Halloween Candy Basket Using a Paper Lunch Bag

 Make this super cute Halloween candy basket using a paper lunch bag!
Paper Bag Halloween Candy Basket_My Creative Cottage

I needed a quick way to put out candy at my Open House so I made this little candy basket. It is so quick and easy to make. They would make fun gifts for teachers too.

Supplies Needed:

Paper Lunch Bag
Cardstock (great use for scraps.)
Stamps (or other embellishments) and ribbon

Directions:
Cut down paper lunch bag to your desired size.

Cut cardstock into 2 pieces. These will cover the front and back of the bag.

Stamp or decorate cardstock with bats and flourishes.


I made my own embellishment by heat embossing the purple Happy Halloween image on the black circle. I like the pop of color.

 

Attach cardstock pieces to the bag, on the front and the back.

Cut a strip of cardstock for the handle.

I added ribbon to the cardstock to reinforce it.

I stapled the ends of the handle to the sides of the bag making an x. That way it looks like a decoration too.

Now, fill it with your favorite treat and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy project. I can’t wait to do it again with other papers for other holidays.

Now, it’s YOUR TURN!  Can you imagine the possibilities?

I would love to see what you make! Leave a link in the comments and I’ll be sure to stop by and see your project!

 Until Next Time-
Happy Creating!
Sarita

Halloween Boo Blocks

For day one of the Blogtoberfest I am pulling from the archives. Although this is old to me, I hope it is new to you.
Halloween Boo Blocks DIY
So, here it goes.  These are 4×4 wooden blocks that have been painted black and covered with a fun Halloween paper. To mix it up a bit I switched up the direction of the stripes. Scary to some of you I know 
To make the letters I used my Cricut Cartridge, Doodletype for the letter B.  The pumpkins and spiders are from the Doodlecharms Cricut Cartridge.  To make the polka dots on the letter B I used the end of a pencil eraser an dipped it in our Archival Black ink.  This is by far one of my favorite techniques.  It’s an oldie but a goodie!

The great thing is that with all the pretty patterned papers out there you can replicate these for any occasion, season or reason!

Until Next Time-

Happy Creating!
Sarita

Announcing Blogtoberfest

This is going to be so fun!  A very talented and generous Close to my Heart consultant, Tresa Black has organized a Blogtoberfest. What is that exactly? A chance for you to learn all sorts of ideas to make your projects Faster. Simpler. Easier for sure! Be sure to visit my blog daily and all the other super creative CTMH peeps for some inspiration and motivation for the season.

Announcing Blogtoberfest

This is going to be so fun!  A very talented and generous Close to my Heart consultant, Tresa Black has organized a Blogtoberfest. What is that exactly? A chance for you to learn all sorts of ideas to make your projects Faster. Simpler. Easier for sure! Be sure to visit my blog daily and all the other super creative CTMH peeps for some inspiration and motivation for the season.

CTMH- Celebrate Relationships and Sneak Peek at Spring Product!!

I had the pleasure of attending our Regional Celebration this past weekend in Minneapolis. No doubt I was looking forward to seeing Melissa my CTMH sister and creating all weekend.  I couldn’t wait to get away. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family. However, Scott had been gone for a month with Army training and I needed a break!  So, this was the perfect answer.

Once again, my expectations were far exceeded! My 2 team members and friends, Trudy and Shirley were able to get a spot at the last minute so we all roomed together. You would think it was cramped, but oh no, Close to my Heart had us staying at a very nice high end hotel. We had plenty of room, laughs and inspiration as we grew to know each other better as we shared our lives and our businesses too!

(left to right- Shirley, Melissa, me, trudy, Dana and Lori in front)

That was just the beginning!   We also hung out with Dana and Lori in our creative and general sessions.  Everyone got along so well and we had a blast.  CTMH’s whole mission statement, celebrate relationships, was all around us.  The very best highlight of my weekend was when Jeanette Lynton herself walked us through an awesome project with our new My Creations Journal.  While she showed us how to decorate it she also did a Q&A with us.  We could ask her anything. At one point she was discussing a recipe for soup that was on her blog.  Listening to her just solidified for me this woman has such vision and direction for this company. She is soley concerned with our success and happiness. You can honestly tell she puts others first.

As you can see the journal has a clear pocket on the front so you can switch out your cover as you choose and you don’t have to worry about how you are going to work with the spiral binding.  This will be out in Spring of 2010.  Can you just imagine the possibilities? I am going to dress it up and show more later. But I just couldn’t wait!
Blessings-
Sarita

CTMH- Celebrate Relationships and Sneak Peek at Spring Product!!

I had the pleasure of attending our Regional Celebration this past weekend in Minneapolis. No doubt I was looking forward to seeing Melissa my CTMH sister and creating all weekend.  I couldn’t wait to get away. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family. However, Scott had been gone for a month with Army training and I needed a break!  So, this was the perfect answer.

