Bag to Tag

Hello! This season can be fast-paced and stressful so I hope you'll find a little pocket of "me" time.

"Me" time for me is crafting. This is what I'm crafting with today:

Have you seen the Whole Foods paper bags? It's decorated with snowflakes!

In the past, I've used this kind of paper bag to make a lot of holiday-related things. Let's keep with tradition, shall we? 

In a most drastic move, I cut up the paper bag to make these gift tags:

I cut around the snowflakes, glued these onto cardboard to make them sturdier and will allow me write a note at the back. I made a hole with a craft punch and tied on some twine. Then I added embellishments using craft stamps and an ink pad. 

Glitter glue outlining the snowflake for a sparkly finish.

A small puddle of glue and a sprinkling of glitter.

Maybe even some calligraphy and festive words.

Paper bag to gift tags...TADA!

More Gift Tags

Hey, hey, Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday, I told you about my new toy, a gift tag stamp kit.

I made more gift tags, this time switching out the red ink pad to black. But here's a little secret:

If you flip the gift tags, you'll see that they are made of old boxes! Blah to TADA!, baby! A little recycling, even during the holidays, hurts no one, right?

Here's a holiday tip: once presents are wrapped, segregate these into paper bags {left over from shopping}. Assign a paper bag to a family or group of friends you're scheduled to see this season. To avoid confusion, add a label to each bag secured with double-sided tape. This is how I made good use of my recycled cardboard tags! 

Leave the bags under your tree or line them up in your foyer. Just before your party, pick-up the bag you need and you're ready to go. No scrambling involved. TADA!

Hand-stamped Gift Tags

Today, a craft that will appear on the presents I'm giving away this holiday. But first, a little bit of show and tell:

I got myself this stamp activity kit. I think it's a good investment because I can use it all year round, for anyone I know, and for every occasion possible.

Inside, there's an ink pad, a wood-mounted rubber stamp, a few blank tags, and a pencil.

What I love about it is I can use it to turn cardboard that's bound for the trash from blah to TADA!

Just ink, stamp and cut.

And I even made use of ribbon remnants to dress up my gift tags. TADA!

Christmas Countdown

Happy Monday, friends!

Remember this chalkboard upcycled from the backing of a broken picture frame? This is how I'm turning it from blah to TADA! for the holidays: 

I'm using it to count the days before Christmas! Simply change the number every morning to get the whole family excited. TADA!

Group Effort

I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving packed with funny stories and full bellies!

Let me conclude my week with a final "gratitude collage" that I put together with an autumn leaf, watercolor, and a little imagination.

I call this, "Hooray Team!" because I am thankful for collaboration, cooperation, and teamwork. I think it's TADA! when everyone gets along and a project turns out superbly because of collected efforts.

And with that, I wish you all a fantastic {shopping} weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving in the U.S. today! 

I wish you and all you love a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!

Friends-giving

I have a little project called "Gratitude Collage" that I'm doing all this week. 

I figured it's a good way to preserve the beauty of fall and to count my blessings.

I just gathered some leaves, pressed them in between scrap paper and books to flatten them. Then I glued them on paper, then enhanced with watercolor. Here's what I made today:

"Girls in Fancy Dresses" is what I've named this collage. 

These are what I'm thankful for: 

• Friends that I can always lean on, the ones who are supportive, understanding, and even if we haven't spoken in a while, we'll always pick up when we left off
• Occasions to get primped and pretty
• For that little extra cash for a dress or shoes, because many times, "I have nothing to wear!"  
• Reasons to celebrate
• Lovely memories of parties past