Only two more days until our big "Back to School 2008 Promotion"!!! I want to clarify the promotion code being it can appear confusing with the letter and number combination. The promotion code is BTS08 - this stands for "Back to School 2008", so the 0 in the code is actually a zero and not an O. Hopefully this will be helpful for those who were uncertain.
So what can you fill this tin with? Well, being the matchy, matchy person I am I just went with the theme and continued creating and embellishing with coordinating products. I didn't realize how much I would love the Recess paper until I started working with it. Being I always am drawn to products that are a little more elegant in nature this one came as a bit of a surprise. The vintage, old school appearance it has is so appealing.
There are so many items that I am drawn to that are alterable, but it has been on rare ocassions that I have had the chance to use them - LOL! I fell in love with these cute little 7 Gypsies Altered Trading Card boxes when I first saw them at one of the first CHA's I attended. Yes, I immediately purchased them and egads, they sat on my shelf for months before I actually had the opportunity to get them up on the store.
Now I must admit to not being much of an Altered Trading Card girl - in fact I will totally admit to the fact that I have yet to make one. It is not because I don't want to, but more because I just haven't had the time. Hopefully with this project I will get to one of the many ideas I have to fill this little box. For today I am just going to begin with the box itself.
I am sharing the picture above to try and share how it is that I covered the little box. You would think that being I love to design templates that I would have gotten this right the first time round, but no, I made it in a way that I am not completely happy with and thus I am going to share this with you as well - LOL!
I began by tracing the enclosed tag stock box (the one above that is off white in color). I traced it on to both of the Recess paper pieces shown above. What I failed to do, and now totally regret, is that I did not include the little folded back tabbed pieces that you see on the very bottom of this picture. I wish I had included them on the piece that is adhered to the exterior of this little box because it would have made for much neater corners - oh silly me!
When creating and cutting out these pieces you must remember that the piece that fits on the inside of the box must measure a smidgen smaller than the actual piece you trace and the piece that attaches to the outside of the box must be a smidgen larger. So as I cut out these pieces I cut out the turquoise piece ever so slightly smaller than the original piece and scored it so that it was just a hair smaller than the tag stock piece. The lettered piece I cut ever so slightly larger and scored the folds just slightly larger than the original piece.
I then constructed the tag stock box using ATG adhesive to hold it together. This is my most common method of adhering things. It is quick and easy, as well it hold together extremely well. ATG adhesive is designed for the framing industry and you can tell that it's meant to stick for a long time - LOL! Just ask anyone who tries to pull a project apart to make corrections (big wink). If you do not have an ATG adhesive, then my next adhesive of choice is a red liner tape. This adhesive also REALLY holds things together.
Next the lining was adhered to the interior of my box, and the exterior piece was affixed as well. My disappointment in the exterior piece lies in the corners. They just don't fit as nicely as I would have liked. As with all things one can come up with a resolution to this problem as well - LOL! I pulled out my trusty blending tool and sponged the edges and corners with Distress Ink. Voila - problem fixed Ü (but not with the precision I strive for.)
Decorating the cover was so much fun being I once again used the quick and simple method of stamping on the patterned paper and cutting out the pieces. I began by stamping the Altered Trading Box cover tag stock with the Vintage Ledger Scrapblock using Red Brick Distress Ink and added a mix of Adirondack blue/greens at a funky angle with the Pin Dot Scrapblock. Both of these stamps had a very similar feel to the Recess papers I used.
Next I stamped the tree from Making the Grade in Tuxedo Black. I typically begin a project by positioning my largest element first. Many times that element "falls off" the page or sides. I find that assymetrical balance is so much easier to achieve when this type of planning is used. Color was added to the tree trunk with a colored pencil for added dimension and focus. To add additional depth to the tree I also stamped it on Recess paper, cutting out only the top portion and affixing it to the box with Perfect Paper Adhesive. I think I may have told you this before, but I want to repeat it for the new readers we have joining us here. Perfect Paper Adhesive is one of those glues that works fabulous when adhering paper to paper. It almost feels similar to a decoupage glue being that it doesn't soak into the paper and make it soggy. I have found that it is one I continue to turn to over these past six years and thus my reason for sharing it with you.
I positioned the cute little birdie noting where it's legs would fall and then using a Copic Multiliner 0.3 I added legs. I have found that this size pen works the best with Kim's designs, whereas the .03 works the best with the Lockhart Stamp images. I always try to select a pen that is in scale with the stamp I am using when I add doodled in details. To add depth to the birds wing I picked a Prismacolor Color Pencil, Tuscan Red, and added a little addtional color to the patterned paper.
Recess ribbon was wrapped around the box, again being adhered with ATG adhesive, and a Big Brad from Karen Foster was added to draw attention to the focal point of this box, the little red bird.
On the bottom side I added the schoolhouse stamped in Red Memento and the adorable scholarly worm. Wrapped around the side are crayons stamped and cut out. These crayons helped achieve balance on both sides of the box.
So what fits in the box? What can you think of to put in that would be fun for the recipient. Today I am going to reveal the "quick fix" presentation - Crayola crayons fit perfectly Ü I do have some other ideas I plan on sharing, but that is going to have to wait for the next element to this Lunch Tin presentation. Yep, I know it - I'm a big tease. You should hear my girls when I provide just enough information to get their interest - LOL. Thanks for stopping by and we hope that you are enjoying our new little spot!
