Wow, you all rose to the occasion to create last minute holiday gifts for last week’s challenge!  So many amazing and inspiring ideas! The Web Artists shared the very difficult task of judging the week’s entries.  They each chose their five favorite projects, and from that pool we randomly drew the winners from a hat.  Actually a bowl.  Here we go!!

The Fresh Face prize this week ($50 gift certificate + 2008 catalog) goes to jm1122 for this “tweet treat” — a gourmet snack for the birds and a cute tag to match.  What clever packaging!  (Click HERE for another photo of the treat itself.)

Coming in First Place ($50 gift certificate + 2008 catalog) is aliceh83, who outfitted mini loaves of cranberry, orange and apricot breads to give as gifts  — beautiful!  And they look absolutely delicious!

Second Place ($25 gift certificate + 2008 catalog) goes to leapfroglbna for this fantastic stamped keychain.  Isn’t it sweet? Practical and pretty…what a great idea!

Third Place ($10 gift certificate + 2008 catalog) goes to Ashley M for her wonderful winter survival kit. We love how each of the items are individually wrapped for a special touch.

We couldn’t possibly stop there, so we drew three more names from the bowl for honorable mention prizes.  Check out these additional ideas!

Kelly Rasmussen created a sweet holiday gift by dressing up an ordinary jar and filling it with candy. We love the label and all of the special little details!

Look at this adorable baby onesie lovingly stamped by Elin A.  She even created a coordinating card — so cute!

Finally, check out Gigi 001’s super owl bookmark, complete with google eyes and a clever sentiment.  Notice how she cut a notch from the end?  This way readers can mark they line they end on — brilliant!

Way to go!  Winners and honorable mentions, please email us at the address in the blog sidebar with “Last Minute Winner” in the subject line and include your postal address. 

Thanks to everyone who participated in the last minute gift challenge! Thankfully we’re not down to the “last minute” quite yet…but when that time comes, just turn HERE to view all of the creations for inspiration!

Don’t forget, you still have plenty of time to enter this week’s challenge to make a card in minutes. You can find all of the details here!

Happy stamping!

Hi everyone! I wish Last Minute Holiday Gift Week with the Web Artists didn’t have to end — it’s been so much fun!  To keep the week going just a little bit longer, I have an extra bonus project to share today.

This is something I put together for my daughter’s first grade teacher.  It is a tin filled with magnets that she can use on the whiteboards in her classroom.  I have also included a gift card in a pocket inside the lid.

I thought “wise owls” would be a fun motif for the magnets. The toughest part was choosing which Hero Arts owl to use!  I finally decided on the Tiny Owl and he turned out to be the perfect size for the smaller 1″ circle magnets.  To create a clip-style magnet, I simply glued colorful card buttons to a wooden clothespin.

A belly band dresses up the outside of the tin for the holidays.  The band slips off easily and features a glittery framed monogram of the teacher’s last name.

Supplies:

• Tiny Owl
• Bird Branch Alphabet
• Sparkle Clear Holiday Messages (line of dots)
• Sparkle Clear Warm Wishes (”Just for You”)
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• Sparkle Clear Letter C  (frame)
• Sparkle Clear Letter M
• Artprint Brown Ink
• Memories Cherry Red Ink
• Prisma Glitter
• Summer Card Buttons
• Other: hinged metal tin (Michael’s), round magnets, 1″ wooden discs, 1 1/2″ wooden discs, wooden clothespins, Mod Podge, E-6000 glue, patterned paper (Bo Bunny), circle punches, scalloped circle punch, corner rounder punch, colored pencils, silver brads, ribbon

Tips:

• Punch paper to the same size as the wooden discs and sand any overhanging edges with an emery board.
• Seal the magnets with several coats of Mod Podge for durability.
• Use a strong adhesive such as E-6000 to attach the magnets to the wooden discs.

