Christmas Explosion Box

Today I am sharing a fun Christmas gift I made - an explosion box. I have seen explosion boxes that others have made and always thought they looked like fun. I finally made one of my own with the help of a cutter file by Shelly's Art. Now that I have it finished, the big question is who to give it to.


Here it is all closed up, tied with a sparkly green ribbon from Joann's. The patterned papers used throughout the project are all from that same seasonal paper pad I have been using by Colorbok (Cloud 9 Design Harvest Holiday 2). The glittery snowflake attached to the ribbon is from Shelly's Build a Wreath file. I layered two pieces together and then coated both sides with red Stickles.

 Here it is open and you can see all of the layers and a fun 3D tree in the center. The tree actually comes with the explosion box file, which you can find here.

Here are all of the layers side by side. Some of the panels are decorated with patterned paper, and to some I have added photos. The Merry Christmas sentiment is from Shelly's Christmas Word Charms file and the snowman is from her Build a Snowman file. After attaching the snowman to the panel, I added some Sparkly Fluff to look like a snow drift.

Here is a closeup of the 3D tree in the center of the box. The green cardstock underneath the tree was embossed with a snowflake embossing folder. I decorated the tree with gems using my i-rock and added yellow Stickles to the star.

Isn't this a fun project? And the recipient will get such a surprise when they remove the lid of the box! With all of the photos of my son, I am thinking this will be a good gift for the grandparents. What do you think?

CHALLENGES:

*Sparkles Monthly Challenges (Challenge #38 - Christmas is Coming)

*Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog (Challenge #102 - Anything Goes) 

*Quirky Crafts Challenge Blog (Challenge #23 - Layer it Up & Let it Snow)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly

Christmas Reindeer

I will have a few more Thanksgiving cards to share within the next week, but I have also begun working on my Christmas cards. So today I would like to share one of those.

The patterned paper is from a paper pad by Colorbok (Cloud 9 Design Harvest Holiday 2). I picked this paper pack up last year and there are a lot of great designs in it. You may have noticed that I have used it in most of my recent posts. The cute little reindeer are from a cutter file by Beloved Keepsakes. I added several Christmas brads I had in my stash that matched the background paper.

Come back tomorrow to see a fun Christmas gift I made.

CHALLENGES:

*Sparkles Monthly Challenges (Challenge #38 - Christmas is Coming)

*Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog (Challenge #102 - Anything Goes) 

*One Stop Craft Challenge (Challenge #204 - Anything Goes)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly

Be Thankful

Next week is Thanksgiving, a time to reflect on your blessings and reasons to be thankful. Although I have had a very rough year, there is still much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my amazing son, who is the light of my life. I am thankful for my parents and sister and the rest of my caring and supportive family, who have been my rocks over the last year. I am thankful for my friends who have been there through tears and laughter. I am thankful for my crafting, which is a wonderful outlet and stress reliever, and has introduced me to wonderful new friends. There is more, but let's leave it at that for now.

Today I am sharing a Thanksgiving card. As we reflect on our blessings, why not send a card to those for whom you are thankful? Share with them what they mean to you and you will give them another reason to be thankful.

I used a sketch file by I Scrap Designs as the base for this card. The patterned papers are from Colorbok (Cloud 9 Design Seasonal Paper Pad). I dug into some of my hoarded supplies for the accents. The brown buckle (a brad) and the raffia I looped through it have been hanging out in my craft supplies for who knows how long. Many years, I can tell you. The turkey and Be Thankful sentiment are layered stickers I found at Wal-Mart. I like the idea of sending out Thanksgiving cards. Not many people do it so it is a nice surprise for the recipient.

CHALLENGES:

*VDBC Forum (Nov/Dec Sketch Challenge)

*Use It Tuesday (Challenge #43: Be Thankful)

*Party Time Tuesdays (Challenge #94 - Happy Thanksgiving)

*Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog (Challenge #102 - Anything Goes)

*Scrapalicious (Challenge - Being Thankful)

*Die Cuttin Divas (Challenge #91 - Color Challenge)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly

A Day at the Park

We had an unseasonably warm day a few weeks ago and my son and I took advantage of it by going to a nearby park. My son had such a fun time and I, of course, took lots of pictures. It is fun to scrap an everyday kind of thing like playing at the park, rather than just the usual focus of big holidays and events.

 Patterned papers are all from EK Success. I used several files on this layout (all from Beloved Keepsakes) - the title, the sun and clouds, and the extra suns. The clouds were embossed with swirls and I added Stickles to the center of the small sun. The faces on the two large suns is a Peachy Keen stamp.

Looking at these pictures shows me just how much my son has grown recently. At the beginning of the summer, he couldn't/wouldn't go on the slide by himself. Now he climbs right up those steps like there is nothing to it. My baby is growing way too fast!



CHALLENGES:
*Peachy Keen Stamps (Challenge #43 - Anything Goes)
*One Stop Craft Challenge (Challenge #204 - Anything Goes)


Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly

Up & Away

I have been trying hard to complete more scrapbook layouts. When I saw that the challenge this week over at Celebrate the Occasion was "Up & Away" I decided to pull out my photo box and finally scrap the hot air balloon ride I went on back in 2001. It was a wonderful experience. If you haven never been up in a hot air balloon, I highly recommend it.

Here is the left page. The title is a file from Accents by Eddita. The ribbon is from American Crafts.

As you can see, the bottom left photo is mounted on a flap that opens to allow more pictures (this is a file from I Scrap Designs). I took many pictures of the scenery and wanted to be able to include several without cluttering the page. This was the perfect way.

The right page uses the same ribbon from American Crafts. I used a photo I took of the sign on the hot air balloon as a page accent.

Come back tomorrow. I have another scrapbook layout to share.

CHALLENGES:

*Celebrate the Occasion (Challenge #87 - Up & Away)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly

Vinyl Wall Art

I love vinyl. I use it on my cards. I decorate ceramic tiles. And today I decorated my son's room with vinyl. This particular project was not made with my cutter, although it certainly could have been. I found a super deal (50% off) online last week for this vinyl alphabet set. Comparing the cost of the pre-made set with the time it would have taken me to create my own, I decided it was worth buying. And I am so thrilled with how it looks.

Here are some close-up shots of the whole alphabet. I was able to space it out so it wrapped completely around my son's room.

Tomorrow I will be back with another project that I made myself.


Thanks for stopping by!


Kelly

Halloween Layout

Okay, I missed a day. But I am still doing much better about blogging than I have in a VERY long time. So yeah for me! :-) Today I am sharing a Halloween layout. This is of a costume party I went to last year with my son and sister. Finally got around to scrapping it a few weeks ago since I was in the Halloween mood.

 

The background paper is from My Mind's Eye. The title and bats are from files by Beloved Keepsakes. I added gems for the bats' eyes. The top left photo is mounted on a flap so I can journal underneath. That way I could fit lots of pictures and still have room to journal.

CHALLENGES:

*Anything Goes (Challenge #79 - Anything Goes at Anything Goes) 

*Sparkles Monthly Challenges (Challenge #37 - Halloween) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Kelly