Tutorial for Yesterday's Gift Box

Hi, a few people were asking bout how to make this gift box so I have done a quick tutorial. I have never done it before and and it is not very good, but at least it will give you an idea of how to make the box. My blog friend Elaine, and also Rita, told me that it is actually called a Gable Treat Box - I guess because it resembles the gable end  of the roof. Thanks so much. I checked out the internet and found a couple of You Tube videos and also a tutorial on Split Coast Stampers which were different sizes to mine so here is the link to SCS  http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/gablebox/  

Instructions

 All you need is one piece of A4 card stock,  some means of scoring it, double sided tape, ribbon and embellishments. As you can see I used  my Hougie because this is in centimetres.  I much prefer my Martha Stewart Score Board but it is in inches.

Along the long edge score at 7cms, 14 cms, 21 cms and 28 cm
Turn the card and score at 7cms and 14 cms.

Click on image to enlarge pictures

Cut away the outer two flaps on the 28 cm score line.
Cut along each of the score lines on the long edges to the next score line.
Use corner rounder to shape the corners of the top flaps

It's easier to decorate the sides while it is still flat - although this one is extremely simple. I just die cut some Spellbinders Lacy Circles and added some flowers so that I could get this done quickly.

Add double sided tape to the tab and stick it together. This just shows how it fits together. You can then fasten the base flaps together  with wet glue or double sided tape.

Fold two of the top flaps in and punch two holes in the remaining top flaps and thread some ribbon in to fasten it together.

Well that's my tutorial finished. I only hope it makes sense to you!! You can fit three or four Cadbury's cream eggs in, or quite a few choccies, and I think it would probably fit a cupcake too.

I like this so much that I might use it for my table gifts next Christmas. Nothing  like thinking ahead!! Although there is  plenty of time to find something else!

Have fun! Love and hugs from Christine xx

PS Note for Desiree - hope this works out okay for your Brownies Pack to make!!

Gift Box

Hi Everybody! Hope you are all well. Still snow flurries but hopefully that's the end of the major stuff.

My Project

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Side view of box showing closure

Well today's offering is not a card but a box - talk about stating the obvious! It is made from one full A4 piece of card stock and measures 7cm so is quite adequate for a little gift or choccies.

I first saw this whilst I was browsing the web some time ago (as you do) and promised myself I would have a go at some stage. Unfortunately, I didn't save the site and couldn't find it again, but it is so easy that it soon came back to me. I used SB Parisian Accents on each of the sides and then added flowers from WOC and added a few leaves from SB Foliage to the front. I punched a couple of holes into the top edges and tied them with ribbon from my stash. Very simple but pretty and useful, I think.

That's it for today.  Love and hugs from Christine xx

Tri-fold Christmas Card

Hi Blog Friends. Thank you for dropping in on me today. I really appreciate your visit, and if you leave a comment then I can return the favour and visit you too.

Well this is my first card for the Christmas Card Club, and my first Christmas card this year. And for a final "first" this is the first time I have made a tri-fold card. The challenge was to make a Tri-fold card using traditional colours. I hope I succeeded!

My Card

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I used a piece of A3 cardstock  and the finished card measures approximately 13.5 x 6 inches. I used Spellbinders Grand Labels 11 to form the shaped edge along the top of my card. I then cut  three shapes in red and embossed them with M-Bossabilities Dainty Dots folder. The images on the left and right pages are from Cuddly Buddly and die cut with SB Labels 11. The sentiment is from Little Claire Designs Christmas Labels stamps and mounted onto the largest shape from SB Create A Flake 4. The smaller snowflakes are  Marianne Creatables. I then finished it off with pearls from my stash and  tiny Papermania bows.

We had snow flurries all day yesterday but fortunately it was too light and soft to lay - and I'm hoping it stays that way!! I actually felt that I was in the right season to be making a  Christmas card! LOL!

Well that's it for today. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I would like to enter this into: http://christmasatsweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/challenge-3-snowflakes.html

http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/snowflakes-falling-all-around.html
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/chnc-challenge-extra-for-february.html

Love and hugs from Christine xx 

A Japanese Garden

Hello blog friends.

Oh my goodness it is so cold today!! I don't want to leave the kitchen and the comfort of the wood burner, so I have moved my stuff there.  Since my computer is a desk top I have commandeered John's laptop to make my post.

My Card

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I was tidying up a cupboard and came across a box with some crafting stash in that hadn't seen the light of day for about five or six years!! Some was rubbish which I disposed of (felt very proud of myself!)  but I came across this paper and topper that I had obviously printed out from Joanna Sheen's CD "Oriental Dreams". I found some oriental  peel offs in there too - must have been my oriental phase! LOL! I looked up the meaning of the symbols on the internet and they mean, from left to right,  Earth , Fire and Water. So I put everything together and came up with this very simple card. I need to put something in the top left corner to finish it  off. I thought maybe a little fan if I can find some gold or red paper?

Anyway, that's it for today. Hope you are all keeping warm!

