Hello Santa!

Hi Crafty Friends! It’s Lisa here today from Happy Paper & Ink to share a new Project Life card that I created. I am doing some preparation for my December Daily album, so that is what inspired me to create this card.

 tcp22

For this card, I started with Pink Paislee Merry & Bright 6×6 paper pad. I cut a tag and a 4×6 project life card from the paper pad. I then cut strips of paper for the side border to add some interest. I cut a snowflake tag  on white and red paper using my Silhouette Cameo. I also cut the title using gold glitter vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo for the title “Hello Santa”.   I doodled around all the edges with a black 0.8 American Crafts Black Pen and inked with black Memento Ink.

tcp23

To finish off the card, I used The Crafty Pickle’s Black & White Color Pop Flair and applied it to the top of the snowflake tag. I added some sequins to the corner of the card from The Crafty Pickle. Adding any of the Relish Mixes to your layout or cards gives a fun, sparkly and thin embellishment. These come in all colors, I used the Magical Mouse mix for this card. I layered the sequins and put red glitter stickle dots on top of some of the sequins to change the look a little. And finally, I tied a bow at the top of the snowflake tag to tie it all together!

tcp21

I hope you enjoyed my Project Life card & are inspired. Look for some more blog posts showing my December Daily in the future!

Thanks for looking & Happy Crafting!

lisa sig

TCP’s First Blog Hop!!!

TheCraftyPickle.com

Welcome to The Crafty Pickle blog hop!

Today our creative team will be sharing with you ideas on using Flair, Sequins, Close To My Heart stamps, and more.

Make sure you leave a comment on each blog as you hop along for extra chances at winning some fabulous prizes. You have until Friday November 21st to comment and winners will be announced on Monday November 24th!

First Prize: $25 Gift Certificate to The Crafty Pickle etsy shop

Second Prize: $15 Gift Certificate to my Close To My Heart store

Third Prize: $10 Gift Certificate to The Crafty Pickle etsy Shop

Prepare to be inspired by our awesome, creative crafty pickle team!

First up is Alicia!

If you get lost along the way here is the order of the hop.

Alicia 

Carrie 

Catherine 

Elodie

Joann 

Julia 

Kristen 

Monika 

Stephanie 

Treasa 

Then back to The Crafty Pickle blog to leave your final comment!

Happy Hopping!

The Crafty Pickle

A Thank You card and a Project Life card using Flair

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today I have teamed up with Scrap your Scraps to share some ideas using Flair buttons! I wanted to share two different ideas using some brand new Flair that I just added to The Crafty Pickle Etsy Store.

First up is a thank you gift card holder that I made using my silhouette and a flair from the Cozy Fall Set. I adore Autumn and pumpkin spice latte’s are my favorite!

Coffee Gift Card @TheCraftyPickle.com

I used some cardstock I had on hand and cut out the card design on my Silhouette using design # 29511

Coffee Gift Card @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

I die cut a tag from some cardstock scraps I had, added a little bit of decorative trim and attached it with a little clothes pin. I attached the PSL (pumpkin spice latte) button with some tombo xtreme adhesive. You could also use a button from the Starbucks flair set too, I just wanted to go for an autumn feel with this card.

Coffee Gift Card @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

The inside has room for the coffee gift card as well as a little room to write a personal message.

Coffee Gift Card @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Once it was all finished I slipped the card into a clear envelope and tossed in some of the exclusive autumn mix sequins from The Crafty Pickle Etsy shop for a little added fun touch.

Next up I have a project life card that I am sure anyone can find use for in their album, Mine is usually inspired by one of my teenage boys dodging the camera. For this card I am using the Photo Not Available flair from the Everyday Photo #2 set

No Photo Available Project life card @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

To make this card I took a white piece of heavy cardstock that was in my scrap pile and cut out the camera design on my silhouette (Design #41015)  The design called for several shades of gray but I only had two shades on hand so I just cut everything out of the white cardstock and colored the pieces with my copic markers (N8, N6, N4, N2, Y15, and Y19) I also used my wink of stella glitter pen and my Stardust gelly roll pen by Sakura

No Photo Available Project life card @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

I attached a few sequins (that are always included in my flair packages) and attached the Photo Not Available flair with some Tombo Xtreme adhesive. The base card is a Becky Higgins Project Life grid card.

