Christmas Coffee Explosion Box

This project is definitely in my top ten favourite things I have EVER made! I just couldn’t love it any more and definitely know its the gift I am making for my kids teachers this Christmas!

If you haven’t tried making an explosion box, don’t be intimated, its actually quite simple. You can look at each panel as a mini card and let your design inspiration go from there! This overhead shot shows you what it looks like once you take off the top and the sides ‘explode’ down.

There are tons of tutorials out there and almost all of them start with a 12x12 piece of card stock which is what I used here. I scored it at 4 inches on all sides and then cut some of the panels at a diagonal to create the two ‘pocket’s. I wanted a couple spots to add in some gift cards (one for coffee, one for booze!).

I used the two stamp sets Warm Hugs and Wrapped in Christmas from the Heartwarming Hugs Suite to decorate and embellish this project. These two sets work so well together!

This is the top of the box. I just love this mini coffee cup that fits inside the For You… it gives a little hint of what might be inside.

You can also use the Glitter Star Ornaments as a stationary embellishment by cutting the string and tucking the hook behind something.

I used the Heartwarming Hugs DSP and used the same pattern on the lid and on the inside panels and decorated the box with colors that coordinate with the DSP. I love the options of using Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Soft Suede. I used white embossing powder on many of the sentiments to help them ‘pop’.

The pull out pockets also have some stamping and you easily have enough to add a gift card.

I sacrificed one of the cups by carefully taking it apart to trace it onto the DSP so that the shape would be perfect to wrap around the cup. I used Tombow adhesive so it would stay adhered until the end of time! I decided to hot glue the cup to the base of the box. This way you can add some little treats inside the cup too and won’t move around in the explosion box.

I love how the Warm Wraps dies have such great layering options. The top of the coffee cup illustrates this perfectly and I used this layering option on all of the panels.

I would love to share this project with you! I will be offering it as a class on October 21st at 12:30 and October 23rd at 7pm. If you are in the Edmonton area please feel free to reach out if you would like to come stamp with me, or order any of the supplies by following the link to my store. Click on the button below to contact me to sign up for this class!

Create with Connie and Mary--Playing With Patterns ALL DAY LONG

When Connie and Mary shared that our design theme for this week was to feature the Playing with Patterns Suite, I won’t lie, I was pretty excited as it is my favourite suite in the new catalogue! I love the fun colors and its one of the best 6x6 Designer Papers we have ever had (in my humble opinion!). Creating this projected also worked out well because my Avid Stamping group that meets monthly, also made these projects earlier this summer. I love when projects can do double duty!

I decided to make three fun and colourful cards with the Playing with Patterns Suite keeping the color palette true to the suite.

When I make cards that all coordinate, whether its the same bundle, suite or stamp set, I do like to present them with coordinating packaging. I think its a great touch and makes giving the collection as a gift super easy as even envelopes are included. I still LOVE our Acetate boxes that are in the catalogue, don’t forget about them because they are not ‘new’.

The stamped envelopes that coordinate with each card are seriously just the cutest. I love getting mail (especially when its not bills) and having these show up in my mailbox would really brighten my day.

The first card I created was this fun shaker option as I had not made one in quite a while. I started with a Night of Navy card base and stamped the stripes in the same color ink on the background (p.s I love that this stamp from the Pattern Play stamp set fits the width of the card!). I used a circle die to cut out the window/shaker component and then stamped some hearts in opposing corners in Calypso Coral with an added marker flick (to take away a bit of the white). The Adhesive Strips were perfect for bending around the circle on the back of the card. I then used the Confetti Flowers Border punch to punch out a selection of flowers in the coordinating colors. I added in some sequins from the Woven Threads as some extra filler.

I cut the Coastal Cabana DSP from the Playing with Patterns 6x6 stack to 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 and secured it to the Adhesive strips to enclose everything and create the shaker.

HI was cut using the awesome Playful Alphabet Dies (a serious MUST HAVE) and added to the Adhesive Sheets so they would be raised up. I love how this card turned out!

For this card, I wanted to use the Playful Alphabet dies in a bit of different way by featuring the negative image of the letters. I started with a Blushing Bride base and cut the word SMILE out. I layered. a strip of DSP behind and raised it up on Dimensionals on the card base. I stamped the chevron image in Coastal Cabana on the card base along with some marker flicking. The Crushed Curry scallop detail under SMILE is cut from one of the dies in the Peony set. I borrowed the word ‘friend’ from the Field of Flowers stamp set.

This card might be my favourite of the three—-I think I love the Coastal Cabana base and using the two different dot stamp sets in the collection. Cue the Confetti is stamped in Calypso Coral ink on Blushing Bride cards stock. I cut four strips of DSP that are 2 1/4 by 3/4 and added them overlapping and at different angles. A couple pieces of ribbon and some embellishments and voila!

