Christmas Bag Toppers using MDS

This year I have been helping at the boys Primary School to make craft items for the Christmas Stall and the Twilight Markets.  It started off a small affair with a couple of eager ladies coming along to help and get crafty.  It has turned in to a full on production line and was beginning to get a little out of hand.  It soon became clear that we were not going to be able to make enough items for the stalls by making everything by hand.  Then I remembered we have MDS.   What a wonderful tool.  I was able to design bag toppers and then simply have them printed onto card stock and then cut out using dies with out Big Shot.  So much easier and quicker than the traditional way.

Here you can see I've Lined up the card stock and cut out the label using one of our framelits.  So easy using the Magnetic Platform as well to hold it all in place.

When designing the label I made a template the size of a quarter of a sheet of A4 knowing that I would be printing 4 to a page.  I then went about choosing background papers and fonts then finally the stamp image.  I had so much fun choosing all the elements.  Lots of fiddling but I'm really getting the hang of it now.

We also wanted to make these tubes of jellybeans.  The bag toppers were again used making MDS.  I started with a blank A4 template and then added the scallop punch to the page.  I then added the circle punch and centred it ontop of the scallop punch.  Then I added a matt to the circle and made it thicker to look like a second circle.   I then chose an image from the Jolly Bingo Bits and coloured it in.  That was FUN.  If it didn't like it I just stared again.  Once i had designed my topper I copied it and pasted it on the same page.  Changed the colours and image and then copied it again.  Once I had 4 images I centred them across the top of the page and spaced them evenly.  I then copied the 4 images and pasted them down the page until the page was full.   I also made sure when printing them that the image was printing at 100% so that the scallop punch would cut precisely.  Unfortunately, a friend printed these for me and I think she printed them at 97% as they were slightly smaller but they still look good.  So much easier than making them individually by hand - especially when we had 100 to make.

We also made some Elf Legs.  I designed the pants using MDS so it was quicker to get 60 made.  I added stitching and pockets using a Tag Punch shape.  Adding a bit of shadow also creates depth and makes them look very professional.  Then I printed 4 to a page and cut them out using the Top Note Die.

A few of our children saw us making these during their lunch break at school and all wanted one.  I think these will be a hit.  Maybe we should have made more than 60.   There's always next year.

You can simply download a 30 day trial version of MDS for yourself to have a play with it.  WARNING - its totally addictive and very easy to use.  The programme is only $24.95 and comes with heaps of content ready for you to start playing.

Visit my shop to download MDS today and any of the other products I've mentioned for that matter.  Products get sent straight to your door (for Australian residents only).

Festive Flurry Gift Set

Last night I had another card class and we made this lovely little set using the Festive Flurry Stamp Set and Dies together with an assortment of punches glitter paper  and the new Envelope Punch Board.

The Card is made using just the one piece of card stock with a false back behind the cutout circle.  I stamped the large snowflake first and then using the 2 1/2" circle punch I cut the centre of it out but didn't throw it away.  Then I used the small Festive Flurry Framelit Die to cut out the small snowflake shape that was left in the centre.  (not the same as the small snowflake stamp mind you).

Then you use the 3/4" circle punch to cut out the centre of the small snowflake.   I used the 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out a champagne glitter circle and the 1" circle punch to cut the centre of that circle out.  No wasted pieces in this card.

Once you have all your pieces you can start layering them staring with the large gold circle stuck flat to the false backing piece then I stuck the next gold circle to the snowflake before mounting the snowflake to the bottom circle using two dimensionals stuck on top of each other.  Finally added the small snowflake circle to the top with one dimensional and added a rhinestone.

The box was made using the Envelope Punch Board.  I started with a  card base of 21 x 21 cm (8x8") and used the scoring line at 2 3/8".   I added a length of Burlap ribbon around the box, tied some silver ribbon around that and made a large bow on top.  Once it was tied I cut the loops to make three lengths of ribbon fall either side of the box.  I made a second snow flake much like the one on the card but added another snowflake layer behind the large gold circle.  I also used the smallest snowflake and cut the centre of it out for the top circle.

Here is a quick overview of the Envelope punch board that you can buy through my shop and have shipped to your door anywhere in Australia.  Remember it makes much more than just envelopes.

I think they came together really nicely and all the ladies were very happy with their creations.

Santa's List

Santa was definitely a challenge for me.  It took a while for me to like him.  Then I had a play around with him and came up with this.  I stamped him in Soft Suede onto watercolour paper and then coloured him in with a water pen using Cherry Cobbler Ink.  I then just used the water pen to smudge the Soft Suede ink on his List and on the shadows of his gloves and face.  I then used the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write marker to make the shadows even darker.  The larger circle is Baked Brown Sugar ended with the Gold Metalic Ink Pad and then the smaller circle is edged the same.  A second layer of Cherry Cobbler card stock was run through the Big Shot using the Decorative Stripes Embossing Folder.  I made a bow using the thick Cherry Cobbler Grossgrain ribbon and embossed the sentiment using gold embossing powder.

He looks rather Jolly I think.