Monday, December 20, 2010

fancy *HYBRID* xmas gift bags!

i was deliberating on what color to use for the nieces' and nephew's holiday gift bags, when i saw that this week's city crafter challenge (hosted by december's pixie dust paperie GDT!) is "kraft kreations" --thanks, ros, that was easy!!!

thrilled by the quickness of letting someone else make my difficult decisions, i hopped over to sketchy thursdays and nabbed the current sketch:


color...sorted! design...mapped! let the gift bag embellishment commence!!!



(digistuffs: papers: vera lim, gretchen thomas, katie pertiet; stickers: mindy tersawa; word art, tags & snowflakes: katie pertiet, designer digitals; real stuff: plain bags & wired ribbon from michaels; alphabets: thickers; snowflake punches: ek success & martha stewart; border punch: recollections; brads: my mind's eye; stickers: mrs. grossman, jolees; inks: colorbox; adhesives: gluedots, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

ok, how cute are those "jolly friends" christmas characters? they're by mindy terasawa at designer digitals, and i used them last year too, but i couldn't resist a comeback! plus...HYBRID...totally saves you time when you need to make FOUR of something, but you want each one to be individual! believe it or not, i used only one 8.5x11" blank label sheet for each bag, and then just a few "real" embellishments on top for texture and interest. here are the printed bits in various stages:

you can see that i've got three panels: the one with the character on it, a blue one for a primary mat as shown in the sketch, and a longer skinny one for the very back panel behind. each one is a digital patterned paper to which i've added only a little customization...snowflake brushes in various colors...a couple of word arts...those cute dangly tags. the only thing i changed between printings was the cute little character; all else is the same on each bag. here's a shot where you can see the "real" things i added:

i spelled each name in thickers (whose adhesive i enhanced with my sewing machine; i LOVE thickers...but they don't always stay ON, do they??!) the character panel was matted on copier paper and trimmed with scalloppy scissors. i added a punched strip of white paper and a bit of lace. i swapped out the cute journaling spot in the sketch for a compound snowflake made up of a large punch, a few stacked stickers, and a very fancy brad holding it all together.


i stuck all the bits on, and at the end i trimmed up the top with some swirls of ribbon and a fancy bow...et voila!

in closing may i please apologize to all my lovely blogging friends?! i realize i've been a NON-presence in your comments, but not in spirit!!! at the moment, the holidays are verrrrrrrrrrry slightly kicking my crafty butt! :) also...the upcoming january pixie dust kit is very VERY special to me indeed, and i'm finishing up some pretty cool projects to show you next month over there. then i've got a super-cool new DT gig that starts january 6th, about which i am most excited! oh yeah, and did i mention my darling stef and i are hatching a CUNNING PLAN??!?!?!? :) :) :)

please bear with me, and for now accept an extra helping of my holiday cheer, darlings! ♥♥♥

18 comments:

  1. Lovin these ... just soooo cute! ...Can't wait to see your Jan kit and your creations ...

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  2. Lovin these ... just soooo cute! ...Can't wait to see your Jan kit and your creations ...

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  3. Oh my word!! Cuteness overload!! These are quite probably the most adorable gift bags evah! Clever you saving time, but not sparing any cute with hybrid crafting!

    (-: Heidi

    PS you are very definitely not alone in the holiday kicking of crafty butt.

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  4. I love these gift bags, they are equal parts cute and practical! I miss your comments but empathize ENTIRELY and understand completely. Have a wonderful Christmas, and I can't wait for the Jingle Belles!!!

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  5. Just when I was thinking of returning the Create a Critter cart I bought on Black Friday.... great bags and a very cute idea!

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  6. Oooops! forgot to thank you for playing along at CCCB ... Thank you!

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  7. That is one cute post, brilliant work for the gift bags!
    And Jingle Belles is another brilliant idea, if Kirsty stick to it, Kirsty don't have to send store-bought cards next year! YAY!
    Thanks for playing along with us at CCCB!

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  8. Those bags are so cute. Thanks so much for playing along with us at CCCB!

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  9. i'm in love with your adorable adorable sweet bags, lauren!!! i love mindy terasawa, she has the cutest stuff. thanks so much for sharing with us. hope you have a wonderful day! *hugs* steph :)

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  10. Hi Darlin!!!
    sorry I havent been over for ever!!!
    These are seriously `Gorgeous` just like you!!!
    WoW Thankyou Thankyou for my `Beautifulest Christmas card` I do treasure them all so nice of you..
    I am touched by your kindness```

    I do hope you get yours soon!!I sprinkled a little Glamour dust your way to!!!:):)
    Have a very Merry Christmas Miss Lauren,,
    Many Blessings to you and yours..
    lotsa loves always:) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  11. I love, love, love these bags. You cannot be beat (so, people, stop trying!!!).

    They are completely awesome.

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  12. Sooooooooooooooooo cute cute cute!! LOVE them! Thanks sooooooooooooo much for playing along with Sketchy Thursdays! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  13. These are so cute and what a clever take on the sketch! Thanks for joining the fun at Sketchy Thursdays this week!

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  14. Well, isn't that absolutely adorable! Great way to interpret the sketch... as always! Have a great holiday, sweets!! :)

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  15. I am so glad I didn't see these until the day AFTER Christmas. I would have felt obligated to make my packages look this adorable. I am loving these so much.

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the *BEST* part of blogging is the comments, dontcha think? thanks for taking time to leave one! ~♥~