Friday 28 December 2012

The Homemade Gift Card Sleeve

Unfortunately I was too deep in thought to remember to take pictures as I went along.......So all I have to show is the final product.

I have to admit that as much as I love gift card holders/sleeves, some of them are kind of lame and it becomes redundant when you get several of the same gift card...so I like to spice it up and make mine different and more personal.

If you're interested in making your own gift card sleeves, this is what you need:
-Stamps & Ink
-Scrapbook paper/cardstock/old cards
-Pencil crayons
-Thin felt-tip pen(s)
-Glue/glue dots
-Scissors
-Accents (i.e. cricut cutouts, gems, glitter, stickers, ribbon, etc.)
-An old gift card holder
-Pencil
-Hot chocolate & Baileys or a glass of Wine (optional)

The first thing I always do, is I get one of my old gift card holders and take it apart.  Now, when I say I take it apart, I just make sure I un-attach where the gift card is glued.  I flatten it out, place it on the paper or cardstock I want to use and trace it.  Then I cut it out and make the folds where it will be glued.  The rest is up to you!  Add greetings, sayings or quotes, stamp or glitter it up, and have fun!  Once you've jazzed up your sleeves, glue at the folds and throw in your gift cards!

These were the ones I created this year:



My dad even complimented me on the one he got!  He NEVER does that!  So I  must have done an okay job!

Happy Crafting!

A.A.

Thursday 27 December 2012

One of the little Christmas gifts I made this year!

So I'm a total tool and deleted all the pics off my camera.... (urgh!).
I'm having a really good start to the day......and it's not even Monday......Awesome.....

Anyways...onto the post....

I made a couple of these cute little bulbs for Christmas.  I made one for my best friend's brother, another for my Dad, and I have one more kickin' around here for a future gift perhaps....

This is a super cute, super easy, inexpensive gift to put together for the men in your life that either have a moustache or enjoy participating in Movember.  And I guarantee they will enjoy it!

This is what you need: A ceramic or glass Christmas bulb (grab 'em when they're 50% off ;)) and a black Sharpie.  You could also always throw a ribbon or bow at the top as well if you wish.

This is what you do: Take your sharpie and draw a moustache where you wish on your bulb.  Then, write "Stashing through the snow" somewhere on your bulb.  Easy, right?  You're done!  See!  I told you it was easy!  Quick, easy, and inexpensive!  It's the perfect gift!  I placed my moustache and my words in different places on all of the bulbs I made just to see what I liked best.  You can get creative with the lettering and placement to jazz them all up and make them all slightly different.  And, if the gift is for an older male, you can always do the writing and drawing with a silver Sharpie.  Not that I'm suggesting or implying anything..... ;)

Here's one of my final products!



And here is the one I gave to my dad on the tree.  He LOVED it!

A.A.


Monday 17 December 2012

More Crayon Art....

So I was in an artistic mind-set yesterday and decided to do another crayon art.  This time the subject was little owls.  I think owls are so cute!  This one isn't for work..but I'm hoping to create a couple more pieces over the break.....

By now you probably know how this works.....

1. Sketch out the project.
2. Glue the crayons on the canvas.
3. Melt the crayons with a hair dryer.
4. Paint the rest of the picture.
5. Varnish (optional).

I meant to take an image of the original sketch with the crayons placed on it...but I just kept going without thinking.....

So here is what the project look like near the beginning.....



And a little farther on....




And here is the final product!



Enjoy!


A.A.

Sunday 16 December 2012

Easy Peasy Christmas Gift

So I'm posting this one up here before Christmas because my Grandma is almost 90 years old, she doesn't own a cell phone, nor does she own a computer.  So I know I'm safe and she won't see her gift before Christmas.

I've always seen those DIY Christmas bulbs...but I had never made any myself...so...while they were 50% off....I figured what the heck!  I'd use them between this year and next for sure!

So I bought the small, clear, glass, heart-shaped bulbs, and the large round ones as well.  Why not, right?

All you need is: Acrylic paint, clear Christmas bulbs, and a Sharpie.

First, take off the top of the bulb.  Start by slowly squeezing a few drops of the paint into the bulb. Move the bulb if you like so that the paint spreads.  It's up to you.  I know there are a lot of different techniques you can use for this particular craft.  I like experimenting though and finding out for myself....Once you're satisfied, begin squeezing other colours of paint into the bulb and rotate the bulb around so that the paint spreads.  Once you're happy with how it looks, it needs to sit (without the bulb cap on) for several days.  Mine took almost a week to dry out.  I also had to tip it upside down to dump extra paint out (I went a little paint "happy" - oops!).

This is what it looks like near the beginning....



Once the bulbs were dry, I just added a couple of little words with my Sharpie.  I had planned on putting some glittery snowflakes I used to have....but I've misplaced them....Oops.....

This is the final product!


Easy, right?!

A.A.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Cute Little Winter Treat!

I hate this...I have a couple of little projects/gifts that I've made in the past month or so....but I can't post them yet.....I can't post pictures.....yet.....with my luck, if I did post pictures..... the receivers of the gifts would check my blog out and see what they were getting!

So I've got a little post to tie you over...

I made these a few weeks ago for Christmas party #1 and they were a hit! (and tasted good too!).


They take some time to decorate, and you need to be patient and have a steady hand.....but they're totally worth it!

Here's what you'll need:
-Sugar cookie mix/ingredients
-Large marshmallows
-Icing (I used: black, orange, green, brown)
-Vanilla icing
-Cooking spray

Here's how to make 'em!:

1. Bake some sugar cookies (I used the Betty Crocker Sugar cookie mix - I wasn't making them from scratch when I knew it would take a while to decorate them....).
2.  After the cookies are baked and cooled, fill a bowl with vanilla icing and put it in the microwave to melt the icing so that it becomes a liquid.  I used a small bowl and only put a bit of icing in at a time - it only took about 30 seconds to melt a small bowl.
3. Take a spoon or small ladle and slowly pour a small amount of icing onto each cookie.  If you melt the icing it gives the "melted" look to the snowman (which is exactly what you're going for here).
4. Spray a small amount of cooking spray onto your large plate.  Place marshmallows spaced apart on your plate.  Place in the microwave for about 40 - 60 seconds.  Pull out.
5. Place a marshmallow on each cookie.  When you're pulling them off the plate they will bend and warp (don't worry!  They're supposed to!).
6. Let cookies sit for a while (30 minutes or so) that way your icing and marshmallows will settle.
7. Use your icing to decorate your melted snowmen! Draw on your eyes, carrot nose, scarves, twig arms, buttons, etc! (You could also use chocolate chips for the buttons).

Enjoy!!!!