Love and hugs from Christine xx

Another Experiment With Stencil And Paste

Hi Blog Friends

I'm sorry I've been a little quiet over the last couple of days. I've been having problems with my computer. At first I thought it was just Blogger playing up, as it is wont to do on occasions, but it turns out that it actually our internet connection. John has been messing on with it - sorry, I mean attempting to fix it!!!! - and it is certainly working a little better but we may need to get in touch with  for BT. I'm hoping that I can post this, but we'll see!

My Card

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I used a Sweet Poppy stencil and coloured the roses and leaves through the stencil. I then used translucent paste and clear microbeads. For only my second attempt with stencils and the first with colouring and beads

I think it turned out reasonably okay.  I'm still trying to break out of my comfort zone , but I scuttle back pretty soon! I stamped the JustRite sentiment with Encore Metallic Purple onto the smallest SB Resplendent Rectangles die.

Well I will hopefully try to visit some of your blogs now and see what happens. I managed a couple this morning.

Hope you are enjoying a little sunshine even if it is still jolly cold. It's lovely to see the snowdrops, which seem to be quite late this year. 

Love and hugs from Christine xx

Celebrate

Hello dear friends. Thank you for dropping in today. I  appreciate your visit and would be really happy were you to leave a comment, then I could repay the favour and call in on you.

Well fortunately yesterday was a much warmer day to be without electricity for the entire day. Although it didn't go off until after 8:30 and also came back  slightly earlier than they said too which was a relief. However, I had just made a pot of tea using a little camping stove and was actually pouring the water into the pot when on it came back on. Talk about Sod's Law!

My Card

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The bird cage and birds were die cuts that I bought some time ago, and I think are from Anna-Marie dies. I popped the birds through my GC using Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder to give a bit of definition. The blue daisies were from a pack of diecuts of various sizes that I bought some time ago when I did a wedding album for my sister. The leaves are from a Marianne Designs  Flower and Leaves die set. The ribbon and pearls are all from my stash. It's a simple card but looks quite pretty and I thought it would  be hand to have in stock for an anniversary card.

Well I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Love and hugs from Christine xx

One Of A kind

Hi blog friends

I hope you are all well. I have scheduled my card today. The electricity is going to be off from 8am to 4:30 pm today while they chop down some trees that are affecting the lines. Now that is an awful long time to be off!! If the weather is reasonable then we will go out for the day. If not then it will be a case of keeping warm in the kitchen. Fortunately we have a woodburner in the kitchen which also  incorporates a small oven, so we will be nice and warm as long we don't venture off  into other rooms. We have a barn of a house (not literally!) but it is large and open plan and requires a lot to keep it warm in the winter. Why they can't chop the trees down in the warmer weather beats me! Anyway, I think it's a good time to have lunch out, don't you?

My Card

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My card is my usual 6x6 in size. I have used an LOTV topper which I have matted onto purple Bazzil Basics using Spellbinders Labels 1. The backing paper is a piece I found in my stash and there was no name on it but I remember it from a few years ago as part of a 12x12 scrapbook paper. The corner dies are Cheery Lynne Lace Corner Deco C dies. The spotted organza ribbon and the pearls are from my stash.

So that is it for today. Hope you all have a good day.

Love and hugs from Christine xx

Just Because

Hi friends and fellow bloggers! Well at last it looks as if the snow is starting to thaw. Thank goodness!

My Card

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My card today 5 x 7 inch and made from cream hammered cardstock. My Martha Stewart trellis border punch was still on my desk from the other day so I thought I would use it again. This time I did actually use it like the trellis above the garden fence and put flowers, leaves and butterflies around it. The flowers are from Spellbinders Rose Creations, the leaves are SB Foliage and the butterflies from SB Jewel Flowers and Flourishes. The sentiment is JustRite Grand Sentiments.  I love this set of stamps because there are so many very useful sentiments. Finally I then  added some pearls which I coloured with Promarkers. Nice and simple.

Well that's it for today. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day.

Love and hugs from Christine. xx

Thinking Of You

Hello dear blog friends. I am more than ready for Winter to take a hike and allow Spring to come in. I'm getting really tired of the snow! Fortunately the rain took it's place over night and most of the snow has gone but I think more is forecast. I have been to my Zumba class this morning and oh boy did she work the upper arms!! Aching or what?

