JAMSquared

My little brother Jason recently turned 26. As he enjoys cooking in the kitchen, I picked up some gourmet ingredients for him at Spec’s. They have an excellent gourmet food section in addition to the wine and spirits they sell. To wrap up the gift, I put together the following gift bag and matching card.

Jason's Birthday Present

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Viola
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Real Red
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black; Stampin’ Up Real Red
Markers:  Stampin’ Up Real Red, Basic Black, So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, Handsome Hunter, Certainly Celery; Spica Silver
Tools:  Stampin’ Up Scallop Border Punch

Jason's Birthday Card

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Viola, Weathered
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Stazon Jet Black; Stampin’ Up Real Red
Markers: Stampin’ Up Real Red, Basic Black, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow; Spica Silver, Clear
Accessories:  Stampin’ Up White Detail Powder (on sentiment)

My sister Sarah’s birthday was back in February. Initially, I was going to mail hers and her husband’s birthday gifts (their birthdays are about 2 weeks apart). But we procrasinated about picking out a gift for Brian (see his card here), so they just got their gifts last weekend when we visited for my nephew’s 1st birthday. That said, I didn’t want to post the gift I made for her until after she opened it, because she is a faithful reader of my blog and she didn’t need any sneak peaks.

Sarah's Birthday Ensemble

Julia Aston of Create With Me inspired me to make this little bag. I found a tutorial by Julie Buhler here and I modified it slightly since the clear card boxes I had purchased were not as deep. Julie also showed how to make the scallop rectangle using the scallop border punch.

The Bag

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Wonderful Favorites
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Pacific Point, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Whisper White
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up   Petals & Paisleys
Ink:  Stampin’ Up Pacific Point
Accessories:  Maya Road Velvet Blossoms, Stampin’ Up silver brads
Tools:  Stampin’ Up scallop border punch

I decided to fill one inside pocket of the bag with four simple cards (two birthday and two congratulations). I also made Sarah a birthday card to match.

One of the Cards for the Pocket

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Congrats or Birthday Whimsey
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Pacific Point
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up   Petals & Paisleys
Ink:  Stampin’ Up Whisper White Craft
Accessories:  Maya Road Velvet Blossoms, Stampin’ Up So Saffron brads (Thanks Lori)

Sarah's Birthday Card

Stamps: Stampin’ Up So Many Scallops
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Pacific Point, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up   Petals & Paisleys
Ink:  Stampin’ Up Regal Rose
Accessories:  Maya Road Velvet Blossoms, Stampin’ Up Pretty in Pink brads (Thanks Lori), A*Muse grosgrain stitch ribbon

The other pocket of the bag was filled with a plain white notepad (pack of 10 purchased at Staples) that I monogrammed each sheet of and a pen filled with a strip of the patterned paper. I used my Just Rite Monogram Stamper and I found the idea for trimming the “From the Desk of” border at their blog here, which is an awesome idea.

Monogrammed Notepad and Pen

Stamps: Just Rite Monogram Font and Special Occasions Border
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Pacific Point
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up   Petals & Paisleys

I’ve been meaning to post the cards I made for Valentine’s Day for a while, but time has gotten away from me. The first picture shows the card I sent mine and James’s family and my friend Kristy. The ribbon matched perfectly.

Valentine's Day Card

Stamps: Hero Arts Clear Design February (sentiment)
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Rose Red
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up  Loves Me
Ink:  Stampin’ Up Rose Red
Accessories:  Michael’s Megaroll 5/8″ polka dot ribbon
Tools:  QuickKutz Heart w/ Flourish set (Archiver’s exclusive)

This second picture shows the card I made for my sweet husband and the gift bag I decorated to wrap a little something I gave him.

James' Valentine's Day Card & Gift

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Riveting (sentiment on card), Love Matters (hearts on bag)
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black; Doodlebug Sugar Coated Cardstock Red
Ink:  Stampin’ Up Real Red, Rose Red, Regal Rose
Accessories:  Spica Red; dimensional
Tools:  QuickKutz Heart w/ Flourish set (Archiver’s exclusive)