Paper Sweeties Birthday Hop

Happy Second Birthday to Paper Sweeties!  Welcome to the Paper Sweeties Birthday Hop.  So glad you're here!

To celebrate, I've put together a Strawberry set using the Thanks Berry Much stamp set from Paper Sweeties.  It's so berry sweet!

The gift card holder also uses the You Are The Most Wonderful stamp set.  The cut file is from Silhouette.

The strawberry box is put together much like THESE heart boxes. I used a cut file from Silhouette to cut the hearts.  Here's what you need:

The bottom hearts are slightly smaller than the top hearts.  Glue 3 hearts together to make a nice thickness on which to adhere the sides.  You'll use the scallop heart after the sides are adhered to the bottom hearts.  The plaid should show inside the box.

The scallop and red dotted heart will be used after the sides are adhered to the top hearts.  

Here's  a couple of tips for adhering the sides:

Cut 4 side panels that are 1 1/2" wide by 10.  Score the top of the panels at 1/2".    Use a pen or bone folder to put a curve into the side panels.  Run glue along the edge of the hearts matching the points.  When you reach the bottom point - stop.  Score the panel from the point to the edge of the panel.  Cut off the panel leaving 1/2" for a tab.

Start the second side panel at the top gluing it to the first panel's tab.  Bring it around to the point and cut it off right at the point.  Now you can glue it to the scallop.  Do the top exactly the same.

Cut one more heart to match the red polka dot heart.  I used a mixture of brown fine glitter and brown tinsel glitter to make the chocolate.  Cut along the wavy line and glitter.  Let it dry and glue it to the polka dot heart.  Round the bottom of the heart to look more like a strawberry.

Make an inner heart - just like the liner in a real box of chocolates.

I used a flower punch and some washi covered paper to make the leaves.

And then just add some goodies!  In this case, chocolate covered strawberries (which you can see are getting a little melty)!  I think they need to be eaten - quickly!

Congratulations, Debbie!  You've had an exciting couple of years.  Here's wishing you many more...

Be sure to visit the Paper Sweeties Blog for all the festivities and giveaways to celebrate the 2nd birthday.  Now go visit Colleen Dietrich for more Paper Sweeties fun!

I'm in (Panda) Love!

What a week!  I've been so busy.  Well, wait a minute.  Have I really?  It seems like I was going every moment.  And yes, we did go to Lyric to see Spamalot on Thursday evening and to see Begin Again at the movies on Friday night, but what about the rest of the week?  I seriously don't know where the week went.  But, it certainly got away from me!

One thing is for sure, I've been in Panda Love this week.  Pandas are adorable - real ones, especially!  Since I'm not going to be adopting a panda anytime soon, I'll just make do with these darling Panda images that I found at  Miss Tina on Etsy.

I put together a note card set and had to have something cute to contain it all.  I settled on a matchbook type box.  This pretty paper is from Below Blink.  I printed the paper on 110 lb. paper so my box would be really sturdy.

You could use one of the die sets out there to make this box, but you don't need to.  If you have a cutter and a bone folder, you can make it easily.  (I used my scoring pad to score my box - it does make nice scores.)  A matchbook box is easy to make:

These dimensions are for a box that will hold cards that are 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 and envelopes that are 3 3/4 x 5.  Use double sided paper for your box so that the inside is finished.  I chose two different patterns to print.  For this size box, you will need to cut two pieces of patterned paper.

Cut one paper to 6 1/2 x 9" and one paper to
 4 x 4 3/4". 

Score the 6 1/2 x 9" paper -  this will form the back and the holder for the cards.

1.  Turn paper horizontally (long side is at top) and score 2 1/2" from right and 3 1/4" from right.  Also score 3/4" from the left.

2.  Turn paper vertically and score 1 1/4" from each side.  Score 1/2" from each side.

3.  Cut off sections marked above and make the 4 cuts from edge of paper to the 1 1/4" score.

Score the 4 x 4 3/4 paper. 
1.   Turn the paper horizontally and score 3/4" from left side.

Your papers will look like this:

Hint:  You really want to punch the holes for the ribbon now.  It is much harder when the bottom is glued.  

Lay the front piece on top of the back matching the edges.  I've used scrap paper so that you can see the front and back.  Punch through both pieces at the same time.  That way you will have mactching holes.  After punching the holes, you are ready to fold the box.

Glue the front to the back at the 3/4" fold.  Glue the front 3/4" fold on top of the back 3/4" fold.  Thread the ribbon.

