Tonic Studios - Wine Bottle Gift Box

Giving a bottle of wine as a gift is popular these days and this Tonic Studio die just finishes the gift off beautifully.  Add a tag or other embellishments and you have an eye catching container.

I have found the trick is to use a medium weight card stock and you can make this out of one 12" x 12" sheet.  For the first one I needed to use 2 sheets but with careful planning you can squeeze it out of 1 sheet.  Cut the die 3 times and use extra sticky red tape to piece it together.  At this stage I found it easier to slip the sleeve over an empty wine bottle (a full one was too heavy).  Cut 2 circles out of matching card just less than the bottom of the wine bottle in size.  I laid the bottle in the sleeve on its side and popped one of the circles underneath the bottom flaps (in other words, at the base of the bottle) and attached it to the wine sleeve bottom flaps with double sided tape.  Stick the second circle on the outside of the bottom flaps and you now have a firm base.  If you don't get the base quite right you can always stand the container upright and stick on a thick ribbon at the bottom of the container.  This is also easier to do with a bottle in.

Embellish with the long rectangle panels that come with the die or if you use pretty patterned themed card then this might not be necessary.  I used a raffia type twine for the holes at the top of the die and an old Clear Dollar die for the sentiment.  The sentiment comes from MFT.

The downside of not drinking is that we never have any wine bottles around so I went down to the local recycling bin and rummaged around until I found a suitable empty bottle !  I have just found some pretty patterned Christmas card stock and will be trying that out soon.

Dreamweaver - Coil Christmas Tree

The Dreamweaver stencils are fun and easy to use.  I prefer using Distress inks with a finger sponge as I find there is more control this way.

Distress inks used on this coil tree were Evergreen Bough and Mustard Seed.  The sentiment is a Clear Dollar one from the Filled with Cheer set.

Tag - Kraftin' Kimmie - Gaia

The sentiment on this Go Kreate Concentric Tag is Clear Dollar - Tag It.  The image is from Kraftin' Kimmie - Gaia and was coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and a blender pen.

Tag - S.W.A.L.K One of a Kind

This cute Crafter's Companion grandpa was coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and a blender pen.  The colour on the cheeks was done with chalk and a brush. The sentiment is from Clear Dollar's Birthday Wishes and the tag is Go Kreate Concentric Tags.

Art Impressions - Birthday Whoots

Starting from the bottom layer - Creative Memories Storybox Jewell, the Sizzix Tags Rounded, 2 green Marianne D Branch Forest, Art Impressions Birthday Whoots set coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and markers.  The sentiment is Clear Dollar Something to Crow About punched out with Stampin Up Word Window.

Tag - Stamping Bella - The Big Guy Golfing

This Stamping Bella image is by Mo Manning and it was coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and a blender pen.  The sentiment is from Clear Dollar - Birthday Wishes.  The tag is my usual Go Kreate Concentric Tags.

Tag - Whimsy Duck

I am back making single layer tags using the Go Kreate Concentric tag die.  It is a great way to use stamps and a box of tags makes for a super gift.

This Whimsy Duck image was stamped with Archival Black ink and coloured in with aqua pencil crayons lightly blended with a blender pen.  The sentiment is Clear Dollar Birthday Wishes.

Clear Dollar - Pet Angels

I have had this topper lying around for ages so am unable to remember what dies were used behind the image or how I coloured it in but think it may have been with Copics.  Being passionate about animals and understanding how distressing it is when they leave us, I find this Clear Dollar Pet Angels is a set I use over and over again.  The sentiment is from the same set.  The border punch used on the background paper is an old Martha Stewart one.

Penny Black - Butterfly Suite

This stamp, Butterfly Suite, from Penny Black was stamped using Archival Coffee ink and sponged over with Evergreen Bough, Tea Dye and Worn Lipstick Distress inks.

The sentiment is from the Clear Dollar set called Charlie Daisy also stamped with Archival Coffee.  The background papers are from my stash with the striped one being from a free Stampin Up pad.

Tag - Penny Black To You

Another tag in my series.  Here I used Stampin Up pencil crayons plus blender pen to colour in this image from the Penny Black set To You.

The sentiment is from Clear Dollar Something to Crow About and it was framed in a negative image of the SU Word Window punch inked with Momento Lady Bug and Love Letter ink.  As the tags are one layer and I wanted the Word Window shape, I thought why not use the negative image.

Clear Dollar - Filled with Cheer

Using the Tim Holtz In The Bag die I made this small bag out of 250g card stock.

The stocking image is from the Clear Dollar set called Filled with Cheer and I paper pieced the red part.  Behind the stocking is a Spellbinders Oval die.  The sentiment is from Peachy Keen's Chill Baby Chill Snowman set and it was punched out with a Stampin Up oval.

