Christmas in July, part 1

Merry Christmas in July!!! Yippee Skippee!!! Are you celebrating too?  LOL I'm a part of a sweet little group of ladies who I share my life with each & every day on our own private board. These ladies have become my extended family & I love them dearly.

Christmas in December is always such a hectic time for all of us so we decided to make July a very special time to share gifts with each other.........henceforth we have.......CHRISTMAS IN JULY (who even says "henceforth"? LOL). We've been exchanging these gifts for several years. It's so much fun and we all look forward to seeing what each person receives. There is an abundance of talent in our little group.

I know I haven't shared many crafts in the last few weeks & this is why.........I've been working on these little gifties & couldn't share them until my swap partner "Mary" opened them today.  Sooooooo today is the day that I get to start sharing them with you over the next week.  **warning......this post is long & filled with lots & lots of pics.

First I'd like to share this "Keepsake Box" (cigar box) that I embellished.

The 'cigar box' is from JoAnn's unfinished wood section. Before I painted the box with Plaid Apple Barrel "Antique White" paint......I removed the hardware. I went over the brass closure & hinges with my Black Soot Distress Ink marker to try & tone down the brassy-ness.  (It doesn't show in the pics but it's not as shiny.)

I then covered the larger surfaces of the box with beautiful Graphic 45 papers called "A Ladies' Diary" and a coordinating soft red decorative paper from BoBunny using Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive that I brushed on. I then wrapped all around the box with Tim Holtz tissue tape and a tassel trim from my stash.

The postcards on the top are also from "A Ladies' Diary" collection. I love these papers so much that it's hard for me to cut into them.  LOL I distressed the edges with Tim Holtz paper distresser & Distress Ink 'frayed burlap'.

Here are more views of my box.

The beautiful metal corners are from Tim Holtz' idea-ology line.

This beautiful flower is from EK Success Jolee's Boutique called 'grey burnt edge gem center flowers'.   The "leaves" are from sprays that I found in Michael's wedding section. You might also notice a Kaiser Craft skeleton leaf peeking out from under the flower.

I made the stick pin with glass beads & baubles from my stash (attached each piece with Glossy Accents). I plan on making more of these so be looking for them in an upcoming blog candy or two. They are very addictive.

I found the word "Paris" on the Graphic45 paper & decided to frame it with a Tim Holtz 'ornate plate'. I cut some transparent plastic & the "Paris" graphic & attached them to the inside of the 'plate' with some Glossy Accents. It was then attached to a thick tag from the same "A Ladies' Diary" line.

This sweet little metal doo-dad hanging from the Tim Holt 'hanger clip' is from a new jewelry line that Michael's is now carrying called "art-i-cake" by Amy Labbe. She even has a sweet little bio on the inside of her charm packets. These pieces are truly little works of art.

This is the inside of my box.  More of the beautiful Graphic 45 & Bo Bunny papers.

I had to restrain myself from adding any more to the beautiful papers.  "Less is More" right?  LOL  So not me.  LOL  But I'm glad I didn't do more..........I wanted to leave room for her to hide away her little treasures.  She told me that she's going to use her "Keepsake Box" for her "trip momentoes".

Thanks so much for joining me today & I look forward to sharing more over the next few days.

(The cute little vintage girl image at the top of this post is courtesy of Peggy Loves Vintage)

Huggies & Sweet Blessings ~♥♥♥~