Make It Monday: Half Circle Pennant Banner

Hey Gifters!!! It's time for Make It Monday!!! Today at the crafting like we went back and forth about what to create for today. Due to the fact we are having a small gathering tonight, we decided to create something that would liven up the walls for our guests. That is why we decided to create a Half Circle Pennant Banner.

Pennant Banners are an awesome way to customize decorations for any celebration you are having. They are also very easy to make. You can you use paper, ribbon, string, lace and all sorts of other goodies to create your very own pennant banner and we will show you how!

Supplies

White Paper

1 Fiskars Circle Border Punch with circle guide

Small Scissors

Tape gun or double sided tape

Score Board and Bone Folder

1 piece of white ribbon cut to 48"

5 pieces of blue ribbon cut in various lengths starting at 8" (in order to be tied into some form of a knot)

Step 1

Using the Fiskars Circle guide, trace three 6" circles 

Step 2

Cut out the 3 circles 

Step 3

Place your circle on its respective groove on your Fiskars Circle Boarder Punch 

Note: Be sure to use the guide for the 6 inch circle. As you punch around the circle try your best not to let the circle slip from under the groove after each punch. To avoid this, hold the circle with your left hand always being sure to align it with the pattern guide and turn it counter-clockwise with your right hand. (vice versa if you're a lefty.)

After the first punch, be sure to punch again once you've reach the last dot of the punch you've just created always aligning it with the pattern guide on the punch as pictured below.

When you have completely finished each circle the edge of the paper will automatically come off and because of Fiskars great design, it will be easy to clean up the leftover paper as well!

Step 4

Here is where the process for the half circles begin. You can free hand fold your circles if you would like but I wouldn't suggest it. Take your circles using you scoring board and score them at the half point which is 2 9/16" (it's the dash right after 2 1/2") in between the two dots created by the pattern.

Step 5

Cut the circles in half (you should end up with 6 halves)

Step 6

Using your tape gun, apply the adhesive across the stop of the straight edge

Step 7

Tape side up, apply the ribbon to each half leaving about an inch and a half of space in between

Step 8

Tie your ribbon however you like and place them on the spaces in between each circle half

Hang up your Half Circle Pennant Banner and Enjoy!!!!

Whether you use them for a baby shower, birthday party, or an intimate gathering; pennant banners are sure to equal lots of fun!!!

So Gifters, will you be making a pennant banner for an upcoming event? If so, what kind of banner will you be making??? You can share your #MakeItMonday creation with us by replying right below on our blog or you can respond to us on our Twitter feed @TheGiftIsYours or share your pics with us on Instagram @TheGiftIsYours. If you tweet or IG us, don't forget to #MakeItMonday #PennantBanner !!! We'd love to hear from you and we can't wait to see your Make It Monday Creations.

As always, if you found this post to be: fun, helpful, entertaining or all three make sure you share it with your friends!!!

Make It Monday: From Shopping Bag to Gift Bag

Happy Monday Gifters!!!!!! Make it Monday is here again and I am so excited to bring you today's craft out of The Gift Is Yours little creation lab! Initially was going to create something else but something changed my crafting mind.

Yesterday my husband and I went on a date night. We went to one of our favorite restaurants: Houston's! I absolutely adore their traditional salad. It has mixed spring lettuce, tomato, boiled egg, and smoked hardwood bacon and croutons. YUM! I always opt for no croutons and I top it with their mustard honey dressing. As always, I never finish they entire salad because it's so big. We ended up having to take my leftovers home and in true Houston's fashion they put my leftovers in a brown shopping bag donning the name Houston's.

As I woke this morning with my planned craft in my mind, I realized how many brown shopping bags we have and the wheels in my mind began to turn. I thought why not reuse these awesomely durable brown bags as gift bags. We get to help protect our planet and create something fabulous all at the same time.

Let's face it, we all need gift bags at some point and time in our lives. Whether we're celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, or giving a gift just because; gift bags will certainly make an appearance somewhere. By making your own gift bag you can personalize for whomever you're giving it to. Believe me, when they see how much work went into the bag, they'll think twice about tossing it and it will become a cherished keepsake.

