Cider and cocoa mugs

I am prepping and living on the hope that we will be able to have a fall/winter craft fair this year as COVID begins to slowly wind down.  I know we live in a different world but hope we can have back some fun holiday events.  Last year was really difficult to get into the spirit because everything was canceled. 

I buy the DCWV paper stacks when they go on sale, then cut the mugs on my Cricut in between projects, leaving them stacked in a box until I get around to assembly.  Often, I will fold them, then take them to the living room to glue while watching a show.  Then they go back to the box until I decide on the embellishments.  Since the fall craft fair was canceled, I was less than inspired, until they announced the vaccine had rolled out.  

This year, I used the MFT Hug in a Mug

stamps and coordinating dies.  The oval is from my Spellbinders basic ovals and stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black.  The mugs were cut in MFT Electric Red and Sour Apple.  The cider color is Stampin Up Cajun Craze and the cocoa is SU Early Espresso.  The whipped cream and marshmallows are SU Whisper White.  The leaves were cut from scraps of yellow and orange on my Cricut.  Thanks for looking!  April

Sour cream money gifts

My older two wanted money to put towards various needs so I told the grandparents I would package it up.  Here is what I came up with...sour cream containers!  They are stupid-easy to make too.  Just cut a strip of paper, using your gift as a guide.  Add a strip of tape to the short end, joining the two ends.  Now you have a tube.  Close one hole flat and seal with some double stick tape.  I also used a crimper to seal.  Drop in the gift, then seal the other end.  Be sure to turn the opposite direction so the are perpendicular.  I went the extra step and put a zipper in mine so the kids could pull a strip and open it without tearing it apart.  I used a doily cut from the Cricut and some scrap red paper to stamp the sentiment with white heat embossing.  Thanks for looking!  April 

Santa Mickey wall hanger

I had this jpeg image for a while now.  I planned to make cards or put it on something as vinyl but came up with this.  I cut the base of each five times and glued them together to give it some sturdiness and keep it from curling.  The letters are cut from green polka dot Bazzill and the hat is red and glitter white.  I added hangers to the back and used removable Command hooks to hang.  Can you tell my teen son did the hangig because he is taller?  I may consider remaking this in basewood later on.  Thanks for looking!  April

Peppermint Mickey Garland

I decided I wanted a garland for over the fireplace after finding some amazing inspiration on IG and Pinterest.  So, off to the Cricut I go!  This was made with white glitter cardstock and red and green Cricut brand shimmer papers.  I used Tombow Aqua adhesive and it worked well.  I used a light weight on top to help set as I glued the next one.  I got inspiration from Tara at Wilder Crafting on IG for the hanger design.  It is basically a strip of paper with a hole on each end to run the string through, allowing the ears to look like they are floating.  I just used jute twine to string them up.  Thanks for looking!  April

Snowy Village Scene

I will be honest, I can't remember where I got this beautiful winter scene.  If you recognize it, please let me know so I can properly credit it. 

I cut this on my Cricut using 110lb white cardstock.  It took 6 sheets and some patience getting the scores to fold but the sections were easy to match.  I was able to fold each section in half and store sandwiched against the side of a box to keep it from being bent in storage.  Thanks for looking!  April

Winter mailbox

I got this awesome svg file from Designs By Miss M.  Mandee makes some really great stuff so be sure to look her up!  I just followed the colors she used and cut them on my Cricut.  I used glue and double-sided tape but would recommend hot glue for faster assembly.  I used Bazzill papers from JoAnn...good thing it was on sale.  This takes 5 sheets of dark red alone!  It turned out beautifully and looked great on our mantle.  Mandee even reposted it on IG account.  Thanks for looking!  April

Elf in Quartine

Because its 2020, and I really didn't want to think up 24 days of Elf mischief, I made an Elf Containment Unit so our Elf could observe but stay safely quarantined.  The container is a Jiff Peanut Butter jar.  I used Cricut Design Space to create the words and uploaded a biohazard sign and snowflakes.  It says ELF SURVEILLANCE QUARANTINE ZONE.  I added some foam snow inside to make it feel more like home.  His hat kept catching on the lid and spinning him, so it took a few tries to keep him front and center.  Last, I added some construction washi tape around the lid to warn anyone away from opening it.  Thanks for looking!  April

MFT Design Superstar 2020: Innovaton Master

This one was a challenge for me but I think it turned out well in the end.  I doubt I would try to mass produce this but for a solo card, it was fun.  I chose to try a window slider card for this challenge.  Jennifer McGuire has a great tutorial on YouTube.  The base is MFT Electric Red, heat embossed in white using the MFT Candy Stripe stencil. 