Well, that wraps up Last Minute Holiday Gift Week. A very special thank you to Barbara, Sheri, Jacki, Kandis, Laura and Robyn for the wonderful inspiration — always a treat!  Here’s a glimpse of the fun last minute gift ideas they shared the past few days…

Monday: Barbara’s cocoa/tea/coffee set, Sheri’s candy bag toppers and candy bar wrappers, Jacki’s treat tags

Tuesday: Sheri’s gift card holder, Jacki’s card set with portfolio, Kandis’s cocoa mug card

Wednesday: Laura’s ceramic ice cream bowls and mug, Robyn’s treat jar

Friday: Tami’s jar candle wrapper, Kandis’s cone ornament

Don’t forget, you still have time to play along in this week’s challenge — just click HERE for all the details!  Both the weekly challenge and the Holiday “Win a Day” on the Hero Blog Contest deadlines are this Sunday (November 30) at 11:59pm PST.

May all your stamping days be merry!

Happy Friday everyone!  Welcome back to Last Minute Holiday Gift Week with the Web Artists! I imagine many of you are out and about today, taking part in “Black Friday” shopping.  As much as I love a bargain, I’ve decided to stay home and will instead be pulling holiday decorations out of storage and decorating our house for the season.  So it is fitting that today we are featuring two last minute gift ideas that are home decor themed.  Enjoy!

First, I have dressed up a basic jar candle using Hero Arts stamps and embellishments.  Oftentimes I find a candle that smells delicious, but the label is not particularly pretty.  In hardly any time at all, it can be spruced up with stamps!  This quick and easy project is appropriate for many people — coworkers, friends, neighbors, and teachers to name a few.  Who doesn’t love a candle?  This one is sugar cookie scented…

It wouldn’t be the holidays without some sparkle! The edge of the tag is edged with Prisma Glitter.

I also made a coordinating mini card to go along with the candle…

Supplies:

• Clear Design Winter’s Butterfly
• Clear Design Jolly Christmas
• Circle Tag
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• Memories Artprint Brown Ink
• Snowflake Sequins
• Felt Snowflakes
• Antique Mini Round Fasteners
• Smooth Clear Gemstones
• Neutral Card Buttons
• Prisma Glitter
• Fine Ball Point Glue Pen
  
• Other: glass jar candle, thin strip of dot patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye), grid patterned paper (Scenic Route), Ranger Distress Ink (Broken China, Antique Linen), hemp, circle punches, silver eyelet, scallop edge scissors, machine stitching, sponge, pop dots

Tami’s Tips:

• When searching for a candle to alter, keep in mind that one with completely straight sides will be much easier to wrap.
• I love the Hero Arts felt snowflakes!  I thought cream snowflakes would work best with my color scheme, so I toned the white ones down by sponging on some Antique Linen Distress Ink.
• Adhere a few snowflake sequins all around the candle on the stamped snowflake piece.
• By using a snowflake theme and a “Season’s Greetings” sentiment, you can encompass all of the winter holidays…and display the candle well into January.

Speaking of candles, I’d like to remind you of the beautiful poinsettia candles Lisa Spangler featured several weeks ago on the blog.  They would make wonderful last minute gifts!  Be sure to check out the photos and instructions HERE.

Next we have a fabulous last minute idea from Kandis Smith.  She has created a charming little ornament to add cheer to any tree. It is just darling! Kandis shares, “My mother always had handmade bows and ornaments on her tree, and I think that tradition has continued on to me. I love seeing paper projects on my Christmas tree. This one is so simple, just roll your stamped paper into a cone!!”

Kandis’s attention to detail is always incredible…here’s a closer look!

Supplies:

• ClearDesign Holiday Wishes
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• ClearDesign Jolly Christmas
• White Embossing Powder
• Red Gemstones
• Antique Round Mini Fasteners
• VersaMark Ink
• Memories Cherry Red Ink
• Memories Artprint Brown Ink
• Other: twine, white tag, ribbon or twill for hanger, machine stitching

Kandis’s Tips:

• Stamp your snowflakes in VersaMark ink and then emboss with white embossing powder before you cut your pattern. This allows you to place the snowflakes in just the right spots!
• Add a large red gem to the reindeer’s nose for a fun sparkly Rudolph!
• Stamp “to” and “from” on a gift tag and hang on the side of your ornament. Give it as a gift to family and friends. Every year that they bring it out to hang on their tree, they’ll remember you!

