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

thrift store finds: mysterious metal box

Okay. You tell me: what is this thing?

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the inventor's supply kit

I was recently looking for a couple of birthday presents for two sweet kids in my family. One, a girl turning eight, is very artistic. Arts & crafts kits for kids her age (especially those targeted at girls) are pretty easy to find, and I'm told she loves these things. I found two (one; two) I thought she'd adore and wrapped them up in a pretty fabric sack I'd made (tutorial coming soon).

The other, a boy turning eleven, was harder to shop for. He's also creative, and has a particularly curious mind when it comes to engineering gadgets and finding out how stuff works. This always impresses me about him.

It's somewhat difficult to find a ready-made kit for someone like him. A lot of science-y kits (even the more expensive ones) cheap out on the supplies, or only provide enough for a limited number of experiments one time through. I don't think that's the best way to encourage the kind of experimentation that engineering and inventing require. Obvious answer: to make an Inventor's Supply Kit of my own invention.

As a pre-internet kid, books were where I always found my answers when I was little. So I found a couple of books I thought would inspire a ton of ideas in his mad-scientist head, and collected a bunch of stuff he'd need to do most, if not all, of the projects in the books. Ta-da! Instant kit.

Well, I mean, not totally instant. You know me. I had to make it look "legit". I also used one of those nice shipping boxes with the red interior that came with a photo book from MyPublisher, and made some graphics and wrapped everything up in brown paper with stickers and striped tape. But mostly instant.

The first book, Kinetic Contraptions, requires hobby motors, which are pretty cheap from on-line retailers until you add in shipping costs. I headed to the thrift store and bought a couple of cheap motorized cars someone had donated. Then I disassembled them and salvaged the motors (full disclosure: the Mister helped loosen some crazy-tight tiny screws). As a bonus, this also yielded a supply of tiny screws, several wheels and axels, gears, and an LED lighting and speaker assembly, all of which are harder to come by than hobby motors.

Some kids would appreciate the opportunity to do the disassembly themselves, but I didn't want to leave any obstacles between the recipient of our gift and the projects in the book. Better, I decided, to give him raw materials to build with from the ground up. He can always pull apart old toys later to salvage more parts if he wants to.

Most of the other supplies came from the dollar store or were pretty inexpensive elsewhere. Here's a list of what I put in the kit (also printed on the graphic inside the box lid):

• 2 books (Amazing Rubber Band Cars and Kinetic Contraptions)
• 2 hobby motors (from RC cars)
• 1 speaker/light assembly (from an old RC car)

• assorted tiny screws
• straws
• bamboo skewers (with the sharp points cut off; I'm creative, not crazy)
• 4 film canisters (from a bunch of rolls of camera film I picked up for my old-timey 35-mm at the thrift store)
• assorted RC car wheels
• wire (leftover from another project)
• 8 AA batteries (the book recommends dollar store batteries, since things are bound to be left connected accidentally, and good batteries drain just as well as cheap ones)

• 36 spring-clamp clothespins
• 3 D batteries (see above)
• 2 spools of electrical tape
• 250 plastic-coated paperclips (which can always be stripped down if the project calls for it)
• 12 binder clips
• spare gears and wheel axels (from old RC cars)
• brads and decorative metal gears
• glue sticks
• rubber bands

I also used a part of a roll of striped orange paper tape from Target's stationary aisle, reused some brown kraft packing paper, and printed some labels on some label paper.

If you find yourself wanting to make one of these kits for a scientist or inventor in your family, I can totally send you a PDF of the graphic for the box top (for personal use only, of course, not for resale). Just send me a message via e-mail or in the comments field below and I'll hook you up!

Thanks for reading!

p.s. you can make these photos larger simply by clicking, but you probably already knew that, clever you!


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thrift store finds: steel storage box

Update: voting for "So You Think You're Crafty" is completed for the week (as of today, January 11th) and I've made it through to the next round!

Thank you all for your votes, and please check back; I'll have a full tutorial for my project up within the next few days. Woohoo!


I found this great steel box with a sliding lid out at Bring awhile back ($4) and have had it sitting in my carport on top of a set of lockers for a couple of months now.

Finally, right before Christmas, when we were expecting house guests and I was trying to get things just a smidgeon organized, I went out and cleaned it up and decided to finally hang it on the wall like I'd intended to do since finding it. Its purpose: to hold cleaning supplies and the kitchen fire extinguisher.

