Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Try This July 4th Treat Pouch!

4th of July Candy Treat Pouch

This July 4th Treat Pouch is a project from several years ago, but you could make it easily right away for a little treat for your 4th of July picnic, barbeque, or fireworks gathering. Use designer series paper which is a little easier to fold if you have some in appropriate colors. If not, you can use red, white, and blue cardstock! Or just use white if that’s what you have and do some patriotic stamping. Stars are ALWAYS good for an occasion like this so you can always add stars of any kind.

Use a sheet of 6″ x 6″ designer series paper for each pouch.  This 6″ x 6″ size makes a pretty small pouch, so if you want to put very much candy inside, you might want to use a 9″ x 9″ piece of designer paper or even cardstock. (It’s a good way to use up some of your retired designer paper if you are hoarding it for a special occasion!!) You could even make a big one at 12″ x 12″!

Fold the square paper in half to form a triangle.  Place the base of the triangle at the bottom, and fold down the top point to just about 1″ from the bottom edge. Then fold down the front layer of the point just as a guide.  Take the point on the right side and fold it over to the left side, but not all the way, so that it will fit underneath that point you folded down from the top.  Later you will fold that point down to stay, but for now, just make sure folding that point from the right will fit under it.  Then take the point on the left side and fold it over toward the right side. Now fold the front piece of that point at the top down. Tack it down with a little Stampin’ Seal or Glue Dot. Stick your hand inside to just poof it out a bit and it feels like everything locks in place when you do that!

For the candy, I always love decorating chocolate nuggets with designer paper. It just takes a 1″ x 3″ (or 3 1/4″) strip to wrap around the candy.  Be sure not to get adhesive on the candy itself!! Or use any candy of your choosing that will fit inside the pouch. Maybe a cookie will be perfect!

I hope you have a fabulous 4th of July planned to celebrate the birth of our country. We will go see fireworks that are close to home with friends. I’d love to see the gigantic fireworks display the city puts on, but I like getting home in ten minutes instead of sitting in traffic for who knows how long!

Growing up, my family and lots of the neighbors would take turns shooting off some fireworks in our driveways, but that’s not considered safe any more (and wasn’t then either, but my dad always had the garden hose and a bucket of water ready just in case). I have so many memories of my brother and I hitting some wooden thing with a cap or two or three inside on the concrete of the carport and the “bang” would kind of echo a bit. The first firework to get set off each year was something that a little parachute would fall out of, always landing on the roof of course! I loved the little colored balls we would throw down on the ground that would pop! Sometimes our grandparents would bring over a bag of fireworks to add to what my dad bought! What a thrill for little kids back then! When a shopping center did a big fireworks display my girlfriend across the street and I would stand at the top of our street on a hill and watch them.

Whatever your plans, be safe, have fun, and be thankful we are celebrating our country’s birthday!

Florals In Bloom Decorated Kraft Gift Bag

Floral Blooms Decorated Kraft Gift Bag

When I came across this plain kraft shopping bag, I decided it would be a good idea to decorate it for a summer birthday gift. This Floral Blooms Decorated Kraft Gift Bag was easy to make and now it is ready to go when I need a gift bag for a birthday! The beautiful paper really transformed this plain bag!

All these measurements depend on the size of your bag, obviously. My bag is 9 1/2″ wide. Just adjust your measurements according to how big or small your bag is. I used the Florals In Bloom Designer Series Paper in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. You could use any pattern in the package you like. My paper is cut at 5″ x 9 1/2″. I also added a strip of Petunia Pop cardstock (one of the current In Colors from last year, still current this year!) at the top and bottom of the floral paper. I already had a scrap that I could use. I cut it in half so each piece was about 1″ x 9 1/2″. Half an inch was adhered underneath the designer paper, top and bottom so half an inch would show.