Wouldn’t it be fun to tuck a little surprise into these and put them on the tree for your loved ones to find?  Thanks so much for the inspiration Kandis!

Now…in the spirit of giving, we’re giving away something wonderful today!  You may remember this fun pink and green Card of the Week by Sheri Reguly…

Well, a very lucky stamper is going to win the entire kit to make this card!  Yep, the WORKS!!  It includes stamps, embellishments, notecards, even embossing powder — everything listed HERE.  “I want that! How do I enter?” you ask.  It’s simple.  Just leave a comment here on this post by 11:59pm PST tonight (Friday). I’ll randomly select one winner tomorrow morning.  Good luck!!

The holidays are quickly approaching, but there’s still enough time to plan, stamp, and send your holiday cards! The Hero Arts Online Store is brimming with all sorts of wonderful holiday kits and stamps to inspire your creativity — truly something for everyone’s tastes.  Here’s just a sampling of the kits you’ll find in the store:

• Happy Christmas Holly Bird
• Winter’s Butterfly Kit
• Traditional Christmas Kit
• Merry Always
• Pink Christmas Kit
• Peace & Love Kit

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s last minute holiday gift ideas.  Be sure to stop back tomorrow when we’ll have the kit giveaway announcement and more!

Wishing you a wonderfully creative weekend,

Hi everyone!  Last Minute Holiday Gift Week is in full swing and the Web Elves Artists have been busy stamping and creating even more simple and stylish ideas for holiday giving.  One talented elf artist has also made a video you won’t want to miss — so stay tuned for that!

First up today is Laura Griffin, who has taken ice cream bowls and mugs to a whole new level with stamping.  Wow, I just love these!  Laura shares, “I am in love with the Long Seasonal Borders stamp set that Hero came out with this year. When I first saw the set, I knew it would be perfect for creating last-minute holiday gifts. I picked up some white ceramic bowls at WalMart and used Lazertran waterslide decal paper to create custom stamped borders on them.”

“To finish off the gift, just add hand-stamped tags to some of your favorite toppings. I couldn’t stop at just the hot fudge — but had to add chocolate chips, pecans, marshmallows and sprinkles too! (Anybody else getting hungry? *lol*)”

“Other ceramic objects are easy to alter as well. For example, you can use Lazertran paper to create custom coffee or hot chocolate mugs. These are really fun to make. The cupcake snowman image works perfect for these! Just add candy or hot chocolate mix to finish.”

Supplies:

• Clear Design Long Seasonal Borders
• Clear Design Holiday Gift Tags
• Cupcake Snowman
• Black StazOn Ink
• Other (for bowls) : Lazertran transfer paper (either regular or “stamping” versions will work), Ancient Page permanent ink (Pine, Bordeaux, Cobalt), white ceramic ice cream bowls (Walmart), red ribbon, ice cream scoop, holly/berry sprinkles, chocolate sauce, marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips, container of water, heat gun, oven
• Other (for mug): Lazertran transfer paper (either regular or “stamping” versions will work), white ceramic mug (Target), red ribbon, permanent markers (Sharpie, Copic or Prismacolor will work), hot chocolate, toffee, marshmallows, container of water, heat gun, oven

Laura’s Tips:

• The Ancient Page waterproof ink used on the ice cream bowls is safe to use on acrylic stamps. It will, however, stain your stamps permanently. Note that they will still work fine with other inks and the staining won’t impact the functionality of your stamps.
• Here are the suggested baking instructions for fusing stamped Lazertran paper onto ceramic: Place covered object in a domestic oven on lowest temperature to dry out transfers for 15 minutes. Increase the temperature as slowly as possible over the next hour until the decal melts (at approximately 350-400 degrees F). The transfer will turn shiny and the finish will have a hard, glazed appearance. Once cool, the stamped image will be fused to the ceramic. It is suggested that you hand-wash covered objects to help protect the stamped images.

