Lindt Balls Treat Box

Hello...today I'm here to share a story about how wonderful the crafting community is and how it's so easy to make lovely new friends from all corners of the globe :)

I have a KNK 15" Maxx electronic die cutting machine...LOVE him...affectionately known as Mr Maxxie. Last year I discovered a brilliant software program called Make-The-Cut. I promptly bought it...it's very reasonably priced and does amazing things!...and joined the forum to learn how to use it, as well as using the tutorials. Unfortunately I don't have the time to dedicate to learning it thoroughly, so I'm just bumbling along, learning bits and pieces as I go. Everyone on the forum is supportive & encouraging and always ready to lend a hand if you get stuck....well...

The lovely Lysa (aka Rorysnonna) posted a gorgeous little treat box file that suits Hershey Nuggets. I loved the box but we can't access those sweets easily in Australia and I was having a hard time finding something that would fit...so I had the bright idea of contacting Lysa and asking if she'd consider adjusting the size to fit Lindt or Rocher balls. I was over the moon when she said yes...and promptly provided the said file for me! I explained I wanted to make these for the residents of the retirement village where I am manager. Each year we put on an afternoon tea or lunch before Christmas for them and since I've been there, I like to make a little treat box for each person as a Christmas gift. These are soooo perfect!

Me being me, I'm not very patient and as I didn't have any Rocher on hand I decided to see if I coud reduce the file to fit Lindt balls. That worked really well, so then I thought I'd have a go at reducing the width only, to fit 2 balls instead of 3...not as easy to achieve but I got there in the end. I asked Lysa's permission to post this...all the credit goes to her for the file. Her files are amazing, cut beautifully and are all FREE!!  Please go and visit her wonderful blog HERE and leave her some love...her work is gorgeous :)    (If you'd like the file for this box Lysa has it for free on her blog)

As Lysa pointed out in her blog post..."I am here in the States in Jersey and Lynne is over in Australia. WOW! We are oceans apart. But no way, no how, is a bit of water and geography going to stand between two crafty girls like us!"

Here's the gorgeous little box that Lysa created and I adjusted :)

And with the tag out:

And a few more I cut from papers in my stash:

These are SO quick & easy to assemble...3 little pieces of DS tape and away you go. Each end has a flap closure so the box can be opened without damaging it, to be reused if required.

I've been shopping today to buy a selection of Christmas papers so I can cut a stack of these. They would be brilliant for all sorts of occasions...Mother's Day, birthdays, thank you gifts, Easter (filled with little eggs), etc And they'd make fabulous teacher or work colleague gifts too.  I love the little hidden tag....lovely for a personal message :)  I'm also going to make some of these in plain CS, decorate with DP and add a coloured image. The possibilities are endless!! Lysa also has a version without the tag pocket...a plain top that can be decorated anyway you please...you can see a sample she made on her blog.

So, not only have I gained a fabulous, versatile cutting file...for FREE!!...I've found a lovely new friend...albeit on the other side of the world lol  We may never meet in person but that won't stop us sharing our crafty endeavours :) YAY for the wonders of technology! I just hope I can make files as well as Lysa some day!

Okay, I'm off to cut some of that delicious Christmas paper I bought today into treat boxes...and fill with yummy chocolates. Let's hope I don't indulge in too many while I'm packing them lol

Thanks for looking........have a wonderful day :)

Bugaboo Santa

Hello, hello...today is the start of a new challenge at The Squirrel & The Fox. This fortnight our challenge is a really easy one....ANYTHING GOES...always a favourite :) Our fabulous sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo. I love these digis and have a little collection. Stella is one of my all time favourites, she's soooo funny! For this project I broke out a Santa from a set I bought last year and haven't used. Don't know why I haven't used them before now...they are very cute.

I've made a little cupcake box:

The little cupcake is marshmallow! I saw them at Woollies (supermarket) while shopping and thought I'd use them on our Christmas table. Each year they seem to have something different in the marshmallow...last year it was Santas, snowmen, etc. I'm going to use these as place "cards" and put our names on them somewhere.

I made the file for the box in Make-the-Cut and cut it with my trusty Maxx. The base measures about 2.5" square and the back panel is 3.25" x 2.5"  The little cupcake is approx 1.5" across the bottom.