My Card

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Today's card is for my friend whose mum is very ill in hospital and thought I would just drop her a card. It had to be a quick make so I settled for a CAS card. The card is my usual 6x6 and matted with yellow pearlescent cardstock.  I then used a Martha Stewart punch - I think it's Lace Doily Edge punch - on two pieces of white and one piece of yellow and lined them up. The stamp is from JustRite stamps Grand Sentiments - not quite straight! You see, you are not the only one Patricia!!! The  flowers are actually Medium Rose and Miniature Rose from Cheery Lynne, and by just using two flowers on each I think they resemble daisies.. I always admire the corner dies that Jacqui uses  (http://jacquibourne7.blogspot.co.uk/)
so I bought the Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco Die C.  They are all so pretty that it was difficult to make a choice. I'm sure I'll be getting more at some point!! Lemon ribbon and pearls from my stash finished it off and it was ready for John to pop it through the letterbox as he passes shortly.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Love and hugs from Christine xx

We Are Special

Hi everybody! I've had quite a busy week and so not a lot of time for crafting. Well, that's not strictly true.I have been playing around with a few things, different techniques etc but not actually made a finished project.  However, I have managed a card today. I'm not quite sure what happened here, but I started  out to make  a Christening card which is why it is  pink and white. So much for that! Ah well, I have time enough for that later.

My card

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The card is white pearlescent  6x6. I used Martha Stewart Trellis Border punch and cut four lengths from the same white card then mitred the corners to make a frame which I  matted onto pale pink card, then  onto darker pink and finally onto the pale pink again before attaching it all to the base card. Using Spellbinders Classic Squares Large I diecut a frame from the dark pink card and attached it to the centre. I diecut a SB Labels 16 from the white pearlescent card and whilst it was still in the frame I  sponged it with pink ink. It doesn't show in the picture but looks fine in real life. I then stamped the LOTV sentiment in black Memento ink and attached it with foam pads.  The lace, ribbon and pearls are all from my stash. The ribbon is a perfect match for the dark pink card - more luck than judgement I think!

Well that's all from me today. I hope you are all looking forward to a relaxing  weekend - particularly you ladies who work! 

Love and hugs from Christine xx

Glittery Trees

Hello friends. Today I have done something totally different and way out of my comfort zone.  But you've got to try different things.

My Card

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A while ago I bought a couple of Sweet Poppy stencils and some paste, but never actually got round to attempting to use them - until now! I used silver paste and three different shades of ultra fine glitter which I sprinkled on at an angle. The glitters I used were Crystal, Holo Silver and Silver. I didn't want the different glitters to be so different that the changes in colour stood out  like a sore thumb, so I mixed some of them together. I actually managed to remove the stencil without any damage but unfortunately I was a bit too impatient and thought it was dry and it wasn't! That is why it is smudged down the left hand side. However, I am quite pleased with my first effort, and next time I will be more patient!!

It is very bright and dry here, but the wind is bitterly cold. so definitely a day for me to be tucked up inside - warm and crafting!!

Have a good day everybody!

Love and hugs from Christine xx

Just A Little Note

Hello my friends in Blogland. Thank you for once again popping over to see what I'm doing.

My Card

Well actually, I decided to make a set of notelets  to have on hand in case I needed a quick gift. I like the CAS style of them. Please bear with me because this post is rather picture-heavy I'm afraid.

Showing the outside of the pack 

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The opened pack with the cards inside

I used white cardstock and cut six 6x4 cards. I embossed more white card with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and mounted it  onto lilac Bazzil Basics. The animal stamps were two different sets which were both magazine freebies from a very long time ago. The sentiment stamps are from Stampendous "Wildflower Sprigs". On  reflection I could have embellished the inside of the packet  but I've never done anything like this before and I  just wanted to get the pockets right. I know there are probably loads of tutorials about his, but I decided to go it on my own and it seems to have turned out okay, except for the lack of internal embellishments, and that's not the end of the world. The next one will be better I'm sure.

Well that's me done for now. I'm hoping it's not as cold as Sunday because it was absolutely bitterly cold and very windy. Have a good day everybody.

Love and hugs from Christine xx

I am entering this is in http://www.ladyanneschallenges.com/anything-goes.html
http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/ptt105-anything-goes.html

French perfume

Hello everybody. Can you believe it is February already? It seems only yesterday we were all wishing each other Happy Christmas. Yikes!!! Where does the time go? Thanks for visiting me today.  I also want to say hello to my new followers. Great to have you and if you leave a comment I can return the favour and visit you too. I do love this little crafting community we have. Everybody in Blogland is so kind and helpful.

My Card

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Showing the image stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with Pearl Gold

My card today is quite a girlie card with flowers, ribbon, lace and perfume. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the stamp - it was one of those I removed from the wooden block and forgot to take down the details, silly me! I die cut it with Spellbinders Labels 8 and Decorative Labels 8. The backing papers are HOTP from the Soft Florals and Patterns scrapbooking paper pad. They are so pretty that I didn't want to cover them up too much so, unusually for me, I decided to go with an 8x8 card for a change. I ended up covering most of the ribbon except for the bow but that's okay - I know it's there! The sentiment is Craftwork Cards Circle Sentiments. I cut up a pearl flourish from Want2Scrap and added it as you see. The pretty lace was given to me by Linda from Creative Harmony. The  papers actually look quite washed out in the picture when in reality that's not the case. I guess the overhead lighting must leach out the colour, but by the time I was ready to take a picture it was getting dark.

Well that's it for today. Have a good day everybody.

Love and hugs from Christine xx