“A Country Christmas” Tree Tutorial

I started with this gorgeous 7.5 Cashmere tree full of texture and fullness! I absolutely had to have the metal ring as my tree skirt this year. (DIY Tip: We added bricks underneath the tree to give it more height and it made the metal ring would show better.)

I always start with the garland. I decided to use two garlands this year: a red and white felt ball version (quantity 4), and a big roll of burlap ribbon.

Next up? The ornaments! I went around Michael’s store and found a variety of rustic/woodsy ornaments including silver bells and wooden tags from the Alpine Decor line…

…and oh my word. How adorable are the foxes and campers?

After I have all the ornaments placed I add small picks! These add so much dimension to the tree. This year I used wooden pinecone and berry picks.

I also love to add accessories around the tree for a final touch! I grabbed this fun Santa bag, Santa mail box, and wooden box.

From trees to ornaments and holiday décor, Michaels has everything you need to MAKE this holiday your own!

POST BY: Kari Sweeten

The post “A Country Christmas” Tree appeared first on U Create.

I never hesitate and tell them “definitely decorating Christmas trees”. Well, it’s that time of year again where I get to participate in the Michaels Dream Tree Challenge and I can’t wait to show you what I came up with!

CHALKBOARD & PLAID CHRISTMAS TREE 2015

I have been in love with plaid this year and knew that I definitely wanted it in my dream tree this year! Lucky for me, Michaels had a great assortment of plaid ribbons, accents, and can you believe those gorgeous, plaid poinsettias ?!?

Plaid was fun, but it needed something more to make it pop!

In came the chalkboard theme with it…

I found these pretty, laser cut Christmas sayings in white and hot glued them to chalkboard ornaments to make the letters stand out. Michaels had all shapes and sizes of chalkboard ornaments and sayings so I had fun picking out my favorites!

I fell in LOVE with that chalkboard ribbon and had to use it as the garland.

I had a tree skirt for my tree in mind but couldn’t find anything I liked. Sooo…I went to the fabric area and grabbed two packages of felt and made my own. I found some felt snowflakes to give it that “snowy” feel.

Tutorial for my NO SEW Christmas Tree Skirt is coming tomorrow.

For my gift wrapping this year I grabbed some white wrapping paper and chalkboard paper, too! I simply added those polka dots to a present I bought my sister Becky with a chalk marker. I plan doodling on other packages soon.

HUGE thank you to Michaels for letting me participate in this challenge for my 4th year! My family and I LOVE our new dream tree and are looking forward to the holiday season!

Here are some of my past Dream Tree Challenges…

PEACOCK CHRISTMAS TREE

PEPPERMINT & SNOW CHRISTMAS TREE

GOLD AND SILVER CHRISTMAS TREE

POST BY: Kari Sweeten

This post is brought to you by Michaels. 

The post Chalkboard Plaid Christmas Tree appeared first on U Create.

Although, I initially planned to put my husband’s Valentine gift inside, I decided to let my little girl take it to school for her “Valentine Box“.  I definitely think it will be the funnest one there…even though most kids probably won’t understand what it is…unless they have nerd-parents like my kids.

This gift bag would be awesome for ANY gift giving holiday, too.  I made it with my Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter, white vinyl and these incredible Doctor Who stencils by Doodlecraft (who quite possibly could be my BFF in real life).

The post Last Minute Valentine Bag: Doctor Who TARDIS appeared first on U Create.

One of my favorite things to do for a simple gift idea is to pick one color and create a gift around it. The possibilities are endless and today I thought I’d share 4 colors including free printable gift tags. Don’t miss our newest show below “Craft it Forward with U Create”!

YELLOW tags

ORANGE tags

BLUE tags

PINK tags

The post Buckets of Color Gift Tag Printables appeared first on U Create.

Our newest episode of “Craft it Forward” is all about BIRTHDAYS! Send a plain boxes with fun surprises inside and brighten up somebody’s day with a birthday package!

