Teach You Thursday – Recycled Gift Tags

As someone that LOVES to recycle — I’ve been wanting to make something with those pesky weekly sale mailers… In today’s tutorial I’m going to show you how to make your own holiday gift tags using images from a sales mailer.

Step One: Gather Your Materials

Materials weekly sales mailer, scrap ribbon, coordinating scrap papers, recycled envelope

So I had this one mailer that had holiday themed images that I thought would be perfect for a card or gift tag. I found some coordinating scrap papers and scrap ribbon to make the tag. Knowing that I might want a white surface to write a little note I grabbed an envelope I got in tha mail as well. This project is completely scrap materials!!

Step 2: Make first layer of gift tag

Two images cut out from Mailers

Pick out the images you desire for the tag and cut it out from your mailer. Then using adhesive (I used glue stick) place centered on your coordinating scrap paper. I tried to leave the equal amount of distance aroudn entire image.

First Layer of Gift Tags

Step 3: Finish the Gift Tag
Now take your image layer of the tag and adhere it (using glue stick) it to another coordinating paper. Make the image layer centered on this paper as well. Once everything is in place you can take your recycled envelope and adhere the correct amount on the back for your writing area (if you desire that).

Second layer of the Holiday Gift Tag

Then to make it a tag punch a hole in either corner and thread your coordinating scrap ribbon through. And you have your final product – Recycled Holiday Gift Tags!

Recyled Holiday Gift Tags

Have fun Making Your Own Gift Within A Card!
Maranda

Teach You Thursday – Scrap Paper Holiday Greeting

As a cardmaker I find myself wondering what to do when I have some scrap paper with words on it.  Trying to not waste paper or trash it I find some kind of card to make.  Which I hope to show you how to do with today’s tutorial.  In honor of the holiday season I thought I would relate the card to reindeer and music.

Step One: Gather Your Materials (Note materials will differ on this card since it depends on what you have)

Materials: Scrap patterned paper, scrap solid paper, sticker embellishment

I have several pieces of scrap red music sheet paper from a custom order so how fitting for a winter holiday greeting since we hear tons of carols this time of the year.  I also have some sticker embellishments that had 2 prancing reindeers so I thought it would make a great card coordinated with light patterned swirls silver paper and a dark gray solid paper.

Step 2: Layout your papers how you desire on the card

Silver Swirl Paper Placed first

I first took the silver swirled paper and made that my background paper.  Then I took the red music paper and cut it be a inner rectangle allowing the swirls to show.  Now for me I don’t pay attention to the size just cut but next tutorial I’ll remember to tell the sizes.

Placement of Red Music Paper

The last piece of layering is the Solid Gray.  Here I took some fancy cutting scissor that were hill curve shaped and cut a narrow piece of the gray and layered that over the entire card centered vertically.

Placement of Curvy Solid Gray Strip

Step 3: Add embellishment

Now I wanted to use the prancing reindeer sticker embellishment(it isn’t flat but gel like).  So I’ve place it in the center of the gray strip directly in the center of the card.  And here it is — I apologize for the picture but I’m studying for finals and using this as my break!

Finshed product - Prancing Reindeer on Music Paper

Have fun Making Your Own Gift Within A Card!


Maranda

Teach You Thursday – Scrap Word Paper

I apologize for posting this so late… things have been busy with my tutoring and work… by being off work 2 days with the sick kiddo I’ve been working longer hours so that I have mola to pay the bills. 

As a cardmaker I find myself wondering what to do when I have some scrap paper with words on it.  Trying to not waste paper or trash it I find some kind of card to make.  Which I hope to show you how to do with today’s tutorial.  In honor of Graduation season I thought I would relate the card to graduates.

Step One: Gather Your Materials (Note materials will differ on this card since it depends on what you have)

Materials:

Scrap pieces of paper with words on it                         Scrap pieces of coordinating paper                                  Adhesive
Embellishments if desire

 

 

 

Step 2: Layout your papers how you desire on the card

Using your various paper layer them on the card arranging your word paper so that they are legible to read. As you can see I used a patterned vellum paper for the top portion and my words appear at the bottom of the card.

Step 3: Add your desired embellishments
For me I needed something to serve as a divider between the vellum and the word paper so that the styles flow together. I took some blue cardstock – cut as a strip of ribbon and placed some red brads along it.

And you are done you have a card which uses your scrap word paper in congratulations greeting for the special graduate in your life. What do you think?

Keep Making Gifts Within A Card!

