Notecard Set with vellum butterflies

I didn't like these cards until I realized the lilacs matched them, hehe. (I'm such a dork for flowers.) I've been trying to make myself do some simple projects. You know those people...like Kristina Werner, & Nichole Heady ...who have mastered the art of simple made beautiful? Card artists who make cards like this beauty of Bonnie's?...I'm not one of 'em, but I wanna be! :0) They make simple look so easy, but It's just not my forté. So I'm practicing. (I kinda got to thinking though, maybe the distressed thing is a no-go for the simple look? What do you think?)

Anywho, these note cards are for a gift set for someone who loves purple, so hopefully they'll go over well--simple or not.

The medallion thingies are done with silver-accented distressed emboss-resist. Wanna try it?:

1. Sponge a piece of white glossy cardstock with desired ink colour (I used Pale Plum)
2. Stamp with versamark ink & emboss with clear embossing powder (the flower medaillion is from Carte Postale)
3. Go over the whole thing with ink colour (I used Elegant Eggplant)
4. Add silver details with a Zig painty (or gold by using its other end) :0)
5. Sand to distress (if you like distressing.)
6. Add gem brad...altered brad... whatever you like.
   

Other details: Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Added mat in same c.s. stamped with linen & faux stitched. Embossed main card using Stitched & the paisleys from Wanted & Loonies for Littles set (the paisleys in the 2 sets match--cool huh?) Ribbon is SU.

These wee vellum butterflies were just hanging out on the front of my china cabinet, and they landed on these cards ;0). Colourwise, they're much more subtle in person. They match the tones of the cards a little better... I have got to take a photography class and get some lighting, so I can capture the look of real-life. Wouldn't it be great if we all had photo studios for our blogging? heehee

If you'd like to make your own butterflies, it's really easy:
Just print 'em out from your computer onto vellum. If you'd like brighter colours, cardstock seems to work nicely. Here's an older post with butterfly links for you

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hope you have a great weekend! :0)

PINWHEEL bow & 2 and 5/8 BOX (3 Templates & 25+ pin-wheel links)

I think I was a squirrel in another life. I'm obsessed with gathering things together. Or more likely I was a crow, 'cause most of them are bits of paper, ribbon, threads and sparkly things. Here's a gem of a video tutorial by the Artistic Avenger (found thanks to Awesome Allison.) It inspired this pinwheel collection:

1. Working Pinwheel Tutorial
2. Lori's gorgeous homemade pinwheel tutorial
3. SU pinwheel by Jill template here
4. Pin spinners by Jenny
5. Origami pinwheel
6. Pinwheel pattern
7. Poinsettia Pinwheel (diagram instructions)
8. Pinwheel instructions & lesson plan (teaching tool)
9. Pinwheel with pattern (love Marilyn the ever-generous toymaker!)
10. Paper pinwheel pattern
11. Watercolour pinwheel tutorial by Margaret, found thanks to Melissa
12. Pinwheels for peace (blog post here--scroll down)
13. Pinwheel from Macy's & template posted by Home Canary
14. Fabric Pinwheel tutorial from Chickpea Sewing Studio
15. Pinwheel magnets
16. Pinwheel here (p17) or here (instructions & template link on page 17)
17. Pencil pinwheel tutorial
18. on etsy spinning flower pinwheel (made from a popcan) How-to work with popcans here
19. Pinwheel (from Crafts for kids) & foam 'n' paper pinwheel
20. Pinwheel tutorial (with wire & dowel)
21. Paper pinwheels (Martha et al)
22. Clothes pin pinwheel (Martha)
23. Pinwheel Napkin fold (a la Martha)
24. ETA: pinwheel flower tut & template by Susan
    

Cards:

1. Flower pinwheel tutorial by Doodles & Dragonflies
2. Pinwheel with SU star punch shared by Splendiferous Creations
3. Pinwheel folds open from the Rubber School
4. Pinwheel Quickie by Susanna
   

For paper piecing? (Or to stamp & use as image for card/scrapbookin' as photo mats maybe?):

1. Pinwheel pattern (rounded) (from Renaissance Glass)
2. Pinwheel pattern (from Blockhead Stamps)

I made these templates for this box & lid...

