Every now and then a new die that totally blows my mind comes out, and this is one of those times. I am super duper excited to be a part of this special blog hop for Laurie Willison of Soapbox Creations, who designed this awesome Card Hanger Die for use on gift bags. She is so sweet and talented, and I am in awe of her on this day. (I am also mildly impressed with myself for having kept this a secret for as long as I did!)

As card makers, we spend a lot of time and put BOATLOADS of love into our cards, and then we get a gift ready for a party… but what happens to the card? Usually, it gets put in an envelope and hidden away, and if you’re like me and have a tendency to use bulkier items like ribbon and flowers on your cards, they don’t always fit nicely into an envelope. With this new card hanger die, you can proudly display your cards on the outside of your gift bags as a decoration!

I’ve made a few projects for the hop today to highlight several other reasons why I love this die. It gives you the ability to match your wrapping to your card. Do you see how I used Laurie’s die to cut from papers matching the patterned papers that I used in my cards? (I also love that it helps me to reduce my patterned paper stash a little bit more!)

You can also hang your card two ways. Laurie talks about this in the video that is available on her blog today, but I thought it would be fun to show you both ways. Above you can see how I trimmed the gift bag so that the card actually slides into the bag, but below you can see how the entire card is hanging on the outside of the bag.

I also used the die to create the large yellow flower on my card below. The center of the die is shaped like an oval, which is easily put together to make a large bloom:

Of course, all of my gift bags are brightly colored, but a safe bet is keeping a stash of kraft or white gift bags handy and ready to decorate. Adding the die to several bags is SO easy, and you can be ready with a gift in no time.

Please check out Laurie’s blog for more info on how to purchase this die. Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of these card hanger dies. One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on the 4 blogs in this fun hop today! Be sure to leave some love for my Kansas girls here:

Thanks so much!
Suzanne

I just watched the Patriots lose by 1 point and needed a quick pick-me-up so I decided to play along in this week’s Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge!

When I saw the triangular shape in the sketch, I automatically thought of the tree in All Yule Need. I used a PTI die to cut the tag, and paper pieced everything using Versafine ink and October Afternoon’s Holiday Style collection.

Welcome back to the Neat and Tangled release! Today is Day 4, and we are featuring a cute mini set called Do Not Open.

On my tag above, the gingerbread man was cut from October Afternoon Holiday Style paper, and the stamp was pieced and layered to look as though he’s holding it like a sign.

Are you all enjoying the Neat and Tangled release so far? Well, today we are featuring a new set called Santa’s Notes, and it contains some SUPER fun stamps inspired by letters you might send to the North Pole. I had a ton of fun making these cards for today…my floor is covered in patterned paper scraps!

On my card above, I stamped the checklist image along with the checkmark onto a diecut as the focal point, and later stamped the North Pole image, which was embellished with a twine bow and some bling to stick out from behind the diecut. I used Crate Paper papers and a doily from the supermarket on this card. I can’t wait to mail it!

On this card, I broke out my October Afternoon collection and designed a card mostly inspired by the Santa patterned paper. I thought that the “Reindeer Approved” sentiment was perfect here, so I stamped it in brown ink onto a banner and layered everything together. These papers seemed to go perfectly with these new stamps!

You HAVE to see the rest of this set and the other projects over on the Neat and Tangled blog, so hurry on over and have a fun day!

Happy Saturday, everyone! Sorry for the silence here on the blog this week. I wasn’t feeling particularly crafty over the last few days, so I spent a lot of time catching up on work stuff. I actually took an online seminar on molecular pathology, and loved it. Yes, I am a nerd like that! I made up for lost crafty time last night crafting at Linda’s (my SU! demo) house and making this Christmas tag for this week’s CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which it to incorporate banners or flags into your project.

I started off with the plain chipboard gingerbread man, which was traced onto October Afternoon paper. I then cut and covered the little guy in the paper, which was later sanded and inked up. I layered him onto the background shape, adding the OA flags and pearls to his body. The finishing touch was the ribbon loop on the back of the tag. Did I go buck wild with the distressing? I didn’t think it would look that dark! LOL!

How’s everyone doing today?! It’s time for another great CAS-uals Fridays Challenge…

But sometimes I don’t feel like stamping, and this card is a result of that laziness in me last night. I saw my October Afernoon Farmhouse paper pad on the shelf, and realized that the text paper in that collection would be perfect for this week’s CAS-ual Fridays Challenge, which is to make a card using text on your card.

I love the color inspiration from that paper pad as well - the yellow and gray combination is one of my favorites! I embossed the yellow cardstock with the Imprints 1 impression plate from Clear and Simple Stamps and added the wooden sentiment flag and flowers from Prima. I added the simple jute twine bow using ivory twine from May Arts, and called it a day.

This week’s winner wins a slot as our guest designer, so I hope you’ll all play along. Have a fun weekend and stay cool!