Who wouldn't love a little chocolate?

Sometimes you want to give someone a little more than a card, but don't really want to spend money on a gift. Today I will teach you how to make this cute little box that contains a treasure of 3 chocolate squares--perfect for that little extra something!


Here is your supply list for this project:
4 1/4" X 8" cardstock
paper cutter with scoring tool (or scor-pal)
red line tape
stamps
ink
pre-wrapped squares of chocolate (ghirardelli is nice)

1. Score the short side of your cardstock at 1" and 3 3/4"

2. Score the long side of your cardstock at 2", 3", 5" and 6"

3. Cut off the outer strip 3" up on one end as shown in the photo...this will become the flap for closing the box



4.Use a bone folder to create score lines

5.Cut the 1" line on both sides


6.Add red-line tape or strong adhesive as shown in the photo


7.Flip your cardstock over and add tape to the 1" tabs. Fold inward to begin to form your box



8. Fold cardstock into box and make sure seals are tight (this is why red-line tape works well...but it sets instantly). If you use a liquid adhesive, make sure there is a set-up time so that you can move your cardstock into position ( I love zip dry glue for projects like this).


9. OPTIONAL~~I like to trim the flap by about 1" and round the corners. This gives a finished edge to the flap and helps it set nicely when tucked in to close the box.

10. To double check that you have measured properly, insert 3 wrapped chocolates into the box



TA~~~DAAAAHHHH!!!!

You are now ready to decorate your adorable treat box. The first thing you should do is to reward your success with a square of chocolate ;)

11. Stamp your image onto white cardstock, trim it to size so it looks nice on the front of the box, and color it.




Today I chose an adorable stamp from Stampendous. FLUFFLES the Cat is one of the characters in the Stampendous line of adorable critters. Fluffles has many holiday adventures...you can find this line in Creativity Boutique! The cardstock that I used was Bazzill cardinal (red) and I used watercolor crayons, markers, and stickles to color in my stamped image.

These boxes are so versatile....they make excellent party favors, great little give-aways, and can be decorated for any occasion!!! Thanks to Beate Johns for the original tutorial and inspiration.

Happy Sunday! Glitter, embossing and sparkle...oh my

I stamped this card and embossed using Stampendous Detail Embossing Powder and loved that all the fine details of the Wisemen stamp showed up. I then used my glue pen to color in parts of the stamp and added glitter. Then I went a little glitter crazy and added glitter in the debossed parts of the background.

I stamped this card and then stamped the images on Basic Grey and cut them out! I thought it gave them a batik like look! I added just a touch of sparkle on the the star!

Join us next week at Kit 'n Kaboodles!

If you are stuck for any holiday gift giving ideas, please stop by KnK to see our week filled with gift-giving ideas. Each day, starting on Monday, November 30, each Design Team member will be giving step by step instructions on creating a unique projects that can be made for the Holidays, as well as throughout the year! From gift card holders, frames, to wine containers and ornaments, there will be many things to choose from.

Please stop by, and make sure you say hi!

A Christmas Quickie!

If you are anything like me then you will have hundreds of Christmas cards to send! I am not of the school of thought that says they need to take 2 minutes each to make ... I always think if you are just gonna churn them out like that ... where is the care? ... or the thought? ... you may as well buy them!
I do however realize that to spend too much time on each card means that half the people that you wanted to send that special hand-made card to ... won't actually ever get it! So ...  I have a partial solution.
The designing of a card always takes much longer than the actual making ... well it does for me anyway ... so my cheat is not to design Christmas cards ... go back through all the designs that you have made this year .... choose the ones that you enjoyed making ... and make them again ... only this time in Christmas colours and a Christmes theme ... simples!
Remember the resist embossing technique ... the Stampendous Fall stamps and the Pumpkin ...

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving ... See you next week :0)

Happy Thanksgiving to all

from all of us here at KNK and CB. May your day be filled with good food, family and friends.

What size is it?

Do you ever sit down to work on a project and realize that you may have a stamp that is too large for what you need? Well, this fabulous tree from the Jumbo Tree Perfectly Clear set by Stampendous is a great stamp to play with using the technique I'm going to show you.

