Category:

TGIF

TGIF – Stationery Box to Gift Bag Tutorial

by Betsy February 3, 2023

written by Betsy

Hi all! Happy Friday! I hope you’re staying warm in your neck of the woods! It’s frigid here, which is the perfect excuse to stay in and get crafty. 🙂

During our last release, I shared a project using our Stationery Box die, turning it into a gift bag…

I didn’t have time to put together a tutorial at the time, but I have that for you today!

This video shows how you can add some side panels to turn our normally flat Stationery Box into a more spacious gift bag. Using the Stationery Box die eliminates having to do a lot of measuring and figuring like you would if you started from scratch and set out to create a gift bag. You just need to cut and score 4 strips of cardstock. I’ll show you all the details in the video below.

You could create these for any occasion – birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s and more. Just embellish them in any way you’d like! I wrapped the red version with some paper ribbon cut using our Ribbon Maker: Scalloped Hearts die and White Paper Ribbon Rolls. I kept the pink version a little simpler and omitted the paper ribbon, just adding a Heart Arrow diecut and a tag done with the Tear Strip Tags die and matching Tear Strip Tag Valentine stamp set. The front flaps on each were cut with the Falling Hearts die to add the cute heart details backed with metallic cardstock. I think it would also be cute to add a handle, which you could do either by knotting some string through the side panels, or even just by adding a strip of cardstock secured to the sides with brads.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!

February 3, 2023 11 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Rainbow Arches with Dana

by Betsy January 27, 2023

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Dana is here with a bright and sunshine-y project that’s sure to brighten your day, even if it’s snowy and dreary in your neck of the woods (like it is here)!

Hi friends! It’s Dana here today and I am excited to be back for a TGIF post! I am sharing a set of cards that were so fun to create and left me dreaming about rainbows and sunshine… definitely something I am looking forward to during these long winter months.

I started my card by creating my card panels with the A2 Arches die set. I taped the arches together (if you haven’t cut your dies apart you can skip this step) and then ran the dies through my die cutting machine seven times to create a variety of colorful frames.

Next, I used the Arched Sentiments set to stamp my sentiments. I stamped the coordinating phrase onto the third smallest frame. Then I stamped and die cut the main sentiment on white cardstock with black ink. Once I was finished, I attached my frames and sentiments to an A2 card base.

To finish my cards, I created a variety of florals with the BotaniCuts Forget-Me-Nots die set. I then attached two or three florals to my card panels for a little added detail.

January 27, 2023 17 comments

All Sneak Peeks TGIF

TGIF – Hug in a Mug Valentine with Wanda + Have a Heart Sneak Peek!

by Betsy January 13, 2023

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Love is definitely in the air here at The Greetery! Wanda is here with a super fun Valentine TGIF, and I’ll be sharing a sneak peek of our Have a Heart collection which will be hitting the shop on Tuesday 1/17 at 10am ET.

First, a sneak peek! Our Have a Heart Collection has…well, a lot of heart! Each and every product incorporates a heart in one way or another. We have lots of fun new dies, plus a few sentiments sets including an addition to one of our/your recent favorites!

I hope you’ll join us on Monday for the full reveal, projects, and a blog hop. Our Have a Heart collection goes live in the shop on Tuesday, 1/17 at 10am ET.

Now let’s hear it from Wanda and her fun TGIF project…

Hi everyone! Wanda here today with your TGIF project! Happy New Year! I hope your 2023 is off to a fun and creative start! Wishing you good things in the coming year. Lots of crafting and joy! It’s only one month until Valentine’s Day so I thought I would make some Valentine projects to share with you today! I do love switching over from holiday crafting to hearts and pink pink pink in these winter months. I used lots of my favorite Greetery supplies with a theme of love!

The Hug in a Mug suite of products was an instant favorite of mine when it was released. For today, I made two Valentine Mugs and a pretty Valentine card to go with them. I started by die cutting the mugs and the saucers from light pink cardstock. I used Distress Oxide ink and blender brushes to gently ink just the bottom of the mugs for an ombre effect. I stamped the edging details, the coffee art details and the sentiments onto the mugs before assembly. I also made a few cookies – because we must have cookies with our coffee, right?

