Wednesday! We're half way there!

Good morning !
     I hope everyone is ready for a beautiful day!  Last time I checked the forecast that is what was predicted, so I didn't look again.  I was afraid they would change it!  So now, I am expecting a bright, sunny, warm (for February) day and I have brightened my attitude accordingly.  (Insert big smile here.)

     Before I head out to enjoy the weather, I want to share a quick little project with you.  These simple little party favors are just York Peppermint Patties that I have dressed up a bit.  I gave them out at the Cricut Class on Saturday, but they can really be used for almost any occasion.  Because our class was right between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, I used a heart on one side and a shamrock on the other.  You could change the shapes to anything you wish, to fit any party or get together.

     I used my Gypsy for these, but you wouldn't need to.  With real dial size on, I cut out a sheet of black scalloped circles at 2.25", and a sheet of white scalloped circles at 2".  The hearts and shamrocks were also cut at 2", real dial size on.  The scalloped circles are from Sentimentals, the heart is from Doodlecharms, and the shamrock is from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I also added a little doodling with my black and white Gelly Roll pens, of course.  Can't skip the doodling!

     Well, I'm off to enjoy the great outdoors.  I hope that you get the chance to do the same while the sun is out.  Don't forget to come back tomorrow!

Bye for now,
Anne

Just a little favor

     Hi again! 

     Did you get a chance to visit some of the other blogs I suggested?  Aren't they great?!  There are so many talented people sharing their work on blogs now.  It is exciting just to join in and learn from some of them.  But right now, I'm here, and you're here, so let's get going on a new project!

     Today I have a pillow box to show you.  I like pillow boxes because they can be used as a favor box, or as a cute way to present a gift card or small gift item like jewelry.  This pillow box is from the Cricut Solutions Wedding Cartridge.

     I wanted a more formal look, so I cut the pillow box out of black paper.  With my Gypsy, I used the hide contour button to remove the window decoration from the design, and set the height at 5.75".   That way you can cut 2 of them out of one 12x12 sheet of cardstock.  The black outline of the heart can be cut out of the strip of paper  to the side of the pillow boxes.

     The hearts are cut from the same cartridge, at 2".  To get the 3 color effect, I had to cut the base of the two hearts out of both black and white, and then use my scissors to snip the front heart off the black shape.  Then I glued the black outline of the back heart onto the white piece.   The decorative part of the front heart was cut from a champagne colored cardstock at 2" also.  Make sure you have the Real Dial Size button off when you cut, or this heart will not fit together at all!  Now glue that last piece on the front of the heart.

     Once all the pieces are cut, and your heart pieces are assembled, it is time to put the box together.  I like to use a score board, either my Score Pal or Martha Stewart scoreboard, to score the lines before I fold the box up.  That way I get nice, sharp fold lines.  After everything is neatly creased, I run a line of adhesive down the side tab with my Scotch ATG 714 (tape gun) and then fold the box into shape.  The Scotch ATG tape really holds well.

     Finally I decorated the pillow box with a strip of patterned paper, and a length or cream colored ribbon.  I secured the heart decoration to the front with a  single Glue Dot so that the edges could lift and move without the entire piece coming off.  Do not glue the hearts to the ribbon or the box cannot be opened without tearing it all apart.  This way they can just untie the ribbon to open it.  You can glue the ribbon to the back of the box so that it doesn't fall off when the box is untied, if you like.

     Well, I hope you like this little favor box.  It can be used for all kinds of occasions just by changing the paper and cardstock colors.  Why don't you try one yourself!  I would love to see what you come up with, so be sure and post a picture.

Bye for now,
Anne