No Photo Available Project life card @TheCraftyPickle.com

As you can see above my flair has a very low profile making it ideal for page protectors of all types, especially pocket pages. It’s about the same dimension as chipboard or thickers.

If you haven’t visited The Crafty Pickle Etsy shop recently you might be surprised to find over 30 new flair sets including our new color patterned pop collection and some special limited edition sequins mixes.

Make sure you Stop by the Scrap your Scraps blog for even more flair inspiration, Not to mention a fun giveaway from The Crafty Pickle Etsy Store too!!!

Happy Crafting!

The Crafty Pickle

Using flair buttons in your Project Life albums.

Hi Everyone!

Today I am showing a few of the new Flair sets in my etsy shop as well as some ideas for using flair in your Project Life albums.

I had a problem in the past with using flair inside my pocket pages because of the bulk and I really didn’t care for putting mine on the outside of the page protector as it seemed to pop off or come loose over time. Now that I am using my own flair that are flatter profile, I am less worried about bulk and have been using them lots more in my album.

Here is a look at the flatter profile from a side angle.

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Here are a few ideas using TheCraftyPickle flair!

Sometimes keeping things simple is the best way to go. Although I love adding clusters of little embellishments throughout my album, sometimes keeping a simple design makes a big statement. For this card I used my silhouette to cut out a simple frame. I attached it to a Project Life pre-designed card and then added a flair piece from the everyday set.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

This next one I whipped up in minutes. I took a clip art TV and positioned it on my 3×4 card in Photoshop Elements. I added a flair from the afternoon/Evening set in the center of the TV and now it is ready for a small photo or some journaling.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Background stamps are wonderful for making your own Project Life cards. For the sunshine card I stamped the background using a Studio Calico background stamp and added on a little yellow face flair (which are free with any purchase for the month of April!)

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

This next one uses a basic Becky Higgins grid card and a few scraps of cardstock. I cut out the shapes using some basic paper punches and added a Flair piece from the Crummy day set. To finish it off I splattered a bit of gray and black ink in the bottom corner.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

This next card was made using a digital stamp from Tracy Larsen, some cloud washi tape, and a flair from the May Flair set. Right now there are January though June monthly sets in the shop and they all include one real glitter flair piece! July-December coming soon!

 

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Same idea for a monthly marker card. Layered with a paper punch and some chalk stenciling in the background.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

This sweet card was made with a silhouette cut, a label punch and a heart flair from the Watercolor Hearts flair set. The elements in this card would be great layered over a photo directly as well.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Using Flair as a “O” substitute is lots of fun. To make this card I just splattered red ink over white cardstock and added some Heidi Swapp Mistable letters to make the word JOY. The Flair piece is from my Everyday set.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

I LOVE enamel dots and they are so fun to mix with flair. This one uses a piece from the Family set.

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

And this one uses a piece from the Disney set.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

My Teenagers are very much into Minecraft lately. These three pieces come from the Minecraft set. Try making a border with three matching flair either in the center of your card or off to the side of a 4×6 card.

 

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Finally, a card to celebrate spring. This one was made by stamping some clouds and die cutting a little tree that made a perfect spot to add the Spring flair piece from the May Flair set.

Using Flair in your Project Life album @TheCraftyPickle.com

 

I hope those examples provided some inspiration of your own to use flair in your albums.

Here is a peek of some new flair sets that have been updated to my Etsy shop. I am also happy to do Custom orders as well, Just drop me an email or send me a custom order request though Etsy.

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

Flatter profile flair buttons for Project Life @TheCraftyPickle.com

To see more Crafty Pickle flair sets click HERE to visit my Etsy Shop. Want even more flair inspiration for your Project Life album? The talented girls over at ProjectLifeCardSwap.com have come up with some beautiful designs using my flair, And if you hurry over before March 31st you can enter to win a Crafty Pickle Flair package.

To celebrate my shop update I would like to give away two sets (any that are in my Etsy store) to two lucky winners. For a chance to win please add your name, location, and tell me what Crafty Pickle flair set is your favorite. Winner will be announced 3/28 Friday afternoon.