The center panel is made by masking the snow by using the MFT snow hills dies.  The sky is inked in Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Tumbled Glass, Blueprint Sketch, and Chipped Sapphire.  The images are MFT Sweet Holiday Penguins colored with copic markers.  I also used the MFT Interactive Labels stamps on the pull tab.

Thanks for looking!  April

MFT Sweet Holiday Penguins Christmas cards

My idea for the MFT Summer School Challenge number 5 (White Space) ended up being the template for my family Christmas cards.  I finished 50 cards and the extras will end up being sold at the craft fair at my son's school.  The base is kraft pre-made cards from Hobby Lobby, layered with Neenah Solar White #80 for copic markers, and strips of red glitter 12x12 paper.  I cut the strips at 1/4" x 5.5" and had enough to use on all 50 plus enough left over for a few more cards.  The images are from MFT Sweet Holiday Penguins.  I popped the white up on foam tape and the glitter paper is glued to the base.  I wanted to keep these very minimal, clean and simple for easy mailing.  Thanks for looking!  April

Gnome gift card holders

I have been slowly working on inventory for the fall craft fair.  (Here's hoping they will continue to have craft fairs after COVID-19!)  These are simple to make and a huge seller last year when I used snowmen.  You get THREE holders from one sheet of cardstock so
they are very economical.
Along the 11 inch side, cut at 3.5 inches.  You will have a small strip left after you cut all three.  Along the long side of each strip, score at 2 on one end, the rotate and score at 2.5 at the opposite end.  I used a corner rounder on the edges to keep them tidy.  The matted pieces are a quarter inch smaller.  I used 1/8 inch adhesive tape to seal the edges of the larger flap to form a pocket.  The gnome is attached to the top flap and I used a mini velcro dot to seal the holder. The cardstock is MFT and the patterned paper is from DCWV. 
The gnomes were created on Cricut Design space.  I used a large oval for the body and sliced the bottom off with a square to create a flat bottom.  You can also create this with a punch and cut a flat bottom with scissors.  His beard is created from a leaf.  I used the small oval nose to slice out a place for the oval to rest.  Looking back now, I would have popped the nose up on a piece of foam tape.  The hat was from another cut file, but you can easily use a triangle.  I have also seen small circles for hands and small ovals for feet, but chose to keep these pretty minimal.  I made my gnomes around 2.5 inches tall and could fit close to 43 on a sheet of 12x12 paper on my Circut.  I used dark green for the body, cherry for the hats, white for the beards, and flesh for the noses.  I assembled them while watching a movie with my hubby in just about an hour.
In total, I made 45 holders in under 3 hours, with cutting papers, folding and assembly.  Thanks for looking!  April

Paper Pumpkin To You & Yours alternative cards

card 1

This is from November 2018 My Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up called To You and Yours.  I was not a fan of the two designs in the kit so it sat in a pile in my craft room until now.  I love the stamps in the set and have been using them since the set arrived but lacked some inspiration what to do with the kit.  The original kit cost $19.99 + s/h, making the cards around $2 each.

card 2

card 4

card 3

card 6 - scraps

card 5

I spread the entire kit across the table, then started looking at Pinterest to find some ideas on how to make the most of the set.  I chose 5 cards that used most of the set and used scraps to make a 6th design.  I made 5 of each card for a total of 30 cards from the original kit of 10, by only adding a pack of ivory card bases from Hobby Lobby that came in a pack of 50 for $6.99.  You can frequently find it 50% off and I keep many on hand.  I have a few scraps left and one of each label, as well as the ribbon.  The card base that was included in the kit was kraft.  I trimmed 1/4" off the long side, then cut each short end at 3 3/4", leaving a half inch piece in the middle with the score line as my scrap.  I cut those apart on the score line and used them for some of my labels on one of the cards and strips for the last card.  Cards 1,2,3 and 5 all use the original card bases.  Cards 4 and 6 feature the liner from the envelopes included in the kit.  I opened the envelope and the inside was a perfect 5 1/4"x3 3/4" mat layer.  I also used the coordinating Garden Green and Soft Suede ink spots from prior kits on cards 3 and 4.  The last touch, was stamping all the envelopes with the bough stamps in Garden Green ink to match the cards.  By the time I was done, the 30 cards cost less than .80 each.  What a bargain to stretch the kit and get the most from your money. 
Thanks for looking!  April

