I came up with a new idea over the weekend – probably someone else already thought of this too but I have not seen this anywhere yet.  What I did have was a tiny graduation cap that someone made to hold a very small piece of candy – like one small mint would fit inside and it was designed like a small jewelry box where you lift off the lid.

Well I thought what if I took the new Matchbox Die and used that to create a graduation cap – but the Matchbox is a rectangle but I cut the top to be a square.  You need a 12″ x 12″ piece of Basic Black card stock to cut your matchbox die and the a 3″ x 3″ piece of Basic Black card stock for the top.  You will need some sticky strip and a black brad from the Vintage set.   Then a tassel for the top.  Slide a check or some cash inside the drawer part.  Add a tag.  This was super quick.

UPDATE: Several people have asked about the tassel – this one I already had.  I found them online at www.craftsetc.com (this is the Hobby Lobby online craft store) but they are currently out of stock (at least the black ones are other colors may  not be).  They are Tiny Tassels and are 1-1/4″.  I also have black crochet thread to make my own in the meantime.

And there is a trick to cutting the 12×12 cardstock so that you can get two sets of pieces for the Matchbox die from one sheet.  This idea was shared with me by a friend at the retreat and she found it on the internet on another demonstrators website.  I don’t know who originally came up with the idea but it is a brilliant one.  UPDATE: The person that came up with the cutting template is Lisa Freeman.

Use a piece of the cardboard backer from a package of Designer Series Paper – it is 12″ x 12″.  Create a template by measuring 5-1/2″ from each side and drawing a line to the center.  Once you have all four sides marked you end up with a small square in the middle – cut this out and throw it away.  Now on your card stock lay down your template and trace out the small square – this will help you cut your card stock.  Line up each side a 5-1/2″ and cut down to the square.  Turn and repeat for all four sides – you end up with four pieces that are 5-1/2″ x 6-1/2″.  Use two of these pieces on your Matchbox die to cut the base of the box and the cover plus the three tags.  Here is a picture of the template:

The Matchbox Die is longer than 12″ so if you just cut a 6″ x 12″ piece to cover the whole thing – it won’t fit!

It is raining – again – it has rained almost every day for a long time – so much that we are no longer in our drought – that has lasted for several years.  Lake Lanier where my parents live was at an all time low last year and I can’t remember exactly but something like 14 feet low with boat ramps and docks out of the water and on dry land – it was bad.  And now – as of this weekend it was only 5 feet below full summer pool!  And with all the rain we had the last couple of days it is probably less than that now.  If you live on the lake that is big.

Anyway have a great week – it is FINALS week, the LAST week of school for us.