4CCC-99 {Make a Box}

Hello everyone!  We've got a fun challenge for you this week over at the 4 Crafty Chicks' Challenge.  Tamie is our hostess-with-the-mostest and she is challenging you all to make your own box.

There are tons and tons of fabulous tutorials over at Splitcoast Stampers that show you how to make your own box.  I used this one to make mine...oh so easy!!  There's a box for any occasion and most of them don't take a genius to figure them out. :)

I used this beautiful, bright, summery color combo from the CR84FN Color Challenge to make my box:

Still not sure what I'm going to put in this little gift box - almost don't want to give it away.  :)  Thanks for stopping by - don't forget to take a few minutes to stop by and visit the rest of the Chicks' blogs and see what kind of boxes they made.  Later, gators!

 

Supplies 
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU!)
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Picadilly DSP (BG), Yours Truly DSP (Echo Park)
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Button, twine, ricrac, white satin ribbon, Floral Circles die (Verve), oval Coluzzle, Scallop Edge border punch

Anything But a Card at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Morning everyone and welcome back for another week of fun with the 4 Crafty Chicks!  Our hostess-with-the-mostest this week, Leanne, and she wants to see your fabulous 3D projects.

For my project, I popped over to the TCP website and discovered instructions on how to make the cutest little Easter treat bag and HAD to make one!  I also used last week's TCP Tuesday Color Challenge:

Sorry the photo kind of stinks...

Thanks for stopping by - we're looking forward to seeing what you all make that "isn't" a card.  :)  Remember ST. Patty's Day and Easter are coming up - should be easy to plan something around one of those occasions. :)  See you next week!

Friday Fun With Acetate!

Oh my gosh - I am so excited to show you what I created for you all today!  I was surfing the web this morning and posted my Facebook status as being soooooo happy to have received a TON of happy mail yesterday - a yummy Verve order, a TCP order and some goodies I had ordered from Scrappin' Great Deals. (I know - awesome, right?)  So, my friend, Miss Jenny Peterson chimed in and suggested that I put some of those supplies to good use and participate in this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge #182 to use acetate in a project.  You know - acetate?  That clear, plastic, transparency stuff?  It just so happened that I had a whole box of them in my filing cabinet so I was in luck.

Initially, I wasn't sure what to do with it... Use it for die cuts?  As the base of a card?  I popped over to Splitcoast for some inspiration and came across this tutorial to make your own note card holder and  I had one of my "light bulb moments."  OK - so today is my anniversary... 16 years of wedded bliss.  We have had our ups and downs like any couple, but for the most part, the years have flown by and have been filled with much joy and happiness.  SO, I thought I would make some "tickets" using my NEW TCP stamp set, "Admit One, " and my new TCP Cut-Ups dies (Big Ticket, Circus Panels, and Circus Border) and then make one of the little boxes to hold the tickets.  Fun, right?  I LOVE the colors for this week's CR84FN Color Challenge and HAD to use them for this project:

I started by making the little box using some acetate for the sides ... please excuse the holes in the acetate.  I originally had a handle on the box but didn't like how it looked so I took it off!  LOL

Then I got busy making four tickets to put in it.  I think I will make some more but I figured that was a good number to start with.  I LOVE how versatile this "Admit One" set is... I was even able to stamp our wedding date on the tickets!

After I used the Big Ticket die to cut the tickets out of white cardstock, I mounted them on some DSP from Pink Paislee and My Mind's Eye and then mounted the whole thing on acetate.  When I decide what sort of "treats" the tickets will be good for, I will just write them in.  Don't you LOVE it?  I am SOOOOO happy with how it turned out and SOOOOOO easy.  You could make just the tickets and give them to your kids as "rewards" - good for one meal of your choice, good for one day of dishes done by mom.... you get the idea!

I had so much fun this morning - THANKS Jenny!!  And thanks for the challenge, TCP - it *was* a challenge for me but a really great one.  Enjoy your weekend, everyone.  See you next week!

Flower Crazy at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Hello again everyone!  I know I've been MIA lately --- packing is progressing but it is S-L-O-W --- I can't wait to get everything moved.  And of course, this last month of school contains so many *events* that it's hard to keep track of them all.  Hopefully by the first part of July we'll be moved and *settled* and I can get back into my craft room on a more daily basis.

But you didn't come here to listen to me moan and groan about packing and moving, did you?  Of course not!  You want to see a bit of crafty goodness, right?  Well then, you've come to the right place!  This week's hostess with the mostest at the 4 Crafty Chicks is yours truly and I am challenging you to make your OWN flower.  There are a bazillion tutorials out there for ribbon flowers, paper flowers, fabric flowers... sooo many to choose from so find one and use it to make a fabulous bloom!  I used the same tutorial I used a few weeks ago for wire ribbon flowers: Make it Do.

This week, I decided to use another item from my Craft Cupboard Collection - a picture frame.  Hmmmm... how could I use that?  Well, I have really enjoyed using the SU! Decor Elements on picture frames in the past so I went to search to see if I could find one to fit this frame...nope, no luck.  What else could I use?  Ahhhhhhh - rub-ons.  I hardly EVER use my rub-ons and discovered an entire container of them while packing/organizing so this was my opportunity to get rid of some of them. 

