Inspire Me Monday: Quick & Easy Gift Idea

Howdy everyone!  Welcome to Inspire Me Monday!  I’m Allison Cope, your hostess this week and today we’re talking a little bit about that last minute gift idea.

I’m always on the look out for a few items that I can tuck away somewhere in the house so that I know I have as a last minute gift to grab.  I especially love edibles in fun and funky tins or cool containers.

For today, I’m featuring some festive digital stamps we offer here at Power Poppy.  I’m using Hollyberries, Wreath: Felt Leaves & Fruit and Wreath: Succulents & Baubles.  You can see both of these wreath stamp sets plus TWO more in our fun Wreath Multipack Collection.  Psst... it's on sale right now!!!

So join me today while I jazz up a simple candy tin for a quick and easy gift using these fabulously festive digital stamps…

See it in HD.

After all my videoing was complete, I broke down and coloured up my foiled creations for my tins.  So I used my Copic Markers to quickly colour up my holly and parts of my pretty wreath.  I used some bold yellows and soft greens to complete it.

Copics Markers: Y15, YR23, E47, YG00, G43

I think my little tin topper turned out cute and was so quick to make!

So the next time you’re looking to jazz up a gift and make it your own, think digital stamps and fancy foil!

Don't forget to play along with our Power & Spark Challenge this month.  For more details, please visit HERE.

Thanks for joining me today!  Have a great time decorating and personalizing your holiday gifts this month.  Happy Holidays all!

~ Ally ~

stamps: Power Poppy (Hollyberries, Wreath: Felt Leaves & Fruit, Wreath: Succulents & Baubles)
paper: XPress It (Copic), Green Foil Cardstock (DCWV)
dies: Stitched Circles (MFT), Scalloped Circles (Spellbinders)
foil: Green (iCraft Deco Foil), Gold, Teal (Heidi Swapp)
ink: Copic Markers

Inspire Me Monday: Easy Creative Packaging

Happy Monday friends!  I hope that those of you in the US are now recovering from your turkey coma, and now many of the rest of us turn the corner to full-on Christmas prepration!  For today’s tutorial, I thought I would spur on your creative juices with some practical and easy ways to do some Holiday or Christmas packaging.  In December we often give small gifts of thanks and appreciation to teachers, coaches, youth leaders, friends, and service people.  It might be a small gift, but pretty packaging goes a long way to making the gift feel more special.  

So, today I have 3 non-traditional gift packaging ideas for you.  A monochromatic gift card envelope, a rustic paper bag and a glitzy tin.  

Monochromatic Gift Card Envelope  

I remembered a tutorial from ages ago that I learned which is an easy way to make a fancy gift card envelope.  You’ll need only a couple of supplies, a plain envelope, a crimper (you might have to dig that one out of your stash!), some ink, sponges and a stamp set.  Here I’m using Power Poppy’s Sassy Succulents stamp set. 

I began by ramdomly stamping the hen and chicks image onto the front side of the envelope in a teal ink.  

Next sponge the envelope with a softer ink.  I used a combination of SU Pool Party and Baja Breeze.  

Next flip the envelope over, stamp and sponge the envelope and SEAL it shut.  

Then cut off about 1 1/2 inches off the top of one side of the envelope.  This will be your “lid”.  Set the lid aside.  

Now grab the larger part of the sealed envelope, with the cut side of the envelope on the right or left, set it in the crimper and run it through the crimper.  This will give it texture, but it also “shrinks” the bottom part of the envelope so it can become a bit of an envelope box.  This way the lid can fit over top.  

Here you can see the bottom of the envelope that’s been crimped is a bit smaller, now it can fit inside the top flap.  

Now, to create a place to put your gift card, cut a square of card stock, add a small strip of sticky adhesive to the top of the square and set it into the top of the lid of the envelope.  When you have a gift card just attach it to the square.  

To help the edges of the crimped bottom of the envelope fit into the lid, I used a corner rounder to the top of the cut side so it will fit in nicely.  

Here’s how the envelope looks put together.  I’ve added a lovely tag made with Marcy’s brand new digital stamp from the Wreath sets called Wreath:  Succulents and Baubles.  I printed it in a softer teal ink and coloured it up with Copics.  Framing it all out with scalloped edge felt and a felt bow.  

Here’s the envelope open.   

And here’s a close-up of the tag.  I love the softness of the felt with the monochromatic look.  

Rustic Paper Bag

Next up, a paper bag!  Don’t underestimate the power of simple household things for packaging!  All I’ve done with this simple packaging is to grab a regular paper lunchbag.  I folded over an edge, added a fishtale pennant of burlap, and then grabbed some twigs from outside (put them in the oven for a bit to make sure there were no critters inside), and then hotglued them to the top of the bag.  

Then I took some of my rosemary (that’s still so hardy outside), hot glued it into the top, and then added a rustic tag made with another of our new wreath digis, Wreath:  Birch and Evergreens.  Bonus of this is that the rosemary really smells lovely!

