I love pretty packaging. I'm always on the lookout for pretty packaging ideas (Hello Pinterest)!  When I discovered a die cut for a pillow box, I did a little happy dance. Using up my supplies and pretty packaging all in one easy step.

Recently, I sent my daughter, her roommate and two other freshman (in my daughter's dorm) a Halloween care package.  Included were these pillow boxes filled with candy. 

 

Pin It

These were all made from the same die cut along with various embellishments and designer paper.  The die cut I used is from Papertrey Ink.  I know My Favorite Things also has a pillow die cut that's square, and a bit smaller.  I'm thinking I probably need both, right?  Now, I'm sure there are other pillow dies out there, however these are the two that I'm familiar with.

Okay, in an effort to provide full disclosure, I do not work for, or receive gifts from either company, however a girl can wish!

As I mentioned, these pillow boxes were filled with Halloween candy, but just think of the possibilities.  You can use these for any holiday, birthday or gift giving occasion, and aside from packaging for a small gift, they can be used as gift card holders too. 

I hope you don't mind if I share one other item in the Halloween care package.

The girls needed something "Halloween" in their dorm so I made these pillowcases.

I hope you'll visit again because I have a "gift card packaging" series planned for early November.
 

One-Layer Wednesday 161 ~ Show Me Your Colors

Welcome to another One-Layer Wednesday (OLW).  This week, Show Me Your Colors. Your fall colors.  You can choose any theme you wish.

OLW161 Rules:

 

l.  Create a one layer card.  This is defined as a single layer of cardstock folded in half.  No other layers allowed.

 

2.  Create a card using fall colors.  Add a link to your card.  Remember to keep embellishment to a 

 minimum and NO ADDITIONAL layers of cardstock.

 

3.  Post your card online and link it to the InLinkz button below.  If you link to your blog, please link 

 to the specific post and not your blogs main page.

 

4.  HAVE FUN!  I can't wait to see what you create.

 

 

Supplies: Stamps: Papertrey & Memory Box  Ink: Papertrey & Memento  Paper: Kraft  Accessories:  Stamp Positioner, Score Board, & Bling

 

 

Another One-Layer Christmas Thank You, and a Design Question.

Hi!  I'm here to share another One-Layer Christmas Thank You.  As I mentioned earlier this month, I am featuring a "Christmas in July" series.  I'll share ideas for Christmas thank you notes, Christmas tags, and packaging ideas.  This week my focus is on Christmas thank you notes/cards.

After completing the card below, something just wasn't right, and then it hit me.  The sentiment was  green.  That was the problem!  If the sentiment were stamped in red there would be more cohesiveness. More flow.  I needed to re-create my card using red for the sentiment.

Here is the same card with just one minor change, the sentiment color.  Much better!  Along with the sentiment color change, I used a golden color bling.  These blend better than the clear, and are a bit more subtle in my opinion.  What do you think?

 



Because this is a one-layer card, I used my Tombow markers to avoid the bleed through that you have with Copics.  It's been ages since I've had my markers out.  To add interest to the petals, I used Stickles (Diamond) .  I love the shimmer and sparkle that it adds!

Here is a up close photo. With the Tombow Blender Pen, I was "trying" to do some shading on the leaves. 

 



 

I hope I've given you inspiration and motivation to get started on your Christmas thank you notes.

 

Supplies:

 

Stamps: Memory Box (Image) and A Muse (Sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Lady Bug 

Paper: Stampin'Up Whisper White

Accessories: Stamp Positioner, Gold Bling, Tombow Markers (126 & 856), & Stickles (Diamond)

 

One-Layer Wednesday 148 ~ A Christmas/Holiday Thank You

Welcome to this weeks One-Layer Wednesday Challenge.  In keeping with the Christmas in July theme, I thought it prudent to start on some Christmas thank you cards.  So, this weeks challenge is to make a one-layer Christmas/holiday thank you card.  I hope you'll join me.

 

Think about making sets of your Christmas/holiday thank you cards.  When packaged in a fun and festive way, they are a great hostess or teacher gift.  Of course, I like to have a few sets on hand for my daughters and me to use.

OLW148 Rules 1. A one-layer card is defined as a single layer of card stock folded in half. No other layers of paper allowed.

2. Make a One-Layer Christmas Thank You Card. Remember to keep the embellishments to a minimum.

3. Post your card somewhere online and link back to my blog using the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. If linking to a blog post, please be sure to link to the specific post and not your blog's home page.

4. HAVE FUN!

Supplies:

Stamps: Memory Box - Poinsettia Outline & Lattice Background, Sentiment - A Muse
Paper: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Memento - Desert Sand, Lady Bug & Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Stamp Positioner, Bling, Tombow Makers & Sticklers - Diamond

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Friday!  Can you believe it's the last day of August, and Labor Day weekend? 

It's been ages since I've participated in a challenge other than One-Layer Wednesday (OLW).  After stumbling across this awesome sketch at Freshly Made, I got busy... 

Here's what I came up with.

And here is a peek at the inside.

I'm also submitting this to The Perfect Sentiment,  PSC47 Anything Goes With A Sentiment. 
Supplies:

Stamps: Stampabilities
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Papertrey Ink Chai for distressing
Paper: Crate Paper Restoration Collection
Accessories: Memory Box Die Cut, Bling

One-layer Wednesday (OLW89)

Welcome to this weeks One-Layer Wednesday challenge.  I am very excited to be your host this week!  I have to say, Heather is definitely a hard act to follow.  Wasn’t that an amazing challenge she gave us last week?

