Simple Snowman Gift Tags

Christmas has come and gone for 2013,

but we are still snowed in!

I made a super simple gift tag, and

it turned out so cute, I made dozens more

and thought I'd share:

Supplies:
Kraft cardstock and XL punch
1" sponge dauber
Acrylic paint: white, black
Dimensional paint: orange
Pink Powder Blush and cotton swab

 Punch out your tags ...
Dip your sponge dauber into white paint
and pounce ... either in the center,
or over to the side (I wasn't sure whether
I might want to add a name or a message, so
I pounced on the far side of the tag!)

Dip a stylus into black paint
to add the eyes.

 Use the cotton swab to
apply blushed cheeks to each
snowman head.

Add the carrot nose with the
orange dimensional paint.
To see a tutorial on how to make
these dimensional noses,
as well as the dots ...
click here.

Use the stylus dipped in black paint
to add the mouth.  Dipping the stylus before
each dot will give you same-sized dots.
To get dots decreasing in size,
dip once and dot two or three times
before redipping.  Experiment
on scratch paper first so you'll be happy
with your little black dots!

~ Peace and Happy Snowman Tags ~

Clever Valentines

Happy Almost Valentine's Day!

I turned all this (^) into this (V) in just four hours!

(LOL!!  I had actually planned to spend

a little time each day on these for a week - but

that old stomach virus foiled my plans!)

So ... I had to get 92 Valentines together

yesterday, for the kids' parties this afternoon.

I'll show you more detail, but first -

I have to brag on my crafty girlfriend for her

*ULTRA* Clever Valentine's Day Card Idea!!!

(soooo stinkin' clever!!)

 I LOVE THIS!!!

And I also need to show you the

groovy Valentine Mailbox

she made from a race car shaped gift box:

We spiffed up the wheels a bit AFTER I took

this photo ... and then I didn't

remember to take another photo of the finished

box.  Cuz that's how I roll.

I forget to remember things.

And then Crafty takes a super relaxing trip

over the weekend and I can't

dash over and take the pic I forgot to remember

to take after we spiffed up the wheels.

But, whatever.

CUTE, huh??

Anyway ... here are the ideas I put together

for my munchkins, please keep in mind these are only

slightly clever and shouldn't be categorized

with the ULTRA clever skunk and whoopie cushion idea

posted above.  Also, because I had zero

intention of writing out 92 (that's ninety TWO) 

To and From Valentines cards,

I cheated and ordered cards online.

I didn't even design my own.  Sheesh.

What a cheat I am!!!

For my 13 year old boy,

the only suitable Valentine short of designing

my own (which again, I did NOT do)

was this groovy Dragon card.

The only suitable goody to go WITH the

groovy Dragon card, was the Chinese New Year

Dragon gum tape from OTC.

Even though said 13 year old boy wears

braces on his teeth, and cannot eat the treat

that goes along with his groovy Dragon card.

But I DID score these super cool dead head stickers!

What 13 year old boy wouldn't want

THIS stuck on his school notebook??  Huh??  I ask you!!

But then I realized the super cool dead head

stickers would not fit into ANY of the SIX treat bag

packages that I had picked up for treats.

So ... I compromised (time was running out and

I still had 77 more Valentine goody bags to make):

I stuck them in freezer bags.

Ugh!!  I'm sorry Brady!!!

But I did put lots of candy in there, too:

 And the boy CAN eat the fun dip and the

gummy hearts and the suckers.

And he can play with the super sticky gel

hearts on a string which I think are

disgusting, but boys seem to love them.

eew

Next up: my 11 year old creature-lover

chose the shark card:

I found shark squirters and gummy sharks

and lots of un-shark-related candy

to put into his goody bags.

My 7 year old boy is an astronaut

in his version of the Valentine card, and I

found the create-a-space-scene

sticker cards to go along with his theme.

Also, lots of tiny trinkets and yummy candy

and disgusting super sticky gel hearts on a string.

Now, my 9 year old girl was a tiny

bit more particular.

For instance, she wanted boy and girl treat

bags to be separated and filled with different treats.

I don't know where she gets her creativity.

(hee hee)

Her little Valentines are dancers,

and they include her photo on the inside.

For our competition dance girls,

we bought 7" ballet fairies and candies,

and put them in the fun zebra treat bags:

Then for her classmates,

everyone got the same candies, but the 

girls got a bendable ballerina doll and a token

bling ring (in tiny sizes! so cute)

and the boys got WHOOPIE CUSHIONS 

because what 7 year old boy doesn't need one

of those to play with for three minutes

until they pop?  Huh??  I ask you!!!

And then I cheated (again!) and bought the

teachers a box of candy instead of

painting a super cute container and filling

it with clever theme-related gifts.

But, remember!  I did paint little

Valentines "chalk boards" for them, so I get

a little credit for that.

Of course, as it happens, I forgot to remember

to put the hanger on the back of

one of the teacher's "chalk boards" 

(made from a ceiling tile - see previous post!)

so now I have to run back out to the

studio and hopefully remember that I'm there

because I forgot to remember to glue

the hanger to the back of the "chalk board" so

that I can get that done and get it to school.

