Festive Favours!

Hello!  Today I am sharing a few festive favour projects I worked on this week using a variety of Stampin' Up! products - including several retiring or "Last Chance Products".  As of December 3, 2024, Stampin' Up! replaced the Clearance Rack category in the online store with the Last Chance Product category.  Currently the Last Chance Product category includes retiring products from both the Online Exclusives line, and from the September-December 2024 Mini Catalogue.  Many of the retiring items have been discounted, and all products in the Last Chance Product category will be available only while supplies last, and when the products have sold out they will be removed from both the category and the online store.  The  Last Chance Product category will be updated at the beginning of every second month - February, April, June, August, October, and December - of each year, and will include retiring products from the Online Exclusives line as well as the retiring products from the most recent (as of the date of the updating of the category) of the Stampin' Up! Mini and Annual Catalogues.

I used the following Last Chance Products in my projects this week (additional products used will be included in the project descriptions):

• Snowy Wonder stamp set (item 164334);

• Snowy Wonder dies (item 164124) - discounted to $38.70;

• Snowy Scenes 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 164333);

• Simply Zinnia dies (item 163479) - discounted to $27.00;

• Regal Winter 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 164156) - discounted to $15.30; and

• Mini Pocket Envelope dies (item 159167) - discounted to $24.00.

Just a quick summary of the basic tools and supplies I used to complete my projects this week:

• Paper Trimmer (item 152392) - for trimming and scoring cardstock, and for trimming Designer Series Paper; 

Paper Trimmer - 152392

• Bone Folder (item 102300) for burnishing scored fold lines - and for adding some curl to flower petals and leaves;

Bone Folder - 102300

• Paper Snips Scissors (item 103579) - these sharp little scissors were a big help in fussy cutting the small snow globe images from the Snowy Scenes DSP - and they are also great for doing any necessary trimming of die cuts (i.e. shortening the length of pine branches);

Paper Snips Scissors - 103579

• Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (item 149653) - for all die cutting and embossing;

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine - 149653

• Take Your Pick Tool (item 144107) - the paper piercer, mini spatula, and tacky putty tips are a great help for picking up and placing small embellishments and die cuts; and

Take Your Pick Tool - 144107

• for the main adhesive, Multipurpose Liquid Glue (item 110755).

Multipurpose Liquid Glue - 110755

To add shading to cardstock die cuts I used Small Blending Brushes (item 160518) to apply Classic Stampin' Inks to the die cuts. For a little additional visual texture I sometimes lightly spritzed the shaded cardstock die cuts with water (Stampin' Spritzers - item 126185) - this gives a slightly mottled look. 

Small Blending Brushes - 160518

Stampin' Spritzers (package of two) - 126185

On with the projects!

I have always been intrigued by explosion boxes but had never made any - so I thought why not try a few this week to use as festive table favours!  The four I made are very simple - all the same size and no nesting of progressively smaller explosion boxes or pop-out elements! Each box is 2 1/2" tall x 2 1/2" wide x 2 1/2" deep.  For the box I scored a 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" piece of cardstock at 2 1/2" on all four sides, and (using the Paper Trimmer) cut away the four corner squares, leaving a Greek Cross shape (four arms of equal length). I scored all the lines first and then used the cutting blade to remove the corner squares.  For each lid I scored a 4 9/16" x 4 9/16" piece of cardstock at 1" on all four sides.  I just had fun trimming and adding the cardstock and Designer Series Paper panels - trimming the main panels to allow either a 1/16" or 1/8" border.

I used Mini Glue Dots (item 103683) to secure the foil-wrapped chocolate treats.