The greeting uses the With You In Mind Stamp Set. It’s a “returning fave” on page 37 of the Annual Catalog, carried over from the last catalog. It was perfect for the look I wanted on this gift bag with it’s large greeting. It is stamped in Petunia Pop ink on Basic White cardstock. I used the Textured Notes Dies to cut out the greeting and then cut out the next larger one out of Petunia Pop cardstock for a layer under the white. You can’t go wrong with this set of Textured Notes Dies! They are so useful and each one has a fancy border. They are part of the Botanical Textures Suite Collection so you could purchase these dies on the Suite Sale. Put your thinking cap on when you order so that the two lowest priced Suites or Suite items give you the good deal.

For a finishing touch, I tied a double bow with the Petunia Pop 3/8″ Bordered Ribbon. It’s on the Last Chance List. And a few sparkly gems, the new Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems. Even though neither of those colors are Petunia Pop, the light-colored Pretty In Pink ones worked just fine. There are also Clear gems in that package as well.

Just that quick you have a nice gift bag that could be designed for any occasion or season! I love making these gift bags out of small shopping bags I receive at certain stores….or you can purchase a package of them at the craft store. They are handy to have on hand!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE!

Florals In Bloom Birthday Gift Bag

Florals In Bloom Birthday Gift Bag

And sometimes you forget to hit the “Publish” button after you write a blog post! It was supposed to be on my blog Friday, but I forgot to push the button! Anyway, here is this fun and easy gift bag you can make in no time!

It might be time to make a few gift bags to have on hand this time of year. You probably have graduations coming up or lots of summer birthdays, hostess gifts for parties, maybe even Father’s Day! You can make your own small gift bag in just a few minutes and decorate for the particular occasion.

This particular pattern of gift bag is made with just half a sheet of 12″ x 12″ sheet of paper, whether card stock or designer series paper. This finished gift bag is 4 1/4″ tall, 4″ wide, and 1 3/4″ deep. It is large enough for a small gift or maybe a gift card and a congratulatory card. You could put a cello bag with a few cookies or candies in there. So it is small but not tiny!

While you can cut the paper at 6″ x 12″, I made mine 7″ x 12″ so that I could fold the top edge down 1″ to show the other side of the paper for a little interest on the bag. Either way the rest of the measurements and scoring are the same.

For this bag, I used this floral pattern in the Florals In Bloom Designer Series Paper. You’ll find it in the Annual Catalog. It is part of the Florals In Bloom Suite Collection. Make sure any pattern on any paper is going in the direction you want it to go on your project when you cut your paper and when you score, depending on the project.

Start with a 6″ x 12″ piece of paper (or if you want to fold over the top make your paper 7″ x 12″). Score at 4″, 5 3/4″, 9 3/4″, and 11 1/2″. Turn the paper so the short edge is at the top and score at 1 3/4″. This will make the bottom flaps of the bag. Cut those short bottom tabs up to the 1 3/4″ score line. Cut off the little 1/2″ tab on the bottom.  Fold on all the score lines and crease well with the Bone Folder.  Adhere the tab on the end to the other side to assemble the bag.  Then adhere the flaps on the bottom. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue for the ease of getting things lined up properly before it sticks together or you can use Tear & Tape Adhesive.

Florals In Bloom Gift Bag Scoring

Have fun decorating your bag! I folded over the top 1″ before assembling the bag. You can punch holes front and back to tie ribbon through in order to close the bag or just do it decoratively with a bow as I did. I stamped a Basic White Countryside Corners diecut (dies on the Last Chance list) with a greeting in the Poised Peony Stamp Set (retired). You can use whatever greeting you have. I layered this diecut on the next larger die in Peach Pie cardstock. The greeting is stamped in Strawberry Slush ink and the little peony is stamped in Memento ink and colored in with Peach Pie and Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I stuck this up underneath the folded over top edge and I think it fits just fine. It looks a little like a banner. I added a few of the new Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems to the greeting for a little sparkle.

And that’s how easy making this basic gift bag is!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Florals In Bloom Birthday Wishes Gift Bag

Three Fun Little Easter Baskets To Make

Three Easy Paper Easter Baskets

If you are looking for some easy and fun Easter baskets to make, here are Three Fun Little Easter Baskets To Make to help you get started! You can copy these exactly or make the basic basket and then choose how you are going to decorate it. These baskets are from five years ago apparently but they have been very popular through the years! I have made newer ones in recent years, including this year, but these just seem classic. Use whatever colors you like, use cardstock or designer series paper, decorate with stamping or punch art, whatever your creative mind comes up with!

