Tags in a Box

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  

I would especially like to welcome my new followers.  Thank you ladies.  Totally stoked to have you join me.

I would like to share a little tutorial with you.  Actually it won't be all that little, there are a lot of photos.  LOL

A little while ago I posted about a box I had made to hold a mini album and smash book on our New Zealand Cruise and I said I would show you how it was put together.  I needed another box to hold the tags I have been making and I took photos along the way so I could show the process.   You're probably thinking  'Well, that's  bit silly, we all know how to make a box".   I just hope I'm not wasting your time, but I was amazed at how simple it was to put together and you can use this process to make any  size and type of box you need.  So I hope you will stick with me to see the finished product at the end. 

To make this box I used 2ml paperboard which I purchased from my Newsagent.  You can get a huge sheet of it for only a couple of dollars.  Then you need to decide on the measurements.  My box had to be 3.5"  x  4.5" on the base so that my tags would fit inside and I decided to make it 4" deep with a 6" back.  

 Here are the pieces already cut out and showing the measurements. 

The base and the front ...

 ... the two sides ...

... and the back.

Next come the joiners.  I need to tell you that these are not my own idea.  I actually saw this on The Gentleman Crafter and they are brilliant and so easy to make.  HERE is a link to Jim's blog.

You can use any cardstock you want.  Colour doesn't matter because they get covered with paper.  You simply cut as many 1" strips as you want ...

 ... score them down the middle ...

 ... and attach double sided tape on both sides of the score line.

Cut them to length and attach to all four sides of your base piece.

 Then attach the front, sides and back leaving a small gap so that there is room to fold each piece up.

 You then need to  attach a joiner to one side of each piece as shown ...

 ... adhere the sides together ...

... and then the back.

There you have it.  Now all you need to do is cover with paper and decorate any way you like.  If you want a box with a lid you just need to make all sides the same height and then make a lid exactly the same way but make the base or top piece just a bit bigger so it will fit over your box.

How easy is that?  I actually found this a lot of fun and have thought of a lot of different boxes I wish to make.  I've also made heaps of the joiners so I've got some handy whenever I need them.

Here is the finished product.

I rounded the corners on the back and covered the box with Prima's Nature Garden papers.  I've inked all the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

 Used one of the Nature Garden Tags on the front along with a Prima flower.   The title was cut using my Silhouette Portrait.

 I decorated the back with a chipboard button on which was mounted a metal butterfly.

 The box with the tags inside ...

... and with a tag pinned to the front.   I can easily attach whichever tag I'm in the mood for.

I hope you've enjoyed this post and I haven't confused anyone too much.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you take the time to leave a comment.  I'd love to know what you think.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

You Show Me Yours Challenge

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

There is a new fun challenge that has just recently started up.  It's run by Lucy Muraca from RedChiChi and it's called 'You Show Me Yours'.  Lucy sends out an image to each participant and they use it to create whatever they wish.  It sounded like a bit of fun so I thought I would join in.  Here is the image.

A beautiful photo isn't it?  Here is the card I created with it.

I wanted something a bit dramatic so I chose Black and Gold as my colours, and I flipped the photo because it just didn't look right facing the other way.  The papers are from Kaisercraft's Timeless Classics and from G45's Communique.  All the papers were distressed with a Prima Distress Tool and edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The chippie is from Imaginarium, I coloured it with Midnight Black Versa Magic Chalk Ink and then edged it lightly in Gold Versa Color.

The doily and the gauze piece were both white so I coloured the doily with the Midnight Black Versa Magic and the gauze was coloured with Tea Dye Distress Ink.   The doily was cut in half and I used one piece here ...

 ... and the other piece was pleated and used under the flower cluster.  The large flowers are from Prima, the small roses are Kaisercraft and the other two are from Magnolia Ink.

 The small metal clock is from my stash and the label underneath the photo was fussy cut from Kaisercraft's  Timeless Classics Collection.

I was actually persuaded by Heather Jacob to enter into this 'Challenge' and I felt a little intimidated with the wonderful creations she and the other participants submitted but, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself with it.  I've never taken part in a Challenge before, but I don't think this will be my last.  I loved it.

For further details of this Challenge  go to Lucy's Blog HERE.


Heather  - Art and life
Emma -   Just a Girl with Ideas
Jennifer  -  My Creative Journey
Patricia  -  Between the Sheet
Kerry-Jean - kjwstudio
Christina - myembellisheddaydream
Helen - texturesandtales
Annette - annette-momentintime
Lindy - justanotherday

Hope you've been inspired to join in.  Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Box to Hold a Mini Album and Smash Book

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I'd like to show you the box I constructed to hold a travel mini and a smash book I'm putting together to hold photos and mementos from our New Zealand Cruise.

