It’s In the Bag!

Time to start making those little gift bags for those little ones in costume who will be tricking you if you don’t get this treat in their hands come Halloween night. The bags are so easy to make with the downloadable file from LD (the Costume Clubhouse Potpourri set) and a few other craft supplies you likely already have available from your craft-stash.

shown here, all of the supplies needed to make the bags as I did

Simply print each bag design (there are six) and trim and fold on the lines shown on the printout. Once you have them folded you will glue or tape (double stick) the flap under the front of the bag so that you have a rectangular tube (as if wrapping a gift). Then tuck the bottom pieces in, first the short ends then long and glue or tape them as well. Now you should have a little grocery style bag.

If you would like to put handles on the bags as I did, you can use ribbon, twine, paper raffia or whatever you like for the handles. I used a thin paper raffia that I already had but it was light blue and not the right look for Halloween. So, what to do? I cut and painted pieces of it (about 8" long) with black craft paint, let them dry and then braided them together to make a thicker handle. My real reason for wanting to do this was to make the handles look like black licorice. Once you have handles just glue or tape them (regular, not double stick) inside the bag, one on the front and one on the back.

Next you might want to add a few sheets of tissue paper and a label attached with ribbon or twine if you like to show who that bag has been specially made for. The labels will also be available on LD (Costume Clubhouse sets) early in the week as print and cuts. (They are the labels and tags shown in these photos)

All that is left to do is add the treat to the bag. Yes, I know, the bag is already a treat in itself, but come on, who doesn’t like a sweet treat as well? Kids always will! :) And now it’s time to be the first on your Trick or Treat Street to brag on your bag.

treat bags shown here with the art that is on one side of the bag when made

treat bags shown here with the art that is on the reverse side of the bag when made

Go to the Sheri’s Creations link at the top, right of the blog to find more spooktacular downloadable treats with Costume Clubhouse at LD.

That’s So Silly!

Don’t be silly, no, I did not forget it was Funday Friday and so we need our Funday Freebie Fix! This time I am looking for all of those kids out there, young and young at heart who love silly things. I have put together just the thing to get you in the spirit for silliness.

While I can’t toss everything into the freebie for your fix; it’s really difficult to get silly straws through my computer and into yours, even silly bands don’t quite make it, but a label or two for covering a can of silly string just might do the trick-fix.

Go to my U-Pick button and download either label, (“Go Batty,” or “Get in the Spirit”) or take them both. This will take only minutes to cover a 5 oz. can of silly string (I got mine at Walmart in the toy section). The can measurers about 8.25" to top of lid, but about 6.75" to top of metal and is 2" across. Just print out the label on an 8.5 x 11 and trim at crop marks. Wrap the label around can and secure with either glue or double stick tape.

This is the label with directions for the “Get in the Spirit” label.

This is the label with directions for the “Go Batty” label.

To make some of the other silly projects that you see in the photo at top go to my Costume Clubhouse collection, now available on LD (see Sheri’s Creations at the top of my blog and click on it to take you directly to the collection on LD).

Now, just try not to go batty waiting for Halloween when you can get your sillies out.

Trick or Sweet!

Let’s face it, Halloween is synonymous with candy, well in my mind it always has been. So what better way to enjoy this holiday than to share the cuteness with candy-critters and the rest of the members at the Costume Clubhouse, now available for crafting craziness at LD.

It’s like being a kid in a candy shop with so many options to choose from. I couldn’t even decide myself which projects to make to show you the endless possibilities, so I’m sharing them all.

In order for you to create your own little candy stash you will need to get these sets from LD to make these sweetest treats you see in the photos. You should start with the Costume Clubhouse Potpourri set to get some of the candy bar wrappers and treat tents. Then you’ll want to grab the Costume Clubhouse Sweet Treats graphic set to have the little candy and gum critters help celebrate the fun. The tags set is good for personalizing the candy treats before you give them to your favorite goblins, witch :) reminds me that the little ghosts and bats from the Costume Clubhouse graphic set will set you up with lot-o-choices!

Oh my goodness, this gave me the chance to find my favorite vintage gums including Black Jack, Beemans and Zebra Stripe. I even gave them their own mascots to help get you stuck on them if you’re too young to know these flavors or bring back that happy memory of your own childhood if you grew up with them like I did. (Photos complete with vintage tinting:)

You will see a few additional labels in the photos that are not on LD today, but by early next week you will spot them in the Costume Clubhouse collection on LD along with other fun sets and projects awaiting you. Not to worry, I have many of those treats to share with you throughout the next few weeks.

To recreate any of the ideas you see in these photos think scissors and/or knife, glue and/or double stick tape, a few of your favorite jars and vials, a little string, a little ribbon and lots and lots of candy and gum to fill the fun for Halloween.

If you want to go directly to LD to see the entire Costume Clubhouse graphics collection go to the button at the top, right on my blog, just above “U-Pick” where it says Sheri’s Creations and with a simple click you will be on your way to Halloween Happiness!

Just Delighted to be joining Lettering Delights!

I am so excited to finally let the cat out of the bag and share my exciting news. I have joined up with Lettering Delights (LD) and could not be more delighted. For those of you who are not familiar with Lettering Delights, it is an online craft-art retailer with an unbelievable supply of adorable, clever and stylish downloadable art for a variety of craft projects and a wide range of creative interests. I am constantly amazed at their latest collections and now I am lucky enough to be in their company with my first collection.

This first collection we will be doing together is a Halloween theme named Costume Clubhouse and it has some of your favorite characters along with fun new clubhouse members. There is plenty of art that is ready to print, cut and assemble and many other pieces that will give you hours of fun creating one of a kind projects from you own imagination.

LD is launching the program now and we have lots-o-art to provide you with to make your amazing creations. In fact, I now have my own name for my ideas and samples I will be sharing with you regularly here on the blog; that name is Sheri Berry Creations. You will start to recognize the logo as you become familiar with the button to the right which will direct you to the Lettering Delights site and onto my current collections with LD. This is what you will be looking for~

I will be sharing many project ideas on holiday decor; gifts to make and give in festive bags and boxes; party themes; and card making and scrapbooking ideas. I also have a special place in my heart for teachers and can’t think of a better way to show that appreciation than to have special projects with them in mind. I will have bulletin board ideas for the classroom as well as projects that teachers can do with their students.

I can’t get all of the ideas and projects into your hand right this minute, but will do my best to stay (as one blogger said) insanely prolific with Sheri’s Creations!

Costume Clubhouse is only the beginning of this exciting adventure with LD and I look forward to hearing from you and finding out what types of themes and projects you might like to see with Sheri’s Creations in the future, as I am eager for these creations to become your own. I say to you . . . print it, cut it, make it yours and get insanely prolific with your own creations.

When the Frost is on the Punkin

Celebrate this autumn season with a salute to James Whitcomb Riley and a cute tissue wrap, compliments of yours truly. Just download the label, print both labels on 8.5" x 11" paper, trim and attach to your oval Kleenex tissue box.

When I was in grade school and the season started to change into autumn we were given many poems to read and recite. One of my favorites was the poem by James Whitcomb Riley called “When the Frost is on the Punkin”. Here is a bit of the poem, which captures my mood and joy of this colorful season. You can read the entire poem here.

But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock~

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

It seems fitting to appreciate the poem and it’s author this week, as James Whitcomb Riley was born on October 7, 1849. As you go through this week, take a few minutes to enjoy the crisp autumn air, and for those of you living in a cool enough climate, try to find that frost covered pumpkin in a patch nearby.

Above is a sample of the tissue label. Turn it into a fun, but useful gift to share with all of your friends who love this season as much as we do.