Update: Congratulations to Cyndie Hart and Lynne Thomas Rudolph! You both win a CraftyPickle Flair set. Please drop me an email and let me know which set you would like.

Happy Crafting!

The Crafty Pickle

 

December Daily: Days 1 to 6

Happy Holidays!

I hope all of you are enjoying the season so far and have been keeping up with your December Daily albums or Journals. I wanted to share a little bit of my album today. I have up to day# 5 complete. (warning this post is kind of photo-heavy). For my 2013 December Daily I am using the Merry and Bright Kit from Whimsical Twist. I am also using items I have collected from this year and previous years as well as die cuts from my Silhouette. If you have any questions on products used please let me know.

December Daily 2013 Title page TheCraftyPickle.com

For my title page I did it in three separate page protector layers.  For the First layer I printed a title using Ali Edwards digital brushes on a transparency and placed that in the page protector

DD Title page 1st Layer | TheCraftyPickle.com

For the second layer I took a transparency and two silhouette die cuts (out of the silhouette printable gold foil) and adhered them on the transparency back to back. After sliding that into the page protector I sprinkled sequins on either side and sewed the protector closed.

Title page layer #2  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Title page layer 2  | TheCraftyPickle.com

For the Third and final layer of the Title page(s) I cut a piece of American Crafts POW glitter paper and slid that in the protector, On top of that was another transparency that I printed on the bottom.

December Daily title page layer 3  | TheCraftyPickle.com

The next page I kept really simple.

December Daily calender page.  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day one:

December Daily Day one  | TheCraftyPickle.com

December Daily Day One  | TheCraftyPickle.com

For the card on the bottom left, I stamped in white ink and then I went over the stamped areas with a white chalk pencil to give it a better chalkboard effect.

December Daily Day one  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day Two:

December Daily Day 2  | TheCraftyPickle.com

December Daily Day Two  | TheCraftyPickle.com

For the middle layer  I used a 6×8 page protector  and sewed the bottom portion shut with sequins, glitter, and heat embossed wood veneer stars (Studio Calico Printshop stars) Then I slipped the two photos back to back on the top.

Advent Pocket in December Daily Album  | TheCraftyPickle.com

This year I decided to incorporate our advent Calender within our December Daily album. You will see these pockets throughout my album. The little circles are special chalkboard paper. I stamped the number in white prima Chalk ink. (the Advent Kit that I used can be found HERE)

December Daily Advent pocket + Tag  | TheCraftyPickle.com

I printed our advent activities on a piece of shimmer cardstock and then sewed them to the tag that I had cut down to fit the bag. I also did some heat embossing on the tags as well.

Day Three & Four:

December Daily Day 3 and 4  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day Three:

December Daily day 3  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day Four:

December Daily day 4  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day Five:

December Daily Day 5  | TheCraftyPickle.com

I had a lot of fun working on Day 5. Lots of digital stamping on the photos using files from Ali Edwards @ Designer Digitals, Ali Edwards/Technique Tuesday Stamps, and the Pine Wreath Die from Die-Namites Dies.

December Daily Day 5  | TheCraftyPickle.com

For the Tree embellishment I used the Pine Wreath die from Die-Namites dies which you can find HERE. I made 12 cuts of the die and one tree base out of the same card stock. I cut off all of the pine branches from the die cut shapes and made a pile. Then I took some clear liquid adhesive and squeezed a bit out on a scrap piece of card stock. I dipped the bottom part of the pine branch in the glue and started layering from the outside of the tree base inward. After everything was completely dry I added some clear and white gems (Michael’s brand and Studio Calico) To see more photos of this embellishment visit the Die-Namites blog HERE.

December Daily day 5  | TheCraftyPickle.com

December Daily day 5  | TheCraftyPickle.com

Day Six:

For day 6 I kept things super simple. I took cards that were included in the Merry & Bright Kit and embellished the tree card with some sequins and glitter pen accents. Sticker letters are also from the kit. There are a handful of kits still available and you can find them HERE on sale for $35!

December Daily Day 6  | TheCraftyPickle.com

December Daily Day 6  | TheCraftyPickle.com

That wraps up this round of December Daily Pages. I should be back next week to share another handful of pages.

