Pumpkin Face Favor Bags

These bags were made using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations "In the Bag" die.  A few people asked about the size of the bag.  The finished size is 4 inches tall, 3 inches wide and about 3/4 inch thick (sides).

The dies is a "movers and shapers" base type of die so you could insert some of the small cuts in the tray to make openings in the bags.  I'll show some examples another time.

This is the flat cut produced by the die.  The die will work in the Cuttlebug but you will need the longer plates.  If you don't have them you can run it through and then shift the "B" cutting plates slightly to cover the last section and run the die through again.  The Sizzix regular cutting plates are the correct size to cover the entire die.

On of the things I like most about using this type of die is that it both cuts and scores the bag in one pass through the machine.  You can see all of the score lines in the photo above.

I added one of the leftover pumpkin face cuts from the candy or candle holder (see original post HERE) to the front of the bag.

The slightly ragged edge at the top of the bag is a nice detail.  I use Scor-Tape to hold these bags together.  You could use a fast drying liquid adhesive if you prefer.

When the bottom flaps of the bag are folded in, the tabs interlock and the bag should be secure.

This view down into the fully assembled bag shows the folds and interlocking tabs.  I like to reinforce the bottom if i am planning to add something heavy to the bags.

I saved the cardstock leftovers from the original cut.  The section on the right side will work to cut a strip to reinforce the bottom of the bag.

I cut the strip just under 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch tall.

I used two strips of 1/4 inch wide Scor-Tape.  I set it slightly in from the edges so I peeled off the protective backing on the first piece before adding the second strip. Then I simply stuck it to the bottom of the bag.

It helps to use the handles of your scissors or some other tool to push down from the inside of the bag and set the taped piece of cardstock.

Here is the reinforced bottom of the bag.  It is now quite sturdy and can hold lots of candy!

You can leave the bag plain or add a handle made of string, ribbon, twine, paper - whatever you like!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  For the rest of the month, everyone who leaves a comment on my blog will have a chance to win this Sizzix "Scrap Pink" set.  You can see more photos and details at THIS POST.  For more chances, you can leave a comment everyday for the rest of the month - but just one comment per day please.

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Pretty Little Favor Bag

I imagine my craft room might look a lot like some of yours (well, at least the more chaotic ones!).  I always seem to have extra bits and pieces from projects that I leave on my work area.  I try to organize them so I'll remember to use them.  Soon they are overflowing and you could do an archeological dig through the layers that accumulate on any horizontal surface to discover what I have been working on for the past few weeks (...or months).  I actually prefer having these things sitting around because I sometimes find interesting combinations that I my not have put together if everything was neatly tucked away.

When I was making the Hope card (see THIS POST if you missed it), I tried a few different versions of the size and layers for the word "Hope."  I couldn't let them go to waste, so I put the extras together and used one of them to decorate this tiny favor or gift bag.

I have lots of cartridges that will cut bags and I can easily design my own bags and boxes to cut with one of my electronic cutters but sometimes I do prefer to use a regular steel rule die - particularly if I need to make a large number of the same item.

I recently bought this Tim Holtz bag die from the Alterations line by Sizzix. 

The die makes a tiny shopping bag that is easy to assemble.  It looks very authentic when you use a piece of a larger paper bag and run it through a manual die cutting machine (or the Vagabond if you have one). 

I first saw this die at Absolutely Everything, when I took the classes with Tim Holtz last spring.  They had lots of sample bags made up and decorated.

The bags had a vintage look and were done in mostly browns and subdued colors.  Many of them were inked for grungy and distressed effects.

I decided to try making a totally "ungrungy" bag using a pretty pink cardstock from Martha Stewart and some ruffled ribbon from May Arts for the handle.  The "hope" sentiment that was the wrong size for my card would fit the bag perfectly.

To assemble the bag, you need to put adhesive on the long side flap.  I also added a bit of adhesive on the two short side bottom sections.

The bag is designed so the bottom flaps will interlock.  First you fold in the two side tabs...

...then you fold down the long "U" shaped section.  Scor-Tape is my favorite adhesive for holding bags and boxes together.

The last section folds and tucks under the "U" shaped piece and the points of the "U" shaped piece lock it into place.

Instead of stapling a string handle to the front and back of the bag, I add some Scor-Tape to the two narrow sides on the inside and then adhered the ribbon to the bag.

The Scor-Tape will hold the ribbon securely so long as nothing very heavy is added to the bag.

The two sided cardstock makes the bag look finished inside and out.

I glued my extra "Hope" cut to the front of the bag.  You could add some flowers or other embellishments to decorate the bag.

I simply placed a few pink pearls on the first letter and the final flourish to accent the word.

I think I am going to enjoy trying all sorts of different versions of this bag.  I'll tell you more about the pumpkin bag another day.

We had a very busy weekend so things are a little off schedule again - lots of irons in the fire these days!  I may be making another trip soon - somehow I think that craftroom is never going to get sorted out!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  For the rest of the month, everyone who leaves a comment on my blog will have a chance to win this Sizzix "Scrap Pink" set.  You can see more photos and details at THIS POST.  For more chances, you can leave a comment everyday for the rest of the month - but just one comment per day please.

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email.

Birthday Present Stand-In

When your children start to get older, birthday presents get a bit more complicated.  There are many things that they'd like but it is difficult to choose exactly the right style or model to suit their wishes.  Sometimes it is easier to just shop with them, but you still want to have something to wrap up for the cake and candles time!

