Easy Gift Giving

I thought I'd show you what my daughter made to hand out as valentines this year.  Cute, huh?

These little bookmarks were so simple to make.  We used the Two Tags Bigz Die and my Big Shot to cut out the bookmarks in Pretty in Pink, then she punched out some scallop circles, using up some of my retired Designer Series Paper.  On top of that was a single sparkly red heart, cut with the littlest heart in the Hearts Collection Framlets and some red glimmer paper.  We finished them off with some retired pink ribbon.  They were a piece of cake for a child to mass-produce.  Oh, and on the back she stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" and signed her name.  So easy, and so cute.

Remember how I mentioned that Valentine's Day is practically non-existent in my home?  Well, I did have a last minute thought to wrap up one of these DVDs that I had stashed away.  Since our whole family loves them, it wasn't just a gift for the kids.  Due to lots of food allergies, we don't do candy, so this was a good option.

I wanted to wrap it up in a cute way, but had no appropriate paper or gift bags.  What I did dig up was some kraft colored tissue paper, which is super-simple to magically turn into wrapping paper for any occasion.  This time, I grabbed a retired jumbo wheel and ran it down the front of the DVD after I had wrapped it.  You could most definitely get more elaborate with a wheel, decorating the entire sheet before wrapping.  But I wanted to keep it simple.  I grabbed some retired red ribbon and tied a simple bow.  My kids then fought over who would get to keep the ribbon. :)  They hoard craft supplies, despite my best efforts to curb this habit. (My husband recently found that they had been stashing empty toilet paper tubes under one of the bathroom sinks!)

An Apple for the Teacher

I FINALLY have a new card to share!  Better late than never, right?  Today is the first day of school for a lot of people, including us.  So in honor of the first day, I thought an apple card would be appropriate.

Not surprisingly, I used the Woodgrain embossing folder on this...I can't get enough of this folder, especially now that I have some of the Core'dinations card stock in Early Espresso.  I LOVE how this looks after lightly sanding the top layer.  In addition to the rest of my new staples, Orchard Harvest DSP and the Perfectly Preserved stamp set, I got out the Two Tags Die for my Big Shot.  The longer tag pairs so nicely with the scallop circle punch.

Our first day went reasonably well.  I love homeschooling my kids, but there are days when the drama is just. too. much.  We had a bit of that, but I've been preparing my 5th grader that this was a big year for her, and yes, the work would be harder.  I think that helped.  Hopefully it just gets better from here!

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved

Ink:  Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Early Espresso, and Lucky Limeade markers

Paper:  More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Lucky Limeade, and Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock, Orchard Harvest DSP

Accessories:  Two Tags Bigz Die, Big Shot, Scallop Circle punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Bitty Banners Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder