Friday, December 16, 2011

A Gifted Box

I made this and two other boxes so that they can be played with over and over again.
The secret is wrapping the bottom and the top of each box separately.
They can be gifted and regifted many times.
Small toys and mini stuffed animals make great "gifts".
These could also make cute ornaments that have a surprise inside.





1) I first started with these jewelry boxes. They are small but sturdy and will hold up to repeated play.

20 I used leftover scraps of foil wrap in small textured patterns. Any small printed patterns will work as well, just make sure you use a paper that is not too thin, since you will want these to last.

3) I cut a piece of paper that wide and long enough to wrap around the bottom and sides of the bottom of the box.
4) Next, I put glue on the center of the piece of paper, and on the bottom of the box.
5) Then, I pressed the bottom of the box onto the center of the paper.

6) Then I trimmed away excess paper at each corner as shown above. On two opposing sides I cut up to the corner the same width as that side. On the remaining two sides I cut about 1/8" wider at each corner (this will make a neater corner).
7) Next, I applied glue to the sides of the box and on the rest of the paper.

8) Working with the sides that have the wider paper first, press the paper up the sides and make a small snip at the corners.
9) Next finish pressing the rest of the paper onto the inside of the box.
10) Then press the 1/8" extra width around onto the other sides as shown above.
11) Glue and press the remaining sides onto the box and repeat the steps the the top of the box.
The above photo shows the finished box. But no gift would be complete without a pretty bow!

The finished wrapped boxes.


Finally, I added ribbons to both the tops and bottoms of the boxes, with bows on top!



Add some tissue paper by cutting a few sheets to about 5"x7".




Add a few small gifts, and the boxes can be played with over and over again.



These boxes could also be used for Christmas ornaments by just adding a loop of string or a hook!



Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a Happy Holidays.

Creatively Yours,
Donna

Happy Holidays!

From A Doll For All Seasons.
I wish you peace and love and a joyous New Year!

This is the finished outfit, showing the elegant skirt and velour top together, both shown on previous posts. I added a beaded necklace and bracelets, which were old elastic bracelets of mine that were just beads on elastic cords. I used one for a necklace and several wrapped around three times for a layered bracelet.


Creatively Yours,
Donna





Thursday, December 15, 2011

Holiday Top

Here is the Holiday top that I made to go the the Holiday Skirt from my last post! It actually was faster to make than I thought it would be.I started with a pair of outgrown velour pants of my daughter's. I try to avoid hemming whenever possible, so I used the existing hem from the velour pants for the top's bottom hem and the sleeve cuffs! Total cost to make- FREE!

 
The finished top.

1) First I started with a pair of velour pants that had a pant leg opening width of 7 3/4". 2) I then cut about 7" up from the bottom of one pant leg. 3) I cut about 3" up from the other pant leg.



4) I then carefully cut open these pieces along one side seam and laid the pieces out flat. 5) I did the same for both pant leg pieces. 6) I then carefully cut along the remaining seams so that I had four pieces total.

                                                                        
7) I next folded the two larger pieces in half, using the wider piece for the back pieces. I cut along the fold for the back, this gave me two pieces. For the front I pinned the piece along the fold for the center front. 8) I pinned my pattern pieces so that I used the existing hems for the front, back and sleeves. I made my own patterns, but you can use a purchased pattern the same way. Just make sure that the top measures 6" long and the finished sleeve measures 2 1/4".            

 
9) I then cut out pieces. 10) I sewed the shoulder seams with right sides together, and finger pressed the seams open.


11) Next, I sewed the sleeves to the armhole seams, matching the center sleeves with the shoulder seams, and with right sides together.






12) I then sewed the side and sleeve seams.
13)  Next, I turned back the center back edges by 1/4" and edge stitched on both sides of the back.




14) I turned back the neck 1/4" and hand sewed this down. 15) I used matching black hook-and-loop for the closure. I attached a 1/4' wide strip of the loop portion along the right side edge of the right half of the back, and a 1/4" strip of the hook portion along the inside of the left half of the back. I use an iron-on type of hook-and-loop, I find it easier to work with on small projects.


The above photo shows the finished top.


This is how it looks in the back.

I hope to eventually include patterns that you can download and print. For now, you can modify purchased patterns like I have shown here.


Well, I am mostly done with my Christmas shopping. So now I will begin with the wrapping! I might even do a few doll sized gift boxes too!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the Holiday season!
Creatively Yours,
Donna