Gift Box

Whether we obey the three-day rule or not, we all know that sending a thank you note to someone who gave us a gift is the right thing to do. But why stop there? Sure we can make a cute card, but why not do something different? Why not thank someone for a gift with another gift? Nothing major, but something that will say, " I really appreciate your thoughtfulness". Like a few cookies, or a couple of candy bars. Stretch that idea a little bit and make the box for the gift too. 
With that in mind, I decided to post the directions to make a gift box. I made a small one as an example, but you can make it in any size. Let's do it? 

 The material and the instructions you will need are in the pictures below.

A square piece of paper with the pattern of your choice

Turn the paper with white side up and draw a line from one corner to the other on both sides

Fold the corners toward the center

Make sure the four corners are folded as shown

Fold one side like this

Then the other side. Press firmly to mark the paper.

Open the folded sides, turn your square and fold the other two sides

 Cut the paper just where shown with precision scissors.

Repeat the procedure, and do it on the opposite side too.

When open, it will look like this on both sides.

Glue the corners of the sides that were not cut on the inside bottom of your box

Fold the cut sides as shown.

Glue the open sides over the ones folded like this.

This is how the bottom of your box should look like.

Cut another square piece of paper of the same pattern 0.2-inch bigger than the first one and repeat the entire process.

Now you have a lid for your box.

I didn't close the lid all the way to show how they fit perfectly.

Now it is closed all the way and decorated. The tag is handmade too of course.

Now I can put a few kisses and a little note in this one, and give it to my husband after Valentine's Day, or my birthday.
How about you? What are you going to use your box for? Let me know.

Vanias Reed     

LOVE

Two days ago my husband asked me (or "axed" me, as my son says - lol) if I make only 4" x 6" cards, because it seems that I've been posting cards only that size. So here is a 5" x 7" card for you. Enjoy making it!

See pictures below for the directions and material you will need.

Maroon cardstock to form card.

Light pink textured cardstock

3D sticker letters (I bought these embellished already), 2"x 2" maroon squares, and 1 1/8"x  1 1/8" light pink squares.

Sentiment phrase,  dark pink bow, pink pearl.

1-inch heart die-cuts from glitter paper for detail inside.

Adhere all the material above to the card.

Easy and fun to make? I think so too.

Vanias Reed         

A Valentine for Your Spouse

Sometimes we get trapped in the ideas the media offers about love, romance and marriage. Love is more than just a feeling, it is a decision to put the other person above ourselves. Romance is NOT an emotion, but how we nurture the relationship we have with our spouse. What about marriage? Marriage is so much more than a beautiful wedding.  What do we need to have a happy marriage? Money? Buy expensive presents to make our spouses happy as commercials on TV want us to believe? I don't think so. That's just another trap. We need to DECIDE to love our spouses even when we don't like their actions much. We need to nurture the bond we started building on the day we said I do using small gestures that will reassure our spouses of our love for them.
So here is a simple idea to romance your marriage beginning on this Valentine's Day. I hope you enjoy it, and come up with some ideas of your own. It is a coupon book, one of the gifts I gave my husband that he liked the most.

You will need plain white paper, a computer, a printer, red cardstock paper, a stapler, red and white twine, eyelets and eyelet settler, and lots of good ideas to make your coupon book personal. Below you will see some coupons I made, but they are just ideas. You can use them, but remember to come up with some of your own because no one knows your spouse better than you.

 REMEMBER! THE CHILDREN WON'T BE ALLOWED ON ANY OF THE EVENTS. THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE!

The red carsdtock is for the book cover.

Punch small holes on the covers, staple them and the coupons.

Settle the eyelets.

I used a glitter pen to decorate the printed hearts, but gemstones or stickers can be used too.

Hide the staple and the eyelets with a cute bow made out of twine.

These coupons can be used throughout the year because they don't have an expiration date. I hope they will inspire you to keep the romance in your marriage.

Vanias Reed       

Music & Valentine's Day III

You probably figured out that I love music. I firmly believe that music and art come straight from the heart of God. Just take a look at His creation, and listen to the birds. Pure art and music. Therefore the card I'm posting today has music too. Enjoy.

 Here is the material you will need and the directions to make this card:

Black, white and red cardstock paper, music sheet.

Self-healing cutting board, ruler, corner cutter, glue dots, craft knife and card scorer.

3 different size die-cut hearts

White 3/8 inch ribbon

Form a 41/4 x 51/2 - inch card from black cardstock

Cut a 37/8 x 51/8 - inch piece from white cardstock and a 2 1/2 x 5 1/8 - inch music paper. Cut a 2 x 5 1/8 - inch strip from black cardstock. Accordion fold it one time on long sides. Adhere music paper to white paper and black strip.

Glue ribbon and bow to the biggest heart then paste it to black strip. Adhere the other two hearts as show. Adhere small white letters to the black strip as shown.

Detail inside.

When the card is ready you have the phrase "forever love".  Have fun making this one, and surprise the person you love. 

Vanias Reed             

Sepia

We all have different preferences, don't we? I like dogs, you might like cats. My husband is from Michigan, therefore he prefers Miracle Whip to Mayo. There are people who enjoy all the hearts and butterflies on cards, and there are those who don't. Some like red, others prefer blue. The list is endless because the Almighty God is so creative and made us all different with different taste. With that said, here is a card that some of you will find too different, and some will love. 

To make this card you will need:

Black, vanilla and dark beige cardstock paper. Notice that I already die cut the dark beige one.

A die-cutting machine and oval cutting + embossing die.

Stamp, brown stamp ink, and dark brown embellishment pearls.

Red bow, yellow pearl, black fine point pen for details. You can use a light beige bow too, it will look very good.

Stamp, brown stamp ink and more pearls for the detail inside.

Now you have a card that can be used for Valentine's Day, an Anniversary, Get Well... Remember the choice is yours. It is your preference.

 

Vanias Reed