Christmas Match Box

To make this you will need:-

Small match box blank 2” x 1 ½”
4 Small chipboard tags – or cut your own from mount board 1 ¾” x 1”
Various small Christmas stamps
Christmas background stamp
Distress ink pads, Fired Brick and Peeled Paint
2 pieces of cut n dry foam or you can use small pieces of sponge
Archival ink pad – Jet Black
Dark Red dye based ink pad
Cosmic Shimmer ultra thick embossing crystals – Golden Lustre
Hampton Art tinted embossing ink pad
Scrap piece of card to make a mask of your stamped images
Small piece of Christmas paper approx 2” x ½”
Low tack tape
Metallic thread
Heat Gun
Pricking Tool

Instructions

1. Remove the inside part from your match box and put it to one side. Gently push on your match box outer to flatten it so it is easier to work on.

2. Take a stamp which you would like on the front of your match box and ink it up using jet black archival ink and then stamp this onto the front part of your match box. Ink the stamp up again and stamp it onto your scrap piece of card.

3. Cut out the stamped image from your scrap piece of card, as you will use this as a mask. Put a little low tack tape on the back of your cut out stamped image and lay it directly onto of the stamped image on your match box.

4. If you want another stamped image on the back of your match box cover then repeat steps 2 and 3 above.

5. Lightly tap a piece of sponge onto the fired brick ink pad and then lightly apply the ink to parts of the match box cover. Then take your peeled paint ink pad and another piece of foam/sponge and again lightly pick up some ink from your pad and lightly apply this until your cover/outer is fully coloured in either fired brick or peeled paint ink. Do not remove the masked images yet.

6. Now take a Christmas background stamp and ink it up using a dark red dye based ink pad and then randomly stamp this over the match box cover. You can now remove the masked images and colour your stamped images on your match box cover.

7. Take your Hampton Art tinted embossing ink pad and ink up one side of your match box cover – the best way to do this is to lay your match box cover on top of the ink pad and press down on it with your fingers. Remove the cover from your ink pad and sprinkle Cosmic Shimmer ultra thick embossing crystals over it. Shake off the excess and put it back into the pot. Heat with your heat gun until the crystals melt – be careful as your match box cover will become very hot. After a few seconds, repeat the above step on the back of your match box cover. Your match box cover is now finished.

8. Take your four small tags and decorate them the same way you did for your cover. Steps 2 to 7. When your tags are decorated make a small hole using a pricking tool and thread some metallic thread through them to tie them together. Alternatively, you could put metallic thread on each one and it would make a nice Christmas decoration to hang on your Christmas tree.

9. Take the base/inside of your match box and colour it using distress inks – as in step Finally add a small piece of Christmas backing paper to the inside of your base.

10. Your altered match box is now finished and you can put your tags inside.

Angie