It's kind of hard to see the words in this pic so here's a bit of a close-up:

I used a piece of SU! DSP from the neutrals pack for the "picture" and then placed the rub-ons on the outside of the glass.  I hot-glued the flower to the bottom corner (also on the top of the glass) and VOILA!  Mission accomplished!

I can't wait to see what kind of flowers you all create - you all KNOW what kind of flower freak I am.  I have a whole list of bookmarks on my computer 'specially for DIY flowers... yep...certifiable.  :)  I am looking forward to visiting your blogs and ADDING links to my list.  Have fun!  Enjoy your week.

A Fond Farewell to Sentimental Sundays...

Happy Sunday everyone!  Can you believe we are already at the end of May???  That means June is right around the corner and, with it, SUMMER...*I hope*  I'm finally finished work which means I can really concentrate on getting the new house ready to live in and this one packed up and *really* ready to sell.  Sadly, this has meant that I needed to give some things up while we are in this process and my Sentimental Sundays DT position had to be the unlucky victim.  I have had SOOOOO much fun working with this great group of ladies - they are an awesome bunch and all the newbies that have come aboard will feel like part of the family in no time.  :)  So, to Ann and the rest of the gals...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  :)

This week's Sentimental Sundays challenge is one that really made me step outside of my box..."Anything But a Card."  As many of you know, cards really are my *thing* but I do like a 3-D project every once in awhile.  One good thing about moving and packing up is *discovering* things you bought that haven't seen the light of day for...er....umm...years??  As I was going through one of my crafting supply cupboards, I found some 8x8 canvases that I had *good intentions* to use right away - *don't we all have those intentions???*  - so I pulled them out and thought about how I was going to use them for this project.  

As I was out and about in Blogland a few days ago, I came across the most HILARIOUS blog - LollyChops.  If you haven't visited her before, do it NOW.  She made me laugh out loud so much in one post that my kids thought I was losing it!  She has some FANTASTIC projects and this post from last year inspired me to create this:

My jumping-off point, so to speak, was this tutorial by Julie over at Inkredible Stamping to make felt flowers.  I bought some burgundy and green felt (and some purple for another project) at our local fabric/quilting shop and got to work.  I dug out my Nesties and Cuttlebug and got busy cutting five each of three different sized circles.  I tacked them together with a few stitches and then glued them into the flower shape on a 1-3/4" circle. I started the layout of the canvas by hot gluing and wrapping twine around two sides of the canvas.  The hardest part was trying to find some patterned paper that would coordinate with the deep green and burgundy felt...I realized that I don't have much paper in either of these colors!  A few more embellies later and I was done.  What do you think?  I have another canvas the same size and now I want to make another one with a picture of my boys and then hinge them together for a nice tabletop display.  Maybe that will get done AFTER we move... ;)


Thanks for stopping by today - I always enjoy visitors.  Thanks again to Ann for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing Design Team... I had a great time!  Enjoy your week everyone!




Supplies
 Stamps: Bloom & Grow (Verve) 
Ink: Early Espresso 
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss 
Accessories: 8x8 canvas, Flutterby die & Elegant Leaves die (Verve), canvas tag, paper piercer, Labels Seventeen Nesties, sponge dauber, twine, buttons, sheer ribbon, Scor-Tape, hot glue gun

Colour Q - Take Two!

Here we are again... :)  I had so much fun making this little project ~ no card from me this time.  *gasp*  I was inspired to step out of my box thanks to this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge: "The challenge is to create your favorite way to package a gift. With the holidays ahead we'd like to see your ideas for putting together the perfect gift."

Well, I have to admit, I don't really *have* a favorite way to package a gift... usually a gift bag and some tissue paper and I call it done.  (I'm normally a "last minute" kind of gal...)  But I have made these Acetate Boxes before and loved how they turned out.  I have had these test tubes sitting in my cupboard FOREVER and haven't really known what to do with them but was inspired by Taylor's 12 Days of  a Handcrafted Christmas to pull them out and *do* something...

Earlier today I used Arielle's Breast Cancer-inspired Colour Q combination - so now it's time to use the Halloween'ish combination:

I dug out my test tubes and measured them to figure out how big I needed to make the box.  I was originally going to make a 2" x 2" box but thought that you see them better if I made a 4-1/4" x 1" box instead.  Once I got the bottom part done and the acetate was in place, I decided not to do the box top but instead do a folded topper.  Sorry for the crappy pictures...it is very difficult to get a good picture with shiny acetate and plastic test tubes...

Recipe - Stamps: CC Designs Baby Trick or Treat Pumpkin Stamp, Tiny Tags  Ink: Poppy Parade  Paper: River Rock, Very Vanilla, Basic Black  Accessories: Martha Stewart border punch, Poppy Parade Poly Twill ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Test tubes (Martha Stewart), twine, Copics, bat brads, jelly beans

Pretty cute, eh?  I love how it turned out - in person it looks so much better than in these pictures...

