Stamptacular Sunday Challenge: Sugar and Spice and Everything NICE!

This week on the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge our challenge is to create a card or project that is just for girls! how you do this is totally up to you! The possibilities are endless!
SPONSOR: Fresh Brewed
PRIZE: $10 Gift Certificate
AND
SPONSOR: Bee Crafty
PRIZE: 3 digital images of winner's choice

Now when I heard of this challenge I KNEW exactly what a I wanted to do...what girl wouldn't love a little chocolate in a purse? My bff is a purse consieur and would love a little purse with some chocolate in it (be sure to check out my next post below to see how easy these are to make!) Wouldn't this be a great way to say thanks to a co-worker or a fun party favor? These truly went together quickly! Thanks for joining me today, tutorial is below (one for the purse, one for the roses), I can't wait to see what girly thing you come up with!

Recipe:

• Stamp: Bee Crafty, Paper Trey Ink
• Die: Nestabilities Labels 4
• Ink: Stampin' Up (and computer print out)
• Other: Copics, Adhesive, Pins, homemade roses, glitter, Martha Stewart Leaf punch, Ribbon, Ghiradelli Chocolate and Glitter
  
  

Thrifty Gifts: Tree Ornament Tutorial

Here's a quick tutorial for you today. This is a simple Christmas Tree ornament that can be quickly made out of 3 squares of paper. I loved how this turned out and how easy it was to make. I actually came across this idea last night at a birthday party, there were HUGE squares of confetti on the tables and I started playing around with them...and well, this is what I came up with...it's funny where creativity will strike you...anyway...onto the tutorial...
Supplies Needed:

• 3 Varying sized squares of paper (I just punched out 3 squares with my punches...my largest square is 1 3/8"
• Paper Piercer
• Needle and Thread
• Beads

Step One:

• Punch out 3 varying sized squares.
• Fold corner to corner so that your square resembles a triangle.
• Do this both directions.
  

Step Two:

• Fold your square into a triangle again so it looks something like the above.
  

Step Three:

• With the pointy end pointed down and the bended edges on your fingertips, squeeze so that your triangle inverts and looks like the above.
  

Step Four:

• Smoosh it flat, you want to make sure the flaps bend both ways...so that it looks like below...
  
  Step Five:
• With the paper piercer, pierce the middle of your star (so you can put your string through)

Step Six:

• Thread a bead on the end of the string and tie off.
• Place the largest "star" on top of the bead
• Add beads so that they are the height of the next star
• Add the next star
• Continue to do this until you are finished with the "stars"
• Add one last bead and run your string up and back down and tie off for a loop to hang with.

Thrifty Christmas: Gifts Under $5, Winter Towel Set

Have you taken a trip through your local crafty nook lately? I just love going in there! Ours is called Treasured Dreams, they always come up with whimiscal ways to present decorations, gifts and what-nots...and I always walk away with something I couldn't live without. However, sometimes their what-nots are a touch overpriced (for me), when I KNOW I can make them for so much less! Kitchen towels included! I've seen similar kitchen towels to the ones I made below for about $12 A PIECE! OUCH! The ones below cost me $1.50 each total.
The towel itself was $1 (found at my Dollar Tree, but I also found some outstanding towels at Wal-Mart for the same price) and the snowman fabric was $7/yard and I used a 3 1/2" X 14" strip for each towel, and the lace I had on hand.
These were easy to make and the longest part of the whole project was ironing my seams down and pinning the lace under the fabric. The sewing was the easiest part of all, STRAIGHT LINES! Can't go too wrong with that!
I plan on giving several friends and family members these little towel sets, I know most of their kitchen colors (and can match towel colors accordingly)and Prim (primitive decor) is in, in my area, so I know they'll be appreciated!

Above I wanted to show you what the towel looked like BEFORE it's transformation!

Thrifty Christmas: Gifts Under $5, Post It Note Holder

Whether you have a co-worker or just like using post it notes at home (I know they come in handy for me!), a quick and inexpensive gift is a post it note holder. I used acrylic frames I found at Dollar Tree, Post It Notes that I purchased in bulk and the rest of my stash to make these two little gems.
Recipe:

• Punch: Martha Stewart Lace
• Paper Piecing: This little girl I made almost 7 years ago, so I'm sorry I don't have the original, however I believe she is inspired by Mary Engelbreit.
• Paper and Ribbon from my stash.
  

Recipe:

• Paper: K & Co
• Die: Cricut Opposites Attract
• Pin: Stash that I made
• Ribbon: Again, stash...

