Letter Opener Quick Gift
Let’s end 2022 with a quick project that you could add as a little gift to a New Year’s card or birthday card or….. I am casing an idea by Jeanie Stark at Juststampin.com but adding Happiness Hues designer series paper and a stamped “mail” image from ‘Stamping Your Way To the Top’ stamp set to make a pocket which holds a letter opener. It could also be a gift card holder.
It is another project using the Pretty Pillowbox dies. This one isn’t as 3D as the last one I made for favors at the Christmas stamp camp but fun to make for a card insert.
Did you ever use the Pretty Pillowbox die as it was intended to be used?
Well, ummmm…… I guess not! I used the greeting die in the die set for the Post It Note holder greeting. It has a stitched edge so it is perfect for this project and many others.
These are the letter openers I ordered from Amazon:
Recipe
- Base: Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo or Gorgeous Grape, 4 1/4 X 4 3/8; die cut using both the large base die and the die with the two little holes at the same time. Fold on the middle score line and use tear and tape on the sides. NOTE: For these letter openers the tear and tape can’t go all the way to the top.
- DSP Layer: Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper, 2 1/4 X 4 1/2, line up with the score line in the middle of the die and die cut just the bottom section. I selectively cut certain sections of the DSP that matched the base.
- Greeting: Basic White, 3 X 1, die cut with the long greeting die AFTER stamping the “Mail” image; you can glue it right on the score line at the top of the die which hides the score line and keeps the greeting straight
- Ribbon: 15″ of matching color
Here are individual close up pictures:
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. And a group shot just for fun:
. I hope you have had a successful 2022, however you define success, and that you are ready for a new year, with new challenges and new blessings!
“May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, May He lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace!” Numbers 6: 24-26
Sal and I wish you a very Happy New Year!
Karen
Santa’s Express Christmas Cards
Merry Christmas everyone!
Have you ever started a card design by wanting to match the envelope liner?
That is really backwards! Were you able to do it or did you give up?
I did succeed! I purchased the Santa Express Memories & More Cards & Envelopes from the mini thinking it would be a great way to save time and make 20 Christmas cards. The cards are a bit bigger than our standard A2 size which I also liked. I know this is blurry but the pictures in the mini were so small!
The Poppy Parade (or Sweet Sorbet) card envelope liner is striped but the card is polka dots, whereas the Shaded Spruce card envelope liner is polka dot but the card has a bit of speckle like snow on a solid green front.
I am going to post these cards for ideas to help those of you who might have just a few, hopefully not 20, Christmas cards yet to make.
Two at a time!! I started by working with one red and one green and I cut off one inch on the right front side of each. I used the polka dots cut off from the red card to make the inside right side of a flap card on the green card with the green strip as its flap. For the inside left side of the red card I used a 1″ X 6 1/4″ strip of polka dots from the Santa Express DSP which matches perfectly. There was no red stripe in the Santa Express DSP paper to match the envelope liner but the Sweetest Christmas DSP had a stripe that I used to tie in the envelope liner.
. You lost me. How about a picture?
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Do you see how the polka dot strip on the green card right front comes from the red card base? I used the green cut off strip to make the flap for the card by cutting off 2″ and scoring at 1″ so it glues behind the polka dot strip. The 2″ part I cut off I used on the flap of the red card.
The red card uses a 1″ X 6 1/4″ strip of the striped paper in the Sweetest Christmas DSP for the right side and another strip 1″ X 4 1/4″ scored at 1″ for the flap. Stamp and corner round the flap, and glue it halfway down on the inside strip before gluing that strip down. (I loved that the other side had little candy canes!) The flaps are stamped with Versa Mark and embossed with white embossing powder with the greeting ‘Christmas Cheer’ from Sweet Candy Canes. The ‘Candy Cane Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses’ greeting is also in the Sweet Candy Canes stamp set and cut with the Candy Canes die which has those two larger holes at the side which I used for ribbon. The holes are large enough for a real candy cane to fit through with the greeting stamped vertically.
