It Was My Husband's Idea...

...and it was AWESOME!! After I showed him the cute little Altoid's tin from this post, he said (and I quote)... "it would be neat to have one look like a little suitcase with pictures from your trip inside."

Well... you all know what can happen when an idea like that lands in the lap of someone who thrives on being creative!!

Here it is:

Isn't it just ADORABLE?! I am sorry to report that I used some retired products in the making of this masterpiece. This project literally screamed to use the paper is from Sentimental Journey in the 2006-2007 catalog and the ribbon is the old narrow Chocolate Chip grosgrain (now we have the wonderful WIDE Chocolate Chip grosgrain which works beautifully on cards, but would NOT have worked here!). I used the smallest little buckles in my Hodgepodge Hardware kit, and paired with that narrow ribbon, an old fashioned suitcase was born! The label here was printed on my computer onto some ivory paper and layered onto Bravo Burgundy cardstock punched with the Designer Label punch. I will confess that I got meticulous here and actually trimmed the ivory paper down by hand since there's not two sizes of that punch (not something I recommend!).

I stamped the back with an image from Carte Postale using Chocolate Chip ink, just to add some interest.

I even put brads on the bottom to mock the little metal "feet" that suitcases have. It stands up nice and straight on these little feet, as you saw in the above photos.

The edges were trimmed with the same narrow Chocolate Chip grosgrain, and I wrapped a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock around the bottom edge.

On the inside, I printed a list of the ports of call we visited during our cruise and layered it onto some Bravo Burgundy which serves as the "lining" of the suitcase.

I made another accordian pull-out and added photos from that trip to the front and the back.


So there you have it... our husbands really CAN have great ideas, can't they?! I'm actually very lucky in that regard. In fact, I have plans to show you something my husband built for me recently... but it's not quite ready to be showcased yet. Soon, my friends, soon.

Lastly, I did mention earlier that I am working on different ideas for Altoids tins so that I can have a Stamp Camp for adults. Although the tin in this post is definitely adorable (if I'm allowed to say so myself!), it will not be the one we make in class... this is mainly due to the fact that I used retired products and don't have enough of it for everyone. I have a couple other tins I'll be showing you in the coming weeks though - tins that we can all make together. So use this one as inspiration... and stay tuned for more!