Tuesday Tutorial: Gift Bag with a Bookmark

Hi Doodlebug fans, it's Monique today. For everyone who wants to give his or her co-worker, neighbor, friend or ... whoever, a handmade, yet simple and quick Christmas gift, here's a fun idea for a gift bag with a bookmark! And for those of you who waited till the last minute to start making gifts: it's done in a jiffy!

Here's how you can make these: start with two plain, kraft, store bought gift bags and Doodlebug's "Home for the Holidays" collection: 

Cut two strips of doublesided paper approx. 7" x 2.5" and fold the top at 1/3. 

Adhere "flags" from the pixies on top (glue the back of two flags together, so you get an image on both sides): 

And embellish: 

Last but not least adhere two small strips of magnetic tape on the inside, so the bookmark will stay in place in your book and the bookmark is done: 

For the bag: adhere a piece of patterned paper on the front of the kraft gift bag, some ribbon and a bow and clip the bookmark around the front: 

And you're done!

And that's it!

Hope you like the idea. Thanks for visiting Doodlebug's blog today and hope to see you back tomorrow! 

Monique

Tuesday Tutorial: Tree Advent Calendar by Amanda

by Amanda Coleman

I love advent calendars!  We have a variety of advent calendars we put up each year, but the ones that hold little treats are everyone's favorite.  This year I made a quick (one hour) and easy Christmas tree advent calendar to add to the mix.

A bunch of tiny Christmas tree grouped together have a big impact.  The fun colors and patterns from the Home for the Holidays Collection are sure to brighten any home.

Underneath each Christmas tree I have hidden treats for the kids to fight over discover each day leading up to Christmas.  Yum!

Making Christmas tree cones is super easy.  Here's how I did it:

How to Make Christmas Tree Cones

1. Cut circles of various sizes from patterned paper.  My circles ranged anywhere from 7.5" to 11.5".
2. Cut circles into quarters.
3. Snip a tiny wedge from the top of each quarter.  (This makes it easier to roll into a cone.)
4. Roll quarters into cones, securing the edges with adhesive.  Trim any excess paper from the bottom of the cone.
5. Staple the seams of each cone.
6. Top cones with round sequins and adhere number stickers.

If you make your own Christmas tree advent calendar, we'd love for you to share on the Doodlebug Facebook page!

Supplies: 
Home for the Holidays collection
Round sequins Christmas assortment
Teensy Type stickers

Tutorial Tuesday: Day to Day "Besties Layout"

Hi everyone! Jodi here today to share with you a layout with instructions and photos to complete your own layout at home!

Here is what you need to get started:

Materials:

1 sheet of white cardstock
1 each of Day to Day Papers- bow ties, sunnyside lane, you + me, oh snap
Day to Day This & That Cardstock Sticker
Day to Day icons  cardstock sticker
Day to Day say chees Doodle-pops
Day to Day Doodle Twine (red)
Day to Day Icon minis- hipster, anyway
Washi Tape: This Way; Ladybug Dot
Yellow Pixies
Simply Sweet Ladybug Alpha Stickers

Other Tools Needed: 
Scalloped Border Punch, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Large Heart Punch
Adhesive: Foam dots, Tape Runner; Glossy Accents (or fast drying glue)
Two- 4 x 6 Photos (vertical)

Step 1:  I love using white cardstock on layouts, in order to make the colors really pop on my layout pop.  Start by cutting a piece of white cardstock:  9 1/2 x 11 1/2.

Step 2:  I love using washi tape to create borders on my layout. Doodlebug has such a great variety that matches perfectly with each collection!  For this layout I added two different colored borders- Ladybug dot at the top of the white cardstock, and the This Way tape on both longer sides as shown below:

Step 3:  Center the White cardstock onto the teal side of the oh snap patterned paper.

Step 4: Punch out two scalloped borders that are approximately 1/2 x 11 1/2. Adhere these to both sides of the This Way Tape.

Step 5:  Make the following cuts:  Bow Ties Patterned Paper- 12 x 3; You & Me Paper- 12 x 1 1/2; Sunnyside Lane Paper- 12 x 3/4.   Make a V-cut at each end of each paper

Step 6:  Layer these three sheets as shown below.  Leave approximately two inches of white cardstock showing at the bottom for embellishing. Add two 4 x 6 photos, so they are centered, and the bottom of the pictures are just above the sunnyside lane patterned paper.

Step 7: Creating the Sun embellishment.