Jennifer Marker Star Lantern Alternative

Yep, you read it right, I altered the star lantern from Jennifer Maker.  My youngest has his own little tree in his room with his favorite ornaments and last year refused any attempt at a tree skirt or topper.  This year I offered to make him a Mickey topper or a star.  He asked for a star and as soon as I saw Jennifer's, I knew with a little tweak, it would be perfect.  Her team was wonderful about answering my question about how big the finished star was so I had an idea of how much I needed to downsize.
The original star lands around 14 inches and each arm is around 7 inches, way too big for a little 4 foot tree.  My wonderful engineer hubby said that a six inch star would keep the proportion just fine, so I needed each arm to be around 3 inches once folded.  Now, when you are adjusting the size, it's hard to tell on screen, but I cheated by using the score line image and stretched it over the point to the inside.  That gave me a realistic idea of the actual size, then I deleted the score line.  I also deleted the piece with the notch for the pendant light and duplicated an extra of the regular points.  I cut the image on glitter cardstock.  Be ready for a long wait as it took nearly 45 minutes to cut.  The glitter paper setting on the Cricut will cut it twice.  I found it did not need the second pass as it only made more of a mess so I stopped it half way through the second cut.
Be sure to follow Jennifer's suggestion to only assemble 4 of the points before gluing them together.  The last point is much easier to add when you can glue one tab at a time and save the long point for last.
How did I attach it to the tree?  I used scissors and cut a small notch in the base of the star and slid a chopstick with hot glue in it up to the top.  The stick hides well in his tree so I did not feel like I needed to paint.  I do recommend a twist tie to keep it in place.  Thanks for looking!  April

HLMS Cricut challenge Day 1

I will be honest coming out of the gate, it will most likely be next year before I do any of the other challenges Cori at Hey Let's Make Stuff has up.  It is not because of difficulty!  She does an amazing job of choosing differing levels of projects so even the most basic crafter can feel like a rock star.  She give very detailed directions and has always been quick to answer if you email a question.  I just have a billion of items sitting in my craft room as a wish list.

This card was so cute and easy...ish.  I can be honest and say that paper is 95% the trouble.  Fine cuts are hard, especially on black paper.  I shredded over a dozen cuts of the cable before tossing my hand in the air and just hand drawing it on.  The bulbs are a genius use of scraps.  The svg comes set as a 5x7 but I resized the card to an A2 4x5.5.  That said, I could get 2 cards from a 12x12 instead of one but again, fine cuts can be tricky.  I made the mistake of using heavy white cardstock, so next time, I need the thinner cardstock for a cleaner cut.  

TIP: Stampin Up cardstock will often shred or flake into layers if the cuts are ultra fine.  Same for cheaper bulk papers like the Recollections black stack from Michaels.  

I strongly suggest a new blade or sharpen your blade with some aluminum foil.  The foil helps keep gummy stuff and small shreds of paper off the blade.

In the end, it still turned out super cute.  I may end up making a stack of these for next year.  Thanks for looking!  April

Double sided chalkboard signs

I saw this adorable sign on Pinterest.  While there was no svg file, the directions stated the fonts used and where the wreath image was found.  I tweaked the design a bit then ran to Michaels to track down the cute chalkboard.  What was not said was that these were small table signs from the wedding section and were on clearance for $7.97 for 6!  Yep, 6.  The are much smaller than the picture shows, only 4.5x6" without the wood base.  So, I made all 6 to give as gifts this year.  I used permanent vinyl and found crayola chalk at the Dollar Tree.  I included 2 sticks tied with jute twine.  The photo shows both sides of the board.  Thanks for looking!  April

Frosty's Hat treat holder

I had a ton of black cardstock scraps from making the penguin gift card envelopes and saw this idea on Pinterest.  The top of the hat used all my scraps.  The top is a piece of 3x8 inch paper, scored at 1/2" down the long side.  Snip the paper up to the half inch mark to give you tabs to glue to the hat base.  Use a bone folder to help curl the paper, then use some tear tape to join the two ends, push down the tabs and use a 2 1/2" circle to hold the shape.  I used the largest circle in the Nestabilities set for the brim.  The hat is finished with a 1/2"x8" scrap of Real Red cardstock, but you can use ribbon as well.  I found the felt leaves at Tuesday Morning in a package with poinsettias for $1.99 for 30 pieces.  The berries are extra large pearls, colored with a copic marker.  Be sure to leave some dry time or use a heat gun to set it.  I also dropped another 2 1/2" circle into the hat to hide the tabs and make it look more finished.  Last, I stuffed a bag in the tube and filled with Hershey's kisses and tied with an organza ribbon.  Thanks for looking!  April

