Red and White Easel Gift Box

I came across some very cute monogram necklaces (at a great price!) while shopping at Macy's for something entirely different.  I could not resist picking one up for one of my DGDs.  I needed a fun gift box for it, and since the challenge this week at BBTB2 was to use the colors red and white, all I had to do was find the right box.


This very versatile easel box, from Lori Whitlock's To You From Me cart, was easy to personalize with an 'S'  from Monogram Motifs.  I had major problems, however, with scoring the heavy, white cardstock that I chose for the box base.  It took me three tries to get the score lines in the correct place using my score board and I eventually resorted to drawing them in with a pencil clamped in the Explore instead of the score tool.  (I did write the measurements down in my recipe book so that I can replicate this size box should I need to in the future.)  I am SO hoping the new DS solves the scoring problem and fixes the alignment problems that sometimes occur.

This was such an interesting challenge and I love the simplicity of the two color box, even though I had to add a tad of pink to the top! 

Have a look at the variety of entries at BBTB2.  Wow!   Thank you for visiting with me on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  : )   Christine

You Octopi My Heart!

I could not resist this stamp set by Lawn Fawn, but the accompanying octopus is sooo teeny and does not have a lot of character IMHO.   Cricut to the rescue with this oh so cute octopus from the Birthday Bash cart. 

Since this card is for my science - minded DGD, I quickly realized that I would have to create some extra legs for my octopus and so I sliced and welded in Design Space only to find that because I wanted the extra legs a darker color, it was just much easier to duplicate the octopus and trim away two legs.   Lesson learned!   I eliminated the birthday packages that the octopus was carrying by closing the eye in DS and then I substituted a layered heart from Doodlecharms.

I distress inked the background using my Groove, added some dew drop bubbles and heat embossed the sentiment.   Such a fun card to make!

I am linking my card with the Valentine challenge at BBTB2 here.

and the Valentine Challenge # 294 at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog here.

If you are 'last minute - ing it' like me, there's tons of inspiration on both sites.  Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )   Christine

Mickey and friends Valentine Treats

This is my favorite kind of project!   I downloaded the svg for the free Tootsie Roll holder from the amazing Dreaming Tree company,  redesigned it to feature the new Mickey and Friends 'Love at First Sight' images in DS, stamped the heart using my Misti, used up some remnants from my Valentine Really Reasonable ribbon stash and added confetti made with a Martha Stewart punch.  Plus, I am so pleased to have found a use for a little of the purple Glitzy Glitter paper that has accumulated in my Glitter Paper drawer.  Yahoo!

Don't you just love those Mickey print then cut images?  Sooo cute!  Here's a look at the back of the project:-

Take a look at the fabulous Valentine projects over on the BBTB2 page here.  Don't you just love Maureen's frame?   I feel a scraplift coming on.  LOL!    Thanks for visiting with me today.   : )  Christine

Snowflake Treat Boxes

Just a quick post to share a couple of the snowflake treat boxes I made for the children.  The box comes from  Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2 and I 'tweaked' the top by adding a little tab to keep the box closed as I wanted to glue the second, glittery snowflake down flat.  The box is 3.5 long and 1.5 wide and fits 3 or 4 candy treats inside. 

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on either side of the box using Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink and Ranger white embossing powder.  I am totally in love with this look right now!  I have to give a shout out to Sunny Studios for the lovely little snowflake stamps from the Snow Kissed set.  They stamped perfectly!

Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )  Christine

Wooden Heart Valentine

Do you remember "G.I. Blues?"   After seeing that movie, just as I was entering my teens, I became totally enamored with Mr. Presley.  I even went so far as to write poetry to him!!!  I always remember his birthday, since it is so close to my own, and even though I moved on to Beatlemania, and eventually, DH, Mr. P remained in a corner of my heart.  So, when the BBTB2 team challenged us to an Elvis Presley Birthday project, I HAD to join in the fun.

And then, the snow, ice, frigid temperatures, and  freezing wind imprisoned me in the house and it wasn't until today that DH could drive me to Michael's to pick up some birch wood to complete the project that had been simmering in my brain all week.

DH's favorite Elvis song is "Wooden Heart" and he is very proud of the fact that he knows every word including the bits in German.  Naturally, my project is a wooden heart valentine for DH.  Here it is!

I started with the skull card from Wild Card 2 and sized the card layer to 9 inches in height.  I stretched the scalloped heart from Victorian Romance to fit and then added score lines to the heart layer and changed them all to 'cut.'   This I duplicated several times and cut each out of a different valentine paper and my birch wood sheet.  I had such fun arranging the pieces together (and now have 3 extra hearts to add to my valentine stash) like a puzzle.  : )  

I folded the card base to make an easel card and added the banner to hold the card in place.  (E.P.  sings "It was always you from the start" in the song.)   It was very difficult to get the phrase on the banner and I'm not very happy with it, but oh well! 

Please run over to the BBTB2 blog and see all the fun projects the DT put together.   Love those blue suede shoes!   Thanks for visiting with me today.  Rock on!   Christine  : )

Winter Castle

Phew!  I finally finished a Christmas project that I've been struggling with for three weeks and it is packed away for NEXT Christmas.  I celebrated by taking on the BBTB2 " New" challenge here.

I needed a card to put in Master J's castle mailbox this week and as I remembered how pretty it looked in the snow, strung with colorful lights, I thought about the Winter Castle shadow box file from Lori Whitlock just waiting to be cut on my Explore.

 A new project deserves a new cutting blade and a new mat, don't you think?  Even so, I had to move the dial to Fabric + to get a clean cut with this heavyweight textured paper.  I added the 'Happy New Year' sentiment from the Phrases cart, and the banner comes from 'Bits and Pieces.'  I discovered that since Fabric+ cuts twice, it also writes twice and my 2017 text came out very clearly.  (Note to self - remember this!)

Here's a side shot to show the dimension.  I used clear Wink of Stella to add sparkle to the castle, hills and snowflakes and is ALMOST as pretty as the real thing in Master J's back yard!

Hurry over to BBTB2 and see all the entries!   Thanks for visiting with me today.   : )  Christine

Happy New Year!

Well, we are (mostly) in our new home although we had to rent a  storage unit and obviously need to downsize a little more than we did!  I lost my craft room and now occupy a corner and one wall of our bonus room.  DH complained that he had been squeezed out of his half of the room, but as I told him, "You snooze, you lose."   I worked hard every evening unpacking boxes, arranging my supplies and filling all the available space! LOL.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.  All the family visited at one time or another and we thoroughly enjoyed showing off our house.  The First Night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Eve, so we waited until yesterday, New Year's Eve AND the Last Night of Hanukkah to visit Master J and his parents for a delicious dinner of latkes, apple and pear chutney, brisket and vegetables.  Yum!

 I adapted a swing card from the Artfully Sent cart this year and was quite pleased with how it came out.  I could not find my card holder so please forgive the binder clip!

The sentiment comes from the Phrases cart.  You can't tell, but I used my Wink of Stella pen to add a sparkle to both sides of the Star of David in the swing window.  I am linking my card to the BBTB2 Nativity and Menorah challenge here.
Thank you for visiting with me today.  Time to get back to packing up the ornaments from the tree.  (Not my favorite thing to do!)   : )  Christine