SHOULD'VE BEEN A VALENTINE GIFT, HUH?

Hello, family!!!  I hope all's well in blogland!  It's been such fun visiting some of you again and seeing your wonderful projects.  I'm still travelling blogland so I'm still getting to the rest of you  -- I'll be there as soon as I can!

I had even more fun finally getting the chance to sit down and craft!!!  YEAA!!!  I completed this project and it's all nice and dry to show now... lol!!!  I didn't think it would be dry until much later, so it's a pleasant surprise to be able to post it this evening.  I've been wanting to do one of these easel card boxes for a long time now and with my hubby's birthday being this Tuesday, I decided to do the box as one of his gifts.  Unfortunately, the more I look at it, it looks more like it should have been a Valentine's gift... lol!!!  I don't know what I'll fill it with yet but I'll come up with something before Tuesday.  Any suggestions other than candy?  Here's a picture of the top of the box:

 

I told you it looks like it should be for Valentine's Day... lol!!!  Oh well, it's done now... heee-heeee!  Now let's look at the opened easel card on top of the box:

 

I cut out Leonard's name on the new Craftwell ecraft cutter that he bought me for Christmas and it did pretty good; although (don't tell Leonard) I was really hoping for a Silhouette. I don't think this machine is nearly as good as the Silhouette but I'm going to try to work with it.  If anyone has the Craftwell ecraft, please let me know because I'm finding there's quite a learning curve.  Oh, yea, he also bought me the electronic Craftwell embosser which I LOVE!  I'll be doing some embossed projects to show you soon! 

 

Next is a picture of the box drawer opened revealing a bottom panel stamped with the "Happy Birthday" message  (I thought this would be a nice surprise having it there:

 

Last is a side view of the easel card box:

 

Oh well, I guess I'm a bit "rusty" from my long break but I hope Leonard likes it -- and you too!  Guess it might be a good thing I'm taking him to dinner because I'm not quite satisfied with this looking more like a Valentine's gift than a birthday gift..., although it sure was fun to do!!!  Ummm, maybe I'll just tell him it's a combined belated Valentine and birthday present...  NAW!!!

 

Well, I'm off to play with more new craft toys... but I'll be back!

 

I'll be seeing you!!!

 

 

 

APRON COOKIE BOX

Happy Saturday, everyone!!!  Ready for the weekend?  LOL!!!

Today when I went to visit with Sheila she'd made the most adorable little box and challenged any of us to make a liitle box and link to our project.  Of course, any of you who have been with me for any length of time knows I LOVE boxes and making them!!!  So, this was one challenge Sheila wouldn't have even had to twist my arm to do... lol!!!  I hurried to my Design Studio and came up with this little apron cookie box:

Unfortunately, I don't have any cookies to put in it at the moment, but what a cute gift it'll make for someone when I do!!!

I do have a cut.file I'll add to my list as soon as I've cleaned it up a bit... did it in such a hurry!!!  LOL!  If you care not to wait, you can always email me at audreyfrel@sbcglobal.net and I'll email it out to you as is.  The adjustment is only some slight cutting to the armhole and it's decorative cover.  Anyway, you can have it but it's up to you whether you want to wait or not.

Well, I'm off again to have as much fun as I can before I have work to do...

I'll be seeing you!

SAY "CHEESE"...!!!

Happy Saturday, family-friends!  I hope everyone is doing well in blogland!!!

I took some time to do some Google and internet browsing for inspiration, and ran across the cutest little camera boxes.  Taking inspiration from several of them, this is my take:

The box that most inspired mine opened from the side and was just one unit; however, I decided on the 2-piece box with lid:

The lens was made from a piece cardboard gift-wrap tubing, the round mechanism on top is a covered cap/top from a water bottle (lol!), and the covered square piece was cut from a piece of styrofoam.

This was such fun to make!!!  Hope you like it too!!!  Now..., say "CHEESE"!!!

Thanks for stopping by and hugs to you all!!!

I'll be seeing you1

KIND OF SHABBY, KIND OF CHIC!

Happy Tuesday, everyone; I hope all's well.  Hey, I'm crafting so... I'm doing just fine myself!  LOL!

Here's a sneak peak of my project for today:

Why of course I'm going to show you the project!!!  LOL!!!  Just wanted to play with you a bit!

