Happy New Year - Here's to Cheers!

The 2016 Holiday catalog includes 6 x 17 cello bags and the Cheers to You set which are great for loaf, cookie, bottle or wine gifting.  I've wrapped up some wine for a party tonight and added the Cheers to You tags. 

I’ve matched the wine with the ribbons.. So Silver Oak with the red and silver label got real red and silver foil and Artesa and Pride got the copper, while the Sauternes with the gold label and green cap got the gold and emerald envy ribbons 

Here are a few tips on how to use this set.

1.Cut out your tag with the big shot leaving yourself lots of room for your stamping.

2.Stamp your greeting and punch out with a 2” punch

3.Cut the gold foil “screen” with the Big Shot and layer on the tag and then layer the stamped greeting on top with dimensionals. You might want a die brush to get the tiny pieces out (or use a paper piercing tool).

4.You have 14” of gold ribbon.  Select another ribbon and cut 14” of this second ribbon.  Thread one or both ribbons through the 2 holes from front to back. 

5.Once threaded put a glue dot between the ribbons and the tag so the ribbons stay in place. 

6.You can put the tag on the bottle or on top of the large cello bag. 

Hope you have a Happy New Year!

Online LIVE classes

Hi Crafters!!

Last November and December I held live online classes.  I kept them small (with good friends!) so I could work out all the kinks and make sure it was a great experience for everyone.  Turned out to be a blast!  

Here's how it works... you buy the stamp set and then I send you a package of supplies (paper is cut, scored, and includes all the embellishments) and together we make 4 projects.  You'll see me and you'll see my hands up close.  If you wish, you can turn on your camera so we can see you, (on your tablet, phone or computer) but you don't have to.  

There's a "chat" function so you can ask a question.. or suggest I show something again, or ask anything!    I love LIVE... this is not just a video but a class where you can say hello (if you wish), ask a question, and chat.  One of the fun parts of crafting is hanging out with other fun crafters!

Our first class is with the Beautiful You set with Watercolor Pencils.  It's January 26 and will be 4-530pm and then 730-9pm EST.  Hopefully these times give everyone around the country an option that will work.  We will make 3 cards, decorate the envelopes and make the cute pouch with the dragonfly closure.  Perfect for you to enjoy, lovely as a gift.   

What do you do??  You need to place an online order at my store and you need to use the HOST code.. you'll see this at the top right hand corner of this blog.  You need to order Beautiful You and the Watercolor pencils by January 13 and on Saturday January 14 I'll mail you a package of class supplies.  Yes that gives us extra time in case of slow mail!  I'll send you a link for the class and I'll open the class 15 minutes early so we can chat if you wish and then we'll start right on time.  

Make sure to order the Beautiful You stamp set AND the Watercolor pencils (and if you order $50 or more, don't forget you get a free Sale-A-Bration pick!!)   You will need black ink and adhesive but that's it!

We'll have another online live class February 9th (same times) for the Sending Love Stamps and Dies.  To be part of this class and get a kit of projects you'll need to order the stamps and the dies.   Again.. you'll need to use the host code. I'll post a photo of these projects in the next few days.  

I use GoToMeeting and the first time you use it, just give yourself an extra 5-10 minutes to get yourself set up.  

Let me know if you have questions!  I hope to see you online!

Happy crafting -- MaryKate

I'm not a scrap-booker and "Another Great Year" Paper Pumpkin December 2016

Ok… so I’m not a scrapbooker!  However… this month’s Paper Pumpkin is a fun scrap booking project.  I created one in about 5 minutes (ok so I didn’t do the journaling)!   The December Paper Pumpkin is called “another great year”.  It’s a set of pages, stickers, place for notes and journaling and washi tape to hold your photos.   I’ll put in a link below to the video.

I created this book for Charlie’s daughter.  I went to her Facebook page (yes I had permission!) and selected about 15-20 photos, sent them to my local drug store to be printed (surprisingly inexpensive at $3.48) and put them on to the pages. 

 

Some of the pages are clear with the cute writing on "another great year" or "how wonderful life is" or hearts and so forth.  It holds together with the binder rings so it would be easy to change the page order. 

I packaged it up into one of our big cello bags with the marker and the stamp so she could add in notes and the stickers.  I put 4 gingerbread people on the front as they are a family of four.  They had a great year with a big Disney trip.       

You can order refills of this if you wish at $8. I’m curious… if you are a subscriber did you like this month’s project??  I thought it was a fun one. 