...(which looks BIG but is only 2 5/8 inches square!) It took me 83 million tries to get the lid the right size, but I think it's just right now. The best way to use this template may be to trace it onto c.s. or d.p. since there are teensy dots from the scanner; why!?! I don't know. Do you know? The paper I used is basic grey Gypsy & retired SU (in case you wanted to find some.) I've been seeing lots of neat projects with bright colours against white, so I left the gift box white...

The pinwheel template for this box topper is here (there are two sizes 50% and 100%)

Hope these pinwheel projects are useful to you, :0)

7 Flower Pop-up Throwdown

We need your votes!
The Ultimate pop-up maker CPeep challenged me to a throwdown!

With a LOT of help from her 7 flower popup tutorial and no help from my sad mechanical aptitude (those flowers kept falling apart when I cut 'em!) this card was born. I pulled out all the stops in honour of her (Should that read pulled out all the cheats?) heehee: hodge-podge hardware, teeny gems, ribboned scallops, hand-drawing & glue-pen embossing, silver zig painty & brown glitter details, designer paper (baby paisley by bohemia in case you'd like to find some... If you'd like any details on how this is made, please leave a question. For once, I'll resist blabbin' & tutorializing every detail, lol! ;0)

Here's the inside:

It was so fun when it actually popped open. It's SO worth trying: it's super exciting & if I can do it (migraine mel with depleted braincells) ;0) then you can do it!

Here's a link to her gorgeous card (which I have to admit clearly unfolds with no kinks, unlike mine.) ;0)


So, please check out her card & leave a vote wherever you like...

Thanks for playing along! :0)

34U fabric stickers, word window keyhole tab (& a belly-band-elope)

Hi! You crafty people you, hope you're having a great day. I've been feeling migrainey & bummed lately, but happy to have crafting (and you all) to turn to. And now a little about the card (Hah! As if I could ever just say a little bit, Hey?) Actually, this is blabbery post two about this card, as promised...

I found SU's Three for You punch box set very intimidating at first, but I've been having so much fun with it now. (Gotta get my money's worth) ;0) I used it to make homemade flower stickers for this card.

All you have to do to make your own flower stickers is:

1) Start with a sticker sheet. (You can get paper ones at any office supply store, but the one I used is a sticky linen sheet that you can put in the printer. Adds fun texture...It's by Close to my Heart and it's called StickStock (Linen)--for more ways to use it please see this post or this one.)

2) Treat the sheet if you'd like it coloured or stamped. (I used silver encore ink & a Zip Painty pen to get 2 tones of silver.)

3) Punch flowers out of your sheet

4) Alter as desired & use where you like

I've done this schtuff to these little flowery guys:

• ...added silver brads & silver details with a glitter pen
  
• ...stuck them on circle circles of vellum (punched with this 5/8 inch circle punch.) You have to press fairly hard on that punch but i love the size.)
• ...edged the vellum with the silver Zig Painty
• ...added the vellum circles to Naturals 3/4 inch circles (SU punch) which I had stamped with Wild Wasabi ink using the dotted stamp in the set (stamped the ink off once) I also distressed the edge of these with a certain celery marker
  
• ...mounted it all on Dimensionals for some pop:
  

The raised grid & the faux stitching...

...are both done on a homemade fun-foam paper-piecing pad. Instead of using a marker to make the stitches, I used a glue pen embossing. (Just drew them on with a glue pen, sprinkled white embossing powder & heated. The stitching lines acted as a guide for fringing the edge of the certain celery cardstock in a fine fringe (like grass.) :0)

To make this "thinking of you" tab, I just...

1. ...embossed "thinking of you" from the Three for You set in silver on vellum
   
2. ...punched a keyhole tag out of silver cardstock
3. ...stuck the vellum in behind
4. ...adhered it on the back of the Certain Celery cardstock
   

I'm callin' this slidey envelope thingy a belly-band-elope

(cause I'm a goof-ball!) :0)

I wanted to use that perty lined paper (SU's Notecard designer series paper) but I didn't have enough left for a regular envelope. Then I didn't have enough for even a belly-band-elope... so I used a piece of certain celery cardstock as the back and..

1. ...Cut the triangle by measuring & marking each side at the same place (in pencil) and then marking the center. That let me use my design ruler to connect the dots.
   
2. ...placed the triangle over my card to see where I wanted it to lay. Scored along the card edge underneath (just with my fingernail) & folded it.
   