Over time I've rescued many boxes with no idea of what I'd be doing with them, because I so much enjoy creating my own from scratch.  However, the other day I decided to pull one of these boxes out to alter.  What also came out were my handmade molds, and some polymer clay to make the cherubs and the frame that would adorn my box; and also the embellishments I'd be using.  Here's a picture of how my altered box turned out:

This is the top of the box and the wording in the frame reads:  "What Shall Be... Shall Be":

Because this box was a deep dark red in color, I had to use 3 coats of gesso paint to cover it and, although you may not be able to see it, I lightly sprinkled it with Diamond Dust before the final coat of paint dried so that it would sparkle.  I litely sprayed the flowers with a rose color glimmer mist and dipped them in Diamond Dust.  The cherub on the front of the box I highlighted by deepening areas around it with more of an intense color and covered those areas with crackle paint to give it more texture.  I hope this is a better close-up picture for you:

I had a great time completing this project and I really like the results -- kind of shabby, kind of chic!  Don't you think?!!!

Well, I'll be around in a bit to see what you've been up to!  In the meantime, thanks for taking the time to stop by!!!

Hugs and, of course,...

I'll be seeing you1

DRESSING CHRISTMAS FOR VALENTINE DAY!

Hi, everyone!  I see most of you have been having a crafting good time!!!  Unfortunately, although I visited, I did not even try to comment yesterday!  I'd been so annoyed with the Blogger issue that I just didn't put myself through the aggravation.  I did enjoy your projects though!  I did some commenting today, however, the problem still exists for many of you where I can't comment -- all I get is that dreaded blank screen!

I do have a altered box project today.  This project was the a result of my cleaning up Christmas supplies that I didn't have time to complete projects for during the holiday.  In those supplies were these boxes I'd thought to re-do for Christmas and as I didn't get the opportunity, I re-did them for Valentine Day instead.  Here's the box:

It reads "Love is the master key which opens the gates of happiness".  I'm  not certain what I'll put on the inside yet -- maybe candy -- but whatever, I'm hoping it will be a present inside a present because I like how it turned out overall.  Here's a picture of the top of the box:

Because I liked the outcome of this box so much, I decided I wanted the back to be fun and have a focal point also:

I titled it "Dressing Christmas for Valentine Day" because, as I said earlier, this was made from a box I was planning on recycling for Christmas.  I had several of them:

I used a velvet/suede-type paper to cover the box; the material on the top I purchased somewhere on etsy -- it comes in a 12"x12" cut, and then I glued on a few rhinestones; on the back is a velvet ribbon bow, small ribbon flowers, and a large rhinestone; the flowers were cut from a stem of silk flowers I found in my bin; some gathered ribbon, white beaded ribbon, more rhinestones, and the acrylic word block completed the embellishments on the box.   I hope you like it!!!

Well, I'm off again!  I'm working on a "major" baby-shower gift which I'll share with you as soon as it's completed!  Soooooo...,

Hugs, and I'll be seeing you!!!

CHISTMAS "MICKEY" TREAT BOX!

Hello, everyone!!! Hope all's well on this wonderful Sunday!

Today, I have the cutest little treat box to show you! Yesterday, my brother called, my niece wanted to know if I'd be able to make about 20 little favor boxes for a little pre-Christmas sleep-over my brother is  "grudgingly" allowing her to give for several of her neighborhood friends the weekend before Christmas. Of course I said I'd do it. Knowing my niece loves anything Disney I immediately started scouring the internet for Disney Christmas characters. Well, just as I thought I had enough images saved to possibly use, I accidently came across this site with the cutest little Disney printables -- if was as though a gift from Heaven just dropped into my lap!!! LOL!!! One of the printables was just too perfect -- a Mickey treat box; and, a life-saver as now I don't have to figure out what I was going to do with any of the images I saved, ha! Here it is:

Here's a picture of the box where the candy/treat will go (I used a rather thin sheet of cardstock, so I added the red paper in the back to reinforce and make it a bit more sturdy).  The printable requires one sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock and the instructions are included:

