Show your love through crafts: Perfect jewelry box

Valentine's Day is happening in exactly a week! We know that you must have prepared a gift for your Valentine, but do you have a pretty box to put it in yet? Whether it is homemade chocolates, jewelry, cards, candies, or any other Valentine's Day related presents, this simple and classy jewelry box is perfect for anything and it is cheap too!

• Two 3 1/4-by-5 1/4 inch cardboard jewelry boxes with accompanying batting, from containerstore.com
• Decorative faux-lizard paper, from katespaperie.com
• Craft knife
• Bone folder
• Ruler
• Paste-style glue, such as Yes Paste
• Foam craft brush 
• Red art board (a heavier weight than card stock)
• Satin fabric
• Tape
• Gold banding border and gold paper, from blumchen.com
• Gem candies

Customize Box

Separate the box halves; you'll use the bottoms and 1 piece of batting to make the box. Print box template; cut out. Trace template twice onto decorative paper; cut out pieces. Using bone folder and ruler, crease papers, following the dotted lines on template. Apply glue to the back of 1 box half using brush; center it on back of paper. Using glue and following the guidelines on template, cover box half in paper. Repeat to cover second box half.

Create Lip and Box Insert

Add a lip to the box bottom: Cut 4 strips of art board equal to the lengths of the box's sides and all 1/4 inch wider than box's depth. Glue strips along sides inside 1 box half. For a better presentation, raise the box floor (optional):Cut a long, 1/2-inch-wide strip of art board. Fold it as shown, and secure it to box floor with glue.

Make Satin Cushion

Cut a rectangle of art board to the same dimensions as batting. Cut a piece of satin fabric 1 inch larger on all sides. Stack fabric (right side down), batting, and art board (all centered). Wrap fabric around layers, securing it first at the corners and then on sides with tape. For a more pillowy look, leave a little give in the fabric.

Add Flourishes

Apply 4 thin strips of gold banding border along the edges of box top using glue. Repeat, adding strips along sides of box top and bottom. Cut a small heart from gold paper, and affix it to the center of box top. Place cushion inside box, and fill box with candies.

via MarthaStewart

Gift wrapping ideas for Christmas

Tis the season to be giving! We don't like wrapping our gifts in the conventional way. We like it unique and different to switch it up for this year's Christmas! Here we provide you some great ideas for this year's Christmas gift wrapping.

 

Recycle holiday cards as labels for presents. With a pencil, kids can draw (or stencil) the recipient's initial onto a card, and cut it out. Punch a hole in the letter, and tie to gift with yarn or ribbon.

 

Gift tags are all the sweeter when they happen to be crisp cookies. To make them, cut gingerbread dough into shapes or letters, punch with a small hole for threading with cord, and bake. The cookies can be eaten while the unwrapping takes place, or hung on a tree as ornaments.

Who doesn't love tinsel? Here's another way to use it: Twist wired tinsel into six-pointed stars. Cut three pieces of tinsel, two of equal length and one a little longer. Twist equal pieces together at centers, and wrap third piece onto the two twisted pieces, forming a star. Bend end of longer piece into a hook, and attach the star from the ribbon on a gift. Or hang as an ornament on a tree.

via Martha Stewart

Cupcake frenzy! Cute ideas for Halloween themed cupcakes

Don't know what food to prepare for a Halloween party? Make some cupcakes and decorate them Halloween specials!! Everyone will go gaga over your cupcakes design. These are very unique ones that I am about to share with you here.

 The Big Eyed Alien Cupcake

Prepare the vanilla or chocolate cupcake recipe. Spread each cupcake with a thin layer of meringue buttercream tinted with a few drops of green food coloring. For the small eye, attach a mini marshmallow and create a pupil by painting on melted chocolate (microwave 1/2 cup chocolate chips for 1 minute). For the large eye, push the chocolate chip, tip down, into a regular-size marshmallow, then cut Gummi tape for an eyelid. For teeth, place 5 mini marshmallows along the bottom of the cupcake.

Stenciled Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup(s) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup(s) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup(s) warm water
• 3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
• 3 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil (such as safflower)
• 1 tablespoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Mix in eggs, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
3. Before serving, place a stencil atop each cupcake, and dust with confectioners' sugar. Carefully remove stencil.

Mummies Cupcakes

Prepare the vanilla or chocolate cupcake recipe. Spread each cupcake with a thin layer of meringue buttercream. Add jelly beans dotted with melted chocolate for the eyes and red Gummi candy for the mouth. Using a ribbon tip (such as Ateco #44), pipe bands of buttercream.

This is it for today! I will post more cupcake ideas very soon for you to get your Halloween party ready! Happy baking!

via Marthstewart.com