A charming package gives a gift an air of delightful anticipation, and what could be sweeter than a Silly Old Bear and his honey pot?
We used to carefully flatten our lunch boxes (which were a larger version of this one) when we attended Stampinโ Up!ยฎ๏ธ “Convention” years ago at the Salt Palace…they were ideal for stamping on and using as gift wrapping! Now we have White Gable Boxes which are food safe and perfectly sized for a cupcake or small treat (6-1/4″ x 4″ x 2-1/2″) …and each one is just a dollar (comes in a package of 10).
Wrap a 2″ x 12″ strip of patterned paper around the box and cover the gap on the front with a focal point (I added an embossed plaid on the diagonal for Pooh’s background). Simple and adorable.
Assembling the boxes: Gable Boxes come flat, but once you’ve adorned your box as you wish, open the box, fold in the U-shaped flap first, then the sides. Finally, push in the large tab and it will pop back into box shape. Put your treat/gift in the top and pinch the scallop handle together, sliding it into the slot on each slanted side.
Think baby showers, birthday drop-offs, class treats = these are your go-to boxes!
Let’s take a simple treat bag and give it a little glow-upโฆ or should I say a gussie-up! ๐
For our March New at SU! Hop, we are turning your attention to the Online Exclusive products that Stampinโ Up! releases every other monthโincluding March! My project started with the Hearts Gusseted Treat Bag and I dressed it up with the Filled with Sweetness bundle and Homemade Sweetness Designer Series Paper, which I’ve been featuring for a few weeks (scroll back through for ideas when you have the time).
This bag is generously sized (4″ x 6″ x 1-1/4″) and could hold a sweet treat like Strawberry Pretzels, a berry cute kitchen towel, or a Berry Burst Ink Pad and spool of matching Ribbon! Itโs proof that packaging can be just as meaningful as whatโs inside.
The Stampinโ Up!ยฎ๏ธ release of new products every other month feels a bit like opening a fresh batch of inspiration on a regular rhythm. If you havenโt already, itโs worth making a habit of browsing those new supplies. You never know when youโll find a hidden gem that sparks your next projectโjust like this bundle did for me.
As you hop along, may this inspire you to look at your basics in a new way: The shelf-life of these treat bags extends beyond February with a little love shared anytime during the year in a fresh & fruity way!
Here are the faces of a few of the New at SU! Design Team members from the U.S.A.~ L to R: Amanda (Did You Stamp Today?), Rachel (The Joy of Stampin’ with Rachel), Loni- ME! (Creative Juice by Loni) and Diane (24/7 Inkspiration). We met up at OnStage last week (Stampinโ Up!ยฎ๏ธ’s convention) to snap a quick photo to say Hi!
Keep hopping to see more Online Exclusive inspiration from those ladies and othersโฆ thereโs plenty of sweetness ahead! ๐โจ
Stampinโ Up!ยฎ๏ธ has been knocking our ONLINE EXCLUSIVE products OUT OF THE PARK, but we do still offer physical publications three times each year, and they make for wonderful reading material (and shopping lists)! My customers who have purchased recently will receive one of the new May-August catalogs in the mail, but if you don’t have a demonstrator serving you, send me a message with your mailing address and I’ll add you to the list!
Keep your creative juices flowing! ๐๐งกโ Loni Spendlove
Our worldwide New at SU! design team is back to inspire you with new stamping ideas for 2026 and we’re starting off with the theme of “Handcrafted Hearts” ๐ I’ve been wanting to make these adorable “danish woven heart baskets” with the Everyday Arches dies, so this is the moment:
My mom taught me to make these when I was a young girl, and truthfully, I never really got the hang of them until NOW. To help YOU, I’ve created a short How-To video:
The woven pattern is so lovely with the two-tone card stock that I didn’t want anything covering it, so opted for a small heart punched from the new Pastels Shimmer paper and a mini-banner with the message that matches.
