Hershey's Nugget Box & Dove Chocolates Box

I want to thank Beth Warner for her great instructions for making little boxes that can hold 3 Hershey's Nuggets.  I've been seeing them on people's blogs but found her instructions yesterday and just had to try it myself.  They are super cute!  My only issue is the use of the dreaded 16th inches!  Argh!  I just bought the Martha Stewart scoring board last week and have been trying to scale up/down patterns because there are no 16th inch increments on that or my Fiskar's paper trimmer.  Beth was so kind to post her instructions and I tweaked them to suit my "16th-inch-a-phobia" and here are my measurements on the score board.

Box:  6" x 4 1/2"

With the 6" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 1 1/2", 4 1/2", & 5 1/4"

With the 4 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 1 1/2", 3", & 3 3/4"

Top: 5 1/2" x 3"

With the 5 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 2 3/8", 3 1/8", & 4 3/4"

I then followed Beth's instructions for assembly and it turned out great!  Then I got to thinking, what other candy can I put in the box?  I had some little Dove chocolates but they were too big soooooooooo...

Sized to fit 3 Dove chocolates:

Box: 5 1/2" x 3 1/2"

With the 5 1/2" side against top of the board, score @ 1/2", 1", 4 1/2", & 5"

With the 3 1/2" side against top of the board, score @ 1/2", 1", 2 1/2", & 3"

Top: 4 1/2" x 3 1/2"

With the 4 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", & 4"

Follow the assembly instructions for the Hershey's Nugget Box.

Treat bag template

So much to write about today but I don't know if I can get it all in. 

Pat and I have been looking at all sorts of treat bag patterns & templates pretty much since we got our Cricuts.  We've tried making a few and I have been pretty pleased with what we've done so far but I keep seeing more that I'd like to try.  Pat's limited to the size of the bags she can cut with her Cricut as she has the Create so this one will be right up her alley...no Cricut needed!  After seeing some projects online, I tried making my own template but I haven't yet tried to draw it out in Word so you'll just have to look at the pictures I took.  I think you'll get the idea and the score lines are written on the template.  I specifically wanted to be able to use my Martha Stewart Scoring Board.   The treat bag is made using an 8 1/2" x 11" paper or cardstock.  I like the look of the rounded edge on my topper flap but it would look great if you use a border punch. 

The finished bag measures 4 1/2" H x 3" W.

A couple of treat holders

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is Dawn Griffith of Dawn's Stamping Thoughts on YouTube.  As I am meeting a couple of friends for lunch today, I wanted to bring them some goodies.  I came across this video and thought these would be perfect to make.  I, however, don't have the Movers & Shapers die that she used so I had to cut my scalloped oval on my Cricut using the "09 Kutups" font and my SCAL.  Otherwise, I used her instructions and simply embellished the front with a strip of paper and a small flower made using the EK Success punch Pat gave me.  Thanks, Pat!  I still have to add the clear bag full of candy to the treat bag to complete it but I'm sure you can get the idea.

Dawn also made some gift card holders in a little purse design.  Pat and I have been playing with these little purses since buying our Crafter's Companion Ultimate, so these weren't new to us.  I did, however, change it up a bit by making the purse into a treat holder instead of a gift card holder just by playing around with the scoring lines.  Oh yeah, today I used my Michael's 40% off coupon to buy a Martha Stewart score board.  The CCU is great but I wanted something with more scoring lines.  I am enjoying it so far. 

Speaking of Michael's, I'm so glad they accept Joann's coupons as well because I used my 40% off Joann's mobile coupon from the Mobiqpons app on my iPod Touch to pick up a K&Co paper stack.  Poor cashier didn't know what to do when I showed her the coupon on my ipod and got nervous when her manager walked past but she accepted it anyway.  I had a paper coupon in my purse as a back up just in case.

In case you're interested in the specifics for the purse treat bag, here they are:

Using SCAL and my Cricut, I cut the topper shape using the "09 Kutups" font.  I made it 4.25" at the widest point and made sure to keep proportions when sizing.  (I maybe should have made it a tad wider)  Score 1/8" on each side of the center point of the topper along the 4.25" width.  Using my CropADile, I cut a hole in the center of the score lines towards each end using the 1/8" size hole for the purse handle.  Cut a length of ribbon, thread through holes and tie a knot on each end to secure. 

The paper for the body of the purse is cut at 5.5" x 8.5".  It is scored at 3.75" and 4.75" for the bottom of the purse.  To make the purse shape, score a little tic mark 5/8" from each of the 4 corners on the top and bottom (short sides).  Place card on trimmer aligning the tic mark and the first score line on the bottom of the purse, centered in the cutting groove, and cut.  Repeat 3 more times. 

Attach back of purse to back of topper using glue runner.  You will need to use some type of closure of your choice such as Velcro or glue dots.  You can get the general idea of how to put it together by watching this video by Dawn.

A Little Bit of Sewing! A Purse Organizer!

I can't blame this one on YouTube for a change!  I forgot how much I wanted one of these until I saw a late night commercial for one.  There are several tutorials online and they are pretty much the same.  As usual, I couldn't sleep until I'd made one so here are the ingredients:

2 pcs fabric of choice - 10" by width of fabric
1 pc heavyweight  interfacing - 10" by width of fabric
Marking pencil
Ruler
Usual sewing supplies

Lay fabric pieces right sides facing and lay interfacing on top.  I've used a 5/8" seam allowance.  Pin all around and sew up both of the long sides, leaving a 3" space for turning.  Measure 36" and cut.  Sew up both short sides.  Turn right sides out.  Tuck in ends of turning space and pin closed.  Topstitch both long sides.  Flip bottom long edge up towards top long edge, leaving a 1" space.  Mark the following measurements from left to right:  3.5", 3.5", 4.5", 5", 5", 5.5", 6" to create pockets and pin in between to keep everything in place.  Sew from top of pocket to bottom and backstitch at both top and bottom for strength.  Sew up sides using a small (1/8") seam allowance and you're done!  Enjoy your new purse organizer!

I've based my measurements on the large Purseket, although mine fits nicely in my pretty smallish purse.  The website very generously gives you measurements for all of the sizes of their Pursekets. 

And finally, I made a little dust cover for my Cricut using one of my husband's old t-shirts.  He wears a 2XL shirt.  I slipped it over the Cricut and eyeball measured how much to cut off, including seam allowance.  Since it's a tube, all I had to do was sew one seam.  It's not pretty but it works very nicely.