pinkfresh studio :: life noted greeting cards + little boxes

March 14, 2016

pinkfresh studio :: life noted greeting cards + little boxes

Who else loves Pinkfresh Studio patterned papers as much as I do? That is to say, I adore them. As the name suggests, they are always fresh and come in the best colors! One of my favorite things to do with them is wrap gifts. In fact, this will probably not be my only project this year using the papers as wrapping paper...

My boxes today are small, measuring 2.5" x 3.25" x 1.25", so I trimmed the 12 x 12 stock down to about 8 x 4. Because these papers are thicker than traditional wrapping paper, it's a good idea to have an adhesive that has a great bond--or be prepared to use lots and lots of cello tape! (*My favorite tape to use is Super Tape, which is very strong and double sided.)

I liked the bold, almost Spring-ish hues from the Life Noted papers and chose a few that I thought would look nice together. Yellow was my common color throughout the little packages, either seen on the wrap or used as part of the embellishing.

The graphics on the papers are simple yet striking, not overly ornate or busy, but definitely eye-catching. I set out to create the same traits in the tags. I stuck to simple baker's twines for the trim and used only 2-3 items to make up the package sentiment.

A piece of white cotton fabric with a foiled wood sticker enhances this box by playing on the green shade and the triangle pattern.

Using foam stickers from Felicity, the recipient's initial, E, is clearly visible on a small white tag. I added the "Oh Happy Day" tag by trimming down a strip of the LN washi.

This box is really colorful (and was inspired by my second projects in this post, cards). The rubber "smile" charm is matted to an "O" from the yellow puffy alpha stickers. Pink twine wound around the box a few times is a pretty finishing touch.

When wrapping the last box, I positioned the pink stripes right in the center. It almost looks like ribbon, but it's just a design on the paper that separates the two green patterns. To finish, another initial tag, this time paired with a rubber charm tag, are tied on with gray twine.

These were really simple to do and shows that you don't have to spend a ton of time (or money) on involved and expensive gift wrap. Use what you already have on hand and your gifts are sure to be noticed!

I also have two greeting cards to share with you, again using the Life Noted collection. As I mentioned earlier, the little "smile" box was inspired by the colorful cards (I made them first). With Easter around the corner, the yellow, pink, and aqua is so pretty at this time of year.

I needed to make some birthday cards to have on hand and the acetate "Hooray" was the perfect sentiment on my first card. I stitched it to the yellow and white paper and popped the pink "XO" rubber charm to the first O. After I stitched the word to my paper, I folded the rest of the word up to try and add a little dimension.

Borrowing the wood bow banner from Pinkfresh's Happy Things line offers repetition of long, narrow elements, especially when it's sitting atop long and skinny swatches of pink fabric and cream lace. (And don't forget the hint of aqua triangle paper peeking out from behind the yellow!)

I used a couple of 3 x 4 pocket cards on this card. A problem I have when I use mostly paper elements on projects is that they tend to look flat so I always add texture wherever I can without overwhelming the piece. Here I used fabric, glitter, stitching, a doily, lace, and even the aqua paperclip. The result is a card that has depth and dimension and LOTS of texture.

I borrowed again from Happy Things to make the black bow on the pink box stand out with a glittery foam sticker bow. Thanks to Felicity, I used a silver foam asterisk. It's always nice to have a little shine!