Snowman Thank You Cards ... Using Wrapping Paper!

Christmas is over and now it's time to send out those Thank You's! Here are the ones I created this year using.......wrapping paper! I got the idea from a video I saw on You Tube by Nina-Marie Trapani for Simon Says Stamp ( link here). Hers are precious and a little more elaborate, but I loved the idea of using wrapping paper, so these are the cards I created.

First you need to glue a piece of the wrapping paper with the image you want onto some plain cardstock. I used a glue stick. Then I ran that piece through my Sissix Big Shot using the Stitched Shapes Framelit dies from Stampin' Up. I then cut another larger circle using the next size up in the Stitched Shape Framelits and glued one on top of the other.

The stamps I used are from a snowman set by Maymay Made It. I added a strip of Stampin' Up washi tape from the Pop of Pink collection.

I made 6 cards and it took me about an hour, but I was getting faster as I went along. These are pretty simple and a good way to use up some of that cute wrapping paper you have left!

Quick Christmas Cards Using Store Bought Tags

If you need some quick and easy Christmas cards, here is an idea for you. I found these cute tags at Walmart, really too cute to use only for tags, so I decided to turn them into Christmas cards! The top two are the simplest. I embossed the white card base and then added the tags. I did add a cut-out sentiment to the candy cane card, but I decided to let the stocking speak for itself.


The bottom two cards are a little more work, but not much. I added the Santa tag to a white card base, stamped a greeting, and added that piece above the Santa tag. To hide the hole in the tag, I added a bow.


The black deer on the deer card is really the reason I bought this set of tags. I just loved them! I used a black card base, then layered a piece of white cardstock and then a black and white checkered patterned paper on top of that. I added the deer and a sentiment and the card was done!


These were so fast and easy I just had to share with you. My color scheme for my tree and presents this year was black, red and white, so these worked out perfectly! Try this idea with whatever tags you may have.

Christmas Truck Cards

I was inspired to make these truck cards by the cute bags and decorations I have seen this year featuring trucks! They are so cute that I thought I would try to recreate them in card form. The only truck cut I had was in the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge. It is the red truck in the card on the right. I wanted a more vintage looking truck, so after cutting out the green truck, I cut away part of the truck bed to shorten it. I added fenders, etc. to both. It was a fun process!

This card is the one using the original cut from Everyday Paper Dolls Cartridge, p. 71, cut at 2" in real dial size. The card base is 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 in Garden Green, top folding. The patterned paper is from an American Crafts paper stack called All Wrapped Up. I cut the truck 3x to get the red, silver and black layers. The truck is cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock. To make the fenders, I punched out 1 inch circles and cut them in half. I inked the edges of the truck and fenders in Cherry Cobbler.

The trees are from the Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge, p. 73, cut at 1-3/4 and 2" in Garden Green, inking the edges in white (left tree) and Garden Green (right tree). The gifts were hand cut from a piece of patterened paper in the same American Crafts paper stack. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes by Stampin' Up.

The white snow bank is made using dies from Lawn Fawn called Stitched Hillside Borders.

The card base for this card is the same, also in Garden Green, with DSP from the Warmth & Cheer stack by Stampin' Up. The truck is cut from the same Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge, p. 71, cut at 1-3/4" real dial size, except I cut away part of the truck bed to make a shorter, more vintage looking truck. I again cut the truck 3x, in green, black and silver, to make the various parts of the truck. I just trimmed down the pieces to fit on the truck. I again added the fenders cut from a 1 inch circle, cut in half, and inked the edges of the truck and the fenders.

The tree is cut in Garden Green from the Everyday Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge, inking around the edges in white. I cut some more gifts from the American Crafts paper stack. The greeting is from the Candy Cane Lane stamp set. I just used the top part of the stamp. I cut it out using the Stitched Shapes dies from Stampin' Up. The snow bank is from the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders dies. 

These were a little time consuming, but I like the way they turned out. Sometimes it's worth the extra time!

Reindeer Card and Gift Box/Bag

This week's projects include a card and gift box. The reindeer on the card is made with punches and die cuts, and you can create the reindeer box/bag with a piece of 8x11 inch cardstock, some circle punches, and some branch cuts from your Cricut or dies.

The card is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches, top folding, in crumb cake (or kraft cardstock). The stitched white layer is 4 x 5-1/4" created with the Bundle of Stitched Shapes die by Lawn Fawn.  The patterned paper is from the Candy Cane Lane DSP by Stampin' Up, cut at 3-3/4 x 5". I put the paper on upside down to resemble reindeer noses instead of gum drops.

The oval layers are from a set of dies. Red oval is 3-1/2 x 2-7/8" and white oval is 2-7/8 x 2-1/4". The banners are cut with the Banners and Bows Thinlets by Sissix and the greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set by Stampin' Up. I curved the photopolymer stamp when placing it on the block and then stamped it onto the banner.

