Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 12

Today I'm sharing a paper triangle box that I learned how to create at my 3rd upline Cindy Baker's consultant team meeting last year (here is a link to Cindy's Blog - I so admire her artistic talent)! At that same team meeting we also learned how to create all kinds of trendy paper flowers like the paper roses that adorn this box. Here's a link to one of my favorite paper flower online tutorials on my fellow CTMH consultant Jennifer Bennett's blog that shows you so well how to create the paper roses. I was a little lazier than Jen though and just kept it quick and simple by using Tulip cardstock (no sprayed ink or sponging) and also didn't crumple up the paper much either for my roses shown here. I've been wanting to post this fun triangle box here on my blog for some time now, so I think it's about time, right?! This box could be filled with Hershey's kisses (or any treat you'd like) to be given for Valentine's Day (or for any gift-giving occasion really).

To create the triangle box you will need one piece of cardstock cut to 5"x 12" and a piece of background & texture paper cut to 4.75" x 11.75". Adhere those two pieces together, centering the b&t which will leave you with a 1/8th" border of cardstock framing the outside edge. Then use your scoring blade/tool to make a crease in the center of the longest edge (at the 6" mark). Use a pencil to mark the mid-points (2.5 inches in) on both of the short ends. Then use your scoring blade/tool again to score a line from your corners at the 6" scored line to the 2.5" mid-point marks you made on each end. I've sponged the edges of my creased lines (above) with chocolate ink to help them be more visible so you can see all the lines that are scored (this also adds dimension and beauty to the finished box as well I think). Crease all your folds into a pie-shaped wedge and punch a hole on the open end where all the paper edges meet (you can see on my sample above that this results in 4 holes as the punch will go through 4 different parts of the paper). I like to use my crop-a-dile tool to easily punch through so many layers at once - it's actually 8 layers of paper when you count the b&t paper). Then simply thread a ribbon through the holes and tie a bow to hold your box closed.
Isn't this a simply great box pattern?!!!
I just love it - THANK YOU Cindy Baker for teaching it to me!

Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 10

Today I'm sharing another simple and sweet idea for Valentine's Day. This is an altered nugget tin. You can purchase these tins for just a little over a dollar each, online from specialtybottle.com (the tin's id code is THN8 in case that helps you find it). I simply wrapped 12 chocolate nuggets with strips of 1" x 3" background and texture paper from the Sophia kit X7131B and placed them inside the tin. I also created a little sleeve and tag (using a few punches including our NEW 2" scallop circle punch!) that slides over the tin to hold it closed and make for a nice presentation. These tins can be used to make such easy and affordable little gifts - and who doesn't just LOVE getting chocolate for Valentine's Day or ANY day of the year?!!!

Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 9

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post any new ideas for the Valentine's Day Countdown blog hop these past three days! Between helping my kids finish up their science fair projects that are due this week and being sick (again!), I've been struggling to squeeze in any creative time over the past few days. I am thrilled to be back to posting again today though, and I hope you will enjoy this very easy but super cool idea! It's so simple, just cover a pack of gum (with matchbox-style packaging - the kind that slides out from a sleeve) with your favorite background and texture paper and embellish! You could use stamping, but for this particular design I used only paper and My Stickease (adhesive die-cut stickers) from the NEW Sophia My Reflections kit X7131B and X7131C.
Before and After pics (above)
Here's a photo of all the supplies I used to dress-up my sweet little gift (above). For now, you can still purchase the recently retired "Tiny Tabs" I used, online here from my myctmh website for just $2 a pack (49% off) during our special "while supplies last" clearance sale! I ordered a few extra packs of Tiny Tabs last week, so if you live locally and are in need of some really quick (since V-day is less than a week away) feel free to let me know and I can get some to you for your own creating fast! I found that our local dollar store has this type of gum available in packs of 4 for just $1 each, so these could easily make for some affordable little Valentine's Day gifts the kids could give out to their friends and/or teacher's at school. It's also a great way to use up left-over My Stickease and paper scraps while making each and every one you create unique! I will be back again tomorrow to share another creative idea for Valentine's Day, so I hope you will come back and visit my blog again soon as we continue on with the countdown!

Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 5

For Day 5 of our Valentine's Day blog hop I have a 4.5" Circle Card to share. This card features the February Stamp of the Month - Friendship D1453 and the Sweetheart X7134B papers again. The design is inspired by Wishes - Ricochet (p. 127).
Here is another view of this card inside a Cd/Dvd envelope that I stamped just a little with the same scrolly stamp I used on the card. I love how you can see just a portion of the card peeking through the clear window - so fun!
Finally, I thought you might like to see what these envelopes look like in their packaging in case you'd like to get some for your own creating! I picked up a box of 100 envelopes for less than $5 at Wal-mart (electronics aisle), so this is a very affordable option to use for giving your circle cards away (and you could also use these sleeves for 4.5 x 4.5" square cards too)!

Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 3

Welcome to day 3 of our Valentine's Day Countdown blog hop! When I saw these adorable little "M&M stix" on fellow consultant Angela Tutton's Blog last September, I just knew I had to make these for Valentine's Day! THANK YOU Angela for sharing such a fantastic tutorial on how to make these. I have been so inspired by you and I hope you like my creations for Valentine's Day. These are just two of the items I'll be making with my local creative friends this Saturday, February 5th (join us at 6pm or 7pm) at my $5 Creative Class! I still have room for a few more guests, so please contact me to RSVP soon before it fills up!
Close-up (above) of the tag that uses Bee Happy B1374, In the month of February C1403, and Affection C1441 stamp sets with Black, Tulip, Cotton Candy, Garden Green, and Honey inks/markers.
Close-up (above) of the tag that uses In the month of February C1403 and Affection C1441 stamp sets with Black and Cotton Candy inks.

"Friendship" SOTM Blog Hop and Valentine's Day Countdown - Day 1!

Welcome to our February Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring this month's new SOTM - Friendship D1453! If you've just joined me from Tammy's blog then you are on the right path! This blog post is also my first post for Day 1 of the Valentine's Day Countdown blog hop that I am participating in for the next 14 days also! Please continue to come back and visit my blog each day for the next two weeks as I will be sharing a new creative idea for Valentine's Day each and every afternoon!

I created this 6x6 Valentine card using the February Stamp of the Month (Friendship D1453) and our new Sweetheart papers X7134B. My card design is inspired by Originals - The Main Idea (p. 96). The heart shape I used is the largest heart from our Hearts Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes (Z1278 $3.25). I simply adhered the heart shape to the front side of the Sweetheart flower B&T paper (so the back side of pink b&t paper would show on the front of the heart) and then used my micro-tip scissors to cut off the excess paper until I had a nice heart shape of paper covering the Dimensional Element. I then used a sponge dauber and black ink to ink distress the edges all around the heart. Then I used the "embossing resist" technique to create the flourish design that covers the heart. To do this, I simply stamped the image on the heart with our clear Versamark ink (Z891 $9.95) and then heat embossed it with our clear detail embossing powder (Z821 $3.95). Then I used a sponge dauber (Z726 $3.95) with Tulip ink to rub the ink over and around the embossed image in a light circular motion. The clear embossing resists the ink, yet allows the color to show all around the image. I recommend using a tissue to then wipe the embossed area and remove the excess ink that beads up on top of the shiney embossed area. Because the embossing powder I used is clear, you can see the beautiful patterned paper images underneath it - so cool!

Please come back tomorrow and every day for the next two weeks to see more of my creations for the Valentine's Day Countdown blog hop (as well as more ideas using the February Stamp of the Month)! Now you can continue on the SOTM blog hop by visiting Melinda's blog next! Enjoy!!