Additional supplies used to complete the first box:

• Basic Black cardstock (item 121045) for the box, lid, and matting panels;
• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for additional matting panels;
• for the Designer Series Paper panels I used, in addition to various designs from the Snowy Scenes DSP, the Poppy Parade/Flirty Flamingo/Petal Pink striped paper from the Marbled Elegance 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 164919);

Marbled Elegance Specialty Designer Series Paper - 164919

• Poppy Parade cardstock (item 119793) for the large flower petal layers and blossom cut using the Simply Zinnia dies - shaded with Real Red ink (item 147084);
• Flirty Flamingo cardstock (item 141416) for the large rounded petal flower cut using the Country Birdhouse dies (item 163400) and Poppy Parade cardstock for the small rounded petal flower also cut using the Country Birdhouse dies - all shaded with Real Red ink;

Country Birdhouse dies - 163400

• Garden Green cardstock (item 102584) for the two poinsettia leaves cut using the retired Poinsettia dies (item 153522), which were featured in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalogue; the blossom stem cut using the Simply Zinnia dies; and the two small pine branches cut using the Encircled In Nature dies (item 163628) - all shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111);

Encircled In Nature dies - 163628

• Greetings Of The Season dies (item 164112) to cut the sentiment tag from watercolour paper after stamping the sentiment from the Snowy Wonder stamp set using Stazon Jet Black Ink (item 101406) - I used Pool Party ink (item 147107) to shade the edges of the die cut tag and to add splatters to the tag;

Greetings Of The Season dies - 164112

• Stampin' Dimensionals (item 104430) and Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (item 144108) to attach the snowman and tree images die cut from the Snowy Scenes DSP using the Snowy Wonder dies; and

Stampin' Dimensionals - 104430

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals - 144108

• Garden Green twine from the retired Three Twine Combo Pack (item 160597) to tie through the center of the small white button added to the flower center (the button was from my sister's extensive and very impressive button stash!).

Additional supplies used to complete the second box:

• Cherry Cobbler cardstock (item 119685) for the box and lid;
• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for matting panels; large tree cut using the Frosted Forest dies (item 164136); and the small tree and snow flake cut using the Snowy Wonder dies;

Frosted Forest dies - 164136

• Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (item 141897) to paint the two die cut trees;
• for the Designer Series Paper panels I used, in addition to various designs from the Regal Winter DSP, Cherry Cobbler and gold checked paper from the Regal Distressed Patterns 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 164037); and

Regal Distressed Patterns Specialty Designer Series Paper - 164037

• gold cord from the retired Simply Elegant Trim (item 155766) for the double bow tied around the lid.

Additional supplies used to complete the third box:

• Garden Green cardstock (item 102584) for the box, lid, and matting panels;
• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for matting panels;
• Poppy Parade cardstock (item 119793) for additional matting panel;
• in addition to using various designs from the Snowy Scenes DSP for the Designer Series Paper panels I trimmed a 1/2" wide strip from the Garden Green/Pool Party snowflake patterned paper from the DSP to glue around the sides of the lid; and
• retired Real Red 3/8" Mini Ruffled Ribbon (item 156323) for the bow tied around the lid.

Rather than foil-wrapped chocolate treats the fourth box holds a small colour-coordinated acrylic bauble (decorated using liquid vinyl floor cleaner and "almost Pretty Peacock" and "almost Old Olive" glitter).  To hold the bauble in place I glued a 1 1/4" diameter brass ring picked up at Dollarama to the inside bottom panel of the box.  To complete the box I used the following additional supplies:

• Pretty Peacock cardstock (item 150880) for the box, lid, and two trees cut using the Snowy Wonder dies.  Before die cutting the trees I embossed the cardstock using the Distressed Tile 3D Embossing Folder (item 162189).  I shaded the die cut trees with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111);

Distressed Tile 3D Embossing Folder - 162189

• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for matting panels; and
• for the Designer Series Paper panels I used Pretty Peacock patterned papers from the Regal Winter DSP; Pretty Peacock and gold patterned paper from Regal Distressed Patterns 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 164037); and various Old Olive/Mossy Meadow designs from the Season Of Green & Gold 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 164324).