Gingham Basket Pattern

This is some Gingham Gala 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (retired) that I used back then. Since it was already 6″ x 6″ in size, it was perfect. Score at 2″ and 4″ on one side, then turn the paper and score at 2″ and 4″ so you have that tic-tac-toe pattern as I like to call it. All three baskets are made this way. Cut up on the two vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line. Do the same on the opposite side. If you like, you can round off the corners as I did on this basket if you have a punch that can do that. But it is fine if you don’t. Cut a matching handle of about 8 1/2″ x 1/2″.

Fold the paper into a basket and use brads or glue to hold the sides and handle together. The handle goes in between the two side flaps and the center flap. That hides it a little bit on the inside.

Easy Paper Easter Basket With Bunny

This gingham basket is decorated with a little punch art bunny face! So cute! I made the bunny face with a circle die and two oval dies. You could use punches. If you don’t have any ovals, you might have a leaf die or punch that would work or just cut something out by hand. I used the tip end of Stampin’ Blends markers to draw on the parts of his face and the little “stitching” around the sides of the face and ears. Adhere to the side of the basket with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Easy Paper Easter Basket with DSP

This basket is made with Melon Mambo cardstock, scored and cut the same way as the basket above. The paper is the retired Garden Impressions 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (retired). Each section of the Melon Mambo basket is 2″ x 2″ so you can cut the designer paper just a “smidge” less than 2″ on each side or 1 3/4″ x 1 3/4″ if you want a little bit of margin showing.

Easy Paper Easter Basket with Daisy

Just fold the sides of the basket together, adhere with brads or glue, adding in the handle as well. Then decorate with a flower such as with the Daisy Punch or whatever you have and add a gem to the center.

Easy Paper Easter Basket Stamped

This last basket is pretty enough with some floral stamping on the cardstock! It is Pool Party cardstock stamped with flowers in the Painted Glass Stamp Set (retired) with Pool Party ink. Just add a pretty ribbon like this Variegated Petal Pink and White ribbon.

Fill the baskets with Easter grass or paper shred and some Easter candy treats! These would be cute as a little favor at each place setting at your Easter table. Or make one for yourself for a decoration in your home! Complete with chocolate candy, of course!

Easy Chocolate Easter Bunny Treat

Easy Chocolate Easter Bunny Treat

Here is an Easy Chocolate Easter Bunny Treat that you can easily make for a little favor or treat for Easter. All you have to do is buy some chocolate bunnies! They are required for Easter, aren’t they? I’ve made these little treats through the years and you can vary the size according to the size of your chocolate bunny or whatever you are putting inside.

If you have a bigger treat, just make the treat holder taller or wider and possibly increase the size of the base if you need to to make the treat fit inside. You don’t even have to cut a window in the front if you want to decorate the front and hide the treat a bit. But my preference is making a cute opening so you can see the treat inside as if it is in its little home!

For this particular one, since I had just a small chocolate bunny, I cut a strip of Pool Party cardstock at 2″ x 8 1/2″. I could have made it a little bit shorter or probably wider would have been better for wider sides to be a little sturdier. After cutting the 2″ wide strip, score at 3 3/4″ from each end. That gives you the middle section which will become the flat base of the treat holder and you will put the treat on that center base. You should be careful with adhesive and candy, but I did put a little Stampin’ Seal on the bottom of the treat holder to hold the bunny in place.

For the opening, I used one of the rectangle dies in the Nested Essentials Dies. Position it on what will be the front side of the treat holder and exactly where you want it to be. If you are decorating your treat holder with designer paper, then adhere that to the front first before you diecut. After you have the front opening cut out, fold and crease the two score lines and punch two holes for ribbon at the top, unless you are going to use some other closure. Decide if you want another color or stamping on the inside background behind the candy and adhere that to the inside before adding the candy.

