Bigz Fancy Favor Box

In the continued spirit of using what I already have, I dug through my supplies for Designer Series Christmas Paper leftover from last year. I also had more of the felt stars left from a card I designed last year that matched the paper, which I also used on the box I featured on my blog last week. This color scheme is unorthodox for most Christmas packaging but I liked the idea of using an unusual color combination. In putting these together as gifts for my upcoming stamp club, I ended up using all but two sheets of the leftover DSP, which I'll use to put together some cards.

Here's the favor box from a different angle so that you can see a few more details. The box is a cinch to put together using the Big Shot Bigz Fancy Favor Box die. The accordion medallion is the most difficult aspect of the project but worth the extra time. I also made things easier on myself by adapting the design I used on the other box last week...I'm saving my creative juices for other projects :)

Love the glitter! My projects have been all about bling lately and this fine glitter certainly adds a bit of sparkle. I hope this sparks some creativity of your own and perhaps encourages you to dig through your own horde (you know you have one!) and be inspired with what you have already.

An Udderly Fabulous Christmas

If you are visiting my blog then you can probably sense that I have a love for cows :) Over the years, people have given me cow gift items that I love but some just strike a special place in my heart: the needlepoint cow picture my friend Tamela made me, the Cow in Converse candleholder from my sisters-in-law, the mooing cow clock from my in-laws, the cow carved out of Dove soap from Joe's mom, the sterling silver cow earrings from my grandma, the mooing cow cookie jar from my friend Dawn, or the mooing key chain with the flashlight eyes from my friend Missy are all kitschy, unique, fun cow gifts that give me a laugh and bring special people to mind. (trust me, there's more but I'd be here all day listing them all!) My friend Marilyn has embraced my love for cows and has made this udderly fabulous (forgive me, I just had to say that) cow Christmas tree for me this year. Every little detail is just perfect, from the adorable "Moo" tags to the cow figurines placed all over the tree.I love the glittery ornaments and how can you not love those cowbells?

My absolute favorite part of the tree! From the fantastically striped pants to the bell on his curly little tail, this just makes me laugh with delight to look at him. I know it seems silly but I just had to share this on my blog and hopefully it'll put a smile on your face today.

Christmas Packaging

Where does the time go? I can hardly believe that Christmas is almost here and that another year is drawing to a close. I've been taking time each day this week to do a little crafting in preparation for the holidays and I must say, I'm just a wee bit proud of myself for getting my projects done early. Miracles do happen! These two projects were done earlier this week in preparation for tonight's Ladies Fellowship hosted by my church. In the spirit of our current economic times, I've been rooting through all my supplies to utilize what I already have on hand and it's amazing what you can find when you "shop" in your own craft horde.

This project was created with retired Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper that I had leftover from last year's workshops. Some of you may recognize some retired In Color paper as well (I miss the Baja Breeze paper! sniff...) The felt star was picked up on clearance last year at Rofu Kinderland and are actually German felt table decorations. I apologize for the bad picture but I didn't think to photograph the box until after I'd packaged it up in the bag. Inside is an ornament for our ornament exchange tonight. I wanted some red crinkle filler for inside the bag but I was trying to be good and only use what I already had. The box was created from a template I found on Kelly Lunceford's blog and the design is very similar to a project she featured on there last week. Gotta love CASEing!

I purchased these Chinese takeout boxes while I was in the States last Christmas (10 cents a piece! What a bargain!) and thought it would make a whimsical Christmas package. I removed the handle and pinned the sides together with rhinestone brads. I then hand cut out the poinsettia from white felt and hot glued the petals, ribbon "leaves", and buttons to a felt circle base. The ribbon belly band is hot glued together with the flower hot glued to the top so it can just slide off the top of the box.

I think if I do it again, I would leave the handle on and tie ribbon pieces to the handle and then velcro the belly band together so that it could just be pulled apart to open the box. I have three more boxes so I just might try another one! Thanks for taking a peek at my latest projects :)