quick easter treats

I was preparing for easter egg hunt and stuffing those plastic dollar store eggs with treats when I ended up with a bunch of extra chocolates.  I do not really have a sweet tooth so I had to think of ways to use them.  I decided to make these little treat boxes for my DD's friends.

I used Papertrey's mini take out box and placed some shredded paper grass inside topped with the little egg chocolate treats. 

Here is how I finished them up with a simple ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!  And if you are celebrating, Happy Easter!

gift packaging anyone?

One of the things I love about Papertrey is how their packaging dies make it easy to create elegant-looking gifts that really take no effort to make.  For one of our exchange gifts last Christmas, I tucked in a gift card in a box filled with gift boxes.  Here's what I mean...

I arranged different packaging options in a box and topped it with a gift card.  All of them were made from Simple Stories patterned paper and Papertrey dies. The recipient can use these for her own wrapping needs throughout the year.

 Here they are up close...

Pillow boxes

Tiny take out box

GIft card holders

Favor It box

Get a Handle on It

And here is where I put my gift card...  I did a little sewing on paper (yey me!).

 And here is the sealed box...

It was so fun making this package.   I think I might make more one of these days.

Thanks for stopping by! 

valentine treats

I am taking a break from Papertrey's challenges (no time to create today!) but instead sharing with you some Valentine treats I created last weekend. 

First up is this cute treat slider box from My Creative Time.  It fits 4 Hershey nuggets perfectly and is a breeze to die cut and assemble... just a few adhesives and ribbons and done.  I made these for my DD's teachers in ballet, gymnastics and piano.

 Here they are all together...

I also made a special gift for her teachers in school.  I made a set of handmade cards and I put together a tea and biscuit pack for them to enjoy.

Some close ups...

 

I used Tea for Two Addition set for this

And here is how I packaged them... I used Papertrey's Get a Handle On It and Limitless Layers: Heart dies.

And here they are sitting prettily on my desk...

I also managed to bake some heart-shaped cookies while my DD wrote on her Valentine treat boxes for her classmates.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!  Thanks for stopping by!

   

celebrate today

One of the new toys I purchased recently is the Gift Box punch board from We R Memory Keepers.  

The concept is similar to their famous envelope punch but this time, the tool creates boxes of various sizes.  I don't know about you but for me, gifts are much cuter when packaged with a personalized, pattern paper box.  Since I have tons of patterned papers, I thought this was a good way to make use of them.

My first project was a gift box I made for my friend's baby boy's baptism.  I bought a cute pair of shoes which easily fit into the 4x4x4 inches box (the largest that this tool can make).  I slipped in a small square card where I also tucked in some dollars.  (I actually bought the shoes so that I can use my gift box punch!).

Here is my gift box...

  
I used an American Crafts paper from my stash, Stampin' Up ribbon, WPlus9's Timeless Tags and Papertrey's twine.

Here's the top view of my box... 

Here is the card I tucked in the box...  I used Papertrey's Turning a New Leaf die and Mega Mixed Messages. I used the same colour of cardstocks as my patterned paper.

Thanks for stopping by!

homemade with holiday cheer

One of my favourite things to give as gifts for the holidays is homemade baked treats.   Some of the treats I did last year were hot chocolate squares with marshmallows found here, biscotti and tea found here and a chocolate chip cookie mix found here.  This year, I went traditional with my banana walnut bread. It is healthy (no chocolates involved!) and very easy to make, thus giving me more time to work on my cute packaging.

Here is a sample of one of them.   

I found this genius of a box at my local Winners store and I knew immediately that I will have to make bread this year.  Just mix your batter, pour on the box, pop in the oven and wait for it to be done.   Because the packaging is already cute, all I needed were clear FDA-approved bags and tags to match.

Here is a close up of the tags.  I used Papertrey’s Holiday Treats  and Bells and Bough sets, Tag Sale die and Kraft cardstock.  The ribbons were from Michael’s.

And here is my first batch all together.  I tucked in a packet of tea at the back to enjoy with the bread.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Get Well Soon" Care Package

My friend Carol Ann and I attended a trick-or-treat function at the zoo recently.  Although the event was a lot of fun, we both caught the bug from handing out candies to almost 800 kids.  

I was able to shake off the sniffles but Carol Ann is still feeling under the weather.   So, I decided to put together a care package for her.

From my pile of goodies, I pulled out honey and tea, my surefire remedy to any ailment (at least, that's why I think).   

To package the gift, I made a gift box to make the present extra special.

I hope the care package makes her feel better or at least let her know that someone is looking out for her.

Enjoy your weekend and have a fun & safe Halloween!


 

Harvest Season

Harvest season is upon us.  We are celebrating Grape and Wine Festival here in Niagara and I am seeing purple everywhere. 



With my dad and father-in-law enjoying the sights at one of the local wineries

This inspired me to create my grape ornament. Pretty soon, it will be gift-giving season and my grape ornament will add a special touch to gifts from the vine.

Here's the ornament up-close and wrapped around a bottle of wine for a festive feel to a holiday or hostess gift.

Enjoy your weekend!

eat this!

I was planning my daughter's birthday party one year when I read a magazine article about fun creative kids party giveaways, an alternative to the usual bags of dollar store items.  On it were innovative ideas that included a variety of edible gifts including a miniature hard candy sculpture of an actual loot bag.  

Because I have no sugar sculpture skills, I developed my own version using marshmallow fondant, brownies and store bought candies and made each bag personalized.

The kids' surprised reactions when they received their loot bags were priceless!

Here's another version of the edible loot bags I did for a client...

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a sweet week!

Bebsy

teacher gifts

Today is my DD's last day of school.  Wow, where did time go?  Seems like only yesterday that I brought her to school for the first time. I remember she was quite nervous and unsure then.  Now, she totally looks forward to going to school in the morning and comes home with lots of stories about how her day went. 

Anyhoo, I want to share with you some gifts I prepared for her teachers and daycare staff.
  

I used Papertrey's Tag Its stamp and Sketched Shapes die for the flag.  The buttons are from October Afternoon and Papertrey.

I got the insulated plastic cups at Walmart and filled them with goodies like nestea iced tea mix and lip gloss / mascara (from our company sale).  For her main teacher, I also included a gift card.

Some close ups of the flags...



Doesn't that watermelon look so yummy?



I also made this small square card for my DD to write a note to the recipient.  I plan to slip it in the cup afterwards.

And because they look so cute together...

Are you looking forward to summer?  I am!

Thanks for stopping by!