Once again, my expectations were far exceeded! My 2 team members and friends, Trudy and Shirley were able to get a spot at the last minute so we all roomed together. You would think it was cramped, but oh no, Close to my Heart had us staying at a very nice high end hotel. We had plenty of room, laughs and inspiration as we grew to know each other better as we shared our lives and our businesses too!

(left to right- Shirley, Melissa, me, trudy, Dana and Lori in front)

That was just the beginning!   We also hung out with Dana and Lori in our creative and general sessions.  Everyone got along so well and we had a blast.  CTMH’s whole mission statement, celebrate relationships, was all around us.  The very best highlight of my weekend was when Jeanette Lynton herself walked us through an awesome project with our new My Creations Journal.  While she showed us how to decorate it she also did a Q&A with us.  We could ask her anything. At one point she was discussing a recipe for soup that was on her blog.  Listening to her just solidified for me this woman has such vision and direction for this company. She is soley concerned with our success and happiness. You can honestly tell she puts others first.

As you can see the journal has a clear pocket on the front so you can switch out your cover as you choose and you don’t have to worry about how you are going to work with the spiral binding.  This will be out in Spring of 2010.  Can you just imagine the possibilities? I am going to dress it up and show more later. But I just couldn’t wait!
Blessings-
Sarita

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop- Holiday Warmth

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! If you are looking for inspiration and ideas for this adorable whimsical stamp, Holiday Warmth, then you came to the right place. This is so simple to do – just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

Products Used:
Holiday Warmth Stamp Set
Jingle Creative Basics w/ juniper ribbon
Just for the Holidays Stamp Set
Liquid Glass
Prisma Glitter
Don’t forget you can always get the Stamp of the Month for free or at a discount. Visit my website for more details or contact your Close to my Heart consultant.
Now “Hop” on over to Dawn’s Blog to see her work! If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren’t working look below for a complete list of participating blogs.

ROUND 2 Debra Van Patten – http://memoriesoftheheartbydeb.blogspot.com/.

Cricut Gypsy World Launch!

WOW! when I first saw and read about the Gypsy a few months back I was all cool like, “oh I don’t need another thing for my Cricut”. But as usual I got sucked in to watching it on HSN. Did you know the first scrapbooking stuff I bought was from a home shopping channel? Crazy I know, but I am a sucker for those shows. I bought my first Cricut the day it was launched too on QVC! You all know secretly I want to be on one of those shows someday….LOL!

Well, watching today it took all of ….5 minutes and I was hooked. I can’t get over the design capabilities this offers. I am so looking forward to being able to design in my cottage or on the go. I am loving the idea of not wasting paper and vinyl. I have many ideas floating through
my head as we speak! This machine will compliment all of my Close to my Heart projects quite nicely!

You really have to see it in action to believe it. HSN has an amazing deal today with flex pay and FREE shipping. Really, how could I resist?? You can click here to learn more. Are you jumping on the Gypsy bandwagon? Leave a comment! Let’s celebrate the world launch together!!

Happy Scrapping Cricuteers!

Sarita

Technique Tuesday Card Class

It is our first Technique Tuesday class on Sept 29th. You asked for it, and here it is. I will be teaching you the chalkboard method and we will be using the beautiful stamp of the month, Treasures.
Join Us at My Creative Cottage
Tuesday Sept. 29 @ 6:30 pm
Cost: $10 or FREE with $25 order
Can’t wait to see you!
Sarita

Fall CMTH Open House and Winners!

I really want to thank everyone who attended my open house. It was so great seeing all of you and being infused with your excitement for the new Fall/Winter Idea Book. Not that I really needed any help in that department. If you missed it or are a member of my team and are curious how I set things up, here are a few pictures. If you click on the pics you will get a much better view.
You can’t have an open house without treats. The brownies and the pumpkin bars were a big hit. Here are my new favorites, the Heartfelt die cuts. Here I have just a few displayed. You won’t believe how many you get in the pack. I took them all apart and separated them by color. I had a few empty stamp envelopes and they worked great for that.
I also had a few displays that showed upcoming card classes and paper swatches for the new paper packs.
The make and take was a cute fall card with acorns and enjoy! The stamp set that I used, Many Thanks was a popular purchase. So was the Jingle paper pack.

Pictured below is the Everyday Celebration card kit display. Many attendees earned lots of tickets to win the kit or $25 in hostess rewards. And the winners are……drum roll please……. Sofie had a great time picking those names!

$25 in CTMH product- Kristie K

Everyday Celebration Card Kit- Tammy B.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I really am so blessed with such awesome customers and friends!
Make life sweet!
Sarita