Join us next week at Kit 'n Kaboodles!

If you are stuck for any holiday gift giving ideas, please stop by KnK to see our week filled with gift-giving ideas. Each day, starting on Monday, November 30, each Design Team member will be giving step by step instructions on creating a unique projects that can be made for the Holidays, as well as throughout the year! From gift card holders, frames, to wine containers and ornaments, there will be many things to choose from.

Please stop by, and make sure you say hi!

A Christmas Quickie!

If you are anything like me then you will have hundreds of Christmas cards to send! I am not of the school of thought that says they need to take 2 minutes each to make ... I always think if you are just gonna churn them out like that ... where is the care? ... or the thought? ... you may as well buy them!
I do however realize that to spend too much time on each card means that half the people that you wanted to send that special hand-made card to ... won't actually ever get it! So ...  I have a partial solution.
The designing of a card always takes much longer than the actual making ... well it does for me anyway ... so my cheat is not to design Christmas cards ... go back through all the designs that you have made this year .... choose the ones that you enjoyed making ... and make them again ... only this time in Christmas colours and a Christmes theme ... simples!
Remember the resist embossing technique ... the Stampendous Fall stamps and the Pumpkin ...

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving ... See you next week :0)

Happy Thanksgiving to all

from all of us here at KNK and CB. May your day be filled with good food, family and friends.

What size is it?

Do you ever sit down to work on a project and realize that you may have a stamp that is too large for what you need? Well, this fabulous tree from the Jumbo Tree Perfectly Clear set by Stampendous is a great stamp to play with using the technique I'm going to show you.

I first stamped the image onto pattern paper full size and then trimmed my tree with some pink ball trim and added a base to it. I then pulled out my little gift bag that I wanted to decorate to match and realized that the full sized tree would not fit on my bag. I decided that I needed to shorten my tree....so I again stamped the image onto pattern paper. This time, I added another set of lines for a new "bottom" to my tree and simply trimmed off the excess.

You can see in this picture the full sized stamped trimmed out tree on the left and the stamped and shortened tree on the right:



Here is my full-sized tree turned into a tag:



and the shortened tree used on my gift bag:



I hope this technique will have you looking at your stamps in a whole new way!

Happy crafting....Lynda

It's not even Thanksgiving yet!

I know, I know.... we've all got Christmas on the brain... we can't help it though, we're crafters, right? And we, as crafters, love the holidays because it gives us more reason (as if we need another excuse) to do what we love: create and give. I'm positive I am not the only one who has started her holiday crafting! With the state of the economy today, I, for one, will be making more gifts this year than I ever have in the past. The ever-popular altered pail, for example, is still a really fun way to present a gift, perfect for an ornament or cookie exchange. The pail shown here cost $3.99 (would have been half that if I'd remember my coupon LOL!) plus product I already had.And, as an added bonus, I had fun making it and I didn't have to fight the crowds looking for it! Almost can't put a price on that. So stay tuned, we may have a few more fun ideas for you! Happy crafting!

Need a little treat for someone????

With the holidays just around the corner, we all have lots of little gifts to get for friends, teachers, neighbors, etc. I am going to show you how to make a cute little gift bag that you can fill with candy, cookies, or even a little gift.




You will need the following items to make this project:
8 1/2 x 11 piece of colored cardstock (I used coredinations!)
corner rounder or decorative edge scissors
hole punch ( 1/8")
paper cutter with scoring blade OR Scor-pal
scissors, adhesive, stamps, ink, ribbon


1.

Place the cardstock lengthwise on the paper cutter/score-pal and score at 2",5", 7" and 10" (get the catchy name now?!)

2.

Rotate your cardstock 90 degrees and score it at 2" and 7"

3. At this point you might want to decorate the cardstock by stamping it with images in versamark ink, or in a complementing colored ink to the cs, or even using a stamping wheel. This is purely optional...in my sample, I did not decorate the base cardstock.

Place your cardstock horizontally so that the 2" section is at the top. Use scissors to cut off all but one 2" tall section from the top as shown. The section that is left will become the flap to close the bag.
You will also need to cut the narrow piece that is the bottom left corner...as seen in this next photo (oops--my photo is upside down...but I think you are clever enough to follow along)...I have distressed the folds so that it is easier for you to see where I scored my cardstock.



5. Make vertical cuts at the bottom to create 1 1/2" tall flaps. This will become the bottom of the bag.



6. Now is the time to use an edge punch or decorative scissors to finish the edge for the flap that you have made. I used a Martha Steward snowflake edge punch and then distressed it a bit ( I just love coredinations cardstock for this!!!)

7. You are now ready to assemble your bag! Sorry that the photo is a bit fuzzy, I could not get it clear, but it is readable! HELPFUL HINT: You should try to fold it into the bag shape before you add any adhesive. Every person's brain works differently, so play with your cardstock until you are comfortable making the bag.Once you are comfortable that you can fold it up into the bag shape correctly, then you should apply adhesive. I try to remember that the first item I make of a new project is going to be the prototype--there is a learning curve so I try to be kind to myself on the first go around!




8. Once you have assembled the bag with adhesive and are pleased with the results, place it on it's bottom and pinch the sides so that the top comes together. Here is what your bag looks like (side view)


9. You are finally ready to decorate your bag. I chose one of the changito stamps from Stampendous for this bag. I stamped it onto white cardstock, colored it in, and then mounted it onto green coredinations cardstock. As a finishing touch, I added fun flock to Santa's hat and gloves. The matted image can then be attached to the bag. You are now ready to fill the bag with a treat (or coal for someone who has been naughty), add ribbon to keep it closed ( use your hole punch to make 2 holes to thread a ribbon or yarn through), and VOILA!!!



Your finished bag will have a bow---I forgot to take a photo of mine with the ribbon attached...my bad!
Have fun with this project!

We three Kings

I have wanted this Wisemen stamp since I saw it in the CHA catalog . (Yep I actually went thru the entire catalog and highlighted stamps I needed! For this card I used I stamped on the Graphic 45 paper and cut out the images. One of my favorite things about KnK and Creativity Boutique, besides the shopping---which I have seem to do alot of ;) , is that I am on both Design Teams. So I get double the fun! I made this wall hanging using KnK's December Kit. The colors are absolutely gorgeous!!!!! The letters here are painteed and then sprinkled with glitter. For another project I did use the marshmellow glimmer mist and yummy!

Don't forget Deb and I are co-hosting some sketch challenges at KNK's messageboard! Be Sure to check them out!