love you to the moon and back

Hi Everyone!  I'm really excited to share this project with you today.  My kids love my cards.  They often ask me to give them some of the cards I create and I make cards for them on their birthdays and other occassions.  So, they have quite a few cards laying around.  My youngest likes to write on the cards or tear the buttons off when the older kids leave them down for him to get and they get really upset.

So, I've been thinking about creating a box for each of them to hold some of their cards.  We picked out some images to use for the project earlier this summer and I've been thinking about how I wanted to decorate the boxes for a while now.  Well, last week, Lili of the Valley put a challenge up on their blog to create Anything But a Card.  That was just the push I needed to get started on this project.

For my oldest son's box, he chose this adorable Astronaut stamp from Lili of the Valley.  It can be difficult sometimes to find cute boy images, but Lili of the Valley has lots of really cute ones!  When he picked the image, I knew the Rocket Age patterned papers and embellishments from October Afternoon would be perfect.

First, I took the box apart and painted it blue on the outside and tan on the inside.  After it was dry and I reassembled it, I stitched my patterned paper layers together before adhering them to my box with mod podge.

I stamped the image on copic x-press it cardstock with tuxedo black memento ink.  Then, I colored it with copic markers (colors listed below in the supply list).  I masked the image and sprayed the floor and wall using copic markers and my air compressor.

I added some Glossy Accents to their helmets and let it dry while I worked on the rest of the box (stitching papers, adhering them, etc).  I added a red cardstock mat and tied some Denim baker's twine around the bottom of the image before adhering it to my box with foam adhesive.  The corrugated stars are from Close to My Heart and the buttons, flash card, and tickets are from October Afternoon.

This saying is one of my favorites and I thought it would be perfect on my son's box.  I used Thickers for the letters and the stamped part of the saying comes from the Half Pint Heroes stamp set from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  The label and rocket are from October Afternoon, too.

I didn't want to add a lot to the inside so their would be room for his cards he collects so I just added a piece of patterned paper from October Afternoon.   He loved the constellations on it.

I barely got photos of it before he took it off to his room.  He's really excited about it and it makes me happy knowing how much he loves it!  Now, I need to get started on one for my daughter. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Niki

love you astronaut box supplies:
Stamps: Astronaut (Lili of the Valley), Half Pint Heroes (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Cardstock: X-Press It (Copic), red
Patterned Paper: Rocket Age (October Afternoon)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Embellishments: Rocket Age buttons, Rocket Age Miscellany, Rocket Age Rubber Charms (October Afternoon), denim baker's twine (The Twinery), corrugated stars (Close to My Heart)
Copic Markers
hair: E33, E35, E37, E29
skin: E000, E00, E11, E13
helmets/pants: C0, C2, C4, C6
shirt: YR12, YR15, YR16, YR18, T7
boots: B93, B95, B97, B99, T5, T7, T9
bear: E11, E13, E15, E17, E18
rocket: B93, B95, B97, B99, R27, R46, R89, T9
box: E53, E55, E57
bunny: E30
flag: E31, R27, R46, R89, T9
floor: E25
wall: custom marker (1/2 YR30 & 1/2 YR31)