I first stamped the image onto pattern paper full size and then trimmed my tree with some pink ball trim and added a base to it. I then pulled out my little gift bag that I wanted to decorate to match and realized that the full sized tree would not fit on my bag. I decided that I needed to shorten my tree....so I again stamped the image onto pattern paper. This time, I added another set of lines for a new "bottom" to my tree and simply trimmed off the excess.

You can see in this picture the full sized stamped trimmed out tree on the left and the stamped and shortened tree on the right:



Here is my full-sized tree turned into a tag:



and the shortened tree used on my gift bag:



I hope this technique will have you looking at your stamps in a whole new way!

Happy crafting....Lynda

It's not even Thanksgiving yet!

I know, I know.... we've all got Christmas on the brain... we can't help it though, we're crafters, right? And we, as crafters, love the holidays because it gives us more reason (as if we need another excuse) to do what we love: create and give. I'm positive I am not the only one who has started her holiday crafting! With the state of the economy today, I, for one, will be making more gifts this year than I ever have in the past. The ever-popular altered pail, for example, is still a really fun way to present a gift, perfect for an ornament or cookie exchange. The pail shown here cost $3.99 (would have been half that if I'd remember my coupon LOL!) plus product I already had.And, as an added bonus, I had fun making it and I didn't have to fight the crowds looking for it! Almost can't put a price on that. So stay tuned, we may have a few more fun ideas for you! Happy crafting!

Need a little treat for someone????

With the holidays just around the corner, we all have lots of little gifts to get for friends, teachers, neighbors, etc. I am going to show you how to make a cute little gift bag that you can fill with candy, cookies, or even a little gift.




You will need the following items to make this project:
8 1/2 x 11 piece of colored cardstock (I used coredinations!)
corner rounder or decorative edge scissors
hole punch ( 1/8")
paper cutter with scoring blade OR Scor-pal
scissors, adhesive, stamps, ink, ribbon


1.

Place the cardstock lengthwise on the paper cutter/score-pal and score at 2",5", 7" and 10" (get the catchy name now?!)

2.

Rotate your cardstock 90 degrees and score it at 2" and 7"

3. At this point you might want to decorate the cardstock by stamping it with images in versamark ink, or in a complementing colored ink to the cs, or even using a stamping wheel. This is purely optional...in my sample, I did not decorate the base cardstock.

Place your cardstock horizontally so that the 2" section is at the top. Use scissors to cut off all but one 2" tall section from the top as shown. The section that is left will become the flap to close the bag.
You will also need to cut the narrow piece that is the bottom left corner...as seen in this next photo (oops--my photo is upside down...but I think you are clever enough to follow along)...I have distressed the folds so that it is easier for you to see where I scored my cardstock.



5. Make vertical cuts at the bottom to create 1 1/2" tall flaps. This will become the bottom of the bag.



6. Now is the time to use an edge punch or decorative scissors to finish the edge for the flap that you have made. I used a Martha Steward snowflake edge punch and then distressed it a bit ( I just love coredinations cardstock for this!!!)

7. You are now ready to assemble your bag! Sorry that the photo is a bit fuzzy, I could not get it clear, but it is readable! HELPFUL HINT: You should try to fold it into the bag shape before you add any adhesive. Every person's brain works differently, so play with your cardstock until you are comfortable making the bag.Once you are comfortable that you can fold it up into the bag shape correctly, then you should apply adhesive. I try to remember that the first item I make of a new project is going to be the prototype--there is a learning curve so I try to be kind to myself on the first go around!




8. Once you have assembled the bag with adhesive and are pleased with the results, place it on it's bottom and pinch the sides so that the top comes together. Here is what your bag looks like (side view)


9. You are finally ready to decorate your bag. I chose one of the changito stamps from Stampendous for this bag. I stamped it onto white cardstock, colored it in, and then mounted it onto green coredinations cardstock. As a finishing touch, I added fun flock to Santa's hat and gloves. The matted image can then be attached to the bag. You are now ready to fill the bag with a treat (or coal for someone who has been naughty), add ribbon to keep it closed ( use your hole punch to make 2 holes to thread a ribbon or yarn through), and VOILA!!!



Your finished bag will have a bow---I forgot to take a photo of mine with the ribbon attached...my bad!
Have fun with this project!

