Gift bags

 I made these two bags using the We R Memory Keepers bag maker. I did make a few adjustments though because I wanted the bag bigger than you are able to make with their guide. I also made a extra fold at the top of the bag to hide the attachments for the handles.

The first bag uses Stampin' Up! Crisp Cantaloupe 12 x 12 paper from the In Colour DSP stack. The sentiment is from the Perfectly Penned set and the framelit die is from the Apothecary Accents set. I used Memory Box and MFT dies for the design on the front of the bag topped off with a bloom from Prima.

For the second bag I used Island Indigo DSP from a now retired range.
I decorated the front with paper and die cuts from My Minds Eye Hip Hooray range.

The bags measure Imperial 5 3/4" x 2 3/4", Metric 14.6cm x 7.1cm, you will need two sheets of 12 x 12 paper . I reinforced the bottom with a piece of card. For handles I have used ribbon. I measured the size of the handle I wanted, cut the ribbon to length and the stapled each end to a piece of card 3/4" or 2cm square.
On the photo below, you can see the inside of the bag and the top fold. I made 4 cuts (3/4" or 2cm long) on the top fold line where I wanted to position the handles. I then inserted the square piece of card (that the ribbon was attached to) through these cuts. The squares were then firmly attached to the bag. The fold was then secured to the squares and the bag. When finished the fixings are neatly hidden.
I hope this all makes sense, if you are confused or want clarification just leave a comment and I will try to answer your query.

New goodies

I had been coveting these Stampin' Up! stamp sets ( Simple Stems and Hardwood) as soon as they started appearing on the US demonstrators blogs.They along with the gorgeous Fresh Prints stack were eagerly purchased when the new catalogue was available here in Australia.

The leaves and stems (Fabulous Phlox and Norrland Flower) are dies from Memory Box available here

With the first card, I stamped Hardwood in Crumb Cake on White, which I think gives the wood a lime washed effect, that I really love.I tried lots of colour combos for the wood but white and Crumb cake are my favourites which ever way round you use them. I stamped the blooms in Real Red and used the Tiny Tags stamp set and punch (both sadly retired)  for the sentiment.

For the second card, I stamped the flower in Coastal Cabana and then highlighted the stamens in red.It looked a bit bare at the bottom of the bloom where there were no stamens, so I added a few extra. Here I have stamped white on Crumb Cake, quite a subtle effect which doesn't detract from the flowers.