The Bugaboo Santa is very cute. He was printed onto X-Press It blending card and was quick & easy to colour...with my Copics, of course :)  His fur trim and beard have been done with puff paint to give texture. The trims have a little glitter added. The ornament is coloured with Aqua Kindy Glitz, the cap with silver glitter pen and the star on his hat with gold glitter pen. He looks like he's sitting on the cupcake in the above photo lol

The DP is Echo Park and the red mat is SU Cherry Cobbler. The panel border has been pierced using the SU piercing template.

Please go and check out my awesome teamies gorgeous projects....links are in my sidebar :)

Thanks for looking.......have a wonderful day :)

Pollycraft Pirate

Hello...just sneaking in a post between my DT projects :)  This is the birthday card I made for my 8 year old grandson in September! I've finally made some time to post it....

Isn't this little pirate the cutest :)  I love Paula's images and miss the Pollycraft shop & challenges so much. Having said that, I'm soooo happy she's enjoying motherhood with a new baby to snuggle...Dylan is gorgeous.

Anyhow, onto the card!!  I made a side step card and used Swings & Slides Pirate Boy, along with pirate images from Dustin Pike...Treasure map, island & treasure chest. The base card is SU Real Red. The pirate background DP is digital (sorry can't remember where from!) and the 'sand' paper is veeeery old, from my stash of scrapbooking supplies.

Colouring is done with Copics and highlighted with glitter pens. The pirate is fussy cut and popped up on foam dots.

Be back Sunday with our new challenge at The Squirrel & The Fox :)

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Divas By Design - Anything Goes

Milk Coffee - More Than 1 Fold

TTCRD - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking.........have a wonderful day :)

Prisma Unicorn

Hello...I'm back with my DT project for our new challenge at The Squirrel & The Fox.  Our theme this fortnight is in honour of the biggest horse race in Australia...The Melbourne Cup. This race stops a nation!! (I've never quite understood that myself lol but then I'm not into horse racing to start with)

Anyhoo...our challenge theme is Horses, Hats or Flowers. So even if you're not into horse racing, like me, you will still be able to play along :)  Our fabulous sponsor for this challenge is Make it Crafty. If you haven't visited Zoe's store yet, you don't know what you're missing!

I was a bit stumped to begin with and was going to take the easy way out (for me!) and colour something with a hat or flowers....so much for that thought! I was browsing the Make it Crafty store, looking for inspiration when I came across the Enchanted Unicorn...oh my...love at first sight! Then I went looking for something to sit on his (or her) back and found this cute little elven fairy. Perfect :) I decided I was MAD taking on colouring a horse, let alone a WHITE unicorn, but then, to top that off, I decided I'd colour them with my Prismas.....EEEEEEEEK!!  I've only used them a couple of times...what was I thinking??!!!!!! This turned out to be WAY out of my comfort zone! Definitely a challenge. And to give you all a good chuckle....I kept trying to cap my pencils after using them! Habit, I guess :)

I love the rainbow tail on the sample in the store but didn't want to try and copy it exactly. This card is going to my eldest granddaughter, who is turning 11 this month, and she has purple decor in her bedroom, so I've gone with purple tones.  I hope she likes this and doesn't think it's too babyish for her :)

Here's a close-up:

The card base is SU Whisper White and the mats are SU Perfect Plum. The image is printed onto some CS that the lovely Christine Blain gave me earlier in the year (don't remember the name of it) to try with my Prismas...thanks Christine, it's great. I used Prismas and a Prismacolor blending pen for the colouring, then highlighted with lots of glitter pens, a little glaze pen and tiny bit of Lime Stickles. Kaiser rhinestones have been added as a finishing touch. The DP is from the Adorn It Princess Collection 12" range. I've used the same paper as a backdrop for my card photo.  The sentiment is computer generated. If you click on the photo below to enlarge, hopefully some of the sparkle will show...it's so hard to photo :(

Hope to see you at our challenge this fortnight. Please visit my brilliant teamies to see their gorgeous creations...links are in my side-bar.

Thanks for looking.......have a wonderful day :)