With the storm fast approaching and lots to do here at home my blog post will be short but sweet. And when I say sweet, I think the #Elfie Stamp Set really fits the bill. Today I decided to show you a Christmas bag that I decorated for one of my recent papercraft classes. I loved the image and the “Santa’s Workshop” sentiment seemed just the thing for everyone to take their creations home in.

ELFIE’S ENVIRONMENT

I began with a piece of Whisper White Card and used Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the Santa’s workshop image. Next I stamped the image onto a Full-Adhesive Post-It® Note and cut it out with Paper Snips to create a mask. I placed the mask over the image on the Whisper White piece so I could sponge the scene.

Instead of having a flat colour on the background I used the torn edge of some scrap paper to add shadows. First with some Stampin’ Sponge and Smoky Slate ink I created very subtle snowbanks around Elfie. Then I used the torn paper mask to create ‘clouds’ using Seaside Spray ink. Once that was done I removed the Post-It Note mask.

COLOURFUL ELFIE

Elfie was really simple to colour using Stampin’ Blends. For his clothes I chose the light and dark Poppy Parade and Shaded Spruce combos, while for his shoes I used the Crumb Cake combo. For Elfie’s hair I chose the Mango Melody combo with the Petal Pink combo for his skin.

To keep everything consistent I went back to the Poppy Parade and Mango Melody combos to colour the pole. Finally on the Santa’s Workshop sign I coloured the corners with light Crumb Cake then went over the whole sign with the Ivory marker.

CHRISTMAS BAG

Instead of making my own bag for my class attendees I grabbed some 8″ x 10-1/4″ kraft bags from Walmart. I like these because they’re quite strong and the neutral background created a great contrast for the panel on my Christmas bag.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I glued the Elfie panel to a piece of Real Red Card, then fixed it to the front of the bag.

Finally I tied a bow using the new Real Red 1/8″ Curly Ribbon and added it to the panel with some Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then I decided to unravel the ribbon to create a fun effect with the loose ends. To complete the piece I fixed some small Pearl Basic Jewels to Elfie’s shoes.

I was really happy with how this Christmas bag came together. I needed to make one for each person attending my my first Holiday Catalogue class and this was surprisingly quick to do. By the end of the class they each left with a Christmas bag full of completed projects and a smile on their face. What a great way to kick off my next round of classes.

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