Urban Oasis Matchbox

Earlier this month I gave a Stamp Party for my friend, Debbie, of KaiKaibEaN Photography to help her raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (she rode 100 miles around Lake Tahoe with Team in Training!) The party was loads of fun and it was great to do some stamping again. Of course, finding my supplies and a place to prep the projects was a bit of a challenge in my 'under construction' Stamp Garage ... but I did it! After shoving some things around and re-stacking some drawers, I managed to expose a wee bit of flat surface.


Once I created the projects for Debbie's party (a 3x3 mini book and a card to feature a photo), I decided to take advantage of the newly exposed flat surface and try out my new Matchbox die for the Big Shot. Love it! Here's the lil' gift box I created using Urban Oasis Designer Paper and In Color Baja Breeze card stock (both from the retiring list)

Step One ... lay out your designer paper and/or cardstock on the Matchbox Bigz XL die and turn the crank to run the die through the Big Shot. One step to get all the pieces you need to create your matchbox.


Step Two ... fold the box. The die creates all of the score lines for you so the box is easy to fold and no adhesive required!



Step Three ... create the outer sleeve of your box. Again, all the score lines are created by the die. I used one piece of sticky strip along the edge to create the box sleeve.




Step Four ... Wrap with a bit of ribbon. I used Baja Breeze double stitched ribbon (also from the retiring list) to create the 'belly band' around the box, again sealing with a small piece of sticky strip. A tip: If you're finishing off the box with a stamped topper (next step), tape the ribbon together on the top of the box. The topper will cover the ribbon edge and everything will look neat & tidy.



Step Five ... Prepare the box topper. I used the label pieces that were cut out using the same Matchbox die (box, sleeve and 3 labels - all in one die)and the coordinating Matchbox Messages stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. To make sure the stamped greeting lined up perfectly, I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I didn't photograph each step so will try to describe the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig steps ...

Placing the clear plastic square into the corner of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I slide the stamp into the corner of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, pressing straight down to stamp the greeting on the plastic.


Then, I placed the plastic over the cut out label to see exactly where I wanted to stamp the cardstock. Without moving clear plastic, I place the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig firmly against the lower left corner of the plastic and then move the plastic away exposing the carstock label. Finally, I slide the stamp into the corner of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig again, pressing straight down to stamp the greeting on the exposed cardstock label. Voila! Perfectly aligned stamping.


Then, to create a bit of dimension, I used a couple Stampin' Dimensionals to attach the stamped label to another die-cut label.


Box Topper!


and ... The Finished Matchbox!



Mmm ... lil' gift boxes for all. Happy Crafting!