Good Friday to all and I hope that you have had a great week! If you live on the East Coast….I say – no need to do your hair as we are to have SUPER HIGH WINDS…..50 – 60 mph! I think the weatherman thinks we are in Kansas…..poor Daisy, she will grumpy today as pigs are sweet little swines that are rather picky about the weather!

Do you remember Monday’s post? Well if not…how about CLICKIN’ HERE….and you will see this super sweet  Note Card that I made with the Hanging Garden Stamp Set and the Stampin’ Blends! You know I love projects like this and I hope that you find this post helpful! As my sweet Mom always said…..it’s all about the presentation….and I hope that this shines that to you!

As I said on Monday, I knew that this would be a stamp set that would live on Randall Lane….WHY????? The way that it was sketched….I adore all of the sketchy lines and the endless options of coloring! Even though the “subject” images of the stamps are not super dynamic and fun (just being honest after all, they are just baskets) I knew that this would “dress up wonderfully”….and the sentiments are great!

This is something that you need to think of when you are looking at stamps that you wish to make the investment with. I invite you to ask yourself this questions…

• Will it be a classic and timeless set that you will reach for now….and in the future?
• Are the sentiments and fonts ones that you will use over and over?
• Can you use the images/sentiments with other stamps that you already have?
• Can you envision at least 3 different ways that you could use the stamp set?

I say, if you get in the habit of looking at a stamp and then asking yourself these questions (and probably more) you will be making wiser investments, Trust me….I am just like YOU as I have many…and I mean MANY stamps that I have bought impulsively and they are just sitting (many not even inked).

It happens to us all but I think that the more that you craft and the more that you find and develop a style you get more comfortable with selecting your purchased. This IS one thing that I have become better at as there are just too many great crafty products out there on the market that I like to purchase!

Today I wanted to just use the stamp set above…(Monday I also used the Hostess Stamp set, Yay You ) and today….I want to show…..perhaps entice you to think OUT OF THE BOX…and actually MAKE A BOX to gift a fabulous gift that would be soooooooooo well received by the lucky recipient!

Let’s face it…we all love to craft (dah….that’s why you are here) and one thing that we love to do is not only make things with our hands…but to do the next – GIVE … GIFT THEM AWAY to the ones that are super special to us! There is just nothing like a handmade gift!

Another thing that I did to switch it up a bit today was to mask one of the plants for some of the cards (just to make some of them a bit different!)…..but these cards are so fun and practical. I stamped the 2 different sentiments of 1/2″ strips of paper and then the inside sentiments from this stamp set are perfect…or you can easily leave them blank!

I say….WOW – what a practical gift and when you break it down…..it is also super affordable. As I shared on Monday, the notecards are so affordable being just $6.00….and making the box…..from a sheet of paper….!!!! You can handle that….

Now how about the 411 of how to make this box…..well, here you go – super easy….and there is no doubt about it…YOU CAN DO IT!

• Old Olive Cardstock – 8″ X 11″
• Score on the 8″side (shorter) at 2″ & 6″ I do use and suggest the Simply Scored Tool….I always think that leave a deeper impression than the trimmer…again, it is a basic tool that we all need and will use!
• Turn Paper to the 11″ side (longer) and score at 4 1/2″ & 6 1/2″
• Fold In and use Bone Folder to give a great crease
• Cut in the scored lines (look at picture) and it really does help to taper in as shown (makes a much cleaner final product)
• Use Tear & Tape as shown and fold in sides

You can easily stop here….but what is another 10 minutes?!?! To add some finishing and WOW touches….. add a panel of the basket fun of these notecards to the front of the box. The DSP that I used is from the Tutti Fruit DSP 6 X 6 stack…. and I invite you to always look deep into your DSP Stash as this project….is sooooooo basic that we have many papers that would color coordinate!

Here are the dimensions that I did for the decorating of the outside of the box! (I knew you would want them….I hope that you can see that these little extra touches really do make a difference)

• The stripe DSP is 3 3/4″ X 4 1/4″
• The White piece is 3 1/4″ X 3″
• The Old Olive mat is 3 3/8″ X 3 1/8″

I had to laugh about the packaging…..I bought these bags last year and when I received them I thought…they are HUGE….but they are perfect for this! I tucked in my box of love and tied a sweet bow with the Old Olive Chevron Ribbon and BAM….a simple yet great finishing touch! (These bags are super sturdy and this presentation is just easy and fun).

It goes to show you…,you can make Lemonade with things that you do not use that you have bought! After I jazzed up the box…I took my scissors and  WACKED off the excess of the bag and POOF – I loved it….how about YOU!!! I would love to hear your thoughts…..

I broke down the cost for the “guts” of how much it would cost to make up these 20 cards/envelopes….YEP….this box fit a complete set of notecards! The total is $9.49 and here is how I came up with that….

• Notecards and Envelopes – $6.00
• Bag – .36
• 5 Sheets of White – $1.15
• 6 Sheets of Old Olive – $1.98

There you go….something for you to think about making! I challenge you to go to your stamps and see which stamps that you already own that you can make up a bunch of cards! Next, I would HIT THAT PAW PRINT below and order this stamp set if you do not already have it….also order some of the bags and notecards….(all products are found below and you can click away).

Over the weekend you could go ahead and cut the white paper to the size that you will be stamping on…(3 1/4″ X 4 3/4″) and then the mat (3 3/8″ X 4 7/8″) and start to color etc…..remember, PACE YOURSELF and then you will not get overwhelmed with doing a task.

This concept makes a fabulous gift and one that you could start at any time of the year…..and then when that BIG HOLIDAY rolls around that you do not know what to give to the person that has everything…..you are ready….as a gift from your heart always wins!

Enjoy the weekend and be safe today. I will be “un-plugged” for the weekend as one of my dearest friends is celebrating her 60th. There are 8 of us going to the great city of Philadelphia for the weekend to do some fun things….the opening of the Philadelphia Flower Show, a museum exhibit, the Italian Market, great foods….a needlepoint store that I adore…..2 amazing garden and decorating stores in different sweet towns along the way…just an agenda of anything goes!

Many thanks for the well wishes for my dear Dad…..he is doing super-de-duper but honestly a bit stir crazy as he has to have care 24-7 until he can go to a Cardiologist Specialist…..that appt. is on Monday – so Monday will be a big day for seeing the next step! Keeping him down is like keeping me down, a hard thing to do! I have all of his meals ready for him while I sneak away…..at least it is a comfort that he is well and safe with care he respects!

I will see you on Monday with some more inspiration….(well, I hope so at least)….and maybe some pictures from the weekend. Be safe in whatever you are up to and please remember to take some of that well needed and deserved “me time” that we all need.

If you are anything like me….you can have the tendency of beating yourself up that “me time” could be used in doing other things but the reality of it is…..we do need it and we only have once chance……go and make a difference….make someone smile…..do a random act of kindness….we all have so much to give and to be thankful for…..and I thank you for spending a bit of your time with me in popping onto my blog!