Friday Favorites ~ Howl-o-Ween Treat

It's FRIDAY!! Oh, and the day before Halloween, which means lots of candy and treats ~ oh my! I like to give a little something to the teachers each holiday. This year for Halloween I found these adorable "mummy" candy bowls at Target and thought it would be cute to put some Fall-colored candies in them and wrap them up with a fun tag attached.

Here's an up close picture of the tag. I created the tag using Happy Haunting DSP and the Triple Banner Punch. I pulled out my FAVORITE stamp set (at the moment) called Howl-o-Ween Treat (which I won while at Convention!) and stamped the owl using Basic Black Archival Ink. I thought it would be cute to have him holding a little pumpkin treat bag, so I inked that up in Tangelo Twist and cut that out, too. The "Happy Halloween" sentiment comes from the And Many More stamp set which I cut out using my Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine and the Bitty Banner Framelits. The ribbon is retired, but for these kinds of gifts it's the perfect time to use up my retired stash! :)

Isn't this set adorable? I didn't get to use it much this year since I was lacking in my Halloween inspiration (and lacking in time), but I'll hold onto it for next year! Click HERE to see what else I created using this set!

 Head on over to the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration blog to find out what is on a few of our other designer's favorites list right now!

SS INK - happy day box

I needed a little sweet treat for a friend's birthday just to let her know I was thinking about her and it was the perfect chance to make a quick box using a simple tutorial by {the always fabulous} Julie Davison. It was just what I needed to whip together this box in a matter of minutes...and with only a 1/2 sheet of cardstock. Be sure to check out Julie's blog for the tutorial (and a video!)

Come visit Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration for more fun with BOXES!!

Tucked inside are matching pink and silver Hershey's Kisses of course!

Stamp Sets	Starburst Sayings
Ink	Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush
Paper	Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Kaleidoscope DSP
Accessories	SNAIL Adheisve, Stampin’ Dimensional, Sticky Strip, 3/8" Strawberry Slush Ruffled Ribbon
Tools	Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Starburst Framelits

"i dig you" valentines

Each year for Valentine's Day, I usually end up making handmade class valentines for more than just my own kids! Last year I had my Etsy shop open and made quite a few (83 to be exact!) of the monkey punch art toppers I had available for purchase. My punching hand sure got a work out! I was also asked by a friend last year to create some fun owl valentines for her son's class. And, then through word of mouth, I ended up making some more for her friend! My daughter and I made her valentines last year, as well. It was a fun mommy-daughter time! Although my pre-school son didn't get in on the action in making his valentines last year, I still had fun making his "Bugs & Kisses" valentines.

One of those same friends from last year asked me if I would be up for making some valentines for her Kindergarten & Preschool boys again this year! I was definitely up for it and got busy searching to see what I could come up with. I ran across quite a few inspiring things and ended up going with the retired stamp set I Dig You (which I was able to borrow from a friend!) and used the matchbook treat holder design that holds a fun size pack of M & M's. There were many different tutorials for the matchbook, but I ended up using this one by Melissa Stout, The Stamp Doc. She even has a video tutorial! One of the best things about this treat holder is that you can make 4 treat holders out of ONE SHEET OF CARDSTOCK! You can visit her blog for all of the measurements.

You can't really tell here, but underneath the sentiment "i dig you", you will see a staple. This is what holds the M & M's packet in and then you tuck the cardstock in the front to stay secured.

I used my Stampin' Markers (Daffodil Delight and Basic Black) to color in the dump truck (yes...all 40 of them!) and then the Small Heart Punch was used to punch the three hearts out of Red Glimmer Paper that are tucked in the truck. To get the hearts "inside" the back of the truck, I took my Paper Snips and made a slit to tuck them in, adhering with Snail Adhesive.

All 40 valentines ready to be hand delivered by two cute boys!

If you'd like to see other fun Valentine's Day ideas, visit more HERE.

SS INKspiration - Halloween Hello Treat Bag

Today on Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration the designers are sharing some of our Halloween cards and projects we have been busy working on as this fun holiday quickly approaches! I don't often send out Halloween cards, but I definitely give out treats!! And, I couldn't resist these ghost peeps I spotted at the store and wanted to created a quick and fun little treat to hand out to give a little "Halloween Hello".

My Halloween treat bag features some fun elements.

• The little pocket is made out of a 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 piece of white vellum paper folded in half and adhered together with Sticky Strip on both sides. 
• The vellum pocket is glittered with polka dots using Versamark and a sponge dauber, sprinkled with Heat & Stick Powder and then orange glitter. I love sparkle!
• Tucked inside the pocket is a flat card with a little Halloween Hello sentiment and attached with glue dots are two "spooky" marshmallow ghosts in a cello bag.

