Papertrey Ink :: Packaging Ambassador :: Potbellies Gift Toppers (*for 8 year old boys)

Hello and welcome!  If you've come from the Papertrey Ink Packaging Ambassador post, you'll just need to scroll down a bit for the 'scary character' gift!  And if you haven't seen that post yet, it's a tandem project to this one.  I'll share a few photos from that one, but I recommend checking it out, too.

Gift wrapping for kids and babies has become such a fun exercise for me, especially since I became a mom.  It's given a whole new meaning to this art and since I have a boy and a girl, I get to do all kinds of different wrappings.  I focused on the cute and sweet packages on the Papertrey post, and here on my blog, I'm giving you a bonus that I created when my 8-year-old son was not having any of the super-cute animals I made!

The Unicorn Potbelly die is incredibly versatile because you can make almost any kind of animal with it.  If unicorns and horses aren't your thing, try a pig, hippo, walrus, puppy, or even a rhino.  I turned one into a scary "character" to appease my 8-year-old son.  I chose a unicorn, a rhino, and for Gus, a creepy thing.

Here's a look at the adorable unicorn and rhino...all the details on making these shaker gift toppers are found HERE.

Gus just was not having the "cutesy" animal style so I created something else with his help.  Upon his recommendation, I gave the 'scary guy' 2 horns, creepy eyes (which I made from one of the flower detail dies that comes with the unicorn set), and lots of sharp fangs.  Those are actually meant to be put in the ears, but now you know they can double as teeth when called upon.

Gus was also not having the belly full of sparkly sequins so I filled the tummy with the Pure Poppy crazy eyes instead. I also stamped 'Happy Birthday' in there.

For packaging, I went with a plain kraft box and some New Leaf ribbon.  The final touch was the Soft Stone gift tag.  My son thought I did a pretty good job of scrapping the 'cutesy' stuff for this one, so as long as it's got his stamp of approval, I'm okay with it!

I hope you weren't too creeped out by today's post--if you have a son who's older than 6, this kind of character might be just what you're looking for!  And if you have or know a child who still loves the cute things in life, head to the Papertrey Ink blog for all things sweet and very un-creepy.

Supplies:

Stamps: Potbellies Everyday Sentiments
Ink:  Berry Sorbet, Enchanted Evening, True Black
Paper:  Sweet Blush, Bright Buttercup, Spring Rain, True Black, Soft Stone, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy & White cardstocks; Berry Sorbet, Mint Julep, Tropical Teal & Limeaid Ice Bitty Big
Dies: Potbellies: Unicorn, Nesting Basics: Circles, Tremendous Tags, Essential Tag
Other: Berry Sorbet grosgrain ribbon, Limeaid Ice grosgrain ribbon, New Leaf grosgrain ribbon, white twine, sequins, clear acetate sheets