The swap I decided on used the Mixed Bunch stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I LOVE it when Stampin’ Up! releases a stamp set and a coordinating punch!  It makes my life so much easier.  I know I would have never chosen to hand cut all of these pretty flowers on my own.  You might notice the edges of the flowers are in inked Soft Suede.  I achieved that look by doing the “rock and roll” technique on each flower.  All you have to do is stamp your flower in a lighter shade (in this case I used Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, and Poppy Parade) and then roll the edges of the stamp in a darker color.  It creates this beautiful two toned effect on each of the flowers!  I just love it.  The paper on this card is the Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper, also from the Occasions Mini.

While I was working on my cards I whipped up a few of these cute little sour cream containers, filled with chocolate of course, for my downline gals!

Very easy to make with a piece of card stock that is 4 1/4 by 5 1/2. Then sealed on each end and on the side with sticky strip and crimped with the Crimper Tool.  I added some of the Mixed Bunch flowers to the from of these as well and tied them with the Soft Suede Bakers Twine.

Here is a close-up of one of them.

These would make adorable gifts for baby showers, birthdays, just about anything!  You can make them with any size of paper or DSP as well.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my card and little gift ideas!  Kristin

Isn’t this the cutest pin cushion?!  I came across the pattern to make this pin cushion and I knew right away that I had to use my new Twitterpated Fabric from the 2012 Occassions Mini Catalog.  I have been on an organizational kick lately.  I actually love organization, but I’m not always very good at keeping things really organized.  For the base of my pin cushion I used half-pint canning jars that can be found just about anywhere.

So, not only is this a cute and functional pin cushion it is also has a great jar that can be filled with just about any little thing.  I had a bag of random buttons that needed a good home so I filled mine with buttons.  I thought of quite a few things that I could fill these little jars with (q-tips, buttons, pins, ribbon, bobbins).  I think I’m going to go and make a few more!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed my little organizational DIY project.

Kristin 

I put three or four pretzel rods into a large cello bag and tied it with some retired ribbon.  The tag was made using the Two Tags Bigz Die and my Big Shot.  I added a cute little punch art of a reindeer using the Owl Punch and a cute little saying as well.

Here is a close-up of the tag so you can read the cute little saying: “Thanks for making my future bright!”.  I love the red nose made with the Red Glimmer Paper!  I really think presentation can take a gift from nice to great!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Kristin

To get started you will need the following items: two squares cut out using the Scallop Square Die (I used the beautiful Deck The Halls fabric from Stampin’ Up!), poly-fil, Taffeta Ribbon in Crumb Cake, Antique Brads, and a sewing machine.

You are going to start by putting your two squares wrong sides together and sew around the edge using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  You will need to leave a opening on one of the edges for stuffing your ornament with poly-fil.  Before you sew it you will also need to tuck a 5 inch piece of tafetta ribbon folded in half into one of the corners.  This will be the hanger for the ornament.

Now you can fill your ornament with the poly-fil.  Make sure you get the poly-fil all the way down into the corners of the ornament so that it is nice and full.

Now take it back over to your sewing machine and sew the opening closed.  I started a little before the opening and went past it a little bit as well, making sure that I completely closed it.

The bow on the front is so simple and creates a perfect bow every time!  Cut a piece of tafetta ribbon about 8 inches long.  Evenly cross the ribbon leaving loops on both sides.  Next take one of your antique brads with the prongs open and close it around the center of your ribbon.  You will now have a perfect looking bow!  To place it into your ornament simply press the prongs of the brad into the center of the ornament.  By feeling through the back of the fabric I then opened the prongs  so that they were open inside of the ornament and unable to be pulled back out.

Your final product will be this stunning ornament!  What a perfect little gift for teachers, babysitters, friends, or to tie on the front of one of your packages!  I have made several of these and they literally take about 10 minutes start to finish!    I hope that you enjoyed my first tutorial and that you enjoying making these ornaments for your loved ones!

Kristin

Click on the More link to see how to make this card!

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Card Stock:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet of Pale Plum
3 1/4 x 2 1/4 piece of Perfect Plum
3x 2 piece of Whisper White

Ink Pads:
Perfect Plum
Pale Plum

Markers:
Mellow Moss

Stamp Sets:
Never Ending Joy

Misc Supplies:
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Mono Adhesive
bone folder

Use mellow moss marker to color the stem stamp887|400

Stamp on Whisper White card stock891|400

Ink up Tulip stamp in Perfect Plum ink895|400

Ink up bow stamp in Pale Plum ink883|400

Mount stamped image onto Perfect Plum card stock899|400

Randomly stamp butterfly image using Pale Plum ink on the background of the Pale Plum card907|400

Use dimensionals on back of Perfect Plum card stock to make it stand out915|400

Mount onto Pale Plum card front911|400

Stamp Easter Blessings in Perfect Plum on front of card919|400

Enjoy!

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Click on Read More link to see how this card was made!

Supplies Used

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Card Stock:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet of Barely Banana
3 x 2 3/4 piece of Bashful Blue
2 1/2 x 2 1/4 piece of Certainly Celery
2 1/8 x 2 3/8 piece of Whisper White

Ink Pads:
Basic Black classic

Markers:
Bashful Blue
Barely Banana
Certainly Celery

Stamp Sets:
Hugs and Wishes
Year after Year

Misc Supplies:
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Mono Adhesive
Paper Snips
bone folder
Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon
Spiral Punch

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Fold the sheet of card stock in half.

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Stamp the flower image in Basic Black, color in the flower with Stampin’ Write Markers.

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Adhere the stamped image to the Certainly Celery piece of cs.

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Punch the Bashful Blue piece of cs using the spiral punch.

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Adhere the Certainly Celery piece to the Bashful Blue piece of cs.

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Attach dimensionals to the back to make it pop off the card.

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Choose which direction you want to position your focal image. You could position this one either horizontally or vertically. I ended up laying this out horizontally. The picture above shows a vertical layout.

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Add ribbon.

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Trim the ribbon and your done!

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This was just a plain mug that I bought for a $1.50 at Walmart.

Here is what it looked like after I added the rub-ons.

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I can’t say enough how easy this was! I have all kinds of things I want to put rub-ons on now. This could be dangerous! I thought this mug could make a cute gift for someone. You could easily dress it up by planting a spring flower in it or filling it with candy.

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The paper and ribbon were just sitting around and I’m not really sure where I picked them up. To apply the paper I used Mod Podge, specifically for paper in matte. If you haven’t used this before it is a waterbased sealer, glue, and finish. To get the paper size I laid the frame face down on the paper and traced around it, then cut it out. The ribbon is just tied on.

The second frame I picked up at Michael’s. I also got this one for $1 and it was just a plain wood frame.

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I initially painted this frame with 2 coats of an off-white acrylic paint. Then I decided to paint the top half light pink with acrylic paint and add paper to the bottom half using the Mod Podge again. The paper is from SU! and it’s called Petals and Paisleys. The ribbon is also SU! grosgrain in white and celery.

I will try and post a tutorial on how to make altered frames later in the week.