Happy crafting - MaryKate

 https://youtu.be/dVQS0RIHNwc

Beautiful You - 3 cards in a pouch January 7 class

Hello crafters.... I hope you all had a great holiday.  I have had a day to myself and I've been crafting up a storm!  

These 3 cards in the matching pouch will be our project on Saturday January 7 2-4pm class in Hartland Maine (see below for an online option!)

We'll be making 3 cards and the pouch.   

The inside greeting is also so lovely.  

This one (above) says.... Celebrate.. Life looks beautiful on you. 

 We will create matching envelopes as well... so this would be a pretty gift.

All these cards use the new watercolor pencils ... so they can be used a pencil, or look like a softly blended watercolor ink. Super pretty and easy.  

Lots of colors to choose from for our class. 

Also if you are not local to Pittsfield or Hartland Maine, I'm offering this as an online LIVE class.  So you'll get the stamps, watercolor pencils and all the paper (ready cut and scored) along with all the embellishments to make the pouch and 3 cards, with 3 envelopes and a surprise project.  

I'll be posting about this online class tomorrow... and pre-orders will be due January 12.  You can join from anywhere and this is not a video but a LIVE class where we see each other, talk, chat, and have Q&A.  

Happy crafting!!  MaryKate

Christmas Crackers - Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

I love the look of these crackers on my Christmas table!

Wishing you all a very merry, very happy, and blessed Christmas - MaryKate

Last minute goodies! A Ghirardelli Chocolate Card!

Last minute things... I make these for table decorations, small thank you's and now into a card!   I saw our weekly team challenge (see sketch upper left) and made the "tag" one of my chocolate holders!  Do you like the cable knit embossing texture - I think it adds something.

Easy peasy - 6 x 2,  score at 2 7/8 and 3 1/8, scalloped tag topper punch on each end, insert ribbon and tie.  Add a cookie cutter creature (I wish now that I'd added a bow to him :)

Easy to make lots of love -- happy crafting!  MaryKate

Merry Christmoose with Jolly Friends

I think most of you know I live on Great Moose Drive on Great Moose Lake ... and this year I needed some holiday cards for my friends at the Great Moose Lake Association who work so hard to protect and enhance our lake. 

These were fun to make.  Jolly Friends has been a favorite set this season (I'm sad it's retiring... get it before it goes and away and now it's on sale along with the hat punch).

The cards are 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 so I made the white fronts 3 3/4 x 5 and used the softly falling embossing folder for snow.  Then stamped and cut out the moose and put a hat on him.

I used the Labeler Alphabet set for the greeting. I've not used this set that much and it was fun to use.  I like the wonky look of the lettering (you can get it perfectly straight but I was embracing my wonky Angel self!)   The merry is from the Christmas greeting dies. 

You'll see in the ingredient photo, I have the flosser (which acts as a big easy needle to thread the twine) but I changed my mind at the end and used mini glue dots to add the jingle bells.  


I added a little sparkle on the hat brim... after all it's only Dec 19 and we've had how much snow in Maine already!? 

Love the hat punch!  So fast to punch the hat and the hat brim.  

Happy crafting, MaryKate

Goodies to keep kids busy at restaurants

Hi all... we will be having dinner with little boys at restaurants over this season.  These little guys have lovely "going out manners"... however I think it's also great to have a few little things to open to keep them busy.  

I went to the dollar store and bought some "make and play" coloring books, pencils and games.  Added in a chocolate truck and goodies.  One of the bag has word games for one who is a bit older.  I put them into our 6 x 17 cello bags.

I folded over the top of the bag and stapled on cardstock 6 x 4 folded in half.  Stapled in closed.  Added a strip 1 3/4 x 5 3/4 on top of the cardstock.  It's so easy to multiples of these all at once.

I think it's easier to cut the left over bag (at the bag) after you've stapled it shut.  

Then I added some of the cookie cutter creatures - cute!

Happy crafting! 

The Triangle Pouch

Fold your 7 x7 piece in half to make a triangle.  Your triangle points are open at point  "A".   Put the 2 open ends at the top (point A).  

Fold the right point B of the triangle to the left side middle C and then the left point D to  the other side E (see the diagram).  Now fold down 1 of the top sides. so take 1 of your "A" points and fold it down so it's about 2/3 from the bottom.

To make room in your pouch turn it upside down and you’ll see a crease at the bottom.  Run your finger along the crease pushing out the edges.  This will give you volume in the pouch

 Decorate with a doily and a tag.  Insert a square chocolate and gift card. 

