DVD Gift Box Video Tutorial

I had so much fun making my video tutorial for Faux Wax Seals that I couldn't wait to do another one! I was inspired to create a tutorial for DVD sized gift boxes because members of my family usually have DVD's on their Christmas wish lists. I thought it would be nice to make my own boxes and then share the dimensions and steps with anyone else wanting to give it a try. You can watch the tutorial here, but before you do that here are the basic supplies you'll need:

• 2 pieces of cardstock cut to 7.5" x 9.75"
• Martha Stewart Scoring Board
• Adhesive

I also used my Tonic/Tim Holtz paper distresser and then of course whatever you want to use as your embellishments to make your box uniquely yours!

Here is a look at a couple of my finished boxes... I got to use my fabulous new La Blanche Santa stamps and some good ol' distress inks for these. I also added a dash of Glimmer Mists and Perfect Pearls Mists to finish them off.

I hope you enjoy the tutorial. Perhaps I should warn you- this tutorial runs close to 18 minutes long, but you can take what you want and leave the rest! Have a beautiful Christmas and a fantastic holiday!

As always

Angela

PS. As always, your comments and questions are always welcome here!

Faux Wax Seals (My First Video Tutorial)

Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping in... I am super excited about what I have to share today because it's my first video tutorial ever! I was messing around last night, just having fun creating with no purpose, and I thought I'd go ahead and share a tutorial for what I came up with. Here's a little peek at what I made... faux wax seals!



Aren't they just so lovely? Yup! Here's a list of supplies you'll need for this technique:

• Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel
• Embossing Ink (I used my VersaMark pad, but any will do I'm sure).
• Heat Tool
• Craft Tweezers
• Wax Seal or Rubber Stamp
• One Inch Circle Punch
• Scrap Paper
• Non Stick Craft Sheet (I suppose this is optional, but it really makes a great work surface for this technique).

So there you have it... gather up the goods and join in the fun! Just a fair warning- these are super easy and super fun to make (and yes, super addictive)!

Check the video out here and let me know what you think!

As always

Angela

Christmas Card and Gift Box Sets

I've noticed that I'm often so focused on creating items for my online store or completing special orders for people I know that I don't always make time to actually make and give out my own handmade items to the people I am closest to. Can anyone else relate? Long story short, my oldest daughter attends preschool so I wanted to create something special to go with the gifts they are given. Basically, all the parents put in a certain amount of money and gift cards are purchased for each of the two teachers. I volunteered to make cards, but then I also got the idea to make coordinating gift boxes for the cards to be nestled in. Here's what I came up with...

This is a full view of one of the cards (both cards are essentially the same) with a handmade envelope...

Here is the card with the gift box...

Here is a close up of the Santa. I created this part of the card by stamping the Santa from the Tim Holtz Letters To Santa stamp set onto a cream cardstock. I then colored him in using various Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen and Spun Sugar (for the rosy cheeks and nose). After die cutting with my Spellbinders oval Nestabilities die I used Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress Inks around the edges of the image. I used the next size up oval die for the deep red paper beneath, adhering the Santa image with dimensional adhesives.

I used the script stamp from the same Letters To Santa set to add a very subtle detail to the green paper. The rhinestones on the bottom were originally clear-- I used Cranberry alcohol ink (from Ranger, Inc) to coordinate them with the deep red paper. I also distressed the edges of the card base, the green paper and the red oval. For the red and green papers I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges.

Here are the two boxes I created to coordinate with the cards. I created these using my Martha Stewart Scoring Board and 4 sheets of 8x8 paper. I distressed the box edges using my Tim Holtz Paper Distresser (by Tonic) and added some more of that good ol' Vintage Photo Distress Ink. To the tops of the boxes I added some lurvely rosettes which I made using my brand new (to me, that is... just got it this past week!) Tim Holtz Paper Rosette die. (Can you tell yet that I LOVE me some Tim Holtz)? I cut the green circles with my 1 1/4" circle punch and then added more alcohol inked rhinestones to the top.

To add a little something extra special, I used real vintage book pages for the inside of these boxes. (I really hope I don't offend the recipients... they are teachers after all). After tearing my pages out I used my Paper Crimper to add some texture and then an office supply paper shredder (it was in the basement when we moved in-- woo hoo!) to cut the pages.

So there you have it... I finally made something for someone I know! But seriously, I hope you've enjoyed looking at these and I also hope I wasn't too long winded in my explanations. Would love to hear your feedback! Also, if you have any questions about anything I did or used to create these, please feel free to ask!

As always

Angela

PS. All paper used is from the Naughty or Nice stack by Recollections which is the Michael's brand (and I must say... it is GORGEOUS).

My First Haul Video!

Ok, I will admit I am a bit of an online craft supply shopping addict (or really, just a craft supply addict in general). One of my go-to sites for papercrafting supplies is EllenHutson. They are great for all the things I can't get at JoAnn's online store. I have bought all my Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz stamp sets from them and a lot of other TH goodies (like his stamp binder for all my SA sets). I also have gotten different 7 Gypsies and Graphic 45 items just to name a couple of brands. Anyway, I went a little hog wild with their recent Black Friday sale. I decided to try making my first haul video and since it didn't turn out too horrible, I'm going to go ahead and share it! If you are anything like me, you get a vicarious thrill out of seeing other people's craft supply scores. I know... it's a sickness.

So check it out here and let me know what you think!

As always
Angela