Polished to Perfection

JustRite Christmas Day 9 - Christmas Gift Card Holder

As the tradition of giving Gift Cards for Christmas continues to grow...Angela and I are always looking for creative ways to make giving a gift card more personal.  So here is a great gift card holder from Creative Imaginations transformed with our JustRite Stampers to a beautiful personalized gift.

For the outside of the Gift Card Holder we used the Designer Center and Border from the JustRite JB-08150 Christmas Stamp Ensemble set.  Here is a graphic that shows all the images in this great set:

Remember all the borders and centers are interchangeable and the Harmony Classic Circle III wooden stamper must be purchased separately.

Here is the view of the inside of the Gift Certificate holder: 

   

The gift certificate inserts through the top of the holder and appears in the window where the small peppermints are.  The Forever Friends designer center is only available when you purchase the New JB 08180 Pink Sonnet Stamper which comes with the expanded fonts Curlz set. The border is from the JB 07277 Monogram Stamper Large set, but will soon also be available in a new set of 10 designer Centers and Borders.

 

For both the stamp images on the inside of the card - I used Versamagic Tea Leaves and Versa Magic Red Magic and multi loaded the stamp with two colors of ink to get the variety of color in the stamped image.

What we both love about this gift certificate holder is that once the recipient uses the gift certificate, a photo can be placed where the gift certificate was and this becomes a priceless Christmas Memento.

Come Back and visit we still have 3 more days of JustRite Christmas!!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Packets for your Gingerbread Tote

These are the cute little packets I made to go inside my Gingerbread House Tote.  These make great teacher and secret santa gifts.

Supplies you will need:

Antique Green Polished Stone Paper or Green Tea Polished Stone Paper (Murdock Country Creations),Gold Leafing Pen (Krylon), Hot Cocoa Paper (Su-Lynn Industries) Christmas Trees & Baubles paper,Christmas Cheer ribbon (Creative Imaginations)Candy Cane Sticker (Jolee’s – EK Success) Red velvet bow,Pop Dots, Lettuce Adriondack Ink or Paint Dauber (Ranger) and Ziploc Bags to fit Envelope

Directions:

1. From the Antique Green polished stone paper cut a 4” x 12” strip of paper
2. From a coordinating paper cut a 4” x 12” strip of paper. Adhere to the back side of the antique green paper.
3. Score at 4 ½ “ turn paper and score at 2 ½”
4. At the short end trim the corners of your strip to form a tag like look
5. Edge the entire piece with your gold leafing pen.
6. From the cocoa food paper cut a hot cocoa mug out and place on chipboard. Trim to size.
7. From the Trees & Baubles paper cut a 4” strip of the small ornaments. Place adhesive on only the right side and left side of the strip, so that the center portion is left open. Adhere to the front of your matchbook.
8. Cut a 4” piece of Christmas Cheer ribbon and adhere directly under the ornament paper.
9. Place the hot cocoa mug on a pop dot and adhere to packet on the left side.
10. Place a candy cane on the right side.
11. Punch a hole in the top and place red velvet ribbon in hole. Tie on the inside.
12. Print the recipe for the making a cup of peppermint cocoa. Trim around the edges and distress with lettuce ink or lettuce paint dauber and mat with a slightly larger Piece of Cinnamon Stick Polished Stone Paper.
13. Tuck the recipe under the band of ornaments.
14. Place cocoa envelopes in your gingerbread tote.

To make the Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix: Use your favorite pre mixed Hot Cocoa Mix and add Peppermint Candy, crushed into fine pieces.   Use one piece of candy per tablespoon of hot cocoa. Stir until well blended and place in a ziplock bag and seal.

Place the following recipe on the front side of your Peppermint Cocoa Packet:

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

To make one serving:

2 T. Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix

3/4 cup of boiling water

Whipped cream and a candy cane

Place the cocoa mix in a mug

pour boiling water over the cocoa

Stir until mixed  and completely

dissolved.

Garnish with whipped cream and

candy cane.

This pack makes 3 to 4 servings

It was quite cold here today in Maine...we even saw our first snowflakes and I am kinda wishin' that I was sitting here sipping a cup of Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix right about now!!   See you tomorrow!!

Directions for making a Gingerbread Tote

I love making Secret Santa gifts or housewarming gifts.  This is a Gingerbread House Tote that I created using Murdock Country Creation's Gingerbreadhouse paper I love its whimsical feel.  Tomorrow I will show you the Hot Cocoa Pack Wraps that I made to go inside the tote.  Here is the view of the inside of the tote:

     Supplies you will need:

Antique Green Polished Stone Paper (Green Tea -also works), Cinnamon Stick Polished Stone Paper Gingerbread House Paper - (Murdock Country Creations), Snow Writer (Deco Art), Glamour Dust (deco Art),lime green brads (American Crafts),1” wide green grosgrain ribbon (not shown in photo- so you can see the Gingerbread House),Glue Lines (Glue Lines), and chipboard. Christmas Cheer ribbon, Christmas Cheer Tags, Trees & Baubles Paper all from Creative Imaginations. Score-it Board for scoring box.

Directions:

       1.       Cut the Antique Green polished stone paper to 8 ½ x 11”.

         2.       Score 1 ¼” in on the long side (repeat to both right and left side of paper)

         3.  Turn your paper 45 degrees and score at 4 ½” ( repeat to the left and right side of the paper) 

         4.       Cut the 4 short score lines to form the flaps for the bottom of your tote.

         5.       Place adhesive on the tabs and fold into a tote. Add adhesive where necessary.

         6.       Trim the Trees & Baubles border paper into borders and cut the tree border into two 6”      strips. Adhere one strip to front of tote and the other to the back of the tote. Add Happy Holidays tag and secure with brad.

        7.       Cut a 18” piece of Christmas Cheer ribbon and adhere around the top of tote.

        8.       Cut a 12” piece of 1” wide grosgrain ribbon for the handle and adhere a 12” strip of the  3/8”  Christmas cheer ribbon (note: this ribbon is reversible with polka dots on one side and Christmas words on the other side) to the center of the grosgrain. I recommend using Scotch Tacky Adhesive to attach the two ribbons or you can sew the ribbon in place.

9.      Adhere to sides of tote hiding edges of ribbon under Christmas cheer border on tote.

10.   From the Gingerbread House paper cut out the section of paper that is the Gingerbread House and adhere it to a 5 7/8" x 9" chipboard.  Use the leftover sky from the paper to cover the excess chipboard below the gingerbreadhouse.  Since the backside of the gingerbreadhouse will be exposed showing your chipboard cover the backside with Cinnamon Stick Polished Stone Paper.  Cut out the gingerbread house.

11.  This is a great project for using up the snow writer left inside your bottle. Use a palette knife to scoop snow out of the bottle and frost the roof of the gingerbread house as if you were frosting a cake. Next place snow on the ground in front of the house to cover where the sky paper meets the gingerbread house.  Place the cover back on the snow writer bottle and add snow to the trees, tops of windows and base. Cover the chipboard edge of the roof with snow writer as well. Sprinkle with Glamour dust and set aside to dry.

12. Now place the gingerbread man and girl from the Gingerbread House paper on chipboard and cut them out.  Place these in the snow in front of the gingerbread house.

13.   Once your Gingerbread House is dry insert it inside the tote to complete your Gingerbread House Tote.  Fill the base of the tote with white shredded paper and add Candy Canes and Peppermint Cocoa packets which I will give you directions for tomorrow.

Have fun creating these!! See you tomorrow!!