Simply Created Banner Kit first came out, I did not see it as anything I would have a need for. But after seeing it demonstrated at the previous Convention, it looked like so much fun that I ordered it right away. You can also still order refill banners for the kit, Simply Created Banner and it also comes with the jute twine you can use to hang the banner. You can use these banners for any holidays, for weddings, for birthdays, just any kind of decoration you like. And banners are IN!

Check them out at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Easy Snowman Christmas Tags to Make

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It feels like winter today, even in Houston,Texas! I even wore my real winter jacket this morning to go out since the temperature was about 43 degrees. That is pretty cold for Houston! I know there may be blizzards in other parts of the country, but cold weather here just means “put on a jacket of some sort”. So in honor of the polar vortex or whatever cold blast most of the country is seeing right now, I thought some snowman project was in order! Here are some super simple snowmen that could be placed on a card or scrapbook page or in this case, I have made them into tags.

You can make them whatever size you like. Either use the Circle Framelits as I did for three different sizes or use your circle punches. You just need any pleasing sizes of small, medium, and large circles. Then cut a square for the hat (mine is 1 1/4″ square) and a piece from the Word Window Punch (who knew how handy THAT punch was going to be when it came out!). I sponged a little White Craft Ink on his hat and brim. The snowman pieces are also sponged with a little bit of Soft Sky Ink. We used to make the snowman arms with the old Snowflake Punch (don’t know if that was the name or not) but since that is not current, I just punched out the branches/leaves from the Bird Punch and those will be the snowman’s arms. Stick on a little piece of ribbon for his scarf, maybe a little flower on his hat from either the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack or the Boho Blossoms Punch. I just used a black marker to draw in his eyes and coal mouth, handcut the little snip of orange (any orange will do) for his carrot nose and popped all three pieces up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. You could do him flat as well. The hole for the tag is punched with the 1/8″ Handheld Punch and tied with Silver 1/8″ Ribbon. Before adding the Rhinestone to the flower on his hat, I colored it with the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities Marker, but you could leave it plain. Another project that you can do as fancy or plain as you like.

Here are some of the main supplies I used for this project. Just click on any picture to see it in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Circles Collection Framelits Die
$26.95

Builder Bird Punch
$16.95

Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
$16.95

Window Word Punch
$15.95

Boho Blossoms Punch
$16.95

Whisper White Craft Stampin’ Pad
$7.50

Big Shot
$99.95

Stamping Sponges
$3.50

1/8″ Circle Handheld Punch
$8.95

Silver 1/8″ Ribbon
$4.95

Whisper White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Card Stock
$8.50

Basic Black 8-1/2″ X 11″ Card Stock
$6.95

Christmas Snowy House Tag

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This Christmas Snowy House Tag came about after browsing the internet for some inspiration for a Christmas card or tag! There were some scrap pieces in the bag of Kraft 12″ x 12″ Card Stock (which is a little heavier than regular card stock) so I decided on a tag. This one is a little wide at 3″, but it is fine and I just cut off the top corners. Once I did that, it looked like a house, so I decided to take my White Signo Gel Pen and draw in the house features! I felt like a little kid drawing a picture with not a care in the world for how perfect or imperfect it was! Oh, you couldn’t tell it was hand-drawn because it is so meticulous??!!! I don’t think so!! Anyway, it was fun and we’ll see if it ends up on somebody’s Christmas package this year!

After drawing in my house with my White Gel Pen, I just tore two scraps of Whisper White irregularly for the snow on the ground and adhered with the Liquid Multipurpose Glue. The little tree happened to be stuck on my end table (I don’t know why) so after seeing it laying there, I thought it would look perfect as an accent with this snowy house! Then I took my trusty 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to apply “snow” around on the house! Finally I punched a 1/8″ hole in the top of the tag and tied on the Real Red 3/8″ Satin Woven Ribbon. This ribbon is beautiful! Of course I love that it is red but it is a beatiful RED! I thought my tag was finished, but then I thought it needed a little greeting in the bottom corner. The greeting is from Good Greetings and is stamped with Crumb Cake ink.

Make a few Christmas tags today. Just get out some stamp sets, ink and paper scraps and see what you come up with! If you need any supplies, just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Triangle Box Witch’s Hat Treat Box

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Here’s another Halloween Treat Box for you. These triangle boxes are SO easy to make. Just cut some card stock 4 1/4 x 8 1/2″. Then find the middle of the top and bottom and mark it. Place in your Paper Trimmer and score in half at 5 1/2″. Then score from the middle mark top and bottom on both sides to that 5 1/2″ score line. Check the diagram below. Then crease the lines and fold up. Punch holes through the top point and after putting treats inside, tie shut with ribbon. I decorated this to look like a hat with some designer paper and a hat brim piece. The decoration is a leftover piece from my Paper Pumpkin Kit.

