Pages Reveal: Mini Gift Bags made from Envelopes

The Assignment:

This month for Pages from the Heart, the DT members were asked to make two items for Christmas, a present wrapping idea and a present, while incorporating baker's twine. This is my first reveal, a mini gift bag that would work well for items like jewelry or gift cards. 

Mini Gift Bags

Supply List for Mini Envelope Gift Bags

Featured Collection: Santa’s Workshop from Doodlebug Design Inc.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Papers: Doodlebug Design Inc.

Stickers: Doodlebug Design

Stamps: We R Memory Keepers

Twine: The Twinery

Ink: ColorBox Chalk, Delta

Glitter Glue: Stickles by Ranger

Decorative Scissors: Fiskars

Other: Buttons, Card Envelopes

The Details:

The main part of this bag is made from a regular sized (A2) card envelope. You can use any sized envelopes that you have lying around, especially if you don't have the card to match anymore. Basically you just seal the envelope, slice off one end, score and fold 3/4" along the other three sides and open them up to make the little baggies. For a more comprehensive tutorial, you can go here. I also made a handle that I attached with glue dots. To decorate the handle, I tied some buttons and origami stars using baker's twine. 

Then I decorated the front and back sides of the bags using Doodlebug's Santa's Workshop line which has a lot of cute stickers and tags that are the perfect size for this project. For the baker's twine component, I glued some twine in a circular pattern using Fabri-Tac for the holly berries on the tag that I popped up with foam tape. The cardstock stickers already come pre-glittered and the border stickers really finish out the scene. Here is a front and back view of my snowman gift bag. 

This second bag is also made from the same sized envelope as the snowman one, the only difference is I cut the opening along the wider edge. So from the same sized envelope, you can get two different shapes, taller and narrower or shorter and wider. Here is the front and back view of my Santa gift bag.  

 

The snowman and Santa Claus peeking out from the top of the bags are Target gift cards. I got the gift cards first and then made the bags to match the theme of the cards. This was a relatively quick and easy project, and will really add a personal touch when giving a gift card to someone. 

A Shout Out:

I have to give a shout out to the UCLA women's volleyball team that will compete in the finals tomorrow against Illinois. The last time they won an NCAA championship was in 1991, when I was a senior in college there. It has been twenty years in the making. Best of luck!

Take care and happy scrappin' & spikin',

ScrapFIT Reveal: Mini-Pics

The Workout:
It is time for another scrappy workout! The guidelines for today's workout at ScrapFIT are as follows:

Workout #58- Mini Pics 

     It seems when something is smaller than normal size, it makes it better or cuter!  For this Workout you will need to work with Mini Pictures!  They need to be wallet size or smaller – you can have any many or as few as you would like. 

     You will have until December 31st to link up your layout or project to the Mr Linky for a chance to win!  Don't forget about Workout #57 - Word Of The Year - you have until December 31st to enter this Workout as well.

My Reveal:

I love layouts with multiple photos, so I decided to try and see how many I could get away with on one page. So without further ado, let me introduce you to my doggies who graciously posed for this photo spread.

Workout #58: Mini-Pic Layout

The concept behind this was that I've seen a lot of photo templates for sale, especially for digital scrappers. I decided to make my own photo collage using QuarkXPress. Here is a screenshot of what I came up with:

Designing a Photo Collage

I can now change out the photos if I like these measurements for another layout. The photos print out as one giant photo which make it really easy to work with on the page. Usually I have to glue all the little pictures individually and try to get them to line up straight. 

The Details:

At this point, I thought the photos looked too grid-like on the page and needed some cute elements to balance it out. I decided to build a doghouse to surround the collage. I used several different Bella Blvd. lines that had the patterns I wanted, like wood grains and stripes to paper piece the doghouse. 

I cut strips of striped paper and then tore them into smaller pieces to simulate sawed off planks of wood. Then I used Imaginisce Glam Rocks to look like nail heads. 

Wooden planks in the doghouse roof

I raised different elements of the page to make it look more 3D, like the roofline and the doggie door. I also used the door as my title block which I also designed and printed from QuarkXPress.

Doggie door and title block

For the embellishments, I created a scene by cutting out different designs from the patterned papers. I popped up some pieces for a layered look and used Glossy Accents on the dog's eye. 

Scenery embellishment cluster

There wasn't a lot of room for journaling since the photos took up most of the space, so I grouped some journaling spots in a cluster and labeled the basics. 