Simple and fun!

Stamp Sets	Halloween Hello (wood #131718 / $18.95, clear #131721 / $14.95), Tags 4 You (wood #131820 / $19.95, clear #131823 / $15.95)
Ink	Pumpkin Pie Ink Pad (#126945 / $5.95), Pumpkin Pie Marker (#105115 / $3.50), Versamark Pad (#102283 / $7.50)
Paper	Basic Black (#121045/ $6.95), Whisper White (#100730 / $8.50), White Vellum (#101856 / $6.50), Witches’ Brew DSP (#132185 / $10.95)
Accessories	SNAIL Adheisve (#104332 / $6.95), Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430 / $3.95), Sticky Strip (#104294 / $6.95), Heat & Stick Powder (#100625 / $4.50), Orange Glitter (#132206 / $7.95), 4”x6” Cellophane Bags (#102757), Sponge Dauber (#102892 / $10.95 for 12)
Tools	Label Bracket Punch (#132153 / $15.95), 1” Circle Punch (#119868 / $12.95), 1-1/4” Scallop Circle Punch (#127811 / $15.95), Heat Tool (#129053 / $29.95)

*to order any of the supplies you see above, visit heidiboos.stampinup.net

Come visit us by clicking on the picture below to see more Halloween ideas!

SS INKspiration - Friday Favorites (Halloween Treat Box)

Yippee!! It’s Friday Favorites over at Stylin’ Stampin’INKspiration and I am so excited to share with you some of my FAVORITE products right now!

I am loving the Decorative Window Gift Boxes that are in the Holiday Catalog (p. 36 / #132146, $4.95 for 6 boxes). There are so many fun things you can do with them and they are the perfect finishing touch for a special gift that can be tucked inside! (Another example of this box I decorated was the Butterfly Gift Box that holds a gift of 3x3 cards and envelopes.) I am also showcasing another favorite today...GLITTER!! Who doesn't love a little extra sparkle on your project?

Since Halloween is just around the corner and I love giving out sweet treats, I thought it would be the perfect chance to spruce up one of these boxes for Halloween creating something perfect for boxing up goodies. I filled this box with Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses, but I think other homemade goodies would look fun peeking through the "window" like decorated sugar cookies or yogurt covered pretzels drizzled with orange and black. The ideas are endless!

To create a Halloween Treat Box of your own, you will need:

 1 Decorative Window Gift Box

4 pieces of Witches' Brew DSP (1 3/8" x 3 7/8")

1 Basic Black square (3 7/8" x 3 7/8")

Approx. 28 inches Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

I used the Circle Framelits and created a hole in the middle of the square (I just eye-balled it as best I could to make it centered).

Adhere this to the top of the box. I used SNAIL adhesive for this step.

Adhere are all four pieces of DSP to each side of the box.

Now, here comes the fun part ~ GLITTER!!

To make the "glitter ring" that goes around the window, I used my Circle Framelits and a scrap piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock to create a ring. Again, I just eye-balled it as best I could.

This is what it will look like once you have it cut out.

To add glitter, press it down onto the Versamark covering the entire ring.

Sprinkle Heat & Stick Powder all over it.

Heat set it using the Heat Tool. It will turn shiny and the white powder will disappear.

 Douse it in orange glitter and then heat set it one more time for the glitter to stick.

I used SNAIL adhesive around the edge of the window and adhered the glitter circle to the top.

 I finished it off with a simple "Trick or Treat" from the Tags 4 You stamp set. I left off the spiders on this image by coloring the stamp with Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie markers.

Complete your box by tying a bow around it. Now you have yourself a cute little box to give someone on Halloween filled with treats!

Please do not hesitate to leave a question in the comments if you need clarification on something you see here! If you would like to order any of the products above, you can visit my website at heidiboos.stampinup.net and click on SHOP NOW! 

 

I hope you'll come by to visit Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration and see what other favorites some of our designers are enjoying these days!! 

Have a great weekend! My son celebrates turning SIX on Saturday, so we'll be having lots of fun partying with friends and family over the weekend. See you on Monday!

happy easter!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your family & friends!!

Sorry I have been MIA...
I hope to be back soon with many inspiring ideas to share!

you're the sprinkles to my cupcake

I hope everyone had a fun Valentine's Day with your loved ones! I shared my son's class valentines earlier this week, but I didn't have the chance to share my daughter's until now, but I figure even if it's after Valentine's Day I can still share, right?

