Stamped Gift Wrap Tutorial

One way to add a personal touch to gifts is by designing your own gift wrap. Handmade gift wrap doesn’t need to be fancy or perfect, in fact, imperfections add to the charm and homemade feel! Today I’m going to show you how I made some wrapping paper using stamps. For this project, I used a roll of white wrapping paper purchased at a craft store. If you decide to use colored paper, remember that paint and ink colors look different on colored paper than on white.

Supplies for Stamped Gift Wrap:

Plain wrapping paper
Paint, ink, glitter glue or anything else to decorate with
Stamps, stamping block (for clear stamps)
Foam brush and something to put paint in if using paint
masking tape and scissors

How to Make Stamped Gift Wrap

• Cut a large piece of plain gift wrap and spread out over a flat workspace, tape in place using a bit of masking tape in the corners.
• Decide on a pattern for your gift wrap. I used clear stamps (by Prima) to design mine so I was able to line things up to make a continuous pattern. I left space on one side of my pattern so that I could stamp additional designs into the pattern with another color (see image 1 below).
• Use a foam brush to paint the stamps with green acrylic paint, then stamp the design in rows, adding fresh paint each time (see image 2). Stagger the beginnings of the rows, for a more pleasing pattern.
• After finishing all the green stamping, wash the foam brush and stamps, then begin with the red parts of the pattern. Since I used a small stamp for the red, I just used an ink pad instead of paint. I used a smaller stamp block too, for more control (see image 3).
• After finishing the red stamping, wash the stamp and stamp block, then add some final touches to your design with glitter glue. I put stripes of gold glitter glue in between each row of my stamped pattern (image 4).
• Be sure to allow plenty of drying time before you use your new hand stamped gift wrap!

Have you ever made homemade gift wrap? I’d love to hear about it – please share your ideas in the comments section !

Here’s another idea: if you have access to a wide-format printer, try printing digital scrapbook paper onto large sheets of sketch paper, as seen at the bottom of this post I wrote in 2007: Homemade Christmas. The same idea could be used for smaller gifts by printing on regular sized printer paper too!

Birthday Card Idea

I know, I know… for a site called “Scrapbook Ideas” there sure have been a lot of cards and other crafts here. But I think there must be enough of you out there who dabble in multiple paper crafts like I do, that I can get away with it . Why limit yourself to only scrapbooking when there are so many other wonderful things you can do with your craft supplies? Plus I love the instant gratification of sitting down to complete a whole card from start to finish, and the joy I *hope* it will bring to the recipient. Another great benefit of expanding my horizons to include card making has been that it is a less intimidating way to experiment with new crafting techniques on a smaller scale.

A Birthday Wish (handmade card)

Supplies:

From Prima: Coquette Collection paper (#602017), Caliope Collection paper (#602239), Whispered Words (#812010 and #812027). Non-Prima supplies: Distress Ink by Ranger (vintage photo), chalks, stitching, glitter glue, white cardstock.

Steps:

1. Trim the patterned papers to a size just a tiny bit smaller than your card front. Cut around the floral design on the Caliope paper, removing the top portion, and adhere the lower portion to the Coquette paper. TIP: try to avoid using adhesive along the outer edges, as you will be sewing them shortly.
2. Sew a border around the outside edge of the patterned papers, with a sewing machine as I did (for tips on machine sewing paper, check here), or by hand. If you sew by hand, it helps to pierce the holes in advance – I just place the card on an old cushioned mousepad, and use a paper piercer or needle to poke all the holes.
3. Use chalks in coordinating colors around the outer border of the card, then ink the edge of the card and the papers.
4. Adhere the papers to the center of the card, and adhere the card greeting to the papers.
5. Add some glitter glue to select areas of the floral design on the Caliope paper.

Hybrid Butterfly Card

Here’s a birthday card I made for my sister-in-law a little while ago. It’s a fun mix of grungy and delicate, earthy colors and bright colors, digital elements and physical embellishment. (As seen on the Prima blog)

Digital Supplies: Prima Sprites 2 Silhouettes – YELLOW

Physical Supplies: By Prima: Sprites 2 (#517144), Butterfly (#528355), Center Kisses (#520717). Other Supplies: Kraft cardstock, distress ink by Ranger, glitter glue and black ink.

Steps:
In Photoshop, I created a new document with the same dimensions as my blank card. I opened the Sprites 2 Silhouettes – YELLOW digital image, rotated it 180 degrees, and positioned it on the front of the card. I used the custom paper size option in my printer settings to enter the card dimensions. Before printing, I checked my print preview, to be sure that things were lined up correctly. Then I printed the image right onto the blank card and embellished it with Sprites flowers and a butterfly!

