Life of the Party!

We have had Basic Grey's 'Life of the Party' line in for a while, but it is so cute I had to make something with it. Here are directions on how to make a birthday card with matching gift bag. You will need the following supplies: 2 different pattern papers, solid cardstock, solid color bag, happy birthday stamp, ink pad, scissors, twine or ribbon, dimensional foam tape, hole punch, 1" circle punch, and the Epic Six Letterpress machine used to diecut the banners.

In the picture above you can see the whole array of papers from this line, basic cardstock, the $.99 birthday stamp, and the twine. Start off by cutting your green cardstock to 10"X7". Next, score it right in the middle so you make a 5"X7" folded card.

Next, using the Epic Six machine and the banner cutting dies cut out five of the smallest size; three of one pattern and two of the other.

Next, arrange the cut out triangles in an angular pattern acorss the length of your green 5"X7" card and adhere down using the double sided foam adhesive to give the banner dimension.
Then, punch two holes at either end of your card just above the line of the banner. Tie knots on the underside so it stays put.

After that, cut a small piece of solid cardstock to 1.5"X2.5" and stamp 'Happy Birthday' on it. I prefer to use VersaFine ink because it goes on the easiest and it stamps clearly.

Lastly, mount the sentiment with the foam tape and adhere it to the bottom right corner of the card and Voila!

Now it's time to make the matching bag! First, I printed out the word 'HAPPY' on pink text weight paper. I also cut out the second smallest size of the banners from the cutting dies.

Next, using your 1" hole punch, cut out the letters you printed making sure they are centered.

Now, mount the cut out letters using the same dimensional foam tape and adhere them to the little banners.

Next, we need to thread the twine through the banners. The dies do cut out a little notch which works great for flat ribbon. However, since I am using a fibery twine, it is much easier to punch holes and thread them through that way.

Again, punch small holes in the top of the bag so that the twine can thread through. Make sure to tie knots so it will stay put. I also used more foam tape to hold the banner onto the bag. Next, I stamped 'birthday' on plain red cardstock and attached it under the banner.

Here is the completed bag! One great way to personalize this is to spell out the gift recipient's name or any other sentiment on the banner.

Happy Crafting!

-Malyse

12th Day of Christmas - Best Of

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you enjoyed our "12 days of Christmas" blogging as much as we enjoyed sharing our projects and ideas. There were so many creative posts, I decided to share the Top 10 since the start of the holiday season, based upon pageviews and number of comments. So, starting with number ten, counting down to our most popular post. . .

10. Tissue Puff Balls - Great for any special event, our tissue puff balls or "pom poms" have always been a big hit. The candy cane tissue made a nice holiday touch (thanks Portland PZ!).

9. Paper Ball Ornament - Christina's candy cane inspired creation set the bar high for inspired paper ornaments. Love these!

8. Waterfall Card - A-M-A-Z-I-N-G This is a must watch video displaying Sandra's unique cardmaking skills.

7. The Geoball Ornament - Since posting this ornament I've been told that it is a popular idea to make these out of recycled holiday cards. So don't throw out your cards this year and start your crafting now!

6. Amanda's Rum Ball Recipe - Who can resist easy baking that comes in an adorable package?

5. Holiday Crafters' Challenge Winner - Sarah's recipe book & stand was nothing short of creative genius. All I can say about this is wow, wow, wow!

4. Origami Gift Wrap - Jill in Bellevue used Amanda's tutorial to create this adorable stack of gifts. This packaging is almost as good as the gift!

3. Fimo Ornaments - Christina created some super adorable ornaments using Fimo clay. We all want a cup of that cocoa on our tree!!

2. Rat Ring - While I was posting about the delight of Christmas Crackers - the rat ring took center stage. I hope this post inspired some to start a tradition with Christmas Crackers because they are as fun as they look.

1. Snowflake Template - By far, our most popular post this season was the snowflake template/video. Over 1,400 people viewed the demo and snowflakes were abound everywhere I went. This idea shows how simple a project can be and that being creative doesn't require a lot of time, money or product. Simply fantastic!!

So, what do you think? Did your favorite project/post make the list? What was your favorite idea of the holiday?

Again, I hope you all enjoyed our posts. We try to inspire all year round so keep our blog bookmarked!!

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all are having a wonderful day!! --Kim

10th day of Christmas - Pull Bow Ribbon

I have just discovered this fabulous new (well, new to me) ribbon that makes tying a bow on a package a snap-plus it turns out looking really professional! It's called "Pull Bow Ribbon." Basically it looks like your everyday decorative fabric ribbon but it has curling ribbon threaded through the center of it.




Just tie the ribbon on your package like you normally would and leave yourself 18-24" of extra ribbon at each end to work with.



Grasp the curling ribbon with one hand and pull down on the fabric ribbon with the other. You will be left with bare curling ribbon. Tie the ends of curling ribbon together to secure the bow and there you have it - a beautiful bow in seconds! This video show just how easy it is:


I curled the left over ends of curling ribbon and wove it in with the bow for an added little sparkle.





I just love these bows and they work with all types of packages. I hope you all enjoy it too!



Happy Holidays Everyone!

Amanda

6th Day of Christmas - Letterpress Gift Card Holders

Sometimes gift cards seem impersonal and kind of a last resort, but sometimes they are the perfect thing for certain people on your list. This year there is a great die cut set from Lifestyle Crafts (the same people that brought you my favorite letterpress machine) called Winter Wishes that will make it really easy to give that gift card a personal touch. Not only do you get a fantasitic alphabet that can be used for tons of different projects, but you also get these pocket cards that are also really versitile.

