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!

Stacked with Love mini treat bag - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

I'm delighted to welcome you to another Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team blog hop! We have heaps of fabulous makes to show you today, so grab a cup of something delicious and come and be inspired!

MAKE SOMETHING STACKED WITH LOVE
It's cold and gloomy here in the heart of England today but it doesn't matter a bit because love is definitely in the air and making a Valentine for someone you love would cheer anyone up! Do you find it hard to make male cards? Well, come and see what I've come up with:

I've chosen a sentiment that would appeal to any man (!) from my beloved Painted Petals stamp set and kept the colour scheme simple. Below the sentiment, there are strips of gorgeous Stacked with Love designer paper and washi. At the bottom is a fabulous new product, washi sheets! Semi transparent and sticky backed - this is going to come in very handy indeed!

Now for a treat to go with the card! Have you spotted the mini treat bag framelits die in the new Stampin' up spring/summer catalogue?  It not only makes a treat bag but also has lots of extra dies to accessorise with as well - like the gorgeous, bold 'for you' I used today. You can make a gusseted bag with this die, but here it is in its simplest form - perfect for vouchers or small, flat treats.

So what DO you give a man on Valentine's day? If your other half is anything like my hubby, he won't be fussed with sweet things, except me of course *wink* and a little dark chocolate now and then. Theatre tickets are a real treat for him though and if budget doesn't allow for that, how about a handmade ticket for a special dinner for two at home?!

Enjoy making plans to surprise your loved ones on Valentines Day won't you but, meanwhile, how about hopping over to see what the rest of the Artisan Design Team has to show you? Click the button below to fly across the pond to the lovely Allison Okamitsu!

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

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies £35.95	Stacked With Love Designer Washi Tape £4.50	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack £6.25
Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers £3.75	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack £15.50	Birthday Bash Designer Washi Sheets £8.95

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.

I will never forget the shows my lovely children used to put on for my entertainment when they were very small. They'd usually take place in the holidays and the three of them would get together with great excitement to prepare some singing or dancing. They always made beautiful, intricate tickets too, which took much longer to make than any rehearsals or indeed the show itself! They would present these to me as graciously as if they were front row tickets to a glittering first night with a backstage pass thrown in! Once my daughter told me that my face went 'all sort of shining' when I watched them performing and I told her that it was because I'd gone to Mumland!

Goodness me, I've got lost down memory lane! See you tomorrow,

Another no sewing canvas bag using Build a Banner flags from Stampin' Up

The Stampin' Up Build a Banner kits are fabulous for setting the scene at a celebration but you don't always need all the flags - so what do you do with the left over ones? I came up with the idea of making a no sewing required gift bag/pouch with a pair of them (see the original post here) and I've taken the idea a step further today. Come and see:

This time I stamped the canvas with a floral design using Memento black ink and coloured it in with Stampin' Up's fabulous blendabilities alcohol markers.

I'm delighted with the way it turned out and yet again those fab markers have proved that they really deserve a place at the top of your Stampin' Up wish lists! The stamp set is a hostess set appropriately named I Like You - and I must say I certainly do!

I love the way the eyelets on the flags form the perfect place to thread a handle through. I made this bag's handle with the gorgeous Blackberry Bliss stitched satin ribbon.

The Build a Banner kits are great fun - and there's a refill pack too containing just blank flags and twine for stringing them together....

... and now you can make bags out of the left over ones! Watch out for a video tutorial coming very soon! EDITED TO ADD: And here it is:

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE TODAY'S CANVAS BAG NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Build A Banner Refill Kit ...	I Like You Wood Stamp Set £13.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad £5.50
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Rich Razzleberry Assortment £10.95	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment £10.95	Blackberry Bliss 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon £7.95

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.

I  have filmed a video tutorial for my canvas bag but just need to edit and upload it.. I meant to have it on this blog post but yesterday, I got back from the chores to find my youngest son not feeling well. He was running a temperature so I ran him a tepid bath and made him a nest on the sofa afterwards. It was then that he melted my heart by saying "Thank you for being with me." Well it's my privilege - the video will wait. EDITED TO ADD: Video now uploaded because my poorly pudding has been asleep for much of the day. Poor old chap being ill in the holidays :(

I hope you have a lovely weekend with happy trick-or-treating for those that celebrate Halloween. See you very soon,