Homemade Marshmallow Gifts

I have one last holiday project to share, homemade marshmallows! The idea had been rumbling in the back of my mind to try making homemade marshmallows this year so when King Arthur Flour posted a recipe on their blog around the same time it seemed like a sign! 

Surprisingly it wasn't that difficult to make the marshmallows and they tasted so much better than the store bought ones! The recipe also makes a ton of marshmallows. I had enough to fill these three pint jars and more than enough for my own family to enjoy as well. 

Of course I had to dress up the jars with some pretty packaging. With my pinking shears I cut some Christmas-y flannel I already had into circles for the lids. The tags were stamped with a sentiment from MFT's set Hug in a Mug and tied on with baker's twine. I also added little sparkly silver snowflakes I had leftover from other projects. 

These were delicious on their own and definitely a special addition to our hot cocoa. We even dipped them in chocolate fondue for a special New Year's Eve treat! Next time it would be fun to try some of the flavor variations King Arthur Flour suggests. Maple marshmallows anyone? :) 

Baby Girl Card & Gift

Hello! Here's one last pinwheel baby card and earring set. I promise my next post will be something different! Ha!

After making this card and this card, I had enough extra pinwheels that I was able to make one more card, this time for a baby girl. I also oriented it horizontally this time which I love!

I used the Pinwheel Party dies and coordinating stencils from The Greetery to create the fun pinwheels across the top of my card. The light pink pinwheels were stenciled in just Spun Sugar distress oxide ink, and the two-tone pinwheels were stenciled in Spun Sugar and Rose Red ink. All of them were backed by a little bit of gold paper to give them some shine in their centers.

As before, I also used The Greetery's Alphabud Slim stamp set and backer dies to create the word "BABY" along the bottom. The letters are embossed in gold, and the sweet little flowers are stamped in Spun Sugar, Rose Red and Limeade Ice ink. I also splattered some Rose Red ink in the background to give some interest to all the extra negative space. The pinwheels are letters are all adhered to a Crimped Frame die cut panel.

I also made these sweet faux leather earrings in coordinating colors using Taylored Expressions The Bigger the Better dies. I can't say enough good things about those fun dies!

Now I have a card and sweet gift for a new mama ready to go the next time a friend is expecting a baby girl. Thanks for reading and have a great week!


SUPPLIES

Card
Stamps: Alphabuds Slim (The Greetery)
Ink: Limeade Ice (PTI), Spun Sugar (Distress Oxide), Rose Red (SU!), VersaMark
Paper: Rustic White (SU!), gold
Dies: Alphabuds Slim Backers, Pinwheel Party, Crimped Frame (The Greetery)
Other: Pinwheel Party Stencils (The Greetery), gold embossing powder, foam tape

Earrings
Dies: Designer Dangles: The Bigger the Better (Taylored Expressions), Button Card (PTI)

Baby Boy Gift Ensemble

Here is the second gift ensemble I put together for a new mom at my church. She's expecting a boy so I kept to mostly blues with my color theme. 

The card uses the exact same design as this card, I just changed up the colors slightly for a baby boy. I used the Pinwheel Party dies and stencils, in Spring Rain and Chipped Sapphire inks. The "BABY" die cut was done using the Alphabuds Slim stamps and backer dies. Everything was adhered to the largest Crimped Frame die.

I thought the new mama could use a little something just for her, so I made a pair of leather earrings using Taylored Expressions Designer Dangles. These are so fun to make! 

I included a gift card so the new mom could purchase whatever she needs for baby. To create the gift card holder I used Papertrey Ink's Gift Card Greetings die. I embellished it with the larger blooms from Fleur Impressions, using colors inspired by the floral leather in the earrings. A sentiment from Keep it Simple: Gift for You was the perfect finishing touch.

I tucked the gift card and earrings into a small blue berry basket. 

Everything was bundled together with clear cellophane wrap and I added a personalized and coordinated tag.

I again used the Alphabuds stamp set, embossed in gold on a small Crimped Frame die. I didn't have room to add the tiny flowers to each letter, so I stamped them around the edges to incorporate the blue floral theme. I am so happy with how this turned out, I hope the new mom enjoys her new goodies!

SUPPLIES

Card
Stamps: Alphabuds Slim (The Greetery)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice (PTI), Chipped Sapphire (Distress Oxide), VersaMark
Paper: Rustic White (PTI), gold
Dies: Alphabuds Slim Backers, Pinwheel Party, Crimped Frame (The Greetery)
Other: Pinwheel Party Stencils (The Greetery), gold embossing powder, foam tape

Gift Card Holder
Stamps: Fleur Impressions (The Greetery), Keep it Simple: Gift For You (PTI)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice, Simply Chartreuse, Lilac Grace, Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding, Harvest Gold (PTI), Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire (Distress Oxide)
Paper: Rustic White (PTI)
Dies: Fleur Impressions (The Greetery), Gift Card Greetings (PTI)

Tag
Stamps: Alphabuds Slim (The Greetery)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice (PTI), Chipped Sapphire (Distress Oxide), VersaMark
Dies: Alphabuds Slim Backers, Crimped Frame (The Greetery)
Other: gold embossing powder, baker's twine

Earrings
Dies: Designer Dangles: The Bigger the Better (Taylored Expressions), Button Card (PTI)

Alphabuds Baby Card & Gift

Two women at my church are expecting babies soon so I put together some little gift ensembles for the new moms using mostly products from The Greetery. Today I'll share one of the ensembles I put together, later this week I'll share the second.

For this first card, since the gender of the baby is a surprise, I opted to incorporate both pink and blue into the design. I also thought it would be fun to use the Pinwheel Party products again, but this time try out the dies. 

I die cut one of each size of the pinwheels then used the coordinating stencil to add the color. The blue pinwheel is a combination of Spring Rain and Chipped Sapphire ink, while the pink pinwheel is simply stenciled in Spun Sugar and then left white for the second color. I added a small piece of gold card stock behind each pinwheel where the hole was, then adhered them with foam tape to a panel die cut with the largest Crimped Frame die. 

I used the Alphabuds Slim stamps and backer dies to die cut the word "BABY" along the bottom. I embossed the letters in gold and then added the little blooms using Chipped Sapphire, Spun Sugar and Limeade Ice inks. I adhered the letters to the panel using liquid glue. I also added some ink splatters of both Chipped Sapphire and Spun Sugar ink in the background for some added interest.

This is a gift card holder made from Papertrey Ink's Gift Card Greetings die. I embellished it with some blooms from Fleur Impressions. I tried to coordinate the colors of the flowers with the colors on the card. The pink flower is stamped with Pink Pirouette, Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz inks. The blue flower is stamped in Spring Rain, Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire ink. The greenery is stamped in Limeade Ice and Spring Moss. The sentiment is from Keep it Simple: Gift For You.

I put the gift card, along with a pair of leather earrings I made as something special just for mama, in a small white berry basket.

I tucked the card under the basket and then wrapped it all up with cellophane.

Of course I had to make a cute tag to match! I die cut the recipient's name, again using the Alphabuds Slim stamps and dies. I glued the die cut letters to the smallest Crimped Frame die, I could just barely squeeze them all on! I tied on the tag using some thin jute twine. I hope she likes it!

SUPPLIES

Card

Stamps: Alphabuds Slim (The Greetery)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice (PTI), Chipped Sapphire, Spun Sugar (Distress Oxide), VersaMark
Paper: Rustic White (PTI), gold
Dies: Alphabuds Slim Backers, Pinwheel Party, Crimped Frame (The Greetery)
Other: Pinwheel Party Stencils (The Greetery), gold embossing powder, foam tape

Gift Card Holder
Stamps: Fleur Impressions (The Greetery), Keep it Simple: Gift For You (PTI)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice, Simply Chartreuse, Harvest Gold, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Pink Pirouette (SU!) Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire (Distress Oxide)
Paper: Rustic White (PTI)
Dies: Fleur Impressions (The Greetery), Gift Card Greetings (PTI)

Tag
Stamps: Alphabuds Slim (The Greetery)
Ink: Spring Rain, Limeade Ice (PTI), Chipped Sapphire, Spun Sugar (Distress Oxide), VersaMark
Dies: Alphabuds Slim Backers, Crimped Frame (The Greetery)
Other: gold embossing powder

Earrings
Dies: Designer Dangles: The Bigger the Better (Taylored Expressions), Button Card (PTI)

End of Year Teacher Gifts 2020

These are the end of year gifts I put together for my sons' teachers. I really struggled with what to do this year to thank their teachers. Teachers everywhere had unimaginable obstacles suddenly thrust upon them with coronavirus. How do you teach a classroom of kids through virtual learning with no prep? They were truly heroes this year! The saddest part was how much my kids adored their teachers this year, only to have their time with them cut short.

In the end I put together small, but heartfelt gifts. Inside each of the packages are one of my favorite little floral notebooks from Target, along with some nice chocolates (their favorite if I knew). I wrapped the gifts in brown postal paper and decorated them with the beautiful Small Peony die from The Stamp Market. This first one was my first time using the peony die so I kept it simple. I die cut both the large and small petals twice, all from Pink Pirouette card stock. I die cut the stamen piece from Daffodil Delight, and the leaf from Always Artichoke. Before assembling, I curled each petal upwards around a pencil to give it shape, then hot glued each layer together. It was amazing watching the flower come to life as the layers were added!