You’ll have all the heart eyes ๐ when you see more works of heart made by the other folks, and remember to PIN or SAVE your favorites:
The theme for the October New at SU! blog hop is “No Tricks – Just Treats!” and I’m sharing a Gingerbread Man Tag for a cute Holiday Gift Idea for neighbors, co-workers or anyone who deserved a jolly bit of baking!
Crafters LOVE to give presents, and the details make each gift delightful. This creative idea will have the recipient “baking spirits bright” for a delicious treat hot out of the oven!
The Gingerbread Man bundle includes a die that cuts a cookie that folds in half to form a card. I decided that when it opens, it should look good enough to eat (or rather, HAS been eaten):
I have a few TIPS to make this project easy to prep for making multiple tags:
The 1/2″ strips of Basic White card stock you have left over from making card layers are perfect for the icing squiggles: Remember to put a strip of adhesive sheet on the back of that strip before die cutting, and each squiggle can do one wrist and one ankle on the gingerbread man.
Including the Gingerbread man, you can get all the pieces cut in 3 passes through the Cut & Emboss Machine, if you follow the format below.
The 3rd picture shows all the pieces cut and ready! You’ll end up with two candy canes: one with a white base and one with a red base.
I did add a little sponging of Crumb Cake ink around my cookie with a blending brush, and used another 1/2″ strip for the banner:
The festive hot pads with a POCKET can be found on Amazon HERE for less than $2 each and have some , and the skinny spatulas HERE. The Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie mix was at my local grocery store, but you could substitute a Sugar Cookie mix, which is often found at the Dollar Tree (or whatever mix is available in your area.
Before you move on to another tasty treat stamped by one of our dazzling New at SU! design team, I’ve added the supplies needed for this project to the end of this post to help you get started on your holiday gifting quickly (U.S. crafters only), and I’d appreciate hearing from you if you liked (or copied) this idea ~ you can leave a comment at the top of my post, near the date.
Remember: If your shopping list is more than $35 in October, 2025, your best shopping deal is the STARTER KIT! With two specials this month to choose from (plus a discount on your future purchases- including your Christmas Gifts! – through March 2026!) there are no strings attached to just give it a try…and possibly a wonderful adventure ahead:
If your Halloween crafting stash is calling your name louder than a ghost in a graveyard, grab your Stampinโ Up!ยฎ Spooky Sweet Suite and conjure up something boo-tiful! Don’t worry, eat sweets with these dang cute CANDY BAR BOOKS:
Iโve brewed up two fun versions of this project. The Granny Apple Green โAll Treatsโ Candy Bar Book holds two classic Hershey bars, while the Timid Tiger โSpooky Sweetsโ version was made to fit two Ghost Toast KitKats. Each one ties up neatly with ribbon to keep your candy secure until itโs time for a delicious reveal. Whether youโre giving these as gifts, party favors, or adding them to a Halloween goodie basket, theyโre sure to get more โoohsโ and โaahsโ than a haunted house on October 31st.
These projects are surprisingly easy to assembleโno hocus pocus required! I’ve included an instructional video below, AND a printable .pdf with measurements.
Note that the belly band measurements are shown on white card stock, but the project uses Granny Apple Green card stock.
I embossed the covers to add some textured dimension (because even monsters like stampin’ style), then decorated with die cuts, stamped images, and a touch of sparkle. Isn’t it Franken-fun?
