a happy little box of HOME with Crafter's Companion

holy wow, chickens.  LOTS going on in my personal life right now, and i've got some HUGE hurdles to clear, but i'm confident it's all going to work out as it should and i'll be okay.  yesterday i received some big (and bad) news, but i also celebrated 10 years since the day my husband and i met.  we're off to NYC in a couple of hours and i'm SO excited, but it's bittersweet coupled with the other stuff.  still, i'm determined to enjoy myself, and his company, and it's going to be a nice little escape.  :)

today, i've got a post that was shared on the Crafter's Companion USA Facebook page yesterday - yet ANOTHER little box created with my Ultimate Tool (and i just got another of the embossing boards, so there will be many more forthcoming!):

this one's a simple box, the perfect size for some little trinkety goodness.  the nice thing about the box feature is that as long as the papers are the exact same size, you don't have to worry about the actual measurements.  just score, snip and stick. 

the floral stamp is from Sheena Douglass - "Lily of the Valley", stamped on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  i colored this and select areas on my sentiment cut with my Spectrum Noir markers:

leaves - LG2, LG3, JG1
flower petals - TN1, GB2, LY3
flower centers - TN1, TN3, TN5
other (on sentiment panel) - GB2, CR7

some bits and bobs to fill the white space, everything coming from the Paper Issues Swag Bags, and voila!  a cute way to give someone a gift welcoming them into their new home!  or returning from a trip.  or just finding a way to relax and enjoy some down time with loved ones. 

have you signed up for the Crafter's Companion newsletter?  there's always something good coming to your inbox, and there are some awesome new stamps available from Sheena Douglass and Scruffy Little Cat!  ANNNNND, there's a whole new line of Die'sire DIES available, too!  sign up now and get all the latest news and deals hot off the press!

another Crafter's Companion BOX, using the Ultimate Tool!

i know i've mentioned i'm loving my Ultimate Tool from Crafter's Companion USA, and the many embossing boards that come with it, or are available separately, but OH MY GOOMIE, this one could be my fave!  (until my next order comes, that is!)

this project, up on the Crafter's Companion USA Facebook page today, uses the Ultimate Tool with the Ulti-bags embossing folder for a totally cute and functional PURSE!  everything just fits together so well, and i added a handle and decorated to make it super girlie.  behold!

i coloured up the flowers and leaf from Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy - "A New Leaf" EZMount stamp set with the following Spectrum Noir markers:

flowers - BT1, BT2, EB1, OR1, BG3
leaf - GB3, TN3, BG2

this ALSO happens to fit our current Tags, Bags and Boxes challenge!  CLICK HERE to play along, and use any of your Crafter's Companion USA or Crafter's Companion UK stamps, or our other exclusive products (the full rules list is posted - read carefully!).  projects MUST incorporate more than just Spectrum Noir markers or blendable colored pencils to qualify.  good luck!

Crafter's Companion and Xyron teaming up for holiday gift giving!

hiya!  there is a PARTY going on at the Xyron Facebook page and Crafter's Companion blog!  SO much inspiration for your holiday crafting, you may need to take a week off from whatever you do just to craft and get all the ideas out of your head!  :)

i am sharing a project created using the awesome Xyron adhesives we received, paired up with a couple of fab Crafter's Companion products.  BUT...  i am also sharing a photo tutorial on how i made it.

we received a fabulous adhesive kit and were asked to do SOMETHING for the 30 Days of Holiday Projects event!  there are PRIZES!  leave your comments on the Xyron Facebook page and Crafter's Companion and design team blogs to win super sweet goodies from both awesome companies!

so i made SOMETHING...  i altered this box - can't remember what i had in it, but it was probably junk! 

the first thing i did was grab a sheet of 6x6 patterned paper for the inside bottom of the box.  it needed to be trimmed slightly to fit:

next, i busted out my Ultimate Tool for some scoring action.  the scoring part was easy, but because the box is bulky, i trimmed some of the edges where the folds met in order to get a nice, snug fit when i adhered the papers.

et voila!  adhered with the Xyron Mega Runner and it was a great fit!

next, i needed some trims so the cardboard wouldn't look so drab.  i sliced up some shimmery (and flimsy) paper and some ricrac, but i wasn't feeling confident it would all stick down with just the tape runner.  instead, i ran them through the Xyron Sticker Maker for a good, permanent bond:

remember to burnish!  i rubbed down hard on all of the strips (notice how i doubled up to conserve adhesive?  i'm thrifty that way, and it worked great!)

next up, preparing the sentiment!  i had something very specific in mind, and i went pretty simple, with white cardstock and the Die'sire Embossalicious 6x6 folder "Holiday Holly" and ran it on through my C'bug:

simple embellishing here - i punched the corners and inked the edges and the raised surface with a light green chalk ink.  stamped my sentiment from Stamp-It Australia's new Christmas line, Twinkle (this set is Falling Snowflake) on plain white cardstock and inked those edges too:

added the trims and used Xyron Adhesive Dots to adhere my sentiment and the image i'd coloured - this is Sheena's A Little Bit Floral (Lily), coloured up my Spectrum Noir markers (PP1, BP1, BP3, BP7, DR7, CT2, LG3, DG3, OR1, TN7)...  click to enlarge! 

this was the inspiration for my colouring (next time i'll stamp it in a really light colour)...   :)

annnnnnd the finished box!  i can add candies or votive candles or a set of notecards or something cute all nestled in pretty tissue paper.  or maybe even rolls of washi tape! 

LOVED working with the Xyron adhesives for this project - HUGE thanks to our awesome sponsor/partner for this event!  and i KNOW you'll see lots of other amazing inspiration - just pop on over to the Crafter's Companion blog, visit the blogs of the rest of the awesome Crafter's Companion USA Design Team, check out our Facebook page, and visit Xyron on Facebook, and tell them i sent ya!  :)  leave your comments everywhere by Monday, November 18th to win stuff, too, and maybe you'll get the awesome new Xyron 3" Sticker Maker!  (I WANT THAT)  or some other fantastic prize.  regardless, thanks for joining me today, and have a WONDERFUL weekend!  :)

brand new STAMP-IT AUSTRALIA available TOMORROW at Crafter's Companion!

can i get a WOOT WOOT?!

seriously, this might be one of my very fave releases to date from Crafter's Companion USA and i could not WAIT to play with these pretties!

this stamp set from Stamp-It Australia's TWINKLE release will be available TOMORROW and these sets are absolutely PERFECT for all kinds of holiday and winter projects.

i decided to bust out my Ultimate Tool and embossed the big star on my card, and all along the border - handy little (big) tool, this thing!  stamped the big snowflake from the Falling Snowflake set (there are 4 sets in all), coloured it a SMIDGE with my Spectrum Noir markers (LV1 and LV2), just for a hint of colour on the snowflake.  

finished off wtih some bling and alphas and that's all she wrote!  here's a close-up on the star:

i'm really enjoying the non-traditional holiday colours, and purple was VERY different for me, but i think it worked out well.  there are loads of other fun shapes in the Ultimate Tool, so expect to see some appearances soon!

also, you may want to know that these new Stamp-It Australia will be on sale with their release tomorrow - individually they're $19.95 each, but you can get all four GORGEOUS sets for just $59.95!  gotta love a good sale.  :) 

(linked up later for Paper Issues' Count Your Lucky Stars issue!)