Simple Gift Box and Tag

My oldest son always takes hot chocolate mix as a gift for his teachers - see here.  My youngest prefers Pretzel Turtles.  I think that he thinks they are less work, but by the time he unwraps all of the Rolos - not so much!!  Particularly since he needed 108!  I contribute the tags.  (He has written to/from on the tag since I took this picture, but handwriting is not his strong point so I took the picture first!)

The tag is Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #5 (the bottom is cut off on the white layer.)  The snowflake is My Favorite Thing's Let It Snowflake. The sequins are Neat and Tangled's Crystal Clear.  And the twine is Hemptique.  The paper and boxes are from Hobby Lobby.
We first started doing the Pretzel Turtles before they became so popular.  Now you can find displays in every grocery store with the pretzels, Rolos and pecans.  When we first made them, the teachers were in awe of these simple little candies. Now I think it is my son who is in awe - particularly of all the parts and pieces that he can nibble on while making them!  They are perfect for kids to make (as long as they are careful of the chocolate when it is hot)!  If you haven't tried them...

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Pretzel TurtlesSmall mini pretzelsRolosPecan halvesPreheat oven to 300. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment of foil-lined cookie sheet. Place one Rolo on each pretzel.  Bake for 4 minutes. While the candy is warn, press a pecan half onto each Rolo.  Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Catered Crop: Small Size Matters

The current challenge at Catered Crop is that (small) size matters!!  Make some mini cards - they can be tags or gift card holders or anything teeny tiny.

The challenge came at the time when my kids were making hot chocolate mix for their teachers.  We've done this for a number of years and I have a template in Word that prints off tags in just the right size for one of my tag dies.  I just change up the teachers name's and it's ready to go.  However, the mini card challenge got me thinking of how easy this makes it for my kids - too easy (other than the fact that they measure out the hot chocolate mix).  A card would require them to write something on the inside - and think a little bit about each teacher as they put the gifts together.

I just got the Holiday Treats set and dies from Verve Stamps and with its mini cups, I knew it would be perfect for my mini cards!


Here's a close-up.

It's a very nice hot-chocolate mix - rich chocolate with a dash of peppermint.

The layers are:
1 cup powdered milk1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup granulated sugar1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips1/2 cup crushed peppermint candyIt all fits in a 1-quart jar and makes 12 servings









On the inside flap of each card, I did pre-print instructions and added my favorite stamps from the set "Have a cup of cheer". 

The jars aren't actually done yet - I made one so that I could write this post.  So, after my kids and the entire high school marching band perform in today's Christmas parade - we'll come back and the powder will start flying and the sound of crushing peppermints will echo!!

• Stamps: Verve Holiday Treats
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake
• Ink: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Certainly Celery, Crumb Cake, Memento Cottage Ivy, WPlus9 White
• Accessories: Verve Cup of Cheer die set, Hemptique Twine, Pretty Pink Posh sequins

Another Quick Gift Set

I just can't seem to plan ahead - because I found myself needing another gift set and I had around an hour to do it.  There's nothing to do in cases like this except to CASE - and who better than Christina at Sea Glass & Sentiments.  This link takes you to a card folder and gift set that she had made using WPlus9 stamps.  (BTW - if you don't follow WPlus9 you should check out their blog.  They are in the middle of new release week and they have a fishing set that is DARLING - and I don't even fish!!)

If I were making these cards for myself, I would have kept them all green and brown as did Christina.  I do not really know the recipient of these cards so I thought I better add some color just in case that's what she prefers.  Because I added color, I had a few other options out of various WPlus9sets.  FYI: I did not have time to make Christina's folder, but I did make three each of these cards for the gift...



The sentiments are from a variety of companies - they just happened to be on my desk for other projects.  Let me know if you want details and I can find them again!

A Very Quick Gift Set

I went to bed last night feeling like I was forgetting something.  I woke up this morning with the panicked realization that I needed a gift for a thank you party for my son's long-term 6th grade substitute.  Obvious answer - a box of handcrafted cards.

So...I couldn't use multiple layers because I couldn't cut them all in time.  Embossing folders to the rescue.  I needed an embossing folder that added all of the interest on its own - I went with Stampin' Up's Elegant Lines.  It's not been my favorite - but this morning it saved me!

Then...a variety of sentiments - fairly big-sized to take up some of the front.  I wanted a punch or die for those sentiments and I used Stampin' Up's Decorative Labels.  I have other dies that I could have used, but it's must faster to punch multiple labels.

Then...embellishments - whatever I could easily reach...it varies by card.

Finally...colors - I used this week's colourq color challenge.  Obviously, I can't submit this because one color per card really isn't the challenge(!) - but I did want to give them credit.














Time was up at this point, so I couldn't get a nice little folder made, but I did have some appropriately sized plastic boxes and I quickly put together a coordinating tag.

Very, very, VERY simple - but I think it works!!