Shadow Jingle Boxes

I found the post for these Jingle boxes on Pinterest and when I clicked through it came from here.  I wanted to replicate the idea for Christmas gifts for family and friends.  I pretty much followed the picture as it appeared in the original post.  I made almost a dozen for various friends and family members.  They are a cute addition to Christmas decorations and can be specialized in color, background and the colors of the bells to coordinate with any decor.  When the original one was done the crafter utilized a smaller frame from IKEA.  Truth be told, I didn't really look at her directions until I started writing this.  I just took the picture and ran with it but on a larger scale. My frames were the 8x8 frames you can pick up at craft stores.  I picked these up at Joann's with a 70% off sale.  Around $4 to $5 I believe.  The original design just used a patterned piece of scrapbook paper and a pre-cut sentiment from Stampin Up!  I utilized my Cricut and ran the letters through my mini Xyron to apply adhesive to the back. I started with the same sentiment but after a couple decided I needed to change things up.  I used patterned paper with Christmas trees in the background and added snowflakes next to the words on this first one.  I also wanted to utilize the various colors of jingle bells available during the holidays, so opted for red and silver in the first box and some green gold and red in the second box.

Because the frames came in white, I left them that color.  My biggest challenge was finding ribbon the right width to go around the frame.  Well, there wasn't any.  I believe the frame is 1 1/4 inch wide, all of the ribbon I could find during the holidays was 1 1/2 inch wide, so I went with it.  It means there is a little bit of over hang around the edges but it looks good.  I also chose wire-edged ribbon as I wanted the bows to stand up and be able to be shaped and formed.

Once I got the first couple of boxes done I decided to go with some different sentiments, thus the boxes that follow.  I had some paper with sleighs on it so highlighted that image in the lower corner and tucked in some red, white and silver bells along with glittery red letters.

For this one the background paper is of candy canes and gingerbread men, sugarplums and all the associated words and images that go with that thought...thus the Visions of Sugarplums title for this box.  Once they were completed, I added a light spray of glitter to them to punch them up just a bit.  These pictures don't do them justice and it is difficult to see the bling...but it is there.

There are still a couple sitting in my closet to be delivered to some friends.  I hope they like them.

Until the next time, Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

Luggage Tags

Recently while in JC Penny’s with a girlfriend I spotted these really great luggage tags and thought I could scrap lift the idea for making my own version.  Unless you have some really unusual luggage most pieces come in pretty standard colors, black and maybe dark blue or green.  When there are 100 plus pieces of luggage coming around the luggage carousel at the airport it is sometimes problematic to immediately identify your bag.  I usually try to put some colored ribbon or yarn around the handle to easily identify my bags.  When I saw this idea I decided to make some new ones.  I used my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More Cricut cartridge and chose a tag style and then used my Cricut Design Studio to arrange four tags within a  8 ½ by 11 page size.  In a Word document I typed the sentiments from the tags I had seen using different font styles and sizes.  When I typed them up I utilized the same orientation on the tags text as was on the original tags I saw in the store. 

Since I wanted the tags to be easily spotted, I chose bright orange for the text side and a pretty floral pattern from a Susan Winget pad of papers.  Once I determined the correct layout of the sentiments in a Word document I printed it on an 8 ½ by 11 inch piece of paper and then cut it with the Cricut.  This helped me fine tune adjustments to the location of the tags on the page with the location of the words on the page.  Once I had that done I printed the words on orange card stock and cut a matching set of tags on the floral paper.  On the back of the floral tag I added some labels with our names and city we live in and our cell phone numbers in case they got lost.  I ran the tags through my Xyron machine with adhesive on one side and laminate on the other and then backed the printed orange tag and the floral tag together.  I then had some orange and yellow ribbon with butterflies on it which I ran through the tag opening.  I think they turned out pretty darn cute and they were easy to spot when they came around the luggage carousel.

Until next time, Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

New Baby Card

I recently attended a baby shower for a friend and former co-worker.  She is expecting her first child, and she knows it is going to be a boy.  I wanted to make the card for the gift but struggled with what/how to make it.  I was flipping through my Cricut books looking for an idea and came across this idea.  It uses the Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge and actually turned out quite nicely.  Sometimes it's hard to know how to pull some of the different elements together into a nice card, at least I struggle with this.  The idea was in the front of the book, the sample they give in every book and I just went with it.  I had recently purchased some "boy" papers for a project, K&Company's Hopscotch Boy 12 x 12 pad, and pulled one of them for the background paper, a mixture of blues, ivory, and greens. The plain card stock I pulled from my stash, a pretty sky blue, a light olive green and an ivory color. I used an olive ribbon I had on hand as well.  I then followed the directions from the cartridge booklet almost to the letter.  I used my Xyron to add adhesive to the frame and to the baby stroller and the word precious.  Love that Xyron!

The only difference in my design was my selection of the word for the front of the card.  The example showed the jumbled word innocent and I chose the word precious.  It turned out really precious!  I then added an appropriate stamped sentiment inside.  Since it was for a boy, I resisted the urge to add some bling.  Here it is.  It is definitely a card design I would repeat.  In fact I can see some very dainty girl cards in pinks, purples, maybe some yellows!  Until next time!

Imagine, Create, Enjoy.