Gifts for Teachers and a Tutorial

My new favorite stamp set was completely inspired by Nichole Heady and her design team over at PaperTrey Ink.  2008 Holiday Tags is a MUST HAVE..  When I saw Nichole's boxed set of gift tags complete with ribbon, I knew right then that would be what I created for all of Adam's teachers this Christmas.  Besides needing the stamp set, I would also need the hinged tins.. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong size!!!!  And I ordered two sets of the wrong size... I ordered the ones without the clear lid and they were much smaller.  Part of the fun of this gift is being able to see the little ensemble through the lid......

Within my linen closet I have a shelf where I store my "alterable" items.  Don't you love when you just so happen to have that perfect "something" on hand when you really need it??  So many products come in such amazing packaging these days and I knew that ONE DAY I would be glad that I didn't throw out the cute little boxes that prima flowers come in. (I think they are Prima?)  Nicole was nice enough to create a template for the larger hinged tins but it was still much too large for these little boxes.  Using the same concept, I created my own little two compartment insert....  I only had 7 of the flower boxes with the clear lids so I also created inserts for the smaller Altoids type tins that I had purchased.

For the flower box:

Cut card stock to: 5 1/4" x 2 1/2" 

Score at:  1 1/2", 2 1/8" & 2 3/4"

Fold along scores to create a tent adhering the two walls of the tent together.  Glue to the bottom of the box to secure it.

Smaller hinged tins:

Cut card stock to: 5 1/8" x 2 1/4"

Score at 1 1/4", 2" & 2 3/4"

(NOTE)  In order to make this more sturdy, I highly recommend a high quality card stock. Stampin' Up! whisper white will NOT cut it.  I used PaperTrey Ink.... Now that I have been using their card stock, especially the white for my card bases, I cannot bring myself to use the SU.  Comparatively speaking, SU is not a crisp pure white.  I'm a little embarrassed by my older cards that have the more flimsy card stock as their base.  I am not being paid to endorse any of these companies or their products.  I also plan on purchasing the new white card stock from Gina K Designs hers and the PTI are both 120lb paper, whereas SU is 80lb.  Since Santa is bringing me Copic Markers for Christmas, it is my understanding that the Gina K pure white Luxury Card Stock is the best for coloring on because it is less porous than PTI............ Hope this helps.

Back to this amazing little project.

 

 Each gift set contains: 

8 peel & stick labels, 9 scalloped circle tags to be used with any of the 4 different types of ribbons that are also included.

Presentation can make even the simplest gifts more appealing don't you think??  Don't you always go for the most beautifully wrapped gift at those office gift exchanges??

I started with a plain glassine bag and stamped snowflakes in a craft white ink to both sides.  I heat set it a few seconds to keep from smearing the images.  I used the large purple Marvy Uchida scallop circle punch to create the red tag that I folded in half to make the bag more sturdy and to keep it from ripping when I tied the ribbon.  The little gift tags turned out super cute and coordinate with the entire ensemble.

The card is  2 1/2 " x  2 1/2".  The front and back of each card has a piece of patterned paper with rounded corners.  I stamped the snowflake image, adhered it to a scalloped circle then mounted it using foam squares, added a little bling to the center, punched a hole and tied it to the ribbon using hemp.

I completed 7 of these gift sets, complete with packaging in one afternoon....... I am so happy with the way that they turned out and I truly hope that they are a gift that each one of them will actually use.  If any of Adam's teachers read this, I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful jobs that you are doing.  Thank you and Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

......................Recipe.....................

stamps: 2008 Holiday Tags (PTI)

paper: white card stock, white 8 1/2 x 11" peel and stick sheets (PTI), always artichoke, real red (SU)

ink: real red, basic black, white craft, always artichoke (SU)

tools: purple, blue scalloped circle punches (Marvy Uchida), regular hole punch, stylus, paper cutter 

ribbons: mellow moss satin (PTI), real red crossgrain, red & white stripe, white organza, holiday stripe, hemp (SU)