The Season of Giving

Happy Monday! The Christmas season is in full swing around here! The holiday parties have begun and yesterday I held my Stamping Symphony team Christmas party at a favourite local restaurant, The Old Marina. While many of our group weren't able to join us due to distance or other holiday commitments, those who were able to come enjoyed good food, and good company as we toasted the Christmas season. I seriously love spending time with these special women who have enriched my life in so many ways!

We had such a great afternoon and even exchanged handmade gifts. So. Much. Fun!

Speaking of gifts, I thought it might be appropriate to feature some gift ideas in this week's Live @ Five video. As the holidays draw nearer, we'll all be needing neighbour gifts, teacher gifts, treats for service providers and more, so I have some quick and cute ideas to share with you this week. The first is this adorable gift box made with products from the Wrapped in Plaid Suite...

I used the gold mini pizza boxes as my foundation. They are super-quick and easy to assemble AND look UH-MAZING! I die-cut the largest circle from the Stitched Circles dies from Cherry Cobbler card stock and embossed it using the Pinewood Planks embossing folder. I layered it on a scalloped circle in Shaded Spruce and then adhered it to my box.

The sentiment is from the Perfectly Plaid stamp set and is stamped in Shaded Spruce ink. To create my 3-D tree, I punched 5 trees using the Pine Tree punch from Wrapped in Plaid DSP. Now the trick here is to punch three trees from the front side of the paper and then flip it over and punch two more from the back. This is necessary because the punched tree isn't symmetrical, so in order to match up the punched trees when gluing them together, one must alternate them. If that sounds confusing, be sure to watch my Live @ Five video tomorrow when I'll be demonstrating exactly how to make one of these boxes. If you miss the live broadcast, the replay will be posted on my YouTube channel later tomorrow evening.

Those teen-tiny snowflakes are from the Snowflake Sequins...they are so adorable! These little boxes are super-quick and easy to make...I should know...I made 20 of them in an afternoon for gift for some special people.

Thanks for stopping by today...I hope you have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram for news about a 24-hour Flash Sale happening this week! I don't have all of the details yet, but once I do I will post on social media...don't miss it!

Product List

Perfectly Plaid Bundle (En) [151143] $41.25	Wrapped In Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [149596] $20.00	Gold Mini Pizza Boxes [152068] $9.50	Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119685] $12.00
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146981] $12.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad [147088] $10.25	Shaded Spruce/Gold 3/8" (1 Cm) Striped Ribbon [149597] $9.50
Snowflake Sequins [150443] $8.25	Stitched Shapes Dies [152323] $41.00	Layering Circles Dies [151770] $48.00	Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder [152320] $14.00

'Tis the Season...

...for gifts and fun packaging! Today I have a cute little treat box I designed using a new sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue and some retiring Holiday Catalogue favourites.

Can you spot the new item? It is the silver gable box! These are simply fabulous and will be available January 3rd in the Occasions Catalogue. I couldn't resist decorating it using some of my favourite retiring products from the Cheer all Year Suite. I used a 2" x 12" strip of Year of Cheer DSP to wrap around the box and then added some silver 1/4" metallic ribbon. The sentiment is from the Oh What Fun stamp set and is heat embossed in silver. I used the 2" circle to punch it out and then layered it on a silver foil 2-1/4" circle. That all got layered on a gold foil snowflake. How I am going to miss those pretty snowflakes!

I decorated the top of the box with two green mini sprigs to which I added "snow" by dipping them in my tub of embossing paste. I hot glued them together, adding a silver mini ornamet and a silver metallic 1/8" ribbon bow. The best part is the box can totally be opened without destroying the decoration...gotta love that!

How cute would these be as favours for a winter wedding?? Image the couple's initials in place of the sentiment and voila...quick and easy favours. Don't forget that all retiring items are available while supplies last only, so don't wait to pick up those items you have to have.

I hope your Christmas preparations are going well. I still have a ways to go, as I am in the midst of concert season with my band at school. Looking forward to the end of this week when things wrap up and I can focus on getting ready for Christmas with my family! Have a fabulous week!



Product List

Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set [140386] $26.00	Silver Mini Gable Boxes [145568] $10.75	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $11.25	Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $5.25
Year Of Cheer Specialty Designer Series Paper [144640] $17.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $11.25	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131] $6.75	Heat Tool [129053] $40.00
Foil Snowflakes [144642] $8.00	Silver 1/8" Ribbon [132137] $6.75	Green Sprigs [144627] $6.50	Mini Ornaments [144626] $10.00
Embossing Paste [141979] $10.75	2" Circle Punch [133782] $23.50	2-1/4" (5.7 Cm) Circle Punch [143720] $23.50

Falala Pillow Box

As we continue the countdown to Christmas I thought maybe you could use some quick and easy gift packaging ideas. Today I want to show you the little boxes I made to package and gift the tree ornaments I made for the members of my Tri-City Stampers team (see yesterday's post if you missed it!).  I used the adorable square pillow box die....check it out:

Pillow Box featuring the Embellished Ornaments stamp set and coordinating Delicate Ornaments Thinlit dies.

I began my cutting two panels from thick Whisper White card stock. I then embossed each panel using the Softly Falling TIEF before assembling my box. To decorate the box I began with a length of 1-1/4" Very Vanilla Striped Satin ribbon, which I wrapped around the box and secured with Fast Fuse. I then added a length of 3/8" white glitter ribbon over top of the Very Vanilla ribbon and secured it with glue dots. I layered a silver metallic doily over the ribbon. The ornament is heat embossed in silver on gold foil sheets and die-cut using the Delicate Ornaments Thinlits. I adhered the ornament to the box using dimensionals.