Decorate the front however you like, with stamping, DSP, embellishments, a greeting, whatever you like. I used a few diecuts in the Celebrate Love Ephemera Pack. See! It wasn’t just for Valentine’s Day! I even glued a stem of flowers to the inside. Oh, and I put some Lemon Lime Twist grass at the bottom. When I used to make these I used the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch I think it was named to make the top edges fancy. But rather than look for a punch, I just clipped the two corners off to give it a little something. Then I tied it together with some silver trim I had handy.

As you can see, you can make one of these little Easter decorations pretty quickly and easily and they will give your guests a smile on their face to receive one! Plus one by each dinner plate at your table for a little favor and to decorate the table! Or put one in an Easter basket!

Here is a side view of the treat holder.

Easy Chocolate Easter Bunny Treat Side

Just play with this idea and see what cute things you come up with!

New Kits in the Kits Collection!

Kits Collection New Kits Banner Apr 2025

Last week Stampin’ Up! released THREE new Kits in the Kits Collection! In my opinion, one Kit is especially noteworthy for Spring! It’s the Paper Bouquet Kit that will take your breath away just to see the photo! The other two kits are for cards and are very pretty also, as always! These kits in the Kits Collection are available in the Online Store. They are not subscriptions and not to be confused with the Paper Pumpkin monthly subscription. You can buy these kits whenever they are available, putting them on your order as usual. Kits are perfect for anyone – new crafters, crafters who don’t have a stash of supplies, and avid crafters who are experienced but who like to just open a box and make a project! Everything you need for the project is included in the box except for maybe scissors! Try one and enjoy!

Paper Bouquet Kit

This is the Paper Bouquet Kit. Wouldn’t you just love to have those flowers in a vase sitting on your table without having to water them or watch them wilt and die? The Kit will make 23 flowers and 11 leaves in all of the new In Colors! You get the precut pieces, floral wire, and pony beads. Hot glue gun required for assembly but not included. Vase not included.

Paper Bouquet Kit Contents
Essential Occasions Card Kit

The Essential Occasions Kit is a card kit. It makes 6 cards, one of each design. The sentiments cover many different occasions you might need a card for, like birthday, well-wishes, or thank you. In the kit you get precut pieces to make the cards, envelopes, and adhesive.

Essential Occasions Kit Contents

Loveliest Wishes Card Kit

This is the Loveliest Wishes Kit! The light colors make it a little difficult to see in the photos but I think you can tell how pretty the cards will be. This kit makes 9 cards, 3 each of 3 designs with precut images and gold foil sentiments for birthdays! The kit colors are Petal Pink, Soft Sea Foam, and white. The envelopes are printed and you also get embellishments with the other supplies.

Loveliest Wishes Card Kit Contents

I can’t tell you yet about assembling the Paper Bouquet Kit, but I would say these two card kits look very easy, great for beginners. Relaxing for experienced stampers and crafters! Order a couple of kits and make them with friends or family for an extra dose of fun! Just follow the directions adhering the pieces to the cards and you’ll have a new, beautiful collection of cards at the ready for many occasions!

SHOP THE STAMPIN’ UP! KITS COLLECTION!

Make Easy Little Easter Baskets

Storybook Moments Easter Baskets

It’s time to make some cute things for Easter and here are two quick and easy Easter Baskets! All you need is a 6″ x 6″ piece of paper to make the basket. You can make the baskets with either cardstock or designer paper or both. After that, just decorate the basket a little bit and add some “grass” and treats!

Start with a 6″ x 6″ square piece of paper and score like a tic tac toe. Score at 2″ and 4″, then turn and score at 2″ and 4″. Cut on the two vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line. Do the same on the opposite side. See the photo of the basket with designer paper below to see how the basket paper is scored and cut. Cut a handle of about 8 1/2″ x 3/4″ or whatever size you like.

Crease and fold all score lines. Round all four corners if you like or leave them as is. Form the paper into a basket and use brads, staples, or glue to hold the sides and handle together. Make sure you are putting adhesive so that it doesn’t show from the front. If you think of it ahead of time the handle goes in between the two side flaps and the center flap. That hides it a little bit on the inside. ! Or it can just be glued to the inside of the basket.

