Apparently I was a little daft the past couple of days. I had written up posts and then they disappeared when I thought I saved them. I’m guessing I just hit preview then logged out! What a !

So, here we (or “I”) go again!

I love to make genie bags! They are a super cute way to give a little somethin’ and are super easy! All you need is a white sack for the inside, which you can find at WalMart. If you’re lucky enough to be near a Smart and Final, you can pick them up in bulk for a steal!

Cut two pieces of cardstock at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. You’re using the same amout of cardstock as you would to make a card! Decorate the front panel as desired, then adhere the back and the front to the bag. Note: You will have to trim down the white sack before adhering the covers. To make the handle, I use the Word Window Punch from SU! That is basically it.

For this one I used Chocolate Chip as my bag base. I then stamped the Just For You Branch from justjohanna with Palette Noir Black on WW. I then used my Coluzzle to cut the oval, making sure to not cut the part of the image I wanted to have overlapping. I then used my paper snips to trim around the branches overlapping the oval.

I colored the image with Prismacolors and added the white dots with my Sakura White Gel Pen. LOVE the white gel pen!! I punched the Giga Scalloped Oval with my Marvy punch out of Chocolate Chip and adhered the image to the mat. Then set it aside.

I don’t know who the cute green and white polka dot paper is from, but I hope I find it again because I love it! I trimmed it to fit the panel and added a decorative edge with scalloped scissors. I then wrapped some chocolate colored grosgrain around the decorative paper, securing it in the back, then adhered the decorative panel to the front of the bag.

At this point I adhered the front and back to the bag. Then held the top together and punched thru both layers at once. I actually punched the Word Window Punch twice to get it the length I wanted it to be. Next I adhered the focal image with dimensionals, taking care to overlap the top on the chocolate grosgrain. The final touch is the little bow! I made it with my Bow Easy that I picked up last summer. I *hate* to make bows, but when I use this, they turn out so nice!! And sometimes you just need a little bow to top off a project! The bow was adhered to the focal image with a mini glue dot, and the bag is completed!

So, I have to ask, do you like that stamp image? Guess what! It’s one of the stamps I designed and Johanna liked it enough to make it into a rubber stamp! It’s a nice big size, and I love that it can be used as a greeting or for the back of your stamped projects! You can find it here: shop at justjohanna

One more thing before I go! I just love my new watermark! I couldn’t figure out for the life of me, how to create one on my own. Then I was checking out Beth’s blog and saw that she has started offering watermarks! I jumped at the chance to have her make one for me and I love using it! Check out her site for watermarks and banners here: Freckled Fun Designs. She is so sweet and easy to work with! Thank you, Beth!