The largest size is convieniently perfect for a gift card. I decided to go really fancy and letterpress it as well, so I started with the PZ Letterpress cardstock in Ecru.




After die-cutting the main pieces, I cut out a couple of circles using somes scraps of red paper I had lying around and the nesting circle dies that came with my letterpress machine. These will act as a pull-tab and also keep the gift card in place.


I used dies from the Winter Tide letterpress die set to make a simple greeting and spruce up the insert piece a bit.

Next, I glued the 2 red circles to the edge of the insert piece. The first one is adhered to the back of the insert and the second one is adhered to the first circle as shown. Be sure the front circle is not glued to the front of the insert so you are able to tuck the gift card in as shown.



Then just fold and glue the outside envelope together.

The insert and gift card fit nicely in the envelope to make for an easy and really personalized way to give your gift.



Happy Gift Giving!

Amanda

Pails in Comparison

Have you checked out the clear pails in our stores? These fun little pails give way to many creative ideas, great for all-occasion gifts, party favors, wedding favors, or...just because. And they are available in four sizes! Who doesn't love a fun little blank canvas like this? Just in time for the holidays - we have an amazing cookie tin idea for you, and it makes a perfect holiday gift (it's a great hostess gift too!)


We are loving this cookie pail idea - fill the container with your favorite cookies, include an embellished recipe card, and decorate as you wish. This mini cookie stamp was carved by an associate at the Portland PZ (we sell little kits to carve your own stamps so you can customize your stamp just how you want them!)

How do you get the ribbon pull top?
The tin top is fairly malleable and making a hole can be done in various ways:

Idea #1: Use a wide nail and hammer to create an indent.
-or-
Idea #2: The 6" indented Crop 'o' Dile eyelet setter can punch though thin metal such as this creating a clean hole.

Once your hole is made, simply slip about 6" of ribbon through and knot on the inside & trim any excess tails.


Ingredients:
Medium Clear Tin Pail
Any Ribbon of your Liking
Various metallic paper (pictured: Stardream Bronze & Curious Metallics Gold Leaf)
Your favorite sweet cookie recipe! Find the Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies seen here from Martha Stewart!

What clever things could you make with these tin pails? --Portland PZ

Christmas Treats

Every year a few of my family members and friends get together for a cookie exchange. There are 8 of us that will participate this year. Each of us has to make 48 cookies or treats and pack them up in 6's. Then we all trade so each of us ends up with 8 different kinds of goodies to last us through the weeks leading up to Christmas. This year I decided to do rum balls. I've tried a few different recipes, but I always come back to this one beacuse it's so easy and they turn out so good!

Rum Balls

6oz (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup rum
3 tbsp. corn syrup
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup ground walnuts
extra sugar to roll the balls in

Melt the chocolate in a sauce pan. Once melted, add the sugar, rum and corn syrup. Combine until well-mixed. Remove from heat and fold in the crushed wafers and walnuts. Once cooled, form into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Such a simple recipe!

I decided to be fancy with my packaging this year, so I used these cute little treat bags from Meri Meri. The reindeer is my personal favorite!

Add a glass of egg nog and you have the perfect holiday treat! I love this time of year!

Happy Holidays Everyone! - Amanda

Wrap Your Gifts with Origami Boxes

As we approach the gift-giving season, it's always nice to have some new fun ways to wrap up all of those packages. The tower of packages above was created using an age old origami technique and brand new paper from the Making Memories Paper Reverie line. These boxes not only turn out absolutely gorgeous, but they are so simple to do...even for the origami novice. Here are the simple steps you will need to follow:

Step 1: Begin with a square piece of paper. The patterned side (the side you want on the outside of the box) should be facing down as shown.

Fold the paper in half and unfold.

Step 2: Turn the paper 90 degrees and fold in half again and unfold.

Where the folds cross is the center of the paper and will be used as your guide for the steps to follow.

Step 3: Fold each corner in so that it meets the center.

Step 4: Turn your paper 45 degrees. Fold the edge of the paper closest to you up so that it meets the center point of your paper.

Step 5: Turn the paper around and fold the other side to meet the center as well.

Step 6: Unfold the folds you made in steps 4 and 5.

Step 7: Turn the paper 90 degrees repeat steps 4 and 5 but on the sides that have not yet been folded.

Step 8: Unfold the folds you made in Step 7.

You have completed all of the folding that will be required. Now we will put the box together.

Step 9: Unfold the top and bottom corners.

Step 10: While holding up the still-folded sides, pinch in the corners (as shown below where my index fingers are) and bring up the back corner and fold down into the interior of the box.

Repeat on the other side:

You now have the bottom of your box!

To create the box lid, repeat steps 1-3.

In steps 4-7 you will still fold the edges in, but fold them so that they are about 1/8" to 1/4" (depending on the size of paper you start with) shy of the center point as shown below.

Continue with steps 8-10 as shown above and you will have created your box lid. This lid should fit together nicely with the box bottom you have created.

Using a 6"x6" piece of paper, your box will be about this size:

Using a 12"x12" piece of paper, your box will be quite a bit larger, like this:

This simple box is sure to impress anyone on your gift-giving list and there are tons of great papers to choose from, so the options are endless!

I want to send out a special thank you to our teacher, Vicky Mihara Avery from Mountain Valley Paper, who was kind enough to visit this past week and give us a tutorial on this and other great gift wrapping ideas. Thanks Vicky!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Amanda