We three Kings

I have wanted this Wisemen stamp since I saw it in the CHA catalog . (Yep I actually went thru the entire catalog and highlighted stamps I needed! For this card I used I stamped on the Graphic 45 paper and cut out the images. One of my favorite things about KnK and Creativity Boutique, besides the shopping---which I have seem to do alot of ;) , is that I am on both Design Teams. So I get double the fun! I made this wall hanging using KnK's December Kit. The colors are absolutely gorgeous!!!!! The letters here are painteed and then sprinkled with glitter. For another project I did use the marshmellow glimmer mist and yummy!

Don't forget Deb and I are co-hosting some sketch challenges at KNK's messageboard! Be Sure to check them out!

Home Decor with Kit 'n Kaboodles December kit

Hi! It is Pam from the KnK Design Team! Happy Saturday!

When I received my December kit I was so excited to work with it! The colors are amazing...cool blues and rich reds, with royal purple and snowy whites. There is so much texture...flocking and glitter, both on the papers, and available for addition by the designer. It is incredible!

For years, I have been trying to coax cardinals into my backyard...and this year, we got a family. Now I am all about cardinals! I designed a welcome sign by cutting out the flocked cardinal on the SEI Winter Song paper...and then mounted it on a painted wood piece that I had mod podged the side strip of the Winter Song paper. I added the word WELCOME with American Craft Thickers, and now those cardinals will surely reappear next year!



Have a great weekend, everyone, and happy scrapping :)

It's Friday ...

And that can only mean one thing ... tis my turn to blog again! Yes people it's Linda here ... Are you excited? No? Well I am :0)
Christmas is rapidly approaching so I thought it was high time I got started on some Christmas cards.
I have gone for a nice modern feel with this card and the moment I saw the Coredinations Aqueduct card ... well I fell in love ... yes I know ... again ... yes I know ... I do it a lot ... I just can't help myself.
The tree is a Dee Gruenig stamp and I have embossed it on white card using Stampendous embossing powder. I have then cut it out and raised it on 3d foam pads to add a bit of impact.

The smaller squares were also embossed ... this time I used the baubles from the Stampendous Winter tree collection ... they are soooooo cute ...
The faux stitching around each stamped image is made by piercing holes in the card [click on the picture for a closer look] ... inking around the edge of each panel and then literally joining the dots with a Ranger inkessentials white pen ... so much quicker than getting a sewing machine out and quite effective ... even if I do say so myself!
Finally I added a few bows and a few charms and that was it!
This just leaves me time to wish all our American friends a Happy Thanksgiving and if you are not celebrating Thanksgiving in your part of the world ... well I hope you have a good and crafty weekend.

See you next Friday!

Seasons Greetings

Tis the season for all papercrafters to start to go into holiday panic mode...what do I need to get done, when does it need to be mailed....will they like it??? Yikes... take a deep breathe and repeat after me...simple is good.....simple is good...

So...I thought I would share with you this simple way to make a holiday card that is not super time consuming and could be done in an assembly line type production mode so you can make many of them.

Get your supplies all ready:

Jumbo Tree perfectly clear stamp set by Stampendous
Memento black ink
white carstock for image stamping
Core'dinations cardstock
Prismacolor pencils
printed sentiments

You would start out by first stamping your tree several times onto white cardstock. You can either stamp the star onto the top of the tree as I did, or stamp it as a separate image and add it to the tree. You can do the same for the ornaments on the tree...I stamped mine onto my tree, but you could stamp them on cardstock and add them on top of your finished tree.

I printed an entire sheet of holiday sentiments that I cut into strips to add to my cards this year; great time saver!

I used Prismacolor pencils to color in my tree. I like to blend my colors using pencils, so I use odorless mineral spirts and a blending stump to smooth away any pencil marks that may be seen on my colored in areas.

I then cut out my tree and added a strip of brown cardstock from my scrap box as my tree stump. I then popped the entire tree up using foam tape.

For my card, I trimmed a piece of Core'dinatoins cardstock large enough for my tree to fit onto; adding a strip of coordinating red cardstock that I embossed using a Cuttlebug folder...see the tiny bit of white showing through...I sanded my cardstock before I added it to the front of my card so the details would show up a little more...

I then added my tree and sentiment to my card.




these would be great cards to create for this holiday season...