I cut one candy cane from the Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper (DSP) for each card and cut two evergreen boughs from Shaded Spruce using the dies from the Christmas Banners Die set. I cut a So Saffron Stem from the Banners die set and also five red berries in Real Red which I sparkled up with Wink of Stella. I stamped two mistletoe boughs from the Sweet Candy Cane stamp set and cut them out with the Candy Canes Dies. I punched three little white berries with a small hole punch and layered them above the mistletoe.
The layer under the candy cane and greenery is 2 3/4″ X 5 3/4″, one in Poppy Parade and one in Sweetest Christmas DSP.
The inside greeting is my favorite for this year-“May your days be happy, your heart be light, your Christmas Merry and the new year bright”- from the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set, a great set for your stamp collection with greetings for birthday, love, gratefulness, thinking of you and Christmas!
These next two cards use the Candy Canes Die that makes stripes!
These card bases are larger than a standard A2 so the cut out wouldn’t cover the full base so start with a piece of DSP for the green card and poppy parade for the red card and cut them at 5 7/8 X 3 7/8 which leaves an uncut left side perfect for wrapping ribbon around. The banner is from the Christmas Banners Die. It is the best banners stamp and die set yet. ( I think I have about three sets from the past.) I did use a Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blend to color in the green a little darker.
The last cards I want to show you use retired products. The Seasons of Fun set has a little girl pulling a sled and my daughter just sent me a picture of our little granddaughter pulling her baby sister in a sled.
Did you know if you layer Lt Mossy Meadow and Lt Shaded Spruce you get Garden Green?
For the red card, I folded the dotted side to the back and embossed the front with a retired embossing folder. I used the Stitched Seasons Framelits to cut the layers and also to cut the bow in polka dots to match the back. ‘Christmas Cheer’ is in the retired Itty Bitty Christmas stamp set.
And here is the matching green card:
I cut the bow out of the color I wanted and then two other layers of basic white, gluing all three layers together to give the bow a bit more dimension. Be sure and use your double back sticky sheets to do this so you don’t have a mess of glue.
One last example using the same Stitched Seasons Framelits and the matching Blended Seasons stamp set:
And that, my dear stamping friends, is how you start with an envelope and then tie in the card!!
Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Jesus!
Karen
Christmas Ornament/ Party Favor/Gift Tag
One of the projects we made last December at club was this ornament. It could be used as a party favor or a gift tag or……
It is a case of Sandra Roberts tag on sandrascraftstudio.com.
Recipe
There are six pairs of stars from the Stitched Stars Dies with an Evening Evergreen base and a smaller star die cut layer in the Painted Christmas DSP. The DSP is glued directly to the Evening Evergreen with Tombow adhesive and then the top two pairs are popped up using Stampin’ Dimensionals.
- Largest Star: Evening Evergreen, 5 1/2 X 6, die cut with stitched stars die
- Layer: Painted Christmas DSP, 4 X6, die cut with next smaller stitched stars die
- Note: After gluing on the DSP, punch a small hole for the ornament hanger, down far enough to be covered by the point of next star
- Next Star: Evening Evergreen, die cut with next smaller stitched stars die
- Layer: Painted Christmas DSP, die cut with next smaller stitched stars die
- Top Star: Evening Evergreen, die cut with stitched stars die
- Layer: Painted Christmas DSP, die cut with next smaller stitched stars die
- Gold Stems: Gold Foil, 2 1/2 X 2 1/4, Die Cut with Poinsettia die
- Leaves: Garden Green, 2 1/2 X 2, Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder and Die
- Poinsettias (X2): Real Red, 1 X 2, die cut with Merriest Frames Die
- Add one large gilded gem to the top
- Greeting: Basic White, 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 stamped with Merry Christmas from Curvy Christmas stamp set in Evening Evergreen. Die cut with Stitched Nested Label die and then sponge the edges with Evening Evergreen.