The die cut sentiment is cut from gold foil sheets using the Christmas Greetings Thinlits and is secured by looping some silver cording trim through the loop on the "f" and tying a bow.

Here is the box with the ornament I tucked inside for my team members:

This little box takes very little time to make, but can make even the simplest little gift special. I am a big believer in the power of pretty packaging...it goes a long way in make the recipient feel extra-special. Give it a try this Christmas and you'll see what I mean :)

Here are the supplies I used to create this project:

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A Quick and Easy Halloween Treat Holder

Happy Hump Day...just two more days till the weekend!  I am already exhausted and school just started! Today I have a really quick post about a really quick and easy treat holder for Halloween using the new Square Pillow Box Thinlits...

Halloween Treat holder featuring the Cheer All Year Stamp set and the Square Pillowbox Thinlit Dies.

This one really does go together lickety split. I made the box from Basic Black card stock, using the Square Pillowbox Thinlit Dies and embossed it using the Softly Falling TIEF. The belly band is a piece of Happy Haunting DSP cut to 2" wide. I used half a spider web doily (LOVE those things!) and some Into The Woods 3/8" cotton ribbon in Rich Razzleberry.

The little bat is from the Cheer All Year stamp set.  I stamped it in Basic Black Archival ink and fussy cut it out. The sentiment is die cut from silver glimmer paper using the Seasonal Frame Thinlits.
Super quick and super easy.  I'll be making more of these for my son's friends this year!

In case you missed it, I'm offering a promotion this week only!

Now here are all of the products I used to create this project:

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XL Pillow Box Take Two!

Happy Friday!  I know most people are excited about the weekend, but today marks the end of my summer freedom.  Next week I am back at work all week, preparing my classroom and my courses for the start of the school year on September 8th. Also happening next week is the launch of the new Holiday Catalogue, which means that you'll finally be able to order all of the amazing new products I've been showcasing all month.  I'm pretty pumped about this catalogue, as you can likely tell ;)
Today I have yet another project that showcases new products.  Check it out:

XL Pillow Box featuring the Festive Flower Builder Punch and Reason for the Season stamp set.

Now, in case you missed it, I posted a video tutorial last week on how to create an extra-large pillow box using the new Square Pillow Box Thinlit dies.  I'll post a link to it at the bottom of this post in case you missed it the first time.

To create that beautiful poinsettia, I used the new Festive Flower Builder Punch and the Reason for the Season stamp set. The petals are punched from Real Red card stock and stamped with ink of the same colour. I also sponged around the edges of each petal to add more depth and definition. The leaves are punched from Mossy Meadow card stock and are stamped and sponged using ink of the same shade. The centre of the poinsettia is Hello Honey card stock and I added an Iced Rhinestone embellishment for some sparkle.

The rest of the decoration on the box includes a belly band of Season of Cheer DSP, a Tea Lace doily that I heat embossed in gold for a vintage look and some new White 3/8" glitter rbbon. For the tag, I heat embossed a sentiment from the Reason for the Season stamp set in gold and die cut it using the Lots of Labels Framelits. The box itself is embossed using the Softly Falling TIEF...details in the video on how to do that :)

Speaking of the video, here it is:

Now, here are the products I used to create this project...some are not yet available in the Showcase, so I've listed them below, along with where you can find them in the Holiday Catalogue so you can add them to your Wish List for September 1st ;)

Gold & White 3/8" Glitter Ribbon (139614) pg.29
Square Pillow Box Thinlits Dies (139657) pg. 41

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Winter Wonderland Sneak Peek and XL Pillow Box How-to Video

Woohoo!  It's Friday...the weekend is here!  I hope you've had a good week.  Mine was fantastic, as I spent it at the lake, but now I'm home and back to reality.  I was so spoiled at my parents' place, as my mom took care of all the cooking...now I have to go back to figuring out what's for dinner every night ;)
Today I have a sneak peek at some more new products from the upcoming 2015 Holiday Catalogue and I have to admit, I am in love with this particular group of projects...

Christmas ensemble featuring the Flurry of Wishes stamp set and Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Series Paper, available September 1 in the new 2015 Holiday Catalogue

Here is a closer look at each item:

First the card:

I used the Flurry of Wishes stamp set and heat embossed the images and sentiment in gold.  I so love the elegance of black, gold and white together!

Isn't that sparkly ribbon the bomb?!?  It is also available in the 2015 Holiday Catalogue and is soooo pretty! 

Now for one of the boxes:

This is a pillow box created using the new Square Pillow Box Thinlit Dies.  I love the square shape and the generous 4+" size of the finished box.

And an even bigger box:

This is an extra-large-sized pillow box I designed using the same set of Thinlit Dies!  It is so easy to create beautiful gift packaging using these dies!  This finished box is about 8-1/4" long by 4" wide.

Check out the video below to see how I did it and to get a closer look at some of the new products I used to create this ensemble.

Here are the new Holiday Catalogue products I used on these projects.  All will be available on September 1st :)
Flurry of Wishes Stamp Set (139732) pg. 25
Snow Flurry Punch (139680) pg. 25
Winter Wonderland Specialty DSP (139588) pg. 23
Iced Rhinestone Embellishments (139637) pg. 24
Gold 3/8" Glitter Ribbon (139614) pg.29
Square Pillow Box Thinlits Dies (139657) pg. 41
Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (139672) pg. 24

Here are the rest of the supplies I used to create these projects:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog