Teacher Appreciation: Pillow Box

Good Morning Blue Fans! First things first....today is Cat's birthday. Please join me in wishing her the happiest birthday ever! I can't imagine sharing this blog life with anyone else besides her. While we've only known each other a little over 2 years, it seems like we've been best friends forever. So, Cat, if you're reading this (haha), HAPPY BIRTHDAY.  Thanks for always making me laugh, reminding me when to smile, telling me what's on sale at Kroger at any given time and what coupons are available, filling my morning commutes to work with conversation, making fun of my Starbucks order and laughing (with me) when it's wrong 99.9% of the time....I could go on and on and on with Thanks here......so, again, here's hoping you have a fabulous birthday!

I have a cute AND easy project to start off our week of inspiration and ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week.  For those that have kiddos in school, TAW is May 5 - 9.  For those that don't have kiddos in school, these projects can be made for any occasion with a simple change of papers.

Today, I am sharing a pillow box made with the We R Memory Keepers Pillow Box Punch Board. For those that don't have die cutting machines, these punch boards are a GREAT way to make containers for gift giving. Miss Tracy has a variety of the WeR boards available for purchase in the shop.

So, let's get started. I gathered my supplies (I'm sorry, I forgot to take a picture). I used the Pop Quiz collection by Bo Bunny as well as the Tag Me die set and Class Act Stamp set by Reverse Confetti. For accents, I used Maraschino Cherry QQ Chalk Ink, a few sequins and some red paper twine....all available for purchase at LBH.

I started by cutting my black cardstock to the size that I wanted the pillow box. This particular one is 6x6. I followed the punch/scoring instructions printed on the punch board. Here's a tip: Emboss your pillow box for added texture and dimension.  Sometimes printed papers can be overwhelming to use for gift packaging, but you still want to jazz up solid cardstock. Try embossing.

I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Folder

Once the pillow box is embossed, I added score tape along the edge and sealed the box shut on the side.  I tied some red paper twine around the box and left enough to tie and finish off with a tag. Don't get too anxious crafters...remember not to tie off completely with the tag and such because you still need to stuff your pillow box with goodies. The pillow box is great because the ends are easy to open for you to add your goodies inside. 

Next I cut 2 strips of paper ("Hall Pass" and "Typing") for my band to use around the box.  To give added dimension and character I did a simple scalloped border on the red polka dot patterned paper. I wrapped the band around the pillow box for measurement and left about a 1.5" tail and cut at an angle. I also cut out the "teacher" strip from the "Hall Pass" paper and created small dove tails on each end. I added dimensional tape and adhered to the bottom of the border strip. Having trouble getting your dimensionals to stick on a curved surface? Hit 'em with a little glossy accents. 

I cut a journal card from the "Bookworm" paper. I really liked the look of a ledger paper for my tag. Fortunately one of the dies in the Tag Me set was small enough for me to cut around the words and patterns from the card.  Having trouble getting your metal dies to stay in place? Put a little washi tape to hold the die in place while you run through your Big Shot (or whatever manual die cut machine your have). 

I inked the edges of the tag with Maraschino Cherry ink and stamped "A Note of Thanks" from the Class Act set. Then I added a few sequins from my stash to jazz the tag up a bit.  Sequins are a huge trend now and such an easy and quick embellishment.

Once your pillow box is full of goodies/candy, you can add the tag. 

I hope you enjoyed today's project. Check back tomorrow for a super cute and easy gift card holder made with the Silhouette. You will see a trend this week; QUICK and EASY projects. And we'll also try to share a few tips along the way, too.

Thanks so much for joining me today. In the meantime, comment for a chance to win a prize. April isn't over...so we are still giving away prizes everyday!

The winner from yesterday is dgrammes.  Please email us at lbhbluecrew@gmail.com to claim your prize. 

Stay True Blue,

Nat