One idea is to cover a clothespin with 2 shapes (I used Christmas trees) and clip to the pouch.  Or a simple "to from" also works. btw... the clothespins are on sale! $2.20 for 24 pins. 

Are you sitting there wondering why 7x7 instead of 6 x 6 given how many more you could make with your 12x12 paper???

You can make this 6 x 6 to hold a treat but it’s too small for a gift card

See the side by side below comparing the 7x7 vs 6x6.  See how the right one is a bit small for the gift card???   But if 6x6 is what you have, I think it still works. :) 

Not sure why I didn't add a tag to the one on the right... guess I'll go do that now :)

Kraft Window Box of Gift Tags

Hi all, many of us had fun with the Home and Hearth framelits and made Noel fireplaces, spooky Halloween windows and more... here's a wow idea from my friend and team mate April Lindow.  (btw search "Hearth" in the search box and you'll see prior posts  on using this framelit)

April Lindow's from my Inking Everything Team - her clever idea with instructions!  (Thank you April for sharing!)  

April shared....
I used Kraft Paper and cut the top at 6 3/4" x 5 1/2" and scored it at 1" in on all sides. The bottom is 6 5/8" x 5 3/8" and scored in at 1 from the outside all around. I cut a window sheet at 4" x 3". 

While the top is still flat, cut out the window using Hearth & Home Framelit. Adhere the window sheet to the back of the top piece with glue and then put the kraft paper window on top of the window sheet on the inside. 

Cut out another window using Garden Green and adhere to the front with Dimensionals. Then I cut along the score lines on the long side and glued the flaps. 

I used the Christmas Stocking Thinlets for the holly and berries decorating the front. All my tags were 4" x 2" and I used the Stitched Shapes on every tag and every greeting was from Tin of Tags, except one from the Suite Seasons. Have fun!

I love my Inking Everything Team - we have such a great time together!  

Thanks for sharing this April - happy crafting all, MaryKate

Presents and Pinecones Pinch Boxes

My perfume is 3 ¼ x 2 ¼ x 1 ¾ and I could have made a lidded box but I wanted something different.

So I made a box with a “pinch” close and ribbon all the way around.

Cut the paper 8 ½ x 6”  (because you pinch it closed you need more paper). 

Score on the long side at 2 ¼, 4, 6 ¼ and 8

Score on the short side at 1”

Cut off the tiny square that is ½ x 1, snip up the bottom (from the bottom to the 1” score line) and notch the 2 smaller flaps that will be the bottom.

Put a piece of tear tape along the ½” flap and secure closed. 

 See the left photo.  I just tucked in the bottom flaps and secured with tear and tape.  

Pinch the top closed – looks a bit like a milk carton doesn’t it?! 

Then I used the gorgeous 5/8” grosgrain ribbon (about 15”).  I leave the ribbon on the reel, wrap it around and then cut off exactly what I need (no waste!).   

I wrapped it around the long way, securing with a piece of twine. My twine is from the Candy Lane suite. 

You could staple the ribbon to the box. I did this for one of these, and added a glue dot to the staple and a twine box.  Sorry I didn’t take a photo of the twine bow. I like the tying the ribbon better as you can slide the ribbon off without destroying the box.  But both look nice and work well. 

I’ll put a tag on this a bit later.  But I made 5 of these in about half an hour.   

Let me know if these instructions are clear, happy to answer questions!

Happy crafting!  MaryKate

The Big Gift Card Presents and Pinecones Pouch

So now gift cards are getting big... the cardboard around the gift card now makes this a 3 3/4 x 5" item and I need new gift card packaging to fit.  This pouch measures 6 x 4 finished.  

This is cute, fast and easy.  Cut a piece 4 x 12 and another strip 1 x 12.   The paper is pretty on both sides and matches.  So just turn the thin strip over and it will match the pouch.

Fold the long 4 x 12 piece in half around the pouch and gift card.   Take the strip of  piece 1” x 12 (or 11 if cardstock), fold in half, flag the ends.  Glue this to the pouch.  You'll find it's secured on the left side (side without the flagged ends). 

Now insert the big gift card and I think it's good to staple the whole packaged closed with the staple going through the horizontal strip, then the pouch and then the gift card.  Now it's secure.  

See the staple below? You can cover this staple with your decoration.  See the next photo and poof it's disappeared! 