A close-up of the tag, created simply with a scalloped frame, a woodgrain embossed background that I swiped some distress ink over, and then ripped the bottom, tying it with some rustic twine.  

Very simple and practical, and yet it looks so polished.  

Glitzy Tin
 

Metallics are so great at Christmas time, or for the New Year!  In our home, one of the gifts we make each year is our family receipe, homemade fudge.  We put it into silver tins like this so you already have a glitzy silver base for your packaging.  Then, I created a simple belly-band from gold foil paper, added some shimmery white ribbon, and then a lovely shimmery tag made with another of our new digis, Wreath: Felt Leaves and Fruits.  I glitzed the tag up with glitter pen, metallic gold pen dots on the fruits, and Wink of Stella on the black berries.  The whole thing shimmers, but you’ll have to use your imagination for me on that one, with the metallic black base on the tag it doesn’t grab the simmer on the fruits.  

A sweet little jingle bell and gold twine finish it off!  

There you have it, three sweet simple ideas using everyday items to make your holiday packages look even more special!  

This will be my last tutorial at Power Poppy for a while....I’m taking next year off from doing tutorials for some needed extra time in the schedule.  I’ll still be here designing though, you can’t get rid of me there! :)   Thanks so much for all your supportive comments over the past two years!  I know you’ll continue to be inspired by all of the Power Poppy team with Inspire Me Mondays!  

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Wrap it Up Baby!

Howdy all!  Happy Monday to you all today!  I'm Allison and I'm your hostess for today's Inspire Me Monday!

If you haven't already checked out our latest Power & Spark challenge for the month of September, you need to do that!  It's all about gift giving!  So I thought I'd share a really quick an easy tutorial on a fun way to package some handmade cards, gift certificate or something else you special you've made for a friend or loved one.  This tutorial will teach you how to make a Fold Over Box that fits A2 sized cards.

Here are the measurements of the cardstock you will need:

• TWO - 6" x 6 1/2" (lid & bottom)
• ONE - 1" x 11" (belly band)
• ONE - 8" x 6 1/2" (3D box)
• ONE - 6 1/8" x 4 5/8" (box topper) 

STEP 1:
Using your 8" x 6 1/2" sized cardstock, SCORE all 4 sides at 1".  Then cut V-shaped tabs like the image below.

STEP 2:
Add a strong adhesive to the outside of each tab and adhere the tabs to the inside of the box to create sides (see photo insert).

STEP 3:
Using the 6" x 6 1/2" pieces of cardstock (TWO), SCORE on one side of each piece at the 1" mark on the long side (6 1/2" side).

STEP 4:
Add strong adhesive to the inside of one of the 1" scored strips of the cardstock.  Adhere the 1" strips together as shown to create a 3D card.

STEP 5:
Decorate the inside of your lid base using the desired patterned paper.
Adhere the box to the inside of your card using strong adhesive.  The box is designed to have a 1/4" gap all the way around the edge of the box.

Decorate the inside of your box if desired.  Make sure to trial the piece of paper before you adhere it to the bottom of your box.

STEP 6:
Create a box topper to fit your piece of 6 1/8" x 4 5/8".  I used the festive "Bough Wow Wow" stamp set to decorate the top of my Fold Over Box.  I kept the colors simple, using only warm greys and red to color my stamped image with so it matched my patterned paper.  DO NOT adhere your topper to your cardstock until the after the next step.

STEP 7:
Take your box topper cardstock and make a mark indicating the center of your topper.  Then carefully wrap your belly band around the box loosely and crease it to match the height of the box. If you wrap the belly band too tight, you won't be able to get it on and off easily.

Adhere your belly band ends either under or on top of your topper (it's your choice!).  I ended up adhering mine underneath.  The pencil line won't show because your going to adhere your topper right over top of it!

STEP 8:
Adhere your topper to your topper cardstock using a strong adhesive.
You can further decorate your box by adding decorative paper or ribbon to your belly band or even around the edge of the box.

At last, you have a little decorative box to send some fabulous cards or a gift...

And here it is with the topper and belly band off.  As you can see, I added a little bit of patterned paper to the lid so it wasn't too bare when the topper was removed.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you'll join me and the Bloom Brigade and play along with our Gifts from the Heart challenge this month!  Remember, anything goes when it comes to gift giving!

Happy stamping and creating everyone!

~ Allison ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Power Poppy (Bough Wow Wow)
cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Neenah Solar White 
inks:  Memento (Grey Flannel), Stampin' Up! (Real Red)
patterned papers:  Photo Play Paper Co. (Dear Santa 6x6) 
pens:  Sakura (Glaze), Copic Markers
dies: Cheery Lynn Designs (French Pastry Doily)
lace:  Decollections (Lace Tape)
other:  Stickles, thread.

Inspire Me Monday: Christmas Goodies!

Hello folks and Happy Christmas in JULY! It's Julie here with you today! Did you see the brand new digital stamp set that Power Poppy launched over the weekend? Oh my! If not, you need to check out Hollyberries! What a gorgeous image with two fanciful sentiments to match! What a fun way to get a head start on your Christmas Creations! I know, it's a bit early. But, some of you folks are so savvy that you create all year long so as not to be overwhelmed when the holiday of all holidays for card making season gets closer!

