A Vintage Star

I was so inspired by the very talented Paula when she posted her gorgeous Star Box (see her stunning creation here), I just had to create one myself. The template is from Lauren Meader and is so perfect for Christmas.

I added the Christmas stamp from the Perfect Punches Stamp Set and some striped grosgrain ribbon.

I decided to vintage mine up a bit more and sponged all the edges and the top in Soft Suede. But I may have got a bit carried away as I not only did the box, but also did the punch and would you believe the ribbon too.

Quick & Simple Christmas Cards

You always need some quick and simple Christmas on hand for those times you need an extra card. Here are two cards I created that are so easy to put together. White and red is such a great combination for Christmas.

The first card uses the fantastic ornament punch and some paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP (this was available in the Dressing Up Christmas special which finished 30th Nov). On the inside I added half an ornament along with the Merry Christmas from the Christmas Greetings stamp set.

The second card uses the wreath from the Welcome Christmas Stamp Set, which I stamped in Old Olive and coloured in the berries with Real Red.

Some Christmas Goodies

I needed some goodie bags to house some treats for some special girls who came over the other night, so used the treat bag I created a couple of posts ago (see here). These are great to hold some special goodies.

I used Early Espresso cardstock, the Jolly Holiday DSP and the Sparkly & Bright Stamp Set.

Inside the Treat Bags I added a sheet of christmassy owls (sorry the photo looks fuzzy, but it is just the reflection from the cellophane bag). These owls are on dimensionals which are then stuck using double sided to the background cardstock, they can then be removed and stuck onto any project they like.

I also added a little bag of chocolates (a treat bag has to have some choccie treats), the mini post it note holder and a little container of Stampin' Up! goodies (brads, buttons, etc).

Christmas Post It Notes

These were some quick and simple little Christmas Post It note holders I created. I didn't get this idea from just one place, there are lots of these on the internet so if you want some more ideas just do a search and I'm sure you will come up with lots.

When working out your measurements you want to add 1/8" to the length and width of the post it notes that you are using, plus some for the depth. I split my mini post it note into four pieces (a whole one is a bit fat). On the front I used the Christmas 'Joy' Stamp from the Stampin' Up! Perfect Punches Stamp Set and the Holly Jolly Rub Ons (which go perfectly with the Jolly Holiday DSP).

The Crop A Dile is perfect for punching a hole through the whole lot with such ease, for the ring thingy (I just can't remember what they are called at the moment). I added a sparkly brad I had picked up somewhere on my travels and Voila - a cute little post it note.

Welcome Christmas Treat Bag

This is a fabulous treat bag that we made at Regionals this year. It is such a simple yet effective idea. How do you get that fantastic look - why it's just 2 Fancy Favor Boxes. He he he.

I have made quite a few of these now, and this one uses the Welcome Christmas stamp set.

I have quite a few friends who have 'bowitis' they like bows, but are reluctant to tie bows because they don't think they turn out very well, so to get around this problem I tell them to simply pull the top off that way they don't have to stress about undoing the bow and having to tie it up again.

A Treat Bag and Wallet

A good friend brought me a gift from the US, the Greeting Card Kids stamp set from Stampin' Up! It is such a cute set, I love it. I was then inspired by this creation by Angie Kennedy Juda and really wanted to case it.

Instead of a box I chose a bag, which was also one of Angie's creations (see instructions here, she does fantastic video tutorials). The paper I used is Elegant Soiree by Stampin' Up (I love this paper) and the covers for the bag is Crumb Cake (the 'old' Kraft), which I have sponged around the edges. I coloured the image directly with markers and added some dazzling diamonds on her coat (but it is a bit hard to see in the photo). The bag closes with a velcro dot.

My second project is a little treat wallet which was also a creation by Angie (see here). I used the same colour layout as the Treat Bag. Inside the wallet I used the top of the brown paper bag, so you could put a chocolate, gift card or money inside. Kinda cute for Christmas.

Melbourne Regionals - Swap 2

Here is my second swap that I created for the Stampin' Up Melbourne Regionals (this one seemed to be the most popular). Well this is not actually the swap, this is the card I used for the swap (I just left out the button on the swaps).

Now there is a story behind this design. I had started by embossing the Cherry Cobbler cardstock with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, then I used my brayer to add some Cherry Cobbler ink to one side to give a two tone effect. To fit nicely on a card I had to trim the embossed cardstock, but in my haste I tore the corner, well I was so disappointed as I really liked the effect and I didn't want to throw it out, so after staring at it for a few days I decided to try some Designer Series Paper from the Patterns Stack to the corner and loved how it looked. I think it looks like wallpaper that has been torn to reveal some more wallpaper underneath.

I used the Welcome Christmas and the Tiny Tags stamp sets and the Jewelry Tag Punch for the little Merry tag.