The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #4; For The Love of Mixed Media...Little Travelers' Valentine Boxes

   Valentine's Day is always one of my favorite holidays, and I always loved giving special Valentine packages to my ChiefHubby and our kids. I think it's even more special now that we are married 38 years this July- making this our 40th Valentines Day together! While I've pretty much stopped the packages with our kids (and the ChiefHubby and I don't need more reasons to have chocolate, lol), I'm tickled pink to be able to carry on the tradition with our Grandbabies!

   This year, our 2nd as Florida Snowbirds, we hoped to have one set - or both sets- of our kids to fly down for a week. The younger set are just now getting settled into their new house (finally closed last week) in Upstate New York, and it will be awhile before they are able to head anywhere for an extended vacation. And with the new baby coming this Fall, we'll be doing the most travel up to them instead. The older set had the opportunity to get away and bring our oldest 2 Grandbabies for Peanut's 2nd flight to Florida, and Princess's 1st. The ocean has always been my dream place. I was obsessed with water and swimming and dreamed of walking for miles along tropical sandy beaches. I saw it for the first time when I was 21. While I never really got to go anywhere (except to Missouri to my Great Grandpa Raymer's farm) until I was 18 and married, it's worth the wait to see things for the first time through your own kids' eyes. That made my first visit to Florida's Pacific side as a new Mommy at age 25 truly magical. It's even more special to share your Happy Place with your GRANDCHILDREN!  As of now, that's 2 done and 2 more to share it with yet. Since the 2 older babies adore- and have plenty of experience with- chickens, they were excited to play with the seagulls. Memaw showed them how to hold up the Dorito chip and wait for the birds to swoop it away. The weather finally made the turn for Spring and their last day here was beautiful and full of fun. Baby Pecan will really love the ocean as much as his older cousins did over Valentine's Day, and I am looking forward to that time!  

     Which brings me to this new Challenge on The Funkie Junkie Boutique's For the Love of Mixed Media. Laura's got this one and she's challenging us to "create a mixed media project about/for someone or something you love". It was easy-peasy for me since I was already in planning mode to make some kind of package to put the kids' Valentine candy in. So I came up with a neat idea after realizing that between our 4 Grandbabies (including the one in-utero!), they have traveled a combined 11 States and 1 other country in just the past month! Last summer, I was bummed out that our Grandbabies were just seeing "wavy water" for the first time because of Covid19. This year; they start off BIG with traveling! Jamie is up on Lake Ontario, with his Aunt just across the water in Canada. The way there is around Niagra Falls, so he got to go to another country already to visit his older Cousins on his Mommy's side. Like the rest of the world, I am so over Covid19 already! The thought of kids getting back to having LIFE again makes me feel like there's hope out there yet! 

      Mixed Media is the creation of an item using 2 or more different types of materials. I chose paper, ribbon/string/ and Distress Inks to make simple gift boxes for holding Valentine candy treats.

                                           So let's dig in and see how it's done!

These are the items I needed to divide up and have a box to fit it all inside.

Don't be fooled: those PEZ holders can be pretty large when it's in that plastic!

I wanted to capitalize on how many places they each traveled to/through, and

a mode of transportation that made me think of each child.

I picked up a clearance item on an odd trip (can't even remember where) and

already had in mind to use Tim Holtz's Destinations 12 x 12 pad.

The Funkie Junkie Boutique has TONS of paper packs, pads, and matching sets

of papers to choose from, including Tim Holtz's most recent items.

I started out by measuring the items as they were gathered together in a bag.

Each child would need a box measuring 

10 inches long x 3 inches wide x 4 inches deep

that translated to folding and cutting in the following manner:

one 12 x12 cardstock: Score fully up and down on 1-inch, 5-inch, and 8-inch marks

turn the paper one turn to left and 

Score on 1-inch and 11-inch marks

Cut to the crease only on 1-inch and 11-onch marks.

one 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock: Cut one inch from entire edge to make 8 1/2 x 10

turn and cut on 5 1/2-inches

Score on 2 1/2-inch mark

Clip corners to desired edge, or leave as square

two 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock : cut out 2 squares measuring 4-inches x 3-inches

Any leftover scraps can be used to decorate- especially double sided stock/paper.

After making one cut corner using a ruler and cutting blade, I then just used that 

corner as a pattern for all the rest of the corners.

Here is where the box is all in the correctly cut peices, ready for assembly.

ADHESIVES: I used Pink Glider Tape Runner and Glossy Accents on all.

The tape sets it and the GA makes it stay.

The main part of the box is the 12 x 12 cardstock sheet.

The lid and squares help round out the shell of the box where the 12 x 12 is too small.

This is why you want to coordinate the colors you're using.

The squares also help add some stability- kids are going to handle these boxes!

The inside of one finished box.

You can see down in the bottom right corner- I folded over an edge piece that

normally would have just been cut away. It added stability to the lid piece.

Aaaaaand....if you're like me, and you score too deeply on the ONE and ONLY 

sheet of cardstock like that in your entire stash...just add some scrap over the

top and refold. I used my Pink Glider Tape Runner for this.

What's a Memaw to do when she needs 3 Indianas and 2 Floridas and

Tim only made ONE page of these?!?!

She goes to her trusty pc, programs, and Canon Pixma....

...and she fills the order!

I also did leave it in my files for future needs.

Then come the DECORATIONS!!

In this case; Faceted Hearts in colors for each Grandbaby.

Peanut and Princess are more particular (ALWAYS Blue, and ALWAYS Pink),

whereas Baby Pecan loves Blue, Pink, Purple, Neons and bright colors.

I've seen him pick out other people's fave colors and hand it to them-

 Memaw does Pink a lotand it's been my fave my entire life.  

All 3 Grandbabies have picked up on this; they've all got a sense of color.

And here come the ties and the Distress Inks.

Here are the simple, but very pleasing Gift Boxes...

BACKSIDES

LEFT SIDES

RIGHT SIDES

BOTTOMS

Closeups:

Personalized with their names cut from Tim's license plate page.

Peanut Cole's

Princess Chloe's

Baby Jamie's

One more to get his.... when we get to New York!

I'm sending a huge "THANK YOU!! for all the LOVING comments on my makes,

especially because everyone knows my makes tell a 'story' that is usually about LOVE!

May you all take back as much as you freely give all the time:

Crafters are just the BESTEST PEOPLE EVER!!

This For the Love of Mixed Media Challenge is open until 11:55pm March 8th.

It's easy: make it, share it, enter it (following the rules on the Challenge's link),

and be included in a chance for a $25 Gift Certificate from

(Where you'll find tons of materials at great prices!)

Join in and make SOMEONE ELSE smile!

Until next time...

Stay Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!!