October 31, 2014

Sweet Treats | Fry Box Packaging

October 31, 2014/ Dana

When I opened my Studio Calico creative team box this month, there was this adorable french fry stamp set and an idea popped up in my head immediately: Let's make and use it on a fry box! I couldn't make it in time for reveal but the good thing is that it's finished now and I took a few extra photos so you guys can follow along with the process and make your own.

Step 1 - Gather your supplies! I changed out a few items as I was going but that's roughly what you need.

Step 2 - You have different options to create your fry box. For example, you can use an actual fry box, disassemble it and use that as a template. In this case, just trace your pattern onto cardstock and cut it out. If you don't have or want to use that but you have a Silhouette cutter - hooray! You can download the Fry Box template I made for the Silhouette Cameo.

Step 3 - Stamp and heat emboss a sentiment on the front of the box pattern. Haven't done it before? It's fairly simple: Stamp the sentiment with Versamark ink, pour embossing powder over it, then flick off the excess powder by tapping on the back. Lastly, use a heat gun to melt the powder into the paper. Done!

Step 4 - Flip the pattern around, so you can work on the "inside" of the box. I clustered a few sentiments from the french fry stamp set on an acrylic block and stamped them as a repeat pattern.

Step 5 - Assemble the box. First, fold the curve at the bottom of the box. If you use my Silhouette template, it's fairly easy since the bottom will be perforated. Apply a thin strip of adhesive tape on the inside flaps of the front and on the triangular side flaps. Fold triangle flaps up, then the front flaps over the back flaps and line them all up on the bottom edge.

Step 6 - Fill your box! I used Maoam sticks since the are fairly "fry shaped". Also, you can take this a step further and decorate the box more or package the sweets in clear foil.

… and basically that's it! An easy peasy and fast way to give a little something just because. Let me know what you think or how you plan to use it. Happy fright night, everyone!

PS: You still have until midnight (EST) to comment on my #SCinspires blog post for a chance to win a Studio Calico card kit!

September 14, 2014

Sweet Treats | Cute Halloween Treat Bags

September 14, 2014/ Dana

Homemade Halloween Treat Bags by @pixnglue

When I said during Studio Calico reveal that I can't wait to see what everyone "fills" the jar stamp with, a fun idea formed. Why not actually fill it with something? I came up with a simple idea using paper bags which you can use for halloween treats or really any small treat you'll need to think of this fall/winter.

Here's what you need:

SUPPLIES: Stamps: Studio Calico Jar Stamp | Ink: Versafine Onyx Black | Patterned Paper: Studio Calico Poet Society Card Kit | Other: glitter tape, washi tape, typewriter or fine tip pen, printable labels, Mister Huey's Spray Mist, paper bags, die-cuts, Studio Calico wooden mini clothespins, glue tape, acrylic block, small scissors, gummy candy to fill your treat bag, food grade cellophane foil.

Step 1 (important!): Help yourself to some gummy candy to get the creative juices flowing :)

Step 2: Take one of the paper bags and stamp the jar outline on the front. Tip: It helps to pick up the stamp from a flat surface rather than lining it up on the acrylic block.

Step 3: Stamp the jar lid inside of the jar outline.

Step 4: Poke a hole in the paper bag and cut around the inside line of the stamp.

Step 5: Cut a piece of the food grade cellophane to fit inside the paper bag.
Step 6: Use a glue tape on the edges of the cellophane, then place it inside of the paper bag.

Step 7: Through the jar opening in the paper bag, remove the backing from the glue tape strips and press down to bond the cellophane and paper.

Step 8: Sprinkle on some Mister Huey if you want. When the mist is dry, fill your treat bag.

Step 9: Decorate the outside of the bag with washi tape, die cuts and labels.

… and you're finished! What do you think? They are easy to make and mass produce. If you don't have paper bags on hand, you could play around with envelopes as well or die-cut some with a Silhouette Cameo for example.

If you go ahead and try this tutorial on your own, feel free to leave a comment or link me up. I would love to see what you make from it! Thanks for visiting!

Update: I think these stamps would make a cute addition to your Halloween Crafting!

May 30, 2014

Use your scraps!

May 30, 2014/ Dana

This Thursday was a national holiday, a rainy one - not exactly what I had hoped for but it got me to work on my ever growing scrap pile - yay! I gathered some of the patterned paper from previous card kits which I had set aside for later use. Some sheets were used for just a tiny punched shape or two.

After digging around in my steel die drawer, a fun idea developed: decorated mini envelopes either for little note cards, enclosure cards or to give a gift card when the occasion strikes. Sounds good? I'll show you my process!

I have a die that perfectly fits for the smaller 6x6 pads but you can always use your Silhouette Cameo machine to design and cut envelopes as big or as small as you want/need. You can see, some of the envies are not perfect in that the die reached into previously punched areas but 99% of the time you can cut them with a pair of scissors later so that you won't notice.

Next up, gather the leftover scraps, a bunch of stamps, embellishments and leftover ribbon and pair them up with one of the die-cut envelopes like I did below. I used some older and some brand new stuff like the Howdy stamp set from Studio Calico's Hello, hello kits. My only rule was not to cut into a full size sheet of paper.