I used the Cake Pops Stand die to make a white scalloped edge ‘doily’ for my mugs. Just a little touch of white with all that color – makes the mugs extra special. As you will remember, the Hug in a Mug dies come with the perfect little dies that make steam…. But I got the idea that I wanted whipped cream, and used the whipped cream dollop die from the Warm and Wonderful Set – I think it looks just right! I added a small paper tab to the back to insert into the opening on the top of the coffee portion. I embellished with hearts, glitter and stripey straws.

To make the Valentine note I used the Crimped Notecard Dies and made a white card. I also layered one more piece of white cardstock. I die cut the pink heart using the Shapely Hearts Dies and used the Bold Numbers in red and silver to make the number 14. I used the small flowers from the Cake Pops Dies set to make deep pink flowers to glue onto the heart. The sentiment is from the Market Basket Sentiments stamp set and I stamped it onto the Cake Pops Banner!

I feel like I’m ready for a girlie Valentine party now! Wouldn’t these be so cute as favors or place holders at a party? I used a lot of Greetery supplies in different ways than you might expect – that’s kind of my thing. I like to use my stamps and dies for more than just their original ways. How do I do this? When I get ready to make a project to share with you I get out ALL my stamps and dies from The Greetery! Seriously, ALL of them! I lay them out and then sift and sort until I have my ideas ready. I find that way I don’t forget about something amazing like those little Cake Pop flowers or those beautiful numbers!!

It’s my pleasure to be on the team with Betsy and the gang and to share with you! I hope I’ve inspired you to think outside the box! Wishing you a happy weekend and sending X’s and O’s your way.

January 13, 2023 45 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Christmas Crackers with Kelly

by Betsy December 23, 2022

written by Betsy

Hello and welcome! It’s Kelly here today and I hope you’re all ready for Christmas and anticipating the joy and happiness of the day! I have officially sent out every single Christmas card I’ve made this year as well as a few stragglers from years past! With that being said, my creative spirit can never really be finished with Christmas! My project today is perfect for those of you who many find yourself in the same position and eager to create!

As soon as I saw the All Wrapped Up Collection, I knew it would be perfect to create Christmas crackers to be placed at each dinner setting on Christmas Eve or Christmas day! I created 7 crackers in total and I will explain how I made them and some tips and tricks to make assembling them a cinch! My cute mom and sister did the twelve days of Christmas for me one year and gifted me the beautiful “Night Before Christmas” tableware! They’re my favorite thing to use each holiday season and these crackers will look so cute at each place setting!

Ahead of making my crackers, I had saved any empty rolls of wrapping paper and paper towels. I just couldn’t bring myself to use empty toilet paper rolls! Ha ha! You can also find cardboard rolls online if you’d like that better. I used a finely serrated saw to cut each roll to 4 inches; you can choose what size suits you best. I purchased rolls of crepe paper that measured 10 inches, so I wanted the overhang to be long enough to add the scallop details. You can see in the photos that I made a few without scalloped edges so you can decide what you like best. You’ll also want to decide ahead of time what all you’ll be putting inside your crackers; traditionally they hold a paper crown, a joke, a sweet, and maybe a small trinket for children.

I used the Ribbon Maker: Large Scallops Die and the Ribbon Maker: Petite Scallops Die to cut all of the details for the ends and the body of the crackers. I used liquid glue to attach the smaller scallop pieces to the ends of the crepe paper and set them aside to dry. To assemble, I simply added a 3 inch or so piece of 1/4-inch ScorTape to each of the long ends directly in the middle where it would adhere to the cardboard tube. I used a piece of grid paper to center everything and get the proper placement. As I mentioned earlier, my crepe paper measures 10 inches and the tubes are 4 inches. I simply laid the crepe paper out straight on the grid paper, placed the tube on top at one end between the 3 inch and 7-inch mark to make certain the tube was centered and rolled it up securing it at the end with the ScorTape. From there, I tied the ends (fill them up at this point) using silver stretchy cord. I used more ScorTape for the larger scallop piece in the center; this can be easily repositioned if needs be. I had a few that I didn’t center that well and it was a breeze to reposition, surprisingly enough!