3. ...Cut the rest of the lined paper off &
4. ...Did step 2 with the other flat side
5. ...Cut a piece of Certain Celery cardstock the same size as my card
   
6. ...Adhered the lined paper onto the Certain Celery c.s. (I left the lined paper showing at the back, 'cause I love that paper)

The closure is just 1 inch circles in Certain Celery with more of the Wild Wasabi stamped Naturals c.s. circles & 2 of the silver fabric stickers. The Dimensionals let the silver cord sit against them & that holds it together.

The scallop along the bottom...

..is made using SU's corner rounder (Beate's fab tutorial here; great video by Julie [for circles] here) I added little gems, by:

1. ...making the scallop edge
2. ...punching holes where the corner punch leaves a little impressed dot
3. ...filling those dots with crystal effects
4. ...stickin' the wee gems on (got 'em discounted at Michael's)

The ribbon on the bottom is just stuck on with a line of double-sided tape. It's by Stampin' Up! (Certain Celery 5/8" grosgrain) & I was surprised that it's sturdy enough to stand this way.

Happy Crafting,


P.S. For more on the faux grid technique used on this card and some paper piercing ticks please visit this post.

P.P.S. You nice peoples sometimes ask me how I find the time to do all this schtuff. Well, I have a sneaky trick to share (in case you might find it useful): I sometimes write several posts when I feel up to it, and then when I'm not feelin' so hot, I have something "new" to share. It also helps me squirrel away link lists for you... Hope you don't feel duped knowing that this isn't all written in "real time," heehee. ;0)

Thanks for popping by,

CUPCAKE BOXES for Linsey's cupcake shaped cards (& lick n taste cards )

I made these boxes as an homage to the totally scrummy cupcake template designed by Linsey. They borrow the sweet shape she created (with her generous permission.) Here is the gorgeous batch of cards she baked up: yummy treats!

Cupcake Templates:
(there are 7)






1) THE ORIGINAL! by Linsey
(turned into a PDF--goes with jumbo box below)
Template here









2) JUMBO BOX
(goes with card template above)
Template here











3) JUMBO box score guide
Printable here












4) JUMBO box embellishments
(go with box above)
Template here









5) MEDIUM & SMALL BOXES
(go with the card templates below)
Box Templates here













6) MEDIUM & SMALL Box embellishments
(go with boxes above)
Template here










7) MEDIUM & SMALL card templates
(go with boxes above)
Template here







So why lick n taste cards?
It's like scratch n sniff cards only not. Actually, I'm just being silly again. I made them with decorating sugar. (I don't bake; my thighs have forbidden me. So I had to use that sugar for something. I may just make some cupcakes after this though....)

Lick n taste disclaimer:
Please don't lick these (I cannot be held legally (or morally) responsible if you do, heehee.) It may be a bad idea to try this if you have young kids. It might lead to the consumption of all kinds of stamping supplies. I know; I bit fruity soap and ate lip balm (as a child that is) ;0)

Boxes & Lick n taste Card Recipe:

One generous helping of cupcake À La Linsey templates
Paper (I've used Fancy Pants Fancy free Wild Iris #947 & Basic Grey Gypsy-Hippie GYP-539 with Vellum (accordion folded on Jumbo cupcake) & a base of Naturals white.)
Sprinkle with beads (SU)
or for lick n taste:
Mix 2 parts Crystal Effects & 1 part glitter
& Baste over
1 tablespoon decorating sugar

(In hindsight, this is kind of ridiculous. The sugar will fall off if there's not enough glue. It's probably a pain in the butt idea, but I thought I'd try give you guys a laugh.)

Enjoy the templates. I'd love any feedback,
:0)
Mel

P.S. If you want these templates to be resizable: you can right click on the JPEGs above. You should be able to hit 'save as' and save each one as a jpeg. Then you can manipulate them by using scaled printing--or printing in your photo/imaging program of your choice. (The only caveat would be that you'll likely want to write down the scaled size or remember the imaging size you used. This will ensure that all of your boxes, embellishments, & cards are matching sizes.) :0)

P.P.S. If you love cupcakes, there are loads more links to cuppiecake projects here

If you have emailed me but not heard back...

it is not because I'm rude, honest! Well not on purpose anyhow, but I can certainly be a scatterbrain. However, I've found that my SFU webmail is deciding what email I should and shouldn't receive. ARGH! I wonder how long it has been doing THAT?

