Quick Little Bags for Recognition or Thank You’s

No matter what time of year it is, there seems to be numerous occasions to let people know they are doing a great job, or to just offer them a little thank you!

Quick little favor bag with CTMH slate bags

Make a few bags to have on hand to quickly fill and give!

I am a firm believer in lifting people up. People enjoy being noticed for an achievement or for something they have done for someone.Since school has started, and kids seem to need a lot of positive reinforcement, what better way to offer it than quick little reminders you can tuck in somewhere they will find!

This weekend, I took just a few minutes to use a new stamp set to create some quick pieces which I could add to gift or treat bags and stick in a little goodie of some sort. These are not just for kids, and if you know someone well enough, tuck in some little surprise you are sure they will use.

See why I think this is a great stamp set to use for this type of little recognition.

Close to My Heart, Crazy Good Occasions

Close to My Heart stamp set – Crazy Good Occasions

The images outlined in red have a corresponding shape to cut with a Cricut electronic cutting machine, using the Close to My Heart newest Artistry cartridge. I love the speech bubble shapes! Those are so fun to use on scrapbook pages!

You can use whatever size bag you want, but I thought these little bags would be great to have on hand! Aren’t they adorable! Besides the Slate color, they also are available in Honey, Lagoon, and Ruby.

CTMH Slate Paper Bags Z2036

Designer Creations Slate Paper Bags, CTMH #z2036

Make quick work of these by using embellishments. You may already have them from scrapbooking, card making, or other crafting endevours! Here is how I made them.

  • Select a stamp
  • Cut a piece of cardstock to fit the stamp size, and stamp it
  • Add Shimmer Trim! It is glitzy and self adhesive
  • Add self adhesive sequins
  • Fold top and punched two small holes
  • Thread fiber through holes and tied to close the bag
  • That’s it!

What are you going to tuck inside your little bags?

If you like any of these products, here’s a quick shopping list and links:

Crazy Good Stamp Set – #D1661

Designer Creations Slate Bags – #Z2036

Teal Shimmer Trim – #Z1918

Self Adhesive Sequins

Glacier Extra Thick Twine- #Z3039

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Today is the Make It Monday blog circle. Ready to Fall in Love? You will with this fun fall banner which Connie Hanks will show you over at Clicky Chick Creates!

Until next time,

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

Zentangle for Beginners Scrapinar

Have you wanted to learn more about Zentangles? How do they differ from doodles?
Zentangle video scrapinar with Mahe Husain
This is your chance to join us for a special video scrapinar with Certified Zentangle Instructor, Mahe Husain, hosted by Lain Ehman! Lain’s ‘scrapinars’ are always packed with both information and fun! What could make it even better? It is completely free to participate!

Join us live on August 26th at 1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific.You’ll even be able to ask questions!

Don’t worry, if that time doesn’t exactly fit your schedule, because it will be recorded and you watch it later. However, you MUST pre-register for this free event! Do in NOW before you forget!

Here’s the scoop:

  • Learn exactly what Zentangle IS and how it differs from other types of doodling and illustration
  • Learn 8 steps of the Zentangle method, allowing you to easily learn and master the basics
  • Find out how Zentangle helps you increase focus and be mindful
  • Get step by step guidance for two tangles

I hope to see you there! Pre-register so you don’t miss out!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

Quick Folded Shirt Card and Gift Card Holder

Welcome back to Make It Monday! Here is a great idea for a quick card, perfect for the guys. You will even have a built-in gift card holder using this method. Let’s get started!

Folded shirt card with gift card inside, on 5x7" card base.

Folded shirt card with gift card inside, on 5×7″ card base.

Please don’t let all the photos scare you. It won’t take you long! Instead of creating a video, I have taken still photos of the process.

Take a piece of patterned paper, 6 1/2″ x 9 1/2″.

Patterned paper, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Patterned paper, 6 1/2″ x 9 1/2″

Fold in half, lengthwise.

Fold in half lengthwise.

Fold in half lengthwise.

Flip the paper so you have the “valley fold” facing you, and fold the outer edge to the center fold.