As much as we all love “handmade”, I often like to use something that gives my project a professional touch; cue the hot foil! I used the Tag Team Duo Holiday Sentiments Hot Foil and then die cut them using the Tag Team Duo Die. I added them to the middle of the crackers using foam squares in the middle. I tucked some greenery that was colored using assorted Distress Oxide inks using the Big Branches: Eucalyptus, Pine, and Ruscus dies! I tucked pieces here and there around each of the sentiments until I was pleased with the placement. I actually wanted to embellish them even more, but then remembered that they’re “crackers: and will be shredded come celebration time! Ha ha! You can definitely add as little or as much as you’d like depending on your preferences! If you like this idea, but don’t feel like you have time to put them together before Christmas, you could always make some glitzy crackers for New Year’s Eve! I can see all of the sparkles now!

I had so much fun putting these together and I think my family will love them! My cutie patootie 3^rd grader came home from school the other day with his “tissue paper and curling ribbon” cracker and had so much fun pulling it and eating the treats! Oh, and that reminds me…..you CAN buy the actual “crackers”….the part that goes inside that makes a cracking noise when it is pulled. They came in a pack of 100 so I opted not to get them, but if you’re making a large amount and you’d enjoy that feature, then I say add them! Thanks for joining me today! Have a merry Christmas and a wonderfully happy New Year!

December 23, 2022 15 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Pretty Wraps with Dawn

by Betsy December 16, 2022

written by Betsy

Hey, Friends! It’s my turn to share a project for TGIF and I issued myself a fun challenge! If you follow me on Instagram and caught my Stories earlier this week, I shared about how I used to go out the day after Christmas years ago, and buy gift wrap and ribbons and such, when everything was like 90% off and then we’d be set the next year! Or, for the next like 20 years…..as the case may be! Hahaha!

I showed a roll of wrapping paper on my Instagram Stories, that we still have from about 20 years ago, that I’d been trying to use up. But as it turns out, we still have FOUR rolls of that same wrapping paper! LOL! I’m sure I only paid like $1 per roll, which is why I felt at the time, like I should stock up on so much of it! Hahaha! But as you can imagine, 20 years later I’m over it with that particular paper! LOL!

Now, of course, a person could always donate rolls of wrapping paper to organizations who need such things for wrapping gifts for kiddos or whomever. BUT, there’s also something to be said for using what we have and not always having to go buy more! There’s something to be said for taking something perhaps outdated or not in your current style or taste, and zhuzhing it up in such a way as to sort of bring it back to life. So that’s what I did!

I decided to use up a bunch (though not even one roll — these things are huge! LOL!) of the wrapping paper on all our neighbor gifts because I had 18 little boxes of chocolate treats to wrap (2 per household). I also had a gigantic sized roll of tan wired ribbon (again, why?!) and it was more than enough to wrap all of them, even doing it the classic way where you criss-cross and wrap it around both directions and then tie a bow!! 🙂

Once I got the little stacks of gifts wrapped and tied up together with bows on top, they were just kind of ho-hum looking. SO, I challenged myself to see if I could use my stamps and dies to really dress them up and make them look DARLING, in spite of that 20 year old clearance wrapping paper and tan ribbon. Turns out, I think I DID!!! But I’ll let you decide….

I’ve got quite a few PRO TIPS about this project for you, over on my blog! I hope I’ve given you lots of ideas you can use as you’re finishing up wrapping your own gifts this year! Raise your hand if you’ve got some less-than-desirable gift wrap hiding in the back of the closet that you could totally pull out and use, and dress it up to give it some new life!!! If you take on this challenge yourself, and if you post it on Instagram, tag me! I’d love to see!

Merry Christmas, friends,
Dawn

The Greetery supplies used in Dawn’s wraps:

December 16, 2022 12 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Holiday Thank You Cards with Angelica

by Betsy December 9, 2022

written by Betsy

Christmas is almost here, which means presents will soon be arriving… so I spent some down time getting a jump on Thank You cards. I thought it was a sweet touch when I saw Betsy had added a “For The Gift” stamp to the Tagged Elegance stamp set, and knew I wanted to use it on today’s cards.

These cards are completely inspired by Betsy’s beautiful cards she shared during the All Wrapped Up reveal a few weeks ago. I die-cut colored card stock with Ribbon Maker: Petite Scallops Die, and made a clean and simple background by adding three strips from the same color family to a light cream panel. Since I had a lot of circles left over from making Round About Winter Foliage wreaths, I used them to stamp the sentiment onto. I hand-stamped the sentiments with black ink, and attached them to the panels. The panels were put onto card bases, then I moved onto making Loopy Bows.

I made several bows with the Loopy Bow Builder Die, and picked 2 for these cards. I love putting these bows together. Each bow has its own character, and I think that’s so clever! I put a red bow on the green card, and a green bow on the red card.

I still have more thank you cards to make, and I will be using this layout for all of them. Whenever you’re looking for inspiration, don’t forget about The Greetery’s Look Books. Seeing other crafters creations can really help inspire ideas, like Betsy did for me with these cards!

That’s all that I have for today. Have a very Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year!

December 9, 2022 13 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Christmas Eve with Dana

by Betsy December 2, 2022

written by Betsy

Hi friends! I am so excited to be back on The Greetery’s Blog for TGIF! I always love crafting this time of year, but I always feel like I run out of time… so I pulled out a few “older” sets that I have been wanting to use and decided to create a card to share with you all today.

I started my card by using the Christmas Eve set along with the Fir & Foliage No 2 set to stamp and die cut the images I used to create my scene. Next, I used the A2 Arches dies to create my panel and frame. I ink blended the panel with a light blue ink and added a few white splatters to resemble snow. Next, I added a few white snowbanks to the bottom of the arch to create the ground for my images. Once I attached my images to the panel I added a red frame arch to create a border around my scene.

For my sentiment, I used the Opposites Attract Holiday set. This is one of my favorite holiday sentiment sets and one that I reach for often. Lastly, I used the Winter Medley dies to create a few floral sprigs to add to my frame as a final touch.

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed my card and I hope I inspired you to pull out a few of your favorite Christmas sets and create a card of your own.

Have a great weekend,

Dana

December 2, 2022 21 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Holly Bells with Mellisa

by Betsy November 11, 2022

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Melissa is here with some bright and beautiful holiday inspiration to kick off your Friday!

Crafting for Christmas is my favorite thing to do! This time of year it’s always such fun to pull out all the stops when it comes to adding shimmer, sparkle, and shine. I’ve used the darling Jumbo Curiosity Bell Ornament Die on my card today.

This sweetly shaped ornament reminds me of helping my grandma decorate her Christmas tree when I was a kid. I’ve added silver glitter cardstock to help mimic the old fashioned feel of these ornaments. I layered them over a frosty A2 Arches cut from vellum and embossed around the edges with white embossing powder. I added glitter foam bows to the top of both ornaments, cut using the Christmas Pudding die. The darling Holly Toppers make the cutest embellishments for the tops of my ornaments and the little sprigs and berries (cut with the Winter Medley die) look extra festive covered in Stickles Crystal glitter. The background was done by layering the Twinkle die over the Postal Frames, and the sentiment is from the Arched Holiday Sentiments set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

November 11, 2022 19 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Bells & Mistletoes with Laurie

by Betsy November 4, 2022

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! I hope you had a super crafty week! How is the holiday crafting coming along? If you’re going to be digging in this weekend, Laurie is here with some great inspiration for today’s TGIF…

Hi crafty friends! It’s Laurie here, stopping in with this week’s TGIF. Christmas is my favorite time of year so all of these new Holiday stamps and dies are just calling my name! One of my new favorites from The Greetery is the Mistletoe Arches Stencil set. The stencils create the prettiest frame around an A2 sized card front. With different color combinations, there are so many possibilities for different looks. My card making style is definitely clean and simple, and this stencil set worked out great for a quick and simple card!