Let's talk envelopes.  I used  my Envelope Punch Board to make my matching envelopes.  I printed the paper on one side of a 28 lb. Hammermill copy paper - which makes lovely envelopes.  

I printed one of the panda images on white sticker paper to make envelope seals.  I also die cut blank sticker paper for the front of the envelopes.

I just love this panda card set!  The box will hold 6 cards, 6 envelopes and the glassine bag with the envelope seals.

I've got some more Panda cuties on the way.  Happy Panda Love!

Get Sprinkled: Free Image + a Winner

I have always loved idioms.  They were one of my favorite things to share with my first graders when I taught.  One of the very first idioms I taught them was :  It's raining cats and dogs.  We would divide our paper in half and draw two pictures:  one side showing the actual words (cats and dogs falling from the sky) and the other side showing what we actually mean when we use the idiom (heavy rain).  

A while back, I lucked into quite a few Agnes Richardson postcards.  When I saw this one with raining cats and dogs, I started laughing and wished I had had it earlier for the first graders to see.  But, I wouldn't have shown it to them until they had done their drawings, wouldn't want to stifle creativity, you know.  And you wouldn't have believed some of the awesome pictures they did!

I thought Get Sprinkled was kind of cute and tied it all together with this inside:

I always think of my daughter, Lauren, wearing her loved Wellies when it rains.  She has been known to dance in the rain (and perhaps down the aisle at Lowe's).  Shhh - don't tell!  

 To download this Agnes Richardson postcard, click HERE.  Or just right click on the image below.

Are you wondering who has won the Christmas in July present?   Thank you to everyone who played along and left such sweet comments!  The name selected by my husband (old school random) is:
Meghan (littlepinkbike)
Meghan, email me (see email in side bar) with your address and I will get your Christmas in July present off to you on Monday.
Have a wonderful weekend and go dance in some rain (if you don't have rain, go dance in the sunshine or maybe in the aisle at Lowe's)!

Christmas in July Day 3

Hi, there!  Welcome to Day 3 of Christmas in July!  This is the last day of projects featuring Christmas images from Free Pretty Things for You and ChouxChoux Paper Arts.  We're so glad that you've joined us!

First up today is a most darling Santa.  I printed this card large (or maybe I should say long).  It's about 4 1/8" x 9".    

This Santa is so cute and the size is so cool that I didn't add a lot. The snowflakes are vellum that I colored with a pink copic marker.  You can download  Santa in his car HERE.

Little Miss Christmas is making her appearance again!  This time in magenta - such a pretty color!

I made the gusseted treat bag with paper from Dreamlike Magic.  You can see a tutorial for making the gusseted bag in my post HERE.  I punched two holes in the top layer of the bag to tie on the tag.  You can download the magenta version of Little Miss Christmas at Free Pretty Things for You.

Okay, you can look at the first two Christmas in July posts to see what is in the Christmas present so far.  To all the goodies in the first post, the kit for the ornament in the second post, I'm adding a kit for the Little Miss Christmas treat bag.  The bag will already be cut and scored and you'll get everything you need except for adhesives.

Winning the Christmas in July present is easy.  Leave a comment on all three Christmas in July posts.  Let  me know in one comment that you would like to win.  Comments need to be made before 11:59 on Friday.  Random winner will be announced on Saturday, July 19th.  Be sure to check back on Saturday to see if you've won.

I hope you've enjoyed Christmas in July and Little Miss Christmas in all her finery.   Be sure to take a look at all the wonderful images available at Free Pretty Things for You. 

Happy Christmas (in July)!

Christmas in July Day 2

Hurray, for Christmas in July!  It's got me thinking early about Christmas presents.  Maybe this year I'll get done before Christmas Eve.  The problem is that I usually think of some cool project to make about December 22nd.  I always wonder why I didn't think of it sooner.  I also think Christmas in July is working it's magic on the weather.  This is usually one of the hottest weeks of the year for us, but amazingly we are going to have 70 degree weather this week!!  I can't believe it - but I love it!

I've got a card and an ornament to share today.  Keren has the sweetest Christmas images at Free Pretty Things for You.  Isn't this the cutest manger scene?

I used microfine glitter and colored on top of it.  You can see a complete tutorial on that technique in my post HERE.  I printed Rejoice in gray on vellum and cut a band for my card.  I also tucked a gold mini cupcake liner underneath.  

You can download this oh, so sweet image HERE.

For the ornament, I'm using the red version of Little Miss Christmas.  You can see more about Little Miss Christmas in yesterday's post.  

The ornament is very easy to make.

You need white sticky back vinyl.  You can find it several places including the Silhouette store and amazon.  I like the glass ornaments for this - you could use the completely round ones - this one is kind of flat.  I used a large Martha Stewart punch, but you could use dies or an electronic cutter too.  

For this particular punch, I needed two to make a complete snowflake.  Then I had to cut away the excess from around the punch.  Peel off the vinyl and press to the ornament. 

It's filled with little white pompoms.  I'm thinking you could also fill this with red and green M&Ms for a treat ornament.  What other ideas do you have to fill the ornament?

 Little Miss Christmas is tied on with twine - wrapped a couple of times around the top.  You can download the red version of her HERE.  Visit Free Pretty Things for You for the magenta version.  I'm showing a project with her tomorrow.

You can see the first part of the Christmas in July present in yesterday's post.  I'm adding a kit for the Little Miss Christmas ornament to the giveaway.  To win, leave me a comment letting me know that you want to win.  Be sure to also comment on all three posts.  Comment by  11:59 p.m. Friday and I'll announce the winner on Saturday, July 19th.

Hope you are enjoying a little Christmas in July.  See you tomorrow for Day 3!

Christmas in July Day 1

So glad you've dropped by for the first day of Christmas in July!  It's a little too warm for hot chocolate by the fire, but not too warm for three days of fun Christmas projects. Maybe the thought of Christmas will cool me off a bit - we are having a 100 degree day today!

You probably all know by now that Dennis and I (and Lauren when we visit her in Wichita) prowl the antique stores.  I found a darling HUGE vintage Christmas coloring book with Little Miss Christmas on the cover.  I sent her to Keren at Free Pretty Things for You and Keren worked her magic!  Now we've got three different Little Miss Christmas images.  Her dress was originally red and Keren also made her available in white and purple.  You can find a link below to download all three.

I love the white/blue version and I wanted to put her on a little something other than a card.  So, I designed this fun little house just for Little Miss Christmas and her sweet animal friends.

Would you like to make your own little Christmas house gift box?  Here's how:

For a house that is 3" across and 2" deep, cut your paper to 7" x 9".  Double sided paper would be best.  I also used 110 lb paper to make the box really sturdy.  The cute snowflake paper is from Aesthetic Addiction.

Now you're ready to score.  On the 7" side, score at 2" and 5" from the left side.

On the 9" side, make 4 scores.  Score at 1", 3", 6" and 8".  

Cut off the corners and slit the remaining four corners on the long side to the score line.

Making the roof peak is next.  I find it easier to use a ruler and scissors rather than a paper cutter.  The center portion on the top will become the peak of the roof.  It measures 3".  Make a dot in the middle at 1 1/2" and draw diagonal lines to the corners where the scores intersect.  Cut away excess to  make the peak.

You will also need a back for your house.  Cut a piece of paper 3" x 7".  Don't forget to score it 2" from the bottom.  You will make a peak just like the other.  

Fold and glue the bottom flaps of the front of the house.  The back of the house will wrap around the bottom and be glued to the side tabs.

Now you are ready to punch the holes and tie a ribbon to make the closed top of the roof.  It really doesn't take very long at all to make.  

You can decorate with something cute -  Little Miss Christmas, perhaps?

Download the white/blue Little Miss Christmas HERE.  Visit Free Pretty Things for You to download the magenta version.  Tomorrow I'll have the link for the red version.

We can't have Christmas in July without a present.   One lucky reader will win the following by random selection:

There's a cute fox stamp and a set of sentiment stamps.  Also some Stampin' Up goodies:  Banner Blast stamps, Banner Blast punch, 2 Border embossing folders, and a set of Stampin' Write markers.  I will also include a KIT for the Little Miss Christmas House.  It will come with everything you need except for adhesives.  

It's easy to win.  Just leave me a comment letting me know that you would like to receive my Christmas present.  AND come back Tuesday and Wednesday and comment on those posts, too!   In other words, comment on all three Christmas in July posts.  

I will announce the winner on Saturday, July 19th.  Please comment on all three posts before 11:59 p.m. on Friday.  Come back on Saturday to see who won.  Especially check back if you don't have a blog and your email address is not on your profile.  It makes it a little hard to find you!

Check out my new Choux Box Kits Club on the page tab at the top of my blog.

Merry Christmas (in July)!  See you tomorrow...