If you use cardstock for the basket, you can decorate with squares of designer paper as you see on this layout. Since each square is 2″ x 2″, I cut the Storybook Moments Designer Paper at 1 7/8″ x 1 7/8″.

Easter Basket layout

If you want to decorate the basket handle you can add a narrow strip of designer paper to the cardstock. You can even tie a ribbon on to the handle if you like.

Here is what the front and back of the basket looks like with the flaps folded in and adhered together.

Easter Basket Back Sides

The basket with the Storybook Moments DSP has a base of Old Olive cardstock. I love the strawberry design on this paper. The other basket (the one show above) is made with the Timeless Plaid Designer Series Paper. Each basket has a diecut character from the Storybook Moments Paper. The little mouse is layered on a diecut out of Old Olive. I just found it in my package of cardstock, it probably is a retired die but I liked it. You can use anything that fits the size of whatever decoration you are putting on the front and goes with the size of the basket. The plaid basket has a Calypso Coral die cut circle for a layer made from the Stylish Shapes Dies.

Just do whatever you like to make your basket and decorate it. These baskets only take about five minutes to make! So cute and so fun! Especially with chocolate candy inside!

Timeless Plaid Easter Basket

Storybook Moments Mouse Easter Basket

Christmas Kits For A Spring Day

Paper Pumpkin Filled With Joy Kit 2024

What did I do on a beautiful second day of spring yesterday?! Of course, I worked on a Christmas Paper Pumpkin Kit from 2024! It’s the Filled With Joy November 2024 Paper Pumpkin Kit that I did not get around to making before the holidays! I just had some free time and I thought of two kits that I had wanted to work on and they were just taking up space in my head. I simply said I’m stopping the world and doing these kits! So now instead of being behind for Christmas 2024, I’m AHEAD for Christmas 2025!

This Filled With Joy Kit was pretty quick and easy to make. I just had to stamp the tags, turn down the collar of the stocking, and pin on the tag! The kit came with the cute little pins! A stamp set is included with every Paper Pumpkin Kit so I used that to stamp the tags and the ornaments. Then I just had to adhere the gold ornament top on the ornament and add Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back to adhere to the tags. I’ll save them for next year and either use them for little gifts or make them decorations for a Christmas meal.

Christmas Ornament Wreath Kit 2024

I also had this Christmas Ornament wreath kit from the Kits Collection sitting on my desk since Christmas! I DID make these cute little wreaths on the gold rings and even put some as tags on gift bags. But then I saw another Demonstrator, Linda Heller, jazz them up a bit with some gold paint on the leaves and white paint for snow on the pinecones. I wanted to do that on the rest of them so I finally got that done yesterday and put the box in the closet with the Christmas gift wrap and things.

I had to do a little digging to see if I had some acrylic gold paint and I did in all my craft stuff. At least my paints are somewhat organized by color. I just put some gold paint on a brush and lightly streaked it on the leaves on the wreath. It really did add a little to the leaves to make them look a little less like paper. Then I switched to white paint and just dabbed on some “snow” on the little plastic pinecones. I found some glitter in my craft stuff and shook a little bit of that over the white paint. These were just little, easy embellishments I did to these wreaths and I thought they added a lot! I also added some of the Drusy Embellishments for a little sparkle on all of the wreaths. It was something relaxing to do on a spring afternoon! (Although my rockhounding family members would tell you it should be spelled Druzy!) I added those after I took the photo though!

Whenever you get around to making your Paper Pumpkin Kits or the kits you purchased in the Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection, it doesn’t matter! No matter when you make them it will be a relaxing, enjoyable experience! I think they are especially good to make on a weekend or on a rainy day!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN!

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Sour Cream Container Easter Treat

Sour Cream Container Easter Treats

In this post I’ll show you how to make Sour Cream Container Easter Treats very easily. I loved the treats shown in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Mini on page 26 so I just used those for my examples. Mine turned out slightly different because of choice of paper and ribbon. We have all been making these sour cream containers for years and years for treats for every occasion so they are very versatile! You can make them larger too if you want. I don’t even know why they are called “sour cream containers” but I think maybe sour cream used to be packaged in small portions like these, maybe in restaurants? I don’t know!