Thrifty Christmas; Gift Wrap, Gift Card Holder

Here's a gift card holder that you can hang on your tree! It's an under 5 minute project, super easy and gives the recipient a little something to unwrap (that's the one thing I hate about gift cards...when you give the envelope, the recipient pretty much knows what it is...no surprise...at least this'll be a little less obvious!) So onto the tutorial...
Supplies Needed:

• Paper Trimmer
• Patterned Paper 4 3/4" X 6 1/2"
• Coordinating Paper 1" X 6 1/2"
• Double Stick Tape
• Hole Punch
• Ribbon
• Edge Punch (here I used Fiskars Treading Water punch)
• Decorative Accents (Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch & Cricut Joys of the Season Snowflake)
• Glitter (for accents)

With the edge punch, punch the 6 1/2" edge of the coordinating paper and attach with double stick tape to the top of the patterned paper (as shown).

Flip it over and put double stick tape alone one 4 3/4" edge and 1/2 of the 6 1/2" edge.

Overlapping slightly, roll the paper (like a toilet paper tube) so that the 4 3/4" meet. Press together (as shown below)...

With the seam in the middle back, squish the end together so it's slightly flat (as shown below)

Punch one hole on each side of the top (as shown) and thread ribbon through and tie knots in the ends.

Add decoration and gift card.

I added a little paper shred to cover the card

Thrifty Christmas: Personalized Crayons, Gifts under $5

Ok, I must go off to work...and with that I have no internet access (bah hum bug!)...and won't return until Monday...so my Thrifty Christmas daily postings will be on hold until then...I know, I know, I can pre-post and I have in the past, but this time I've been busy with some company, busy packing and well...just busy! BUT, before I go, I've been doing a little "blurfing" (blog surfing) and Lauren Meader came up with the CUTEST idea for personalizing crayons and a carrier (one of her timeless templates...the stocking below was using one of her timeless templates). So if you are looking for a cute idea for a child, but don't want to spend a lot of $$$$ check out her link here ( http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/11/25/a-little-gift-for-cassie/ )
And hey, have a great Thanksgiving...I'm gonna be working, BUT I'll still have some turkey and all the fixings...yummmm!!!!!! and I'll be back on Monday...and for those that are wondering WHAT I'll be working on... we'll be at a horse show, the show starts on Friday, but we go a few days early to prep the horses and well, just move in...that's a production in and of itself!

Thrifty Christmas; FREE Template Stocking Stuffer, Gift Wrap

Don't ya just love the word FREE? Me Too! Below I made this adorable stocking box with a free template from Paper Trey Ink found here ( http://www.papertreyink.com/timeless_templates_download_here.html )
This was truly an easy peasy project, took me under 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Laruen Meader did an excellent job designing this!

I decided to try unconventional Christmas colors and used some purple paper I've been saving for-evah! I also did another glittered snowflake, only in purple (of course). Wouldn't these look cute as party favors?

Supplies:

• FREE Template from Paper Trey Ink ( http://www.papertreyink.com/timeless_templates_download_here.html )
• Cardstock: Lavendar & White
• Die Cut: Cricut; Joys of the Season Large Snowflake
• Punch: Martha Stewart Snowflake
• Glitter: Martha Stewart
• Bauble: Robbins Nest
• Sentiment: Studio G
• Ribbon: Grograin

Here's a close up of my glittered snowflake.

Thrifty Christmas: Gift Wrapping

Look what I did with the little snowman pin I made yesterday...I turned him into a package decoration! I cut my shapes out on my cricut (Joys of the Season snowflakes & George heart), inked the edges and glittered them up in various glitters (the chunky glitter is mica glitter I bought off of ebay last year for another project). I stamped a little tag (using my $1 Studio G stamps), and attached a button from my stash and some cheap offray ribbon. I think they turned out so pretty and primitive!

Recipe for above snowman package decoration:

• Snowman pin made yesterday (see yesterday's post for directions)
• Red Snowflake from Martha Stewart Punch
• White Heart from Cricut using George cart
• Sentiment: Studio G
• Ink: Tim Holtz Vintage Photo
• Glitter: Making Memories (fine) and Mica (source unknown)
  

Recipe for above Snowflake Decoration:

• Snowflakes: Cut from Cricut, Joys of the Season Cart
• Glitter: Brown Martha Stewart, White Mica Glitter
• Button: From stash
• Sentiment: Studio G
• Ribbon: Offray

Thrifty Christmas; Gifts Under $5, Snowman Pin

This adorable little snowman pin was made using materials I already had on hand. So easy to make, so quick to do. These would be super simple to do in mass quantity! You could also change the snowman's personality with your ribbon scarf...and also to match the recipients personality!

Supplies Needed:

• Sticky Pin Back
• 2 White, 2 hole buttons in different sizes
• 4 seed beeds or rhinestones (I used rhinestones for my example...what I had on hand)
• Ribbon
• All purpose Glue
• Scissors
• Toothpick
  Step One: Remove paper from sticky pin backing

Step Two: Apply buttons with the smaller button's holes going horizontally, and the large button's holes going vertically

Step Three: Squeeze glue onto a scrap piece of paper, and using your toothpick place a dab of glue over each button hole and place your rhinestones/seed beads.

