Sara Jane's Studio

For your Valentine

At our January Stamp Club we had fun making three kinds of Valentines- one is a card, and the other two make a great presentation for some sweet treats or a small gift.

The first is a 4" X 4" square card, perfect for a special valentine.  It uses Cherry Cobbler cardstock, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Creative Elements and Valentine Love stamp sets, and the Lace Ribbon punch.  You also need a piece of Blushing Bride and Very Vanilla cardstock, and ink pads in Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede.  You'll also want to grab some sponges to distress some edges, and the Color Spritzing tool, together with a Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker.

Start by stamping the large flourish image from Creative Elements with Cherry Cobbler ink on the Cherry Cobbler card base.  Then trace the image with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details.  Stamp the butterfly from the same stamp set with Cherry Cobbler on a scrap of Blushing Bride cardstock.  Fussy cut the butterfly, and then apply the Dazzling Details to the wings as desired.  Set both of these aside to dry while you work on the other elements.

Punch out a strip of "ribbon" with the Lace Ribbon Punch from Blushing Bride, and distress the edges with Soft Suede ink.  Cut the "ribbon" in half, lengthwise.  Stamp the frame from Creative Eelements using Soft Suede on Very Vanilla, then stamp "LOVE" from the "Valentine Love" set in the center, and cut very close to the long edges of the image. If you have the Color Spritzing tool, you can add a little more distress to the sentiment by spritzing on Soft Suede ink, very lightly.  Adhere one half of the lace ribbon to the back of each long edge of the "LOVE" sentiment. 

Once your butterfly is dry, attach three small pearls from Basic Pearls embellishments.  Adhere the lace ribbon element to the card using SNAIL, as shown, and then add the butterfly using a Stampin' Dimensional, bending it's wings up to let it fly.

Yes, it's a teeny bit fussy, but isn't it beautiful?!?

 

Gratitude in Silver

Here are two more uses of the Day of Gratitude stamp set suitable for the holidays, or even just a winter momento or gift.

This first version uses the largest image from the Day of Gratitude set stamped in silver, and embossed in silver, on brushed silver cardstock.  It was then cut to a 3-1/4" circle.  I added a large clear rhinestone brad in the center, and some smaller self-stick rhinestones around the outside. 

 

The bling at the bottom is a combination of elements from the retired Pretties Kit, and some beads from my stash.

 
The purple ribbon is also from my stash of goodies.

The image was mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals on a second circle, approximately 3-3/4" in diameter.

 

The second version of the same design uses white craft ink and white embossing powder on the same silver cardstock.  I finished it with little self-stick pearls.  It reminds me of a doily....

 

I may have to try this one again, using all white:  cardstock, image, and ribbon. Oh, if you can see the little specks of bright color on the white image, below, it is some iridescent glitter that was mixed in with the white embossing powder.

 

I think this would be great as a gift tag, which could then be used year after year as a decoration on a Christmas tree.  And it would be great for January or February birthday, too!

Gratitude Cubed

I knew when I saw the large image from the Day of Gratitude set that it would be great for so many things beyond a fall-themed card or decoration.  Here, it's stamped in blue and turned into a pretty ornament or decoration for gift packaging.

 

I stamped the largest image from Day of Gratitude six times with Marina Mist ink on Whisper White cardstock, and cut each image out right along the edge of the image.  Gently, I scored each one, four times, across the base of the outer "petals" (see below).

 

A snowflake, either punched out or made with the Northern Frost die strip, was attached to the center of each image using a small, blue Square Ice rhinestone brad. 

 
Then I started putting them together.

I used Tacky Glue on two petals, and adhered it to two petals on a second piece.  I put four pieces together to create a cylinder of sorts.

 

The last two images were used to create the cube.  I incorporated a piece of the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Marina Mist in one corner before closing it completely.

 
It's pretty and elegant, and suitable for gifting.  And not hard to make!!  Try it in red and green, or even white on white (using embossing powder on the image).  It will be pretty no matter what you do.

Holiday Ideas from the Archives

If you need some last minute ideas for gifts and packaging, check out these posts from the Sara Jane's Studio archive:

• Food Gift Packaging - made simple with a little cardstock, die cuts, and ribbon
• Gift Card Holder - made special
• Fabulous and easy jewelry from Style Stones (by Clearsnap) - This link has links to lots of examples
• Matchbox Momento Keepers - perfect for mom's and grandmom's
• Elegant ornaments - glass ornaments filled with mica pigment powder are absolutely radiant!
• A small, quick gift box (bag?)
• Button necklaces made easy
• The perfect pumpkin can become the perfect Christmas tree ornament - and so easy for kids to make!
• Domino jewelry is always a hit
• Easy gift card - perfect for a bottle of wine that you take to your hostess
• Here are all the links to the 2007 series of the 12 weeks of Chritmas - twelve more ideas, oldies but goodies!!

There you go - a few more ideas for those creative juices that are flowing!!

 

Quick Teacher Gift

This was a project that I did with my Stamp Club this month; it's a giftable mug with a companion coaster.

 
 
This cute project makes up REALLY quickly, and makes a great gift for someone: a teacher, an administrative assistant, or someone else that you want to thank for their services over the year.  This particular design is from the Candy Cane Christmas Decor Elements set - I bought one in Real Red and one in Old Olive, and mixed the two on this mug.  The mug itself came from the dollar store - and it really was only $1!  The Decor Elements sheet has many images on it, and you can get 11 gifts from it (hint:  use three mittens on one mug - they wrap around the whole mug)- so the cost for each mug would be only $1.35.  (There is also a large tree image which looks great on a plate for cookies!!)