Tips and Tricks:

• The digital silhouette I used for this card was designed for the yellow Sprites flowers, but it still works – don’t be afraid to experiment!
• When I printed my digital image, the printer messed up and made black smudges of ink on the edges of my card – that’s when I decided to go with the grunge look . I used more black ink to ink the rest of the card edges, plus some distress ink and glitter glue. I ended up loving it!
• Even though I was going for contrasts between the bold flowers and grungy background, I still inked the flowers with a little distress ink to help them fit in with the rest of the card.

P.S. I usually try to avoid using my own handwriting – especially on the fronts of cards,  but I thought this one was just funky enough that it would look like the messy lettering was intentional .

A Lovely Faithbook Page

Sometimes, a single Bible verse is so meaningful to me that I decide to make an entire scrapbook page just for that verse. I made this one a while ago, and it has been hanging in my scraproom above my computer to inspire me whenever I look up at it . This is one of my favorite Bible verses. In fact, it is the inspiration for the title of my blog: Lovely, Lovely Things (which I have finally been posting at again)!

For how-to tips and product information about this faithbook page, check out the original post on the Prima blog.

Have you used a favorite Bible verse on a scrapbook/faithbook page? If so, I want to see it …  and if not, consider yourself challenged to try it ! I’d love to see what you have made, so please leave a comment with a link to your page or project if you have something to share !

Handmade Baby Shower Cards

Looking for new ways to use your scrapbooking supplies? How about some handmade cards ! I always save paper scraps left over from my scrapbooking projects to use later for cards, mini albums and other projects. These My Mommy and Me papers, by Prima were the perfect thing for some Baby Shower cards I made recently (as seen on the Prima blog).

Handmade Card Making Tips

• Stretch your paper scraps by cutting out paper design elements and using them to embellish your card front (like the flowers on the first card, and the turtles on the second).
• Mix and match papers from one or more paper collections for a more exciting design.
• Use a square or circle punch to instantly crop out cute sections of patterned paper, then create a mosaic out of them (you can download the free card template here).
• More ideas for handmade baby shower cards and gifts: Girly Baby Shower Card and a Baby Shower Gift Idea

Digital Supplies: Signs of Spring Chipmates by Prima (first card)

Physical Supplies: All by Prima: Alphablends (#840723), Lovables Frilly flower (#701062), My Mommy and Me papers (#870195, #870270, #870294), Die-Cut Chipboard (#400026), Clear Epoxy Stickers (#400002), RFH Sticker Sheet. Non-Prima supplies: white cardstock, glossy photo paper.

Double Page Layout

The Prima design team members were challenged to create two-page layouts recently, here’s what I came up with – a couple of pages for my wedding scrapbook (yes, I’m still slooooowly working on it 5 years later LOL)! I guess these also qualify as faithbook pages because of the Bible verse I have included, which was incorporated into our wedding ceremony.

Details

Here’s a close-up of a hybrid scrapbooking technique I used on page one. I had printed out an 8.5″x11″ page with a Loft 18 Silhouette, merged with one of the Beautiful Day papers, and my Bible verse typed out along the side. Then, I used chalks and colored pencils to color it in, and added the Loft 18 flower to the coordinating spot on the Silhouette.

I used another hybrid technique on page 2: after printing out one of the So Flirty quick pages, I cut out one of the designs with a silhouette for a chipboard heart and added a bit of glitter glue to it. Then, in Photoshop, I added the word “Love” to one of the coordinating stickers from the So Flirty kit, printed it out onto the RFH sticker sheet, added it to the matching chipboard, and placed the matching epoxy sticker on top. Lastly, I placed my custom “Love” sticker right onto the spot on the silhouette!

Digital Supplies: Available at PrimaHybrid.com (Left Side) Loft 18 Silhouettes (SKU19842), Beautiful Day Papers (SKU19837); (Right Side: IOD Flirty Album (SKU 19840)

Physical Supplies: Coquette Collection papers (#602017, #601997), Whispered Words (#812010), Loft 18 (#520045), Belle Fleur (#520960), The Bitty Bag (#506988), The Bigger Bag (#516703), Center Kisses (520700), Say it in Crystals (# 517328), Mulberry Paper Leaves (#170684), Clear Stamps (#830687) and Build-a-Frame stamps (#517731), Say it in Studs (#811389), Die-Cut Chipboard (#400026), Clear Epoxy Stickers (#400002), RFH Sticker Sheet

We Have a Winner :)!

Well…. I meant to get to this a few days ago, but at least that means a few extra people got a chance to play along . For those of you who guessed that the new baby’s nursery will be PINK, you were RIGHT! We are expecting a baby girl this time around – I’m also expecting lots of pink, flowery scrapbook pages in my future

Now for the giveaway winner:

BettyC!

I’ll guess PINK.

Your album is delightful! I love it! And the Nursery tales collection is beautiful.

Congrats Betty! I will be sending you a selection of papers and embellishments from the Nursery Tales collection, by Prima (available at Michael’s). Here are a few pics of what you can expect in the mail !

