Birthday Gift + Gift Box - Product Mash Up

Hi everyone!

I needed to create a gift box for the upcoming 16th birthday of my niece. And what better way to celebrate, then pairing up some of my favorite brands and favorite products to craft the perfect, one of a kind gift box.

...and yes, I said sixteen!!!

I cannot believe it!

As one of the most important people in my life, I have handmade her everything she has ever asked for, not asked for, and even merely said she liked. She loves getting handmade 'everything' from her favorite designer aunt, so I can't help but spoil her.

So this birthday is special, she is working so hard towards getting her drivers license. What better gift then a customized key chain for those truck keys!

Blue Moon Beads Made Me line has this key ring combo, and you simply add some of their monogram stickers. I also attached a Wish charm from the Blue Moon Beads Mantra Me line, and then finished off with a pink leather tassel I had on hand.

Leaving enough space for her to add any other special charms she wants to carry with her daily.

Next gift is a necklace, made with the Blue Moon Beads Mantra Me line. The Chain comes designed like this, I simply added this tassel and Enjoy The Journey Ring.

For the final jewelry gift, I made her a silver bangle bracelet. Again, from the Blue Moon Beads Mantra Me line. I made it simple by just attaching the Have Courage plaque.

Making each piece with meaning and encouragement, as she has such a bright future ahead of her.

 Now, onto the packaging!

With a DCWV Gift Box, some Mod Podge and your favorite printed papers, you can create a fully custom box!

I used this beautiful sheet from the DCWV Neon Daydream stack.

Tied the box close with some textured May Arts Ribbon.

I easily made some tags with the Fiskars Tag Punch. Added this cute metallic gold American Crafts Diamond rub-on to the tag. Layered the paper tag with a round Hampton Arts Wood Tag, which I made pink with a few dabs of the Tim Holtz Picked Raspberry Distress Ink, and added some Tim Holtz Liquid Pearls Gold dots to.

My favorite part??

The initial charm, made with Epiphany Square Tool and Square Charm Accessory.

I simply drew a 'j' on black paper, traced the cut area, added the bubble cap and cut! Then, used Loctite to secure it inside the charm, and you have a personalized charm! So easy!

And there it is...

a finished, one of a kind, custom box for a soon-to-be sixteen year old!!

If you made it all the way to the end of this long blog, THANK YOU!!

I hope I have inspired you to create something today! 

Blue Moon Beads Tiny Worlds Owl Bracelet

Look how cute the Blue Moon Beads Tiny Worlds line is! This line comes with a variety of items you need to customize some incredible jewelry pieces. You can either use them separate, or combined with the enclosures to create a 'tiny world' jewelry piece.

Here I used the Tiny Worlds Owl set on my wood bead bracelet.

I used the owl as the bracelet focal piece, and then dangled the darling leaves off a small bronze chain.

[ Some products used on this project were provided to me for review by DCWV, but all comments, ideas and images are my own ]

DCWV Watercolor Smile Card

DCWV EMBOSSED SMILE CARD TUTORIAL

SUPPLY LIST

DCWVEmbossed White Stack

DCWV Two-Tone Solid Cardstock

Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon and Seedless Preserves

Ink Blender Tool

Flower Embellishment

Chipboard Letters

Ruler

Scissors or Paper Cutter

Glue or Double Sided Tape and Hot Glue

Spray Bottle and Paper Towel

 

Grab your DCWV Embossed White Stack and find this floral sheet. Using Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon and Seedless Preserves, blend theses colors around a 7” x 8” area. 

Spritz some water on the paper and let sit for a few seconds, then blot with a paper towel. Repeat this again. 

With your blender tool, and the same distress inks, lightly add more color to the sheet. Make sure you do this lightly so the color only transfers to the raised design on the paper. This will give a little more definition and make the print more visible.

Set this aside to dry.

Find a solid color cardstock that coordinates with your inks. I chose a 2 tone cardstock from DCWV. The other side of this paper is a different shade.

Cut a 7” x 10” piece, and fold it in half.

On the front of the card, measure in 1/8” on the 3 sides. Using scissors or a paper cutter, cut off those 1/8” strips. 

If done correctly, once you fold the card, you will see the second color shade from the other side of the paper. This will give a border effect to the card. 