The coaster is made using the 4" scallop square Bigz die, and the Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric.  You sandwich a piece of white felt or cotton batting between two squares of fabric, tack the corners, add a button, and you are done!

The tag is made from the Cute Christmas stamp set; the images complement the images in the Decor Elements sheet. 

Fill mug with candy, or little bundles of spice to make spiced cococa, and you have a lovely little gift.  The recipient can use the mug to hold candy or pens & pencils on their desk, and they can use it to drink from.  Just be sure to tell them that is it NOT dishwasher safe.  (But it can go in the microwave!)

For you, the readers of my blog, you can download the instructions for the mug here, and for the coaster here.  The instructions for making spiced cococa are included with the mug instructions.

And of course, change up the images and the fabrics, and you can make a wonderful gift for any occasion! 

Happy Holidays!

Year of Collage - December 2010

December has arrived, and I bet January will be here before we know it, too!

This month's Year of Collage calendar uses the colors of Christmas, but with a non-religious theme, so hopefully it appeals to many folks.

The background uses Stampin' Up!'s cardstock color Kiwi Kiss (retired).  The background paper with the musical theme was from my scrapbooking stash, and then I found two handmade papers, on in red and one in green, both with gold accents.  The pocket is made from a piece of vellum.  The holly in the corner and the gold border are both what Artchix Studio calls "German Scrap" - and the holly, which was originally gold, was colored with Copic markers (alcohol based - water based markers will not stick to the coated surface of the "scrap").

I stippled the month with a combination of SU's Kiwi Kiss and Garden Green inks, and mounted it on a tag made from Kiwi Kiss that had been stamped with "script" in gold ink.  The fibers in a combination of bright green/gold, dark green, and red provided the finishing touches!!

 You can see all of the other months in the series by clicking here.  Watch for my class offerings so you can make your own!!

Easy Food Gift Packaging

The hostess at my Thanksgiving dinner likes - no, loves! - my family recipe for English Toffee.  And I have to say that I made a particularly good batch this year.  But of course I can't take toffee to her in tin foil or paper plates!

All I had in my stash were some old Christmas-themed tins.  So I quickly converted one into an autumn gift-giving tin with a little paper, ribbon, glue, and some rubber stamps.

 

I traced the top on the back-side of my Designer Paper (last year's design) and cut it out about 3/8" larger.  I snipped the paper to the traced line, and then glued it to the top of the tin with tacky glue.  I folded the snipped pieces over the edge and covered them with 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

The tag was stamped with a combination of "Thankful For" in Early Espresso and "A Day of Gratitude" in Cajun Craze.  The leaves are from "French Foliage" stamped in Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke.  Everything was tied up wth raffia - and ready for Thanksgiving dinner!!

 

 

 

Quick and Easy Presentation

Have you ever wanted an inexpensive way to present flowers to a dinner hostess?  How about an easy craft to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving Day, or at Christmas-time?  This is one of them. 

I don't nomally do crafting with trash, but this seemed just too easy and perfect to pass up.  All you need is an emply half gallon container (the waxed paper kind, not the plastic kind), some decorative paper, and some tape.  The carton is already made water-tight, so you can present an arrangement of realy flowers (like I did, below), or use silk flowers for a more lasting decoration.

 

 

Rinse out an empty milk or juice carton (or pour what is left into a pitcher so you can use the carton!), and cut it down to about 5 inches tall.

Using heavy duty adhesive (like Sticky Strip or Red-LIner tape), attach the decorative paper of your choice.  Your kids could even use construction paper.  Decorate the paper as much or as little as you like- because the flowers are really the focal point here.  Big polka dots are great, or just tie on a ribbon like I did and let the decorative paper speak for itself.  I used the Stampin' UP! decorative paper from the Holiday mini catalog, "Autumn Spice", added a 1-1/4" strip of Early Espresso cardstock at the bottom, and a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock at the top that I had used the Scallop Edge punch on (1-1/2" wide before punching). 

You can fill it with floral foam to hold your arrangement in place.  And if you want something to last throughout the season, make an arrangement of silk flowers.

Enjoy!!

 

 

Oak Leaf Ornament

Here is another ornament for the fall holidays.  And another one that I saw somewhere and said: "I can make THAT!"

 
This ornament, like the other ornament for fall (see it here), starts with a plain, 3" round ornament from a big box craft store.  Then you can use silk leaves, or real leaves, or preserved leaves.  I found mine in the florist section of my local grocery store.  Apply the leaves one at a time with Mod Podge or other decoupage medium.  When dry, apply more Mod Podge all over.  I used the gloss finish Mod Podge, and you can see the brush marks when you get close.  And the glass is no longer completely transparent.  But I don't mind that look, and the brush marks are not obvious from a distance.  I finished with a large, gold, organdy ribbon with wired edges.  A pretty chocolate brown or ochre color would look great too! 

Hang them in your windows for the fall through Thanksgiving, or even use them in the centerpiece for your holiday dinner table.   Enjoy!!

Ornaments for Autumn

 
I saw this ornament somewhere- can't remember where.  And it was one of those that I had to try.  You know that thought:  "I can make THAT!"

It really is super easy:  Start with a plain glass ornament from one of the big box craft stores.  This one is 3" in diameter.  Cut some lace-patterned cardstock in a circle that is about 3-1/8" in diameter- in other words just slightly larger than the ornament.  Roll it up, and carefully push it into the ornament.  Now comes the hardest part:  unrolling the cardstock.  By trial and error, I got the best result with a long pair of tweezers, and bent the cardstock in the opposite direction it was originally rolled. 

Glue a piece of ribbon around the top, and tie more ribbon on the hanger, and you are done!  These will look great hanging in your windows through the rest of the fall, and then maybe even on your Christmas tree!