Happy Holiday Crafting!
The Crafty Pickle

A BeWITCHing Halloween!

Hi Everyone!

Today I am sharing a quick 6×8 layout that I did of my daughter’s Halloween costume for this year and I wanted to give you an idea for making the most of your space when working on a small layout like this.

Here is the full layout;

BeWITCHingLayout A 6x8 BeWITCHing layout!

I used my Silhouette to cut out the circle title accent and cut it out of American Crafts POW glitter paper in silver. I backed that with black cardstock and added some white sticker letters that I colored orange and then put a coat of clear glitter on top with my Wink Of Stella Glitter marker.  I also cut out the spider and the Jack-O-Lantern face out of black POW glitter paper.

BeWITCHing A 6x8 BeWITCHing layout!

Because my photo took up so much space in the small layout I wanted to conceal my journaling tag in a design type element. I took one of the Whimsical Sacks sold in the Whimsical Twist shop and put the Jack-O-Lantern face on the top. These little bags are perfect for tucking away journaling or memorabila especially when you have a small layout like this. These bags also fit perfectly in a 3×4 pocket page protector.

BeWITCHingJournalPocket A 6x8 BeWITCHing layout!

I am absolutely addicted to these little bags and I thought it added a real fun element to the page.  There are a bunch of patterns and colors in the Whimsical Twist shop, Check them out HERE!

Also don’t forget there is a bonus ephemera pack that you will receive if you buy any of the Whimsical December Days kits this week! I have been featuring the kits that are currently on sale and shipping in the shop. Today I am giving away a set of EXCLUSIVE Flair buttons made to match Merry And Bright!!

Merry and Bright Flair

These will of course go with any of the kits but especially Merry and Bright! If you havent seen the Merry and Bright kit, check out my video going through the entire kit.

Make sure to leave your name and location for a chance to win a set of this awesome flat backed button flair.

Also I am giving away a spot in the Whimsical December Days class! You can read more about that HERE. Lots of things to win this week. I will be announcing all my winners Monday morning so be sure to go back and enter each of this weeks giveaways!

Whimsical Twist December Days Class

I hope you all have a Fun, Safe, and BeWITCHing Halloween!

The Crafty Pickle

Fall Bucket list and Gratitude.Documented.

Happy Autumn Friends!

Taniesa's Bucket List @ WhimsicalTwist.com

I am so excited to share with you today the beginning of my Autumn album! I was first going to do a 6×6 mini bucket list album but I have “Fall”en in love with so many gratitude albums I have seen and the Gratitude.documented concept that Shanna Noel has started that I decided to expand to a 6×8 album. This is my first year doing a mini album for Fall and so far I love it! I am thinking about adding to the same album next year but it will depend on how full this one gets. I decided to use the Simple Stories Faux leather 6×8 album which matches my 12×12 black We R Memory Keepers albums for my project life this year. I wanted to dress it up a bit though so I decided to add a few charms that reminded me of Autumn and family.

Here is a look at the album cover/spine.

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

 

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

 

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

 

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

It was really simple. I just wrapped around some bakers twine and hemp twine where the front cover met the spine of the album and tied on some pretty charms I found while collecting some autumn supplies.  The label for the album is a ticket in Kraft that I cut down to fit. I took white sticker letters and colored them with a copic marker to get the watercolor like effect.

For the first page I took brown woodgrain cardstock and cut out the framed “gratitude” from a cut file I created with my Silhouette software. The second page is shimmery cream cardstock with the adorable Logo from Shanna Noel’s Gratitude.Documented.

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

 

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Next page shows off my family’s Bucket list for this Fall. I cut the apple basket , apples and title from my Silhouette all out of cream colored cardstock and then colored them all in using my Copic markers. I wrote out the list using a typewriter font and cut them in strips. I sewed those along the left lower side and to finish off the page added a little Whimsical Sequins for a bit of shimmer. (Silhouette Design ID #47269 used for the apple basket and the font for the title is Jenna Sue)

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

I did want to prep a few pages for the busy days I won’t have a lot of time to scrapbook. I am sure I will move things around as I develop my photos. The papers and embellishments I am using throughout my album is the Basic Gray Persimmon collectionthe Family Traditions line from Websters pages, and some embellishments from My Minds Eye. I really love the combination of the oranges and browns mixed in with the navy and baby blues. I am also adding in some Project Life cards, Pre-cut cardstock, Prima wood accentsHey Kid sticker labels from Pink PaisleyWhimsical Twist sequins, and some other items from my stash to add texture and color.