THIS LITTLE TUTORIAL IS JUST FOR YOU! 

For the rest, bookmark it and revisit in November when you're looking for a handmade gift idea for one of your BFFs! ;-)

I decided for this cardmaking set that I would literally work backwards. I wouldn't color up my images and then design the cards. I would design the cards and make the digital images fit and work in the spaces available. When I was done designing, I set them all up just like so (below) to "audition" them! I like! Keep in mind, none of the images are glued down in the photo below. I wanted to keep those separate just in case of a coloring mishap. Yes! These things happen folks!

Now, with my cards designed, I wanted to create a holder of sorts so that when I wanted to gift this to someone, it would all be packaged up and ready to go! 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 12" by 12" piece of card stock
• ScorPal or any kind of scoring board/tool
• Strong double stick tape or glue dots

HERE'S A PEEK AT WHAT WE'LL BE MAKING:
It's an accordian style card holder that has one slot for your cards (I made four) and one slot for your envelopes! 

LET'S GET STARTED!

1. Start by scoring your piece of 12" by 12" piece of paper on the 1" and 11" score marks on the right side of your paper.

2. Turn and using double stick tape, run a line of tape above the score line and then fold over toward the wrong side of the paper.  

3. Flip paper so that folded edge is along the top of your scoring device. Score along the 2.5", 3.5", 8.5" and 9.5" score marks. 

4. Flip paper over and score at the 3" and 9" marks. 

5. You will now fold your paper so that the 3" and 9" fold marks are mountain folds on the wrong side of the paper as shown below. The other score lines will be folded in the opposite direction. Do this on both sides of the paper.

6. Now, you'll notice that you've essentially formed a tube. To hold this together, tape both sides together with single sided tape. I used packing tape because, sadly, that was all I had on hand! 

7. Making sure the longest side of your project is along the top of your scoring device, score at the 4" and 6" marks. Flip your paper over (still having the long side at the top) and score at the 5" mark. Yes, this will be hard because you will be scoring through 2 and some times 4 layers of paper.Press hard and just make sure you can see your score lines. 

8. Fold as shown above. As you can see, the 4" and 6" scored lines become valley folds and the 5" score line becomes a mountain fold. At this point, you'll want to use really strong glue dots or tape to secure the front and back portions of your card holder together. If you don't have strong tape, you can use a brad or tie a ribbon around both sections. You could even make a belly band to fit over the entire project to keep it together! It's up to you! Get creative!

As you can see above, the back portion will house enveopes! And, looking below, you can see I kept the design rather simple -- just a band of hollyberries with a sentiment tied up quite literally with gold cording and a bow!

Here's a peek at how my finished cards fit in the front accordian pocket. It's a perfect fit!

NOW TO THE FUN STUFF! THE CARDS!

I really wanted the hollyberries to stand out on each creation, but I also wanted each card to look different. I didn't want a border on each card, I wanted it to look as though I had a handful of stamps to use for my creation. Truth is, all I had was one digital stamp set that I molded and fashioned to really expand my creative horizons!

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I will say that these are the Copic marker colors that I reached for when coloring up my hollyberries!

CARD #1

For my image above, this is the digi that I started with....

From there, I used the eraser tool to just isolate one of the three hollyberry segments. And below is the finished leaf segment all ready to print and color!

That's just a basic tutorial. If you want MORE on how to really use your digital images, click on over to a tutorial I did last summer HERE, for a whole host of ideas! I also used the single holly image for the card below!

CARD #2

CARD#3

For this creation, I used the holly border just as it was but layered it twice so that it would carry along the full height of the card. And, see that "decorative paper?" Yep, created that too! Again, check out the tutorial that I did earlier to learn how to make your own backgrounds using digital stamps. It's too fun for words! I just kept layering the main holly image, merged them all into one 4" by 6" canvas and then altered the color to red before printing on a piece of decorative paper. The sentiment for card #2 and card #3 are both from the Power Poppy clear set called Poinsettia. 

CARD #4

For this creation below, I used the holly segment and lined it up to create a frame of sorts. I did have to erase sections to help it fit into a 3" by 3" square, but you could make it larger and form it to fit a larger square card. Up to you! The sentiment is one of two included in the Hollyberries Digital Stamp Set!

And when all the cards were done, they fit perfectly into my card holder. While I didn't add ribbon for a handle, you most certainly could! I love the way this project stands up on its own. Not to mention, I made this a holiday creation, but you could certainly use this idea for card sets of ALL kinds! It truly would make a lovely little birthday gift for that special friend!

AND ONE MORE LOOK AT THE FINISHED PROJECT!

Thanks so much for joining me this Monday! I hope you enjoy this project so much that you'll try it in your own stamping space! If you do, take a photo and link up your creation in the comment section below. I’d LOVE to see!

Happy Monday!
~Julie