Handmade packaging

I created these for my daughters this Easter - quite a pretty way to hold those easter eggs, no?

These are really super-easy to make, especially if you use pretty paper to begin with. The larger ones above have stamped images for a completely personalised look.

Here's a quick tutorial.

You can use any size of paper. This tutorial uses 6"x6". In the feature image above, the large ones are 6"x12" and the smaller one is 6 1/2" x 4 1/2".

1. Fold over a narrow strip
2. Put some double-sided tape or strong adhesive (sticky strip is probably best)
3. Adhere the other side to form a hollow cylinder
4. Fold flat, having the 'seam' in the middle. Staple this opening close.
5. Turn 90 degrees and punch hole/s (last photo shows 1 and 2 holes)
6. Fill and close with ribbon

Et voila! 

I've made these as party favours as well as place cards (place cards, favours, and table decoration all in one!)

Pin It

CFC #8 - Getting Edgy in Pink

CAS-ual Friday Challenge #8 is to get creative with edges, e.g. use border punch/dies, tearing etc. How fun is that?  I knew exactly which die to use; it was just getting 'round to doing it!  I'm also entering this to The Sumer of Color - Pink; in the middle of winter here in Australia!

Here it is:

It's going to be to a gorgeous 10-yr old girl.

The deets - all produccts from Stampin Up, except for the border die (Tim Holtz)

inks: Blushing Bride, Regal Rose
Stamps: Punch Bunch (owl), Medallion
Punches: 2-step owl, 1 3/4" scallop (wings)
DSP and Cardstock from SU

I've never done pennant banners before and I think it's the perfect thing to 'lift' the card.  Doesn't it just look joyful? Well, it does to me.  DSP used was just from scrap and it's amazing what a little bit can do.

Quick Technique/Tip to get matching twine: (sorry, can't remember where I got this from but it's not exactly rocket science so will not worry too much about attribution here)

1. Get some plain white twine.
2. Run it over the stamp pad, with a paddle pop stick (or plastic ruler) to keep it down 
3. Turn twine and keep running through until inked up as desired

Super-easy. Super-quick. Perfect match!

Note: if you use a clean plastic ruler, you can excess ink on the pad again, wipe it dry with a rag and you have less waste. How green is that? ;)

In the spirit of sharing, here's a farewell card I made. It's going to be from the whole IT department (where I belong) so there's lots of owls. Fun.

This card is a big A5 size.  I also put in a piece of copy paper, attached via a rustic twine to give plenty of room to write well wishes.  I also popped a few owls using dimensionals.  I had the owl punch and stamp out from above so the it just kinda flowed on to this.  Yet, how different do they look?

Cheers,

Malyn

CFC #7 - Colour Blocks

Another super-fun challenge (#7) at CAS-ual Fridays.  Colour blocks.  I've been wanting to do this for a long time now so this was a perfect opportunity to do so.  My initial thoughts were to use paper using this sketch from Jennifer McGuire, which I first saw in a PaperCrafts magazine.

BUT, I changed my mind.  Instead I decided to go with colour blocks using inks.  Yep, inky-inky messy fingers.  Here it is....

To be honest, this was my second attempt.  The first one was more like this "hi" card I made a while ago (click photo to take you to the post).  I love this card and have not managed to give it away.  Anyway, I wanted to do this technique again but this time I wasn't so successful.  In fact, it got too inky and messy. Let's just say, I followed the sentiment on the card. This is far more CAS, believe me. :)

The deets:
Distress Inks: Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Sky, Worn Lipstick, Spicy Marmalade
Dye Inks: Stampin Up Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise
Stamps: HA Friends definition, Tim Holtz set, small flower from SU Always
Punches: EK notebook border, SU 3/4" and 1/2 " circles

I was going to stamp the text in black but it was too 'in your face'; lucky I tried on scrap paper first!  Also, the background flowers in Old Olive were stamped off first for a more subtle effect which ties in better with the distress ink. I used dye ink because I wanted a cleaner finish than I would get with the distress inks being too wet.

Colour-blocking technique:

1. Tear up a piece of copy paper to form a wavy edge
2. Position this as a mask on the Friends background stamp - expose about a third length-wise
3. Put a post-it note or copy paper to expose just about an inch of the stamp.
4. Ink up exposed stamp (it's a teensy bit)
5. Lift up post-it and position a bit further down
6. Ink up the un-inked bit with another colour
7. Repeat 5 and 6 until you've inked the entire length
8. Leaving your stamp facing up (don't lift it), position your card on top of it and press - upside-down stamping is fun!  For best results, use a brayer - the pressure applied is more even this way.
9. I also sponged in a bit more colour using the same inks.

There you have it.  It's messy so be careful. I actually covered up the white side as I did my sponging (step 9) in fear of leaving some unwanted fingerprints.

Now, for another post....

Medallion stamp

I really like the Medallion background stamp from Stampin Up. Certainly good as a background but awesome as a feature or focus.  Here's a card using it and I'm posting here to share a quick technique as well as for posterity as this card will be given away (I know, shouldn't all cards be?)  It's not even for a challenge!

stamps: Medallion, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
inks: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake
Textured Impression embossing folder: Square Lattice

Focal point

Quick how-to:

1. Ink up medallion stamp in Crumb Cake
2. Sponge the edges and the middle with Baja Breeze
3. Stamp. As this was a big stamp, I had it upside down and pressed my cardstock on it.  It's easier for positioning and handling purposes.

As the tones of the inks are fairly similar, I guess you can swap (1) and (2), i.e. ink with Baja Breeze first and sponge with Crumb Cake. It might be fun to add more colours as well...why stop at 2-tone.

a few more deets...

I intended to use a ribbon but the Marina Mist ribbon looked too dark so I went for the paper 'ribbon' and even stamped the sentiment on it. If you only ever buy one sentiment set, let it be Teeny Tiny Sentiments from Stampin Up; very handy and will see you through most (all?) occasions.

attribution....

The idea came from Michelle Dyson who used River Rock and Basic Black combo on a square card.

Have a go and possibly link back here so I can see what you've done. Of course, you don't have to use the medallion stamp for this 2(or more)-tone stamping. And why stop at cards, do it on scrapbook and OTP projects as well. What combo would you do?