Here are the key measurements for both versions:
Green โAll Treatsโ Book (fits two Hershey bars):
Cardstock base: 5 1/4″ x 6 1/2″ scored along shorter end at 2 3/8″and 2 7/8″
Belly Band: 1 1/2″ x 6 3/8″ scored at 1/2″, 2 7/8″, 3 3/8″ and 5 7/8″
Ribbon: 16″
Orange โSpooky Sweetsโ Book (fits two KitKats):
Cardstock base: 5″ x 6 3/8″ scored along the longer side at 2 3/4″ and 3 5/8″
Belly Band: 1 1/2″ x 8 1/8″ scored at 7/8″, 3 5/8″, 4 1/2″ and 7 1/4″
Ribbon: 16″
Want to see the whole project come to life? Watch my full step-by-step tutorial on YouTube here:
What else did we talk about today? The 3-day KIT SALE (through October 8th):
AND we discussed FAQs on the Starter Kit Special! Bottom line: If you are planning to order more than $35 in crafting supplies from my Stampin’ Store this month, you may as well choose the Starter Kit!
To make your shopping Spooky Sweet, I’ll list the supplies for these projects below and THANK YOU for choosing me to serve your creativity!
It’s a Birthday Bash for our July New at SU! Blog Hop, and our demonstrator design team from around the globe will inspire you to create a personalized birthday celebration using your Stampin’ Up! supplies!
Remember the classic handled-gift-bag topper? I’m giving it a fresh look with the fabulous Party Dies Bundle (banners + big alphabet)!
Stampin’ Up!’s Sweet Jar stamp set has the perfect candles to stamp along the bottom edge of the bag in colors to match your theme!
The largest banner die is approx. 5″ x 7″ so you could create a topper for various sizes of bags. The plain white bag I used is about 5″ wide by 8.5″ tall, so I used the 4th largest banner die on a 4.5″ x 11″ piece of Shy Shamrock card stock (folded in half) for this topper:
Make sure the top of the banner die lays just off the folded edge as you cut through both layers with the bottom part of the die, so you don’t cut this piece into two pieces! Once you’ve die cut the banner, hold the fold up to the top of the bag and mark just outside the edges of the handles, then use a paper trimmer or snips to cut along the folded edge BETWEEN the two marks. This gives you a slit to slide over the handles (after decorating the topper and inserting your gift into the bag)
The On the Go Designer Series Paper gave me the color palette and the patterned paper for this project, and has a full page of adorable luggage tags that make perfect gift tags, too! Sentiments come from the hilarious new stamp set in my Online Exclusives called “Not 29 Anymore” and I also cut a second set of letters from Basic Black card stock to give it a shadow behind the DSP:
I’ll be making more of these to wrap birthday presents in, giving someone a laugh when I gift it! Would it make you giggle?Give me your thoughts in the comments at the top of the post, next to posting date.
Be sure to visit the other party-people participating in sharing birthday ideas this month:
A sketch is a springboard for creativity, and today I dove into creating cards from my stash of Designer Series Paper using this sketch:
Card #1 was a sympathy card using some gilded botanical patterns that have been around Stampin’ Up! a long time, and I wanted to show it off! The Nature’s Sweetness Specialty Designer Series Paper only needed an embossed sentiment added to make this greeting card perfect:
You’ll notice that circle shapes draw the eye when used with rectangles!
Card #3 brings us to another “mailable item” idea: BALLOONS!
In my demonstration video, I suggested blowing up a balloon and writing a message on it, then deflating it again to include inside the card. It’s double fun to have to blow it up to read the greeting! You could also “reveal” what experience you have planned to celebrate with (“I’ll pick you up for birthday lunch on me this Friday at noon!”) by writing it on the balloon.
And finally, since Graduation season is imminent, Card #4 was created with the On the Go Suite Collection and includes a LUGGAGE TAG:
This will be for my niece who is graduating from High School this month and off on a grand European adventure to celebrate (remember when we were just happy to have cake & ice cream to mark a milestone like graduation ๐ฉโ๐ ๐?)
I added the tassel after the demonstration in the video, and think the detail is adorable.
Missed the LONG LIST (and growing) OF MAILABLE GIFT ITEMS? Check it out HERE!
If you enjoy learning “how-to”, here’s today’s sketchy tutorial:
Thank you for choosing to shop with me. Most of the products used were linked throughout this post – just click on a product to add it to your cart…and watch for an exclusive tutorial bundle from me when you spend more than $50 in one month!