Isn't this just the cutest?!!! All I did was add a little puff paint, stickles, and messed up the nose because I was so excited about the box that I forgot to paint on a little decoupage glue to keep the ink from running before applying some Glossy Accents! But, hey, I'm sure the kids won't mind!!! LOL!
There're quite a few printables to select from for different occasions and holidays on this site! Yes, there's even a Thanksgiving Mickey treat box!!! Now, don't even think I didn't give a thought to you because I did!!! Before I closed out and forgot the site (which I'm known to do), I grabbed the address for you: http://family.go.com/holidays/
Once I've cut them all out, I'll fold and glue the sides together; I'll be able to lay them flat for mailing and my niece can just open, tuck the bottoms in and load them with the candies!!! Easy-peezy!!!
The only thing I'm not liking is that now I have 19 more to cut out!!! Phew! Oh well... Anyway, I hope you have fun with this sweet little treat box.
In the meantime, I have several projects I'm currently working on for upcoming challenges and blog-hops, so stick around, I'll be letting you know when they are ready to present really soon now!!! I think you'll like what I'm preparing to share with you!
Thanks for stopping by, love you all, hugs and...

I'll be seeing you!

A FRAME-EASEL NOTES GIFT BOX

Hello, everyone!!!  Hope all's well!!!  Welcome to a new follower, and thank you for joining me!!!

Sorry, I've been away the last several days, things have been pretty hectic.  I've had so much going on with things to do for my aunt, household things, and even having to sit in both an emergency room and my dentist's office because I had a really nasty fall.  After being checked out, I'm okay!!!  I still have to return to the dentist though because there was too much swelling in my face for them to get a full x-ray to make certain I don't have any fractures to the lower gums-- I fell on my face with my bottom jaw hitting the concrete first and taking the brunt of the fall.  I think it'll all be fine however, as after the initial shock of falling, I have no pain -- thank God!!!  Although I'm accident prone, this was not my fault.  There was a slight rise in the sidewalk where the 2 blocks of concrete met, which happened to be on a slope, so the tip of my foot hit the rise and away I went flying through the air without the greatest of ease...lol!  I'm laughing because I really do feel fine and it all seems kind of funny now.  I think once all the swelling goes down, they'll find my worse injury was that I bit through my lip.

Anyway, I've still got lots to finish up (and the never-ending errands to run for my aunt), including another blog hop and  DT project within the next week; therefore, I will be in and out of here until I get caught up.  I will, however, make time to drop in on you as I can, and even try to sneak in a small project I'm almost finished working on before then.

The project I'm sharing with you today is one similar to something I saw a while ago browsing the internet.  I feel in love with the original but I didn't know how the creator did hers, so I had to fashion my own.  Mine is a smaller and condensed version, and not as nice but overall I think I did okay.  I thought this little box would make a wonderful gift for a boss, co-worker, or even a teacher to place on their desk.  To describe it, it's a frame attached to an easel lidded box (just like on the easel cards)  that sits upright to display the insert in the frame while also allowing access to the note paper inside the box. I've inserted the words "Live, Laugh, Love" into the frame but it can also hold a small photo (great for a picture of the new grandchild, right?!!!).  Well..., see for yourselves!  Here is the box opened with the frame in an upright position on the easel so that the frame insert can be displayed while allowing access/exposing the note sheets inside the box:

Here is the box fully open to the note sheets inside:

This next photo shows the box completely closed (a top view):

And this final picture shows the box from the side (a view of the frame on the easel):

I will be doing a cut.file for this box but, right now, I really can't promise when.  Also, I haven't forgotten about doing a tutorial on the wedding box, so that too will be when I have more available time.  I will get to them both as soon as I can.

I'm sorry to have to be out of here again but I really do have a lot going on right now!  As I said I'll be in and out often enough that I won't miss you too much -- nor you me!  LOL!!!

In the meantime, I'm extending my love to you all!!!  Thank you for taking time to stop by and as always...

I'll be seeing you!

STAINED GLASS CONTAINER? NAAAWWW!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

How am I?  Doing great after a big scare from "the" Buster!  I assumed he had a tummy ache the other evening, so I gave him a bit of Mylanta for his diarrhea; several hours later he was vomiting, and shortly after when he went out I noticed blood in his stool -- I panicked!!!  To make a long story short, I got him to an emergency vet and it seems Buster must have picked up something "tasty" along one of our walks which caused a stomach infection.  He was given meds and I took him to his vet yesterday morning for a follow-up where I was assured the meds would clear up the infection and that Buster would be okay.  Of course since I've been giving him almost undividied attention, he's really playing it up... LOL!!!  Who ever called animals dum?!!!

While monitoring Buster, I've been visiting with many of you and I'm so impressed by all the beautiful projects you're doing.  It was so relaxing sitting here and browsing your blogs.