I absolutely LOVE this card project and its just the kind of project my Avid stamping group loves! I hope you do too!

I hope you are enjoying the blog hop so far…if you are starting here you can go Back to check out Melissa’s creation or Next to see what Connie has stamped for us!

In Color Bookmarks!

Have you noticed all of the amazing inspiration in the new Annual Catalogue? One of my favourite things to do is CASE (Copy and Share Everything) the projects and the first one I chose are these amazing In Color Bookmarks to share with all of my group members in June.

These bookmarks are a great way to share the 5 new In Colours, ribbon, and a new bundle Lovely You. You can find Stampin’ Up!’s version on page 23 of the catalogue.

I started by stamping an entire sheet with my chose floral image and then I trimmed the card stock down into strips to fit into the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch. I used the smallest punch option which was 1/2 in width.

This project is the perfect example of making one sounds fun, making thirty is dirty! Hahaha! Who else can relate? It happens to me more than I would like to admit! But I know everyone who receives one will appreciate it :)

Ornate Garden Mini Album

When cleaning and reorganizing my craft room lately, I came across a mini album I had made a few years back and was inspired to recreate it with some new supplies. I used the Copper Dotted Treat Bags as the base. I love using a bag or envelope as a mini album base because it comes with built in storage for pull outs so to speak. I decided to use the Ornate Gardens Specialty DSP and colour palette to embellish my album. Of course you can use any DSP and coordinating colors.

To make this album you will need 5 Copper Dotted Treat Bags. This will allow you to have 8 pictures in your album as the cover bag does not hold any photos.

The spine to wrap around your album is a 4 3/4 x 4 piece of card stock scored @ 2 on the short side. I then ran each edge through the Ornate Layers die to give it a bit of detail. You can use a punch or any die to add a decorative edge. I stacked all of the bags together and used Tombow adhesive to glue the spine to the front and back bags. I then secured each inside bag with Tombow. The ribbon died around the spine is purely decorative, it does not hold anything together. It is the new Ornate Garden ribbon from the Ornate Garden Suite. It comes in a two pack with Old Olive and Terracotta Tile.

The outside photo mats are 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 so you can add a 4 x 4 photo to them. I always try and keep my measurements simple for my stampers. I then embellished each page with pieces of DSP and some floral images and sentiments that spoke to the pictures. The Gilded Gems are awesome and I couldn’t resist adding a few into the album. Overall, the album is very flat, I did not want a lot of bulk.

The pullout pages are 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 and I trimmed the photos to fit. I added tabs using the Circle Tab punch in Whisper White so they blended into the album. And I kept all of the embellishments flat (no dimensional, a real challenge for me!) so they could slide in and out of the album easily.

I chose a sentiment for the front that was neutral for whatever photos I wanted to add to the inside. It is from the Capture the Good stamp set in the Idea Book & Catalogue. I layered it with some circle punches and the Label Me Lovely Punch (from the Occasions Catty).

This album features photos from our Nelson Family camping trip each summer to Greenwater Lake, Saskatchewan

This image shows the pullout pages that are tucked inside the Copper Dotted treat bags

I used a mini stapler to secure the tab punches to the base so there was no risk of them tearing free

Hello Fabulous Friend

I can’t believe this is the first time I have pulled out the All Dressed Up Dies (pg 56 of the Occasions Catalogue)! It was actually quite easy to assemble this little purse, which can also convert into a cute backpack too by just placing the straps in different spots. I love the stitched details around the edges of the purse and because of that I decided to leave it ‘clean’ and just have an over the top embellishment instead. I paired the Dressed to Impress stamp set with the Cherry Blossoms and Painted Labels Dies and added in some Pineapple Punch ribbon, Bakers Twine and Metallic Thread. I reached into my stash and pulled out some Faceted Gems (pg 178 of the Idea Book & Catalogue).

Sometimes our scraps can create the most beautiful things!

The best part of this card is the fact that it was created almost entirely with scraps I had laying around in my craft room! I had already created the purse and thought it would be fun to create a coordinating card. The purse is a perfect way to give a gift card! I stamped the large cherry blossom stem from the Forever Blossoms stamp set (pg 16 of the Occasions Catalogue) straight on the card base, a very rare occurrence for me, and added a few flicks of my Call Me Clover marker. I had a scrap of white card stock on my table so I ran it though the Parisian Flourish 3D Embossing Folder and layered on top some of the Braided Burlap Trim and Pineapple Punch ribbon. I cut another shape from the Painted Labels Dies and added in some Metallic Thread. I left the sentiment at ‘friend’ and inside stamped ‘you mean so much to me’. Together I think they make an awesome combo!