Season Of Green & Gold 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper - 164324

This suitcase holding a trio of foil-wrapped chocolate Santas measures 3" tall x 4" wide x 1" deep and is a flip-top box stood upright on its back edge - the lid of the flip-top box has become the back panel of the suitcase.  For the base of the suitcase I used a 9" x 6" piece of Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686), scored on the 9" side at 1", 4", 5", and 8"; and scored on the 6" side at 1" and 5".  To complete the suitcase I used the following additional supplies:

• Mossy Meadow/Old Olive designs from the Season Of Green & Gold 12" x 12" Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 164324) for the Designer Series Paper panels - all edges of the DSP panels were sponged with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111);
• for the "straps":  two 5" x 1/2" wide strips of Early Espresso cardstock, scored three times on the 1/2" side at 1/8" intervals, and scored on the 5" side at 1" and 4" (these two straps are glued to the top, front, and bottom of the suitcase); and two 3" x 1/2" wide strips of Early Espresso cardstock, scored three times on the 1/2" side at 1/8" intervals (these two straps are glued to the back panel of the suitcase).  To make everything a little easier I started with longer lengths of 1/2" wide cardstock strips, which I scored at the 1/8" intervals and then cut to the lengths required, doing the necessary additional scoring for the 5" long strips.  To the top of the two buckles (cut from gold cardstock I had on hand using the small flag die from the Nested Essentials dies - item 161597) I glued 3/8" wide x 3/4" long strips trimmed from the cardstock strips used for the straps.  For the buckle prongs I used the Adventurous Sky dies (item 163446) to cut one propeller from a scrap of silver cardstock I had on hand - trimming the propeller to use one tapered propeller end for each prong;

Nested Essentials dies - 161597

Adventurous Sky dies - 163446

• for the handle:  a 5 3/4" x 1/2" wide strip of Early Espresso cardstock, scored three times on the 1/2" wide side at 1/8" intervals; and scored on the 5 3/4" side at 3/4" and 1 3/4" from each end. To strengthen the handle I glued additional 1/2" wide cardstock strips to the underside of the top and side portions of the handle (these strengthening strips were not scored); 
• for the decorative suitcase latch:  rectangular tag die from Greetings Of The Season dies (item 164112) to cut latch base from a piece of Early Espresso cardstock that I had embossed using the Metal Plate 3D Embossing Folder (item 160766) - the hole end of the die cut tag was trimmed off and the die cut was then scored at 1" from the straight cut end and glued to the top and front of the suitcase (I used the "debossed" side as the top-facing side of the die cut).  Using the small oval die from the Changing Leaves dies (item 164138) I cut an additional decorative element from the Mossy Meadow/Old Olive striped pattern paper from the Season Of Green & Gold Specialty Designer Series Paper - shading the edges with Mossy Meadow ink;

Metal Plate 3D Embossing Folder - 160766

Changing Leaves dies (also includes the Hybrid Embossing Folder) - 164138

• for the luggage tag:  using the small rounded corner rectangle die from the Nested Essentials dies I cut two base pieces from Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717).  Using the small oval die from the Changing Leaves dies I cut a window in one of the base pieces.  After shading all edges of both base pieces with Pecan Pie ink (item 161665) and a little Early Espresso ink (item 147114) I glued a trimmed piece of transparency film that I had splattered with white acrylic paint and a piece trimmed from the Mossy Meadow/Old Olive foliage patterned paper from the Season Of Green & Gold Specialty Designer Series Paper behind the window opening in the top base piece.  I then glued the two base pieces together - wrong sides together.  Using the small banner die from the Stylish Shapes dies (item 159183) I cut the luggage tag loop from Pecan Pie cardstock - again shading the edges with Pecan Pie and Early Espresso inks.  I used my Bone Folder to slightly curl the loop and then glued it to the front and back of the tag.  I added a snowflake die cut from Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) using the Snowy Wonder dies; and one of the large dots from the Adhesive-Backed Textured Dots (item 163338).  I used a ball chain from my stash to attach the tag to the suitcase handle; and

Stylish Shapes dies - 159183

Adhesive-Backed Textured Dots - 163338

• I used additional Adhesive-Backed Textured Dots - small and large - to embellish the suitcase.

