Homemade Holiday Gifts & Tags

It's the last Group Post Day for the October Papertrey Ink Releaes. And boy oh boy, do I have stuff to show you! I've got several new products coming out this month and we're featuring a bunch today. Not only that, Nichole has an awesome new line of items intended to pretty up your Ball Jar gifts. It's a gift giving extravaganza! Let's get going.

First up, is a pint jar full of deliciously creamy peppermint cream cheese mints. This is my first time making a recipe like this and I found it to be easy and fun. The final product? So very yummy. My kids adore these. I put them all in a pint sized Ball jar, all prettied up with all these fabulous new products.

I found that I could make a paper jar seal (the real metal one is under neath) for the pint jar using the Limitless Layers 2.5" Circle Dies. It has be die cut with the new Cross Stitched Alphabet and handsewn with floss. Such a homespun look! I monogrammed it with our family initial, because let's be honest, it is my kids who are going to be gobbling these lovelies up. A felt candy cane from Seasonal Stitches: Candy Cane hangs off the jar lid as well. I doubled up the Vintage Cream Felt for some thickness and opted to add my color with red floss. Down below you'll see how I used the stripe layers to add color to this candy cane in another way.

I die cut the Folded Foodie die and embossed it in white with the coordinating stamp from Canned. The "Homemade" is from Canned as well. The word "candy" is from an older set called "Just For You" and I found it to be the perfect compliment to this set. Lots of options. A heart from the Love Lives Here Collection adds a little touch of love to the tag.

I had a neat discovery while working with this project...the Jar Bonnet Dies can be used to cut two layers of tissue paper that will fit nicely and easily under the jar collar. This way you can get that ruffled look and still have fun decorating the jar top.:) And seriously...I just love being able to work with red glitter polka dot tissue paper. Who wouldn't? (I found it at Hobby Lobby if you want to get it yourself.)

I'm seeing lots of jarred gifts being given this holiday season, how about you?:)

Moving on, we've got the new Vintage Favor Box and Just a Little Something Stamp Set + Dies to feature. I've been referencing it all week and have used the stamp set on a few cards on Day 2 of the countdown. Now it is time to see it all in action. The stamp and dies are designed to work together to make a windowed treat box that is fully decorated.

The Vintage Favor Box has the option of becoming completely sealed up when assembled with an optional zipper die to create a way in. Here, I placed the zipper on the back of my box.



Curious how this all works? I've made a how-to video for you. Just click play to learn the details. And several more Vintage Favor Box/Just a Little Something combinations below.

With Halloween on the horizon, I wanted to make a spooky fun Vintage Favor Box to celebrate the holiday and inspire you if you get this in the mail before the big day. I opted NOT to put in a window, but instead used other stamps in the Just a Little Something stamp set to decorate the front of the box a different way. The ghost is from Polka Dot Parade #8.

I pulled one of my long time favorites from my collection, Spooky Sweets II, and used a sentiment to decorate the sides of the box. The sentiment across the banner is from Spooky Sweets also.

Next, I wanted to show you a card/box combination for gift giving. I used the Just a Little Something stamp set to decorate both the box and the card.

As you can see, this stamp set is very versatile and works well beyond the companion Vintage Favor Box. Look how well that seal works from Just a Little Something on the Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Dies. I love to make things coordinate with as many products as possible. Other items here include Note Niblets, Stitched Rectangle Dies, and Women of Life.

Here's the Vintage Favor Box with all the same elements from the card. The only change I made here was I used a sentiment from It's a Banner Day. All four sentiments included in that set fit this banner nicely.

Not only does Just a Little Something decorate the front of the Vintage Favor Box, but the sides as well with a matching curly frame rectangle stamp. Also included in Just a Little Something are four mini sentiments that can be stamped on the sides within the frame. If you look at the above card, you have a really good look at the rectangle stamp and the little sentiment that says "because I love you". A nice touch.

One last offering for the Vintage Favor Box. Here I opted to cut the top flaps and leave it open at the top. The front is decorated with apples from Back to School and a dotted "x" from Stitched With Love.

I've got to tell you about these homemade caramels. My eyes are rolling back in my head out of bliss when I think of how they taste. They are Apple Cider Caramels and I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. AMAZING. Lots of depth and complex flavor. I will be making these every year. Just a note, I halved the salt in the recipe and I felt the end result turned out fine. More than fine.As in, I-don't-want-to-do-anything-else-but-chew-on-these-caramels-all-day-long-FINE. So there you go...don't need that extra sodium.

Moving on, we've got the new Stitched Tag Collection and new Seasonal Stitches for winter.The Stitched Tag is perfect to hold a gift card and would look great hanging on a tree or trimming a present. Make them once, reuse them a lot. They are a gift all by themselves. Your recipient can reuse them next year too:).

