Dot & Whimsy

Let's start with the box construction, shall we?  

I wanted this project to be something that you could easily create with just a few basic supplies and the "PUMPKIN SPICE" Collection, of course!

I started with an 8.5X11 sheet of heavy chipboard and cut:

5X5.5 (1-for the bottom), 3X5.5 (2-for the sides), and 3X5 (2-for the front and back).  Place the pieces onto a sheet of patterned paper, leaving an 18" gap between each piece (as shown above). Trim away four square sections at each corner.  Fold the tabs around the TOPS of the chipboard pieces and glue NOTE: leave the side tabs unglued as they will be the hinges to hold the sides together.  

Fold all of the sides in.  Again, use the side tabs and glue each one to the opposite side.  

Next, I cut strips of paper and lined the inside of the box (this is a nice contrast and also hides the hinge tabs!).  For the "guides", I glued in two paper straws that were held in place by mini wooden spools.  There are many ways that you could attach the straws if you don't have spools!  

For the file cards: I used sheets of 6X6 papers (from the paper pad) and trimmed to 5X6.  I wanted the cards to be square (optional), so I fold the extra inch at the bottom where I would make the two holes (this adds extra sturdiness too!).  I measured the distance between the two straw guides and made a template to figure out where to punch the holes.  After punching the holes, I cut through the remaining paper (at the bottom of each hole) so that the cards could sit onto the straws and slide.  

Now for the really fun part...decorating and embellishing!  

I used all sorts of fun treats from the collection, as well as Doodlebug basics to make each card unique!  The sheet of journal cards was cut apart and the longer strips cut in half to fit the cards. 

Giving as a gift? Tuck in some extra PUMPKIN SPICE supplies too!

I hope that you'll give it a try...Happy Pumpkin Spice season :)

Well before the SPECIAL DELIVERY day, is the nine months leading up to it!  Today I'm sharing a sweet journal for capturing all of those mom-to-be moments along the way.

I chose to use a sheet of white craft foam for the cover, but a laminated sheet of patterned paper could also be used.  You may also think about a premade journal that could be covered paper too!

For the inside, I used three A6 kraft journals with 60 lined papers (I purchased them from Amazon) in each.  

To get started, the foam and patterned paper sheets were trimmed to 9"X6".  I used adhesive tape to adhere the paper to the foam and then machine-stitched around the perimeter.  

Three 1/8" holes were punched at the top and bottom center of the cover and then strung with 20mm white elastic cording.  Check out the tutorial on my YouTube Channel!

Before threading through the closure elastic, I added buttons and shaped clips! The adorable bear lapel pin and sticker letters completed the cover.

Each of the three journals' kraft covers was covered in different patterned; mini cards were turned into little pockets for decorating the covers.

At the center of each notebook, I added a folded envelope that can be used for storing tags, ephemera, etc.  

Strips of leftover papers were folded in half, corner-rounded and attached as tabs!

Die-cuts and small tags are also cute additions to the pockets.

The possibilities are endless with such a project...I hope you'll give it a try!