Cardstock Gift Box

I haven't made any of Ronda's cute gift enclosures lately - she is so creative and has shown me so so many different ways to make boxes, envelopes, pouches, etc. (so many I kind of forget about how many different ones I've learned!). I caught her doing a facebook live video the other day showing yet another gift box, this one looked so easy and quick to make that I immediately ran to the craft room to whip one out for a gift that I'm giving at a party tonight.  Turned out so cute, and came together so quickly, that I have to share with you. The only thing I changed is the little decorative thing on the front - I don't have the daisy punches that she used so I winged it with what I have on hand. How useful and cute is this box? I will not be forgetting about this one, I can imagine using it all the time. Ronda made a video and it was very easy to follow, I'll try to do the same with pictures. Check it out:

You need an 8.5 x 11" sheet of cardstock for the box itself, and a 6" square of decorative paper for the front and back panels of the box.

Score the cardstock at 2" on the 11" side, turn and score the other side at 2", 5 1/4", 7 1/4", 10 1/2"
Cut off 1/2 inch across the top but keep the strip for the end.
Cut the decorative paper in 2 pieces 3" x 5 3/4".

Fold all of the score lines a bit so the paper is flexible. Cut the score lines up 2" to meet the long score you made the length of the paper. Remove the little 1/2" strip along the side.

Run adhesive along the 1/2" side and across the flap below it. Before assembling the box, glue on the 3 x 5 3/4" decorative paper panels. Fold the box into shape, tuck in the 1/2" strip and glue to the other side. Fold in the short flaps, then the flap that has adhesive on it, then the other flap to create the bottom.

To finish - fold the strip that you cut off in the beginning along the score lines, put glue on both ends and wrap around the box. Add embellishment of your choice - Ronda made a cute sunflower out of 4 punched flower pieces and a brown circle for the center;  I layered 3 flower pieces (curl the edges a bit using a bone folder or wrap around a pencil and attached a gem for the center. Stuck on the front using dimensional foam squares so it stands out a bit from the box.

The top of this box is open so you'll see whatever you put inside it. Ronda's example had a gift wrapped with cellophane with the ends sticking up out of the top - so cute.

9.19.18: strawberry swirl cheesecake
9.19.17: paper mugs
9.19.16: Steve's mac and cheese
9.19.15: dog crate cover

Anniversary Card

I had a photo from my sister's wedding last year made into a 4x6 magnet that I sent them for their one-year anniversary - I didn't have a card though and really planned to go buy one until it dawned on me that I have a craft room full of paper and supplies to make one (not to mention that I help Ronda who has a CARD-MAKING business! Geesh you'd think my first thought would have been to make one and not buy it!). Anyway...I started to make a card with a little heart on the front (I'm turning that into a Valentines card and will show you later) but then had the idea to use the magnet as part of the card.

Their wedding colors were navy and blush so I thought it'd be a little nice touch making this card from those colors. Using an oval die cut and my Big Shot I cut out a hole in the center of the navy card (a piece of 9"x 6.25" cardstock folded in half), measuring first where it needed to be so you could see their faces - this took me a couple tries to get it centered correctly. Then punched out the word "happy" from blush cardstock using a set of word die-cuts I have from Stampin' Up - I love how pretty the font is - and layered it on top of a rectangle strip of glitter paper and a glitter paper heart using foam dimensionals. Inserted the magnet and held the card shut by wrapping it with a pretty piece of ribbon. Simple but I think it's cute - Happy Anniversary Sissy!

one year ago: Kyle's sausage stuffed acorn squash
two years ago: stamp a floor mat

Valentine Slider Box

I made a video to show you how to make this cute slider box filled with wrapped mini chocolate bars for Valentines day - I was having a hard time demonstrating in pictures so hopefully doing it on video makes sense to you and is easy to follow along this way! 

There is a base to hold the chocolates and a wrap sleeve that the base slides into, then you wrap the chocolates with strips of paper that have letters on them to spell out whatever word you want. I'm making these to put on everyone's place setting at our "Palentine" dinner party on Valentines day - a nice little gift for them to take home. This is definitely a craft kids can do, no hot glue and just a bit of cutting. It's mostly folding and sticking the pieces together once they are cut out.

  



Supplies for each slider box:

-3.5" x 10.5" cardstock for the base (I used white)
-4.5" x 9"      cardstock for the top (I used patterned)
-ruler
-tape or adhesive
-scorer (optional)
-pencil
-scissors
-9 1"x3" strips of paper with a letter printed on each one (computer or handwritten)
-9 Hershey's Nugget chocolate bars
-Optional: things to decorate the slider box after it's completed - scrap cardstock, ribbons, etc.

