Easy Christmas Card and Bag Toppers Using Foil

Hi Everybody,

A couple of posts ago, I showed how to make simple bag toppers for candy.  I am hooked on these!  I took some to my dentist office a few days ago with a card and they loved getting these.  This time I used foil which makes them even more fun to make.  Who doesn't like shiny??

I made this card using the Gina K Designs Foil Mates Backgrounds in Ornamental Holiday and Gina K Designs Foil Mates Sentiments in Holiday Cheer. I used the Thermoweb Decofoil Transfer Sheets and the Gina K Designs Fancy Foils.  I also used these to make the bag toppers.  I made these a little wider so that the tag would fit.  They are appr. 4-1/2" wide x 4-3/4" tall and scored at 2-3/8".  If you would like to see the original post about bag toppers, HERE IS A LINK to that post.

I used Fancy Foils in Radiant Red for this Background (link above for the background)
I used Silver Deco Foil Transfer Sheets for the Sentiment (link above for the sentiment)
I cut out an oval stitched die a little larger than the sentiment and foiled it in the silver. 

I just added the silver and red metallic twine sticking out from behind the tag on the card.  The cardstock layer on the bottom is Gina K Designs Red Velvet.  I love this red color for Christmas and Valentines cards. 

For the bag toppers I used a mix such as Deco Foil Transfer Sheets in Magenta (Love this color!), Fancy Foil in Sparkling Silver, Deco Foil Transfer Sheets in Ocean Blue, the background in Large Snowflakes from Gina K Designs, and I don't know the name of the second one with the ornaments on it but I don't think she sells this one any longer.  


Next week, I'll take these to my doctor's office to give to my doctor and his nurse.  It's just a little way of saying I appreciate you.  Everyone in the family will get one along with their gifts. These are great to take to teachers, kids in class, neighbors, etc.  

I hope I inspired you to use foil this year on your cards and try these fun bag toppers. Who said Christmas needs to just be red and green.  Try something different such as the magneta, ocean blue, etc. It's so much fun!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

Christmas Candy Bag Toppers

Hi Everybody,

I am very excited to be guest designing this month for Top Flight Stamps.  Top Flight Stamps sells 20+ brands of stamps that are different and hard to find art stamps from around the world.  Click on Brands on their site for a drop down menu of each brand and I'm sure you'll see stamps that grab your attention because these are stamps that you do not see everyday. 

The stamp set I'm using today is called Merry Christmas by Joy Crafts.   This is what the stamp set looks like.  If you like traditional, vintage Christmas projects, this is the stamp set for you. 

I make cards for just about every project I post.  Lately I have been interested in experimenting with different creations.  I showed a decorated bag and tags in my last post.  I decided to make bag toppers using these stamps.  These are so quick and easy and you can make these and give to teachers, co-workers, family, friends, etc.  This is appropriate for anyone so these will definitely be a little happy that I will give to people in my doctor's offices, neighbors, etc. 

I purchased clear and colored bags in the sizes I wanted and sized the topper accordingly.  The bags I used here are 4" wide by 9-1/2" long.  I put the candy in the bags and used a sealer machine to make sure they were closed good.  You can also staple closed as well.  Just make sure you get them straight before sealing. 

I cut kraft, white and red cardstock to 4" wide and 4-1/2" long.  I put the cardstock in the MISTI, making sure the cardstock was in the corner and stamped and then turned the cardstock around making sure it was in the corner, same as other side and stamped again.  By using the MISTI, the stamps are in the same place on each side.  If you use the MISTI stamping tool, this goes really quick and you can make several in no time.

I scored them at 2" in the center (see pic) and placed over top of bag and stapled.  Simple as that! 

You can color the stamps in, punch a hole in the topper and add ribbon, etc., as well. 

You can also make bag toppers for Valentine's Day for your kid's class, wedding favors, baby shower favors, and on and on.

I hope I inspired you to try to make bag toppers, something a little different than the cards we usually make.  Check out Top Flight Stamps and I think you'll really like what you see because they are stamps like their site says, hard to find and different.  Why do we want to use what everyone else uses?  :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

Merry Christmas

Hi Everybody,

I made this Christmas card for today's post using Brutus Monroe products and I'm also up on the Brutus Monroe blog today. 

