Marshmallow Snowmen

Hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!!! It's been rather hectic around here...but, my son and I took some time to come up with these marshmallow cuties (he was the taste tester...lol) :


I used black Staz-On ink with stamp #A153 (Snowman Face) on the outside of a treat bag...paper-piecing the snowman's nose:



To make the snowmen, I put three marshmallows on a lollipop stick and dipped it into melted Guittard white chocolate (adding 3 m&m's for buttons)...then I popped them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.



Then, just wrap them up in the bags...aligning the snowman's face with the top marshmallow!! Hope you have time to give it a try!!!

Our Giveaway Winner!!

Judy from Georgia!!! You're our "outside of Hawaii" winner!! Please email your address to me (dandelion.designs@hawaiiantel.net) and I will send the stamps out to you ASAP (so you can get going on some holiday projects!!!). To those of you in Hawaii...remember you have until this Saturday to enter drawings at various stores around the islands (see post below).

Hope to be back soon with some Christmas projects!!!

A Holiday Giveaway

Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! To kick off the holiday season, we're doing a very special giveaway with our Hawaii craft stores. (For those of you outside of Hawaii...read on, I'll do something for you too!!). Anyway...we'll be giving away a stamp set (assortment of stamps varies by store), with a retail value of over $45 at participating Hawaii stores. Here's a sample of one of the sets:

To enter the drawing, simply go to one of the participating stores between Saturday, November 27 and Saturday, December 4...fill in an entry blank (1 entry per person/per store/per day, please) and you'll be entered!!! It's as easy as that!! Here's a list of the participating stores:

• Ben Franklin Crafts

Enchanted Lake
Market City
Pearl City
Paa
Kauai (Ace)
Maui
Hilo
Kona (Ace)
Kamuela (Ace)

• Cute Stuff

• J's Knicknacks

• Photo Craft

• Stamps & Memories

Winners will be announced by each store (I will not be announcing winners on this blog...please check with each store for results).

Now, for those of you who aren't here in Hawaii....I'll be giving one of these sets away to you too!! Just leave me a comment by Tuesday, November 30...tell me where you're from...and I'll pick one winner at random and announce their name on Wednesday, December 1. Good luck to everyone!!!

A Gift Card Holder

Happy Aloha Friday!! I have a quick project to share with you today...maybe you can whip some up over the weekend (it's always good to have some made up before the busy-ness begins!!). It's a simple matchbook gift card holder:



I cut a piece of card stock to 3" x 9-1/4"...then scored it at 4-1/4" and 8-3/4". I stamped and decorated the cover with stamps #922 (Merry Christmas), #A154 (Peppermint Flowers) and #A155 (Candy Cane Chick). Staple a 12" piece of ribbon in the center of the 1/2" tab, as shown below:



Tie the ribbon into a bow. Cut two pieces of 1/2" x 1-1/2" card stock (these will be like photo corners to hold the gift card in place)...and fold as shown below:



Wrap the corners around the gift card, and apply double stick tape to the back of each corner...then stick to card:



Hope you have a great weekend and can find some stamping time!!!

A Re-Do

Thanks for the suggestions on how to improve my "turkey favor" from yesterday's post...make the tail wider!!!! ok...got it!!! (Can you tell I'm a city girl?) Let's give it another try...click here for an updated pattern. How's this?


I tweaked the first pattern a little, but the instructions are pretty much the same. One difference is to cut the patterned paper to 3" x 4", then fan fold the top like before:



I changed the back a bit to cut down on the bulkiness. Now I have just one tab on the backside. Fill the bag with your treats and use double stick tape to close the bag, as shown below:



Oh...and take a look at Saskia's blog...Halloween is already passed and I'm only now getting around to linking to her adorable project.

Have a great night!!

This Didn't Really Turn Out Exactly The Way I Imagined, But I'll Share It Anyway

Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I had a great idea to make a turkey favor with stamp #A152 (Turkey Face)...the only thing is that it turned out looking more like a rooster!! But, since I already made it, I thought I'd share it with you anyway...lol




Click here for a simple pattern. ETA: This pattern has been revised...see 11/9/10 post to see sample of adjusted pattern). I used brown mailing paper for the bag...cutting on the solid lines and folding on the dotted lines. Use double stick tape to seal the bottom of the bag. Next, stamp and color in the face and glue a 2" x 4" patterned paper to the top/front of the bag (this will be the tail feathers). Fold the sides in like a regular brown paper bag...starting at the top edge of the bag, make 8 scored lines (1/2" apart)...then score once more, 1" away. Fill the bag with your treats...then following the scored lines, fan-fold the top of the bag. Pull up the top of the fan and staple together (as shown below):



Use 2 glue dots between folds, as shown below (I used pop dots for the photo, so you could see them better):



And one glue dot on the back:



Hmmmm...maybe if I made the "head" smaller:



What do you think?

As Simple As It Gets

For those of you who need to make a bunch of Halloween goodies for next week, and haven't started yet (I know you're out there!!)...here's a super simple, fast and easy project (Why does the right lollipop look deflated? lol):


I cut two 6" x 6" pieces of tissue paper and stamped #A151 (Pumpkin Face):



Then just wrap it around a Tootsie Roll lollipop and you're done!! Can't get any simpler than that...you can even let the kids get involved with making them for classmates!!