Soooo, if you have emailed and haven't received a reply this is why. Please don't hesitate to email me at melmc@telus.net where I hope I will get your messages! ;0) Any requests for templates, questions, etc... are always more than welcome.

Warmly,
Mel

CPeep's 7-Flower Pop-up: A Throwndown Challenge!

I'm so excited! and just a wee bit scared ;0) CPeep --the penultimate ETA: OMG the shame I feel as an English major) I thought that penultimate meant the absolute ultimate. My BAD.
(English degree a gazillion dollars,
Text books: a few thousand,
Blog: free,
Remembering to use the dictionary before you put your stinky ol' foot in your mouth: priceless!)
Ok what I meant to say, the absolute ULTIMATE pop-up maker-- has challenged me to a throwdown! Looks like it may be a Smackdown now! ;0) ((Bobby Flay style.) I've never made a pop-up, but I sure LOVE the looks of her 7 flower popup tutorial and am going to give it a go!

But, as an aside... I have to say for those of you who are familiar with Throwdown, that Bobby Flay is a big meanie to let those people think they have a show because they cook so well and then try to beat them. Cpeep was nice enough not to trick me into thinking I had my own craft show, lol. How clever is she with this idea, hey? I think she should have her own show: Craft Throwdown: A battle to the papercuts!

So, You get to vote for the winner; we'll cross-post our cards after this weekend.

I'm hoping that the winner or the loser (whichever I end up being) has to make you templates for some flowers, so you can try a pop-up too! :0)


P.S. I've started trying the pop-up. I'm a pop-up muck-up; not mechanically inclined! I kept cutting flowers that fell into pieces, then I put too much sticky tape... I should have used pop up dots like the pro recommends, but I was afraid that I'd need to reposition it because my flowers were the wrong size. Hmmm maybe try two/three? I'm in trouble, and not just for my BAD vocab, heehee :0)

FAUX GRID Technique (sans scorepal) & Paper Piercing Trix

This project came about because I wanted to recycle a dead pen. I recycled the clip to add to my my tools & hold them on things, but then I was thinkin': how I could recycle the whole pen? I had seen a write up about scoring with a stylus, so I thought why not with a pen? (and dug in my trash container!) Here's what you can do with a pen that runs out of ink:

Faux Grid Technique without a scorepal:

(sorry scorepal makers; I am broke.)

First of all, here is the real grid technique by brilliant Beate. And for Faux Grids...

Supplies:

• Squishy surface (mouse pad, fun foam...)
• Dead pen (inkless) or a small end of a stylus
• Ruler (I like Tim Holtz's design ruler)
  

Directions:

The first step is to:

1) Mark a grid (If you want to use the raised grid side as your finished look) You can mark a grid on the back of your cardstock for ease (either pen or pencil is ok.) I find a cutting mat perfect for marking the grid.
If you want to use the sunken grid side as your finished look: You could use a glaze, glitter, or gel pen that will stay in your sunken grid and look nice, or you could go without drawing grid marks your paper. You can eyeball your lines instead (just a little trickier.)


2) Next, you'll need a squishy surface. I made my own with fun foam (by dividing two pieces of fun foam in half and stacking all four pieces on each other, adhering them so I ended up with a sturdy 12" x 4.5" fun foam board.)

3) Lay your cardstock onto the squishy surface & score with the pen. I found two passes with the pen was perfect; it'll depend on your pressure, of course...& that's it. You'll end up with a raised grid (or a sunken one...) that looks something like this:


These are the penclips that I recycled to hold my tools. They fit on the edge of things nicely now

To get pieces with no pen or pencil (or other medium) marked onto them, you could make a full sized fun foam pad (layering 3/4 whole fun foam pieces for instance) and you could mark a grid on it with pen (pen writes so easily on the fun foam.) :0)

Paper Piercing Tricks:

You can use the same fun foam pad for a great paper piercing pad. I'm always doing crooked faux stitch lines, so I like to anchor the design ruler (which has holes for paper piercing) with two straight pins. (You still need to hold the ruler of course and I still like to check the guide lines to make sure it's staying straight...) but it really helps a lot.



Here's a little storage solution. It's got one of those ring-thingies holding: the fun foam pad, the ruler, a ziplock with the pins and then I can clip my tools on with those recycled pen clips that I dug out of the garbage. (I moved the ring-thingy to the center after taking this photo, 'cause it's easier to handle in the middle.)