Mine are slightly different sizes but you can barely tell. You really can vary the sizes. One starts with a piece of designer paper 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ and one is 4″ x 5 1/4″. You can make them with 6″ x 6″. It just depends on how big you want them and what they will hold. Mine hold 4 little chocolate eggs. You could also use cardstock but designer paper is more flexible to roll up into this odd shape.

I used the Storybook Moments Specialty Designer Series Paper which has cute diecuts included along with the adorable designer paper. On both I used the generic side of the paper so that the little tag and ribbon would stand out. Be sure to use a strong adhesive such as Tear & Tape Adhesive to hold them shut and kind of loosen up the paper fibers before you put them together but gently rolling into a tube shape or run the paper over some curved object, like the edge of the table if it is rounded.

Lay the paper out, long sides top and bottom. Put the adhesive along the edges of the long sides, top & bottom, and on one short end. There is no adhesive on the other short end.

Sour Cream Container Easter Treat Assembly

To make it easier to not have adhesive all over the place while you are trying to assemble the container, pull down a short section of the tape cover and press to crease so you can grab that later. Take off the paper on the short section and adhere it to the opposite side forming a tube. Then reach inside and peel off one of the papers and adhere one end together. Use a bone folder to something to press on these seams to make sure the adhesive is holding firmly. Be sure to add the treat inside the container at this point before you adhere the final side! Remove the third adhesive paper from inside and adhere the other end making sure it is perpendicular to the top. It’s surprising how easily it goes together this way even though it’s a little odd.

Sour Cream Container Easter Treat Adhesive

For the little tags on each container, I just cut a piece of Basic White at 2″ x 1 1/2″ and added diecuts that are in the Storybook Moments DSP. Use whatever ribbon you have to adhere a loop on the back of that tag and pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Sometimes I put Stampin’ Seal Adhesive on the back first to hold the ribbon and then put Dimensionals to help hold the ribbon in place and to pop up on the card or project. One ribbon is a retired Pool Party ribbon and the other is a retired Bubble Bath ribbon that came in a Combo Pack.

Once you try these sour cream containers you will find they are easy to make. Be sure to loosen up the paper a little as I said to make it easier to roll up. Click here to see some that I made for Halloween. This post also has photos that might help you see how to fold them together. These would be so cute to make with any of the sides of the Storybook Moments paper to put in Easter baskets or make for little favors for Easter gatherings! This paper is in stock now so be sure to grab some quickly if you want it!

Last Minute Past Valentine Ideas

Easy Valentine Candy Jar

If you are looking for some last minute Valentine ideas, here are some from past years that you can make with stamps and paper in your older “stash” or update them with newer craft supplies.

The first one you see above is super easy if you want to make a treat for someone….or put a candle inside! Just grab a jar, a doily, and a heart! Tie some ribbon or twine around, even add a greeting if you like and you have a very cute holder for some candy, a small gift, cookies, whatever you have that will fit in your jar. You don’t even have to have a lid, but if you do, you can decorate the top of the lid.

Country Floral Lane Valentine Candy Bars

Get a regular-size chocolate candy bar (or even the gigantic ones!) and wrap it with cardstock or designer series paper and decorate. Even if you almost have no supplies, you can cut out or draw hearts for sure! If you want, tie a ribbon around the candy bar lengthwise you they can pull it out of your decorative wrapping without tearing it open!

Country Bouquet For You Card

Make a Heart Flower

Use this card as an idea to make a flower out of a heart, a couple leaves, and a stem! While you’re at it, make two or three heart flowers! You can make a card similar to this one or decorate your Valentine jar with one.

Valentine's Day Chocolate Candy Holders

This idea is an oldie but goodie paper craft….candy holders in a matchbook design! Just fold a strip of cardstock, cut or punch a slit in the bottom section that folds up and slide a chocolate square into it. Decorate the cover and you’ve got it. Click on the title to go to the blog post for all the directions.