• Punch two circles from the sunnyside lane paper. Adhere one of these in the top left hand corner
• Cut several pixies ranging in length from 1/2 to 1 inch.  Apply a wet, fast drying adhesive to the circle already adhered to the paper. Arrange the pixies to create rays of sunshine. 
• Add more wet adhesive to the second circle and adhere on top of the pixies, and first circle. Allow to dry.

Step 8:  Add stickers from the Day to Day this and that. use foam dots for one hear and the red cloud. Add your title using the simply sweet stickers. Add the four photo corner stickers.

Step 9: Wrap three pieces of twine around the the layout where the sunnyside lane v-cut paper is, and add a bow with the two tags attached

Step 10: Add the rest of the sticker embellishment. Use the doodlepop camera and layer with a heart punched from the you & me Patterned paper.

The final layout:

Stop by my blog for other creative ideas!

Thanks,
Jodi

Tuesday Tutorial: Back to School Supply Tower by Tiffany

by Tiffany Hood

Every teacher wants school supplies- so what better back-to-school gift to give your child’s teacher than school supplies displayed in a cute and creative way, topped off with Doodlebug’s Take Note Collection. This school supply “tower” is easier than you might think, and comes together fast. I’ve created a tutorial for you to show you just how easy it is!

First, gather your supplies. I used an empty hot cocoa can for the base of my tower, but you can use any empty can or bottle. You’ll also need rubber bands, and whatever school supplies you desire. I chose wood pencils, mechanical pencils, glue sticks and crayons.

First, place a couple of rubber bands around your empty can or bottle. Then, place the mechanical pencils one by one through the rubber bands.

Continue until the entire outside of the can is covered with mechanical pencils.

Then, place more rubber bands around the mechanical pencil row and do the same thing again, only with glue sticks this time.

Continue until you have glue sticks all the way around.

The next row I chose to do was crayons. This is done the same way. Add additional rubber bands for more sturdiness if you want to.

Cut strips of patterned paper and staple them together end-to end and wrap around the outside of the tower to cover the rubber bands. Secure with staples or Doodlebug’s washi tape. Embellish with Doodle Twine and stickers. Add a bunch of wood pencils to the inside of the can. I embellished one of the pencils with stickers.

Here are some close-ups

Make a cute card with Doodlebug’s Create-A-Cards and you’re done!

Summer fun Milk Carton Treat Boxes

by Wendy Sue Anderson

I wanted to make some fun little gift boxes with a summerish feel and when I found this digital cut file for mini milk cartons, I knew the Fruit Stand Collection would be perfect!

After I cut out the boxes and assembled them, I simply added a few coordinating stickers to a tag and tied them onto the top of the box. Now they are ready to fill with some sweet summer treats for some sweet friends!

Supplies:  fruit stand (icons stickers, this & that stickers, doodles tags stickers, fruit stand paper, orange blossoms paper) doodle twine (bumblebee, limeade, tangerine, lady bug)

Since not everyone has an electronic cutter, here's an online pattern and tutorial:

Here's the Silhouette Pattern that Wendy used: 

http://www.silhouetteonlinestore.com/?page=view-shape&id=23953

Tuesday Tutorial: Writing with Twine

by Sherry Cartwright

If you are like me, you LOVE the rainbow of colors offered in the Doodlebug Design collections --- doodle twine included.  And, if you're like me, you might be stumped at ways to use all those cute colors of doodle twine.   

Today, I'm going to show you how to write with doodle twine.   

 

Yes, write.  It is super easy to do with the simplest of products.   

Gather the following: 

• your favorite doodle twine
• a scrap piece of paper
• a pen or pencil 
• an awl, paper piercer of stylus 
• liquid glue 
• embellishments to decorate your twine-written title 

Once you have your supplies gathered, you'll need to decide on a word to write.  For this tutorial, I chose SUMMER as my kiddos' will be enjoying summer vacation in two and a half days.   Summer, already.  

On that small scrap piece of paper, practice writing your word.   It's just get a feel of how you want it to look and to use as a visual reminder.   You'll use liquid glue to write a few letters at a time. 

Now, take your doodle twine and start following the glue lines as if you were writing with a pen.  

You are using glue and it will be sticky, so have an awl, paper piercer or stylus handy to help hold the twine to the paper.

Continue with the glue and twine until you've completed writing your word. 

Once you've finished writing your word, let glue dry a bit, then add embellishments.   I used a doodle pop flower sticker and some adhesive pearls to dress up my word.

 So, push your creativity and show off your handwriting -- in twine.

Next up, you could even try the same with adhesive pearls and rhinestones.   How about writing a letter or a word with a line of mini brads?

If you try twine-writing or use doodle twin in your crafty creations, please share with us.  We'd love to see your work.