A thrifty gift wrapping idea

Hello crafting pals!

While my daughter was with us last weekend, we showered her with gifts for her birthday! One of the things I gave her was a pair of pretty faceted black earrings. I had fun gift wrapping them! Come and see:

There are lots of thrift shops around here which sell items to raise money for charity. You can often find boxes or pots with lids and I think they make a great receptacle for small gifts. This pretty little lacquered box came from my local animal rescue charity shop. It cost 50p and just needed a clean up.

I cut a piece of Pool Party card stock a bit longer than the box, so that it would rest on the diagonal. I stamped it with flowers and leaves from Stampin' Up's Your Perfect Day (retired) and curved the corners with a corner rounder.

I added this lovely sentiment from Uniko's You Are Yes You stamp set before making two small holes with a punch and threading the earrings through.

I think this is such a pretty way to present jewellery, but the list of items you could present in this way is endless: sweets, money, vouchers, watches, ties, photos... There are so many different styles of box out there that you're sure to find something that will suit the personality of the recipient and you can handcraft your insert to coordinate - choosing the same colours or similar images.

Do let me know what you think in the comments below - and if you are inspired to gift wrap a present in this way, I'd love to see!

See you soon,

All wrapped up - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to another Thursday blog hop brought to you by the official Stampin' Up Artisan design team! We've all got packaging on our minds this week so if you're looking for ideas, make sure you visit all of the designers around the world by clicking the button at the end of each post :)

BAGS OF FUN!

I always keep a stock of the Stampin' Up gift bags as they're so useful, especially when teamed with the Tag-a-Bag accessory kits. This year there are some new dotty glassine bags which are food safe and a bit like greaseproof paper but much prettier! Come and see some of my ideas for using them:

COOKIE MONSTER

My youngest son came home with his school report last week, justifiably proud of himself, and that made me think of making this little cookie treat:

I had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I realised the glassine bags fit perfectly inside the kraft bags and those kraft ones are a good, heavy quality too so they keep everything nice and firm. I used a circle framelit to cut windows in the outside bag so you can see the cookie in the glassine one.

There are sticky strips in the Tag-a-Bag kit and by using the one on the edge with one of the Coral strips, I got a nice striped edge! This was decorated with a tag and paper clip from the kit as well as some punched stars. 

PARTY WHIRL

Those glassine bags are just as useful on their own! 

This little treat bag could safely house homemade fudge, toffee or coconut ice, or you could fill it with small favours and hand it out to party guests.

My bag is closed with some of the sticky strip from the Tag-a-Bag kit and decorated with a pinwheel made with designer paper and attached to a wooden skewer. The label was stamped with the word 'Goodies' from the Stamp a Bag stamp set.

AND RELAX!

The bags are just as useful for wrapping non-food items with a high fat content, like candles or this gorgeous, fragrant, handmade soap. 

I opened out my bag first and cut it to size before using it to wrap the soap tightly. The circles cut from the Cookie Monster kraft bag above were used to create a shaped 'sleeve' - don't you just love it when nothing gets wasted!

To decorate the package, I wrapped the soap in the linen thread which comes with the Tag-a-Bag kit and added one of the heart-shaped labels. The delicate little stamped flower on the label comes from the Stamp a Bag stamp set.

These glassine bags have SO many uses and I've just scratched the surface here. Click the button below to check out the rest of the Artisan blog hop for more fab ideas from the rest of the team - starting with the amazing Allison Okamitsu :)

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Sketched Dots Tag A Bag Gift Bags £3.75	Kraft Tag A Bag Gift Bags £3.25	Tag A Bag Accessory Pack £7.25	Stamp A Bag Photopolymer Stamp Set £15.00
Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack £15.50	Brights Designer Series Paper Stack £20.00	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad £6.00	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers £27.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Thanks for visiting today. Do come and join me tomorrow when I'll be rounding up the latest Stampin' Up special offers :)

Join me for a boys' Birthday Bash - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to Thursday aka Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team blog hop day (I know, that's a bit of a mouthful isn't it!) All the team members around the world have been working hard to inspire you as usual, so make yourself comfy and let's start hopping!