Maranda

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teach You Thursday: Paper-Vellum Flower

Okay so I know it is FRIDAY but I scheduled this to post yesterday but it didn’t… so before I post my Fab Five Friday post I wanted people to see the tutorial.  I will post Fab Five Friday after 9pm tonight….

I’ve been busy making cards for our first show of the year – The Festival of Flowers!  Which takes place this weekend… so in honor of flowers I wanted to show you how you can take scrap papers and vellum to make a paper vellum flower.

Step One: Gather Your Materials (Note I have enough materials to make a couple of flowers)

Materials:

Scrap pieces of paper (both solid and patterned)
Scrap piece of vellum (solid or patterned)
A coordinating button
Needle and embroidery floss

Step 2: Make your template flower

Using some scrap paper make your template flower for you to use if you desire.  You don’t have to do this step — you can just draw a flower on your scrap papers.

Step 3: Using your template make at least 3 different flowers

As you can see in the image to the left I cut out three different flowers starting with my solid purple, then I cut the vellum which I made a bit smaller than the solid, and finally I cut the patterned flower which again smaller than the vellum. 

You can cut as many flowers as you want this is your design so if you want more layers you can have them. 

 

 

 
Step 4: Join the flowers together by sewing the button

  

Using your needle and some embroidery floss you will sew on the button to your top layer.  Now I sewed through all 3 flowers to attach my button so that I didn’t have to glue the layers together.  You can do whichever method you like.

 

 

 

And you are done you have a paper-vellum flower which you could use and make a card like this:

Which would make a GREAT card for a mother since Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday!  If you didn’t want to use the flower for a card you could use it for making little flower pins for that special person to wear!  Starting this weekend we will be retailing our paper vellum flowers in our Etsy shop so stay tuned.

Keep Making Gifts Within A Card!

Maranda

Teach You Thursday: Thank You Scraps

REMINDER:  Poetry Giveaway Just for Mom ends midnight, May 3rd.  Click here for more.

As some of our readers know, we moved our studio to a new location recently and with it being spring a time of renewal we are making some changes to how ZeVin Creations markets themselves especially so we can reach our goals for 2008!  One major change we will be making is to the “Making Gifts Within A Card” blog — we are going to have more theme based posts which will still adhere to our goals of educating people of when and how to send cards! 

It is my honor to start the new post of “Teach You Thursdays” – on Thursdays I will post a mini-tutorial on how to make a card geared toward an upcoming holiday.  You know initially I was worried about showing people how to make cards BUT I realized that as we’ve grown our style has changed so I can show the basics and see what happens.  As well this will increase our audience for in these times of economic struggles you can save a little making your own simple little card.  Another neat aspect about these tutorials is that they will be GREEN focused — as some know I love keeping my scraps and make something special with them — I don’t waste anything for you can make something out of any size of paper.

With Teacher Day being May 6, I thought it would be beneficial to show you how to make a simple Thank You card using your scraps.

Step One: Gather Your Materials (Note I have enough materials to make two cards)

Materials:

• Scrap pieces of paper that coordinate together
•             One big size patterned paper, 2-3 pieces of small solid papers
• Alphabet stickers (focus is to spell out Thanks or Thank You)
• Any other embellishments you desire
• One greeting card cut into two flat cards
• Favorite style of adhesive
• Scissors and paper trimmer

 

Step Two: Place your patterned paper down

   

Using your adhesive you want to place the patterned paper on your flat card front in whichever style of layout you desire.  In Card 2 I’m leaving some white space on the top and bottom of the card to give some variety.

Step 3: Use coordinating smaller pieces to form a design area for your words

As you can see, with Card 1 I took my scrap pieces and cut them into narrow strips and adhered them to the patterned paper forming a geometric design.  (I accidentally forgot to take a picture of Card 2 in this step SORRY)

 

 

 

 

 

 
Step 4: Adhere Thank You phrase to the card

  

I always have extra stickers floating around so using various sheets or one new sheet form your phrase.  As you see with both cards I adhered the phrase to a different piece of paper to provide distinction. 

Step 5:  Add any embellishments if you desire

I first apologize for the coloring of this picture(I forgot to enhance it).  But I wanted to add a butterfly to the sentiment so using some scrap paper I cut it out and adhered.  You can add any type of embellishment you desire.

 

 

 

 

So now all you have to do is Write your special message to that teacher you appreciate.  What a great way to make a Gift Within A Card — provide some appreciation to someone that has inspired you via education!

I look forward to doing our next Teach You Thursday for it will be geared for that last minute Mother’s Day gift!

Keep Making Gifts Within A Card!

Maranda

REMINDER:  Poetry Giveaway Just for Mom ends midnight, May 3rd.  Click here for more.