Thank You Gift in a Mini Muslin Bag

My daughter's preschool celebrates their preschool teachers a few times a year...Thanksgiving, Christmas, February, and at the end of the year.  At Thanksgiving, the Preschool Parent Association organizes a Cornucopia of Thanks.  A time for preschoolers and parents to tell the teachers how much they appreciate them in a small way.  It could be a homemade card or picture, a gift card or something off the teacher's favorites list.  One of the parent volunteers decorates the basket for the teachers and places it in the hallway for the preschoolers and parents to put their special thank you for the teachers.

Close Up of stamped images...I LOVE this look on the muslin bags!

Every year I decorate the baskets and always include a special treat from my little preschooler.  This year I decided to use the mini muslin bags from Stampin' Up! to make a special gift card holder.  The mini muslin bags made it so easy for me this year!  I stamped the Magnificent Maple stamp in the middle of the mini bag and stamped a Thanks So Much image on the bottom of the bag.  I just LOVE how the stamped images look on the mini muslin bags!  Then, I added some ribbon to the mini bag's pull and placed a tag through the ribbon as well.  Finally, I added a Starbucks gift card to each Thank You bag since both teachers like coffee.  What an easy and simple way to dress up a gift card this holiday season!

Ingredients

·         Stamps:

o   Magnificent Maple

o   Oh, Hello - "Thanks So Much" greeting only

·         Ink:

o   Calypso Coral

o   Early Espresso

·         Tools and Accessories:

o   3/4" Chevron Calypso Coral Ribbon

o   Mini Muslin Bags

Burlap and Maple Leaves Card

Once I got started with the Magnificent Maple stamp set, I couldn’t stop creating.  Fall is my favorite time of year so to create cards with different color combinations using the maple leaf stamp made me a happy girl.  For this card, I decided to use the color combination of Crushed Curry, Midnight Muse, Old Olive and Raspberry Ripple.  Even though there are no blue maple leaves, Midnight Muse added just the right contrast for this card.  That is one of the things I love about paper crafting…You can create things that may not be reality but looks so good together on paper.

Close up of frayed burlap edges before greeting is attached

I decided to add the 1 ¼” Burlap Ribbon the length of the card and fray the edges of the burlap ribbon to give it a worn look.  This was so easy to do.  All you have to do is pull a piece of string on the edge you cut from the ribbon.  It will start to fray a bit and look worn.  If you don’t think it looks frayed enough, you just keep pulling a piece of string off the end of the ribbon.  Add your greeting with a few punches in contrasting color card stock and you’re done!

Close up of greeting and punches on top of burlap ribbon

Ingredients

·         Stamps:

o    Magnificent Maple

o   Four You

·         Paper:

o   Very Vanilla 4” x 5 ¼” and scraps for punch

o   Midnight Muse card stock 4 ½” x 11” (scored at 5 ½”) and scraps for punch

o   Raspberry Ripple scraps for punch

·         Ink:

o   Crushed Curry

o   Midnight Muse

o   Old Olive

o   Raspberry Ripple

·         Tools and Accessories:

o   1 ¼” Burlap Ribbon

o   Artisan Label Punch

o   Small Oval Punch

o   Stampin’ Dimensionals

A Magnificent Time of Year

I LOVE fall!  It is a magnificent time of year.  The leaves are changing colors, the weather begins to get cooler and we are able to remember the many things we are thankful for during the year.

The Magnificent Maple stamp is a great example of this time of year.  It can be used in many ways...as a background stamp, as a focal point on a card or as an addition to a gift tag or bookmark.  I decided to CASE a Thank You card by Jill Coleman.  To visit her card, please click here.  The first card is a CASE of her card with a different Thank You stamp set.  The second card is what I thought my Club members would enjoy as a Thank You card, a fall birthday card or a Thanksgiving card with a change in colors, arrangements of the maple leaves, ribbon and the Thank You greeting moved to the top of the card.  I had so much fun creating these cards and playing with new color combinations.  Give it a try for yourself!

CASE card with a different Thank You stamp set

New Magnificent Maple card with a change in placement of the leaves, ribbon, greeting and new color combo

Close up of greeting at the top of the card

Close up of Gorgeous Grunge on maple leaves

Close up of color combo - Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry

Ingredients:

• Stamps:
• Gorgeous Grunge
• Lots of Thanks
• Magnificent Maple
• Paper:
  • Very Vanilla card stock (both cards)- 3 7/8" x 5"
  • Crumb Cake card stock (card #2) or Early Espresso (card #1) - 4" x 5 1/4"
  •  Rich Razzleberry card stock (card #2) or Pool Party (card #1) - 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2"
• Ink:
  • Bermuda Bay
  • Crumb Cake
  • Crushed Curry
  • Early Espresso
  • Rich Razzleberry
• Tools and Accessories:
  • 7/16" Natural Trim (card #1)
  • 1/8" Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon (card #2)
  • Stampin' Dimensionals

Paper Doily Card

I decided to use a paper doily as the focal point for stamping.  I usually use a paper doily as a layer on my cards and projects but decided to try something new.  I love how it turned out!

The Afternoon Picnic DSP allowed me to chose the color combination quickly.  The Creative Elements stamp set gave me great detailed images to use on the paper doily.  Adding the butterfly from Papillion Potpourri in Coastal Cabana and popping it up with a dimensional gave the card just the right "pop" in color against the DSP background layer.  All I had left to do was add a quick greeting in Wisteria Wonder to tie in all the colors from the DSP.  I will definitely be stamping onto the paper doilies and using them as a focal point more often.

Close up of paper doily as a focal point of card

Ingredients:

• Stamp Sets: 
• Creative Elements
• Label Love
• Papillion Potpourri

• Paper:
  • Very Vanilla (4 1/4" x 11"; scored at 5 1/2") and scraps for Artisan Label
  • Afternoon Picnic DSP (4" x 5 1/4")
• Ink:
  • Coastal Cabana
  • Daffodil Delight
  • Pear Pizzazz
  • Wisteria Wonder
• Tools and Accessories:
  • Paper Doilies
  • Artisan Label punch
  • Bitty Butterfly punch