And finally . . . 

For this quick little pocket tag holding a small foil-wrapped chocolate Santa to hang on the tree I used the following additional supplies:

• Mini Pocket Envelope dies to cut base pocket envelope from Poppy Parade cardstock (item 119793);
• Sketched Plaid background stamp (item 161424) and Real Red ink (item 147084) to stamp front and back of die cut pocket envelope;

Sketched Plaid background stamp - 161424

• rounded corner rectangle die from Nested Essentials dies (item 161597) to cut window opening in front panel;
• Real Red ink to shade all edges of die cut pocket envelope;
• Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (item 141897) to add very large splatters to pocket envelope (by whacking the Brush against my Bone Folder); and
• from Poppy Parade striped paper from the 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper Assortments-Brights (item 163775) I cut an additional back pocket envelope panel - after shading the edges with Real Red ink I glued it to inside of the back panel of the cardstock pocket envelope - I wanted to have a finished top edge on the back panel and a window-backing DSP panel.

6" x 6" Designer Series Paper Assortments-Brights - 163775

I added a pine branch die cut from watercolour paper using the retired Beautiful Boughs dies (item 150661 - featured in the 2019 Holiday Catalogue), and coloured using Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111) and Crumb Cake ink (item 147116); a gold eyelet from my stash; and gold cord from the retired Simply Elegant Trim (item 155766) for the hanging loop.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I had a lot of fun working on these festive  favours and am looking forward to making more explosion boxes too!

Unfortunately Stampin' Up! advises that the Stazon Jet Black Ink (item 101406) is currently out of stock and not expected to be available for ordering until the week of December 16, 2024.

New December Kits

Stampin' Up! has introduced two new all-inclusive Kits to the Kits Collection this month:

The Perpetual Beauty Calendar Kit (item 164975) includes the following items to complete one 7" x 10 1/2" calendar:

• Perpetual Beauty Calendar stamp set;
• clear stamp block;
• Pretty Peacock Stampin' Spot;
• pre-cut pieces;
• sticker sheets;
• step-by-step instructions; and
• enough adhesive to complete the pre-designed project.

The Cherry Blossom Treat Boxes Kit (item 164978) includes the following items to complete twelve 2" x 2" x 2" treat boxes:

• pre-cut pieces;
• Cherry Blossom stamp set;
• clear stamp block;
• Early Espresso Stampin' Spot;
• Linen Thread;
• step-by-step instructions; and
• enough adhesive to complete the pre-designed projects.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the available Stampin' Up! products I have used in my projects, and you live in Canada and do not have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please do not hesitate to visit my online store found on my website https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/ at your convenience, or simply click under the "Shop With Me" tab on the right sidebar of my blog, which will take you directly to my website and online store.  I very much appreciate your business, and if you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me (lmccoyarchie@gmail.com) - I would be very pleased to be your demonstrator!  The digital version of the May 2024-April 2025 Annual Catalogue is available for you to access at your convenience on my website (https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/) - as is the digital version of the September-December 2024 Mini Catalogue, and the digital only September 2024 Scrapbooking Brochure - the companion brochure to the Mini Catalogue. When visiting my online store - and checking out the full range of Online Exclusives, and the full selection of all-inclusive crafting kits available in the Kits Collection (kits make great gifts for fellow crafters too!), don't forget to also check out all the retiring Last Chance Products - remember these Last Chance Products will only be available while supplies last! To see the full listing of Last Chance Products select "Last Chance Products" under the "Specials" heading on the main page of my online store.

Have fun creating!

Laurel

Not happy about being confined to quarters!