Now, on to crafting!!!!

Supplies
1 Brown Shopping Bag
1 Ruler
1 pair of Scissors
Glue
Pre-Cut Letters (if not, paper to cut whatever letters or numbers you may need)
Scotch Expressions Tape (colors of your choice)
Artificial Flowers
Pearl Appliques





Step 1
Place the Scotch Expressions take over the words on the bag if there are any. There are two ways you can do it. You can either measure the length of the bag and pre-cut the tape or you just place the tape at the top of the bag, hold and roll until you get to the end. Do whatever works for you.

Step 2
Take your flowers and your pearl appliques and place the pearl appliques in the center of the flower

















Step 3
If you're like me and you didn't have pre-cut letters, here is where you cut out your letters. You can use a stencil to trace the letters and then cut them. Another way to tackle this task is; if have the wonderfully awesome Cricut just press in the letters or numbers you'd like and let the Cricut do the cutting. The length of the band created by the tape was 2 1/4 inches. I wanted the letters to have sort of a layering affect. To achieve they layering look that I was going for, I cut the purple letters 2 1/4 inches and I proceeded to cut the orange letters to 2 inches.








Note: I kind of changed my mind around this point and time in the craft. I decided instead of just gluing the letters I wanted to add dimension to the letters for more of a wow factor. 


Step 4
Place the glue on the  letters that measure 2 inches and apply them to each corresponding letter that measures 2 1/4 inches. (I suggest that you set the letters before you glue them together, that way you can make all your mistakes here before you try to adhere them)










Step 5
Adhere your letters and flowers to the selected locations on the bag.













                   Check out the Houston's Shopping Bag Before coming to our crafting lab.
                     

After

As you can see this particular bag will be for my wonderful mother! By placing the tape directly over the writing on the bag, you can't even tell that it was ever there.

You can make your bag for whomever and whatever event you like. Just remember to personalize it accordingly. Choose whatever colors and materials the bags weight can hold! I hope you enjoy making this craft as much as I did. You'll have the same opportunity to give it to someone special and do your part in protecting our planet. Now if that's not awesome, I don't know what is.


So folks, what do you think? We would love to hear your thoughts. You can reply to this blog post or you can tag us on Twitter @TheGiftIsYours or share your pics with us on Instagram @TheGiftIsYours ... Don't forget to #MakeItMonday #ShoppingBagToGiftBag... Show us your Monday Creation!!!

As always, if you found this post to be fun, entertaining, helpful or all three; don't forget to share it with your friends!!!!!

5 Easy Steps To Fun Straw Ornaments

It's Monday again Gifters, and you know what that means: "Make It Monday!" I hope you had an amazing weekend! Now for some crafting therapy!

Today we will be making: Straw Ornaments! Straw Ornaments are a fun, quick and easy way to add an extra touch to your event. Whether it's a garden party or you just want to feel a little extra special when you kick back and relax at home, straw ornaments can add personality to drink.

I promise these 5 easy steps will have you creating straw ornaments for many events to come. Now let's get to crafting!

Supplies

Straws

1 Heart Shaped Punched (or whatever punch shape suits you)

1 Sheet of Recollections Gold Signature Glitter Paper (or the color of your choice)

1 Sheet of Red Card Stock (or the color of your choice)

Small Scissors

Score Board

Bone Folder

Step 1

You will take your heart punch and simply punch out as many hearts as you need of that particular color.

Step 2

After you have cut out your hearts, you will commence to fold your hearts in half. While you can do this by hand, for crisp folding lines: I suggest using a scoring board along with a bone folder.

Step 3

Here, you fold your scored heart in half and carefully cut two slits. The entire length of the slit should be about 1/16 of an inch while folded. The width is a little bit longer than 1/16 of an inch. The key is not to make the whole too big or too small. You don't want it to fall off the straw or be too hard to put on. 

Check out the close up shots below to see how to cut the center of the heart.

