In Any CASE ...... with Melnda and Melissa

Join us twice a month as we CASE, “Copy And Selectively Edit”, artwork created by the Art Department of Close To My Heart as showcased in the current Idea Books and our Make It From Your Heart How-To Books.
On the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, at 7 pm CST, we will direct you towards a piece of art and recreate it using the exact products or others that compliment its initial design. Tips, techniques and assembly directions will be shared in detail to help you recreate them on your own.
As you reproduce the items we have shared, post them on social media using the hashtag #ctmhinanycase. We will randomly search that hashtag and reward those who CASE our items. Winners will be announced on our blogs so be sure to follow us!

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In Any Case with .......... Melinda

and Melissa

Did you know that there is an incredible sale going on at Close to My Heart right now? It is called Die-Namite. What it means is that we have a bunch of thin cuts on sale at 25 - 30% off.

So I decided to use one of these thin cuts - a gift box to CASE the cute gift box on page 68 of the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog. What do I mean by CASE? Copy and Share EVERYTHING!

Don't have a copy of our new catalog? You will receive one free with your first order placed on my website or you can see it here online, or let me know you want one and I will be happy to drop one in the mail to you.

Here is my adorable gift box.

The box is cut with the thin cut, Gift Box (Z4150), that during the month of March is 25% off. You can cut and decorate this box in 30 minutes max. Add some candy or a gift card and you have a very nice little gift.

This box is made using Charcoal cardstock (X5953). I ran the thin cut through my cuttlebug and cut the box out. I also used the rectangular shaped die through with Almond cardstock (X5949) to mat the sentiment. The sentiment is stamped in our White Daisy cardstock (1385) with Charcoal Ink (Z2831) using our stamp set, Treat for You (D1769). I cut the White Daisy cardstock into a 1.25" x 2.25" so that the Almond cardstock equally mats the sentiment.

One thing I like about this thin cut is that even the score lines are indicated once you cut out the box and it is super quick.

Tip: There are different ways to cut with the cuttlebug. I prefer to place the cardstock on my "B" plate and then the thin cut with the cutting side down. This enables me to see where I am cutting.

So, I placed the darker side of the cardstock up so that it ends up on the outside.

I folded the box on the score lines and was not thrilled that the cardstock started cracking. Yikes!

The thin cut is great in that it shows the score line, but to avoid the cracking I chose to score the lines with my Scor-pal. Voila! No cracking!

My next Tip: adhere the flaps of the box together with Glue Dots (1772), one on each flap. Easy Peasy!

Tip: Decorate the back of the box so that you can easily open your gift box.

In the original picture, I am betting that the Silver Shimmer Trim (Z1799) used to decorate was probably cut in half to make it thinner. Well, I would rather die than cut shimmer trim in half so I am using the full 1/2" wide shimmer trim. I cut it at 5.25".

First I placed my flowers down (for placement). The flowers were cut from our Flower Market cartridge (Z3285), one of my favorite. Here is my design space file. The flowers were cut with Pansy cardstock (X5966) and I used Pixie cardstock (X5984) for the centers. Since our cardstock is two toned, all flowers were cut from the same piece. They were just turned over when you wanted a darker color.

Once I adhered the flowers with my Bonding Memories Glue Pen (Z553), I placed the Silver Shimmer trim above it. Any trim that was above the edges was trimmed off.

Cut these ends off

My last Tip is using the Bashful Shimmer brush (Z3400) over your stamped sentiment. Let your stamped image dry well. Then take a very dry Shimmer Brush and lightly dab the brush around your stamped sentiment. Try to avoid the stamped image as much as possible but go right up to it with the Shimmer Brush.

This is what your stamped image looks like when you don't dry the brush well enough.

And this is what it looks like when I stamped it again and dried out my brush.

After you check out my sweet gift box, head on over to my Partner in CASEing, Melissa Robinson, and check out how to make her sweet treat bag.

Tune in again, on March 22nd, for the next episode and be sure to CASE one/all of the artwork we highlight and tag it  #ctmhinanycase on social media. We'll come looking for you and you may be a prize winner!