A little trick that you can do with a fun foam paper piercing pad:
















To make holes in the center for brads accurately, you can draw a little (or big) grid on the fun foam to use as a placement guide. I have a heck of a time gettings things centered. This guide helps. It has four equal squares.

To use a grid like this: If you focus not on the shape you're piercing (in this case the white shapes) but focus instead on the negative space, (the four sections around the shape--within the grid) you can make it all equal visually...and then it should be easier to pierce in the exact center of the object. I usually eyeball it, but I find that shapes with random patterns make eyeballing the center difficult. (Whew that was a mouthful, huh?)

Hope this is useful to someone, :0)


P.S. more details on the card above to come...

ETA: My new fun foam piercing mat is 12x12 since you can get very large pieces of fun foam from most craft stores. It's the best!

Bonkers for BUTTONS? (How to make button push-pins) And 50+ project/tutorial links

Button Push-Pins How-to:

1. Sand top of push-pin & back of button (This creates a tooth for the adhesive to stick to. A nail-file works great.)
2. Push pins into a cardboard roll to hold 'em level (roll from double-sided tape/ribbon, etc...)
   
3. Put Crystal Effects on the tops of the pins(or other lacquer/liquid-glass adhesive)
4. Let Crystal Effects set a little (This makes it less slippy & more tacky--about 30 seconds, depending on amount)
5. Place button on top of pins & let dry. Overnight will cure it. (I've only had a couple fall off the pins in years of use, and they glue right back on) ;0)

I love buttons. My Mom, an amazing seamstress (who still works on a pedal machine!) had a huge jar of buttons that I used to love to play in when I was a kid.

Here are some button ideas to inspire your play:
(recent additions are at the top of this list)

1. Becca's frugal button flower video
   
2. Adorable printable cards by Yoonie at Home (Just sew on buttons!)
   
3. Ribboned button (CUTE video) by Okakuko
4. Button Post by Julia of Belle Papier
5. Button Video A little ad-ish but it has good ideas
6. Kristina's Awesome button flower card video
7. Button flower tutorial (on wire) by Morgan
8. sweet button flower cards by Loree2000
9. Christina's altered buttons tutorial (video)
10. One of my faves by Stampinsilvia
11. Altered button flowers by chelemom
12. Button tree & more button trees by Jennifer
13. Interactive corset card
14. Button flower tutorial by Artsy-Crafty Babe
15. Embossing on clear buttons tutorial by Stamping with Roxy (I like to sand mine first)
16. Wendy's sweet button bouquets & beautiful altered buttons
17. Polymer clay buttons by Joy or flower fimo buttons by kirkyloolaa
18. Gradient button necklace tutorial by Maitreya and Becket (I *heart* this SO!)
19. wire ring with button by prismera
20. Making fabric covered buttons by kittyzabelle
21. A pinback button (button press/machine) by Mstinchcomb
22. Button challenge & gallery
23. Pottery Buttons bowl by Cindy
24. Vintage film strip button gift Bow by Jasmin
25. Button wreath by Cher
26. Button bouquet that will blow your mind by Vintage Magpie
27. Monograms in Buttons by Joan
    

(Martha Stewart et al)

1. Button stamps!
2. Button stamped wrap (using a cork!)
   
3. Button cards
4. More button cards
5. Vintage look button cards
6. Button-down shirt cards
   
7. Button magnets
8. Buttoned ribbon flower
9. Ribbon button flower boutonniere
   
10. Button wreath ornament
11. Button bracelet
12. Buttoned knot bracelet
    
13. Button necklace (perty)
14. Button hair clips (cute!)
15. Button Barrettes
    
16. Thumbtack buttons
17. Buttoned felt flower purse
    
18. Napkin rings
19. Making a button bag
    
20. Button crafts
21. Cuff links
22. Buttoned Plant string
23. Button picture nails
24. Button tree
25. Dreidel game
26. Heart shaped button covers
27. More button covers
    
28. Button ornaments
29. Buttoned flower cuffs
30. Bouquets with buttons
    
31. Pendants
    
32. Button noise maker
    
33. Labeling buttons (smart if not crafty)

Altered Button Tricks:

• To put Stickles or glitter on buttons you can mix it with Crystal Effects
• You can draw on buttons with a Zig Painty pen (silver & gold)
• You can scratch buttons

ETA: Becky's gorgeous button basics
Nichole's clever button basics
Michelle's button embellishments
Julia's fantastic buttons write up


Happy button craftin' :0)

SCORING Tutorial: for the papercraft beginner

I recieved a request for a scoring tutorial, so this one's for you Rosalee; hope it makes sense :0)

First rule of scoring: the thinner the paper the lighter the pressure. You don't want to tear through & a little pressure goes a long way.

