Who doesn't love Target?

I think Target is one of the best stores out there. I love that they have so many unique items and at reasonable prices. Right at the front of the store is the dollar items, now that's what I'm talking about!! I found these Mrs. Field's chocolates there for one buck and knew that I could alter the box to make them look extra special. This is the first that all my children have stopped believing so it's difficult for me to keep the magic going. Instead I decided that I will really work on the quality and not necessarily the quantity of what appears in their stockings. Altered items can really help. Covering this box with pretty paper and decorations is a cinch!

This box measures 4 by 1 3/4 by 1 inch in height. Whatever box you choose to alter, it's just a matter of adjusting the measurements that I have below to make it fit. Make sure to distress all papers in ponderosa pine ink if you like.

For this box I cut a piece 3 3/4 by 7 inches so it would wrap around the whole thing. I used Evensong paper, not your traditional holiday designs but certainly the traditional colors. I used a good coating of Tombow adhesive to the paper to make it stick to the shiny sides of the candy box.

Make sure you end the seam on the bottom of the box as to hide it. Once I'd finished this part I was disappointed at how much of the box's design still showed so I decided to wrap it the other way. Every one of my altered items, cards and scrapbooks are works in progress as I'm taking pictures and most of the time I don't know how'll they turn out so please don't think that I have all the answers. I'm a learner and experimenter just like you.

I matted the pretty flowered paper with some ponderosa pine cardstock. The box was long enough that I needed to cut a whole 12 inch strip of each, the floral is 1 1/2 inches wide with the ponderosa pine piece cut 1 3/4 inches wide. With lots of Tombows, attach them to each other then wrap them securely around the box as shown.

Now take a great stamp set like Christmas Melodies and cut out a 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch white square and a 1 3/4 by 1 3/4 cranberry cardstock square. Attach them together and stamp in ponderosa pine ink. Use an 1/8 inch hole punch and punch out three little holly berries and glue them onto the stamped image.

Attach that piece with lots of adhesive to the center of the top of the candy box.

Now pick a pretty cranberry colored ribbon and tie it to the side of your stamped piece to really complete the look! I know my kids will love to receive this special "wrapped" box of candy, sure they'll rip it off and ruin all my nice work but perhaps at some point they'll realize how much their mom loves them to make a $1.00 box of candy look pretty!!

March Word Puzzle

I have a big weekend ahead of me! Tomorrow I'll be at the Ladies Night Out in Buchanan, Michigan showing off my products and job opportunity, and Saturday and Sunday I'll be at the Close to my Heart booth at Deer Widows Weekend '09 in Birch Run. It will be very exciting to meet so many scrapbookers and stampers and to share all the incredible stamp sets, papers and accessories that Close to my Heart makes. I hope, if you are attending either of these events, that you will stop by and say hello. In the meantime, here's another look for the Everlasting paper using the March Word Puzzle set. Remember that both this paper and the stamp set will be retiring at the end of 2009 so get them now! Click on the "Start Shopping right here" link to the right of this post and take a look at all of our great products. So many stamp sets, so little time.....

Cut your papers and distress with desert sand ink.

8 1/2 by 5 1/2 colonial white cardstock, fold in half
5 1/2 by 4 1/4 cranberry cardstock for card front
2 by 3 1/2 ponderosa pine striped pattern paper
2 1/2 by 4 1/4 floral pattern paper
1/4 by 4 1/4 ponderosa pine striped pattern paper
1 3/4 by 2 3/4 colonial white cardstock
Scrap piece of colonial white cardstock

Use the groove on your trimmer and your dry embossing tool, indent lines on your card front about one inch apart. Don't try and be perfect, you can see here that I added a second line in the center when I measured wrong. Sand to show off the white core cardstock and give you a different look.

This card will stand vertically so attach the floral paper at the bottom, flush with the edge with the opening of the card to the right.

Add striped rectangle flush with the upper left side of the card.

Glue the skinny striped strip of paper one quarter inch up from bottom of card.
Do the embellishment in two parts, first stamp the tulips in ponderosa pine on the 2 3/4 by 1 3/4 colonial white rectangle.

Next stamp the flower part of the tulips on your scrap paper in cranberry ink.

Cut out the tulip flowers and glue them over the stamped ponderosa pine image.

Glue that to the left hand side of your card, about 1/4 inch from the left, and top of card. Add four brads on the upper right hand side.

Using matching red ribbon, glue or use Tombow to attach to the middle of the floral piece, glue edges around back of card.

In another piece of ribbon, tie a knot, trim and glue to side of attached ribbon.

Use liquid glass on the tulip image, drawing the liquid glass on like you were using a pen.

Stamp "happy spring" in a couple of the dry embossed "blocks" you made. Let the liquid glass dry. It will make your tulips and your card shine!

All My Heart

All My Heart is a great name for a stamp set, isn't it? This particular set is full of hearts too. Please click on the link to see how many for yourself, I didn't get a photo of my own set this time. The same paper I've been using all week for Christmas cards works beautifully for Valentine's cards too. Everlasting paper is going to be missed when it retires at the end of December, you might want to try and stock up before that happens.

Cut it as follows:

8 1/2 by 5 1/2 colonial white cardstock, folded in half
5 1/2 by 4 1/4 cranberry cardstock for card front
1/2 by 5 1/2 ponderosa pine striped pattern paper
1 by 5 1/2 floral pattern paper
1 1/2 by 1 1/2 colonial white cardstock
1 3/4 by 1 3/4 ponderosa pine striped pattern paper

Distress if you like.

My photo for this part didn't turn out well, sorry. Using your paper trimmer's groove and a dry embossing tool to make indented lines in your card. I went in a 1/4 inch on each side then made four lines one quarter inch apart.

Attach the skinny striped paper under the second embossed line, about 1/2 inch down from top fold of the card. Add floral strip 1 inch from the bottom of card and the striped square one half inch from left and bottom, overlapping the floral paper.

Stamp one of the hearts on the colonial white square, use cranberry ink. Glue that heart to the striped square.

Stamp "Be Mine" directly onto the card front, avoiding the embossed lines (so your stamped image is nice and clear and not "bumpy). Use ponderosa pine ink.

One of the benefits of those embossed lines is that they are great guides to keep everything straight. Add 8 green brads to the four corners of your card sticking them right in the little mini-squares the dry embossed lines made. Now, that card only took you about 15 minutes at the most, right? Very little time but the receiver will be overjoyed!

December Word Puzzle - Part Deux

I was going to save this tutorial for next month since I've already shown off this stamp set. However, since I'm sick with the H1N1 flu I can only sit upright for a short time and this is the tutorial I have ready so I hope you'll take a second look at the cool December Word Puzzle stamp set which you can see by clicking on the link. You need Everlasting paper and cut it in these measurements:

8 1/2 by 5 1/2 card base in colonial white cardstock, scored and folded in half
5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card front of cranberry cardstock
2 1/2 by 5 1/2 floral pattern paper
2 1/2 by 5 1/2 striped pattern paper
1/4 by 5 1/2 floral pattern paper
2 by 1 1/4 colonial white cardstock
1/2 by 1 1/2 colonial white cardstock
3/4 by 1 3/4 striped pattern paper

Distress everything with Desert Sand ink. (not all papers shown in this first picture)

Using a dry embossing tool and your trimmer groove, make lines a quarter inch apart horizontally and a line one inch in from each side vertically. Do not sand.

Attach large striped piece just a touch down from top of card as shown.

Tear floral large piece as shown below.

Glue down flush with top of the striped piece.

Add super skinny floral strip one quarter inch up from the bottom of the striped piece.

Stamp the long narrow ornament on the colonial white cardstock.

Stamp "all is bright" on the smaller piece of colonial white cardstock.

Attach ornament embellishment 1/2 half inch from the left hand side, centered in between top and bottom of card. Glue sentiment to small striped piece and add as shown, overlapping the ornament embellishment.

Attach three brads to the lower right hand side inside the stripes you made with your dry embossing. That's it, you're done with another Christmas card!

Thoughts of You

Since we're having that fabulous "buy two, get one free" stamp set sale this month, I'm going to be featuring many of my favorite stamp sets to help you decide which ones you are going to order! Yesterday you saw our stamp of the month (which is free with a $100 order) and today I'm going to feature a stamp set called "Thoughts of You." This is a set I just recently acquired and I'm just so thrilled about how beautiful it looks with this Everlasting paper set. This paper set is available only until the end of 2009 so get it now if you've fallen in love with it like I have.

To start you will need to cut papers as follows:

5 1/2 by 8 1/2 colonial white cardstock, fold in half

5 1/2 by 4 1/4 cranberry patterned paper

5 1/4 by 1 7/8 ponderosa pine patterned paper (you can cut this 5 1/4 by 2 and just overlap if you like)

5 1/4 by 2 floral patterned paper

4 by 1 floral

4 by 1 poderosa pine patterned paper

3 1/2 by 2 colonial white

1 3/4 by 1 1/2 colonial white (not all papers shown in first picture)

Distress all if you wish with desert sand.

Take larger ponderosa pine striped piece and glue down 1/4 inch from left edge, top and bottom.

Glue floral piece on other side leaving a 1/4 inch from bottom, top and right side of card even if you have to overlap slightly onto the striped piece.

Take the smaller floral piece and center it flush with larger floral piece as shown.

Now do the same thing with the striped piece, flush up against the smaller floral piece.

Stamp the oh so pretty petals of just one of the flowers on this stamp set in cranberry. Take the stem stamp that corresponds with it and stamp it over the cranberry in ponderosa pine.

Attach that piece to center of card.

Now stamp the sentiment, "If I had a flower..." on the small colonial white piece in ponderosa pine. Attach that to bottom left of the flower. Inside (not shown) stamp the rest of the sentiment.

Now add three cranberry brads on the right lower side of the card and use your Tombow to glue across the top of the card for the ribbon (about 1/4 inch down). Glue your ribbon down and then cut a separate piece, tie it in a bow and glue that on the flat ribbon (so much easier this way). Glue the whole card front to your card base. Thoughts of You has 14 stamps on the carrier sheet including 4 different flowers. You will love this set!