IT'S A BALLOON BASH!
It was my youngest son's birthday this week and he turned 14 (I have no idea how that happened but he assures me it's true!) I've been busy packaging up his presents with gorgeous Birthday Bash designer paper and the fabulous Balloon Bash stamp set. Come and see:

What a lovely lot of exciting goodies - and in my son's favourite colours too! It's so easy to create a coordinated look because Stampin' Up offers card stock, inks, markers, designer paper and accessories in the same colours :)

I used one of the designer papers as ordinary gift wrap here - although there's nothing ordinary about this fab retro design! The tag was punched out using the Angled Tag Topper punch, stamped with balloons from Balloon Bash and given a popped-up #happy birthday greeting at the bottom.

This is one of the simplest ways to wrap a relatively flat gift - simply wrap it, seal the ends and add a decorative belly band - mine was an off-cut from the first gift. I stamped another image from Balloon Bash to decorate the top.

Here's another favourite wrapping idea - a piece of designer paper, Fastfused on each side and folded in half to form a pouch. The flap is a separate piece of contrasting paper scored and glued to the back of the pouch.

It's that HB image again! This time I stamped it, cut it out and attached it with dimensionals so that the flap tucks under it to keep the pouch closed.

No gift set is complete without a card to write a birthday message in!

This one is a simple easel card - but with a difference! I added an orange flap to conceal my cutesy message so that when my son's friends come round for the sleep-over at the weekend, he won't have to hide the card with embarrassment! The flap also tucks under the stamped image to keep the card upright for display.

When you untuck it...

... the card folds nice and flat for posting. Of course I didn't  have to post mine - although we do have Puppy Post in our household!

I hope you've enjoyed browsing through my son's card and gifts. He loved everything, particularly those # greetings! Now it's time to hop over and take a look at the always-inspiring Allison Okamitsu's work. Just click the button below.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS GIFT SET NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Balloon Bash Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.95

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper £11.50

Tangelo Twist 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon £7.95

Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

How was my son's birthday? Well, his sister, who he adores and who is currently at uni in Manchester, popped in for breakfast and present-opening via Skype and later, after a 'pretty decent' day at school, I whisked him off to our favourite café for a fancy high tea. When his brother and his dad had finished work, we settled in for more presents, curry and a game of cards. So, all in all a very happy birthday!

See you tomorrow for a round up of the latest Stampin' Up bargains!

Gifts for your party hosts - Stampin' Up Artisan design blog hop

Are you looking for more inspiration to help you get ready for Christmas? You're in luck then because the fab Stampin' Up Artisan design team are here for another blog hop to help you get into the festive mood! Grab your mittens and hat and let's woooosh around the world!

ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?!
It's definitely party season and while I like to think my natural wit and charm make me an acceptable guest *wink* I do like to bring a few gifts for the hosts, just to make sure! Come and see:

A bottle is always welcome, and a little All is Calm designer paper, a ribbon flourish and a stylish label transforms it into something special.

The label has been embossed with the Filagree Frame embossing folder, decorated with stamps from the stunning Letterpress Winter photopolymer stamp set and sprinkled with gems for a touch of festive sparkle.

Letterpress Winter contains loads of beautiful images - like this 'for you' tag. I stamped it cut it out with a circle punch and glued it to the top of the bottle for a neat finish.

Nothing says thank you like a  bouquet of pretty flowers. I wrapped mine in a sheet of that beautiful All is Calm designer paper, securing it with Fast Fuse.

This time I stamped the label and trimmed around it with my sharp paper snips (and if you're looking for a decent pair of scissors, I can never recommend these brilliant snips highly enough!) A gorgeous bow of Lost Lagoon satin ribbon and some gems finishes the bouquet.

No gift would be complete without a card and this simple thank you card was made with more of the gorgeous images in the Letterpress stamp set. With a different sentiment, it would also make a great batch card for those last minute extra Christmas cards we always seem to need!

I'll be linking this card up with Less is More, where the challenge is to make a CAS card based on these fabulous icy colours!

Now, if you want to feel properly Christmassy, head on over to see the lovely Allison Okamitsu in Canada where there's SNOW as well fabulous crafting projects!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE MY PROJECT NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Filigree Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folders £7.50	Letterpress Winter Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper £11.50	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Lost Lagoon 3/8" Silky Taffeta Ribbon £5.50	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments £4.50	Pool Party A4 Card Stock £6.25

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

We'll be partying here tomorrow as my lovely daughter comes home from uni for the holidays! It'll be fun to see her get acquainted with my other little girl - I tell her that the pup might be my golden girl but my daughter is my Titian Treasure!

See you tomorrow,