My 2 favourite ways to score:

















My #1 Favourite way to score: With a Paper Piercer:

I find you can get a lot of control (make less mistakes) if you score using a making memories paper piercer. I like to line up my project on the grid paper or my cutting mat, score where the measurement is or the template indicates (usually dotted lines will show you where you need to score.) Then I take my ruler (I use Tim Holtz's design ruler <--video demo at that link. Me likey that ruler, but not the piercer (tip bent for me...) I use the making memory piercer in the same way Tim cuts with his ruler in that video demo:

1. Angle at about 10-14 degree angle
2. Pull towards me applying light pressure
3. Then I press the fold with the side of a bonefolder

















My #2 Favourite way to score: With Stampin' Up!s scoring wheel
(from the distress kit):

This tool has a little rotary blade in it for scoring; I use it this way:

1) Hold at a 20 degree (or so) angle
2) I find I have more control with this tool when I pull towards me
3) I use a lighter pressure on thin designer paper than I do on thicker cardstock

When I'm in a hurry, I also use the tip of my SU paper scissors because they have a nice point & are usually laying around (but this is a little kamikaze, ;0) since it can easily cut through your cardstock & it may need some practice.) :0)

Some Links for Scoring & other Papercrafting Basics:

How to score with a bone-folder Paper tool Basics. Her video Covers:

• Bonefolder
• Exacto knife (hobby blade)
• Metal ruler,
• Paper piercer (I love how she calls it a "pokey thingy" & if I didn't watch this I would have never found the needles hidden in mine! YAY! That was like Christmas!)
• Cutting mat
• Snap-off exacto (who knew that thing on the end was for snapping the blade!)
• Teflon bone folder
• Tombo Mono double-sided tape
• Glue (& glue brushes)

Handy write up on measuring, cutting, & scoring

Fine-tuning your bonefolder (LOVE this; you can sand it!) & how to make your own scoring tool

How to score with an embossing stylus

Teflon folder

Grain direction on paper for folding

How to score with a Scorepal video 1 & video tutorial 2

Of course, you can use a scoreblade on a papercutter (rest of 2-5-7-10 box series here) Your scoring technique will depend on your papercutter.

Hope that helps some. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer as best I can.
:0)


P.S. Annapurna shared the brilliant idea to use a pen with a fiskars cutter:
"I use a used up ball point pen in between the tracks of my fiskars cutter. Works perfect, since the guide does not let the pen slip one way or the other." Love it! Now I just need a fiskars cutter. ;0) I think we may be psychically connected--;0)--I dug an old pen out of the trash yesterday to do faux grid scoring. :0)

TOOL BELT BOX or CARD: for Father's Day or handy people (template & tutorial)

Verda's great tool belt card card inspired me to make a Tool-Belt Box template (though the pieces could also be used to make a card. In fact, you could make the box with some cards to go in it as a set of 'manly' cards.) Or for women who work with tools, 'cause hey! that is actually MY drill in this photo, and I lurve it a lot. :0)

The finished tool-belt box is 5 6/8 inches wide x 4 3/8 inch high.

A tool-belt card is easy to make with the embellishments, but the top & bottom strip will need a trim (remove 1/8 of an inch off of one end.)

SO without further ado, here are the templates. Well, maybe a little ado...since they might need explanation: Many of you may find that you don't need the templates at all (these are all straight cuts.)

For you seasoned box makers (or adventurous newbies):
You may want to skip using the template like a clothes pattern and cut the parts by measurement. (The measurements are on the PDF instruction sheet.) If you're seasoned, but also very visual you may want to print the embellishment template just as visual inventory for making your cuts.

