Monthly Archives: May 2013

Gift card holders using envelopes and scraps

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 3D projects, Gift card holders, Gift tags & wrapping, Tutorial, Using up scraps

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You may be sensing a theme here – but yes, here is another post on how I’ve been using up scrap pieces of DSP I can’t bring myself to throw away.

Today’s idea is a gift card holder made out of an envelope.   I’ve used the Stampin Up Whisper White C6 envelopes here as they are nice and sturdy with a good sized flap.  You could adapt the basic design to suit any envelope though.

20121206_143756I can’t remember where I got the original idea for this – somewhere on the internet I’m sure!  It is really simple though and very effective for using up small bits of coordinating DSP.

Step 1: Take a envelope and fold it in half bringing the 2 short sides together.  Score along the fold line to make a nice sharp crease.   Then open it out again.

Step 2: Cut down the fold line on the envelope flap.  I find it’s easier to make 2 cuts about 1mm apart – so you basically make a wide cut along the crease and discard the 1mm along the crease line.

Step 3: Lick, fold down and seal one half of the envelope.    The other half will be the pouch for your gift card.   These pictures show how it will look when decorated.

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Step 4: Decorate!!!   I also like to add a belly band made of a strip of DSP and some scallop circle/circle punches.

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If you want to go the extra step it is also quite cute to use tag punches and (more!) scraps of DSP to make little name tags/gift cards.   You could also use the Stampin Up jewellery punch.

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I’ve also made these gift card holders for birthdays out of floral DSP for pretty feminine gift card holders,  out of stripes for masculine gifts and fun spots with cute animal stamps for kids and babies.

UPDATED 26/5 – I found some pictures of some gift card holders I’ve made out of pretty florals.

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I always feel slightly guilty in giving a gift card rather than a personalised present, but making a nice personalised gift card holder makes me feel much better!

I hope you enjoy making these – they are so easy but really effective.   If any of the instructions aren’t clear leave me a comment and I’ll try and answer.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Caro

More uses for scraps – present cards

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Big Shot, Birthday, Cards, Embossing folders, Framelits, Gift tags & wrapping, Square Lattice, Using up scraps

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I’ve done a few posts over the past few days on how I’ve been trying to use up all the little bits and pieces of card stock and DSP I have lying about my office/craft room.

I have been on a mission lately and made a pile of cards from the paper cluttering up my desk.  I donated them to a local op shop which makes me feel good as well as well as having an (almost) clean desk!

Here’s another card design which is great for using up scraps.   I’ve used Tangerine Tango (14cm x 14 cm) and Whisper White (13cm x 13cm) card stock with scraps in varying sizes from the Sycamore Street DSP & Tangerine Tango ribbon from this year’s Sale-A-Bration.

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One tip – when assembling the presents I used a small scrap of offcut paper and stuck the rectangle “presents” to the scrap.  This made it really easy to keep the rectangles aligned and tie the ribbon before attaching the “presents” to the Whisper White card.

I also made a version where I ran the Whisper White version through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.

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I also made a 7cm x 7 cm gift card:

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The Happy Birthday label is stamped in Tangerine Tango on Whisper White from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and cut out with the matching framelits.

This basic design could be used in any colour scheme – I think it would look great in ‘Christmassey’ colours as an easy but effective Christmas card too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Caro

Pinwheel die cards and gift tags

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Big Shot, Birthday, Cards, Framelits, Gift tags & wrapping, Kids cards, Love notes, Pinwheel die, Using up scraps

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My last post confessed to a slightly unhealthy obsession with the Stampin’ Up! pinwheel die.    I wanted to use this post to show you how I’ve been using up some of my scrap paper with the pinwheel die and the odd toothpick.

photo-3In this card I’ve used some Tangerine Tango card stock, a scrap of paper from some Sycamore Street DSP and Tangerine Tango ribbon from the recent Sale-a-bration promotion, plus an Itty Bitty Banner stamped and cut out with the matching framelit.    The toothpick is stuck on the back of the pinwheel using a Glue Dot and the pinwheel is stuck to the Whisper White card stock using a dimensional.

Here’s a similar card with 3 pinwheels:

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And a little 7cm x 7cm matching love note I used to go with the card when I gift wrapped the present for the recipient of the card:

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I think I like the ‘single pinwheel’ design best – what do you think?

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Using up scraps – Stampin Up pinwheel die

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Big Shot, Gift tags & wrapping, Pinwheel die, Using up scraps

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You may know I’ve been on a mission to use up all my bits and pieces of DSP I’ve been hoarding for years.   One of my favourite ways at the moment is the Sizzlets Pinwheel die from the current Stampin’ Up! Seasonal Catalogue.   At just $8.95 I have to confess to buying two – so I can make 2 pinwheels at the same time.   One just wasn’t enough!

