Make a DIY Easter Bag & Card set in an hour

Hello friends…Kim here with a challenge for you!

Are you like me and have loads of  leftovers of collections just looking for purpose? Well I set myself a challenge for todays post..to find a purpose for the leftovers I have from the super-cute, themed, Millie & June collection. So I thought with Easter around the corner, that I would get a head start with my crafting & come up with a way to transform the supplies into an Easter gift set. The colors are fabulous & the patterns super cute…I knew right away it would not be difficult to do.

This is the result!

Easter Gift Set by Kim Watson

(Youtube process video to follow, see my channel or pop back to see this post once updated)

The first thing I did was look for a whole 12×12 piece of paper. I would need an entire sheet to create the gift bag. Once folded, I die-cut the bunny face to fit the width of the bag, rouged her cheeks, drew her eyes & mouth and then made the bows from the convenient Millie & June die-cut paper bow set.

The card was also super simple to put together. Using a strip of Our Garden patterned paper I cut a backing piece in the gold foil stripe & flipped the leftover piece using the floral side to cut a big pennant shape. I then die-cut a circle from the pennant, making a little window for the chick to peek out of.

The accents consist of a trimmed tag (to hide the sentiment) & a few patterned heart ephemera; which reminded me of Easter eggs. Not having the correct stamp sentiment, I used the speech bubble die-cut & hand wrote Happy Easter, which finished off the card nicely.

So as you can see, repurposing your themed products is not as complicated as you would think. I hope this has inspired you to haul those leftovers out, with the purpose of giving them new life 😀

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have an awesome week!

Fancy Pants Designs products used: Millie & June

Fill an Easter egg with 'confetti' & a FREE cut file

With Easter days away, I wanted to share a page I created with Easter photos from a few years back using my collection, Joy Parade, for Fancy Pants Designs.

I adore the pretty colors & adorable embellishments and the fact that this collection can be reworked for any occasion. 

Enjoy Easter by Kim Watson

 I really wanted to make a shaker egg embellishment but didn't want the hassle of actually filling it with loose toppers, so opted for a cute faux 'confetti' filled egg instead, using some of the fabulous puffy sticker dots & shapes from this collection. I adore how it turned out. 

Faux shaker egg accent by Kim Watson

A close up of the super cool sticker accents & alphas in this collection. 

The addition of cork brings great texture & contrast. 

:BONUS:

For a FREE cut file for you to create an egg shaker for yourself.

  Use this link or click on the image >>

Ombre watercolor effect for your cards!

Thanks for joining me on the blog today friends! I have some ideas to share that I hope you are going to love!

Ok, so do you love making cards? Yes, I do!

Do you have friends & family you love give cards to? Yes, I do?

Do you feel like playing with paper right now? Yes, I do?

(Then I think we are on the same page hehe!)

Here are some cards that will add a whole lot of color to someone’s life, using the uber fun, Joy Parade collection from Fancy pants Designs AND gorgeous bling & flowers from Queen & Co. 

Create an ombre effect with complimenting watercolors like I did on these few examples. 

Hello Friend card by Kim Watson

• Add some bold swashes of watercolor for the background.
• Punch a vellum scalloped circle.
• Decorate with flowers & leaves.
• Adhere little bling accents in ombre colors to match the background.
• Punch a cute sentiment.

 Celebrate #lifeisajoyparade card by Kim Watson

• Add some bold swashes of watercolor for the background.
• Punch a sweet butterfly then paint it in bright colors.
• Adhere puffy sticker dots in ombre colors to match the background.
• Attach a cute sentiment from the Ephemera pack

Make a Wish card by Kim Watson

• Punch an assortment of butterflies from left over scraps.
• Arrange them in an ombre fashion.
• Splatter background with ink colors to compliment butterfly colors.
• Once dry, attach butterflies & sentiment from the Ephemera pack.

Eat Cake by Kim Watson

• Cut a selection of paper strips, attach adhesive tape on the back.
• Lay the strips in a pleasing patchwork arrangement, trim off extra.
• Paint a cupcake Ephemera piece & allow to dry.
• Attach accent to card with foam tape & a little bunched pile of thread.
• Decorate with puffy stickers & a sentiment.

Trio of Cards  by Kim Watson

All done…four rainbow inspired cards, sure to bring joy to anyone who receives them. I hope you have enjoyed them. If you are curious how I created the backgrounds, be sure to take a look at my Youtube channel.

Thanks for visiting! 

Easter bags + a tutorial!

Hello crafty friends! I hope your week is going well?

With Easter just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to show you how I made my Easter baskets, for our Easter hunt, planned to happen during our annual Easter brunch. They are sturdy, and a great way to hold Easter eggs & candy from the ‘Easter Bunny.’

Easter Bags by Kim Watson

Supplies: 

• Patterned papers from the Office Suite collection
• 3×4 Journal cards trimmed into tag shapes
• Assorted Ephemera from the Office Suite collection
• A selection of large die-cut alphas
• Resin flowers from previous Fancy Pants Designs collections
• Paper straws which you can find in Fancy Pants Stationery& Party collections
• Brads, Twine, Adhesive & a stapler

Cutting the journal cards down in size into tag shapes, makes them less bulky to attach to the bags once decorated. I used a large alpha for the beginning letter of each child’s name, an appropriate decorative shape, a little sentiment label & a stamped sentiment to complete the tags. The rough twine tie & mini staples, add great texture!

Next I made each child a pretty pinwheel. They are super easy to put together. Cut a 4×4″ square of patterned paper, slit along the diagonals & fold. Attach to a paper straw with a large brad & add some curly paper strips to make them more festive.  

