Journaling Card Box
Hi Friends! I’m excited to welcome back special guest Anna Karin Evaldsson to our blog today! If you want to see what she’s up to on a weekly basis check out her blog HERE and our weekly Monday Challenge! Read on and enjoy!
Hello everyone! I (Anna-Karin) am really happy to be back here with another tutorial. For many years now, one of my favorite surfaces to work on has been mat board. I love to use mat board, both as a base for 3-D projects and to die cut embellishments or letters from. The Sizzix Little Sizzles Mat Board comes in white and cream and the sheets are 6 x 13 in, which is perfect for die cutting. The techniques can be used on other surfaces too, such as manila or watercolor cardstock.
I used the Recipe Box Scoreboards die by Eileen Hull and Sizzix to make a box (4.1 x 3.1 in). The box die is great and the box it can hold, for example, a little gift, a mini-book, gift cards, photos, or little cards or notes. Today, I filled it with cards, which can either be given away as cards, or used as journaling cards in a project. Mat board is really sturdy and holds up to a lot of use, for example, I made some storage containers for my son when he turned three, and they are still holding up four years later, even after being handled often by little hands. When it comes to techniques, mat board takes ink beautifully and works great together with stamping, paint and even water techniques. Let’s start!
Start by die cutting the Recipe Card Box from cream Little Sizzles Mat Board. This is an XL die, so you need the Extended Cutting Pads, but it fits perfectly in an ordinary Big Shot or Vagabond machine. You don’t need the Big Shot Plus. Use this sandwich: Extended Cutting Pad, die facing up, mat board, second Extended Cutting Pad. As you can see on the photo, the ScoreBoards dies both cuts and scores the material, making assembly very easy. You can also use chipboard.
White emboss flowers from Tim Holtz Mini Bouquet set on the front, back and sides of the box. Remember to make sure that you are stamping them in the right direction. It is easy to by mistake stamp upside down on the front.
Start inking with the lightest shade of Distress Ink, using an Ink Blending Tool. The embossing will resist the ink.
Continue inking the box until you are happy. I used Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks.
Splatter the box with water to create a bit of texture.
Randomly stamp the box with a script stamp and Jet Black ink. You can skip this step, if you want a less messy look.
Apply a strong adhesive along the flaps of the box. I used Ranger’s Wonder Tape.
Assemble the box and carefully sand the edges slightly to reveal the cream mat board.
Cut cards from watercolor paper. Mine are 3,9 x 2,9 in. I made 12 cards, one for each sentiment on Tim Holtz’s Mini Motivation set. White emboss the sentiments on the cards, varying the placement.
If you want to, you can round the corners of the cards.
On a craft sheet, smear a line of Mowed Lawn, followed by a thinner line of Twisted Citron and finally at the top, a line of Mermaid Lagoon. Mist with water and start pressing the cards into the ink. Wipe the sheet and reapply the ink when you get to the end of the line.
Continue until you have colored all the cards. Sometimes I added a little bit of darker ink with my finger over a word or two, to make them stand out better.
Tuck the cards into the box and tie with a string.
I stamped a sentiment from Simple Sayings on the flap of the box. You can also close the box with Velcro.
Mirrored Hearts are great embellishments that fit almost any project, giving a little bit of bling.
At the bottom of the box, I glued a piece of lace, and I also added a couple of Chit Chat stickers.
This is the back of the box. If you use other stamps and colors, this box can work for almost any theme.
The box can easily hold more cards then the twelve I made. Or you could also add little envelopes, which I did in another project of mine, namely this Quick Gift Card set.
Here’s a look at the cards. These sentiments are so great and fit many different occasions. You can color the back of the cards too or leave them white.
The cards can be used as journaling cards, or as simple greeting cards. They could also be added to gifts, as gift tags.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspired you to play around with mat board.
Thank you so much for looking!
Happy crafting!
Anna-Karin
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Thanks for reading today, and thanks to Anna Karin for being our special guest!
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beautiful project!!
Love all the beautiful inky layers.
Beautiful colors!
Adorable idea and I love that Sizzix die, you could do so many things with it. You could cut only and use it on a card! That’s the first thing that popped into my head! I love the colors you used and the stamping. Thanks for sharing .
What an amazing project. I love the color combination, and handmade journaling cards are best.
That is the best project ever! I love how you did this! The white embossed flowers are amazing! I found so much inspiration in this blog post! Thank you!
Little boxes are such great little treasures to have!!! Love what you created here!!! Thanks for sharing.
Very interesting!
What an awesome project! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a pretty project! I love the colors!
OMG!! I just love this very beautiful project!!!!
Such a beautiful project. I love that scripty stamp you have used on the box.
What a great project!
I LOVE and ADORE everything about this project – the gorgeous colours that make me think of a summer’s day, the decorated box, the prompts inside – love love love!
This is one of my all time favorite techniques. There is something special about the reveal of what you stamped. I’ve never heard of the mat board though and I make a TON of 3D projects so I will be looking into it. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Fantastic project!I love the idea, the colors and everything about it! Thank you for the inspiration :)
What a most fabulous idea!! Love this box die. It’s the perfect size for journaling cards or motivational/gratitude/positive thinking cards. The possibilities are endless!! Love love love the colours you used too. So cheery without being over the top
This is incredible! I love the colors, and all the layers. Wonderful! Thanks for the inspiration :)
This is really beautiful, the colors and thought behind it. I’ll have to check out the mat board, too. Thanks
Wow, what a fab project! LOVE those colours together, the white contrast is so striking :)
I love this card set and how you’ve decorated everything! Great ideas and it looks like so much fun – thanks for sharing your beautiful project, Anna!