Sizzix - Stocking die

This is another quick and simple card.  Cut die, emboss, add a couple of squares as gifts and top off with a bow.  The background paper is from Creative Memories.

Art Impressions - Surprise Keepers

This is the first time I have used a full Art Impression Card Keeper stamp set and next time I think I might have to adjust the measurements to fit the gift card into the slot.  Not sure if our gift cards are larger here in South Africa or perhaps my measurements were off (very possible) but I ran out of space and had to make a cut in the inside of the card to slot the gift card into.  Saying all that, it is definitely one of the better ways to present a gift card.

I paper pieced the box and coloured in the ribbon using Smooch.  The image was coloured in using markers and the sentiment is a Clear Dollar one.

Kaszazz - Stork Arrival

I always like to keep a couple of baby cards handy and my stock is all used up so expect a couple more of these cards in the future.

This is a simple image with minimal colouring in - just the beak, legs and baby.  I paper pieced the cloth around the baby - not sure what to call that - and then masked the image to make the cloud background.  The clouds are not hard to do, you just need a sponge, some Distress ink and a couple of different sized scalloped ovals made from acetate or a sturdy clear see through material.  I generally start at the top of the card and work my way down alternating with the different sizes.

The image was die cut with Spellbinders Long Rectangles Classic and Scalloped.  The greeting is a Clear Dollar one which was punched out using the Stampin up Word Window punch.

Clear Art Stamps - Little Boy

Ok, so I am on a mission with the Dreamweaver's Stencils at the moment.  I really love making my own backgrounds and these stencils make it really easy.  For this card I used a glossy cardstock and blocked off the sections with Post-It notes.  The stencil is called Rolling Hills and I sponged the ink on.

The little boy with the kite and the dog was stamped onto watercolour paper and coloured in using an aqua painter, blender pen and a combination of Distress Inks, Tombow, Stampin Up and Marvy Le Plume markers.

The houses are from a Stampin Up set called Right at Home and were stamped directly onto the card using Archival Ink.  They were then coloured in with a combination of Momento, Distress and Stampin Up markers.  The sentiment is from the Clear Dollar set called Goose Hugs.

Katzelkraft - Chat Kipling - again

This is definitely a set of stamps I will get a lot of use out of.  The images are so detailed that it is not necessary to add any colour to them.

On this card I framed the image using a Sizzix Oval - these dies are narrow ovals and come in really handy.  The border punch is a Martha Stewart one, the sentiment is from Clear Dollar's Something to Crow About and it was punched out using the Stampin Up Word Window punch.  The die behind the sentiment is a Clear Dollar one and the black die cut behind that is from Memory Box Pastry Labels die.

Cottage Cutz - Shower Peepers

Another Cottage Cutz die which I will be getting a lot of use out of.  This chick is holding a sign which is also from Cottage Cutz called Marker Sign.  The sentiment is from the Clear Dollar set Thoughtful Notes.

The paper and the Nestabilities shapes are from my stash.  The border punch top and bottom of the striped paper is a Martha Stewart one.

Gina K Designs - You know you're old when .....

Here is one of two birthday cards made for my brother's 50th birthday.  He is adament he is 40 (again) - so it makes it even more fun to exagerate his age.  By the time this post appears my sister from Australia and myself will be in London.  We have been planning this trip for over a year now and decided to surprise my brother.  Just hope he does not have a heart attack when he sees us !!  It is 12 years since we have all been together as the 3 of us live on 3 different continents.  Here's hoping for 2 weeks of fun and laughter.

Down to the card - a Cuttlebug embossing folder with 2 Nestabilities Ovals in the middle.  The Gina K Designs stamp called You know you're old when  ..... has been partly paper pieced and partly coloured with Copics.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set and it is on a Clear Dollar die called Designer Label.

Unknown Venetian Scene stamp

I recently needed a 21st male birthday card and as most of my stamps are cute and whimsical I struggled a bit.  Tucked away I found a couple of stamps I bought years ago but have no idea of the company name.  This Venetian scene was amongst them and I thought it would be appropriate.

The sentiment is from a Clear Dollar stamp set called Something to Crow About.  Using a Spellbinders Labels template (made from an old x-ray) I sponged around the outside of the card using Distress Ink.

Flourishes - Medallion Motif

Working off another page map idea I thought I would use this Flourishes stamp set.

The background is from a free paper pad by Stampin up and I tried to match the ink by using SU Brocade Blue.  Not sure if it was the right choice.  I cut out part of the image and matted it onto 2 circles made using the Creative Memories cutting system.  The middle circles are from Spellbinders and the sentiment is a Clear Dollar one called Birthday Wishes.