Last night, after Buster went to bed, I decided I wanted to play with something new I've been waiting to try.  I wanted to practice using these new supplies on something small because I had no idea how to use them and/or how it would work.  So a made a small box out of transparency and started playing.  Now I'm no artist but I hand-outlined what I thought vaguely looked like a rose with leaves and filled it in.  Here's what I came out with:

So, does it look like glass to you?  I thought it came out pretty good considering I can't draw, and up close it actually really does look like stained glass!!!  Maybe if you click the picture to enlarge it you'll see some of the effect.

Not only does it have the appearance of real glass, I love the texture and dimension it gives.  So, what is it?

Has anyone tried this yet?  If so, you've got to tell what what you think because I think I love this stuff!!!  It's so much fun to play with too!!!   Like glass it's transparent, dries absolutely clear and can even be handwashed.  And, now that I've had a minute to play with it, I can't wait to move on to a real project using it (minus my own sketching--definitely!!!)  It's made to use on most transparent surfaces where you want a glass effect!

To get back to the celebration blog candy post, please see the top right-hand side of my sidebar for a direct link (click on the balloons).  Now keep those comments coming!!!  I love reading them and the more comments the better your chances to win!!!

To those who have not yet been to the party, please follow the directions above to the direct link, and join us!  It's a celebration!!!

Before I leave, I'd like to take a moment to thank you for all the beautiful comments you left me on your party post.  I was truly touched with emotion, and that only just rienforces how much I care for you too.

 Love to you, hugs..... and,

I'll be seeing you!

"FIRST ONE LID, THEN ANOTHER" JEWELRY BOX!!!

Hello, everyone!!!

I'm so glad to also be presenting this little box as my DT project over at Sheila's today.  Why not click on her name for a direct link to her blog and leave me a comment there too -- I love your comments!!!  And while you're there take a look around!!!  Sheila has all kinds of fascinating and things going on!

This is the little jewelry box I'll be sharing today:

 

What interested me about this little jewelry box is that it has 2 lids, one on each side of the box, and you open both lids to get to the inside box!  You'll see further down in the post!

But what's a jewelry box without a piece of jewelry?  So, just to give you an idea of how cute this is as a jewelry box, I made a pendant to match and include in the box!  (Sorry, this pendant isn't part of today's project, only the box is; however, if you want a tutorial, please let me know.  I'm sure most of you already know though how to put one of these together using Tim Holtz' idea-ology Facets):

Would you like a close up?  Yes?  Okay, here you go:

Oops, there's my reflection in that rhinestone!!!  LOL!!!  Okay, before I start the tutorial, I wanted to show you where my inspiration for this box came from.  I recieved an item in this adorable box -- one picture shows the box closed and the other with the two (2) lids open revealing the inside of the box:

To begin the tutorial, I first cut out the patterns from the cut.file:

These pattern pieces are the box cover, the box, and (optional) panels.  Beginning with the box cover, you will see I have added small tick marks (cuts) on the sides -- which I've highlighted in ink; these marks indicate where the cover will be folded across from one side to the other :

I bone-folded these tick marks from one side to the other separating the cover sections as shown below, then put the cover aside:

Grabbing the box pattern, I bone-folded the 4 tabs and 4 sides of the box:

After all the folds were made, I applied glue to the 4 small corner tabs of the box pattern as shown below, and attached the tabs to the inside side folds ( do both sides):

Here's the assembled box:

Now I go back and get my box cover.  I apply glue to the 3 inside panels only, leaving the 2 outside panels without glue (these are the 2 lids that open onto the box):

Taking the box, I centered and aligned it onto the box cover and attached them together (careful centering is necessary for folding up and attaching the sides of the box cover to the sides of the box to align properly):

This box itself is now complete!!!  See how it opens?!!!  But I'm not finished, I want to add my panels!  After closing the box, I took the top cover panel, aligned it, and glued it in place.  (NOTE:  After aligning the panel there will be access paper which will have to be cut off the bottom edges of the box; I turned the box over after gluing on the panel and cut off the access).  My box now looks like this:

Because my box is made of matching decorative paper, I don't need the smaller side panels included on the cut.file for the box sides, so all I need to do is add the longer side panels to the front and back sides of my box cover:

 

Last but not least -- embellishing my box!!!   I added Stickles along the edges of the side panels, both sides of the outer sides of the box, and along the edge of the top box cover and panel -- I love the bling!  Next I attached a small ribbon bow, and accented the bow and across the top of the box with a Pearl Pen, and then just tossed on a couple of flowers I had lying around.  And how about this set?!!!  Kinda cute, huh?