The reindeer is made as follows:
Head - small oval punch from Stampin' Up (1-3/4 x 7/8")
Antlers - branches from Cricut Create a Critter 2 cartridge, p. 57, cut at 3-3/4" (or you could use the Tree Builder Punch from Stampin' Up. They will just be a little smaller.)
Ears - 1/2 inch circle punch, cutting circle in half
Eyes - 1/4" circle punch x 2
Nose - Gum drop stamp by Stampin' Up, cut out. Mine is from an old stamp set, but there is also one in the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set.
Bow Tie - Sissix Thinlets Banners and Bows by Rachael Bright or hand tie a ribbon bow.

The reindeer box is a simple construction using a piece of 8 x 11 heavyweight cardstock. On the 11 inch side, score at 4-1/2 and 6-1/2 inches. On the 8 inch side, score at 2 inches and 6 inches. Fold and cut on the score lines to create your box.

I decorated the face using circle punches (1/2 inch for eyes and 1 inch for nose). The antlers are branch cuts from p. 40 of the Cricut Straight from the Nest cartridge, but you could use any branch cuts you may have.The ears are a 1-1/4 inch circle cut in half. I added a 1/2 inch strip of red cardstock around the bottom to create a collar. I created the buckle by punching out a 1/4 inch square in silver paper with a punch, and then hand cut around it to create a buckle. I glued some little silver jingle bells to the collar. (Note: I inked around the edges of the box and the ears in the same Early Espresso color as the box to give it a little "life.")

I didn't add a handle to my bag, but you could if you want to, either attaching a 1-1/2 inch wide strip of cardstock, or a strip of ribbon. I just liked the bag look with the tissue paper coming out the top.

The stamped peppermint candies are from the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set by Stampin' Up and the greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set, also by Stampin' Up.

Gingerbread Man Card, Treat Bag, Tag and Box

I think this is my favorite Christmas project! I love the Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up so much that I had to create as many projects as I could using it! (Note: I'm not a demonstrator.)

First I made the card. The card base is 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 in red cardstock, top folding. I added a layer of brown which is die cut using the Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes. I added another piece of DSP from the collection, and another brown layer. I added white stitching by hand on this piece using a white gel pen. I then added the ginerbread man paper layered on top of a white piece of cardstock, for a total of 6 layers! I usually don't add this many layers, but I kind of went crazy with this one!

I cut the gingerbread man using the Cricut Stretch Your Imagination cartridge, p. 55, cut at 3 inches. I cut the gingerbread man in crumb cake cardstock and then the silhouette piece in white. I added some punched out circles for the buttons and his smile, added a small red bow (cut from the Create a Critter cartridge, p. 36), and he comes to life! I wanted it to look like he was "running" off the card. The greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set by Stampin' Up!

Then I created the treat bag:

The treat bag is 5-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches and open on both sides so you can slide in a cellophane bag. If you are worried about it coming out, you can add some adhesive to the bag before sliding it in. The bag is created with a 5-3/4  x 12 inch piece of brown cardstock. On the 12 inch long side, score at 5-3/4 and 6-1/4 inches. This gives your treat bag a 1/2 inch bottom.

For the topper, cut a piece of patterned paper at 5 x 5-3/4 inches and fold in half. Adhere the topper to both sides of the brown cardstock with glue or adhesive tape, front and back. Punch a couple of holes in the top and thread through some red ribbon for the handle.

The front of the box is embellished with several layered squares using the Stitched Shapes Framelits from Stampin' Up. I added a stamped candy cane stripe (Candy Cane Lane Christmas stamp set, Stampin' Up) and a die cut star from the same SSS Bundle of Stitched Shapes. The greeting is from the same stamp set.

I cut another gingerbread man in crumb cake cardstock, this time at 3-1/2 inches, and again added the white silhouette piece, buttons, red cheeks, bow tie, and a hand-cut candy cane (stamped with same stamp set) to go in his hand. I hand cut a 3/4 inch wide banner to go across the bottom of the patterned paper piece.

Here is a side view of the treat bag. The items you put in your cellophane bag need to be on the thin side. I used a row of 4 snack size Hershey bars. You could use hot cocoa packets, a large cookie, note cards, etc.

Side View of Bag

Then came the tags and a box to hold them. The tags were cut using the Cricut Plantin SchoolBook cartridge, p. 78, but there are a lot of different tag options on other Cricut cartridges or Silhouette. I cut the red tag at 4-1/2 inches (not the width of the tag, but the length) and layered the white tag on top of the red one. I cut the white tag at 4-1/4 inches. I added some DSP from the Candy Cane Lane set and cut another gingerbread man from the same Cricut cartridge at 3-1/2 inches, this time in dark brown. I also cut the shadow in white to add behind him, and made white hand stitching marks with a white gel pen. I cut some thin red strips to add to his arms and legs, red "buttons", dots for his smile, and a bow tie. I again cut out a candy cane for him to hold. The greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set, stamped on a banner cut in white. I added red ribbon to the top and tied it with some red and white baker's twine.

The cute little box is not my creation. It is by Dawn's Stamping Thoughts. She made it as a box to hold small note cards, so that is another idea for you! Click here to see her video. The tags I made also fit perfectly inside the box! I added the same ginerbread man to the front of the box as on the tags.

I hope you found something in this post you would like to recreate for your Christmas gift giving. I will be back next week with more projects! I may run out of posting time before Christmas, so I think I'm going to have to pick and choose, or post more than once a week. Happy Christmas crafting!