Hey you Crazy Women!
I finally took some time for myself, got down in my craft room, and got creative. You all know how much I love doing gift bags and I was trying to figure out a fun bag for our annual Halloween Party. I had purchased the Stampin' Up Letterpress Plate 'Trick or Treat" (#120980 retail $7.95), but wasn't sure what to do with it. I loved the sample card in the Mini Catalog and even did a fun version of that for a stamp class I recently had but I wanted to use it in more project. Viola! the gift bag was born and it is super easy to make and super fast using your Big Shot Machine.
To make the bag, I cut a piece of Naturals White (#102316 retail $7.50) to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". The best paper to use for the Letterpress plates is the SU Watercolor Paper (#105019 retail $6.95)---it holds the color the best and gives the best imprint---but, as usual, I am always missing one thing, so I went with the SU Natural White Paper. The SU Whisper White did not work for me at all---it didn't grab the ink as well and smeared more easily.
You must use craft ink when using the Letter Press, so I used Basic Black SU Craft Pad (#102192). I placed the Multiform Platfom open to tab 1 on my Big Shot. Inked up my Trick or Treat letter press and placed that on top of the platform. I then placed my cut piece of Naturals White on top of the inked letterpress, making sure that it was straight and level. Then I placed one cutting pad on top of it all.
I ran it through and Voila!, I have a cool textured Trick or Treat"
You can leave it like it is, or you can cut it down to the size you want---I cut mine down to 4"x5"
I then added the raven from the Stampin' Up 'Dark and Dreary' set (#121151 retail $14.95)to give it a bit of color. I used craft ink from my Stampin' Spots 'Brights' collection (#119718 retail $21.95) and chose the color 'Old Olive'. I also used the 1/2" Raven Lace Trim (#120988 retail $5.95) to add dimension---this is the most beautiful and versatile ribbon I have ever bought from Stampin' Up. It is GREAT for Halloween, but could really add some punch to other projects as well. I then added the Stampin' Up 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Pumpkin Pie (#119253 retail $5.95)to add some more color. The best way to adhere the ribbons to your project is using Stampin' Up Mini Glue Dots (#103683 retail $4.95)---I won't tell you how much I LOVE these dots, I think I have covered that pretty well in previous blog posts.
Then I created the background paper using Stampin' Up 'Wicked Fun' specialty paper (#117400 retail $11.95) I used the Stampin' Up Punch Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (#119275 retail $15.95) to separate the two patterns.
I added my 'Trick or Treat' to the background using Stampin' Dimensional (#104430 retail $3.95) so that it stood out and gave some dimension to the bag, then I attached the whole thing to the bag using the mini glue dots since they offer such strength in adhesive.
I made a cute little tag using another stamp from my 'Dark and Dreary' stamp set and tied it on the bag using Stampin' Up 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in 'Pumpkin Pie'( #115616 retail $9.95)
One down---14 more to go!
If you would like to purchase any of the products for this project (or any project), please visit my website at www.nancyhendel.stampinup.netand then click on 'shop now'. You order can be shipped anywhere in the United States---to your home or office---and if your order is over $150.00, you can take advantage of the hostess benefits. Don't have a mini catalog and would like one, drop me an e-mail!
Drop me a line if you have any questions www.rubberforme@gmail.com or leave me a comment---they are always appreciated.
Happy Stampin'
Nancy