I don't know what purpose it served in its previous life, though it looks to be from the first half of the 20th century. I thought at first it might be a flammable liquids storage box, except the vent on the front (or top, depending on how it originally sat) wouldn't make much sense.

My sister-in-law suggested that it might have been a bread box, which would make sense. Maybe one that stored inside a drawer or something? The sliding lid could still have functioned that way.

At any rate, there were no holes or hangers on the back, and a note (written in marker on bright pink paper) attached to the side (with masking tape) read, "curtains to mend". Not that those two clues narrow it down much.

I admit it: I drilled holes in the back and tried hanging it with picture hangers, but that was just a temporary fix and was really unstable; it needed to be hung with drywall anchors, screws, and washers. I'd normally woman-up and do it myself, but I didn't want to brave the shed right now to find the drill. When the mister offered to take care of it for me, I let him.

I always like the character that beat-up old things add to the house. And it inspired me to put in a little more time priming the kitchen walls, so hey, double points for me!

So: what fun old stuff are you bringing into the house these days? Anyone getting any eye rolls? The mister is a master of hiding his, if he's rolling them at all. He's a good guy.

Thanks for reading!


Updated to add: Yup! Bread box for a cabinet drawer!

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thrift store finds: white owl cigar box

I found this old White Owl cigar box at a thrift store across town, where I only shop if I happen to be in the neighborhood on another errand. I occasionally have made other good finds over there (a traffic sign, silver platters for my wedding, etc.), but it still hasn't made my list of regular haunts. Too far. But who knows; the kiddo and I have a couple friends we've been visiting on that side of town more regularly lately, so we might start stopping by this store more often.

I liked the owl artwork on this box, the old circus/western mid-century typography, and the customs (?) seal on the front edge. Some industrious child (not mine, for once) has endeavored to make this a Magenta Owl cigar box, but it makes it even more charming, I think. Maybe that's just me.

White Owl Cigars aren't exactly high-end smokes; apparently, they're quite cheap and somewhat disdained by cigar aficionados. I don't think that matters to people making cigar box purses or storing crayons though. As far as the box goes, it's cute, vintage, and functional.

This will likely eventually end up in my Etsy vintage shop, along with some other things I've picked up along the way over the past several months. If you're interested in making it your own before I get around to listing it, send me an e-mail! Until then, it's making the night table in my guest room look even cuter.


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christmas snack boxes

Here's another use for bakery boxes, adapted from this idea for an ice cream sundae kit (originally pinned on Pinterest).

After giving it some thought, I came up with the idea of a Late Night Snack Kit. Look! Here's one now!




It still has the waffle cones and toppings for sweet cravings, plus popcorn and popcorn flavoring . . . and chocolate-covered GIGANTIC MARSHMALLOWS!

I made several kits this year for gifts, and they're a pretty cool gift option, whether or not you're trying to keep your holiday spending in check. For starters, it's:

#1: Useful. Everyone needs a late-night snack once in awhile, right? Or a mid-afternoon snack? Food is always useful.

#2: Doesn't depend too much on a person's aesthetic taste. Unlike a sweater, a framed print, or a Chia Pet.

#3: Doesn't add to a clutter problem, or require dusting. Because it's consumable and/or mostly recyclable, this is one gift that won't sit around indefinitely. At worst, the recipient can use it to fatten up some hungry non-migratory birds.


Start with some of the same bakery boxes used for this project. (Alternately, you can go to grocery store bakery and buy some cake or donut boxes. They might not be quite as cute, but the woman at the counter let me buy some for twenty-five cents apiece, so it's a budget-friendly option you can fall back on.)

In late September, I picked up two bags of gigantic Campfire marshmallows at an end-of-season clearance at the local grocery store. They don't sell these everywhere, and they don't sell them all year, but the expiration date on my bags is for February 2013, so I knew they'd keep fine through the holidays. Of course, if you're using this idea for birthday or hostess gifts throughout the year, you can always use regular-size marshmallows.

Put some semi-sweet chocolate in a double-boiler and melt it down, stirring till it's nice and smooth. Be careful not to get any water in it, not even a drop, or you'll ruin the batch (like I did the first time through)! Stick a jumbo mallow on a lollipop stick, dip the bottom in some chocolate, then into some sprinkles, then put it into a cupcake liner and let it cool until the chocolate sets. I put four jumbo marshmallows in each box; you might be able to fit six or eight regular-sized mallows depending on how much space your cupcake liners take up.