Cut a piece from your embossed floral sheet. The dimensions will vary, depending on the cut of your card base. I measured my piece so it will be constantly 1/8” smaller on all sides. 

Secure this piece to the card using glue or double sided tape. 

Grab some chipboard letters. I had these darling DCWV Polka Dot letters in my craft stash, but they were silver in color. I wanted them gold, so I grabbed my metallic gold spray paint and sprayed them. If you paint your chipboard, make sure they are completely dry before handling them.

Once you are ready, secure them to the card, centered horizontally. I used a ruler to make sure I applied them straight. 

Since the embossed paper I used was a floral print, I wanted to add some flowers to the card.

I dabbed this white flower on the distress ink pads to get a little coordinating color on them. I then hot glued them to the bottom right corner of the card. 

Now you have your finished card!

Mantra Me Jewelry

Do you love Mantras?

Have you heard of the new Mantra Me line by Bead Landing?

This line is incredible. They offer a wide variety of base options, such as bracelets and chain necklaces. Then, you can choose from small charms, mini tassels and plaques to attach to fully customize your jewelry.

For this bracelet, I used a bracelet base, a word plaque, a bead charm, arrow charm and a cute mini tassel.

This necklace is a combination of the chain base, feather connecting charm and a word charm to finish it!

 

This bracelet set is made from some beautiful Blue Moon Beads large beads, and a couple of the Mantra Me Charms.

The number of unique design combinations you can create are endless!

[ Some products used on this project were provided to me for review by DCWV, but all comments, ideas and images are my own ]

Paper Succulent and Flower Frame

Don't have a green thumb?
No problem!

DCWV has you covered with their new DIY Project Stacks! I used both Paper Plants and Rolled Flowers Stacks for my Succulent and Flower Frame Decor.

They make it so easy, by providing you templates in the back of the stack. All you do is punch those out, trace on the paper that you choose, cut, and put together!

[ Some products used on this project were provided to me for review by DCWV, but all comments, ideas and images are my own ]

I cut a few butterflies and bird out of the darling Birds & Butterflies Stack and added them to my frame also.

What do you think? Any fun projects you are going to make with these amazing DCWV Stacks?

Reclaimed Window Family Frame

Reclaimed Window - Family Frame

My brother has the most amazing family-in-law! They are so generous and welcoming and I am so lucky they treat me like family as well.

Unfortunately, about 7 months ago, their home was partially destroyed by smoke and was unlivable. They lost almost everything in the house, and had to tear the house apart and redo everything. 

I was able to take their family pictures last winter, and I thought it would be a heart-felt Christmas gift to make them some new home decor, and include all of their beautiful faces. Not that they need to be reminded, but this is a daily reminder that people you love are the most important things in life, not material items. 

I was able to get my hands on this beautiful old window, added a new coat of paint and distressed it.

I added some beautiful, and perfectly stated, DCWV Wall Transfers.

I loved this 'DCWV Life Is Sweet' transfer, so I put it front and center, as the main focus for the frame.

I printed out a few of my favorite pictures from the shoot, and secured them to some fiber board with ModPodge. I screwed some hooks into the frame and hung the images on them. This way, as the family grows, they can replace them with new pictures.

For the rest of the wording and the leafy decals, I used the DCWV Remember To Cherish, DCWV Winter Garden Peel & Stick Wall Accents, and the DCWV Swirly Branches Peel & Stick Wall Accents. They all coordinated so well!

 [ Some products used on this project were provided to me for review by DCWV, but all comments, ideas and images are my own ] 

Extra Large Holiday Bows

If you have a large gift to wrap this season, don't spend too much money on a pre-made bow from the store!

Make your own (and have a full stack left over!)

The DCWV 16x20 Premium Stack is perfect for making extra large, incredible, gift bows.

I found this tutorial online for a large gift bow, and come to find out.... a single page of the DCWV 16x20 stack is the perfect size for a single bow! Think of how many you could make with a single stack!!

I decorated the paper first. I then distressed and crumpled the paper I made for my dad's bow.

I also made glitter gift tags from metal tags.

For my mom's bow, I did not distress the paper. I spritzed with paint for some color.

You can make each bow unique!

I would love to post a picture of these adorable bows on my large Christmas gifts,... but they are a surprise (it's not Christmas yet)So please use your imagination!

 [ Some products used on this project were provided to me for review by DCWV, but all comments, ideas and images are my own ]