My neighbor's daughter wanted a cell phone for her birthday and we stopped by a local toy store to see if they had a toy phone that she could wrap up and give her daughter until they could go to the phone store (we were thinking of something for a couple of dollars just to serve as a placeholder...).  The only phone they had was much more expensive and then I realized - we didn't need a toy phone, we could cut one out of paper to serve the temporary stand-in purpose.

 There is a cell phone on the Locker Talk cartridge.  This is an older cartridge and I always thought it was a bit too cartoonish.  However, when I needed to exchange a duplicate cartridge a few years ago, this was the only one the store had in stock that I didn't already own (remember, there used to be far fewer cartridges and stores usually do not stock all of them).

This particular phone is a dated style but still recognizable as a cell phone.  There are three pieces - a base, shadow and blackout layer. There is also a small circle to layer as a button at the top but I chose not to use this.

I cut the layers and quickly assembled the phone (I volunteered to make the phone since my neighbor would need to drive the girls to their activities all afternoon).  The blackout layer is a glitter cardstock and reminded me of a phone keypad - even though it is in the screen area...

 I added a cute flower and a peel off Happy Birthday sentiment on the front.

I had a gift bag that I made quite a while ago - it turned out to be just about the right size to hold the phone.  I added the blue gem to the flower on the bag to coordinate with the phone colors.

The purse style bag and the flower are from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge - one of the ones I "had to have" when I got my first Cricut.  There are bags and boxes on many cartridges now but this used to be one of the few places to find these handy little items.

Mission accomplished - I left a bag with the finished surrogate gift hanging on the front door so it could be smuggled into the house in time for the birthday dinner. 

The moral to the story - Sometimes you already have what you need - you just have to remember that you have it!

 Don't forget, tomorrow is the Disney Pixar blog hop.  I have two projects and I am trying to decide which one to post - maybe I'll just post both of them...

Have a great day!

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Pretty Pink Purse (and a few tips)

I recently stumbled across some lovely faux leather paper in pearlized colors from American Crafts (in Marshall's of all places!).  I wanted to give it a try and  I thought it was perfect for making a paper purse to use as a table favor or gift holder.

I have been trying to use some of the cartridges that I purchased in the Black Friday sales last year, you know - the ones I "had to have" that have been sitting idly on the shelf.  One of these was "Forever Young" which is an older cartridge I didn't get at first because didn't think I needed such a "girly" cartridge.

I decided to make one of the purses and  today I'd like to share a few tips I have for cutting and putting together bags and boxes from your Cricut cartridges.

I knew that my paper was only 8/12 x 11 so I used Design Studio to figure out the largest bag I could cut.  I placed a rectangle on the second page of the file and adjusted it to be 8 1/2 x 11 and then I added the purse to the mat and sized it to fit with a little room to spare.  I set the paper at the 1/2 inch mark from both the top and the side to avoid any issues with the "uncuttable" area of the mat.  I used the preview to see exactly where to place the purse on the mat.

One of my pet peeves with the cartridges is the "tick marks" they cut to indicate the folds.  For a regular card they are nonsensical - we all know how to fold a piece of paper in half!

On the boxes and purses they make a very untidy edge that is not attractive.  You can see the edges in the sample purse I cut from scrap paper above.

I don't like my pretty papers to be messed up with all of these extra lines.  So I use Design Studio or the Gypsy to eliminate all of the interior cuts (known as webbing) with one simple step - just check the weld box. 

In the case of the purses on Forever Young you will also need to use "hide contour" to eliminate the word that is designed to cut into the front. 

The "webbing" lines will not cut when weld is checked because they are not completed cuts.   The word "fancy" in this case is one continuous line and would cut if it was not hidden, similar to the way the eyes on one of the animal faces will cut even though you lose some of the detail lines when you weld to make a shaped card (I do have a way to work around that problem which you can read about HERE and HERE).

I then use my sample cut with the marks to help me see where to score the purse to fold it correctly.  These score lines will be clean and neat with no cuts.

To assemble purses and boxes, I use a strong tape like Scor-Tape.  The red liner tape also works very well for boxes.  First you connect the flap to the side.

Line it up carefully for a neat edge like this.  Remember, these adhesives are very aggressive so it is important to get it right the first time!

Next you fold in the flaps to make the bottom of the bag.  First fold in the long side with the "U" shaped cut-out.

Next, fold in the two side flaps and be sure the bumps catch underneath the first side.

Finally, tuck in the last long side so it looks like this.

I was concerned that the bottom of the purse might not be sturdy enough for some heavy candy to be added so I cut an extra piece of cardstock to add as a reinforcement on the base.

I used Scor-Tape again to attach this piece to the base of the purse.

I also cut a strip of paper at 1/2 inch x 10 inches to use for a handle or strap.  I added about an inch long piece of Scor-Tape to each end.

Then I secured the handle inside the bag to get a strong hold.

The cartridge design has tab and slit closure and these can wear out quickly.  So I added some small magnet pieces to close the flap.  These were cut from some leftover magnet frame material I had at home.

I matched up the two small pieces making sure that the polarity was correct so the magnet would work and then used Scor-Tape once again  to secure the magnet to the purse.

First I attached the two pieces together to the top flap and then I removed the protective covering on the Scor-Tape and folded the flap down to stick the second magnet in the correct position.

 

You can buy "prettier" round punched magnets but these worked fine (and I had the frame on hand).

The decorations for the bag are these vintage jewels and a white flared flower from Creative Charms.  They give a nice sheen and sparkle to the bag.

I hope you picked up a few tips for making very neat and professional looking bags and boxes.  I think I'll try making a few of the other purses on the Forever Young cartridge and use them for gifts - or just sit them on a shelf to look pretty!

I am off today on another excursion to IKEA - and hoping the items I want are still there!

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