The cut.file, and a .gypsy file, is available at the end of this post.  Of course, it's a box, so it was easiest for me to do the file using the George cart; however, if you do not have George, please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you to determine further directions.

Thanks for stopping by, and...

I'll be seeing you!

each side opens box.cut

each side opens box.gypsy

JUST A CANDY (OR COOKIE) BOX!!!

Hi, everyone!  It's a happy Tuesday!  I'm feeling a lot better today, thank God.  It's still extremely hot but I can deal with the heat much better with no aches, pains, or throbs accompaning it... lol!  I hope you're all well... and keeping cool.

Wow, did everyone notice I'm at 350 followers!!!  Guess that means blog candy is coming soon!!!  Welcome to my new followers, and welcome as a family-friend!  I hope I can find you to personally say "thank you" for choosing to follow me, and maybe becoming a follower of yours too!  And, remember, you're always at home when you drop by here!

By now you should all know how much I love boxes and making them!!! I'm just not really completely satisfied with crafting unless somewhere along the way I do a box!!!  So, as I've just been itching to do one, last night I did this candy box I'm sharing with you::

The inside box lid has an envelope attached that holds a note card where you can pen a thank you, a to/from, or whatever you desire to note:

Here's the matching note card inside the envelope:

I used a 12"x24" sheet of cardstock for this box, and it measures about 6"x 3.75" and is about 3" deep, so it can hold a lot of candy (or even cookies).  I used my hand-drawn draft to construct this box -- which trust me took many trials and errors to draw it right and get it to come together properly.  And, yes, I even had to hand cut it out --- ughhhh!!!  This is the part I always hate when drawing out my patterns/templates!!!  Now that I have all the measurements I definitely will do a cut.file for it soon.  Of course there's probably something similar in a cut.file out on the web somewhere --if it's even free -- as it's a pretty typical and standard shape for candy boxes: however, I really enjoyed the challenge of doing my own.

Well, this satisfied my appetite to do a box for the moment!  LOL!   Hope you like it!

Love you all...

I'll be seeing you!

A "DESIGNER PURSE" CANDY/GIFT BOX

Hello my friends, and thanks for joining me  for my DT project today!  I love sharing with you, and many thanks to Pam for letting me be one of the designers on her fabulous blog!!!  You can visit Pam by clicking on her name (highlighted in blue) which is a direct link to her blog.  You'll love your visit!!!

As you know, I returned home from a family reunion/vacation recently, so I had just enough time yesterday to put this little designer purse candy/gift box together for you as my DT project:

Isn't it cute?!!!  The leather-look paper I believe I purchased some time ago from Michael's but I'm not absolutely sure as I've have had it for a while. 

I'll show you how I made the box using the sample template pictures below.  I wasn't sure how this box was going to turn out, so I did mine from the first dry run (which I think came out great) but didn't do a step-by-step while I was doing it, so I've prepared this demonstration on how to complete the box.  First, I began by designing my cut.file in Design Studio and cutting out the template on my Expression:

Once the file had cut, I removed the cut template/pattern and it looked like this:

Next I flipped the template over and folded it into the box shape along the score lines.  I made broken lines on the picture below to represent the fold lines (where the folds are made) and is the inside of the box:

After folding along the fold lines, I added adhesive to the outside top side tab, aligned it evenly with the inside of the opposite side edge of the box, and adhered it in place:

I then folded up the bottom panels and glued them together in place.  To finish the box, I aligned the top flap over the rounded sides of the box:

To keep the flap of my box shut I added self-sticking magnetic snaps for the box closure (you can use velcro or whatever you like), and here's the completed box sample:

Here's a picture of the magnetic snaps, just in case you're interested in them:

You can decorate your box as a purse candy/gift box and add handles as I have, or decorate and embellish it as a pirate's box, or even as man's toolbox -- it has quite a few use-options with using just a little imagination!

The cut.file was done using the George cartridge and is available along with the Gypsy converted file at the end of this post; however, please let me know if you don't have that cart and I'll do whatever I can to make this available for you to use, if you'd like -- just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. 

Oh..., if you make this box, I'd love to see what you did with it!!!

I hope you like my candy/gift box!!!  Thanks for stopping by, and ...

I'll be seeing you!

my pirate box.cut

my pirate box.gypsy