One of the new things I went "Yess!" out loud over when leafing through the annual catalogue was the Popcorn Box die. I had been hoping for one of those for a long time. Popcorn boxes have weird angles, so they're not something you can easily create on your own or with the box punch board. So this one went straight to my mental list of must-haves for the first order.
On Monday, when I was taking things out of the box, I totally spaced out on that die kit when pulling things out because I was expecting one of the wider Big Shot Thinlits envelope. You know the ones - like the one that houses the Mini Treat Bag. Then, as I started looking for the popcorn box die thinking it might be missing, I finally spotted it and seeing the size of the envelope alone, I immediately went, Oh... Sure enough, I pulled the sheet on which the dies were stuck and saw the size and immediately realized it was much smaller than I anticipated. Yes, the size was written in the catalogue and I should have looked at it more closely. Now that I've finished putting my first sample together with it, I don't think the size is half bad. But I thought I'd pass the warning along: don't be surprised - it's on the small side.
It's adorable, though. It comes with all kinds of little dies to embellish the box, and a matching stamp set as well (you can get both as a bundle for 10% off). I got the French stamp set solely based on the one sentiment that says, "Explosion de souhaits" ("Explosion of wishes" - get it?). I'm going to enjoy using that one on cards with popcorn or sparklers or fireworks.
Anyway, back to the box embellishments, I knew the scallop edge was supposed to cut the actual box, but I decided to try the fancy stuff right off the bat and see if I could cut a second piece of cardstock instead to make a border in a different colour. Verdict: it works, but you can't make it very large, as the sizing won't work with the fold marks already on the scallop border.
Another embellishment is the wavy border, which I used four times on Silver glimmer paper, for each box side. The kit also includes a long strip, meant to add stripes to the box. I'll be honest: this one I don't get just yet. I mean, I get the idea: the strip is slightly narrower at the bottom to follow the shape of the box. But I would have thought the strips would be at an angle, drawing closer together at the bottom. Not the case, based on how the top and bottom are cut. The other thing that confuses me is that the strip is longer than the side of the box. I would really love to understand why. So you can fold it underneath the box? So you can snip the extra yourself? I'm really not sure.
So this was my first try and it's now perfect, but it'll get better with each new box I put together. I still think it's cute enough to be given away. I found an old polka dot cello bag that used to be part of a SAB kit and closed it with a silver twist tie I kept from some random packaging (just because it was silver and I knew it would look awesome somewhere on a project).
By the way, the cute polka dot paper comes from the Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack. You need to have a closer look at that one in the catalogue. It's gorgeous! One of my favorites in recent years. The colours are gorgeous and rich, and each sheet of paper has one side that is photography and the flip side is regular patterns. I've already seen really pretty stuff done with it popping up (pun unintended) online and I can't wait to use mine more. If you're curious, check out this Stampin' Up! video to see all of the pages: VIDEO.
The colour combo was inspired by Just Us irls #348 and the touch of glimmer (silver border, silver twist tie and rhinestones) were inspired by the Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge.


Color Combo: Bermuda Bay + Melon Mambo + Delightful Dijon + White
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Explosion de saveur (Ready to Pop)
Cardstock: Delightful Dijon, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Serene Scenery
Ink: Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Popcorn box Thinlits Dies, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Silver Shimmer Paper,
White Polka Dot Cello Bag (SAB Kit), Stampin' Dimensionals, Large Oval Punch, Tear 'n Tape