You can add a tag or decoration.  I cut out a piece of matching paper. And I added a trinket (there are also pinecone trinkets to match -- and all of the trinkets are 50% off!)   Maybe a ribbon or twine??  Or a Christmas Tree, or the Cookie Cutter Critters?? 

Fast, cute, easy.   2 of these from 1 piece of designer paper.  Happy Crafting, MaryKate

The Fold up Gift Card, Penknife, Reece's Pieces Gift Box

A versatile box from 6x6 paper.  

One of these holds a penknife for Charlie, another a gift card (the smaller sized ones 3 3/4 x 2 1/4) and I've put all kinds of things inside:  jewelry, candy, thumb drives... very useful box.

On your 6x6 paper, score on the top at 1" on each side and 2.5" and 3.5" on the other side, fold into a bag).  

Fold the red line into a valley fold so the edge with the C’s is sticking up.   I put my fingernail at point A and bring point C (which is sticking up) to point B which is flat on my table.  Because the edge of the paper with the point C is folded up, the diagonal fold line is created at 90 degrees Tip… the square that has the top edge C-C --- that square does NOT get creased.  

Clip closed with a ribbon or clothes  pin, clip, paperclip – decorate with a stamp or a die cut or a faux bow.   I've put the ribbon vertically and horizontally, my favorite is to use about 10" of wider 5/8" ribbon and secure with a twine box.  That way you can slide off the ribbon to get into the box.  I also like to use a clothespin covered with a Christmas tree or other decoration.  

Happy Crafting, MaryKate   

Custom Sized Boxes for Small Gift Cards

At our online class last night we made custom size lidded gift boxes.  So easy.  And we did a fast refresher on the calculations. 

Here’s the lidded box for a regular gift card.  The box finishes at 4 x 2 ¼ and just fits a gift card. Can you see the gift card in the open box?  And yes they are not decorated yet (I was asked to post this early today after our class last night!!)

It's so easy to make your own boxes.  Here's a quick how to guide.  I like the box to be made of cardstock for the bottom and designer paper for the lid.  I also like my lid to be short enough so the bottom of the box shows.  

So the bottom of my gift card box is cardstock cut at 6 x 4 ¼.  How did I get that measurement?

The box needs to be 4” long plus 1” high for each side so 1+4+1 = 6.  And the width is 2 ¼ + 1” high for each side so 1+ 2 ¼ + 1 is 4 ¼.    Now take a smidge about 1/16 off 2 joining sides so it will be a smidge smaller than the lid for a nice fit. 

AFTER the smidge is off, score at 1”.  I know it’s 1” to score as that the height of my side.

So now the lid.  The lid needs to be 4” long plus 1/2” high for each side so 1/2+4+1/2 = 5.  And the side is 2 ¼ + 1/2” high for each side so 1/2+ 2 ¼ + 1/2 is 3 ¼. 

So the lid is 5 x 3 ¼.  I made this from designer paper.  Score at 1/2 on all sides.  You know it's 1/2" as this is the height of the sides.
  

Now cut the 4 edges off - see the red lines below, then take off a "notch" off each corner.  

Now a little glue (liquid or tear n tape) on the flaps (I used tear n tape here so you can see easily in the photo).

And here's another custom box.  This is to fit a tin from the dollar store that I filled with tags for a little present.  I think you can give just about anything if you wrap it / box it / decorate it up with style!

Happy crafting!  Leave a comment or ask a question, happy to help!  MaryKate

The Holiday Candy Lane Cracker

1.Cut the paper 5 ½ x 6”

2.The 6” is the length of the cracker (think about any directional pattern your paper has)

3.With the 6” along the top score at 1 1/4 and 4 3/4

4.With the 5 ½ along the top score at 1 ¼, 2 ½, 3 ¾ and 5”

5.Fold all score lines

6.With the 6” along the top of the punchboard, line the paper at the 1 1/4 “ punch (no scoring)

7.Flip over the paper, score at 1 ¼

8.Tip: I put a yellow sticky note at the 1 ¼” on the punch board (see top left photo), it keeps me right there at 1 ¼ (good if you’re doing a lot and enjoying a glass of wine while crafting)

9.Repeat for all folds – see photo above for how it looks when all the punching is completed

10.Pinch one end of the cracker and tie with ribbon, then put the candy and tie the other end (yup I’ve tied both ends then thought… hmm should have put in some candy J)

11.Decorate with the cookie cutter creature or a paper cutout

Happy crafting, email me with questions, happy to pass on tips or ideas, MaryKate