Thursday, January 25, 2018

Keeping Christmas {Something Special}


Hello and Welcome! I am so excited that you have stopped by today because I have some super fun news! For those of you who know about my Keeping Christmas  series, well, I am continuing it again this year, but it is even BIGGER AND BETTER! My wonderful friend Lesley had the fabulous idea to expand my little project from last year to create a monthly blog hop with some of my favorite ladies from the stamping community! I am beyond thrilled! Thank you, Lesley! I still want to encourage EACH of YOU to please play along if you are inspired to do so. I will be using the hashtag #keepingchrismtas2018 on Instagram. You can follow me @kellylunceford. Here is the list of the rest of the "Keeping Christmas" team! *eep* Did I really just type that? How exciting!
Kelly Lunceford ( you are here)







For my first project of the year, I chose to make some gift card holders. This was something that I meant to do all last year, and NEVER got around to it and boy was I sad when wrapping time came around! The Pillow Box Die is the perfect size and shape to hold gift cards! I just ordered Pom Pom Pals and it came yesterday, so I knew that these cute little images would be the perfect embellishment for my gift card boxes!



I had originally only planned on making 3 because there are three images in the set, but since I was able to get four boxes from the 2 pieces of cardstock I was cutting anyway, I just made four. I stamped two of the snowman image because he has less coloring to do! LOL! The boxes are die cut from Enchanted Evening cardstock and then adhered using Scor Tape. I find that is is a nice and strong bond for these boxes. I also added a strip of Kraft cardstock that is embossed using the Knitted embossing folder from Richard Garay! I thought it complemented the scarves, hats and mittens from the images nicely.



The images are colored using Copic markers and die cut using a generic Nestabilities circle die. I just made sure it was large enough to compensate for the scarves that extend beyond the striped border. Each circle is added to the box using foam squares as well as a dot of hot glue for insurance purposes. When working on things this far ahead of time, it is smart to make sure everything is secure and won't come loose in storage. One of the best things about these boxes, is that they can lay flat during the year so I won't have to worry about them getting crushed. I did adhere everything while they were popped up, but I undid the flaps and put them in the box with all of my cards that I make for the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge





I tied them up with some red and white baker's twine. I was lucky enough to find a pom pom for the penguin's hat as well as the ear muffs for the snowmen. The Rudolph image boasts a red bulbous button I was lucky enough to find in my stash. Isn't it perfect? Once they had all been assembled, I spritzed them with some Shimmer Spray for some holiday sparkle!

The sentiments are heat embossed in white onto strips of cardstock. I stamped a "to: from:" sentiment onto the back using some of the included sentiments. I did this while they were flat, obviously. It is so nice to get everything done as much as possible so there aren't any last minute additions to make during the hectic Christmas season. I am so excited to be continuing this fun series this year and I hope you will play along as well! If you create something, please leave me a comment so I can come and see it! Thanks for fluttering by!

26 comments:

Marcia Hill said...

What a great idea Kelly! LOVE your pillow boxes and love even more that I have everything you used to create my own gc holders for next Christmas! Had to take a stroll through your past posts and I'm just blown away...you are so talented and I'm so glad that I've gotten to know you through MM! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful creativity...I'm loving it!! :0)

JoAnn said...

I think this is a great idea Kelly. I love doing Christmas cards and projects all year long. Love your little gift card boxes with those cute images, they are adorable. Thanks for the inspiration.

Anonymous said...

These are adorable! Love the nose and muffs and pompom stuff!

Lesley said...

These are so attractive! I always forget about pillow boxes! I need to make some for my stash! Perfect for gift cards!

Julee (Vervegirl) said...

These are so cute, Kelly! I can't believe I've never made a pillow box gift card holder. I think I'm going to have to try one now. That little red button for Rudolph is PERFECT! Thanks for letting us Keep Christmas with you this year! :)

Kim Heggins said...

These are just the cutest little pillow boxes ever! Love your sweet snowmen with the pom poms on their hats!

Cindy Otto said...

I’m so happy you are continuing your Christmas posts. I loved doing some of the project last year, especially the Tissue holders and little totes. My granddaughters loved them. AND, what a great idea to do a blog hop! Looking forward to the 25th every month. Thank you for sharing!

Gloria said...

Very cute and what a super idea!

Nance said...

Oh my gosh, Kelly! I love these so much! I want one! Soooo adorable! I love those pompoms and the big red nose. My problem making these early is where to stash them that I will remember and they won't get munched. What do you do with yours? I'm so glad we're doing this monthly hop!

Karen Day said...

Such a sweet way to give a gift card! Love the hop idea :o)

Notes by Nina said...

These are such wonderful projects Kelly, I love all the fun details.

Angela Walters said...

These pillow boxes are so sweet! You were super smart to think ahead and make gift card boxes early for Christmas. I always need those, but don't always get them done! I'm going to follow your lead and make them early! (Why didn't I think of that???) I also have the stamp set Pom Pom Pals. I love how you used it on the bands for your boxes. You did a great job coloring them and the fun embellishments add so much!!

Celeste Goff said...

Oh, how absolutely adorable! I love the pillow boxes you created and the great little pom poms you added to each adorable little critter!

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you, Celeste! I appreciate you stopping by! ❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I hope you got your package safely. I sent it out last week.

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you, Nina!

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you, Karen! I appreciate you stopping by! ❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you so much!!! Yes, I'm glad too! It's going to be much more fun with the friends!❤❤❤ it's funny you asked about where I store my projects....I put them in boxes in my storage room. The day of the hop my washing machine didn't stop filling and we had our storage room flood....like big time. A lot of tags and cards I had leftover from this past Christmas were ruined. I will be putting everything in plastic totes from now on.😱😱😱

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you!❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

I absolutely loved that you participated last year! It meant so much to me! I hope you will continue!

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you, Kim!❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

Yes! You need to try it! They are so fun! Thank you so much for the sweet comment!

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you Lesley! I appreciate you stopping by! Hugs❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you so much for the sweet comment! Hugs❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

Thank you JoAnn! You're always so sweet! You make my heart happy!❤❤❤

Kelly Lunceford said...

I'm so glad to have gotten to know you too!❤❤❤ crafty friends are the best!!! Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comment!