To create this card, I found 2 blueish green inks that worked great for a more non-traditional color scheme. After adding in the red berries, I went back in with Glossy Accents to give each one a 3D look. Using a white gel pen, I gave each berry a dot of white to create a little faux shine.

One of my favorite holiday sentiments from past Greetery sets is from Banner and Bough. This stencil stamp combo is so fun to ink blend for the perfect dimensional look. After adding that to the top of the card, I used the new Jumbo Curiosity Bell Ornament Die set. Using the same colors, I started with a white bell and then added in the blueish green and reds. To give the bell a little more shine, I used silver cardstock on a couple of the parts. This was super easy to make and so much fun!

Hope you found a little Christmas Card inspiration today. Thanks so much for coming by today!

November 4, 2022 8 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Peaceful Pine Blossoms with Kelly

by Betsy October 28, 2022

written by Betsy

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week. Kelly’s here today with a gorgeous TGIF project. Let’s get right to it!

Hi friends! It’s Kelly here today with this week’s TGIF feature! I’m shocked that we’re nearing the end of
October and heading into the holiday season! As a card maker, I’m often inspired by store-bought and
pre-printed Christmas cards! I’ll see one that catches my eye and say to myself,” I have stamps or dies
that would work perfectly to recreate that look or feel”! Do you do the same thing? For today’s card, I
saw a beautiful Christmas card featuring a large dove gracefully flying above a cluster of flowers and a
central sentiment! I knew for certain the new Peaceful Doves dies and the Peaceful Doves Details stamp
would make an appearance and for the flowers, I chose the beautiful Pine Blossom stamp set. This is
one that I haven’t used for awhile so it was fun to pull it out and give it some love!

To begin, I die cut the main bouquet using the Pine Blossom die and used the step-by-step stamps to
bring the image to life. I set it aside and got to work on the background; I don’t know about you, but I
can’t get enough of the arches! I used the beautiful Elegant Arches stamp and stamped it onto a
panel of aqua cardstock using Speckled Egg Distress Oxide ink. I also blended a bit of the same ink
around the corners for some dimension. Since I love layers so much, I decided to add even more depth
by adding an aqua arch that was die cut using the A2 Arches die with a hint of ink around the
edges. I layered it on top of the background using foam squares.

The card I used as inspiration used a Peace on Earth sentiment, but I opted for the Merry and Bright
sentiment from the Arched Holiday Sentiments stamp set. I like to die cut all of the different sentiments
at once and then stamp them using my MISTI so I have them on hand for other projects! I die cut the
sentiment using the Arched Holiday Sentiments dies and then stamped it in black. I have been saving all
of the bits and pieces from my projects for quite some time now and my plan is to sit down and make a
bunch of tags with the leftovers! Can you believe that I haven’t made a single Christmas tag this year?
My packages will be bare if I don’t get going!

I placed the Pine Blossom bouquet at the bottom of the arch leaving enough room for the sentiment. I used foam squares for both the bouquet and the sentiment; using double thickness for the sentiment so it would rise above the bouquet. I placed the two doves that had been stamped with the details, on either side of the sentiment. I felt like the card needed just a little something more, so I die cut the little sprigs and flowers using the Winter Medley die and colored them using finger daubers and Distress Oxide ink. I added the tiny flowers using liquid glue and then had fun tucking them here and there until I was satisfied with the arrangement. I added some white paint splatter for a snowy look. I also added some glitter to the doves, the flowers, and the extra dies for that holiday sparkle I love so much! I layered the entire panel onto a top-folding A2 white card base using liquid glue.

Once it was done, I was so happy with the depth and dimension that was certainly not on the pre-printed design!! Ha ha! I hope you get a chance to let something spark your creativity and pull out some fun combinations of products! It’s fun to get your mind working in new and different ways, especially if you’re in a rut (we’ve ALL been there}! Thanks for joining me today!

October 28, 2022 14 comments