Golden Moments

Easy, Mess-Free Glittered Gift Tags

Hello again! Back today with more ideas for handmade gift tags using the Dear Santa collection from Photo Play Paper. These all have glitter to give them a bit more shimmer and sparkle, but were created mess-free using iCraft tape and sheets from Therm O Web.

It is easy to add some glittered stripes to an existing patterned paper using tape - simply peel, stick, and shake off the excess.

It's hard to see the clear glitter in the photo, but in real life it adds a nice sparkle.

In addition to stripes, you can die cut shapes from iCraft sheets and add glitter to any die cut, easily and so much neater than using a liquid glue.

I had a hard time stopping. :)

You can find all the details and lots more photos on the Therm O Web blog HERE.

Thanks so much for visiting today. I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Happy Hanukkah Card

Growing up I had a friend who celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas... I thought she was just about the luckiest person I knew... presents on all eight nights of Hanukkah plus Santa came on Christmas Eve! Looking back on this I can only imagine the effort involved by her parents. Work enough to prepare for one or the other, but both... wow.

As this marks the first night of Hanukkah, I thought I would share a card that was created for Craft Ideas (formerly Crafts 'n things) magazine. 

It is a pretty simple card that features inlaid die-cutting with metallic gold and blue cardstock. Mini gold brads from the office supply store and gold thread were used to create the Star of David design. Easy and inexpensive.

Happy Hanukkah!

Sparkling Foiled Winter Gift Tags

Hi there! Hope your holiday preparations are going well. December always seems to sneak up on me and I find some of my ideas falling by the wayside as time runs short. Does that happen to you? However, one of the things I love to make are gift tags. They don't take a lot of time to create, but can have a big impact. Add a special tag to a plainly wrapped gift or gift bag and suddenly you have something extra festive.

These are some of the foiled tags I created for Therm O Web to use in magazine ads. The photo above was taken by the talented Joe Kay. I've been a big fan of his work ever since seeing his images in Crafts 'n things (now Craft Ideas) magazine. Not only are his photos great, but he has a real talent for staging things that makes them shine.

Using an electronic die cutter makes these tags easy to mass produce. 

After adding a base layer of silver foil using a laminator, I added a second layer which was "painted" on using a special adhesive. The effect is much prettier in real life than my photos show.

Once dry, simply press on the second foil color to add the "paint".

You can read the full post, including a supply list for all the cut files used, over on the Therm O Web blog. They are also having a fantastic giveaway that you won't want to miss. 

To read the post and enter the giveaway, click HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous day.

 

Gold Foiled Christmas Card and Ornament

Hi there! This weekend has been wonderful with all my boys home for the first time since August. There is something about having everyone home tucked in their beds that allows me to sleep better than I ever do when they are away. I wonder if I'll ever get used to having them off on their own? Thankfully, I still have a few more years with my youngest at home before he heads off to college.

With November almost over and Thanksgiving behind us, it is time to turn our focus to the upcoming winter holidays. On my to do list for tomorrow is putting away the fall decor so I have a clean slate for my Christmas decorations. I like to take my time and add a few things here and there each day until it feels like enough. I've noticed that as the years pass, I'm happy with fewer decorations and generally things that are handmade or ones I've really come to treasure. But I also like to make room for one or two new pieces each year. 

I have lots of seasonal projects to share and will try to do a better job of posting a few times each week between now and Christmas. First up is a handmade card and ornament using the new Dear Santa collection from Photo Play Paper along with gold Deco Foil from Therm O Web.

Also in the mix are stamps and dies from Papertrey Ink. I am in love with their new ornament die and hope to make several to give as gifts.

The gold Deco Foil adds a festive touch to any project and I really like the way it worked with the new Photo Play plaid paper. 

 

It can be a challenge to capture the shine and smoothness of the gold foil in a still photograph. I'm hoping to tackle videos in 2016 and think foil, and other things with lots of texture or shine, will be much easier to see in that format.

If you would like details about the supplies used and instructions for creating these projects, you can find them HERE.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! 

 

Veterans Day Thanks

Hello there. Popping in with a peek at two cards that were created for Veterans Day. Thank you to all that have served their country through military service.

These were created for Therm O Web and feature ways to use their iCraft Adhesive Sheets and Easy-Tear tape.

There is a lot you can do with these products in addition to using them as straight up adhesive, such as adding glitter with much less mess and more precision than liquid glues.

Thanks so much for visiting today. You can find all the details for these cards, including a supply list, over on the Therm O Web blog.

Halloween Care Packages

Happy Halloween! I had a blast with my nieces at our marathon crafting and cookie decorating session last weekend and want to share some photos from the day with you. We made care packages for the cousins who are away at college and filled them with all sorts of Halloween treats.

We started with cookies... lots and lots of cookies. This cookie recipe is an old standby and this frosting is a good one. The frosting dries hard and shiny, but is tastier than plain royal icing. However, be warned that it can take a day or so to dry fully. We used this recipe for the chocolate icing, which also dried hard and shiny after a day or so.

I've always felt that the way a package is wrapped is just as important as what is inside and we spent lots of time dressing up the variety of goodies. The cookies were individually packaged in these fun treat bags held closed with clips made with supplies from Papertrey Ink. 

 

 

This was another type of cookie we decorated... don't tell, but the base of these are store bought Mallowmars. They look extra special in individual mini cupcake liners.