And why would it be when just like magic you can take a bag of old paper scraps …

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run them through the Big Shot to get some cute little die cuts like this …

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Which turn into gorgeous little pinwheels like this!

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If you Google “stampin up pinwheel die tutorial” you will see lots of YouTube videos shared by kind demonstrators who will show you how to put the dies together to make the pinwheel.

In summary though – fold in each corner and secure in the middle with a brad – too easy!

The Pinwheel die is available in the current Seasonal Catalogue page 33 – item no 129411, $8.95.

Pop up rugby themed birthday party invitations

21 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 3D / pop up, Invitations, Uncategorized

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My 3 year old son is obsessed with rugby union.  And I mean obsessed.  Instead of a story, he wants me to read him the Brumbies rugby season guide most nights.    And for his birthday party he wants a – you guessed it! – rugby themed birthday party, with rugby themed invitations.

After much thought, I came up with a pop-up rugby themed birthday party invitation for my little rugby obsessed munchkin.    I thought I would share the steps in case anyone else needs to come up with a football related card or invitation anytime soon.

I made a C6 sized card blank in Stampin Up! Night of Navy, which is pretty close to the Brumbies team colours of navy, white and yellow.   I cut and pasted some rugby jerseys on Whisper White card stock for the front of the card – and we wrote the names of the people invited on the jerseys.

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For the pop up card I cut a 20.5 x 14 cm piece of Stampin Up! Old Olive card stock for the inside ‘pop up’.   Here is a photo of my rough sketch in case my instructions aren’t clear!

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I folded the Old Olive piece in half and scored it, then made a 2cm cut at 6 cm and 8cm to make the pop up.

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Now for the “field!”

I used my white Signo pen to mark the side lines – 0.5cm all around the inside, and then try lines, centre lines and “22” lines as shown in this photo (I did the solid lines with a ruler and the dashed lines by hand)

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I added 2 Stampin’ Dimensionals onto the pop up to hold the “piece de resistance” – the pop up rugby ball!     I made this on my computer so I could add his name on the ball, but you could equally use an oval cut from the extra large oval punch or an ovals die.

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James had a fantastic time sticking on the dimensionals and adding the balls to the inside of the cards.   Just like magic!   One tip: make sure the base of the rugby ball is just touching the base of the pop up section so it can close easily.

We wrote the party details on the “field”, stuck the Old Olive insert inside the Night of Navy card base and we were done.

I’m posting them tomorrow so here’s hoping they’re a hit!

Enjoy!

Using up some scrap paper

21 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 1 inch circle, Blossom, Cards, Gift tags & wrapping, Love notes, Uncategorized

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If you’re anything like me, you probably have a ton of left over paper lying around that is too pretty to throw away, but you’re also not quite sure what to do with?

I’ve recently started donating some of my extra paper to my son’s daycare – the kids love using it in their craft and I’m sure they get more happiness out of using it than having it stashed away in my stash!

I’ve also started hunting around for ways to use up small bits of paper in my crafting.    One really simple idea is these small gift cards made out of some scrap paper and the Stampin Up blossom punch.

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I made a 7 cm x 7 cm card in Whisper White and punched a blossom shape out of some retired Stampin Up designer series paper (DSP).   I then used my 3/4 inch circle punch and a spare button I had lying around to make the centre of a flower.

Another variation is to us a scrap of DSP (I used 6 cm x 6 cm) and overlay with a white punched blossom image.    A small circle of DSP in the middle (3/4 or 1 inch punches work best) and you’re done.  You could add a button or another punched flower in the middle to give it some extra dimension.

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Very simple, but I think they are quite effective.  What do you think?

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I’ll try to always put the ‘ingredients’ for any cards at the bottom of a post.  If you would like to buy any of the products I use on the blog, please email me at caroprettythings@gmail.com

Thanks for reading 🙂

Ingredients:

Whisper White card stock

DSP (retired)

Blossom Punch (item no 125603 Stampin Up! Annual Catalogue p185)

3/4 inch circle punch (item no 119873, catalogue p184)

So it’s been a while ….

21 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in Thoughts and comments

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So, I came on here about a year ago with an intention to start a craft blog.  What happened I hear you ask? (if there are any of you out there!)  Well, life happened.   Busy job, busy family, busy busy busy.  So craft gets pushed to the bottom of the pile.

I have been doing some crafting in that time though, so I might share some of the stuff I have made over the past year.   Please go easy on me – most of the photos are taken on my mobile phone (“Fix Camera” is also on the ‘to do’ list!) and I’m still figuring out how to blog.

I get so much inspiration from all the generous and clever people who post their creations on the web  I thought it was time I tried to do my part, even just a little.

So stay tuned!

I am also collecting some of the ideas that inspire me over on Pinterest so please look me up over there as well – my user name is “Caro’s Pretty’.   I’m also on Twitter – @prettythingsau.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Caro