OK, time for bed.  Tomorrow will be a busy day - to the gym in the AM for my daily dose of torture then off to the city for some groceries and other stuff.  Hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to craft.  See you later!

Sunday Three-in-One 3-D Challenge

How much fun have I had???  I am not usually this ambitious but I was inspired by the JUGS gals to give it a shot.  Their challenge this week is to use any template of our choice.  Well, I don't own any templates but I thought I could come up with something all by myself...and that new slipcover box that Lauren is releasing April 1 is *mighty* cute...

I thought the Play Date Cafe's color combo would make a PerFeCT box set:

So I got out my scrap paper to sketch out some dimensions, decided on colors (Sahara Sand, Rose Red, Bashful Blue) and started cutting.  In hindsight, I should have made the top cover's back the same size as the front but now I know. : )

I made the box and then went in search of a sketch I could use to make four cards that was fairly clean and simple so I could reproduce them quickly and found this beauty from Crazy 4 Challenges:

Et, voila...

Whaddaya think??  Super cute, hey?  I'm very pleased with how this turned out and will definitely make some "tweaks" to my template before I make more. 

Thanks for stopping by this Sunday morning - make sure you go over and check out the Curtain Call's new color combo - it's a beauty!  Later, peeps!

Tuesday Stash Challenge - Brought to You Today By...

ME!!!!  Can you believe it?  I was so excited and, I'll admit, a LOT nervous when Laura emailed me to see if I'd be willing to participate in her Tuesday Stash Challenge.  I've had the privilege of actually meeting Laura and I'll tell you, she is just as sweet and down to earth in person as she is on her blog!  But even though she's "just like the rest of us," she's LAURA for pity's sake! We went back and forth a couple of times trying to figure out what we both had that we could get rid of from our stash and eventually settled on those ribbon charms/sliders - I think mine were from Making Memories.  

I found a pewter one with "gratitude" on it and thought it would be perfect for a thank you card.  But the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to do *more* than just a card.  So, I went through my stash again and found some blank notecards I had never opened.  The cards were 4-3/4" square and the envelopes were 5" square and the wheels started to turn ~~ a little box of thank you cards would make a great gift.  So, I got out my scrap paper to figure out what the dimensions of my little box should be, where it should be scored etc.   The box base is 5-1/4" square and the sides are 1" high.  The box top is a bit bigger at 5-1/2" square and 3/4" tall.  In hindsight, the top is a little bit too loose and it could have been taller but live and learn, right?  I used Riding Hood Red CS for the base and Pink Pirouette for the top.

With Valentine's Day coming, I wanted to keep with the pinks and reds for my color scheme and I knew the Bella Rose paper would be perfect.  I knew the main colors would be RHR and PP but Valentine's Day just wouldn't be complete without a bit of CHOCOLATE thrown in, right?  I went to work on the background layers and how they would all come together.  In the end, I used my Top Note die to cut out the Chocolate Chip polka dot layer and my Labels One Nestabilities for the Pink Pirouette CS and DP layers.  To finish the background layers off, I paper pierced the points on the PP CS layer and used my Martha Stewart Lace Doily punch to finish off the RHR base layer.

I chose Inspired by Nature for my image ~ I just love that coneflower!  When I stamped the coneflower with RHR ink and looked at it, I decided that it wasn't exciting enough for this project... too one-dimensional.  I stamped the image again, this time with Versamark ink and used heat & stick powder to apply the red glitter (Martha Stewart).  I cut it out with my oval Nestabilities and matted it on a Chocolate Chip scalloped oval.  It really popped but the CC layer needed *something* so I got out the old white gel pen and added dots to each of the scallops.  Again, it just didn't do it for me - BORING and one-dimensional.  My regular readers know how ADDICTED I am to adhesive pearls so I immediately got out my white ones and placed them over the gel pen dots.  A few more pearls added to the corners and VOILA!  I added some RHR taffeta ribbon to the outside of the box top before turning my attention to the actual thank you cards.

I went to Splitcoast to see the Sketch Challenge for this week and found this:

I thought I could use this sketch even though the dimensions of my cards were going to be square.  When I decided to use the gratitude ribbon slider I knew I wanted to use the gratitude definition from the "Define Your Life" set.  Through some trial and error I came up with these:

They are all basically the same but I've managed to make each one just a *bit* different from the others.  I used my Labels One Nestabilities again and used the grasses from the Inspired by Nature set (stamped in Pink Pirouette) as the background for my definition (stamped in Chocolate Chip).   A little bit of paper piercing, some Cuttlebugging (Swiss Dots again!), some ribbon and embellishments and these thank you cards were done.

Can you pick out the differences?  It's not really that difficult especially when they are side by side like this!  I had so much fun working on this "secret" project (even though I fretted for DAYS about what I was going to do!) and a HUGE thank you to Laura for including me in her new weekly challenge - I truly appreciate it.  If I have forgotten to include some important information, please leave a comment and I will answer as soon as I can.

Thanks for stopping by - have a great Tuesday everyone!