Hexagon Box for a little Elegance

I don't know what it is about a hexagon or octagon box that says "elegance" to me. Maybe it harkens back to the days when ladies wore hats and kept them in fancy hat boxes in their closets.  I've wanted to make one of these for quite some time now, and I finally had time over the holiday weekend to get it started.

I didn't think I'd be able to get this posted so early today, but we had a bit of excitement in our house late last night. When I went to let my dogs out for the last potty break of the night, a bird flew right in the front door!  I have lots of baskets hanging from the beams on my family room ceiling, and he was apparently hiding in one of them while I searched high and low throughout the house for him.  I finally gave up and went to bed, only to hear a huge "crash" when he knocked a brass "basket" from the ceiling and it hit the hardwood floor.  My son and I spent about 20 minutes trying to herd him toward one of 2 open doors while the temperature in the house dropped to about 30 degrees, but we finally got him out around 1:30 am, and I went to bed.  Unfortunately, the adrenaline was pumping and I was wide awake, soooo....

I finished this little box, wrote a post for it and went to bed.  Note to self: when you write at 2AM, you make a LOT of mistakes, including not adding any links to the files! I won't do that again.  I had to totally rewrite this one this morning.

Anyway, I'm thrilled with the outcome, and I hope you will be, too.  It was a difficult box to get a good photo of, but I think you can get the general idea from this one, though it looks a bit distorted.  It's much prettier in person.

Note: The lid of this box fits tightly, but it does fit.  When you're putting it together, go a little tight on the bottom of the box, and not so tight on the lid.  You'll also notice that there are tabs on the 6 top pieces.  Those of you who have made my boxes before know that I hate raw edges on them, so these tabs are to reinforce the top edge.  Put the 6 sides together first, then fold the tabs in to the inside and burnish well to make sure the adhesive sticks.

As always, I love comments, so please leave me one below if you download the file. And if you haven't noticed yet, I've added a Gallery where I'm posting all of my project photos in one place, along with links to the original posts - and files.  If you send me a photo of a project you made with one of my files, you just might find it featured in my Gallery!

Enjoy the new box, and have a SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cartridges Used: George, Accent Essentials
Hexagon Box file for Design Studio
Hexagon Box file for Gypsy

My blog got a New Year's facelift!

Most of you know that I've only had this little blog for about 6 weeks, and I used ready-made backgrounds and other elements to start with so I could get up and running in a hurry.  Being the creative type like all of you are, and not wanting to have a blog that looked like anyone else's, I have been doing a little research on how to design my own.  Well, today I really spent the "rump time" at my computer and put together a whole new look, and I have to say that I'm pretty darn happy with the outcome! I still have some tweaking to do to some little things that will likely drive me crazy until they're fixed, but overall, I think I have a look that I'll stick with - at least for a few months.

I want to thank the desingers that I got the "papers" and other elements from to put my page together.  Amanda over at kevinandamanda.com has some gorgeous stuff, and she's also a very good photogrpaher who gives tutorials on her site sometimes.  Be sure to check her out.  I also want to thank Carrie Stevens at Creative Complexions.  I got most of the elements I used from her site.  Both ladies offer free downloads.

So, now that I have the blog all spiffed up, what about a new file?  Well.....I just so happen to have one almost ready to share with you.  It's an elegant little hexagon-shaped box. Think miniature hat box.  I have some final details to work on, but I will have it ready for you as my New Year's gift tomorrow afternoon, so come back to check it out. I think you'll like it!

Tall Box Trio

I know I promised to get this posted this morning, but converting to Gypsy gave me some trouble, and I didn't want you Gypsy ladies to feel left out, so it took me a little longer than I anticipated. 

These boxes came about as a result of a special request from Regina over on the Cricut message boards. She needed a tall box for the bottles from Bath and Body Works that she was giving for Christmas gifts.  I liked the one I designed for her so much, that I played around with it and came up with 2 more lid versions. I also love that it's adjustable for items of different heights.  The three boxes in the photo are all cut the same size, but the deep lid allows for taller items.  Don't you just love things that are versatile?!

I have included a tutorial, although the assembly is really very easy, only because there are some little tabs for the top edge of the box so there won't be raw edges.  I don't like raw edges on my boxes because it makes them less sturdy, and I think they look more "professional" with finished edges.  The tabs are to be folded to the inside and adhered down. There's a short tutorial with photos so it will be clear what to do with the tabs.

You will need two full sheets of 12"x12" cardstock for this box. You will also need the George cartridge for the box with scalloped edge lid, and George and Plantin Schoolbook for the rick-rack and flower lids.

If you download this file, please do leave a comment below. It is much appreciated, and it inspires me to create more projects to share!

Cartridges: George, Plantin Schoolbook
Tall Box Trio files for DS

Tall Box Trio files for Gypsy

Merry Christmas to my readers!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that Santa was very good to you!  I got my Christmas present months ago when my husband let my buy and USE my Gypsy early.  Isn't he the best?!  He thinks the Cricut is awesome, so he pretty much lets me have anything I want that's Cricut-related, even though we're currently paying off my daughter's November wedding and my son's tution is due this month.  My family is healthy, my husband and I both have jobs, and I have all next week off to play! I am very blessed, indeed!

We had a wonderful two days in our hometown with both families, and I never even went near a computer - or (gasp) anything crafty.  I'm home now, and I have a few things left to do before our Christmas celebration Sunday with my daughter and her new husband, but I'm ready to get back to my Cricut! 

I have an adorable little box to share with you tomorrow. I call it my "tall box," and it has 3 different lid options in one file.  It was a special request from Regina over on the Cricut message boards who needed a box that would hold the bottles from Bath and Body Works that she was giving for Christmas.  I designed this box for her, and I love it so much that I'm going to share it with all of you.  The picture seen here is one that she made with the scalloped lid option (thank you Regina for test cutting it!)

I have some tweaking to do before I pass it along - you know what a perfectionist I am.  I plan to have it ready to share with you by tomorrow morning, so please be sure to check back to download it.  As always, it will be available in Design Studio and Gypsy format.

Happy Holidays and Cricut Kisses!

To see post with links to files for this projects, click here.

I've been featured! SO excited about my new venture!

Believe it or not, every once in a while, I do take a break from my Cricut.  Recently I made my very first digital scrapbook, and it's been featured in The Friday Five at Scrapblog.com!  If you haven't heard about Scrapblog, let me tell you about my first experience with them:

Need a last minute gift? Fill this little TAKEOUT BOX with goodies!

I made my annual batch of peppermint bark today, and then I realized that I needed something to put small batches in for a few people, so....I went to my craft room and came out with this little cutie!  It's shaped like the traditional Chinese takeout box, but it's constructed a little more simply, and it's so easy to make that you don't even need a tutorial!  Just score, fold and adhere the bottom and side, add an optional ribbon handle and you're done!  I whipped up 5 in about 30 minutes, start to finish.  The file doesn't include holes for the ribbon so that you can use it without if you'd rather.  I just used a 1/8" hole punch on mine, but you can use an awl or paper piercer, or you can use a standard punch for larger ribbon.

Please be so kind as to leave a comment below if you download this file! :)

Cartridge: George and Basic Shapes
Takeout Box file for Design Studio
Takeout Box file for Gypsy