Step Four: Fold your ribbon in half.

Step Five: Place ribbon behind pin back, around the neck area as shown above. Now pull the ends through the loop.

Step Six: Trim the end of the ribbon scarf with your scissors. Place a little glue on the side of the snowman body and glue the scarf ends down. Let dry!

Thrifty Christmas; Kids Crafts, Gifts Under $5, Paper Clip Bookmarks

Here's a SUPER QUICK craft that even the kids can do...paper clip book marks. Take a Jumbo Paper clip (found mine at Wal-Mart), and put a matching sticker on the front and back and tie off a little ribbon. So quick, so easy, so cute!
Supplies:

• Jumbo Paperclips
• Stickers: Flower by Martha Stewart, Heart by Miss Elizabeths
• Ribbon: Various
  

A Big THANK YOU to Jennifer McGuire!

One of the blogs I frequent (jennifermcguireink.com or see link to the right....) Jennifer McGuire, had a small contest of sorts and well, I won a little something...back in September... and that something just never showed up...so I emailed her just to let her know the prize didn't make it. Not only did she profusely apologize, she sent not one, not two, but THREE stamp sets and a personal card. What a CLASS ACT! Not only do I admire her artistic ability, but her service as well, if you get a chance, go cruise around her blog, what an outstanding individual in a day where customer service barely exist's...she definately went way beyond anything I expected. Thank you again, Jennifer!

Thrifty Christmas; Gifts Under $5, The Birthday Book

Here's a simple, but thoughtful gift, the birthday book, it holds everyones birthdays in it...and the beauty...it's only 3" X 3", so it fits perfectly in a purse!

I purchased inexpensive spiral bound albums (found at Wal-Mart last year) and using my scrap paper, I made several of these up! I used my word processing program to make the dates and lines for each page. These were super simple to make and well received!

Thrifty Christmas: Gifts Under $5, Birthday Calendar

Ok, Ok, I KNOW, calendar = boring....EXCEPT this calendar has all the birthdays ALREADY IN IT! This is my most requested gift in my family (and trust me on this one, I didn't do it ONE year and got my hind end chewed off...I ended up doing them ANYWAY!). So I purchase the $1 calendars, fill in the birthdays and put Mrs. Grossmans stickers to go with that month's theme (in this example April, Easter, so flowers, grass, bunnies, chicks and baskets) and a nice balloon or candle sticker on each date that has the birthday, along with the birthday recipients name. Now WHO wouldn't like a calendar already filled out for them at the beginning of the year?

Thrifty Christmas: Gifts Under $5, Take Out Menu Binder

Here's my "go to" gift usually reserved for bridal showers, but would make a GREAT gift for those that have everything! Also makes a great gift for single people or super busy families! This is my personal Take Out Menu Binder and it gets used more often than I care to admit, however it's soooo handy having all my take out menus in one place! No more searching here or there to find the restaurants phone # or trying to figure out if that was the place that made the 5 lbs. of cheese pizza! LOL. All I have to do is flip to the correct tab and look through the page protector the menu is in...so easy! And easy and quick to make too!

Supplies Needed:

• 1" Clear View 3 Ring Binder
• 3 Hole Punch
• Clear Page Protectors
• Cardstock (12X12 and 8 1/2 X 11 Heavy cardstock)
• Label Maker (or stamps)
• Punch (for tabs)
• Brads

Instructions:

1. Start by measuring your front cover, this is going to be bigger than your standard 8 1/2 X 11 (they all vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer of your binder, so make sure you measure).
2. Cut your cover (s) (remember to do something to the back also!) and decorate. In mine I used patterned paper, Mrs. Grossmans stickers, and my Cricut for the lettering.
3. Now measure and cut your side strip. Slip it in the binder 1X to make sure it's the right size before decorating. Do NOT decorate this very lumpy, it's difficult at times to slide this one down because of the narrow opening! IF you have trouble sliding it in the narrow opening, use a thin ruler to help you.
4. Now figure out your Tab labels for inside, I chose to go with; Pizza, American, Mexican and Chinese. 3-Hole punch 4 pieces of 8 1/2 X 11 cardstock (these are the dividers, so you want something sturdy!)
5. Create your tabs and stagger them, make sure you again use heavy weight cardstock for the tabs as well as attach them with brads (I also ran my tabs through my xyron as well as attaching them with the brads), these will get a lot of use and you don't want them to fall apart on the recipient!
6. Place in binder and put a few clear page protectors between each.
   