Now…Laura has a special treat!  She has created a step-by-step video to show just how easy stamping on ceramic can be…

How fun does that look?!  I can’t wait to give it a try.  Thanks for the great instructions and beautiful inspiration Laura!

Next, Robyn Werlich has created a treat jar topped with holly and stuffed with deliciousness! I love the personalized touch of the monogram tag and the holly berries she made with clear buttons.  Here’s Robyn to share more:  “I love giving (and getting) homemade gifts during the holidays and I thought it would be fun to package them up in a cute way. By stamping on cellophane and creating a simple topper for a cute jar, you have a quick and festive gift!”

Supplies:

• DesignBlock Big Holiday Words
• Sparkle Clear: R
• Clear Design Winter’s Butterfly
• StazOn White Ink
• Clear Buttons
• Clear Circle Tags
• Other: plastic jar (Making Memories), cellophane bag, cardstock, patterned paper (Bo Bunny Double Dot), ribbon, sewing

Robyn’s Tips:

• Using white StazOn ink, stamp the large background stamp on the cellophane bag and let dry. You can tie a bow around this and give as a gift as is.
• I drew a holly leaf on the back of the cardstock and then cut it out. Use brown ink to stamp the snowflake border stamp a few times on each leaf and then fold and add some sewing. I simply punched red dots from patterned paper and glued them to the top of the clear buttons for the berries.

Super cute, Robyn — thanks for sharing!  I’m thinking this would be a great way to package the neighbors’ goodies (caramel popcorn) this year.

I hope today’s offerings from the Web Artists have inspired you to get a step ahead on your holiday gift preparations.  The Flickr pool is filling up nicely with wonderful last minute gifts!  Still not sure what to create?  Check out this thread at Flickr — lots more great ideas!  Remember, you have until 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 30 to participate in the weekly challenge.  Monday’s post contains more information.

Speaking of “last minute”…the Holiday “Win a Day” on the Hero Blog Contest is still open…but for only four more days!  The deadline is Sunday, November 30 and you can find all the details HERE.

Visit us tomorrow when we’ll announce the winners of Sally’s Thankful Challenge!

Thanks for joining us,

Hello and welcome back to Last Minute Holiday Gift Week!  Today I’m super excited to share more fabulous holiday gift ideas brought to you by the Web Artists.  Thanks to some handy templates and guidelines, today’s THREE projects will be a cinch to duplicate.  Let’s take a look at what these clever girls have cooked up!

First, Sheri Reguly has designed a gift card holder that is the very definition of cute and festive.  Love it!  Sheri says, “A gift card is the perfect solution for those on your list who are difficult to buy for. While some may feel they’re not always the most personal gift, the holder enclosing it can be. This fun design and color combination, housing a cool iTunes gift card, would make the perfect gift for the pre-teen or teenage girl on your shopping list. Gotta love that froggy!”

Supplies:

• DesignBlock Big Holiday Words
• Three Trees Large
• Jolly Christmas
• Lagoon Notecards
• Cyan VersaColor Ink
• Black VersaColor Ink
• Christmas Chalk Ink Queue
• VersaMark Ink
• Clear Embossing Powder
• White Embossing Powder
• Smooth Clear Gemstones
• Other: cardstock (Bazzill Basics), patterned paper (Bo Bunny), ribbon (Offray, American Crafts, Love Elsie), decorative edged scissors, scalloped border punch (Fiskars), brads (Doodlebug Design), chalk (Pebbles Inc.), thread, wiggle eyes

Sheri’s Tips:

• Use clear embossing powder on the background, trees, and sentiment to add a subtle holiday sheen.
• Add wiggle eyes to the stamped frog image to create a fun, playful effect.
• To add some dimension and further definition to the scarf, stamp the frog image a second time onto pink paper using VersaMark. Top with white embossing powder, heat set, cut out the scarf portion, and layer on top of the original cut out image.

Curious about the construction of the gift card holder?  Sheri thought a visual explanation would be the simplest and has provided a great downloadable diagram. Just click HERE to download the PDF.  What a fabulous resource — thanks Sheri!