For those of you who are new to box-making:
Fear Not! It is easy I promise. You just need to know how to score & fold. [Don't know how? No worries! Just email me (mmmccart@sfu.ca) and I'll make you a scoring tutorial.] :0)

That was a lot of ado! ;0) Here are the templates:















Here is the Link for the Template PDFs (There are 3):

1) Main Box template (7 5/8" W x 10 2/8" H) and The Embellishments template (various measurements)
2) Just the Embellishments (for a card)
3) The instruction sheet

How to Build it(index):

I'll give ya the tutorial in this order ('cause I find it the easiest order to build the box in):

• The Faux-Leather treatment for the cardstock
• The Tag
  
• The Pockets
  
• The Box Assembly
  

There are some pointers for assembly in each part. Hope it makes sense. :0)

The Leather texture:

I wanted to do an awesome faux eather technique that Penny features, but I didn't have the Ranger Perfect Ink Refresher, so I used the wet n wrinkle thingy I made up (here here or here for more.) It does make the paper a tiny bit weaker, but I find that part of the look. If you score and press your folds with a bone folder it helps.

Wet n Wrinkle Leather:

(print template first if desired)
1) Wet the cardstock under the tap (this is close to Cocoa c.s.)
2) Crumple it
3) Flatten it
4) Ink it (I use a little bit of Sahara sand ink)
5) Iron it dry (and flat, lol) It may warp, you can lay it under a stack of books after ironing.
6) To make it look leathery I applied a layer of Versamark (can be hard on your Versamark pad, but I belong to the "They're tools not jewels school...)

If you'd like, you can add faux-stitching or real-sewing:

(FAUX stitching: SCS tut on Faux stitching or Tim Holtz's design ruler Video tut here-tho' the piercer is sucky, so sorry Tim, gotta be honest. Am in love with the ruler though. I'd marry it--used it to make this template) ( REAL stitching: Julia's great paper sewing tutorial here.) I've done faux stitches & used a Chocolate Chip marker.

The Tag:

To make the Clear Part of the Tag:

1) Use a printable overhead sheet (or sand your own acetate/window sheet)
2) Stamp in craft ink & emboss with embossing powder (I've used black ink & e.p.)
3) Heat carefully pulling away from the overhead in between heating (video on that here)
4) Line the large tag punch up & punch through (needs a firm punch and not all punches are strong enough;: SU's work well but you may have to do a couple...)
5) Scratch acetate with a paper piercer/needle, (if distressing is desired)

To make the Tag's Cardstock Frame:

1) Use faux leather cardstock (or regular)
2) Punch two small tags out
3) Line up the large tag punch around the holes from the small tags & punch
4) Attach skinny little frames to the front & back of the acetate piece (with Crystal Effects or other lacquer or strong adhesive)

The Tab (strappy part to hold it on):

1) Cut a piece of cardstock to 3.5 inches
2) Fold it in half
3) Use a brad to attach it to the clear tag (sandwiching the tag between the tabs 2 ends)
4) If you'd like it to slide along the belt, make sure that you only adhere the belt at the ends of the sides of the box & that it fits ;0)

The Pockets:

You can get a perfectly centered circle punch for the tops of the pockets by marking the center & the height on the back of the pocket and using the marks to punch the 1 inch circle out of the pocket:


Punch by lining it up in the center

If you save the little bit you punch out it's a good reminder of how deep/high on your marks you've punched and the pockets will be even.

To embellish the pockets, I added faux stitching and eyelets before assembling...

The Box Assembly:

This sheet (above twice) is available as a scoring/cutting guide and it has the directions for making the box without using the template. [Click it to read instructions.] (Click here to download them) :0)

To use the template & build the box:

1) Print template from your computer onto cardstock (standard 8.5x11")
2) Use the printed lines to guide your cuts
3) If you are using the wet and wrinkle method to leatherize your paper, print first then wet it etc. Don't worry, the printer ink shouldn't bleed (Mine was A-okay.)
4) After leatherizing, Score along the dotted lines
5) Attach embellishments
6) Adhere sides

The Tools:

I got these wee tools at my local dollar store. Don't have little tools or tool stamps?

ETA: Tool templates (or clip art) from paper craft
&
Here are some other clip art tools (Though, you may need to fiddle to get the sizes right):

hammer Screw driver Wrench

P.S. I'd love to hear what you think of this or see a link if you make it. It keeps me inspired to make new things. Creative criticism is most welcome :0).Just lemme know if you have any problems or questions.

Happy Craftin'!


P.S. You've got to see Nettie's gorgeous gift! She made a get-well manual that is sheer brilliance.

Mary turned it into a fantastic card. LOVE those big brads.

AnnMarie made one filled with great tools (and chocolatey goodness!)