Last Valentine's Day (or was it the one before?) I purchased these awesome sprinkles at Target in hopes that I would create a stamping class that would use them. Well, all good ideas don't always come to fruition, so for the last year+ they have been taking up space in my craft closet. When I was thinking of ideas that Mikayla could do for her class valentines I came across all 35 jars of sprinkles (yes, I bought 7 packages!!) Mikayla has 25 classmates, so this was going to perfect!

Next, was to come up with a cute little saying to go with the sprinkles. My mom and I brainstormed a bit together and I chose... "You're the sprinkles to my cupcake." I created a document in Word and printed out a page full using red ink. Then I die cut them into tags using one of the Apothecary Framelits. And all it needed after that was a stamp!

 My daughter was a part of the process with me...she loves to craft just like her momma!! We chose to make the cupcake (from the Sale-A-Bration set "Patterned Occasions") all different colors using markers. She wanted me to do that part!

 And, she helped with the stamping.

 After they were all stamped, I trimmed the bottom of each of them.

 She signed her name on the back of all 25 tags.

 She put all of the jars of sprinkles in baggies and then I tied on the tags.

 You're the sprinkles to my cupcake!

Happy Valentine's Day!

bugs and kisses on valentine's day!

I am sooooooo excited for my son's class valentines this year. I think I have one more year to be "cutesie" before he starts to get a real opinion (he's in pre-school, Jr. K). I saw this idea on Pinterest where you attach a plastic bug to a paper jar cut out and it was so cute! I looked high and low (well, honestly I probably could have looked a little harder) until I realized that there weren't any plastic bugs I thought were cute enough. Really?! Can plastic bugs even be cute??

Anyway, I knew I still wanted to go with the bug in a jar theme because Austin LOVES bugs (mostly plastic ones) and I figured it was still boy enough. I wanted to try to go the Stampin' Up! route as much as I could, so I pulled out the little jar from the Perfectly Preserved stamp set (and the coordinating framelit from the Cannery framelits) and started brainstorming. Then, one day browsing my favorite blogs, I saw this post on Becky Roberts' blog where she shared that the little jar fits perfectly inside the pretzel bags...and it all suddenly came together!

I called up my mom because I knew she had the retired Bugs & Kisses stamp set and once I had the set in my hands, I got to work and this is what came together...

 

The jar was actually a little bit smaller than what I first envisioned so the only bugs from the set that truly fit inside was the ladybug or the ant. And, since I was going for "love bugs" I opted for the red ladybug. To show you how small these came out to be, I put it next to a regular size pack of Tic Tacs to compare. Teeny tiny, but so cute!

 

Don't you just adore this sentiment ~ bugs and kisses!! Love it! I topped it off with a bow using retired 1/4" Real Red grosgrain...gotta use up that retired stuff sometime!

Now, since I had the "bug" part, I needed the "kisses" part, so behind the jar are chocolate kisses!!

Oh me oh my I just love when an idea comes to life!!

Just two days left to get those valentines completed!! My daughter's class valentines are up next. She's at the age where she is part of the process, so we'll be working on these together...stay tuned!

monkey & owl toppers for valentine's day!

I have been busy punching out monkey faces and owls over the last couple of weeks! I was so excited to get a couple of Etsy orders for my monkey class valentines I had made for my son's class last year. On top of those two online orders, I also had two friends who wanted these for their kids. Overall, I punched out and inked the edges of 83 monkey faces! Whew...my punching hand got a work out to say the least! *wink*

One of the gals who ordered through Etsy wanted me to make these same valentines, but in pink and suggested adding a heart onto the ear. I went along with her vision and came up with another option that I ended up really loving...and so did she! Super cute for any little girl who loves pink!! (My original design was in red as seen HERE.) These are great little toppers for a baggie filled with banana flavored runts or banana flavored Laffy Taffy. So fun!

30 out of 83 monkey toppers...

...all packaged and ready to ship! 

I also had a friend who asked if I might have an idea for a treat topper to go along with the theme of owls for her son's preschool class. And, of course, I grabbed my owl punch and started punching away...

 I added a 1-3/4" circle and 2-3/8" scallop circle behind the owl.

 

 And then attached a banner tag with the message...

"Owl be your friend forever."

 

 These will be toppers for a skinny bag filled with treats!

 

 I also wanted to see what it would like using a top note topper attached to a baggie filled with even more goodies. I think they are both adorable!!

 

 

 Now it's onto making my OWN children's class valentines!

Have a great weekend, Stampers! Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or just to say hello!