Step 4

Here, you want to take the heart by both top edges while open and gently push them together until the center looks like the hearts pictured above.

Step 5

Place your straw ornaments on your straws and enjoy!!!!!!

So folks, what do you think?  We would love to hear your thoughts.  You can reply to this blog post or you can tag us on Twitter @TheGiftIsYours or share your pics with us on Instagram @TheGift Is Yours... Don't forget to #MakeItMonday #DressUpMyDrink .. Show me your Monday Creation!!!!!

As always, if you found this post to be fun, entertaining, or helpful: don't forget to share it with your friends!

Make It Monday: 1 Way To Take Your Candles from Drab to Fab

Happy Monday Gifters!!! I hope you all had an amazing weekend. Welcome back to Make It Monday. I hope you're ready for your crafting therapy. Today for Make It Monday we will be dressing up our candles!!!! In order for us to accomplish this, our feature product for today will be Martha Stewart's: Punch Around the Page and Punch All Over the Page Punches.

As many of us know candles have been a go to for cost efficient decorations for quite some time now. Whether it be a wedding, baby shower, or another type of social event; there were candles somewhere to be found.

Although candles themselves may not be that expensive (depending on the type of candles you purchase) dressing them up, so they can be: "different," "unique," or "stand-out" to reflect your own personal taste can be. Now if followed exactly, you will be able to get 3 "Candle Dresses" from one $.69 sheet of Card Stock. I may not be a banker, but that sounds like a steal to me!

I was super eager to use my new punches after receiving them last week and thought this was the perfect craft for them!

Supplies 

3 Votive Candles (top opening measure 1 7/8")

1 Set of Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page Punches (choose what pattern suits you or the event best)

1 Punch All Over the Page Punch (choose what pattern suits you or the event best)

3 pieces of cardstock measuring 4"x 6 3/4"

Scotch 3M Tape Gun (or whatever adhesive works best with the paper you are using)

Craft Mat

From a 12 x 12 sheet of Card Stock cut 6 3/4" first. Then, you can turn the paper around and cut at 4 inches each time.  This will leave you with 3, 4" x 6 3/4 pieces of paper.

Step 2

On top of your craft mat, take the corner punch of your Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Punch and punch the two width corners of the page. (You will only need to do this to 2 corners at the top of the page)

     Step 3

To link the pattern from corner to corner, take the other punch from the Punch Around the Page set and carefully line it up with the corner pattern as pictured. After you make the first punch using the corner as a guide,  move to the other guide to continue to punch. You must make sure it lines up exactly with the guide or the pattern will not come out correctly. For a clearer explanation and to see it live in action, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPmhG6uKGA .   

After you've completed the pattern around the top part of the page, you can move on to the center of the page. Here you use your Punch All over the Page Punch to create a design in the center of the page. This will be the focal point because this is where the light from the candle will shine through. 

Step 4

Take your Punch All Over The Page Punch. Separate the top from the bottom. Place the paper so the punch out will be at the center of your card stock. Use the grids! Line up the first punch with either the grid to the left or right (whichever side you would like to start with) and continue the pattern. I suggest you hold the paper after you've lined it up while attaching the magnet. The magnet connection is very strong and will cause your sheet of paper to move. 

Step 5

With your card stock face side up, hold it securely and take your tape gun and apply it to the right side of the paper, starting just below the cut of of the corner pattern.

Step 6

Carefully roll your piece of card stock into a cylinder form placing the other edge over the side of paper with the adhesive.

Be sure to hold the edges together in place smoothing them out for about 15-20 seconds to make sure they stick and will stay in place.

Step 7

Safely light your candles, carefully place the candle dresses over them and enjoy!

Whether you want liven up your candles for a social event, the in-laws dropping by for an unexpected visit or a quiet dinner for two, you can customize them to fit you without breaking the bank!!!

So folks, what do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  You can reply to this blog post or you can tag me on Twitter @TheGiftIsYours ... Don't forget to #MakeItMonday .. Show me your Monday Creation!!!!!