Here we've got the Seasonal Stitches: Holly decorating the Stitched Tag. You have two options for the berry. It can be a flat circular berry (depending on your project this might be a perfect option for you), or you can use the pinwheel berry to make this 3D berry by stitching and gathering the petals.

Stitched Holiday Words were used to add "Joy" to this tag. Love how that looks.

Here's another Stitched Tag for you using the Seasonal Stitches: Candy Cane dies. I used the layered option (the jar above, I chose to add the stripes with floss) on this project. Nice to have different ways of using it depending on the project.

One last tag. This one uses my new Cross Stitched Alphabet Dies and the coordinating stamp set, Cross Stitched. There is a large pattern block included in the stamp set. I spaced it in such a way that you can do this. First I die cut my letter. Then I stamped my large pattern, making sure to line up the "x's" with the holes created with my die. And lastly, I stitched the letter with floss. So you have this ink/floss combo. Pretty neat, huh?

Also included in Cross Stitch is single, double, triple, and quadruple stitches so you can easily stitch your Cross Stitch Alphabet Dies with ink instead of floss for a super quick project that still has that homespun look.

One last project for you using the Seasonal Stitches: Holly and Cross Stitched Alphabet Dies. I love hoop art and thought I'd take a stab at it for a holiday decoration. This is a 10" embroidery hoop. I bet you are wondering how I got the holes-only dies of the Cross Stitched Alphabet to work here. I've got a tip for you...

....I made myself a pattern using the Cross Stitched Alphabet Dies and vellum. They make Vanishing Ink Pens that fade away either with time, water, or an iron so you can mark your fabric through the holes created with stitching dies onto larger projects. This way, you are not limited by the size of your cutting plates. How fabulous is that?

A word to the wise, I marked my pattern twice. Once through the holes in the pattern I created and then again to darken the holes when I removed the pattern. This really helped to make my pattern stand out.

I just found these pens on Amazon and will be ordering them right away. The black pen will work really well on patterned fabric. The ink disappears when hit by the iron. Awesome. My crafting world just expanded a bit!

Here's a close up of those letters. With stitching dies in general, the holes and stitching is all very precise thanks to the pre-cut holes. I find that you lose a little bit of that in the transfer of the pattern...and that's a GOOD THING. Charming, I would say, to have that look. It's very close to perfect, but with a rustic touch. :)

So that's A LOT to think about. :) Hope you enjoyed all the projects. Even more linked up below when you go on a bit of a blog hop with the PTI girls. All these products and more will be available tomorrow night at 10 PM EST at www.papertreyink.com.

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Danielle Flanders
Laura Bassen
Laurie Willison
Ashley Cannon Newell
Lexi Daly
Melissa Bickford


Supplies

Mint Jar
Stamps: Canned, Just For You
Dies: Jar Bonnet, Folded Foodie Die, Seasonal Stitches: Candy Cane, Cross Stitched Alphabet, Love Lives Here, Limitless Layers 2.5" Circle
Ink: Pure Poppy
Vintage Cream Felt
Soft Blush Cardstock

Granola Mix Box
Stamps: Just A Little Something
Dies: Vintage Favor Box, Just A Little Something Dies
Ocean Tides and Stamper's Select White Cardstock
Simply Chartreuse and Pinefeather Ink

Halloween Box
Stamps: Just a Little Something, Polka Dot Parade #8, Spooky Sweets II
Dies: Vintage Favor Box, Just a Little Something, Polka Dot Parade #8
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise, Stamper's Select Whie, Orange Zest
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest

Daughter Gift Ensemble
Stamps: Just a Little Something, Women of Life, Note Niblets, It's A Banner Day
Dies: Stitched Rectangles, Vintage Favor Box, Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle, Note Niblets, Just a Little Something
Cardstock: Limeade Ice, Melon Berry, Classic Kraft
Ink: Classic Kraft, Melon Berry Dark Chocolate

Apple Caramel Box
Stamps: Back to School, Stitched With Love
Dies: Vintage Favor Box, Back to School
Ink: New Leaf, Harvest Gold, Limeade Ice, Simply Chartreuse, Classic Kraft

Felt Tags
Dies: Stitched Tag, Seasonal Stitches: Holly, Seasonal Stitches: Candy Cane, Stitched Holiday Words
Felt: Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, Limeade Ice, Vintage Cream
Ribbon: Aqua Mist Satin, Hibiscus Burst Grosgrain

H Monogrammed Tag
Stamps: Cross Stitched
Dies: Cross Stitched Alphabet, Tag Sale #5
Ink: New Leaf
Red Floss

Holly Jolly Hoop
Dies: Cross Stitched Alphaet, Seasonal Stitches: Holly
Felt: Pure Poppy, Limeade Ice, Simply Chartreuse