Tag or Label

A quarter of a century ago, I started collecting (keeping - refusing to throw away - hoarding) the beautiful Christmas cards sent to me.  They have followed me everywhere in my Christmas decorations boxes.  This year I've decided to purge them.  Only I couldn't just dump them in the recycle bin.  They are beautiful.  A few I've saved - and written on the back of each why I chose to save it, that way in years to come my children won't look at all my junk and talk about how they hope insanity isn't hereditary.  The ones I can let go of are about to become functional art in the form of labels.  Or do you call them gift tags?

One of the many blogs I follow, A Spot on Cedar Pond by KathyB, has inspired me with her post Messiest Room in the House Re-Do (Craft Room) - no, I'm not back hard at work on my sewing/craft room, that will have to wait.  What caught my eye was her clever use of cute tags.  KathyB used tags to mark some of the folders and boxes in her craft room.  And while I just don't see myself making fuzzy sheep, I like what she's done with her space and her tags/labels. 

Today I visited my local Michael's Craft Store and purchased a JUMBO Lever Punch that punches out a tag/label shape.  I've been watching their weekly sales and it was almost half price (hello new toy!). 

Pick a card, any card...

I'll start with this one, I have two - from the same Christmas - that's why I originally kept them -
the two people who sent the same card are as different as night & day --
 must have been a big seller a few years back.  Found another one!  I have three of these... 

You can take a few minutes and neatly figure out which part you want on your tags/labels or you can just cut out a tag/label and take what ever comes.  If you turn the punch over you can see exactly what you're about to punch out - makes fussy cuts easier.

You simply stick paper in, punch, and out slides a label or a tag - you can call it whatever you want to call it. 

Then I used a little heart shaped hole punch near the top and added a piece of ribbon.  Now I'm making labels and tags out of everything. A little more practice, and a some glue, and bits and pieces of sweet nothings will make my tags/labels even cuter.  I like the fact that this craft can be as simple or as complicated as I want to make it. It gives me a chance to create a little something, a quick craft project and then I'm done. 

For years I have bought the little stick-on "To & From" tags. Now I can make my own, with things I already have around the house. The few I've made this evening look better than most of the the labels I've purchased in the past - and I haven't 'jazzed them up' yet. It makes me happy that I'm creating a little something using what I have on hand.   

I figure if I can do this anyone can.

PLEASE NOTE:  I'm just telling you about a product I like and how I've used it.  The only money that changed hands was at Michael's this morning (they took my money, I got their Lever Punch).

Because this is so easy I'm going to take the rest of the night off and watch a Christmas movie and (maybe) get the lights on the tree. 



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