Decorated Heart Foil Tins

Maybe you still have a few of these Heart Foil Tins in your stash somewhere, but if not, just decorate a small box or whatever you have. Just use hearts or doilies, stamps, whatever you have to decorate your container.

Bee Mine Book Fold Valentine Card

Whether you have the old Bee Mine Designer Series Paper or the newest Cute As Can Bee Designer Series Paper (which I think is almost the same designs, just different colors) you can make plenty of Valentines with any of the sheets. This card is the fun Book Fold design, with the fold at the top, which is very easy to make. Click on the title under this card for all the directions.

Hopefully these samples give you some ideas if you need to make a Valentine card or treat right away!

An Oldie But Goodie Valentine Collage

Valentine Collage

The other day I was looking in the closet wondering if I had more Valentine decorations than I had found so far. I’m used to SO many decorations for Halloween and Christmas that one red and white plastic bag just didn’t seem like that could possibly be all I had for Valentine’s Day! It actually was pretty much true, but I did come across just a couple more things and one was this old Valentine Collage that I made some years ago! I don’t recall how many years ago! All I can say is that the famous Owl Punch was a thing as you can see in the last square and also that Pretty In Pink was a regular Stampin’ Up! color at the time!

I wondered if I had a frame the Valentine Collage would fit in because obviously it had been in a frame at one time. The backing was still underneath the collage in the closet. I probably swapped it out for a Christmas collage at some point. As luck would have it, I did find a nice white frame for it. I just had to trim down the outside edges a little bit. I think it had to be fate that I found this collage in the closet AND a frame to put it in for my Valentine decorating!

Valentine Collage Framed

Even though this Valentine Collage is way past its time, it can still provide inspiration for you to make something similar yourself for your home decor or even a gift for someone. You can make twelve squares or you can double-up two squares and make a rectangle in some of the spaces. Or put four squares into one big square! Whatever you like!

You might want to choose a frame first so you know what size to make your collage. You wouldn’t want to have to cut into or too close to your design. Maybe you would prefer a square shape. Lots of possibilities!

Think about making a fun, quick collage, maybe even a smaller one, for Valentine’s Day! You have time! Here’s an example of a smaller collage from twelve years ago!!

Or jump ahead To Easter if you like to plan ahead! Just have fun with it!

Valentine Book Treat Box

Valentine Book Treat Box

Remember the Book Treat Boxes that were in the Holiday Mini Catalog last fall? I decided to make one into a Valentine Book Treat Box! You can still find these boxes in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store and they are handy to have on hand any time for a small gift or treat. Then just decorate for whatever occasion!

First step is to assemble the box. These Book Treat Boxes come ten in the package and are easy to assemble. They look like books! There are two pieces to each box. One is the box itself that fits inside the cover. They are all scored and even have adhesive strips to adhere everything together. You will easily see how to do it. The boxes are 3″ x 4″ with a 1″ side spine. You can decorate as little or as much of all the sides as you like. On this box, I decorated the front, the back, the spine, inside the front cover and inside the box. All you would have to do is decorate the front.

I used the Marbled Elegance Specialty Designer Series Paper, cutting the paper at 3″ x 4″ for the front and back of the cover, also inside the cover. The spine measures 1″ x 4″. The measurement for inside the box is just a tad smaller that 3″ x 4″. You can measure yours with a ruler after you assemble it to see the exact size.

For the hearts on the front, I used the Hearts of Elegance Dies to cut out a large Gold Foil heart and the same size heart in Melon Mambo. Then I layered on a Petal Pink pierced heart on top of the Melon Mambo and a small Gold Foil heart on top. The background gold heart is adhered flat on the box, while the other three hearts are first glued together then popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The side tab that could be adhered to the top of the box is 1″ wide and I covered it with designer paper, then trimmed around the curved end. Since I wanted to be able to slip it underneath the hearts rather than adhere it, I popped up the hearts but didn’t put Dimensionals where I wanted that tab to go underneath.