One more day until Halloween! And today is my youngest son’s birthday! If he had been born 45 minutes later, he would have been a Halloween baby! My husband was always grateful that Steven waited until halftime of the football game to let us know it was time to go to the hospital! It was a lonely night at the hospital for me on Halloween night as everyone was out trick-or-treating and nobody was visiting me and my new baby at the hospital! But his birthday parties were always fun as they had a Halloween theme! Hard to believe that was 26 years ago tonight! Time flies, all you young mommies! Treasure every moment!!

Motley Monsters Halloween Treat Bags

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Here’s how to make two easy Halloween Treat Bags using the Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper. You just need paper, a Simply Scored Tool or Stampin’ Trimmer, and some strong adhesive, like Fuse Fast.

Start with a piece of card stock or designer paper cut to 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Score the paper lengthwise (portrait) at 1 1/2″ on one side. Turn the paper to landscape position (sideways) and score at 1 1/2″, 4″, 5 1/2″, and 8″. Fold and crease all the score lines, preferably with a Bone Folder. The short little 1/2″ wide section on the very end needs to be cut off. Along that same 1 1/2″ wide section, cut on all the score lines up to the score line going across. This will make the flaps for the bottom of the bag. If you want, just trim those on an angle a little bit to keep the flaps a little less bulky. Use adhesive on that narrow little 1/2″ flap that is left and fold the bag over to adhere. Then fold the flaps at the bottom and apply a little adhesive.

The opposite side of this Motley Monsters paper is the little bird pattern. The first bag I made, I actually scored 1 1/2″ on each side, which meant that after I formed the bag and folded up the bottom flaps, I had a score line running across the middle of the bag where it wasn’t supposed to be! Rather than waste the paper or add additional paper to hide it (remember, there are NO mistakes in stamping!), I trimmed off a little bit of the top and just folded that top edge down on that wayward score line. That’s the bag on the right with the birds and a top edge of the candy corn pattern! Turned out cute anyway, if not a little smaller!

The bag on the left I did correctly, using the candy corn side of the paper instead of the birds.Once you have the basic bag made, you can leave it like that or you can push the sides in a little and pinch the top closed, punch a hole for ribbon and tie it shut.

It’s very cute and easy to make and can be used for any occasion. Try one! The candy corn bag uses a Halloween greeting from the Merry Everything Bundle and punched with the included Tag Punch. I used the White and Tangerine Tango Trim to tie it shut. The other bag has a couple of tickets to adorn it from the That’s The Ticket stamp set. Sometimes we get so carried away with the “new” stuff in the newest catalog that we forget about what other stamp sets we own that might work, too!

You better get to work on your Halloween treat bags!

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store when you need some supplies!

Motley Monsters Halloween Framed Picture

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If there was one idea in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog I really wanted to make, it was the Halloween picture frame on page 44. At first I thought the background was stamped with the Freaky Friends stamp set, but then I realized it was a sheet in the Motley Monsters Designer Paper. I love the cute White and Tangerine Tango Trim across the top as a “clothesline” from which to hang a photo with a Mini Metallic Clothespin holding the photo and tag. The little “Fright Night” tag is stamped with the Project Life Holiday Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set. I found this frame in my “stash”. It would be nice to have one longer in length as a couple of my Motley Monsters are covered up by the photo, which I trimmed. But the frame is a good neutral for this and lately I added a little Fall Fest stamped pumpkin to the outside of the frame. I think maybe a Halloween greeting banner going across the bottom of the frame in the empty space might be cute, too.

My old photos are somewhat organized, and I found “some” Halloween photos but none of all three kids together. At least I got two of them together! (And it was SO fun coming across some old photos of my boys’ friends and texting them to their moms for some nostalgic memories!! We just wanted to squeeze their sweet little faces!! Were they ever really that little and cute??!)

Here is a close-up:

And here is what the whole sheet in the Motley Monsters Designer Paper looks like! This would really be cute in a 12″ x 12″ frame with a number of Halloween photos hanging across the top or maybe even two rows of photos. I just LOVE it!!

Don’t discount the Project Life stamp sets and Card Collections because they can be used for so many things even if you are not into scrapbooking or memory-keeping.

Here are some of the main products I used. Click on any photo to see it in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!