 

Bring edge to center fold

Bring edge to center fold

 

Repeat, so that you have both outer edges meeting in the center.

Repeat, bringing other side to center fold.

Repeat, bringing other side to center fold.

 

 

Flip the paper over, and then fold about 1/2″ over on one of the short edges.

Flip over and fold half inch on top

Flip over and fold half inch on top.

 

Flip the paper back over so that the loose edges are facing up again. To create the collar, bring the right top folded corner in to meet the center. Place the point about 1/2″ down from the top.

create collar by folding edge toward center

Create collar by folding edge toward center.

 

Repeat with the other corner, so the two corners meet along the center.

Repeat, bringing other corner to meet in the center

Repeat, bringing other corner to meet in the center.

 

Fold the bottom up, so that the edge will slip under the collar points, and will meet where the corners meet in the previous step. Crease the paper to make the bottom of the shirt.

fold bottom up to tuck under collar

Fold bottom up to tuck under collar.

 

Open the bottom flap back down. From the crease you just made, fold back the center edge of the paper, and fold out, making a triangle from the center fold to the outer fold.

fold bottom back down and create triangle from center to edge

Fold bottom back down and create triangle from center to edge.

 

Repeat on the other side.

Repeat on other side

Repeat on other side.

 

You now have an area where you can slide in a gift card.

Slide gift card in opening

Slide gift card in opening.

 

Slide card in above the fold

Slide card in above the fold.

 

Fold the bottom section back up, and tuck under the collar to secure!

Fold bottom back up and tuck under collar

Fold bottom back up and tuck under collar.

Did you realize you just created an origami shirt? Now you are ready to add any other details you’d like. I just added pen details to suggest buttons and the front edge of the shirt. I cut out a tiny pocket and sponged the edges before adhering with a dimensional glue dot.

Details added to shirt. embellish as desired!

Details added to shirt. embellish as desired!

 

 

You could stop here and just use this for a gift card, but I wanted to create a card. Using the paper sized here, it makes the shirt a bit too large for a standard 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ card base, so I opted to create a 5″x7″ card. If you want to use the smaller size card base, you could easily trim the sleeves a bit.

Card base of 4 1/4" by 5 1/2".

Card base of 4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″.

A 5×7 card will fit into an A7 size envelope, also known as an invitation envelope. Here is the final card, with sponged edges to grunge it up a bit. If you are using this for a gift card, be careful whether you add your adhesive on the shirt. You’ll want to leave the sleeves free, and don’t forget to let the person not a gift card is hidden in the shirt!

Folded shirt card with gift card inside, on 5x7" card base.

Folded shirt card with gift card inside, on 5×7″ card base.

 

MAKE IT MONDAY

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Next up on the Make It Monday blog circle is Alice from Scrapbook Wonderland, showing us how to make Dad a mini album for Father’s Day, with tips to keep it simple and get it done quickly!

 

Have a great week, and be sure to share your projects with us on the Artful Adventures Facebook Group!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

 

 

 

Spring Mixed Media Technique

Welcome to Make It Monday! Spring is probably my favorite season. I love how everything springs back to life with gorgeous colors to declare that winter is over. Flowers and blossoming trees are such a glorious sight when you’ve seen nothing but bare branches and brown, or blankets of white snow covering everything! One of my favorite sights of the season is the crabapple tree in our back yard, which is the inspiration for this mixed media canvas. Today’s techniques can be used for mixed media, art journaling, or even scrapbooking.

Spring blossom 8" x 8" mixed media canvas.

Spring blossom 8″ x 8″ mixed media canvas.

This particular project was created on an 8″x8″ canvas. Heavy body acrylics were used with a plastic card to spread the color. For scrapbooking, you can start with a piece of card stock and use various inks, sprays, or colors that do not add a lot of moisture to the paper.

Basic supplies for this project base.

A canvas, heavy body acrylics, plastic card.

After spreading the color, I added a bit of a bright green.

Another bit of color added to the mix.

Another bit of color added to the mix.

 

More color applied with the plastic card.

More color applied with the plastic card.