I don't make a lot of square cards but sometimes when I'm using a 6"x6" stencil and I want to keep most of the background, I'll make it square.  This card base is 5-1/2"x5-1/2".  

I started by using a sheet of this pretty gray cardstock from the Kaleidoscope Wings Inspiration Kit.  An alternative would be to use the Lunchbag cardstock that is the Kraft color.  I wanted to use the Snowflake Stencil and make it glittery and dimensional.  I decided to use some Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Embossing Paste in Frosted Dawn Sparkle.  It has the exact look that I was going for!  You just spread the paste over the taped down stencil with a palette knife, get the excess off to put back in the jar and then pull off the stencil carefully.  It needs to dry for a few hours so keep that in mind when using this, but it's worth it.

Next I grabbed a cup of Gevalia Mocha Latte (because it is expresso coffee) and sat down to color some of the stamps in the new Comfort and Joy Holiday Kit. I stamped the images with Memento Black Tuxedo Ink and colored with Copic Markers, just using 2 reds and 2 greens.  I use Xpress It Blending Card when coloring with Copics. I decided to fussy cut them out which was a little bit of a challenge with the holly leaves but I took my time and was able to do it.  I popped these up with Scrapbook Adhesives Black 3D Foam Squares.  

I embossed the Merry Christmas sentiment on Wagon Cardstock with Brutus Monroe Ultra Fine Alabaster Embossing Powder and cut out with a banner die. 

To finish it off I added some gold glitter Stickles to the center of the poinsettia and glossy accents on the berries. 

This was a fun card to make!  Grab the coloring media of choice and a stencil and make a beautiful Christmas card. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

Oxide Ink Background for Christmas Card

Hi Everybody,

I have been somewhat MIA the last few days due to a knee issue but I'm back now.  I love this card that I'm showing you today.  I made an Oxide Ink background using Worn Lipstick, Candied Apple and Abandoned Coral.  These colors look really great together!  I did the smooshing technique where you put some ink down on your craft mat, spritz with water and 'smoosh' your watercolor cardstock into the ink.  I usually do it in two colors and use the heat gun for a few seconds. You may or may not need to dab with a paper towel. Then I'll dab it in another color or two and use heat gun again for a few seconds.  It's totally up to you because it will turn out different each time you do it so you just have to judge it for yourself to see when it looks right to you.  I love it when there is a little bit of white left. I took the spray bottle top off and flicked some water drops from the tube part of the sprayer.  You can use a paint brush as well.  You can also flick little spots of paint if you'd like. I used Bristol Smooth cardstock for this card. 

I used the stamp set from Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps called Christmas Botanicals. This is a lovely stamp set and I think you can do so much with it since there are two different kinds of flowers and also separate pieces such as holly leaf, berries, etc.  I love the font for Merry Christmas too.  I stamped everything with Versamark Ink and embossed with Stampendous Detail Fine Gold Embossing Powder.  Even though the flowers and leaves were somewhat colored in when I stamped them on the Oxide Ink background, I colored in the poinsettias and leaves with Zig Markers.  I used a Gold Wink of Stella pen for the center and then went over the centers of the flowers and the berries with Glossy Accents for some added shine and dimension.  

That's it!  When you make an Oxide Ink background, half of your work is done for you!  Did I inspire you to make an Oxide Ink background and use your Christmas stamps on it?  I think this gives the stamps a totally different look than the traditional way that I usually do them. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

I Brake For Pine Spray Frames

Hi everybody!

This week I needed to make a few masculine cards so I thought this stamp from I Brake For Stamps called Pine Spray Frame would be perfect.  I like that you can put any sentiment you want in the frame or even a photo.  Wouldn't a photo be super cute?

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I colored the stamp with Copics and it really came to life and then I  fussy cut it out.  I used Glossy Accents on the die to give it some shine and dimension and Stickles on the bells, added a few glittered enamel dots and made a great card for women or men.  

Did I inspire you to make some masculine Christmas cards?  Try this frame with a sentiment, die or photo.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina - Design Team Member