The growing little project

Did you ever sit down to do a quick little project and it somehow got bigger and bigger? Yesterday I started making a set of six little cards. Easy peasy. Then I decided to make twelve cards instead of six. A little more stamping, punching and gluing, but still manageable. Then I decided I had to make a coordinating box for the cards. Suddenly I was digging around in my various stashes of craft supplies to find a box, paint and brush and then spending time, quite literally, watching paint dry. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun project, and I'm pleased with the end result; I'd just planned on getting more stamping done during the past two days. Oh well, the best laid plans ... At any rate, here is my growing little project:

Supplies for cards and coordinating box (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Small Sayings
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Blue Bayou, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, So Saffron, The Thrift Shop patterned card stock (October Afternoon)
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Very Vanilla Pocket Notes cards and envelopes, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Modern Label punch, 1" circle punch, basic pearls, Dimensionals, Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue, kraft box (unknown), acrylic paint (white wash [Accent], light ivory [Delta Ceramcoat]), matte interior varnish (Delta Ceramcoat), foam brush (unknown)

I love the patterns in this paper, and I think that they make a fun set of little cards when combined with the greetings in the Small Sayings stamp set. I used each pattern, greeting and card stock color twice in the set, but I mixed up the combinations so no two cards are the same. The cards are 3-1/2" x 2-1/2" so they are too small to be mailed (unless you put them in a larger envelope), but they are the perfect size to tuck in a gift, lunch bag, or briefcase or just hand deliver.

The box I wanted to decorate to coordinate with the card set started out a kraft color. I was going to just work with that, but that would have been too easy. So in the spirit of this "little" project, I decided I had to paint the box (inside and out, of course).

I assumed it would take a couple coats of paint to completely cover the box, and I was worried I wouldn't have enough cream acrylic paint left. So I used white paint for the first coat, like a primer, and then finished with the cream. (It was a good thing, too, because I barely had enough cream paint to finish just the second coat.) While the paint was drying I punched several 1" circles out of the same patterned papers I used for the cards. I glued the circles around the bottom and on the cover of the box. Then I painted over the entire box with matte varnish. And finally my little project was done!

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