Texture lines were added with black paint, by just using the edge of the plastic card.

Texture lines added.

Texture lines added.

Sewing pattern tissue paper.

Sewing pattern tissue paper with a twist.

I like to keep sewing pattern tissue to use for various things and decided to use it by twisting it, creating a branch. Once it was twisted, I applied some liquid matte medium on it to help it stick in the twisted state, and to adhere it to the canvas. Other papers you could use for this would be lightweight kraft color paper often used in packing, or a paper lunch bag. Try various widths to create a branch which is a good diameter for your project. A scrapbook page may only need a bit of twine so that you are not added so much bulk to the page.

You may find the next step to be reminiscent of childhood crafting. I really debated using it on a project to share with you, but I just couldn’t help myself. It just seemed to scream that it was the perfect way to achieve my crabapple tree blossoms! I grabbed some colored tissue paper and tore it into pieces about 1″ square. You could easily do the same thing with bits of any paper that is not too heavy. Patterned paper would create interesting variations in the blossoms. The shapes where shaped into little shapes, and a dab of glue was used on the outer tip to apply it to the branch.

Colored tissue paper torn into small little squares.

Colored tissue paper torn into small little squares.

After all the blossoms were added, a cardboard tube section was snipped and shaped into a leaf shape. The edge was dipped in black paint and used to make leaf outlines.

Blossoms applied and leaf shapes added.

Blossoms applied and leaf shapes added.

A bit of a darker green was lightly painted into the leaves, and a bit of detailing was done with black.

Leaves painted and detailed.

Leaves painted and detailed.

The bright green was dabbed into the centers of the blossoms with a tiny paintbrush. ‘Spring’ was written with acrylic paint which was watered down to create an inky consistency.

Blossoms completed and the word 'Spring' was added.

Blossoms completed and the word ‘Spring’ was added.

Here is the completed project. I plan to create one canvas for each season and hang them together.

Spring blossom 8" x 8" mixed media canvas.

Spring blossom 8″ x 8″ mixed media canvas.

Okay, now comment on this post and let me know that you remember using some variation of this tissue paper technique while you were growing up!


make it monday-pink logoMake It Monday Blog Circle

  • You may have landed here from Karen Fitting’s post at Photos Kept Alive where she discusses joining the Planner Craze, showing us her planner.  She’s also sharing her custom page as a free download. Don’t miss out.
  • Next up following me is Alice over at Scrapbook Wonderland. This week, Alice has a unique and creative approach for scrapbooking a game.

Moving

KS profile_lfJust so you know, this is not necessarily an artsy post today. I always have mixed feelings about sharing too much of my life in a blog post, and yet balancing that with letting you know me. So today, it’s a little more personal.

After suffering for years with Alzheimers, and being in care for six years, my dad passed away in mid January. These diseases that keep people hanging on, with no quality of life, are so cruel. Here is a post where I talked some about my dad. My husband and I, along with our three daughters, moved from Colorado to Minnesota 26 years ago. So during my dad’s illness, it was not always easy helping my mother from 1,000 miles away. I’m not sure how I would have ever done it without the help of my oldest daughter, Kathy. She was often able to go help and check on things when I was not able to go.

At the very end of last year, my husband and I decided we would go back to Colorado. My husband works from home, and the stars must have been aligned correctly because most all of our family is going to be able to move back as well! Leaving my grandkids in Minnesota was nothing I ever wanted to do!

We are now trying to get our home, as well as a daughter’s home ready to put up for sale. We are in a whirlwind of activity, doing MAJOR downsizing. Think just a bit larger than “tiny home” size. I was doing well until I started in my studio. All I can say about that is, YIKES! My art and scrapbooking supplies were not an area I planned to downsize, and it may be a lot harder to deal with than I first thought! Plus living in a home for 20 years, which was 20 years old when we moved in, is requiring some updates to plan for a quick sale. I may not have as much time to create and post here, but I am thinking about it most of the time. I hope you will enjoy posts like yesterday, where I share ideas from others! If I come up with any great ideas for organizing supplies to move, I’ll be sure to share those!

Take care, and Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS