Cute paper packages tied up with string

Do you love packages as much as I do?  Then you will just LOVE these fun boxes made with the Gift Box Punch Board. They are perfect for little presents for the holidays, stocking stuffers, or cute decor for your tree and/or around the house! I had a lot of fun putting these together. I made 3 sizes - the smallest are 1.75" square boxes and the largest is a 4" square box.  What I also love about these boxes is that you don't need any adhesive to put them together as you see in these pictures.  The tops have a notch closure, so the box will stay together nice and securely. They do look adorable using the Under the Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper, don't they?  Not only are the prints super cute, but the paper is a nice and durable cardboard weight.  Here's a closer look at the boxes:

These small square boxes are perfect for tiny trinkets!

This medium sized box would make great packaging for a pair of socks or mittens.

This 4" square box is the largest that can be made with the Gift Box Punch Board and it's just the right size for a belt, candle, or even sweet treats! Whatever creativity you can fit, you can rest assured it will be cutely packaged! ;)  I decided to embellish this box with a bow that I die cut using the Gift Bow Bigz L die which I then embossed with the Polka Dot Embossing folder.  I'm a big fan of the polka dots, so I really love how this bow came out.

Thanks for popping by today!

Don't forget! I have a November Blog Candy Giveaway to celebrate my Stampin'Up! Anniversary!  Leave me a comment here to play!

Special blog candy for my Stampin'Up! anniversary!

Hello there blog friends and HAPPY MONDAY! Today, November 10th, is my 14th anniversary as a Stampin'Up Demonstrator!  Can you believe it?!  To share in the celebration and as a thanks to you all for being a part of my crafting world, I am giving away a Stampin'Up! Holiday Home photopolymer stamp set.  One lucky person will be picked at random. All you have to do is leave me a comment by Sunday, November 30 at midnight Pacific Time. You can leave me a comment about anything, or you can tell me what your all time favorite Stampin'Up! Stamp Set is! I'll announce the lucky winner on Monday, December 1st.

I'm so glad to be celebrating this anniversary. It's a testament to my commitment to Stampin'Up! and my love for stamping and paper crafting.  As many of you know, I work full time and I'm more of a passionate "hobby demonstrator" that enjoys the craft and sharing my experience with others.  What I do love about this company is that I'm able to make my business fit my needs.  There are times when I've throttled it up, but in more recent times, have had to take it down a notch in order to keep a balance with family and my day job commitments.  In every case, I've still enjoyed the benefits of being a demonstrator and all the comraderie that I've experienced with fellow demonstrators and customers who also have a love of the craft. I've got great downline demonstrators as well, that I am so glad to be part of my team.

I thank you all for coming to visit with me and also getting the chance to know some of you.  It's through our mutual appreciation of all things paper crafting that I think allows for us to feel like we know each other and it's a really nice feeling.  I know that my blogging hasn't been the most consistent, but I do enjoy sharing with you all and hearing back from you on occasions, too!

I think I'm in a good place to have more regular postings to share with you all, so I hope you continue to come and visit.  As you'll see in upcoming posts, my craft room transformation has had a lot to do with my ability to craft again. IE, I've cleaned it up so that I can actually DO some crafting :)  There are also lots of things to celebrate in the holiday season, so I definitely want to pop in and share ideas on that front, too!

I look forward to reading your comments and am excited to be giving this fun stamp set away to a lucky winner!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles {birthday card!}

Who's a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?!  Well, apparently lots of kids are!  Today, we attended a friend's son's birthday party and he's all about the turtles.  So, I couldn't help but oblige and make him a Leonardo card.  It was a great challenge for me, since I haven't seen the latest movie or shows (my little guy is not quite into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yet).  Lucky for me there's Pinterest and the whole interweb to help guide me with some images and themes.  After doing my research, I came up with this fun little flip card for our friend Bryce who just turned 5!

I used the Thinlits Circle Card to create the Basic Black cardstock base.  Then I used the Honeycomb embossing folder to create my Old Olive layer that I added on top of the base.  For the sewer whole, I used the Circle Framelits and Chevron embossing folder.

Then, on the inside of the card, I created my Leonardo turtle!  So easy, thanks to the Circle and Oval framelits! For his mask, I cut out an extra circle in Night of Navy and then just hand cut it and laid it on top of the green circle.  I used scraps from the Night of Navy circle to make the ties. Fun tip: Use the banner punch to make the perfect ends on the tails! For the sentiment, I used the Age Awareness stamp set and cut it out with the banner framelit from the Thinlits Circle card. And last but not least, of course, I had to personalize the card! For that, I used the Little Letters Thinlits, which I just LOVE.  Viola!

