Haunted Hybrid

Are you ready for Halloween? I'm getting there. These "hybrid" Halloween pillow treat boxes are perfect for teachers gifts or that special someone. Very simple to make and they look great!



I have provided in a zip file format (at the end of this post) everything that you will need to make these pillow boxes. I have 8 1/2 x 11 pdfs & jpegs complete with a template that you can just print out and cut out with a craft knife. I have also provided both a blank inside and outside template. You'll see what we use the inside one for in a few steps. These files are jpeg, pdf and also svg file format for those of you that use SCAL. I also included a jpeg and a pdf of just the label part. You could add the label to a scrapbook page, or a jar filled with "twisted" goodies. That would look pretty cool on a shelf or mantel.

Here are the steps:

1.) Print out and cut out the pillow box. (it will fit on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet. My paper of choice is double sided matte photo paper from Staples brand. Nice smooth card stock. Either use the svg file to cut out on your digital craft cutter, or use the blank template and cut out with a craft knife.



2.) Once you have the outside trimmed out, take the inside template that I provided and cut it out from a scrap piece of cardstock. Now use this template to score your pillow folds. Make sure that the extra space (see photo) is at the opposite end of your label, or your label will get folded under.



3.) Fold along your score marks.



4.) Fold the little extra long flap that I'm pointing to in the above photo, and glue it to the inside of the box. Use clips to hold in place while the glue dries.



5.) At this point, while the edge is drying, you can embellish your box. I used a little bit of Stickles black glitter on the eyes, an orange gem on either side of the word "warning" and I also added a spider brad. Ribbons and twine would look great, too.

6.) Now stuff with candy and enjoy!!



Here is the download of the Twisted Pillow Box kit.

Also, since I have provided you with the blank template, you could use any Halloween line that is out there. Ally Scraps just got in the newest Halloween lines from Pink Paislee, Little Yellow Bicycle, Fancy Pants, Bo Bunny (this is really cute!), American Crafts, Nikki Sivils, and My Minds Eye. Lots of Halloween goodies to chose from!!

I hope you enjoyed my pillow treat box. Such a fun and easy thing to do.

Have a great day.
Chris

apple dumplin'

My daughter LOVES fall food. You know... apple and pumpkin pie, apple cider and especially apple dumplings. If the apple dumpling is served ala mode, it's an extra big yum. Love that I caught this picture of her enjoying her apple dumpling. Glad I had my own, because she wouldn't share at all. (hee, hee)

I sometimes get into a rut of using fall themed papers for fall layouts and Easter papers for Easter layouts, etc. You know what I mean. I love changing it up a little, and using different styles of papers for my themed layouts. These October Afternoon Cherry Hill papers matched my pictures perfectly without being overly themey. October Afternoon has become one of my favorite manufacturers, love their fun patterns and awesome colors. Their stickers are super cool too.



Hope you're enjoying some fall food, why not take some pictures? Thanks so much for taking a look at our blog, and see you all soon! ~ Dana

pirate & princess party!

We've just LOVED having Kimber McGray with us this month at AllyScraps. Her projects and tutorials have been amazing, so much inspiration!! This is Kimber's last week with us, and she's shared a really special layout, pirate & princess party. I really love this colorful layout, with a super balanced design and such an awesome banner across the top! Love it.





Kimber used papers from Bella Blvd. and paper and stickers from October Afternoon. Her letters are thickers from American Crafts.

For the banner she punched triangles from the yellow and blue patterned papers and then punched holes in the 2 corners. Then she adhered them to her page with foam adhesive squares, layering them over each other so the holes lined up. Then using twine, she threaded it through the holes to create the hanging banner. Wow, that is so cool!

I'm sure that you'll want to keep in touch with Kimber, so be sure to check out her BLOG for even more inspiration! Thanks so much to Kimber for such an awesome month.

Thanks for stopping by... and keep checking back, because October will be filled with fun Halloween projects and TWO awesome guest designers that I'll announce soon. Keep scrapping!

~ Dana

A WINNER!

Hi everyone, just wanted to make a quick post and announce the winner from our Nikki Sivils blog reveal and interview! I dropped everyone's name in a hat, and the winner was

Erica M!!!

Congrats to you! Please e-mail me your contact information by Saturday, October 3rd to allyscraps@gmail.com and we'll get out your Nikki Sivils prize pack right away.

Thanks so much for all of your awesome comments, and stay tuned later today for a new post from Kimber McGray! Oh, and while you're waiting, check out the store... there are TONS on new products for you to get excited about.

See you soon, Dana

Fabulous Fall!

Fall is officially upon us and what better way to celebrate than with an autumn layout.

I made this layout using ALL Pink Paislee papers. I wanted it to look more like art work than a scrapbook page so I didn't journal on it. I used random fall photos that I had recently taken. The layout is propped up on a shelf in my foyer along with my fall decorations. I love how it turned out, and it was really fun to make.


For the base I used the Pink Paislee Amber Road Diecut Sheet - Fall Festival. On top of that, I layered a sheet of Pink Paislee Amber Road - Autumn Blossom, using the back, and cutting it to a size of 10x10, then I distressed the edges. For the tree trunk, I used an older Pink Paislee paper that looked like wood. If you have a wood grain stamp, that would work as well, or even plain cardstock.

The next thing I did was take several sheets of the Amber Road papers and cut them to 6x12 so I could fit them into my Silhouette die cutting machine. I found a leaf pattern online and cut out about 75 leaves of 3 different sizes. (If you have leaf punches or Sizzix dies, you could use those instead.) What is nice about the double sided paper is after you have your leaf cut out, you can flip it over and have a different pattern on the other side. The papers I used were Pink Paislee Amber Road - Hayride, Pink Paislee Amber Road - Bonfire, Pink Paislee Amber Road - Apple Cider and what I had left of the Autumn Blossom.

Once I had all my leaves cut out, I just dabbed each with a dot of glue and went to town, layering them until I thought they looked right. The next step, I went to my sewing machine and just stitched a random pattern on top of the leaves.





After I was done sewing, I flipped up and curled some of the edges of the leaves to give them some dimension. I then placed four 2" x 3" photos over the leaves using pop dots to lift the photo up. I also would bend a leaf up over the photo so it looked like my pictures were sitting in a tree.



That's it. It really doesn't take that long to make. When you are finished, you'll have beautiful fall "wall art" that will take you thru until the snow flies!

Thanks for stopping by.
Chris