I re-packaged some waffle cones in treat sacks tied with baking twine, six cones to a sack, one sack to a box. For the ice cream toppings, I bagged up some Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, and a couple of different types of sprinkles for the ice cream toppings, in little candy sacks also tied with twine.

The unpopped popcorn and popcorn flavorings came pre-packaged from Target in such cute little bottles that I just let them be. You can find them in the snack aisle, alongside the regular popcorn, or you can repackage regular unpopped popcorn and salt (a less-expensive option).




Tie up with baker's twine and pretty tags, and you have a fun Late Night Snack Kit!




Cost breakdown for four boxes:

* bakery boxes — approximately 4 for $5 (or 4 for $1, if you go the grocery store option)
* bakery twine — had on hand, but you can use cotton crochet yarn or source the twine through the other bakery box posting
* plastic treat sacks — $2
* plastic candy bags — $3
* sack of Reese's Pieces — $2
* sack of semi-sweet chocolate — $2
* sprinkles —$2
* cupcake liners —$2
* waffle cones — 2 boxes of 12 for $3
* popcorn — 4 for $8 (or buy one large bag for $2 and divide)
* popcorn seasoning — 4 for $8 (or use regular salt, or Nesquik powder, divided)
* jumbo marshmallows (on sale) — $1.13 (or use regular marshmallows)

It breaks down to about $11 per gift for four. Of course, you'll have enough sprinkles, candy, and marshmallows for more people, so these gifts get less expensive per each if you make more.

Have fun with it! If you can think of other snacks you'd like to include, there's no reason why you shouldn't. I added boxes of tea to a a couple, and a salted caramel chocolate bar to one. Just remember to list the ingredients on the tag, and note that mallows (especially large ones) can present a choking hazard.

Enjoy!


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)


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cupcake box baby shower gift

A few months back, I posted here about some little baby clothes I'd printed for my step-sister's baby shower. Because I sometimes like to make the presentation of special gifts look outstanding, I started shopping for ideas on how to package the gifts.

Cruising Pinterest, I found several pins about baby shower gift boxes available on Etsy (and other places) made to look like bakery boxes full of cupcakes. (Try here, here, and here for examples.) Since I already several little onesies printed and ready to go, I just needed to buy a few more things to pull together my own cupcake box, which makes a really lovely alternative to the ubiquitous diaper cake.




Here's how you can put one together, too!

Start with a window-topped treat box, 3 for $4.99 at Joann (buy them with a coupon, and you'll get 40% off).

Also pick up some king-size white baking cups. They come in a package of 24 and you'll pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 for them.

You can buy fancy baker's twine here too, but it's expensive. I had some left from a project a couple of years ago, so I just used that. Make your own using this tutorial, or buy a big cone here for about $10, to avoid feeling like you're overspending for string.

At Target, I picked up a three-pack of elastic headbands for babies for about $3. If you're building a cupcake box for a boy, you can use rubber bands or the same twine listed above. You'll also need four pairs of baby socks (or, if you're really trying to budget, four socks {two pairs} total, but baby socks can be found at Target or Old Navy for $1 a pair) and four onesies or baby t-shirts. My cupcakes were made using onesies.

To make: if you're printing your own onesies as I did, wait for them to dry and heat set them, of course, so you don't mess up your hard work. Fold in the sleeves, then fold each onesie into thirds, lengthwise.

Take a pair of socks (or a single sock, if you'd prefer) and place it at one end of the folded onesie or t-shirt. The toes of the socks will look a little like cherries in the center of your cupcakes, so keep this goal in mind as you roll the socks up inside the onesies. When rolled, make sure the onesie will fit inside one of your king-sized baking cups, then bind with one of your headbands or some baker's twine.

Repeat for all four onesies, then place each inside a baking cup. Place all four cupcakes into your assembled bakery box, then tie the box with baker's twine. Add a tag, and you're ready to go!




This one is packed and ready to ship inside a priority mail box, surrounded by crumpled construction paper.

Happily, you'll have enough bakery boxes, baking cups, and baker's twine leftover for a couple of more gifts, so if you find you suddenly have a baby boom among your friends (or at your office, like we had at mine!), you'll be set to put together a couple of more on short notice.

Of course, I have a couple of other tricks up my sleeve for ways to use these cute bakery boxes. Stay tuned!


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)

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