Hopefully in time for the Valentines party,

but at this point, just getting it there today would

make me happy.

I did make quick little gift tags for the boxes

of candy - just to personalize them

a tiny bit.  I asked Crafty Girlfriend to cut

me some tag shapes from Kraft cardstock and her

Cricut machine.  Then I stamped a groovy

heart at the bottom, and cut some circles out of

colored paper.  I stamped those with tiny

stamps and chalked them in.

Talk about a craft fail!

I've had the chalks for years, but just

pulled the wrapper off yesterday.

I couldn't get good coverage with the tiny

applicators so I wet a brush.

A Big Fat WHATEVER because that didn't

work.  And I didn't want to paint them.

~And for the record, it's okay that I can't chalk.

I mean, I'M okay with it.

Or maybe not.  I will tackle it again,

but first I will do some research.

Just not right now.~

I don't remember how many goody bags I still

had left to make, so I just did this:

Strung them all together and attached them

to the Kraft tag and wrote the teacher's name

with a permanent marker.

And in case you're wondering,

NO, I did not get the hole punched in the

right place on this particular red circle tag,

and NO I did not fix it.

I'm giving it to her just like this.

I am.

Unless I decide to run out to the studio

and fix it.  Because I'm OCD like that.

Sheesh.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I hope this post was mildly inspiring at

least, and WILDLY inspiring at best!!!

Peace and May You Be Wildly Inspired!!!

Tipped Hat Snowman

This is a variation of the very first project I

had published!  Ten years ago;

and I'm still making them!

Snowmen will always be popular, in my opinion.

Here's what you'll need to make one:

The 3.25" wood tag we've been using,

a craft stick cut in half (also remove rounded ends),

a 6" ribbon for hanging,

Acrylic Paints: White, Red, Black

Multi-Purpose Sealer 

Pink Powder Blush & Cotton Swab

Extreme Glitter: Red; 
Tacky Glue,

Sanding Block, Permanent Black Marker,
Plastic Snowflake Button,
Tiny Bling,

and ... the special touch ...

Tulip® Slick Dimensional Fabric Paint

in orange.

I know there are products more suited to

woodcrafts than the fabric paint,

but this is what I've been using for ten years

and why change a good thing?

Brush on Multi-Purpose sealer (front, back, and sides)

When completely dry, apply two light coats of 

White.  Attach the hat brim (craft stick) with Tacky Glue.

Sand edges with Sanding Block.

Paint hat and hat brim with several coats of Red.

When dry, sand the edges to remove some of the paint.

Apply Extreme Glitter Red.  I usually apply two thin coats.

More coats = more glitter!

Add dip dots for eyes with stylus and Black paint.

 Use pink powder blush and cotton swab to swirl cheeks.

For traditional coal smiling mouth,

dip stylus into a small puddle of Black paint.

Starting on the left blushed cheek,

apply dots in a curving row;

dipping stylus into fresh paint before each dot.

To shake things up a bit, I've created a crooked

little smile with a damp liner brush

(dip into clean water and blot on paper towel)

and Black paint.

Practice the nose on scratch paper or paper towel

before applying to your ornament.

Start on the left, apply an even amount of pressure,

sort of "scribble" up and down to create 

the base of the carrot nose,

then pull towards the right ending in a point.

The key here is applying the same amount of pressure

as you're creating the nose.

Squeezing too hard creates a large blob

which is difficult to work with ...

not squeezing hard enough will give you a

scrawny-looking carrot.

So PRACTICE is the key!

Figure out just what it takes to create 

The Perfect Carrot Nose!!

I would sooooo love to see your creations

if you've chosen to make any of these tag ornaments!

Feel free to attach a pic of your ornament

in the comment section, or email it to me at 

megpiedesigns@yahoo.com

and I'll upload it for you.

Peace!!!

Rudolph Gift Tag

I love these wooden gift tags!

I bought them in bulk ... here's another project

idea for these:

So cute tied to a gift or hanging from a jar

of peppermint candies!

Here's what you'll need:

(1) 3.25" Wooden Tag, (2) 1 3/8" Stars, (1) 1 1/2" Oval, (1) 1/2" Button Plug

Ribbon for Scarf (6" length)

Ribbon for Hanging (6" length)

Gather these supplies:

Acrylic paints: Brown, Red, White, Black, Multi-Purpose Sealer

Extreme Glitter Red

Tacky Glue, Sanding Block, Scissors, Stylus

Seal all wood with multi-purpose sealer.

Paint tag Brown.  Mix Brown and White in a 2:1 ratio

and paint oval and stars.

Paint button plug Red.

When paint is dry, sand all pieces with sanding block.

(Do Not Sand Nose!)

Brush a thick coat of Extreme Glitter onto nose.

Dip a stylus into a small puddle of black paint and dot eyes.

Attach all pieces with Tacky Glue.  Allow to dry.

Apply Multi-Purpose Sealer over entire piece.

Outline details with black permanent marker.

Tie ribbon around neck for a scarf ... knot a piece

of ribbon through the hole for hanging.

You might want to glue the end of the scarf in place.

How sweet!!!