Watch the video for instructions on how to make this slider box - you could also customize it for any occasion - the one I made holds 9 mini chocolate bars, if you want this as a thank you or birthday gift I would either shorten the box a bit or wrap the extra chocolate in a label that is plain, or maybe put a picture/symbol/sticker on it. That'd be cute!

Note:  Oops, I mistakenly bought Hersheys miniatures instead of Nuggets at first...and they don't fit in this size slider box - use Nuggets for this project to work. If you want to make it using different sized candy you will need to adjust the dimensions of the slider box. Just a warning - I don't want you to be surprised if you get miniatures thinking they are the right size!


2026 UPDATE: I don't know what happened to the video but this post is pointless without instructions hahaha. Click here for the link to the video on youtube. I also did another post with some photos that you can see here. 

Paper Christmas Lights Garland

Shout out to my friend LeDonna for this cute idea - she saw it and sent a picture to me, and I agree with her that it's a fun easy Christmas craft for young and old alike :). Thanks L!

Because I'm a little bit of a perfectionist I didn't want to just wing it if there was someone who had actually figured out exactly how to make these somewhere online, so of course I googled and found a few different ones. I followed these directions and they worked perfectly.

Supplies are few:
- cardstock in a few different colors for the lights, and gray for the tops
- hole punch
-ruler and scorer (scoring isn't necessary but it did make the tops fold easily and look neat)
-glue stick or adhesive of your choice (I used my Stampin' Up rolling glue thingy)
- thick twine to string the lights on, I used about 48"

Directions:
Cut gray cardstock into 1 1/4"x  4" strips
Cut colored cardstock into 1" x 8 1/2" strips
(note I made 15 lights, so I cut 15 gray strips and 15 assorted colors strips).

Score the gray cardstock every 1/2". You could also just fold it neatly every 1/2" and run your fingernail along the edge to give it a sharp crease if you don't have a scorer. 

Make a dot at 1 1/4" and 2 3/4" in (that turns out to be in the middle of the 3rd space and the 6th space, see my picture - I stopped making a dot after the first couple and just eyeballed it). Hole punch on the marks. Fold the paper on the score lines, glue both ends 1/2" flap to each other making a circle.

To make the bulb: fold a colored strip in half. Pinch the two ends together and push on your palm or table to get a slight bend in the sides of the bulb. Holding the ends together hole punch thru both layers about 1/4" down in the center.

To string them into garland, put the top of a colored strip into a gray circle matching up the holes. Run twine thru all 4 holes. Then continuing adding the lights until you have it as long as you want, making sure to line up the bulbs with the glued gray part all facing the same way. Spread them evenly on the twine.

One thing I did I have a second of trouble with is the twine fraying and becoming hard to fit thru the holes - I wrapped a small piece of tape around the end and that solved the problem. 

Glitter Words

Glitter and glue. Glitter and glue. I do love those words :). I also love this very simple decorating idea of tracing on some letters and glittering them up! You can obviously use whatever word you want (as long as you can fit it on your paper), choose your color, font and frame - totally up to you.

I did "NOEL", mostly because it's short and less work haha. I guess JOY might have been even easier...I also played with "MERRY" but didn't like how I traced the letters on the paper so didn't finish that one. Am using it though to show you some of the process.

Supplies needed:
- frame
- 1 piece of letter size cardstock, cut to fit in the frame
- chunky glitter, craft paint, marker (I did the same color for all of those)
- foam or small paintbrush
- craft glue (I used white glue that dries clear)

Print out the word you want to display using a bold font, size them to fit on the paper (mine is 8x10). Cut out the letters, play with them on the cardstock to see how they look best then trace around the letters with a marker. Either lightly paint in the letters (don't make it too thick or the paper will buckle) or color in with a marker. Spread glue very thinly over all of the letters, all the way to the edge trying not to leave any gaps - then sprinkle on the coarse glitter. If you do have any gaps in the glitter just dab in more glue and sprinkle some more. I sprinkled it on very thickly then tapped it off into a pie pan to catch and reuse the glitter that didn't stick.

Let it dry and place carefully in your frame, try not to move it too much before getting the frame together because the glitter will spread around on the picture - I tried for no glitter anywhere except in the letters to give it a clean look.








For "MERRY" I traced the letters with a green marker and planned to fill in with green and green glitter but then decided I didn't love my placement....

"NOEL" turned out good all silver though!

Play around with this idea - I chose words to glitter and frame but you could do a symbol (star, candle, tree...), handprints for baby's first Christmas, paw print for puppy's first Christmas haha, use your imagination!

I am working on a little Christmas arrangement on a table
placed behind our couch. I like it so far...