Ugly Christmas Sweater Tags

 Sometimes, the best plans just fail big.  These were supposed to be gift card holders and the tab at the top was the way to pull it out.  Unfortunately, the sweaters are just a bit too small once glued together and making them bigger means only getting one out of a 12x12 sheet.  I can't justify the waste of paper.  Rather then toss them out, I turned them into tags.  They can go on a package or hang on a stocking or tree.  I also debated about making a garland of ugly sweaters.  As my teen says, "They are horrible and I love them!" 
These were based on a paper pattern I found and imported into Cricut Design Space.  I have several different papers but only took a picture of two as a sample.  I plan to play with the design to see of I can revise these but they won't go to waste for now.  Thanks for looking!  April

Mitten lip balm holders

I fell in love with My Favorite Things lip balm set.  They are very reasonable in price.  The stamps are $9, lip balm window die is $10.99, the rip strip die for $9.99, and the pouches are 10 for $3.99.  Many people were using the bookmark die to make the pouches, but I wanted something different.  I went hunting for a pattern to import into Cricut Design Space and found a pattern for a mitten.  I duplicated and flipped the image to make a front and back, then sized to fit four mitts on a page.
Once I had all the pieces cut, I glued the cuffs on, then decided where I wanted the lip balm window.  I opted not to use the little border piece this time.  Once the window was in place, I used it as a guide to place the rip strip die on the back mitten.  Just be sure when you glue the two halves together to avoid putting adhesive where the rip strip is.  Now, the recipient doesn't have to tear apart the mitten to get to the lip balm.  I found 3-packs of Chap-Stick in holiday flavors on special for $2.

Once it was glued together, I used a crop-a-dile to punch a hole in the corner and added a circle tag stamped with one of the sentiments and a small punched heart.  I left the string long enough to be tied to a gift, hung on the tree or added to a stocking.  Thanks for looking!  April

Santa & Penguin gift card envelopes

I am getting ready for a local craft fair.  This is the second year I am participating and am trying different things.  These Santa gift card holders sold really well last year, so I am adding the penguin ones to see how they do.  I got a lot of positive responses from them and sold out.
I used the envelope punch board to make the smallest envelope, then added a white liner where a greeting can be added.  I made the Santa belly band with Basic Black and punched the belt with champagne glimmer paper using a scalloped square punch.
The penguin's belly is a large oval punch on white glimmer paper, then trimmed even with the bottom of the envelope.  The eyes are punched from small circles and I used a gel pen to give a little sparkle.  A small heart punched from Pumpkin Pie cardstock is the beak.  I used a mini velcro dot for the closure.  (They are a bit pricey, but I found some on clearance and have used a 50 or 60% off coupon at Joann.)  Thanks for looking!  April

Warm Wishes cocoa mugs

These adorable paper mugs are based on a mug card I found on Pinterest.  I took the template and instead of printing it on cardstock and cutting it out, I transferred the image to Cricut Design Space and adjusted it for cutting.  I use double sided 12x12 and get 2 per sheet.  Once they are removed from the cutting mat, simply fold and glue along the two sides.  I embellished these with a print and cut design I created in Design Space, as well as cutting tags that are tied on the handle.  All I have to do is slip a hot cocoa packet into them.  These will be sold at the craft fair in November and these were big sellers last year.  They make great co-worker gifts or stocking stuffers and there is plenty of room to slip a gift card inside.  Thanks for looking!  April

Making Christmas bright

So I totally spaced on posting last year and have been scrambling to catch up.  Here is last year's Christmas card, just in time for me to start working on this year's card! 
I used Stampin Up's Making Christmas Bright set.  The card is based on this one from Pinterest.  I used sponge daubers to make the glow.  TIP: sponge off a bit and tap lightly.  As you can see the red ones are really dark.  Because I was mass producing this card for our annual mailing, I loved using the stamparatus from SU.  Each string of lights were stamped 3 times, and on 4 dozen cards.  I swapped the sentiment and used a banner punch to notch the ends.  Cardstock colors are Whisper White and Basic Black.  Bulb colors include: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist, Pacific Point, and Gorgeous Grape. 
Thanks for looking!  April