Here are the three different balloon printables to choose from:

Click below for the free printables:

PINK BALLOON

YELLOW BALLOON

GREEN BALLOON

Wondering where I bought my crazy straws? Walmart has jumbo ones for $1 each. If you can’t find them there you can find some bright ones on Amazon.

The post Birthday Care Package Ideas appeared first on U Create.

Hi friends!  My name is Amy and I blog over at Ameroonie Designs.  I’m here to share with you a super simple packaging idea for gift cards, or really, anything small and sweet you want to gift to friends or neighbors.

These fun brown bag envelopes are as fun to fill as they are to make, you’ll find yourself making them for everyone on your list.

The first thing you will need are flat brown paper bags.  I purchased these from Pick Your Plum, but you can also find them at your local packaging store or even many craft stores.  These are small 3″X 5″ bags, but you can find larger ones for larger projects and gifts.

Once you have your bag, fold it along the length to create a second pocket and sew around the two short sides and the bottom. (you can just do the sides if you like).

Once your bags are sewn, you are ready to embellish.  This can be the most fun, but also the most challenging part.  There are so many fun papers, tapes and other goodies to use, narrowing it down can be hard.   For these gift card holders, I simply used washi tape.  It was super simple, fast and easy.  I also used a large paper clip to create a bookmark with washi tape flags as an additional embellishment and a bonus gift.  You can put the gift card in either pocket and fill the other pocket with simple treats.  Keep the treats fairly flat so they won’t fall out, or you can use the paper clip bookmark to hold the pocket closed.

The post Brown Bag Gift Wrapping appeared first on U Create.

It’s flat in the back, bow hangs straight, and this works great every single time!

Make sure to check out Dana at MADE Everyday’s many other video tutorials!

The post How to Tie the Perfect Bow appeared first on U Create.

How clever is this Valentine’s hugs and kisses packaging by Sahana at Vikalpah blog?! Such a fun way to combine, XOXO and tic tac toe packaging!!

Check out all of the other fun projects on her blog Vikalpah!

The post XOXO Hugs and Kisses Packaging appeared first on U Create.

Supply List:

• Gift Bow Stencil
• DUCT TAPE
• scissors and pen/sharpie
• Kraft wrapping paper

Instructions:

#1: Print out the stencil.

#2: Cut out the “bow” part of the stencil and the tiny rectangle piece.

#3: Cut two 8 inch pieces of duct tape and tape them to each other.

#4: Trace the “bow” stencil with a pen or marker onto the 8 inch piece.

#5: Cut out the “bow”

#6: Cut the tiny rectangle out of duct tape using the stencil and tape it to the edge of your table for now. #7: Fold the ends of your “bow” into the middle.

#8: Wrap the tiny rectangle around the middle of the bow.

I wrapped little presents in kraft paper. The I cut a long piece of duct tape and wrap it around the box and adhered the bow to the box with a glue dot.

It would also be great to create a variety of boxes and bows and decorate a mantle or table with them!

Post by:

The post DIY Gift Wrap Bows with Duct Tape appeared first on U Create.

So, I totally taught myself how to print on a paper bag and I LOVE doing it. This is such a simple and quick way to create a fun personalized gift bag.  I am using these for Valentine Gifts for me kids. I choose the saying “Love You More” because that is what I always say to them.  You could create ones with your child’s name for their lunch.  Make one for hubby, too…

Supplies:

White Lunch Bags

Computer/printer

Bag filler (I used Foil Shreddings)

Twine

Hole punch

Plenty of candy!

Instructions to use Picmonkey.com to create a label:

Print your label on a lunch sack:

Decide where you want the image.  I moved the image around and printed a page or two until I liked where it ended up.

Once you are happy with the position, print a final time and tape the lunch bag where you want the label.

Change the print settings to the “best quality” and feed the paper (with the bag) into your printer.  Carefully take the tape off and you have a perfectly printed bag.
Fill the bags with treasures and fold the top down.  Pop two holes in the top.

Tie some twine in a knot and you have a darling VALENTINE GIFT BAG!

I would love to see what creations you make with this technique of printing on a lunch sack.  Send them my way: becky@u-createcrafts.com

The post How to print on a paper bag appeared first on U Create.