- Hanger: Red Twine, 12″ for hanger, separate 6″ for bow. Double the 12″ and push the loop through the punched hole from front to back then bring the ends through the loop at the back and tighten pushing the sides down around the point. Tie a double know with the ends. Tie a bow and mount with a glue dot on top of hanger.
That would be a good idea, Sal! I did that one year with a circular ornament that I put in a pocket at the front of the card. I made a longer hanger so it could loop to the inside of the card where I attached it lightly with a note saying the ornament could be removed.
Are you going to make gift tags this year?
You know, Sal, I have trouble with spending time on gift tags since they are thrown away with the wrapping paper with hardly a second look and they are not recyclable since the name is written on the tag. They are pretty and I love getting them on gifts but I am just not into making them.
So followers, let me know if you make gift tags to dress up your packages each year.
Have a wonderful day and thank you for spending some of it with Sal and I.
Karen
Thanksgiving Scarecrow On A Wobble
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How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully all went well and your turkey or other main dish was perfect and the family/friend time was memorable!
I have another Thanksgiving card for you, but unlike the elegance of the previous post with the beautiful Fall Leaves embossing folder of Stampin’ Up!, this one is a ‘smile maker’ using a stamp and die from Divinity Designs called ‘Happy Fall’.
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The layers are made using the Stampin’ Up! Deckled Rectangles dies, the corn stalks are from Stampin’ Up!’s retired Chick dies and the fence is from the retired Birthday Chick Dies. The pumpkins, flowers, leaves and spring scrolly are leftovers from a past Paper Pumpkin kit, and the inside greeting is from the retired Stampin’ Up! Basket of Wishes. The scarecrow is mounted on a small craft spring (a wobble) from Michaels. The Happy Thanksgiving is part of the Happy Fall set and is embossed with retired Early Espresso embossing powder. The inside greeting is stamped with Early Espresso.
The Soft Suede card stock and the Crushed Curry cardstock die cut with the Deckled Rectangle dies are all current products. The scarecrow was stamped with Memento Black ink and then colored with Stampin’ Blends:
- Pants – Dk Seaside Spray, Lt Night of Navy
- Shirt – Dk and Lt Granny Apple Green
- Wood Pole – Bronze
- Belts – Dk Crumb Cake the layered with Lt Daffodil Delight
- Patches – Lt Calypso Coral, Lt Real Red, Lt Highland Heather
- Hat – Lt & Dk Daffodil Delight
- Hat Band – Lt Seaside Spray, Dk Night of Navy, Color Lifter
- Bird Beak – Dk Black
- Bird Nose – Dk Pumpkin Pie
- Face – Ivory, 2 layers, extra on cheeks
- Straw – Dk Mango Melody layered with Lt Crumb Cake
Recipe
- Base: Soft Suede, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4
- Outside Layers: Crushed Curry, 4 X 10 1/2, die cut one #7 and one #8 of Deckled Rectangles
- Inside Layers: Crushed Curry, 2 1/2 X 7 1/2, die cut one #3 and one #4 of Deckled Rectangles
- 3 Corn Stalks: Very Vanilla, 3 3/4 X 3 3/4 die cut 3 stalks with Chick Dies and sponge slightly with Crumb Cake
- Fence: Basic Gray, 1 X 4 1/2, cut 2 fences from the Birthday Chick Dies, cut off two posts, sponge with gray
- Scarecrow: Basic White, 4 X 3
The layers are glued directly down to the base, then the fence is added followed by the cornstalks tied together with a piece of linen thread. A craft spring is adhered to the back of the scarecrow and he is placed a little right of center on the card front. The pumpkins, leaves, flowers and the scrolly like embellishment are all pieces from a Paper pumpkin glued on directly to the top layer.
I guess with a spring loaded scarecrow, you don’t need to pop up anything else.
So true!
SAL, Save A Lot of Leftovers
Karen
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