Happy crafting....Lynda

KnK December Kit and a Sketch Challenge

The Kit 'n' Kaboodles December Kit was revealed last night, and boy is it GORGEOUS! And loaded to boot! Papers are from SEI's Winter Song collection and Bo Bunny's Snowy Serenade Limited Edition. Also included in the kit are SEI sparkling frost die-cuts, a wood cardinal flourish, peel off sticky snowflakes with glitter and flock, and core'dinations cardstock!The add on kit will be available in the store on November 18th, and trust me when I say, you will definitely want to snag one of those too! Be sure and visit the KnK design team gallery throughout the month to see what we have created with this kit.

I'm also excited to announce that on the KnK message board we are hosting regular sketch challenges to jumpstart your mojo! Every other Friday, I'll be posting a new layout sketch. On the other Fridays, a card sketch will be posted by Creativity Boutique. These are just for fun, but since this week is our first one, I'm offering a RAK to a random person who completes the challenge and posts it in the forum! Deadline for the RAK is midnight EST, November 27th. Here's the current sketch:Come on over to the forum and check it out! More information on the sketch challenges can be found in the Sketches part of the message board. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday from Changito!

Today I am going to show you how to create one of my favorite cards, the criss-cross card. I created this one today using materials from October's KNK scrapbook kit (yes, they make great card kits too!).

You will need the following materials for this project:

two 4 1/4" X 11" pieces of cardstock for the card base
One 4" x 5" piece of patterned paper (double sided is best, or else 2 pieces of complementing patterned paper works too)
One 3 3/4" X 5 1/4" piece of cardstock for insert
One 3 1/2" X 4 3/4" piece of cardstock for insert
ink, stamps, adhesive, scraps for accents, corner rounder and embellishments

1. Score both pieces of 4 1/4x 11 cardstock at 5 1/2"

2. Take each scored piece andcut it diagonally from center top to the bottom left



3. Now add adhesive to the rectangular back of one of the cardstock pieces and glue as shown below


4. Assemble the card base as shown in the following photos....make sure you put your adhesive close to the edge so that you have a pocket for your insert.



5. Once you fold over the left side, cut your patterned paper in half diagonally and adhere it to the card front.




6, Repeat with the right side, and your card base should look like this


7. Now you are ready to assemble your insert. Take both pieces of cardstock that you cut for the insert and round only the top 2 corners. The bottom should be straight. Tape the smaller one on top of the larger one and decorate.




8. Stamp and color your image for the front of the card, mat if you desire.



9. Attach to your card and embellish as desired.




This card will fit in a standard size envelope.
Have fun making some of your own, and don't forget to share them in the KNK gallery!

WHHHOOOORay you did it!

I loved this Birch Buddies Set from Stampendous that I played with this month for Creativity Boutique. There are so many possibilities with this stamp set!!! I used my Tsukineko Markers and some Stampendous Flock! and of course I am loving the embossing folders. My sizzix is suddenly no longer gathering dust! and my kit for next month just arrived!! so if I go missing for a while you know what happened ;)

Happy Saturday

Get ready for some exciting, fun projects coming your way from the Kit 'n Kaboodle design team. Starting November 30th., a member of the team will post a holiday gift idea on the message board complete with step by step directions and illustrations. There will be a new, fun gift idea each day through December 6. Just to preview a few, there will be a holiday coaster project, an altered photo frame, a darling Christmas tree, vintage gift card holders that double as tree ornaments and much much more. Some of the team will be posting teasers here on the blog.

The time is now to join the Kit 'n Kaboodle kit company if you have not already done so. You don't want to miss a single day of the holiday gift projects.

Have a great weekend!

Not Just For Fall!

I promise not to go on and on about how much I love the Stampendous Damask Fall stamps any more ... but I do just need to mention ... that they are sooooo much more than just Fall stamps ... if that is what you were thinking!
Basically the beautifully shaped leafs can make a fabulous rich background to any card. On this card I have used the embossing resist technique which was shown here and this time I have stamped the same leaf on top with Aged Mahogany Distress ink.

I used Coredinations Poinsettia and roughed it up a bit to get that distressed look ... adding lots of punched flowers in the same colour card and a few gems. The text stamp is from Penny Black.
So ... there you go ... if you were umming and arrhing about buying the sheet ready for next year ... well you don't need to wait ... buy it now ... it's good to go ... all year round :0)
Have a Good Weekend!