The greeting is in the Hearts of Elegance Stamp Set. I stamped it in Melon Mambo ink on Basic White cardstock. To make it fit better on the box without taking away from the hearts, I decided to cut out around the word “Love”. I completely left off the “You” but it probably would have fit okay. This is a great way to save space with a greeting or you can cut the words apart and do your own spacing according to your project. You can decorate or not decorate the inside of the box before you add your treat! I did a little bit.

Valentine Book Treat Box Inside

I think these boxes are great to have on hand so be sure to add them to your next order for a little different gift wrap or treat box idea. Or create a little scene inside as I did at Christmas on a project for my 12 Weeks of Christmas email.

There are lots of fun things you can make with these Book Treat Boxes! Try one!

Valentine Book Treat Box side

Make This Easy Gift Card Holder

Reindeer Days Gift Card Holder (1)

It’s that time of year, that time of the holiday season, where we need some gift card holders for gifts. This Easy Gift Card Holder will fit the bill for you! There’s almost no time left for shopping before Christmas and gift cards are a great solution for those you don’t have any gift ideas for. You could fold up some cash and put in this pocket as well!

Start with a 4″ x 12″ strip of cardstock. You could make it taller if you wanted to. Score this strip of paper at 4″ and 8″, basically in thirds, since the paper is 12″ long. Then on the end section, cut from the score line down to the corner on a diagonal. This can be on either end of the card.

Gift Card Holder Diagram

Put a strip of Tear & Tape Adhesive or other strong adhesive on the bottom of that section with the diagonal cut. Then fold that diagonal piece over to the inside panel next to it.

My sample is a base of Real Red, and I used the Reindeer Days Designer Series Paper and Sticker Sheet to decorate the holder. On the front I cut a piece of designer paper with the packages at 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. The tree and strip of holly leaves behind it are stickers from the Reindeer Days Sticker Sheet.

You can decorate the inside however you like or leave it plain. I put another paper behind the diagonal piece and a diagonally cut piece of designer paper on that diagonal corner. Just cut a square of 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ and cut diagonally from one corner to the other. Just make sure you have the pattern going the right way and that you cut to and from the correct corners. You can write a message on the inside left of the holder or add a piece of Basic White on which to write or stamp something.

Reindeer Days Gift Card Holder Inside

Put your gift card or cash in the pocket. Decorate the front a little more with some bling, like these Iridescent Faceted Gems on the tree. If you prefer, make a belly band to go around the gift card holder to keep it closed. These are so quick and easy I bet you can’t make just one!

How to Decorate a Gift Box

Decorated Gift Box

The other day while searching for some tins I ordered many years ago for candy, I found these Stampin’ Up! White Gift Boxes (142000) in my retired stash. I had to change my design idea from candy in a tin to candy in a box for a few gifts. Whether or not you have these official White Gift Boxes in your stash, you can use this idea of any plain box. It would even cover up company printing on the box and the size of the box doesn’t matter. You can use this same principle.

Each side of this box is 3″ x 3″. I cut out five pieces of cardstock at 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″, then five pieces of designer series paper at 2 5/8″ x 2 5/8″ (or you could do 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″). Just adhere the designer paper to the cardstock and then on to the box. I like to use Multipurpose Liquid Glue because it gives you “wiggle room” to get the paper on straight on the box. On this box, I used the A Little Bit Festive Specialty Designer Series Paper and Misty Moonlight Cardstock.

The snowman on the top of the box is punched out of the Snowy Scenes Designer Series Paper with a Circle Punch and then layered on a punched circle of Daffodil Delight to match his scarf. You could use whatever you like.

For a final touch (before adding candy inside!), I wrapped around some ribbon that I had handy, which happened to be some retired Pretty Peacock ribbon, but I thought it matched okay. Use Mini Glue Dots to hold the ribbon in place at least in the back and maybe the sides, then tie a bow on the front.

Even if you had a small Amazon or other shipping box, you could use this same idea to cut out pieces of cardstock and/or designer paper to cover the sides of the box and personalize it! Just have fun with it! Time to wrap those gifts!!