paul bunyan christmas boxes

You've already seen some of the things I packed into this year's Christmas boxes, including the Paul Bunyan Towel-endar . . .

. . . the saved mammoth sunflower seeds . . .

. . . and the woodsy snow globe ornaments.

So let's look at some of the other stuff that went in the boxes with these goodies. Here's some coconut candied peanuts. I packaged them in triangular treat bags and added gold ties and vintage-style labels. (I should have chosen tree nuts to stay on theme, but I had a momentary lapse)

And here are some bar coasters I printed with a log slice pattern (for fun, some also had a bark pattern on the backs).

These little Paul Bunyan books (Paul Bunyan Comes West, originally published 1928) were my favorite, though. I'll talk more about them in a future post, but here's a sneak peek at them after I bound  them but before they were wrapped and put into the boxes.

I packed everything into a treat box with a window on the top. You'll notice I also enclosed a box of packaged tea and a little parchment paper package of birch branch paper straws.

Then I added some colorful paper shreds I reused out of a Pijon Box delivery. They use a lot, so I had plenty for twelve boxes.

I tucked the Paul Bunyan towels in on top of everything . . .

. . . then sealed up the boxes (bought during last year's post-Christmas clearance) with the towel wrap showing through the window.

Finally, I used some recycled brown paper to print some wrapping paper using the same block I used for the coasters. I tied the packages shut with baker's twine and added more wood veneer tags on top. These ones say, "Paul Bunyan says, 'Merry X-Mas'" in gold pen.

Positive feedback from family and friends! I had a lot of fun, and some frustration, and a few late nights putting everything together this year. I even got boxes in the mail in time for Christmas for those I wouldn't be visiting. Now to start planning for next year . . .

p.s. make photos larger with a click!

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Inspiration Monday

Open House at No Minimalist Here

hey paul, paul bunyan

In Portland's Kenton neighborhood is a 31-foot Paul Bunyan statue that I've mentioned before here. Inspired by our travels this past year, I decided to start a new series of kitchen towel calendars based on landmarks and attractions of Oregon, and I picked the Portland Paul Bunyan as the 2014 feature.

I worked the design in several parts on watercolor paper using watercolor pencils, then combined the images in Photoshop and finished up the layout and typography in Illustrator.

I was so excited when the fabric arrived from Spoonflower. I'd never ordered their linen / cotton canvas before; I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the fabric and the printing. Perfect for this year's Christmas boxes.

I finished off the backs with some grosgrain ribbon corner hangers and a 3/8-inch hem.

I'm really happy with how the towel calendars (or "towelendars") turned out, and I'll definitely be planning the next in the series for 2015. 

Here's one in its pretty wrapper (printed on brown paper sack that I've inked with a wood grain pattern).

If you're interested in having one of your own, you can order the fabric from my Spoonflower shop whenever you're ready. One towel prints to a 1/4 yard of linen / cotton canvas, or get a full yard for four towels. I'll update here, too, when I get these listed ready-made in my Etsy shop.

Update: now available in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!

freezer paper stencils + flour sack towels

The night before my sweet cousin's wedding, I had a major 11th-hour craft fail in my family's hotel room. My screen printing project fell all to pieces.

Returning home after the wedding, I dusted off my butt and set aside the silkscreen for awhile, turning instead to freezer paper stencils to make my cousin and her fiance' a set of personalized, woodsy kitchen towels.

Supplies: freezer paper, craft knife, brown Tee Juice dauber, + iron. And, not pictured, cotton tea towels and pencil.

Sketch your design onto the dull, unplasticized surface of the freezer paper, then cut it out with your craft knife. I chose to print one of the towels with a woodgrain pattern and a "carved" heart with their initials inside. I drew this freehand, but if you're not sure where to start, you can find images on-line to inspire your pencil.

A more involved design like mine will require careful handling and ironing.

Iron the stencil on to towels carefully, adding separated elements (like the letters in the "carved heart") after everything else.

Using the Tee Juice dauber, go over the entire design.

After letting it dry for awhile, remove the freezer paper and iron the entire piece to set the dye. Wash and dry, then iron flat.

The second design was the same process but a different graphic: a stand of trees, their state, and their initials.

Thanks so much for reading! Wanna make the photos larger? Just click!

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