 

We probably had the most fun making these mini haunted house scenes using more products from Papertrey Ink and inspiration from the oh-so-talented Betsy Veldman. The domes were adhered to the top of small canning jars filled with chocolate eyeballs.

 

 

It was easy to make these houses in an assortment of colors and with different details. These domes, the clips and other bits and pieces also double as Halloween decorations for the cousin's dorm rooms.

You can read more about the tubes with foiled accents on this post.

 

We included some non-edible treats too - a "stress ball" pumpkin to squeeze while studying for exams and who doesn't like an orange slinky? The tiny treat bags contain individually wrapped rice krispy treats and the orange and white polkadot bag holds a container of Altoids. There were also refills for their Keurigs and boxes of Cheese-its for the guys.

The girls got mascara (don't know what brand, but it came in a cute orange and black package), lip gloss, and orange nail polish.

What do you think? I would have been pretty excited to get one of these boxes when I was away at college. Any of my long-time blog readers will know how much I LOVE Halloween so it was wonderful to still find a reason to decorate and create for the holiday, now that my boys are past the trick-or-treating stage. I already have some ideas for next year's Halloween care packages. :)

Have a spookily sweet Halloween and thanks for visiting!

Recycle craft packaging into cute containers for Halloween treats

Hello there! I'm so glad you stopped by. October is my favorite month here in New England. Beautiful sunny days that are cool enough so you can wear a sweater, gorgeous trees wherever you look, pumpkin everything, and of course Halloween... and then there is the candy. Oy.

This weekend I'm hosting a Halloween crafting day for my nieces and we are putting together goody boxes for all the cousins who are away at college. I got a head start last week with these recycled DecoFoil tubes. With all the foiling I've been doing lately, I have a little collection of empty tubes that are perfectly sized for Halloween candy.

All the steps for creating the tags and foil-accented paper are over on the Therm O Web blog. They have new Black DecoFoil along with adhesive backed toner sheets that are perfect for creating your own foil shapes.

It is also so easy to add foil accents to any patterned paper. Add a few seasonal colors to black and white patterned paper and you have custom Halloween (or any holiday) paper in minutes.

I can't wait to put together the boxes with my nieces. I'll try to remember to take photos to share them with you. Bring on the candy corn!

You can find the instructions for this project HERE.

Hope you have a wonderful week! 

Distressing with Foil

Hello friends! Thanks so much for stopping by today. I have a wedding project and new technique to share. It is doubly fun to be showing a wedding project today since it is our 26th wedding anniversary. Time really does fly.

This is a technique for applying foil that doesn't require any special tools or heat source - so no laser printer, laminator or heat gun required. I've used it on this wedding gift card holder which is featured on the Therm O Web blog.

The card has two parts - an outer sleeve and an inner tag that has a pocket for holding a gift card (or money).

You can find all the supplies and instructions, plus additional photos, HERE. There is also a fantastic giveaway at the bottom of the post where you can win a bunch of foil and adhesive to give this technique a try for yourself, so be sure to stop by.

I hope you enjoy this technique for distressing with foil. One of the best parts - in addition to not needing any special tools or equipment - is that it works best with leftover foil scraps.

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Simon Says Stamp Guest Post

Hello there and welcome, especially to any first-time visitors. I hope you like what you see and come back to visit again soon. Today I have a guest post on the Simon Says Stamp blog where I show three ways to use foil in your crafting. They are also hosting a blog candy giveaway. You can find all the details and instructions HERE. 

Foiling is so trendy right now and there are several methods for using it on both paper and fabric. These gift tags are easy to make and a fun way to add a little shine to your project. The only thing I don't like about foil is that it is hard to capture the full effect in a photograph. 

In the post on the Simon Says Stamp blog I walk you through several methods for applying foil - some require a heat source (such as a laminator or iron) and others do not.

You can also layer foils for a painted look.

Thanks so much to the folks at Simon Says Stamps for inviting me to their blog today!

Have you tried foil yet? I'd love to hear what you think and answer any questions you might have. Also, I'd love to check out any projects you have made using foil - just leave a link for me in the comments. 

Have a wonderful day!

Back to School Projects Using DecoFoil

Mid-August! How is it even possible? This summer has been wonderful. Beautiful, sunny days jam-packed with celebrations and get togethers, reading, evenings on the porch playing board games as a family, gardening, making jams and preserves, and even some crafting... but not much in the way of blogging. Once the routine of the school year kicks in, I'm sure you will see me back here on a more regular basis.

I wanted to pop in today with links to a few recent posts over at Therm O Web featuring DecoFoil in a variety of back to school projects. The first is an apple-shaped thank you card that was created using a Silhouette electronic die cutting machine.

It takes a little time to set up the cut files, but once that is done it would be easy to reproduce multiples of this card. Change the word "Teacher" to Mr. or Ms. Teacher'sName for a customized card. The card is sized to hold a gift card inside.

You can find the full post with more detailed instructions HERE.

The next projects were created with Echo Park's new Teacher's Pet collection designed by the uber-talented Jen Gallacher. Jen and I were on the Karen Foster Design team together for years and it is so exciting to see her branching out with her own set of products! Check it out.

Cute, huh?! Here is the quick and easy card I created which has a gold foil medallion made with DecoFoil and double-sided foam adhesive.

In addition to a simple card, there is a set of mini flashcards and monogrammed bookmarks also with gold foil accents.

You can find more photos and details HERE.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I hope you have a wonderful day!