Journaling spots

The Prize:

If you like working with mini-pics, then link your creation to today's post for a chance to win another great kit from Paper Lovelies, an online crafting supply site.

Sponsor for this workout's prize

The prize this week will feature the "Old School" collection from Pink Paislee.

The prize for Workout #58

Hope you are getting your crafting and Christmas shopping done.

Thanks for stopping by,

Do You Have What it Takes to be ScrapFIT?

Repaired bears

Let There be Light:
Yeah electricity! We finally got power back after a week of no cell service, internet or electricity. It felt very primitive and Little House on the Prairie like, trying to get all the chores done before the waning light. It really gave me an appreciation for connectivity and extended daylight. At least I had family members who let me visit their home in the evenings.  I don't know how the Amish do this on a daily basis. 
The gale force winds were really powerful, besides all the trees and power lines that were knocked over, my wooden hanging bears both had their arms severed and blown away. I had to search for it among the tree branches littering the lawn. My hubby repaired them with wires so they are fine now and can withstand the next attack. 




                            ScrapFIT Design Team Call:

My six month term is rapidly drawing to a close with ScrapFIT and now there is an open call for anyone interested in applying for the new term which will begin in February for another six months. The basic requirement is to turn in two challenges a month. You can read about all the details here on ScrapFIT's blog post. I really enjoyed my time on the team and found the workouts both fun and challenging. The experience really allowed me to utilize my creativity and grow as a scrapper. 

Here is a traipse down memory lane to give you an idea of what transpired on the team for me:

Workout #49: Put a Banner on It

Workout #50: Be Inspired by a Book

Workout #51: Salt and Pepper

Workout #52: Sketchy Thursday's sketch

Workout #53: The Journaling Goes Round

Workout #54: It All Adds Up

Workout #55: Christmas Card

Workout #56: Technically Inclined

 Workout #57: Word of the Year

If this is something you are interested in, please try applying for the team. 


There are still three more reveals so it isn't all over yet for me.
Take care,

ScrapFIT Reveal: Word of the Year

The Workout:
Here are the details to the workout challenge posted today on ScrapFIT's blog:

Workout #57 -  Word of the Year

Its almost a new year!!!  What single word best describes how you want to embrace the new year?  Here is your chance to think about how you want to change, improve, create, define or challenge the new year! Share with us a layout or altered project that showcases your Word Of The Year! I hope you join us in our newest Workout!  Simply link your layout to Mr. Linky in today's post by December 31st. 

My Reveal:
I was brainstorming words of the year - challenge, create, dream... and finally decided on dare. It seemed more like a command and it encompassed all the other words. I could dare to challenge myself and dare to follow my dreams. 

ScrapFIT Workout #57: Word of the Year

I wanted a multi-photo double paged layout that was a summary of the year so I printed out 2.25 x 2.25" pictures from throughout 2011 that were a bit daring and fun. Since they were of varying colors and themes, I printed them in sepia for a more cohesive look. I wanted a sketch that could incorporate 19 photos, so I went with an Allison Davis desgin from Sketch Support.

Two Page Sketch #14

The Details:

Here is a close up of each page:

Left Page

Right Page

The main variation from the sketch was I added vertical banners. I thought that would match my heralding in the new year's theme. I machine stitched around the main banners to give a separation between photos, so they can be viewed in a strip since there was so much going on. Otherwise I kept the photo size and placements basically the same. 

Title Block

Since the workout is on a "Word of the Year", I wanted to emphasize my main word, dare. For this layout I used Echo Park's For the Record collection. There is a sticker page of letters and I used the round typewriter keys one and placed them on buttons that matched the colors in the collections. I made a mini-banner, wrapped some baker's twine around that, glued the buttons on top and placed it horizontally to emphasize my main sentiment. "Dare" seemed a bit vague by itself, so I added "to herald in the new year 2012" to finish out the sentiment. 

Here are some close up shots:

The Prize:
If you want to scrap your Word of the Year layout, please post it on ScrapFIT's blog for a chance to win an Echo Park "For the Record"scrapbooking kit from Paper Lovelies. That just happened to be the collection I used in today's layout. Paper Lovelies is an online crafting site specializing in monthly scrapbooking kits for only $15. 

This month's sponsor

This month's prize

If you find that you don't have the time to make a whole album for a large event like entire year or a long vacation, then just make a summary page with numerous smaller photos almost like a collage page. If you don't have the energy to write an essay with feelings and details, then just make a list of the places or people in the photos. Then you'll feel better for getting something down on paper. 


Take care,