Easter Bag Tutorial by Kim Watson

Instructions:

• Take a variety of 12×12 pieces of patterned paper
• Fold either side to the centre 6″ mark
• Turn 90 degrees & score at 4.5″ & 7.5″
• Fold along all score lines
• Adhere top folds
• Folding each side up, press gusset at 45 degrees, it’ll fold there automatically
• Cut x2= 2.25″x6″ strips & adhere along front top edge of bag
• Cut 3/4″x12″ bag handles
• Adhere in place & stitch either side of the band at the top of the bag to make them extra secure
• Your bag is ready to be filled

I hope this tutorial inspires you to get started on your Easter crafting projects? These bags were so rewarding to create & I know each child who receives them will love them as much as I do.

Happy crafting friends!!

Season’s Givings Blog Hop 2016- WIN a prize!!

Happy New Year and welcome to the Season’s Givings Blog Hop!

Together with 100's of crafters from all over the world, I have a wonderful opportunity for you to win.  Every blog featured below has a prize and a fabulous project for your inspiration! So grab a drink and a snack and get ready to blog hop! 

Be sure comment for a chance to be entered into the draw for the prize below...AND remember to pin your favorite projects from my blog, and use the hashtag  #seasonsgivings2016 for an extra chance to win!

Featuring my newest collection, Wish Season from Fancy Pants Designs:

Holiday Fun with You by Kim Watson

To celebrate the Season, I also have a giveaway. Beautiful products from Fancy Pants Designs: 

Remember:: Be sure to pin your favorite projects from my blog, and use the hashtag  #seasonsgivings2016 for an extra chance to win!

Follow the links below for the other blog participating!

Lawn Fawn
Scrapbook Cards & Today Magazine
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 
Reverse Confetti
Technique Tuesday
CAS-ual Friday Stamps
Verve Stamps
Donna Salazar
Richard Garay
AdTech
Stamp Simply Ribbon Store
Inchie Arts
Avocado Arts
OHscrap (Bossy Joscie)
Rubbermoon Stamps
Latina Crafter
A Jillian Vance Design
JustNick
Your Everyday Stamps
Latisha Yoast
AJ Otto
Kimberly Crawford
Julia Stainton
Laurie Willison
Teri Anderson
Jennifer Gallacher
Vera Yates
Wanda Guess
Nichol Magouirk
Kelly Klapstein
Anabelle O’Malley
Kim Watson You are Here!
Chari Moss
Laura Bassen
Lydia Fiedler
Lisa Adametz
Alice Wertz
Daniela Dobson
Jenn Shurkus
Lori Craig
Amy Tsuruta
Lisa Henke
Margie Higuchi
Lee Murphy
Lori Tecler
Dina Kowal
Loretta Lock
Darsie Bruno
Marcie Sharp
Veronica Zalis
Barbara Anders
Maria Levine

Dana Joy
Melody Rupple
Keri Sereika
Asia King
Jennifer Ingle
Yvonne Van de Grijp
Beth Pingry
Erica Houghton
Mary-Ann Maldonado
Piali Biswas
Ashley Newell
Nicole Maki
Julee Tilman
Leigh Penner
Christina Griffiths
Lindsay Amrhein
Laura Williams
Debbie Seyer
Christine Emberson
Kerry Urbatch
Linda Lucas
Tosha Leyendekker
Giovana Smith
Bunny Vance
Stacey Schafer
Lee Ann Barrett
Ruby Naz
Julie Dinn
Jill Hawkins
Christiana Reulling
Jodi Collins
Gracie Chavez
Michelle Woerner
Tania Willis

Karisse Schilling

Lori McAree

Ashley Harris

Emily Leiphart

Heidi Blankenship

Coralynn Murray

Tenia Nelson

Pretty Philosophie

Jillian Vance

Misti Oblander

Ceal Pritchett

Thanks for visiting!

Countdown Calendar & FREE Template!

With the festive season in full swing, jingle bells in the air and the craziness of holiday activities do you find yourself needing a reminder of how many days are left until Christmas?

With my to-do list, I sure do… hahaha, so I created this fun calendar helping me count down the days until the 25th December. My children are already negotiating who gets to change the tags each day, especially as they get to grab a piece of candy for doing so (bribery can be a good motivator… oops did I really say that?) I love that it is fun and funky enough to sit on my mantel with our other Christmas decor.

Here is the result: a super cute Countdown Calendar made with the uber cute and thoroughly festive Wish Season collection.

Countdown Calendar by Kim Watson 

Using the ‘Snowed In’ patterned paper and a PDF template I created, I cut out and folded first the box, then the drawer and the backing board. By folding a little step in the backing board it acts as a ledge, stopping the count down tags from slipping off.

The front of the drawer is decorated with ephemera. Behind it, adhered to the top of the box, is a selection of little trees and a deer charm, all found in the Wish Season collection. Together they create a sweet little wintery scene.

The little drawer keeps your 25 Countdown Tags all neat and tidy when you aren’t using them.

Countdown Tags by Kim Watson 

The ease at which you can put these tags together will surprise you. Start by cutting a mixture of tag bases 2.25″x 3.75″ and decorate, it’s as easy as that!!

Supplies you will need to complete the tags:

• 6×6 paper pad
• Countdown tag pack
• Ephemera pack
• Various puffy stickers
• Silver foil
• Buttons
• Mini attacher

BONUS: I have created a downloadable template with full instructions for you to make a Countdown Calendar of your own!! ENJOY!

::Download link::

Hope you all have a fun and hopefully not too crazy week preparing for the Christmas festivities. Remember if you use the template please upload your projects to our Facebook page or hashtag #fancypantsdesigns on Instagram to allow us and our fans to leave you some crafty love! Glad you stopped by!

Fancy Pants Designs collection used:  Wish Season