Have fun!!!

Holiday Clear Totes

Earlier in the year I posted a pattern for a clear tote bag, and I thought I'd give it another try with a holiday spin to it:



This time, I used a wired garland for the handles instead of ribbon...much more festive!!! This tote holds 2 chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.



To make this tote (above) more Christmas-y, I added stamp #931 (Santa's Hat) to stamp #A137 (Buddy With Cookies)...along with the word stamp #A130 (Cookies Make the Holidays Happy). For the tote below I used stamp #B134 (Christmas Cookies):



Can't forget Halloween (it's only 2 weeks away, you know!!!):



This tote uses stamp #A150 (Ghost and Pumpkin). Instead of handles, I decided to close this bag with a flap. I folded in the sides of the bag (like a brown paper bag)...then stapled it shut. I stamped #B108 (Halloween Scroll) on a 2" x 2" piece of cardstock...cut the edge around the stamped image and scored the piece to fold approximately in half...then I used double stick tape to attach to the bag. I hope the photo below makes it clearer:



Thanks for stopping by...hope you can find some time to craft today!!!

Trick or Treat

Happy Wednesday morning!! I've been trying to draw some new designs, but nothing has been working out quite right...don't you hate when you're trying to create and that happens?? Anyway...instead of getting frustrated, I thought I'd try to get my creative juices flowing with some stamping. I've been meaning to use my "Little Monster Pals" stamp for a Halloween project. Just by adding stamp #708 (Pumpkin Basket)...they've been turned into little trick-or-treating monsters!! I combined them with my trio of trick-or-treating word stamps to get this:


I used my 2 Marvy tag punches (pink and blue), with a foam dot in between for dimension. Here's a closer look at each panel:







The measurements for this card is 2-3/4" x 6-1/4"...score at 2", 4" and 4-1/4". Of course, you'll need something to put the card in...click here for a simple template for this "flapless envelope/box":



Fold up the card and it slips right in. I kept the outside decorations simple using stamp #701 (Pumpkin) and a place to address the "envelope". Then I got carried away and had to make one using some belated birthday stamps:



I used a Martha Stewart scallop border punch...if you punch out a border, make sure you punch it out first and then measure your card size to 2-3/4" x 8-1/4". Score at 2", 4", 4-1/4" and 6-1/4". Here's a closer look:









With that extra 4th panel, you'll need a little wider box...click here for a template.



ok...it's back to the drawing board for me...wish me luck!!!

Spider Web Card

Well...I just couldn't seem to get a good picture of this card...but, believe me...it looks better in person...more sparkly!! Anyway, here it is:


I also made it into a tag:



To make this card or tag...start with a 5" x 4" piece of cardstock. Fold in half for a finished size of 2-1/2" x 4". Use a 1-1/2" circle punch to punch a circle through both layers (below, left). To make a card, you'll need an extra piece (below, right) of 2-1/2" x 4" cardstock (punch a 1-1/2" circle through this piece also). Stamp #A109 (Spider Web) on a 1-3/4" x 1-3/4" piece of acetate (using Staz-On ink). Add glitter glue and some bling to the web!!!


Apply double stick tape like this:



Remove the paper backing from the double stick tape...center the spider web in the punched circle and adhere. For the tag...fold in half and seal the two halves together...punch a hole and thread a ribbon. For the card...center the spider web in the punched circle...then seal with the extra piece of cardstock you cut earlier. Here's a close-up of the web:



I also used stamp #710 (Happy Halloween) and embossed it with a sparkly silver embossing powder. Thanks for stopping by!!!

M&M Containers

ok...I really cannot resist cute little things like this:


I found these containers at Ben Franklin, and by the tag I can see that they are some kind of jewelry case...to hold beads or something (I really don't want to know right now because it looks like I could get carried away with another craft, if you know what I mean!!). Anyway, they look exactly like the mini M&M containers. Time to get to work decorating these guys:



Can't forget to decorate the tops:





The glittery black paper (love it!!) and Martha Stewart spider web punch are from J's Knicknacks. To make the web for the top of the container (shown below)...I cut a strip of 1" paper and punched both edges of the paper, trying to match the 2 halves of the web (looks pretty good, even if I didn't match the two sides exactly).



And how about making some for baby showers or announcements:









Hope you're enjoying your long holiday weekend!!

Hoot! Hoot!

I was playing with some sponging today to make this quick Halloween card:



All I did was make a template by punching out a 2" circle out of a scrap of paper...



First, take the piece with the circle punched out and place it over your card where you want the moon to be. Use a sponge dauber to apply color (I just used my ink pads)...I used yellow and orange for the moon:



Remove the template to reveal the moon:



Now, take the circle you punched out and place it over the moon as a mask...I sponged the rest of the card with black and purple:



Remove the mask to reveal a spooooky Halloween sky:



I finished off the card with stamps #710 (Happy Halloween), #A148 (What a Hoot) and #B149 (Spooky Branch). Short and sweet post today...have a good day!!!