The tag is die cut with the Sketched Shapes banner die, and stamped with the sentiment from Keep it Simple: Teacher. Each of their teachers truly was special this year!

For the next two flowers, I experimented a bit more with the peony die. My oldest son's teacher loves the color purple, so I made sure to make her gift have a purple flower.

This time I cut the largest petal four times, twice with the darkest purple card stock (Eggplant Envy) and twice with the midtone purple card stock (a generic card stock from Michael's). The smallest petal was cut twice, like I did in the with the first flower, out of Mauve Mist. I was playing around with a fuller bloom and also creating a gradation of color. 

The stamen is again die cut from Daffodil delight, but this time I used New Leaf card stock for the leaf. The tag is just the same. 

The last flower is again different. The largest outer petals are only cut twice, out of Regal Rose card stock, but the smaller petal is die cut three times. I cut it twice from Pretty in Pink and once from Pink Pirouette. Again, I was experimenting with more layers and a gradation of dark to light petals.

The stamen for this flower was cut from True Black card stock. Of the three versions I can't decide which is my favorite. Which one do you like best?

These peonies were truly beautiful in real life, and so easy to put together! I was so happy with how beautiful they made the gift presentation. Thank you so much to all of the teachers out there! You are so appreciated!!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: Keep it Simple: Teacher (PTI)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Eggplant Envy, Mauve Mist, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Always Artichoke (SU!), New Leaf (PTI), white
Dies: Small Peony (The Stamp Market), Sketched Shapes (PTI)
Other: hot glue 

Paperwhite Neighbor Gifts

This Christmas we gave our neighbors gifts of blooming paperwhites. I thought that was a fun alternative to sweets that probably wouldn't get eaten, and live plants just bring so much beauty, especially in the winter. 

I found the bulbs for sale in glass vases at Trader Joe's. They weren't yet blooming when I bought them, but I picked plants that already had buds forming or that looked to soon bud, and hoped for the best by Christmas!

The gift tags I made for them are actually the Mat Stack #4 die from Papertrey Ink, but I punched a hole in the top to turn it into a tag.

The little house is stamped from PTI's Tinsel & Tag House Additions set. The large "Merry Christmas" sentiment is from Sentiment Staples: Christmas, as well as the smaller "From our home to yours".

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Tinsel & Tag House Additions, Sentiment Staples: Christmas (PTI)

Ink: Pure Poppy (PTI), Mowed Lawn (Ranger Distress Oxide), Versa Fine Onyx Black

Die: Mat Stack #4 (PTI)

Other: Crop-a-dile, red satin ribbon

Christmas Gifts: Coffee Gift Card Holders

I know we are into January but I had a couple of projects from Christmas that I didn't have a chance to share before the holidays were over. Ever since I bought the Coffee Cup Gift Card Holder from Honey Bee Stamps, I've been itching to use it! I was planning on giving my son's bus driver and one of his teachers Starbucks gift cards for Christmas, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. 

I've also been very into buffalo plaid during the holidays lately, so I thought it would be cute to dress the coffee cups up in that pattern. I used Papertrey Ink's Background Builder: Super Gingham set to achieve that look. I stamped the larger gingham stamp in Smokey Shadow ink onto red card stock. It only took me two impressions to cover the front of the cup, and fortunately the cup sleeve covers up any imperfections I may have had in lining them up!

Speaking of the cup sleeve, I thought the sentiment from Cup of Cheer was just perfect for a coffee gift card! The snowflakes and fun little swirls are from Quilted: Winter, and they are all embossed in white.

The lid is die cut from white card stock, and I added the smaller of the two holly leaves from the Holly Jolly die collection. The berries were added with red glitter glue.

Inside I added the gift card and a simple sentiment, also embossed in white. I think they turned out super cute! I hope the recipients liked them!

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Cup of Cheer, Background Basics: Super Gingham, Quilted: Winter, Sentiment Staples: Christmas (PTI)

Paper: Real Red, Garden Green (SU!), Kraft, Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: Smokey Shadow (PTI), Versa Mark

Dies: Coffee Cup Gift Card Holder (Honey Bee Stamps), Holly Jolly (PTI)

Other: white embossing powder, red glitter glue

End of Year Teacher Gifts

 

These are the end of year gifts I made for the teachers who taught "specials" at my son's school, as well as the secretary, school nurses, and custodian. I found the popcorn buckets 3/$1 at Dollar Tree and I filled them with a bag of microwavable popcorn, a mini can of Coke, and a coupon code for a movie rental at Red Box. I thought the idea of having a movie themed gift to celebrate the end of the year would be fun and different!

I wrapped them up in clear cellophane to keep everything together and made tags to dress them up. The schoolhouse image is from Petite Places: School, the "thanks" is from Ways to Say: Thanks, and "for everything" was from Enclosed: Apple.

And this is the gift I gave my son's classroom teacher. I wanted to do a bit more for her as she is with him day in and day out, and as his mom I know that is a lot of work! Ha! This larger popcorn bucket is also from Dollar Tree, and this time it was filled with an assortment of movie theater candy (more Dollar Tree finds), three bags of microwavable popcorn, a bottle of Coke, the card I shared yesterday, and Red Box codes for three movie rentals.

This tag is very similar to the others, with the same school house image. This time I used a larger tag to accommodate the larger sentiment and also used a scallop border punch on the bottom.

I was very happy with how they turned out and hope his teachers all enjoyed their gifts and enjoy their summer break!


SUPPLIES:

Thanks for Everything Tag
Stamps: Petite Places: School, Ways to Say: Thank You, Enclosed: Apple
Paper: Stamper's Select White
Ink: Real Red (SU!), Bright Buttercup, Weathervane (PTI), Versa Fine Onyx Black
Dies: Traditional Tag STAX die namics
Other: red stitched ribbon, hemp twine, crop-a-dile

For a Special Teacher Tag
Stamps: Petite Places: School, Great Teachers (PTI)
Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI)
Ink: Real Red (SU!), Bright Buttercup (PTI), Versa Fine Onyx Black
Dies: Traditional Tags STAX Die Namics (MFT)
Other: Scallop Border Punch (SU!), crop-a-dile, red stitched ribbon, hemp twine

Happy Thanksgiving Tag

With Thanksgiving this week I wanted to let my son's teacher and bus driver know how thankful we are for them. I gave each of them gifts of homemade pumpkin spice soap, dressed up with some pretty packaging.

The soap is in a glassine bag, tied closed with ribbon and a tag. The pumpkin and the double ended banner die are both popped up, while the leaf and tendril are stamped directly on the tag. A small bit of Orange Zest pattern paper helps the tag stand out and ground the pumpkin.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Supplies
Stamps: Autumn Pumpkins, Keep it Simple: Thanksgiving (PTI)
Ink: Orange Zest, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Dies: Autumn Pumpkins, Double Ended Banner, Tag Sale #5 (PTI)
Paper: Rustic Cream, Orange Zest pattern Pack (PTI)
Other: green satin ribbon, twine, glassine bag

We've Been Boo'ed!

A few nights ago as we were getting the boys ready for bed our doorbell rang. We'd been boo'ed! A bucket of fun Halloween treats had been left on our door step! Here are the bags I put together to bless two other families in our neighborhood to carry on the Halloween fun. The bags are filled with small Halloween trinkets like pencils, stickers, glow sticks, pumpkin carving kit, etc.

I started with a regular brown lunch bag that I stamped all over with spiders using an old favorite set, Inkadinkado's Creepy Crawly.

For the topper I layered on the die cuts! The bottom black layer is the largest of the Nestabilities Labels 1 dies, folded over and tied with orange ribbon to secure the bag. Next I cut the largest of the Spider Web Trio dies from silver card stock. The white tag is Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #3 die. The web and spider are both from Creepy Crawly. I simply used a ruler and thin black Sharpie to draw the thread from the web to the spider. The small sentiment at the bottom is an old Stampin' Up! set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. The orange tag is cut with My Favorite Things Traditional Tags STAX Die-namics. I used Papertrey Ink's Penned Elegance Alphabet set to stamp the word "Boo". I notched the end of the tag with scissors. The web and two tag dies were attached to the ribbon with orange and white baker's twine. I hope the families that received these bags stuffed with goodies will enjoy them!

Neither of our direct neighbors on either side have kids but I didn't want them to be left out of the fun. My youngest son and I made a double batch of pumpkin bread, then dressed up the loaves with pretty ribbon and tags for a more adult treat.

I used the same orange "Boo" tags and also included a kraft tag letting the recipients know what kind of treat they had received. The loaves were wrapped in cling wrap and then wax paper to keep them fresh, then tied with black satin ribbon and the tags.

Our family had fun going out on our "Boo Missions" under the cover of darkness to deliver these treats to our neighbors!

Happy Halloween!


Supplies:
Stamps: Creepy Crawly (Inkadinkado), Penned Elegance Alphabet (Papertrey Ink), Typewriter Alphabet (My Favorite Things), Teeny Tiny Wishes (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Only Orange (Stampin' Up!), Kraft, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink), silver
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Only Orange (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Spider Web Trio, Tag Sale #3 (Papertrey Ink), Labels 1 (Nestabilities), Traditional Tags STAX die-namics (My Favorite Things)
Other: orange and white baker's twine, 1/2" black satin ribbon, 1/4" orange satin ribbon