C is For Cookie Cards...

A peek at a little something I'm working on at the moment. Sweet heart-shaped cookie cards for Valentine's Day!

A little washi tape shape making...

Plus a heart shaped card made from card stock in a creamy shade of vanilla.

Put them together, then garnish with glitter tape sprinkles.

Sweetness!

What have you been crafting lately? Would love to see!

Send Pretty Mail #56/57/58/59/60 - New Year Wishes

For the final Send Pretty Mail of 2013 (okay, so this project drifted into early 2014, but since the idea came to me in 2013, I'm counting it!), I decided to send New Year's wishes in the mail.

For 2014, I'm wishing you all Love, Health, Joy, Luck & Abundance. Abundance is such a good word isn't it? So round & full - and rather than the single-minded Wealth, Abundance fills you up with whatever you need much of this year - be it money or a plentiful veggie garden or a groaning bookshelf.

Origami cranes seemed appropriate as the vessel to carry these wishes for the new year. Full of hope and peace. A string of 3 slides nicely into a small envelope.

Star print origami paper the loveliest touch - full of the dark blues of winter. A little moody but also calm.

 

Envelopes bedazzled with a little glitter tape greeting on the front...

Golden doodles on the back (of the drawing kind rather than the puppy kind)...

And more stars to line the envelopes.

Fly straight and fly true crane friends. You're carrying precious wishes on your wings.

Happy New Year!

I'll be recapping the whole 2013 Send Pretty Mail project a little later in week, but see you tomorrow for the introduction of 2014's creative project!

Send Pretty Mail #51/52/53/54/55 - Christmas

I couldn't let the holiday season pass by without some Christmassy pretty mail. These days, I'm rather smitten with the combo of washi tape and glitter tape. They're just so fun together!

Did you see the ornament & candy cards? Too cute not to slip into decorated envelopes, right?

Gift-inspired envelopes feature washi tape boxes and glitter tape bows - make those boxes big enough to hold the mailing address but small enough to leave space for your stamp(s).

Add some washi tape stripes on the envelope flap for even more fun. This idea works all year round!
 


Are your Christmas cards written, stamped & on their merry way already? The nice thing about these envelopes is that they work just as well for a birthday as they do for Christmas! And those striped flaps would look smashing on any letter you send.

Have you sent or received any pretty mail lately?

DIY Washi Tape Ornament Card & Gift Tags

Have you sent out your holiday cards yet? I must admit we're a bit behind over here, but I figure if the cards in question are this cute, no one will mind a little tardiness. Right? Plus, who doesn't want another excuse to use their stash of pretty tapes?!

To create an ornament card, start by folding a piece of cardstock in half lengthwise. Grab a small bowl and a pencil. 

Trace around the bowl, leaving space (about 1/2 inch) at the top by the fold. 

Cover the circle with washi tape. No need to overlap. No need for neat ends.

Add a small strip of metallic tape at the top of the circle, right up to the fold. This tab will turn your circle into an ornament. Bear with me, you'll see what I mean soon.

Cut out the ornament. Make sure to cut just inside the line - you don't want to see any pencil lines on your card. Cut a straight line down each side of the metallic tape tab (as seen above) to shape into top of ornament.

Decorate with glitter tape. If you'd prefer, use patterned washi tape and skip this step altogether. You can see how that looks here. I decorated both sides of my ornament cards - but that's really up to you!

Punch a small hole in the centre of the tab. Feed a twine loop (about 10" long, folded in half and tied) through the hole.

Have fun creating different designs with your tape.

Or, why not craft unique ornament gift tags? Use a roll of washi tape as your circle template, then add a metallic washi tape hanger top to turn a simple circle into an adorable ornament.

Happy crafting!

Sparkle & Twine - Pretty Glitter Wrapping Ideas

I must admit, I've got sparkle dots on the brain. I simply couldn't wait any longer to see how they'd look on a basic kraft-wrapped gift. Pretty sweet, right? And the addition of metallic silver Divine Twine and a glittery initial tag takes this wrapping look to the next level.Of course, there's no need to limit yourself to sparkle dots when you're wrapping with glitter tape - it's ever-so-fun to create different looks within the same colour palette. Here's 3 glitter tape & metallic twine variations I came up with: 

Cut small triangles out of glitter tape and stick randomly all over your wrapped gift. Perfectly festive (if a little icy)! 

Sometimes simple is best - 2 strips of glitter tape in one direction and twine wound round the other. 

A bunting style topper is a fun variation on the typical twine look - string your gift tag right on the twine between glitter tags!

To make your own glitter initial tags, start with a small piece of glitter tape about the size of your desired letter. Then, simply cut out the desired letter shape and stick to a paper tag. If you are cutting a letter with an enclosed area (like my "O"), use a small hole punch to create the hole before enlarging into desired shape with your scissors. The plastic backing on the glitter tape makes it easy to cut into the desired shape - no special steps necessary!

How would you use glitter tape to add a little sparkle to your gifts this holiday season?

Send Pretty Mail #48/49/50 - Sparkle Dots

One little (biggish) move and this project got away from me a bit... but it is definitely not forgotten!



The prettiest envelopes arrived from Japan, and while they're lovely enough to use on their own, they're also pretty perfect for embellishing with your favourite things! Which, in my case, seems to be sparkle dots and washi tape bows.



A standard hole punch and glitter tape are all you need to make sparkle dots - stick them to envelopes and notecards, or wouldn't they make for fun custom gift wrap? Filing that idea away for later!



A little metallic doodle frame is the perfect accessory for a gingham envelope and a washi tape bow.



Have you seen the new Peta Peta Masking Tapes in the shop? They're shaped washi tapes - you can cut them into stickers like I did here, or use them in strips. So fun either way!



My favourite basic index cards look cute with the addition of a little washi tape & sparkle dots.



And, finally, sealed with a bow!

Have you sent any pretty mail lately?

Pop over to our Facebook page where we're hosting a giveaway to celebrate 3000+ likes. There will be 3 giveaways in all - so stay tuned for more fun!

Send Pretty Mail #36/37/38 - Doodle Collages

Plain envelopes in bold colours just might be my favourite canvas for sending pretty mail. While simple doodles can make a striking piece of mail, I thought "colouring in" a few elements with washi and glitter tapes would make an even bigger impression. I've left a hunk of blank space on each one for addresses.

I was feeling Autumn-y with this first envelope and filled in a few petals with harvest shades and added a few falling leaves here and there.

Have you ever read The Rainbow Fish? I was thinking about the lovely illustrations and multicoloured scales while crafting this one.

And, finally, a bevy of pretty bows and beads. Mainly because bows are oh so fun to doodle!

For note cards, simple index cards dressed up with a strip of coordinating glitter tape is my favourite quick and easy stand-by. Perfect when you're investing lots of creative energy (and time) in the envelopes. Love how each of these envelopes turned out so differently even though they all came from the same spark!

And, of course, a little extra doodling on the back!

Have you sent any pretty mail lately?