Here are a few of the “put together ahead of time” pages I have done so far.

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

For this next page I decided to make a partial transparent divider type of page using some sequins and Prima wood disks. I just sewed the two pockets closed. I will add a filler card or photo in the other two spots.

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

One of our bucket items is to make our own Halloween costumes this year. My little girl decided to be a traditional witch this year so I set these two pages aside to show off her costume and a photo of her trick-or-treating. I love the little whimsical sacks to hold tags for journaling!

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

 

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

Taniesa's Gratitude album @ WhimsicalTwist.com

One of the key things with this project as well as any seasonal Mini album project is to simplify and organize. Some items in my craft space I keep where I always keep them but sometimes it helps me if I pull together the collection of items I might want to use for the project. Looking at all the Autumn product together is very inspiring for me. Some things that I have done to help myself along is pre-cut my cardstock in 4×6 and 3×4 pieces, take my 6×6 papers and put them in a 6×6 clear iris plastic box to flip through quickly, Take a binder clip and clip together like items (sticker letters, enamel dots and gems, labels, sticker embellishments, stamps, etc), and put little items like sequins in the color combo that I will be using and wood veneer in small containers for easy access (bead containers from your local craft store work great for this).

I hope you enjoyed my little preview into my Autumn album. I will be back for this series next month to show you my near completed album!

One little bit of exciting news today is that all Basic Gray and My Minds Eye product is now on sale at 20% off in the Whimsical Twist shop!!! The sale lasts from now until November 3rd . So, if you were wanting to get your hands on some great supplies for your autumn and holiday scrapbooking now is a fantastic time! Enter Code MME20BG at checkout!

All Basic Gray and My Minds Eye now on sale at Whimsical Twist!!!!!

 

Happy Autumn!

The Crafty Pickle

 

Project life Re-Organization.

Hi Friends!

I know a number of you have had a lot of questions regarding how I am storing my project life cards. Instead of writing out a long post I made a little video that hopefully will answer some questions and let you see what’s working for me right now.

Here is a little video on how I am organizing my project life and pocket style journaling and filler cards. I am using the medium Close To My Heart organizers which you can see by going to my website HERE <—- that will take you right to the organizers.

The dividers that I had made for my organization were
Pink
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green/Teal
Blue / Aqua
Purple
Gray
Black and white
Brown and Kraft
Multi Color brights
Multi Color muted

Month/Day
Ledger
Numbers
Journaling prompt
Quote filler
Symbols and shapes
Seasons: winter spring summer fall (holidays are in with the season)
Birthday/celebration
Travel
School & Kids life
wedding
Love/hearts

If you have any questions please post a comment, I am happy to answer anything that I can.

Thanks for watching and I hope this has helped you with a few organization ideas of your own!

If you are wanting to puchase the CTMH cases you can visit my CTMH website at www.thecraftypickle.ctmh.com
******Edited to include a link to the divider cut file I made and used in this organizing video and posted on my blog awhile back: Click here for the dividers. The folders that I used were directly from the silhouette store (Design ID #43761)******

The Crafty Pickle

 

Make-A-Card Monday!

Mondays are usually my least favorite day of the week. Nothing brightens someone’s day more than happy mail, especially on a Monday! So today I whipped up a few adorable cards that can be adapted to whatever sentiment you desire. they are simple, quick, and guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient’s face. My challenge to you today is to make a card, simple or more elaborate, and send it to a special someone by good ol’ snail mail! Please feel free to post a link to your card project in the comments if you would like. I would love to see your card-creations!

My first card is a simple “Hello”:

Make a card Monday @thecraftypickle.com

This card was made using the Pebbles Basics papers and some Pebbles / American Craft’s die cut shapes from the silhouette store. It came together super quick and I love the bright cheery colors. The Pebbles Basics really is a fabulous basic set every cardmaker, scrapbooker, project lifer, and papercrafter should have.

