Creating handmade for the holiday!

Welcome to day two of our 2nd Annual Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Calling all crafters! We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season. This 3-day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all of the thoughtful and frugal handmade gifts you could create for the holidays, all in one place, during our second annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!

To sweeten the Hop, we’re offering a gift for you! For every comment you leave on the blogs in the Hop, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors!

Use the Rafflecopter widget on the Clearsnap blog to gain extra entries each day: http://clearsnap.blogspot.com

Earn extra entries: Follow our blog - by email or become a Follower. Like our Facebook Pageand share the Hop info with all your Facebook Friends. Leave a comment to let us know how you're enjoying this 2nd Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop.

Now, on with the projects!

One of my favorite gifts to make are note cards and all-occasion cards. Just about anyone will have an occasion arise where they need to drop a note of thanks, sympathy or hello and these little blank cards can fit the bill. I always tuck the cards into a little gift bag that is very easy to make. This packet includes four cards and envelopes in a coordinating gift bag.

The gift bag is made from a 6-inch by 12-inch sheet of cardstock, cut and scored as follows. It is decorated with coordinating pattern papers cut 1/4-inch smaller than the gift bag dimensions. The paper here is from the Authentique Festive line. I loved working with it; it has a nice weight and the collection coordinates so well!

I always test-fold my gift bag to make sure I get the adhesive on the correct edges. Just fold it all together to see which edges should overlap and then apply adhesive to those edges. I braided three colors of twine from the Twinery for the handle and set two eyelets on either side, inserted the braid and tied a knot in the end.

After adding the decorative border strip, punched with Fiskars Interchangeable Border Punch with the Lacy Doubles, I placed a Festive Merry and Bright sticker in the center, set a tiny eyelet and tied some more The Twinery twine into a cute little bow. The rustic tree is a Globecraft & Piccolo piece that I added lots of dots with the G&P Metallic Silver 3D Enamel Gel. I think it all coordinates quite well.

Cards can be made from all your pretty little scraps of pattern papers and I made these from remnants of the Authentique Festive collection and added the Festive stickers, Piccolo accents and twine. It's just a matter of cut-and-paste and coordinating your colors.

Once your cards are laid out then the fun begins by adding embellishments. These cards are adorned with a mixture of Piccolo Accents from Globecraft & Piccolo, stickers from the Festive line from Authentique, stamped images from Hampton Arts, and twine from The Twinery. I edge all the papers with Tombow marker N57 to cover all the white. It's just a little detail the defines the edges.

The two ornaments on the "Let your Heart" card were punched with the Fiskars Squeeze punch then coated with Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze to add a bit of dimension and shine. I added a touch of Metallic Silver 3D Enamel Gel to the top - just like a real ornament! I like to coat the book-board Piccolo pieces with Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze to really pop the natural color and seal it.

Here's a close-up of some of the details.

If you enjoyed this little gift idea, you'll absolutely love the other projects you'll see on this Hop! Be sure to tell your friends!

Visit the list of blogs below and leave a comment on each by Nov. 27, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by, and create from!

Saturday, Nov. 17 

Clearsnap – http://clearsnap.blogspot.com

Hampton Art - http://blog.hamptonart.com/
Graphic45 – http://g45papers.typepad.com/

Fiskateers - www.fiskateers.com/blog

Donna Salazar Designs – http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/

Tombow USA – http://blog.tombowusa.com/

Authentique Paper http://authentiquepaper.blogspot.com/

The Twinery - http://www.thetwineryblog.com/

Eileen Hull for Sizzix http://eileenhull.blogspot.com/

Globecraft Memories – http://globecraftmemories.blogspot.com

Diana Gonzalez – Clearsnap – http:// www.arteypoemas.com

Monika Wright – The Twinery - http://www.iloveitallwithmonikawright.com/

Gretchen McElveen - Hampton Art - http://gretchenmac.blogspot.com/

Megan Aaron – Clearsnap-  http://thoughtsoftraveling.blogspot.com/

Tania Willis – Fiskateers- http://throughtrialsiambeingpurified.blogspot.com/

Gloria Stengel – Graphic 45 - http://www.gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

Suzanne Austin – Clearsnap - http://whatsinalousyananut.blogspot.com/

Shellye McDaniel – Authentique Paper - http://paperedcottage.blogspot.com/

Natasha Naranjo Aguirre – Donna Salazar Designs -  http://www.moments-of-tranquility.com

Jen Carter – The Twinery - http://jensinkspot.blogspot.com/

Laura Denison – Graphic 45 - www.lauradenisondesigns.com

Candy Spiegel – Globecraft Memories - http://candyspiegel.wordpress.com/

Cheers to creating gifts from the heart this holiday season!

Happy Hopping! 

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