This weeks One-Layer Wednesday challenge ( #89) is Something Sweet.  Make a card with a sweet image.  Anything you think is sweet.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I just love California strawberries.  There's nothing sweeter, and they just scream Summertime to me!

OLW89 Rules

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of card stock folded in half. NO other layers allowed.

2. Make a card with a "sweet" image. Embellishments should be kept to a minimum.

3. Upload your creation somewhere on the Internet, and then link to it using the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. Please make sure to link directly to the card and not just to your blog so people will be able to find it easily!

4. Have Fun...!

Supplies
Stamps:  Papertrey Ink & Memory Box (Background Stamp)
Paper: Stampin' Up
Ink: Memento Desert Sand, Cantaloupe & Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy, Spring Moss
Accessories: Ribbon, Bling, Post-It Notes

Have a sweet week! 

One-Layer Wednesday 88

This week Heather is hosting the OLW, and her challenge is to make a "mini masterpiece".  The rules; the stamped image can be no larger than 2" x 2".  A sentiment can be added to the outside of the image area, if desired. What a fun challenge!

I was so inspired by Heather's beautiful sponging, I wanted to give it a try for my OLW card.  I won't tell you how many tries it took me to mask off a straight 2 inch square on my card front or how many Post-It Notes I wasted in the making of this card!

 Supplies
Stamps: Memory Box (Image), A Muse (Sentiment)
Paper: Stampin' Up Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Summer Sky, and Danube Blue
Accessories: Stamp Positioner, Post-It-Notes, and Sponges

I hope you have a chance to play along!

Winter or Spring? ... and More Challenges

I know the calendar says it's February 23; It's Winter right?  But today in Atlanta, it was such a beautiful Spring like day (76 degrees and sunny)!  So, the inspiration for my card is the beautiful weather we're having.

I combined  two challenges over on SplitcoastStampers for this card.  First, Ways to Use It Challenge ~ Buttons (WT363) and second, the Clean and Simple Challenge ~ Stitching (CAS158).

Pin It

Supplies:

Stamps:  A Muse (Sentiment), Judi Kins (Image)

Paper: Bazzill (white), Papertrek Ink (Spring Moss), DoodleBug  

Ink: Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Accessories:  Memory Box (Cloud Die Cut), Cuttlebug, Ribbon, Sewing Machine, Buttons, Embroidery Floss, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Have a great week.

Halloween Week 1 ~ A Card

Hi!  Today I have a Halloween card for you.  I used this weeks Sketch Challenge at SplitcoastStampers. Don't you just love this adorable image from Penny Black?  This card is for a little person, so I didn't want it too scary.

Recently, I discovered Memory Box card stock at my local stamp store.  It comes in an assortment of amazing colors and the backside is white.  It's perfect for using as a card base.  Call me crazy, but I really prefer my cards to have a white inside (better for writing)!  Below is a look at the inside of the card.

I hope you'll stop by tomorrow with another Halloween project!

Supplies: Stamps:Penny Black (image) Michaels $ Bin (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Memory box
Accessories: Copics, Ribbon

Halloween Week 1 ~ Tags

Today I'm here with the second Halloween project for the week.  I've planned five projects a week for my  3 Weeks of Halloween.  Now, not  all of these project will be cards, but they will be items you can make with all of your cardmaking/scrapbooking supplies you already have.  My first project fell into the Anything But a Card category.  Some of the other categories will be, but not limited too, Cards, Wearable Art, Packaging and Gifts.    

For today's category, I have Tags!  These tags are all made with dies (QuicKutz & Spellbinders). The possibilities are endless when we use our die-cutting tools.  I love tags because they are quick and easy, and so versatile. It's nice to have a few extras on hand for those unexpected times.

Supplies:
 
Mr. Skeleton Tag:
Stamps: Inkadinkado (image) Stamps Happen (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Bazzill, Making Memories
Accessories: Twine, Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon, pom pom fringe, Spider Punch (Martha Stewart), Small Circle punch, Hole Punch, Sakura Gelly Roll Pen (to add shimmer to sentiment) and QuicKutz Die, Sewing Machine (I finally stitched on a card! Love it!)

Owl Tag:
Stamps: Rubbernecker Halloween Set 1
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, london Fog and Tangelo
Paper: Bazzill, Stampin' Up Whisper White
Accessories: Ribbon, Spellbinders Label Three

Pumpkin Tag:
Stamps: Memory Box (image), Hero Arts (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Kraft, Memory Makers, Karen Foster, The Paper Studio, Bazzill, Cryogen White (for coloring with Copics)
Accessories: Twine, Copics, Spellbinders, QuicKutz, Sewing Machine

I hope I've inspired you to make some Halloween tags.  Please stop by later in the week for another Halloween project.

Cheryl

Christmas in September...

I can't believe I just made a Christmas card and it's only September! I don't even let myself think about Christmas until after October, 1st. Maybe it's just my subconscious telling me I need to start planning earlier this year.

This card is for the One-Layer Challenge on Susan's Blog, Simplicity. The challenge was to COLOR IT. I'm also going to enter my card for the Less is More Anything Goes Challenge.

I was drawn to this Christmas image from Memory Box (I adore their products). Have you seen their new die cut collection? If not, you're in for a treat.

I was really out of my confort zone using Stickles on this project. Don't ask me why. I guess I'm just a "plain Jane" sort of girl. I hope you can see the pretty sparkle this card has. I really like the results, I'll have to use Stickles more often...

Supplies
Stamps: Impress & Memory Box
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Desert Sand
Paper: Gina K Designs Pure Luxry Ivory
Accessories: Stickles-Diamond & Gold Bling

Thanks for stopping by.