Storage Solution/Party Bag Show off and project!

Recently while wand'ring aimlessly through the aisles of my local JoAnn (which I do quite often because I teach there and like to wander and find new stuff), I came across these little beauties in the jewelry section:

As far as I remember, these things are usually $6.99 (but were 40% off when I bought them!). There are 30 tiny little vials which are PERFECT for storing small items such as brads, buttons, eyelets, clips, jewels, etc... I just absolutely love them. They make storing all of this stuff quite compact, too.
Also, I bought a different storage set with 12 large vials inside which I was using at first to store larger embellishments. I still have it, but also got another one because I realized that they were about the same size as my embossing powder jars which I was having trouble storing in my space. I emptied the embossing powder into those larger jars and now have a nice, compact, portable way of carting them all around (which is probably more important for me as a teacher than it would be for you if you're a stationary paper crafter, but I still felt it was cool enough to share!).

Also... I know that a little while ago I promised a series on projects you could do with the Storybook Cartridge on the Cricut. However, I may do a series on projects using only the Plantin Schoolbook and Accent Essentials cartridges which come with the Cricut Expressions machine. I was almost forced to do this the other night because I sat to make the bags for Elliott's birthday party on Sunday (turning 3... I can't believe it!) and I realized that my neighbor is borrowing my Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridge. She just recently went out and bought a Cricut Expressions because she really liked it when she saw me using it at my most recent paper party (and I might just have one more husband who isn't speaking to me, lol...), but I digress... Anyhow, as it often happens for those of us with munchkins and other time consuming daily responsibilities (which is probably all of us), I was crafting late at night and knew I couldn't just call her and ask to get it back. I remembered that the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge has bags in it, and to my great joy, I saw that the Roly Poly option would create a nice square bag the kind that I was looking for. So here is the party bag design I made for my sweet boy's birthday party! These are what the kids will take their treats home in.

Goodie Bag (A Plantin Schoolbook Cricut Cartridge Project):

1. Hit the roly poly option, then the bag. Set your size to 5 1/2". This size will cut two bags on one 12x12 piece of cardstock even though if you try to cut a quantity of 2, it will tell you it doesn't fit. The machine is just being weird on this, I suppose. Cut the image, hit the line return button, then repeat last, and cut the same exact image again. My cardstock is kind of a dark brownish gray. I can't quite describe the color. It was from an earthtone textured cardstock package I picked up at Walmart.

These are the pieces I cut:
Star: 1 plain (blue), 1 shadow (black), both at 2 1/2"
Circle: 1 plain (red), 1 shadow (black), both at 2 1/4"

-In case you're not quite familiar with the Cricut, using the shadow option cuts an image slightly bigger than the size you select. You don't need to set your size larger to get that larger size when using the shadow button. In fact, trying to create this shadowed effect by just using a larger size doesn't always work--especially in letters.

-When choosing your sizes, remember that your chosen measurement is how tall your finished image will be. (Think of the fact that cutting a 2" letter A yields a 2" tall letter A.)

2. Glue and layer your pieces as shown below.

Here is the finished goodie bag without any extra embellishment:


3. Embellish with chosen items. I used a stamped, embossed, colored, and cut image from the Cupcakes clear stamp collection from The Paper Company.


Finished bags:


I've decided not to put El's name or stats (such as a 3 or whatever) on these bags because I would like for them to be reuseable. I really like how this turned out (and I was just as surprised as anyone else at just how cute these are, lol). You know, I think these could work as a small bag for a teenager, or as a super cute way to give a gift card to someone.

I'm feeling really kind of pushed to start figuring out more uses for these two cartridges now! I'll be posting more projects as I come up with them. (Likely a birthday banner pretty soon.)