The minute I laid my eyes on this next project from Jacki Jones I knew I would be making a couple for holiday gifts this year.  Feast your eyes on this stationery set consisting of a gorgeous portfolio plus ten notecards and envelopes. Jacki shares more about the set: “This is a practical gift for a teacher or anyone in your life who could use a set of quick and simple cards to have on hand. These particular cards were made with the CL155 Playful Animals set with children in mind.”

Supplies:

• Clear Design Holiday Gift Tags
• Clear Design Playful Animals
• Summer Mixed & Chocolate Notecards
• Sparkle Gems Large Flowers
• Fall Chalk Ink Queue
• Other: colored pencils, magnetic snaps, circle punches, watercolor paper, patterned paper (Basic Grey Gypsy)

Jacki’s Tips:

• Sometimes I use a mini hot glue gun as an alternative to double stick tape when dealing with heavy cardstock or water color paper.
• Add a large magnetic snap to close the pocket.

Jacki has also made up a template to help you with the assembly of the pocket portfolio. To download the PDF template plus tips just click HERE. Many thanks for creating this, Jacki!

For today’s final template-based project, Kandis Smith offers up a darling mug card designed to hold a packet of hot chocolate. Look closely and you will see steam rising from the mug!  Kandis says, “What’s better than a steaming cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day? Not much. I love giving packets of chocolate to my friends. This is unique way of handing them out!”

Supplies:

• Clear Design Branch & Leaf Long Borders
• Clear Design Holiday Wishes
• Sparkle Gems Hearts
• Red Gemstones
• Small Accent Pearls
• Memories Cherry Red Ink
• Other: vellum, patterned paper, tag, machine stitching

Kandis’s Tips:

• Cut out swirls from vellum to make “steam”.
• Add in heart gemstones with the round red gemstones to let them know you love them!
• Stamp and cut out holly leaves with three gemstones clustered together. Add it to your tag for a festive look.
• The mug template can be found at this link:  Mirkwood Designs.

How about enlarging the template slightly and adding a tiny packet of mini marshmallows?  With marshmallows or without, this cute card is sure to bring a smile — thanks so much Kandis!

‘Tis the season for giving, so I think a giveaway is in order! One randomly selected winner will receive a versatile holiday favorite — the Clear Design Holiday Gift Tags set.

To be entered in the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post with a holiday color combination that you enjoy using for cards, gift wrap, decorations…anything holiday related!  I’ll announce the lucky winner on Thursday morning.

[ENABLER ALERT:  The fabulous tag set is available for purchase HERE in the Hero Arts Online Store.]

For even more template ideas check out Shari Carroll’s “Holiday Cards for Gift Giving” technique article — she provides links to four great templates!

Happy holiday stamping,

The holiday season is upon us — time to gear up for all things merry and jolly!  But let’s face it…the “most wonderful time of the year” is also the busiest time of the year, and shopping for gifts often adds to the frenzy.  We’d like to help you with that this holiday season!  This week the talented team of Hero Arts Web Artists will be sharing loads of unique last minute holiday gift ideas — perfect for neighbors, teachers, friends, and more!

These ideas don’t cost a fortune and don’t take a lot of time to make, but they are definitely fun, one-of-a-kind, and heartfelt.  And as a fringe benefit, they are a great way to make use of your stamps! :)  So trade in the shopping carts for your stamps and inks and let’s have some fun!  Here we go with three very tasty ideas to kick off the week.

First, Barbara Hache has created a beautiful presentation for flavored cocoa, tea, and coffee.  I love the colors she used on the bags, the fabulous little box she constructed to contain them all, and of course the elegant labels.

Barbara shares, “I love coffee, tea and hot chocolate and enjoy making my own custom blends! These make great gifts when packaged in handmade gift bags. While looking for coffee bags that were smaller than the 1 pound size, I found these paper bags that I thought would be perfect but they didn’t have the same closures. No problem! I decided to make my own. I simply sandwiched a twist tie between two pieces of ribbon and then glued it to the top of the bag. It works perfectly!”

