Mint Basket - a tutorial!

Remember that mint basket I posted a while ago? Well, I shot the tutorial for it last night. Please bear in mind this is my first tutorial! This design isn't even my own - for the original tutorial and another idea of what you can do with this, please visit Kimberley Morris's website! Don't forget: if you need to see more detail, just click on the picture! If you run into trouble, please don't hesitate to email me at poohisstampin@aol.com!

What you will need:
paper cutter, one sheet of card stock, 8.5"x11", coordinating designer paper, paper snips or scissors, adhesive, 1/16" hole punch, brads, bone folder, ruler.

1. Cut card stock to make a 8.5" square - in other words, cut off 1.5" from the long side.

2. Now, cut that square in half - at 4.25".

3. Now, cut those in half, at 4.25".

4. Take the 1.5"x8.5" piece you cut off the bottom, and cut into 5/8"x8.5" strips, so you get 4 strips out of the piece.

5. Next, select one of those squares.

6. Score in at 1-1/4" from all four sides. Use your bone folder and ruler - or, use your bone folder in the channel on your paper trimmer.

This is what it should look like when you're done scoring.

7. I've made dashes and lines in white gel pen, so you can see what I'm doing. :) Using your paper snips or scissors, cut up to the fold line on two OPPOSING sides. Now, on Kimberley's original, she cut the side tabs, too. When we've done these at a class, we DON'T do that; it's completely up to you. The advantage of doing so: it looks more finished on the inside. The disadvantage is that the brads on the handle don't come in contact with the sides, so the only thing holding it together is adhesive.

This is what it should look like when you're done cutting.

8. Fold on all score lines; this is what it will look like when you do so.

9. Flip over; put adhesive on all four cut tabs.

10. Bring tabs together; adhere side to back of tabs.

Look! You've got a little box! :D

11. Cut a strip of DSP 1"x8".

12. Curl around your finger, or over the edge of the table. This will make it easier to adhere to the box.

13. Put adhesive in several places on the back of the strip of paper; start on one of the sides you adhered the tabs to.

Wrap around your box completely!

14. Take one of your handle strips - the 5/8" wide ones - and put adhesive on each end. See the X? :D

15. Adhere to the insides, where you brought the tabs together. Do both sides! :)

Awwwww, isn't it CUTE??????? Just one more thing to do!!!!!

16. Punch holes on either side through the handles - and I hope you're better at "straight" than I am. OI!

Put coordinating brads through those little holes!

You can use your basket for anything you want! We used them to put mint patties in; the scallop punch is PERFECT for a York snack-size! :) The front one uses TAGGER'S DOZEN to decorate; the ones in the basket I used the small flower outline from POLKA DOTS & PAISLEY, but you can really get creative!

PHEW!! :D I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial - if you have ANY questions, email me! :)

Last one! :D

This one was a BIG hit, let me tell you! :D It's a snack-sized M&M holder, as you can see in the photo below. Take a 4"x11" piece of card stock, and score it at 1/4", 1-1/2", 3-1/2", 4-3/4", 7-3/4", and 9". Using our wonderful WORD WINDOW PUNCH, place a slot for the candy to fit into. We punched it so it overlapped in the center, making the punched-out place about 3" wide.

Put adhesive in the 1/4" flap, and fold it all together. It becomes a box that's 1-1/4" wide.

The M&Ms should sit comfortably inside the box. We took a punched-out piece and fastened it on the front with a brad, so you can tuck the top flap behind it - but whatever type of closure works for you, do it! :) I saw some of the gum holders on other websites, and thought that this would be MUCH better for our mommies and kids. I mean, M&Ms?!? Who DOESN'T love them?!?! :D

Don't forget to stamp/wheel/decorate the outside of your box BEFORE you fold and assemble. :D We wheeled it with the SPOT ON jumbo Stampin' Around wheel and Versamark in the cartridge.

Let me know if you do this - and if you need any help, just yell! Don't forget: you can always reach me by emailing me at poohisstampin@aol.com!

Have a WONDERFUL day! And don't forget: take some time today to STAMP something!! :)

Has it been a long week for you, too???

Wow, seems like I can't accomplish everything I want to, and yet I'm busy almost every moment. :) Know how I feel???

I decided to post this card sample today, to show you how versatile this design is. I just used the ticket corner punch on the stamped image, changed the location of the brad placement, and used two of the base cardstock to change the look. Easy!!!!

I need to get busy and design! I have a LOT of classes and workshops coming up, so I want to stay ahead of the curve. It's HOT, though, and I don't move very fast in the heat. :) Maybe I'll take a siesta, then work at night.... :)

Hope that, wherever you are, you're staying cool and making time to CREATE! Have a wonderful day!

Cute, easy Easter Basket!

Hello, world! I don't have a CLUE as to whether anyone's reading my blog or not, but here's another really cute idea! The only thing is, you're going to have to EMAIL ME for the directions! :)

It's made out of one piece of 12"x12" card stock - no cutting involved on the card stock! - and four squares of two different designer series papers. I'm thinking it will be a great idea for other holidays, too - we did a different basket for Christmas last year, but this would work beautifully, too. We'll just have to see, now, won't we. :)

IF anyone was going to come to my Easter stamp camp, we were going to make this basket. :) I haven't had a great turnout for a stamp camp in a while, so I'm going to start teasing you!

If you want the pattern, it's easy - and my thanks to a fellow Stampin' Up!® demonstrator, Paula Goff, for sharing the pattern.