Thrifty Christmas: Nail Polish Carton, Gifts Under $5, Teen/Tween Gift

I saw this nail polish carton on Diane's Blog here http://stampwithdiane.blogspot.com/2008/11/scrap-polish.html

It's perfect for those mini-nail polish bottles that are perfect stocking stuffers and teen/tween type of gifts! (Also great for Secret Santa stuff too!). After a little tweeking from Diane's original tutorial (not all nail bottles are the same height and width) I came up with this:
Here's a quick version of the tutorial (please note these measurements may have to be tweeked to fit YOUR nail polish bottle!):

• Cardstock measures 5 1/2" X 1 1/4"
• Score at: 3/8", 3/4", 2 3/8" 3 1/8", 4 3/4", 5 1/8"
• Fold
• Put glue dot or pop dot on bottom of bottle, and place bottle in carton
• Punch 2 small holes in the top of carton and thread ribbon through and tie off
• Add decoration to front and/or back.
  

Thrifty Christmas, Gifts Under $5, Journal & Pen

DH's aunt unexpectedly gave me a little journal with a pen, just cuz (don't you love little gifts like that?)...and I just LOVED it, it was spiral bound and I could make up my lists and she tied the pen on with some pretty ribbon...I felt special just having it, I mean it IS nicer than having your grocery list on the back of an old envelope! So,while shopping around, I found some nice Christmasy journals in the Michaels $1 section, and I prettied them up with the ribbon I had on hand.

I put the journal and pen in a Perfect Fit Box (here's the tutorial in case you missed it http://ponderingsofpaula.blogspot.com/2008/11/perfect-fit-box-tutorial.html )
I tied the box with some ribbon I had on hand and stuck a pretty pin in it, the idea and tutorial from Sharon Johnsons blog ( http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/11/13/pins-and-pretties/ ) Made up a quick litte tag and ta da! My little gift is ready to go!

Recipe:

• Paper: My Stash
• Stamps: $1 Michaels Section
• Ink: Studio G
• Dies: Nestabilities
• Other: Bead Findings
• Ribbon: On Hand

Thrifty Christmas: Free, yes FREE Nugget Wraps

Have you seen the adorable nugget boxes? These are a quick and easy gift for anyone on your list. Using Hersey's nuggets you can wrap them in patterened paper or stamp on computer address labels and wrap. Here's a link to free Christmas Nugget Wrappers (thanks to Jo-Anne J) just print and wrap! ( http://www.daisiecompany.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3166 )

Note the picture above was taken directly from split coast stamps tutorial linked below.

Here's a tutorial on the nugget boxes ( http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/nuggetbox.php )

Thrifty Christmas: Christmas Ornaments

I saw these on Amy Rysavy's blog (http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/ ) and all I have to say is WOW! These are stunning! These beautiful ornaments started out as clear ornaments and she used a reinker and glitter, here's her tutorial on it http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/2006/12/how_to_make_a_g.html

It looks super easy...maybe just a hint messy. Wouldn't these make a great gift for a new couple or someone that just graduated from college? I have a bunch of these clear glass ornaments (if I can find them, purchased AFTER Christmas in the clearance aisle). I also think these would look great on packages or wreaths or, well even your tree (go figure! LOL).

Be sure to also browse Amy's blog, she's got some wonderful ideas and is so uber talented, she inspires me so much!

Thrifty Christmas: Thrifty Gift Wrapping

You can spend big, big money on wrapping paper, ribbons and bows for Christmas, just take a stroll through Wal-Mart, Target or even Hallmark. So here are my "tips" for cinching up that wrapping paper black hole:

• After the holidays, take advantage of the clearance wrapping paper and store until next year
• Purchase a generic paper (like I've done here) that will work for any holiday, I generally find mine on clearance or the dollar stores.
• If you like the regular Christmas paper, shop at the Dollar Stores and shop EARLY for the best selection.

Bows (to me) seem like a HUGE waste of money (not too mention get crushed and pop off!), so here's a few ideas to replace them:

• Tulle (found on clearance or I've seen it at rolls at Dollar Tree), lend a certain elegance to a simple wrapped package (see pic above), I've never gone wrong with tulle and one spool goes VERY far!
• Thread (yes, thread, see picture above) wound several times looks fabulous and is something I have every color of in my sewing cabinet. You can finish it with a simple bow, I finished it with one of my glittered snowflakes.
• Jute, looks FABULOUS on mens packages, especially if you've wrapped them in "shipping" paper.
• String (like kite string) also looks great
• Fabric strips, torn, also looks great on shipping paper packages
• Mini Candybars make great bows AND get eaten!
• Ornaments (I personally love the snowflakes at the dollar store that come in packages of 10!)

Do you have any wrapping ideas? If so, I'd love to read about them, just leave a comment!

Tomorrow I'll discuss quick and easy (and thrifty!) package labels...