Enjoy!!!! ~xo Jess

A Little Giveaway and a Mini Album Idea

I finally finished my most recent mini album! As I mentioned earlier, I had gone to Michael’s to pick up some of the goodies from the Nursery Tales Collection by Prima.  I got some great deals because I had a 30% off your entire purchase coupon and I also went back on another day to use a 40% off coupon for the paper pack.

Want to see what I bought?

As many of you know, I am expecting a new baby in September, so I was thrilled to see this new collection!! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect too because I wanted to make a mini album just for Gabe and the Nursery Tales Collection worked wonderfully for this project.

Mini Album Idea for Older Siblings

My son Gabe will be turning three just before we expect his new little sibling to be born. We have been trying to prepare him for our new arrival and get him excited about the new addition to our family. I want him to feel like he is a big part of what is going on. Gabe loves books, but I had been having a hard time finding one that I thought was really sending him the right message. Then it hit me, Gabe LOVES to look through all of my mini albums – why not make him his very own mini album about his early days as a newborn? I used photos from Gabe’s first few days to show him what life with a newborn baby is like.

I love this idea because it accomplishes at least three goals:

• Help the sibling learn about everyday life with a newborn by sharing photos of bathing, changing, feeding, sleeping, cuddling and even crying.
• Use photos of the sibling as a baby, so that they can see that they were once a newborn and were cared for in the same ways.
• Give the sibling a special mini album of their very own – Gabe loves his even more than I expected him to!

I used a 5×5 Accordion Album, which also comes with its own keepsake box – too cute ! Here are some pics of the finished box:

And a close-up one so you can see the adorable mini roses and beautiful flocked paper:

Here’s the front of the album – I love the rub-ons in this collection!

I love the little bunnies too !

Now for some pics of the inside of the album – awww, was he really ever that little?

I love that the album has built in pockets and frames – it really is the perfect thing for a preschooler! Plus, you can add extra photos on the backs of the tags.

What a great photo for the last page .

Tips and Tricks for Mini Albums for Kids

• I used the distressed look, with rough, inked edges – that way, if the book suffers some wear and tear at the hands of my preschooler, it won’t be as noticeable.
• I attached clear transparency sheets over each of the photos to protect them from little finger prints.
• I made double-sided tags for all of the pockets in the album, making it more interactive and fun for young viewers.

Still with me? How about that giveaway ! Leave me a comment on this post with your guess about the color scheme of the new baby’s nursery… PINK or BLUE? In a couple of days I will randomly choose somebody from the winning group of answers to receive a special sampling of the Nursery Tales papers and embellishments ! P.S. If you are a friend or family member who already knows, please keep it our little secret for a few more days, OK? ~xo Jess

Custom Greeting Cards Tutorial

Here’s a gift idea to try – handmade custom greeting cards! I made this set of cards as a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. The bold colors and designs remind me of her fun personality. The cards can be used as-is to send a quick note, or she can choose from a variety of greetings to stick on the front of the cards to suit a special occasion. As seen on the Prima blog.

Custom Greeting Cards Tutorial

Digital Supplies: Tea and Silk chipmates sticker sheet

Physical Supplies (all by Prima): Life Colors papers (#910013, #910099, #910068), Say it in Crystals (#529314), Say it in Crystals packaging (#517328), Loft 18 felt flowers (#520052, #520045), Scribbles flowers (#528607), Center Kisses (#520724, #520717), Die-Cut Chipboard (#400026), Clear Epoxy Stickers (#400002), RFH Sticker Sheet.

Steps: Use a pre-made set of blank cards with envelopes or create your own out of sturdy cardstock. Trim patterned cardstock to fit the card fronts (I left a slight border showing on mine). For unity in the set, I chose coordinating papers all from one paper collection. Next, add simple embellishments, leaving room for the greeting to be added later if desired. TIP: I used strips of polka dot paper on most of the card fronts, this creates even more unity between the cards and makes them look like a set. The polka dot paper is actually from the packaging of some Prima Say it in Crystals . Once your cards are ready, you can create some custom greeting stickers. I created mine on the computer, using the digital Tea and Silk chipmates sticker sheet. I just opened the sticker sheet in Photoshop, used the “eyedropper tool” to select a coordinating color, and used the type tool to place messages on the stickers. TIP: once you type a message, you can rotate it to fit the orientation of the sticker by using the “move tool”. When I was happy with the custom stickers, I printed them out onto the RHF sticker sheet, stuck them onto the coordinating chipboard pieces, and placed matching epoxy stickers on top.

That’s all there is to it! Here’s a close-up view so you can see those funky flowers .

Sweet Emma

Ahhh, I remember when my niece Emma was the little girl from these photos… how sweet! She is growing up so quickly, but is still very sweet . I am really looking forward to seeing her more when she moves into town this summer – I can hardly wait! Here’s a mini scrapbook page showcasing lots of beautiful goodies from Prima, along with some of my favorite Emma photos.

For supply list and instructions, check out the Prima blog (click here)!