Connecting with you is a joy ~ Check out my upcoming events (in person AND online):
A double-patty burger is a satisfying meal for a birthday celebration AND makes a terrific card, thanks to Stampin’ Up!’s Burger Bistro bundle (stamps & dies). In particular, it also pairs well with the Timeless Plaid 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, as you’ll see…
I like coloring this stamped image with our Watercolor Pencils, which you can use without water!
You can watch the tutorial for both card and gift box here:
It’s hard to stop with one card, when the plaid paper makes each card so unique!
A useful gift for the man who likes to grill burgers would be a shaker of hamburger seasoning, and this 2-4-6-8 box is just the right size. It’s speedy to make, starting with an 8-1/2″ square piece of card stock (instructions in the video).
SAVE/PIN this post, then give this card and gift box duo a try the next time you need a masculine birthday gift!
As we continue with the BIRTHDAY theme for March, today’s project is a Happy B-Day LOADED ENVELOPE! You saw the mini version a few weeks ago, and this time we started with a 12″ x 12″ piece of Designer Series Paper to make pockets that hold all the goodies a crafter could want.
On the side of the paper that you want for the outside of your envelope, score on each side at 3-1/4″, then turn 90 degrees and score 3-3/4″ from the bottom edge. You can watch the video below for exactly how to do this.
NOTE: This project works best if the pattern on the outside of your envelope is non-directional, like the flowers on this paper, which don’t have a right-side-up. I did make sure the bee paper was vertical on the back side, so the inside of my envelope shows them the correct direction.
Fold both sides toward the center and press open the “collar” and connect the sides in the front with Tear & Tape. Next, fold up along the 3-3/4″ score line to create the lower pocket(s). You may choose to cut about 1-1/2″ along the right side score line before folding up the pocket, so you can fold it down, as I did on the sample above, which allows you to fold the right edge down, revealing the back side of the paper, and forming a 3rd pocket (where the sticker is inserted).
Add finishing touches to decorate the front of the envelope, like the smallest hexagon focal point above, with a bee, flowers and sentiment. Follow along as I demonstrate:
Stuff your gift with a handmade card, paper snips, adhesives, embellishments (like the Tiny Bee Trinkets!) and other crafting essentials…like chocolate (dressed up in a sleeve of matching paper)!
I hope you’ll have as much fun making one of these as I did! Which crafty friend would appreciate this gift?
Thank you for shopping for the supplies below ~ your support means the world to me as a creator.
Sketches are a Stamper’s secret design tool, and not only do they work for greeting cards and scrapbook pages, sketches also help you master a GIFT TAG…and a beautiful tag will level up any gift!
For our October New at SU! blog hop, I selected 3 tag sketches from page 16 of the September-December Mini catalog and combined those sketches with a set of products that evoke classic Christmas vibes.
The sketches gave me a starting point for my creativity, and a suite of Stampin’ Up! products helped limit my options, which actually makes it easier to be artistic. All supplies are listed at the end of this post.
The Joy/Candle tag mostly features stamping the images from the stamp set:
The stocking tag shows how you can cut some of the images from the Designer Series Paper with the dies, which also match the stamped images:
Finally, the Very Merry tag puts the focus on the sentiment:
The wonderful thing about tags is that they dress up any gift, along with a bit beautiful ribbon ~ see how they make a Kit Collection box fancy? Remember that all the kits are ON SALE this month (see below).
But that’s not all! Tags are adorable on a greeting card, as well:
Not only are tags a miniature piece of art, they are also a terrific way to use up scraps! Try cutting some of your smaller pieces of card stock into tag shapes, and have them ready to pair with a sketch.
Tell me what you think of these tags- leave a comment link at the top of the post!
Visit all the other posts to see how a sketch inspired their projects:
October 2024 New at SU! Hop: Sketches-Crafter’s Secret Design Tool