“I loved using the Clear Design Frames and Messages set to make labels. I computer generated the contents of the bags (Peppermint Tea, Spiced Coffee, and Hot Chocolate) and then stamped the frames on top. Since the stamps are clear, it was easy to line everything up.”

Supplies:

• Clear Design Frames and Messages
• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• DesignBlock Poinsettia and Birds
• Lagoon & Pink Notecards
• Cardinal VersaColor Ink
• Orchid VersaColor Ink
• ArtPrint Brown Memories Ink
• VersaMark Ink
• Sparkle Embossing Powder
• Felt Poinsettias and Leaves
• Medium Accent Pearls
• Other: white paper bags, white cardstock, assorted ribbon, twist ties

Barbara’s Tips:

• To make the box, measure the length and width of one bag and multiply by 3. Add 2″ along each side and cut out a piece of cardstock with this measurement. Score all four sides at 2″ and then cut 2 slits on each side. Fold and tape together in a box shape.
• Since the paper bags aren’t lined, I decided to add individually wrapped packages of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. This allowed for further decoration inside the bags.

Thank you Barbara!  Next, Sheri Reguly has stamped some adorable personalized bag toppers and chocolate bar covers.  Sheri says, “Make yummy treats even sweeter by giving them a personal touch. These would make the perfect stocking stuffer, or little gift to share with classmates and friends. Create a few extras to have on hand for unexpected company that may drop in during the holiday season. By omitting the monogram, and leaving the bottom portion of the tag blank, you can easily add a name very last minute. They’ll be touched by your thoughtfulness.”

Supplies:

• Clear Design Holiday Gift Tags
• Clear Design Monogram Alphabet
• Green Apple & Crimson Notecards
• Fresh Green VersaColor Ink
• VersaMark Ink
• Clear Embossing Powder
• White Embossing Powder
• Red Gemstones
• Assorted Crystal Gemstones
• Other: cardstock (Bazzill Basics), paper frills (Doodlebug Designs), ribbon (Michael’s)

Sheri’s Tips:

• Save time in the long run by first creating a template based on the actual size of the chocolate bar you’ll be covering. This will especially come in handy if you’re planning on creating several. Score the edges before folding over to help create neat, clean lines.
• If you choose to heat emboss your background patterns as I’ve done here, be sure to score your lines beforehand, otherwise chipping and flaking can occur.

Thanks for the adorable idea Sheri — gifts of chocolate are always perfect in my world!

We have one last goodie for you today, courtesy of Jacki Jones.  She baked some oatmeal raisin and white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies and dressed the packages up with stamped tags and pretty red ribbon. Jacki shares more on her baked goods: “I always have more good intentions than I have time in real life so ‘quick’ and ‘last minute’ are my middle and last names. I like to have a little something for all the forgotten people at school like the office workers and librarians. Often I’ll include with the baked goods some kind of ornament or something.”

“A dollar store plate and decorative cellophane are always on hand at my house for those times when I need a quick gift for a neighbor during the holidays.”

Supplies:

• Sparkle Clear Gift for You
• Clear Design Holiday Gift Tags
• Holiday Mixed & Kraft Notecards
• Memories Artprint Brown Ink
• Memories Black Ink
• Snowflake Sequins
• Light Blue Gemstones
• Ultra Fine Prisma Glitter
• Fine Ball Point Glue Stick
• Other: colored pencils, Coluzzle, hole punch, red pen

Jacki, thanks for the delicious idea!

Now for this week’s challenge!  Using at least one Hero Arts stamp, create a last minute holiday gift.  Upload it to the Hero Arts Flickr Group by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 30th, then tag it with the code word “lastminute.”  Can’t wait to see what you all come up with — there are so many possibilities!  The following prizes will be awarded:

• Fresh Face (someone who has not yet won a contest!): $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
• 1st  place: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
• 2nd place: $25 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog
• 3rd place: $10 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2008 catalog

Thanks for checking in today!  I hope you’ll join us again tomorrow when we’ll celebrate the spirit of giving with even more last minute gift ideas…plus a giveaway!

Until then,