Here's one last look at the card.  Aren't these flip cards great? Hope this has inspired you to make some ninja turtles.  They are pretty fun and easy to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet blue-eyed love birds

Hey there, crafty friends.  Today is my dear cousin's 15th anniversary, so I made her and my cousin-in-law this sweet and simple love bird card.  My inspiration came from a card I came across while I was perusing Pinterest the other day. It struck me because it was so cute, yet so simple!  

In the version I created, I used the Tangelo Twist card stock to punch out my birds with the Bird Builder punch.  Then, I punched out the hearts using the Itty Bitty Accents heart punch.  I layered my little birdies onto a Crumb Cake card stock base.

For the "blue" eyes, I colored in the Rhinestone Basic Jewels with the medium blue marker in the Coastal Cabana Blendabilities assortment.  To pull in that blue accent color a little more, I used the Coastal Cabana thick baker's twine.  And lastly, I stamped the "happy anniversary" sentiment in Tangelo Twist, using one of my retired stamp sets (still love the font of this sentiment!) Here's one last look at the finished card:

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Have a fabulous day :)

Stampin'Up!'s Weekly Deals {November 4}

Hi all!  Happy Hump Day! Ready to check out this week's Stampin'Up! Weekly Deals?  These are great bargains that run from Tuesday til the following Monday and are available for the week while supplies last.  I personally am a big fan of the Chevron ribbons!  Scoop 'em up if you see something you like!

Hope you're having a great week!  Bye for now.

The Dark Knight on parade

Hi all!  Happy Monday! Just wanted to pop in with a quick Halloween recap.  Our little guy dressed up as Batman and also had his very first Halloween parade at his pre-school.  He did great at school and had fun trick-or-treating, too!  He definitely made a tough-looking Batman, complete with the buff muscles and everything.  Costumes sure have come a long way since I was a kid! All in all, it was a fun-filled Halloween.

For his class, I made little jack-o-lantern favors with the Curvy Keepsake box.  Can I just say I love that box?!  Here's a look at the treats...

 

I had fun making different faces on these cute pumpkins.  As for the treat inside, I decided that I didn't want to add to the heaps of candy these little 3 year olds would be getting, so I filled these with a little jar of Play-Doh. It was a perfect fit!

Now I can't wait to make different things out of this Curvy keepsake box.  I was amazed to see all the adorable creations people have pinned on Pinterest! It's definitely worth checking out.

Thanks for coming by today.  Hope you all have a great week!

{Easy as pie!} - Unboxing the October My Paper Pumpkin Kit

Hi there blog friends! How are you all?  I  hope you had a fabulous Halloween!  I know we had a great time here - stay tuned for a Halloween recap soon.  For today's post,  I'm excited to share the My Paper Pumpkin October kit!  I had a few hours this afternoon where I got the chance to craft, so I had some quality "me" time and got some much needed crafting therapy on.  How do you like that sneak peek?  Don't those pom poms look so fun?  Well, here's what the package looks like...

Seriously.  As soon as I opened up the box, I was really excited to put this project together.  These My Paper Pumpkin kits make crafting so easy! Here's a closer look at all the supplies you get to make this adorable Thanksgiving pie...

Now for a look at the big picture below...

You know what was the best part of this project? Making the POM POMS!  Not only are they fun to make (I mean, it makes me feel so crafty!), they really make the pie look that much more scrumptious!  

Here's a perfect slice, just for you!  Now, if you love this project, I definitely encourage you to sign up for a My Paper Pumpkin subscription!  You'll get a new craft project each month delivered to your door.  Plus, you can check out the My Paper Pumpkin Pinterest boards to get your creative juices flowing and get inspired with more projects you can create from each month's kit. :)

For those of you that are already My Paper Pumpkin subscribers, you also have the opportunity to get extra kits from past projects while supplies last.  I love this option because there will be months where you just fall in love with the project and need or want to make more, so you can order more.  The caveat here is that it is while supplies last.  So it's definitely something you want to take advantage of right away.  I'm certainly going to order another October project because I think this will be a great little treat for my co-workers!

Hope you liked this project. Thanks so much for popping by today! I know I've been posting sporadically, so I do appreciate your visit :)

Ciao for now!