Of course, we all know just how cute a Ziploc bag can be (not very) so this year, I have decided to take my Valentine’s gifts to a whole new level.  What is great about this activity is that it is pretty simple, nothing too labor intensive and the finished product is wonderful. The kids get to enjoy giving and I get to enjoy sending in my holiday gift bags, yet again.

This craft is very easy and you can do it on your own or with your kids.

What you will need:

• Paper:  You can use wrapping paper, printed paper or white printer paper.
• Packaged Candy:  The best candy to use for this is a chocolate bar or anything that is in a small box.  You can use wrapped candies but the end result just isn’t the same and you will probably have more fuss than you really want.
• Ribbon:  Pick a Valentine’s ribbon.  There are tons of Valentine’s ribbon in reds, whites, pinks, and covered in flowers that you can buy at craft supply stores.
• Hole Punch:  You will be using this for your tag.
• Cardstock:  Choose a color that matches your paper and ribbon or simply go with a white cardstock.
• Markers
• Tape
• Embellishments: These are little odds and ends to decorate your candies with.

Directions:

1. Measure your candy and jot it down on a piece of paper so you don’t forget.  You will want to measure the surface area but since we will not be closing off the ends, you will want to simply measure the length of the candy and then measure the width on the top of the candy and times it by 2.  You will also need to measure the side width and times that by 2.  So if you have a chocolate bar that is 4 inches long and 2 inches wide on the top and .5 inches wide on the side width, then you will want a piece of paper that is 3.75 inches long (so you have a bit of the candy showing) and 5 inches in width.  Give yourself an extra .5 inch for overlap when you fold the paper.
2. The next step you will want to make is to decorate the paper.  If you used a printed paper, then you really don’t need to do anything at this stage, instead you can move on to step 3.  If you didn’t, decorate the paper with stamped images, or stickers or your child can draw pictures on the paper.
3. Now that your paper is ready, wrap it around the candy and tape it carefully into place. If you don’t want to see tape, add a few pieces of double sided tape in between the overlap. Set the candy aside.
4. The next step is to create your tag.  This can be done in a variety of ways but basically, you will want to cut out the shape of a tag in your cardstock and decorate with a message like “Be My Candy Valentine,” or with a sticker or stamped image.
5. Punch a hole at the top of the tag and insert the ribbon through the hole.  Finish by creating a bow with the ribbon.
6. Attach the tag to the candy and give to a friend on Valentine’s Day.

Sirena Van Schaik

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Of course, stamping didn’t hold me long before I burst onto the scrapbooking scene and I quickly began to produce stamped scrapbook pages much to the delight of everyone who saw them.

That delight, of course, led to me needing to experiment with new techniques and I quickly realized that I wanted to produce more than a stunning page, I also wanted to produce stunning effects with very little effort.

This activity is definitely one of those stunning effects that is easy to do and can look great on a card or on a scrapbook page.

What you need:

• Cardstock
• paper cutter
• clear embossing powder
• stamp
• stamp ink
• heat gun
• versa mark

Directions:

1. Prepare your cardstock by cutting it to the dimension you want and then stamping it with an image. In my case, I started with a butterfly from Stampin’ Up and colored it in with watercolor pencil crayons.
2. Once your image is finished, allow it to dry if you used markers.
3. Take the versa mark and stamp the clear ink over the entire surface of your image.  Make sure it coats the entire image and cardstock.
4. Pour embossing powder on the image and cardstock.  Make sure you use a lot and tap off the excess onto a piece of paper before you return it to the container.
5. Using your heat gun, melt the embossing powder until it is completely melted.  If you do not have a heat gun, you can melt it by heating the back of the cardstock, carefully, over an electric burner.  Do not use a gas stove to do this.
6. Before the embossing powder cools, take the embossing powder and coat the image and cardstock again.  Make sure you tap off the excess before you continue.
7. Melt the second layer of embossing powder completely.
8. Repeat again if necessary until you have a thick layer of embossing.  This varies depending on the type of embossing powder that you use.  Some brands only require two layers while others require 3 or 4.
9. Once you have placed the last layer on the image, place it in the freezer while it is still hot.
10. Allow it to cool completely. This should only take about 2 minutes at the most.
11. Remove from the freezer and carefully crack the cardstock where you want the cracked glass effect to be.  Play around with it until you are happy with it.  Make sure that you do this carefully since too much bending can cause the cardstock to split completely.
12. Now that you have your cracked glass, assemble your card or your scrapbook.

To bring the cracks out a bit, you can sponge ink on the embossed surface.  Make sure you take off the excess so you are only left with ink in the cracks.

Sirena Van Schaik

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