Hello, crafty friends! I feel like a very lucky girl right now. Yesterday Scrapbook.com sent me the new Tim Holtz Sizzix holiday collection of dies. I wasn’t sure if I would have enough time to get something together in time to follow Tim’s live video, but I managed to squeak out what I think is a darn cute set of gifts perfect to have on hand as the cooler weather sets in.

The first die that caught my eye, was the Cozy Winter bear. I wasn’t sure exactly what color I wanted to make him, so I opted to cut him out of watercolor paper. I used low tack mint tape to secure the dies onto my magic mat before running it through my cutting machine. The dies fit ever so perfectly on my paper and I didn’t want them sliding around.

After I had all the pieces cut out, I couldn’t decide if I wanted a grey, brown, or white bear. So… I cut out two more bears. Problem solved! Ha! The mint tape I used to hold down the dies still had good stick to it, so I used the tape pieces to hold down all the little bits while I gave everything a wash with watercolors.

Once everything was dry, I assembled the bears. I opted not to use the white part of the eyes and the mouth that came in the die set, so I could play with the expressions a bit more. I used a white gel pen and black pen to add the expressions and accents. I also used some liquid sparkle over the scarves, snowflakes, and hearts for extra bling. I thought a few places needed to have a bit deeper tones, so instead of pulling out my watercolor palettes again, I just grabbed grey & brown alcohol marker for touch ups.

At this point I decided I wasn’t going to make a card. I went to my stash of packaging and gifts and found these tea tins. (Don’t worry. They don’t expire for another two years.) The tins themselves are quite beautiful. I was going to make a tag and was bummed I might cover up the pretty bits, but then I remembered I had these oval nesting dies in my stash. I lined up the two sized I thought might work with my bear on top, and low and behold they were a perfect fit.

To finish up my gift, I wrapped ribbon around the tin and tied a bow. Then I attached my oval layers. For dimension, I added foam adhesive behind the bear and placed a few loops of metallic thread behind him before sticking him down. I also added the die cut snowflakes and loads of glitter and pearl pops of color.

I did exactly the same with the grey tin as well just changing out the colors here and there.

Since I made three bears and only had two tea tins, I opted to attach my third bear to a sweet little candle. The ribbons aren’t attached directly to any of the gifts, so they’re easy to take off and actually use the gift. I hate it when I give someone something and they feel like they can’t open it or it will be ruined, so I always do my best to ensure the gift can be enjoyed easily.

If you’d like to check out more photos or a full supply list, please visit my gallery post. I’ll be back again soon with another project soon. Until then… stay crafty! – Laura Evangeline