It’s time for another IDEAS blog hop where this month our theme is “holidays”. While we’ve just celebrated Canada Day here, I wanted to look towards the end of the year. Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday for crafting projects, and I suspect for many others too. So for my Tutorial Bundle projects I decided to use my go to paper right now, Lights Aglow and the Very Best Occasions Bundle. Meanwhile for my blog followers I used these products to create a striking “love you mean it” gift tag.

LAYERED LABELS

When I began this tag I was actually just playing with the Painted Labels Dies. I’ve had these since they were first released by Stampin’ Up! but haven’t used them in a while. So as I hate not getting the maximum from my crafting supplies I was simply looking for other things I could do with them. Then it occurred to me I could simply layer the label pieces on top of each other!

I started with the larger of the two label-style dies and cut that from a piece of Basic Black Card. Next I found a 3/4″ x 2-1/4″ strip of Gold Foil Sheet and used the die to trim it down to the same width as the black piece. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I mounted the gold strip onto black layer.

Before going any further I needed to add a slot at the top to turn this label into a tag. For that I turned to the Very Best Trio Punch. After marking the centre of the label on the back with a pencil I then punched out the slot.

While erasing the pencil mark I realised that black wasn’t ideal for writing on the tag. So I cut out some Basic White Card using the smaller of the two label dies and glued that to the back of the tag.

Finally I finished off the tag base by cutting 6″ of gold cord from the Simply Elegant Trim pack. Then I threaded it through the slot and tied it in a simple knot.

VERY BEST OCCASIONS

Now I was ready to create the top layer of the tag and for that I started with some of the gorgeous Lights Aglow 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I chose the black bokeh effect pattern covered with gold foiled stars. While this is great for Christmas I think the pattern would be perfect for lots of other occasions too.

Although the DSP is a heavier weight than regular paper I did want this layer to be a little sturdier. So using liquid glue I fixed a 1-3/4″ x 3″ piece of the DSP to a similar sized piece of Basic Black Card. Then I cut through the assembled layers with the same smaller label die I’d used for the back of the tag.

All I needed now was a sentiment from the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set. While my Tutorial Bundle projects concentrated on Christmas I wanted this tag to be a little less specific so I chose “love you…mean it”.

Using VersaMark ink I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of Basic White Card. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with gold powder from the Metallics Stampin’ Emboss Powders pack. After tapping off the excess I removed a few stray specks and then melted the rest using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Once the embossing had cooled I carefully cut around the words with my Paper Snips. Then I added some pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back and attached it to the starry label. Finally I put more Stampin’ Dimensionals onto the back of the label and fixed it to the prepared tag base. Job done.

LOTS MORE OCCASIONS

So with today’s project finished let me tell you a little more about this month’s IDEAS Tutorial Bundle. The July “Holidays” PDF contains 70 pages, featuring 26 projects from 13 different designers. There’s cards plus lots of other projects for every taste and ability using a variety of current products from Stampin’ Up! The collage below provides a little sneak peek of what’s inside. I think you’ll easily spot part of one of the two projects I contributed to this bumper bundle.

If you’d like a copy of the Tutorial Bundle for your own personal use, or even to use in your classes, there are three different ways to get it:

• Place an order via my online store for $45CAD (before shipping and taxes) using my July Host Code KV7HV76V. Make sure to allow Stampin’ Up! to share your contact details so I can e-mail the tutorial to you. If your order is over $200CAD don’t use the Host Code or you’ll miss out on Stampin’ Rewards. However, so long as I have access to your contact details I’ll still send you the PDF.
• Join Stampin’ Up! and my Crafty Canadians team, and you’ll get this IDEAS tutorial for free.
• Buy the tutorial. Contact me at tutorials@papercraftwithme.com for more information.

Once you’ve received the bundle, please remember not to share or distribute printed or electronic copies of the tutorials. We’ve worked hard to provide these exclusive projects for your personal use. If you know someone who would like to purchase the tutorial bundle, please direct them to me to obtain their own copy. Thank you for your support.

So that’s it from me for today, but please visit Sara Rayner on the next leg of the blog hop by clicking on the ‘NEXT’ button below.

PRODUCT LIST

In the table below you will find links to all the products used to make the card shown here on my blog today. A complete list of products used on the projects I created for the Tutorial Bundle is included in that PDF.

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set in a bundle with the Very Best Trio Punch . Buying these two items using the single ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option.