Monday, November 2, 2015

Autumn Gift Box

And now for something a little different….

For some, Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte heralds the true beginning of autumn. I may not be one of those folks, but that didn’t dampen my excitement when some instant Starbucks Via arrived in a recent care package… in Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor! Really, it doesn’t just say “Pumpkin Spice.” There were enough to share, so I pulled out a couple for friends. Then I added a couple Spiced Apple Cider K-Cups. Then I added an extra Halloween decoration sign I made last year; this one asked “Got Candy?” Once I had this smile pile of goodies, I didn’t want to merely plop them into my friends’ hands; thus started my quest for a suitably decorated container.

My breakthrough came when I spotted an old oatmeal box in the pile of boxes on my desk that are awaiting their turn at being made into beautiful die cut elements. I pulled out one of my backs of reusable packaging materials, and was surprised to find that I actually had orange tissue paper! I also had some green plastic strapping bands that I pulled off of a box last month and the shade of green went well with the orange, so I added that to my materials pile. The front of the box was going to need more embellishment than just the strapping band, so I searched through my stash of paper for a few coordinating pieces. It took me 2 or 3 tries before I settled on my final paper/die cut/layer combination.

To start my gift packaging, I mixed a little red and metallic gold acrylic craft paint into a larger amount of orange acrylic paint, then used a foam brush to paint two layers onto the outside of the oatmeal box.


The paint somewhat obscured the text on the box, although it was much better after gluing on the orange tissue paper. I used a good old glue stick to adhere the tissue to the box, having learned last week how dreadful other adhesives look through tissue paper. When I laid the tissue on the sticky glue, I intentionally wrinkled the paper a little so that the half-inch tissue border I left over the top edges of the box would have a bit of wave texture. The oatmeal box ingredients still showed through a bit on the sides of the box, but a second and third layer of tissue took care of that.


After trimming the tissue paper edges, I used some E6000 glue to affix the green plastic strapping band all the way around the middle of the box. That glue choice may have been overkill, but I didn’t want that band to move. Ever. My original idea for the centerpiece embellishment on the front of the box was to use a stamped sentiment about autumn as the focal point of multiple die cut layers, but it turned out that I didn’t have any autumn-related stamps with me. Instead, I found a delightful little vintage piece in Authentique’s “Thrilling” Halloween stack that says “A treat is better shared with a friend.” I cut that out and stuck it to a fancy die cut dark yellow glitter cardstock piece (Spellbinders Shapeabilities Ornate Squares, DCWV Glitter Brights stack). The base layer of my embellishment was die cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 13 from white polka dotted orange paper from the Authentique stack. Once I did the final layout prior to gluing everything down, I realized that there wasn’t enough contrast between the yellow glitter and the orange polka dot papers. So I die cut a smaller Spellbinders Label 13 from DCWV black Glitzy Glitter paper, and that added the lacking contrast. I adhered the bottom two layers together, glued it to the box front over the strapping band, then added the top sentiment layer with pop dots.




{Crafted while listening to Florence + the Machine’s “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful” album}

Entered in:
4 Crafty Chicks - Challenge #270 anything goes
613 Avenue Create - Challenge #148 anything goes/host gift 
A Bit More Time To Craft - Challenge #7 anything goes - Winner! 
Altered Eclectics - November Challenge anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - Challenge #143 anything goes
Craft Your Passion - Challenge #286 anything goes
Crafting From The Heart - Challenge #84 anything goes 
Crafts And Me Inspiration - November Challenge "Autumn/Fall Colours"
Crafty Girlz - Challenge #8 anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - November Challenge anything goes
Create and Inspire - Challenge #32 anything goes 
Creative Fingers - Challenge #96 anything goes
Creative Moments - Challenge #80 anything goes
Eclectic Ellapu - Purple Team November Challenge "Altered Art" 
Fairytale Challenge - #129 box or album
Glitter 'N' Sparkle - Challenge #161 anything goes
Lunagirl Moonbeams & Lunagirl.com - November Thanksgiving/Harvest/Gratitude challenge 
Not Just Cards - Challenge #26 November anything goes
Papertake Weekly - Challenge "Take Your Pick"
Penny's Paper-Crafty - Challenge #251 anything goes
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - anything goes
Simply Papercraft - Challenge #16 anything goes
Sisters of Craft - November Challenge anything goes
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - #104 anything goes/shabby chic
The Crazy Challenge - #209 vintage
Word Art Wednesday - Challenge #207 anything goes
Your Scrapbook Place - November Challenge anything goes

19 comments:

  1. I love this project! Not only are the colors and image perfect for Fall, but saying Thanks to a friend is perfect for this month of Thanksgiving. Thank YOU for sharing your creation in my Thanksgiving/Harvest/Gratitude challenge at LunagirlMoonbeams.com! ~ Karen

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  2. Hi this is a wonderful creation. Thank you for joining us this month at Not Just Cards for challenge 26. Hugs Jackie DT

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  3. Super cute!!! Thank you for joining us at Creative Moments, good luck!!! Amy DT

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  4. This is very creative and a wonderful gift. Thank you so much for taking time to post your very creative art with us this week at Word Art Wednesday in our 207th AG challenge! Blessings, Carole

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  5. What a fun project!! Very creative...thank you for sharing with us at Penny's Paper-Crafty.
    Amy-DT

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  6. Great project although not convinced on the pumpkin spice latte---Thank you for joining us at Create and Inspire
    Carol DT x

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  7. an adorable and creative box! thanks for playing along with us at lunagirl moonbeams! xo

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  8. A fantastic project, a great idea and reminds me I have collected special stuff ready to make something spectacular. Thank you for sharing this with us over at Simply Papercraft. Sue DT xx

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  9. Die Box ist ja der Hammer. Boah! Danke für die Teilnahme bei Fairytale Challenge.
    Liebe Grüße Beate

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  10. Beautiful!! Love the idea!! Thanks for sharing with us at Fairy Tale Challenge.
    -Berina
    Moxie Craftie
    Fairy Tale Challenge GDT

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  11. Great creation, thank you for joining us at Crafting from the Heart.

    Pam x

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  12. Super cute!!! Thank you for joining us at 613 Avenue Create, good luck!!! Amy DT

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  13. Love how you have altered the box to make this...perfect for our challenge over at Altered Eclectics...x

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  14. What a fab idea! I love your giftbox! Thank you for joining us at Fairy Tale Challenge. Bianca XX

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  15. Nice project! Thanks for joining us at The Crazy Challenge.
    /Pillan, DT

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  16. A fabulous project, thank you for sharing it with us at Altered Eclectics.
    xxx Hazel.

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  17. this is a fantastic project! I love the box. thank you for joining our thanksgiving challenge at lunagirl moonbeams! xo

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  18. Great project. Love the colours. Thanks for joining in with the Sisters of Craft Challenge, good luck and best wishes, Anne DT.

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  19. Love this box great idea
    thanks for joining us at glitter n sparkle
    Lynne

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