Candy Cane Christmas

Edit:  I just had to paste this comment from Renee in here.  I totally agree with your thoughts on  Christmas.  The materialistic part of Christmas stresses me out....the family part, I love.


From Renee:  I, too, remember my Daddy talking about being a child during those times and how if there was an orange or candy cane and a new pair of pants or shoes, it was a good Christmas. And now our children...well, lets just say they would report us to CPS for being bad parents if that were to happen!:) And though I love the Holidays, and am by far not a Scrooge, sometimes I really want to go back to those simpler times, where it was about the spirit of Christmas, the togetherness and not the gifts. So I love this idea and can't wait for more! 


Hello friends.  I hope you Papertrey fans got plenty of goodies at tonight's release.  I know after creating projects with this month's holiday products, I am definitely getting into the holiday spirit.  I'm really looking forward to getting a head start on my holiday cards and gifts.

With that said, I am happy to announce a new Papertrey feature here on my blog.  It's called Make + Save.  The concept for Make + Save is that I will be blogging posts all about creating inexpensive and fun gift and packaging ideas, complete with supply lists and instructions.  You can read more about it here.  A link will be provided to a special section at the Papertrey Ink website that will contain a main photo of my project along with the supply list and how to instructions.  All of my projects will be grouped together and easily accessible at the Papertrey website here.

If you're familiar with my blog and stamping style, you know that I create from the heart, usually with specific people or events in mind.  I love to make cards and gifts that are practical, easily mass produced, easy on the pocket book and creative.  So without further delay, I'd like to show you my first  Make + Save project.

As a child, I loved to wrap all the presents at our house.  It think it was all that fun paper, tape and sticky bows and trying to make gifts look pretty.  But as an adult, wrapping gifts can sometimes seem more like a task than a treat simply because it's such a busy time of year and we've added two reds into the mix.  So why not get a head start on your gift wrapping and create a Candy Cane Christmas Gift Wrap Station?

Red and white is always a favorite color combination for me during the holidays.  And what better represents those two colors more than candy canes?  By grouping together a few supplies, you can start creating fun tags and gift wrap as you get a few extra minutes here and there.  For my gift wrap station, I like to take over a table in the basement and keep it clean and organized for wrapping presents.  This year, I'm going to use a silver tray that has all my smaller gift wrapping supplies in one handy place.  Plus it looks just delightful so it's almost like a centerpiece of sorts on my table.  

My first project is these embellished candy canes which will become gift topper tags.  Or they can be given out all by themselves as little candy favors...or hung on the tree or a garland.  I created them by stamping small candy canes from Tiny Treats: Christmas and the candy cane sentiment from Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers onto a Vintage Ornament Die.  The smallest of the ornament dies makes a great little tag for smaller stamped images and sentiments.  

Simply tie Fine Linen ribbon to candy canes, then tie the tags around the ribbon with Pure Poppy Baker's Twine.  Display the embellished candy canes in a cute jar or holiday themed mug or basket until it's time to use them.  These make for a cute display just sitting in my little pink drinking cup.

When it's time to wrap some gifts, simply grab a candy can and adhere it to the present with a large sticky dot.  To make the ribbon that wraps around the box, take a strip of Fine Linen Topnotch Twill and draw a line down the middle with a red Copic marker.  I used R29 for the perfect candy cane color. Wrap this around a gift box or sack and secure on the bottom side with clear tape.  So cute and so easy.  By having the candy cane embellishments done in advance, you'll be able to wrap presents with flying reindeer speed.  I plan to fill my little boxes with truffles topped with crushed candy canes.  When I find the perfect recipe, I'll be sure to share.

Next up, I have a candy cane card to match...just in case you want to get all matchy-matchy with your gift and card.  I saw in the forums that a few of you were getting worried that the Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers did not have a big candy cane image.  People, people, have we let you down before?  Of course there has to be candy canes to fit into the cute jar image.  

Insert Mishie story here:  My dad was born in the 30's during the Depression.  His family was poor and he remembers lots of times going to bed hungry with a growly tummy as a child.  He said that many times all you got for a Christmas gift was a single candy cane and maybe a small toy if times were good.  A single candy cane.  So now every holiday season, I always have candy canes around the house as a reminder to appreciate the simple things in life.  

And now look at us in this day and age.  We have candy canes galore...even on stamps!  Oh how I love this big candy cane image from the Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers collection.  The image looks great in the jar but also as a stand alone image.  To make the prettiest of candy canes, stamp the image onto cardstock and color with the R29 Copic Sketch marker.  Outline with the E43 marker to make the candy canes pop off the page.

Here comes some holiday twinklage.  Using a glue pen, color over the Copic colored candy canes then sprinkle on Papertrey glitter.  Ohhhh how shimmery and sparkly the candy canes become.  

Assemble the card as shown below...remember all the instructions are at the Make + Save link at Papertrey Ink. 

Sooo...with all this candy cane goodness, you're sure to have some visions of gift giving dancing in your head.  I hope you're inspired to get an early start on your holiday wrappings this year.  Have fun!

Stay tuned for more Make + Save posts here on the blogaroonie.  There won't be specific scheduled times for these posts....they'll just pop up from time to time.  I hope you enjoy and be sure to let me know what type of gifty ideas you'd like to see.  I'll start a list.  :)