Stationery Box

At last I have finished the stationery box I have made for my mum for Christmas. Like most of my projects, it seemed to take me for ever! However, I am pleased with the result, and hope she will be, too.

I found the template and video tutorial for making this most attractive little box on the website Dannie’s Designs:
http://danniesdesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/stationery-box.html
and it is quite simple to make; it lends itself very well to decorating in your own style – the only thing to limit you is your imagination!

I used a mixture of cardstock and patterned paper to make mine; the main structure of the box was made with pink cardstock which I stamped with a polka-dot design in a darker shade of pink.

The flower and leaf shapes were cut using Jiminy Cricut, with Shaplie designs from Penny Duncan:
http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/
and these were inked with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in various colours. The flower centres were made with Stickles (glitter glue).
Inside, the box is fitted out with compartments of different sizes, to hold cards and tags, and the front folds down, revealing a flat surface onto which you can attach different items of stationery as you wish. I have put in a notebook and pen, postage stamps and a calendar.

Adding the decorative paper to the inside of the box not only looks attractive, but strengthens the structure of the box as well.

The pen was one of several cheap steel ball-point pens I found on Ebay; I decorated it with alcohol inks to co-ordinate with the colour scheme of the project, and made a holder for it, attached under the note pad.

The note pad was one of several basic plain ones I have had for ages – I can’t remember where they came from, but they have no covers, and a basic plain card back, and each page is perforated along the top. The size was perfect for this project, and with the addition of a decorative cover and rounding the corners, quite satisfactory.

I made a calendar using the calendar tool on my desk-top publishing software (Serif PagePlus X4) and made a cover to match the project. I also made a small folder to hold postage stamps. I used some scraps of the pink cardstock stamped with the polka dot design from the outside of the box, to continue the theme.
The decals with the text on them were cut using Jiminy Cricut, and before cutting, I used the Cri-Kit pens to do the text, adding the highlights by hand afterwards; each one is also inked around the edges, using Spun Sugar Distress Ink.

The upper part of the interior is divided into 3 compartments of varying sizes. The one at the back is to hold some larger cards and envelopes; the medium sized one to hold small square cards and envelopes, and the smallest one, a set of tags.

I made the envelopes for the cards; it’s a bit hard to see in the photo, but I have inked the edges with Spun Sugar Distress Ink to make them a bit more interesting, and I have lined them all with co-ordinating patterned paper.

I was very pleased to find some special envelope glue online; you spread it on with the foam applicator on the top of the bottle and leave it to dry. You can then moisten it to stick the envelopes down, just like on purchased ones; it doesn’t even have a taste! I am very pleased with the way these envelopes have come out, and the fact that you can make professional-looking envelopes. I have created templates for them so that I can cut them on Jiminy whenever I want.

I made 6 small cards (3 x 3 in) with different sentiments; the flowers and leaf trails mirror those on the outside of the box, and are cut using Penny Duncan’s Shaplie files. The backgrounds of these cards were stamped using different background stamps, including a couple of Tim Holtz ones, to add a bit of texture and interest.

Here are some pictures of them in close-up, to show a bit more detail:

Again, on this one, I have done the text with the Cri-Kit pens.

The text on these ones, as well as the flowers and leaves, was cut with Jiminy. I originally used some of the flowers I’d cut for the rest of the project, but being embossed, these proved too thick to go into the compartment in the box, so I had to use flat ones instead; after cutting, I inked them with Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks.

To make the project more interesting and fun, I thought it would be nice to make the larger cards “mix and match” – all the cards and tags in this project co-ordinate, and I have made the larger cards with a small pocket incorporated into the design of each one, to take a tag. The cards themselves have no sentiment on them, and the tag with the sentiment of choice can be slotted into the pocket.
These are the large cards without tags inserted:

and in detail:

In each case I have used a combination of plain cardstock decorated with stamping, and patterned papers, and cut flowers and leaves using Jiminy, from Penny Duncan’s Shaplie files, which were then coloured and decorated with Distress Inks, and embossed by hand. I used clear Pinflair gel adhesive to attach the flowers, because you can apply it with a syringe to “fill” the back of the embossing to prevent it being squashed; it dries clear, and works very well. I used it on the small leaf trails as well, and wasn’t able to do it without making a bit of a mess, I’m afraid – subsequently I discovered I could spray the backs with my photo adhesive and this was a lot better, so this is what I shall do in future.
The centres of the small flowers are done with Stickles and the large ones have a gold brad to fix the layers together.

These are the tags I made, with the sentiments. Each one is cut from patterned paper and inked with distress inks around the edges and on the backs; the tassels are made from mixed fibres and yarns, and the text, flowers and leaves cut with Jiminy and decorated as before.

Here they are in detail:

and here are some of the larger cards with tags inserted:

Finally, here is the video I have made of this project.