putting those gift tags to use

It's been a comedy of errors today at the homestead. All on my behalf...I have misplaced our Christmas stockings, my pretty giftwrap idea went awry when I couldn't find my pens, too much cake batter in a too little pan makes for a BIG mess, and an exploding can of ginger-ale knows no bounds.

 

Fill-in Christmas stockings have been made (diy coming soon), I added pom poms to craft paper and created a different kind of pretty wrap, the cake is still tasty even though there are a few burnt blobs on the bottom of the oven, and after two, three, and then four passes of a wet towel, mop, and scrap towel the floor is as good as new, even better than before. But boy howdy, am I pooped!

So while my initial plan of a silver and gold Christmas did not work out, the neon-happy of my washi tags and pom-poms make for a very festive gift wrap. I think they might be more me than the silver and gold anyway...perhaps the universe was telling me to stay true?

 

And since the wee packages were so darn happy, I had to take pictures of them. I just had to! They make me smile.

And serendipity hit when I stacked them up and saw they looked like a tree...add one snowflake star...perfection!

diy: washi tape gift tags

I know there are a zillion washi tape projects out there and amongst them there are probably a lot of gift tag diys too but here's what I made for this holiday season to go with my silver and gold gift wrap (which I still need to get to, wrapping, that is).

 

 

Gather up yer washi tape, don't worry about using all of the same color or making sure it matches. The more colors the merrier. Grab a sheet of card stock and get ready to layer.

I have a nifty tag-shaped paper punch so I layered my tape pieces in all sorts of direction for more variety when punching out. If you do not have a punch, don't worry, you can cut out your own shapes or use an online template. Layer your washi pieces in a manner that pleases you. Have scissors handy if you want clean cuts.

 

When I got to the awkward part of my paper, I flipped it over and trimmed off all the excess tape and used that to fill in the white space.

 

Punch or cut out your shapes using as much of the paper as possible. I begin on the far left of one side and punch all the way around. Next, I use scissors to trim the funky bits left-over and punch around again repeating until all of the paper is used up.

 

 

Use a hole punch to punch a hole for lacing. I have misplaced my regular hole punch and so pulled out this tiny punch and was not happy with the results. I then went off in search of another only to find a vintage three-hole punch in the mama-a-go-go's room and so made do with that.

Aren't they pretty? I think they would look great tied to craft paper packages and boxes.   I have two sets of gift wrap to use. One is a store bought black paper with vibrantly colored snowflakes and the other is plain white paper I have drawn designs on with metallic markers. I think the color of these tags will work with both. Make a bunch and gift them to friends to use throughout the year. I can't wait to finish (ahem..begin) wrapping!

diy caffeinated christmas gift {and a giveaway!}

 Have you been enjoying our holiday projects and fun? I hope so! I actually had planned to post a DIY on an alternative stocking (that is a way to package up stocking stuffers not in a stocking, not an emo themed stocking) but that project still needs some pretty pictures so instead I will be sharing a nifty way to present a coffee card to those coffee lovers in yer life.

I recently had a Secret Santa gift exchange for job-o number one. Our limit was $10 and my person is quite fond of coffee so it made sense to go with a gift card (who doesn't enjoy a gift card?) but it needed to be dressed up a smidge. Lucky for me I have boxes and suitcases and tins full of fabric and bits so it was really easy to create this wee gift package without going over the limit. This is a great way to use up yer tiny fabric scraps (I know you have a baggie or box or tin stashed away somewhere) so plug in your iron, clear a work space and grab two pairs of scissors; one for fabric cutting and one for burlap cutting (never use your good scissors on burlap).

Materials

*paper coffee cup (w lid) from local shop

*1/3 cup whole coffee beans

*loaded gift card

*coffee sleeve (for pattern)

*two scraps of burlap 3"sq

*assorted fabric scraps

*sewing machine

*2 pairs of scissors (one good, one not so)

*tissue for wrapping

*scrap happy gift tag (optional)

*ribbon or yarn for tying

The first thing I did was hit up the local (one of many) Starbuckeroos. I do live in a town full of exceptional coffee shops but for the sake of easy access I went with a bigger name store. I picked up a gift card and coffee sleeve and instead of the box they like to give, I asked for a tall paper cup. I told the gal that I was going to add a scoop of coffee beans into the cup and nestle the green bit of happy plastic inside and she whipped out a silver scoop and gave me a dash of the sweet smelling beans at no extra charge. Whoo-hoo!  She arranged the card just so inside and then grabbed her black pen and wrote out the recipient's name and type of bean inside just like they do when you place your order. She also graciously gave me a small handle bag and oodles of tissue before she sent me off on my merry way.

The first thing I made was the coffee sleeve (that DIY will be posted in a few days) but then I broke out a small scrap of burlap and a handful of even smaller scrappy scraps and got to work on a coffee bean sachet. The burlap has an open weave so the sweetness can shine, plus it looks mighty hip and pretty all at the same time.

 Cut out two squares of burlap about 3". Wonky is fine, it is burlap after all. Do not use yer good scissors!Find some happy scraps and trim if you need to. Arrange scraps atop one of the pieces of burlap.

Beginning with the bottom scrap, stitch to burlap using your sewing machine. Keep stitching until all scraps are in place. Play with stitch length and style. Raw edges are just dandy, we're going for a rustic look here.Once pieces are stitched on. Sandwich your two burlap pieces together and stitch all the way around leaving one side open. Leave about a quarter of an inch allowance at the edge. We're gonna jazz it up a smidge in a moment.

Tuck about a tablespoon or so of coffee beans into the open end of the sachet. Bring back to machine and stitch closed. Trim all edges so they appear more even than not and then pull out excess burlap strands. The open weave makes for easy unraveling and any strands not anchored into your stitching is fair game.

Ta-da! Happy shabby fringe!

Which makes for one happy little coffee bean sachet! Your recipient can keep this in her car or on her desk for a refresher. It can also be used as a pin cushion or light paper weight. See? Multi-functional!

Never one to not go a wee bit overboard, I also make a stitched paper garland which I wrapped around the gift card and anchored with a wee clothespin.

Tuck the card, garland and sachet into the cup and pop the lid back on.

Nestle the sleeve onto the cup and you now have an original take on a gift that is difficult to fool people.

I wrapped up the whole bit of pretty in the tissue from the shop, tied it with a brown ribbon and added a scrap happy tag (DIY also to be posted soon) to finish it all off. I hope the receiver enjoys this bit of fun! I know I would!

Leave a comment here at scrumdillydilly on this post here or this post for a chance to win a dilly-made coffee bean sachet, sleeve, paper garland and gift-tag pack (gift card not included). To make it more interesting, I would love to hear/read what your favorite project from the four of us was. I know it's kinda hard to choose (at least I think so, mine not included) but I would love to know what you think. I'll announce a winner Tuesday morning. Winner will have until Monday, December 19th to contact me otherwise a new winner will be selected (I want to mail out the gift pack asap). Happy Holidays from little old me and as always, be kind!

super pretty giftwrap at craft

My final 2010 post for Craft is up and it's all about happy gift wrap. Check it out and Happy Holidays!