Here are the cut design ID numbers for the Silhouette Shop:

Design ID #20725

Design ID #19946

Design ID #42918

My next card was inspired by the new Pier slide frames. I adore them and thought they made the perfect frame for a shaker card!

Make-a-card Monday @thecraftypickle.com

The paper and the frame are from Crate Paper’s The Pier line and the floral die cut is from Crate Paper’s DIY shop. I added a touch of glitter to the yellow portion of the die cut and the stamp “celebrate” is from Technique Tuesday: AE studio. I added a bit of bakers twine and called it done. This is perfect for any type of celebration. You could even replace the flower die cut for a cupcake or birthday cake if you wanted a more birthday-like card.

Finally for you today, I have a super simple, super quick gift card that is perfect size for a Starbucks, iTunes, or other gift card to tuck inside:

Make-a-card Monday @thecraftypickle.com

The frame was a project life style card cut from a 12×12 sheet from Crate Paper’s The Pier collection. I added a dimensional die cut from American crafts Pretty Party stand outs and simply stamped a “Thanks A Bunch” sentiment from Dear Lizzie that fit perfectly with this card.

Don’t be afraid to mix and match collections, especially from the same manufacture. The colors generally match perfectly and it gives you a chance to really stretch your supplies.

I hope you feel inspired to create a few cards of your own. Spread some smiles with some handmade card love!

Happy Crafting!

Life is like a box of chocolates, and so is this great altered gift!

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today I bring you something different from a scrapbook page, card or project life layout. Fathers day is coming up and I know most dads will be wishing for power tools and sports tickets. My Dad likes all those things too, but my Dad also loves chocolate! I made a few of these gifts in the past, but for women. This time around I’m giving it a whirl with a fun masculine feel to it!

Simple, affordable, and far more adorable than any store-bought card. An altered box of chocolates is the perfect gift for anyone, even Dad!

For this gift I bought a box of chocolates from our local grocery store for about $10, but you could go more expensive or less expensive if you wanted. I would estimate the entire project cost me a total of $15. The box already had a white/red/gold color scheme to it so I decided to just run with what was already there and picked products that went along. Here is some quick shots I took on the iphone before I started (please forgive the glare and fuzzy “before” photos).

The top:

20130607-221622.jpg

The back:

20130607-221634.jpg

And the side:

20130607-221644.jpg

I felt I picked a really easy box to work with, it was already pretty on its own and the size was perfect for 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

Here is a photo of box top and side once I finished altering it.

Alter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.com

Alter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.com

I started with the side of the box. I added gold washi tape along the top lid side and again repeating on the bottom side of the box. I then added a frame of red metallic washi tape on the top of the lid. Once that was finished I began working on the lid cover.

Alter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.com

For the script writing you see in red, that was all done using my silhouette, a red pigment journaling pen and a pen holder made by Amy Chomas.***I will be doing a product review this coming week on Amy’s pen holder, the silhouette sketch pen holder, and the silhouette sketch pens.*** Then I cut out the title in a gold cardstock and the chocolates in various brown shades. If you are wanting the numbers for the silhouette cut files I used they are: Design ID #12274 and Design ID #12223.

I added shading with both chalk and copic markers. I also added some glitter accents using the Copic Atyou Spica glitter pens.

The brown grosgrain ribbon was attached around the top lid only. I made a flat bow by making a “ring” of ribbon and folding that flat. I pinched the two ends to the center of the ring and added a staple. I added another piece of ribbon to cover the staple, securing it with a couple of glue dots.

That completed the top and side portion, and while you can stop there and it would be just adorable, I decided to add a little more fun to the box and cover the bottom as well.

Alter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.com

The bottom was quickly completed by layering text boxes within a framed shape. It is my personal opinion that any chocolate gift should be calorie free so I made it so *wink*!  I added some more silly, fun text that should make my dad smile. Printed it out, trimmed it with my paper trimmer and stuck it to the bottom of the box. I then added one more chocolate die cut for some color.

Alter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.comAlter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.comAlter a box of chocolates for a gift! @thecraftypickle.com

You could make this for nearly any occasion and customize it so many different ways. I don’t think that I will ever give a “plain” box of chocolates again.

Happy Crafting!