I got the idea for the box from Astrid MacLean at Astrid's Artistic Efforts.   You can find her blog HERE.  She has lots of wonderful creations to inspire you.

 

I constructed the box from 2ml thick card which I purchased from my Newsagent.  It's much like chipboard but it's covered with white paper and it's quite cheap.  You can get a huge sheet of it for just a couple of dollars.  After putting the box together I covered it with G45 paper from their Communique collection and edged it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I love this paper, the colours are so gorgeous and it has so much detail on it that I didn't have to do any stamping.

The vintage map and the Tikis are free images from the net.  The Tikis I printed to the size I needed, fussy cut them and mounted them on the same card that the box is made of to give them extra dimension.  The map is just mounted on a tag tied with a piece of the gorgeous ribbon I received from Sandie Edwards.  You can find her blog and more wonderful inspiration  HERE.  The  Title was cut from black cardstock using my Silhouette Portrait.

The larger flowers I used are from Kaisercraft, which were lightly edged with gesso, and the smaller roses are from Prima.  I placed them on a piece of gauze which was randomly coloured with Vintage Paper Distress Ink.  The leaves I've had in my stash for some time and the small gold spirals were made from some long stamen pieces that I found at one of our cheap outlets.

The 'Tattoo' was another free image from the net.  With the image I was able to make a cutting file for my Silhouette Portrait so it was really easy to cut out the shapes.  (I love this machine, it is so versatile.)  Once the Tattoo was glued to the box I went around it with a soft black pen to blur the edges a little.

More images from the net.  Printed to size, fussy cut, mounted on some card and edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I really enjoyed putting this box together and it was so simple.  I've also made another smaller one to hold some tags and I've taken photos along the way so I'll do a post on that shortly.

Here is the box with the Mini Album and the Smash Book inside it.
Now I really need to get serious about sorting out the photos and mementos to finish off these books.   I have started, but it's a slooow process. 

Thank you so much for visiting and have a great day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Tag No. 6

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

Well, I know I had some cards to make but I enjoyed these tags so much I just couldn't leave them alone so here is No. 6 and probably the last one for now.

I went very green for this one but I do think this is my favourite.

Cut the tag shape from white cardstock and coloured it with Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed and Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  Cut the doily with my Silhouette Portrait, trimmed off a piece and coloured it the same as the tag and then glued it to the back.  I then stamped the piece with some different Kaisercraft background stamps using Memento Tuxedo Black.  

The lovely quote is from the net but I don't know who actually said it.  I printed it onto some cream cardstock and cut the shape using Couture Creations Nesting Ovals.

Here is a close-up of the flower cluster.  The large green one is a Kaisercraft which I recoloured with some watercolour paint and then edged with gold Versa Color.   The other flowers I've had in my stash for ages and have no idea where I got them from.  The metal butterfly and leaves I found at Spotlight in their craft section.  Most of the elements were glued down with Helmar 450 and, after sticking the butterflies down I placed a small drop of glue in the centre and then dropped in the beads.  I like how that looks but perhaps I should have made some antennas for them too.  Have to remember that for next time.

The little twiggy pieces on the side are actually from my garden.  I was trimming some dead bits off one of my plants and decided to keep them and use them in my clusters.  Luckily they are totally dried out so there shouldn't be any problems with it.  (I hope)

  The chipboard button is from my stash and was actually a last minute addition.  The top of the tag seemed a bit bare so I added the button to fill the space. 

So, now I have finished my tags.  I was going to make a cover and turn them into a small album but I've decided to put them in a box instead.  I will keep the box on a shelf in my craft space and then pin whichever tag I'm in the mood for to the front of it.  I've actually made the box but I haven't decorated it yet.  I may do a little tutorial on how I put it together.  See how I go.

 Thank you so much for stopping by and do enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Just a Card

Hello everyone and a warm welcome to my little blog.

I have a card I'd like to show you.

It's fairly plain and simple with not a huge amount of work done.  I took some plain pale grey cardstock, used a border punch on one edge and then a template and a Versa Color Stamp pad in Cinnamon to add a tiny bit of colour in the middle.  Then did a little doodling around the edge with a felt pen.

 Made a slit close to the top right corner, curled  the edges, added a small piece of dp and curled that as well.  Tucked in some leaves, a couple of Kaisercraft flowers and some tiny pearl beads  and attached a small key underneath.

 Created this flower cluster with Prima and Kaisercraft flowers and then attached a few pearls around it for a bit of bling.  I did a bit of doodling on the leaves and gessoed the edges of the flowers as well.

 I stamped the sentiment on a piece of  cardstock and attached it to the back of a small Imaginarium frame.  The frame was lightly coloured with Versa Color Cinnamon.

 This card is going to a friend of mine who sort of likes girly things but doesn't really like them to be too fussy so I hope she likes this card. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg