ADORNit blog hop!

Hello and welcome to the ADORNit Make it Merry blog hop,  part of the Make it Merry blog party. And, just for the occasion I've changed my blog background to something a little more festive.

I hope that you are enjoying the inspiration you've seen so far from the other ladies involved in this blog hop. I always enjoy seeing all of the fabulous and creative ideas and hope that these things are helping you to get excited for the upcoming holiday season.

Just in case you stumbled upon my blog and didn't start at the beginning of the blog hop, please check here where you will find a list of all of the participants so that you don't miss out on anything. Simply start at the first blog listed and then follow the links in each consecutive blog until you get to the end.

Just a little insider information for you: My family and close friends know this about me- Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the special spirit of the holiday, the twinkling lights, the crispness in the air, beautiful holiday tunes, the excitement of finding that perfect gift for someone you love, decking the halls and every nook and cranny with the loveliness of Christmas. We pull out our decorations the day after Thanksgiving so that we can enjoy them for as long as possible.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is being able to make something special for someone I love. These things don't have to be fancy or cost a lot of money because if the gift comes from the heart you can never go wrong. I am going to share with you a little something I made yesterday out of something many of us having sitting around: an old box. They come in all sizes and can be repurposed for many different things. The little box I used was a hot cocoa container from a gift we received last year and I simply decorated it to be able to use it again this year (or, secretly, I might just hang onto it for myself!- don't tell!!).

Step 1: find an old box you can alter


Step 2: Gather materials: patterned paper, ink, pen, trimmer, adhesive, flower, tag, trims and anything else you want to add to your box

Step 3: remove any labels from box- not completely necessary but I didn't want any extra bumps on my box

Step 4: measure and trim patterned paper to fit lid and sides of box. I cut mine so that I'd have about an 1/8 inch border all the way around. I also inked the edges and added some faux stitching with my Sharpie to give it a little extra detail. You can use whatever ink color you prefer for the edges- I found that a combination of brown and black gave me the best effect for this project.

Step 5: The lid (if your box has one) - add papers and trim as shown.

Step 6: Gather materials for making the tag for the top of the box. I used the same paper for the top as I did for the sides which contrasted nicely with the tag and other supplies I had chosen for the lid. Add paper and tag, ribbon, flowers or whatever else you would like to use.

And there you have it- a repurposed box that you can now use for a small gift or a treat for someone you love. And, this didn't cost me a thing- I used an old box, papers from a kit from last year, as well as other trims and things from my craft supply.

I hope that you've enjoyed my little Christmas Box tutorial!

Please leave a comment here on my blog and I will do a drawing after the blog hop ends for a fun scrappy prize for one lucky winner. 

Now, please head on over to Michelle Lanning's blog and have a wonderful rest of your time blog-hopping!

Have a wonderful day!

Make it Merry blog hop with ADORNit

A little while back I participated in a blog hop with Carolee's ADORNit and had so much fun that I signed up to do it again and guess what? It starts today! Head on over to Georgana Hall's blog for the start of the festivities.

Every day for the next 5 days there will be fun, festive holiday inspiration at Georgana's blog and make sure to check her blog for the big BLOG HOP starting on the 13th! There will also be giveaways so make sure to stop by.

Adorn-It Blog Hop

Oh NO! I had a crazy night last night and thought that I needed to get this post up today, not last night...so I am a little behind. I am playing catch-up and hope the blog hop goes smoothly for everyone else. oops.

So, welcome to the Adorn-It Blog Hop!!!

If you haven't already, you can start the blog hop at the Adorn-It blog http://www.adornitscrapbook.com/bloghop and follow along as you go through everyone's blogs.
If you are new to my blog you don't know that I am the mother of three girls, all under the age of 5. Is that crazy or what? They definitely keep me going and there is no room for boredom in our house. No way. You absolutely would not believe some of the things we've been through with the kids this year. They are wild and silly and fun and sweet, they make me laugh, sometimes make me cry and other times make me want to pull my hair out but they are also a tremendous blessing in my life and the inspiration for most of my scrapbooking.

Are you having a fabulous summer so far? It is hard to believe that it will soon be coming to an end but we have some fun things coming in our family's future including our oldest starting kindergarden. Time passes so very quickly, doesn't it?

We wanted to share some summer favorites today so I have a couple of pages to share with you. Some of my girls' favorite things are swimming and swinging. They simply cannot get enough- I have lost count of how many trips we've taken to the park this summer but if it keeps the kids happy and gives me an opportunity to take pictures I'm all for it!!

I absolutely love love love journal spots and doodling on my alphas lately. It's quite a simple thing but adds a little handmade extra to a page or card. This paper was originally 12x12 but I cut it down to make the page you see here. Don't be afraid to cut into your papers and try something new. I kept this page simpler than my typical style to keep the focus on the pictures and to show that you don't have to do lots of techniques and throw on lots of product for a page to look cute.

Oh, I just thought to tell you that I pulled out some of my old scallop edge scissors to use on the left side of the strip of wallet photos. It's very subtle but a fun/cute thing to do with pictures.

Something else I like to do on my pages and cards is paper pleating. You can see that here on my "Swim Fun" page above. Pleating has become quite the trendy thing to do and looks like it might be hard to do but it really isn't. Simply cut a strip of paper the length you want, crumple it up really well taking care to not rip it too much (a few little tears are okay if you like the distressed look). Ink the edges if you want to or leave them plain. It looks cute either way! Then all you need to do is randomly pleat the paper and glue in place. Don't worry about measuring and being real accurate- I think it looks best when I make the folds completely random. You can stitch over this, use staples, use a lace or other trim on one edge, it's up to you. But, isn't it cute?! And ever-so-easy. Really.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you have fun visiting all of the other blogs. I'll have to go take a peek and see what everyone else is up to as well.

Make sure and leave a comment here by midnight tonight EST and I will do a drawing for a fun prize package.

Happy blog-hopping!!

Your next stop will be Lisa Manderachia's blog at http://risalenee.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful day!!!