Valentine Pillow Box Printable

In the celebratory spirit of Valentine's Day, here's my first printable, a Valentine's Pillow Box!

Easy Instructions:

• Download the file here (You'll need a PDF reader like Adobe Reader to open the file.)
• Print it out (I like to use thick cardstock for gift boxes.)
• Cut along the solid lines
• Score (trace with a bone knife or blunt butter knife) and fold along the dotted lines (I've found that using a CD or something similarly round helps score along curves.)
• Fold box in half, glue the flap onto opposite inner edge, and wait for it to dry
• Fold into Pillow Box Shape

And voila! This printable may be reduced in size for smaller pillow boxes. Perfect for little trinkets, sweet treats, and any other Valentine gift you can think of it.

Happy Pre-Valentine's Weekend, everyone!

More Mini Cards

Aside from being obsessed with miniature things, another design element I love is typography. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm an English teacher and I love language. I love words, definitions, scripts and serifs. 

These are another set of "L" minicards that I'm working on. I'm not too happy with the printing as I'm still using the old HP Deskjet all in one but... I've got a professional grade printer on the way! I'm super excited to go full speed ahead and print lots and lots of projects!

Square Mini Cards with Rounded Corners

Lots of things are on hold at the moment as we prepare to move... but once we do, I'll have my spanking brand new studio to work in! Once that's ready, I hope to expand hellowhimsy in all these different ways I've got mapped out in my ahead.

Now, all we've got to do is wait and actually make the move. (Yech. I can't wait to move but I hate moving.) But it's going to be worth it! I'm going to have to make moving announcements too!

Square Mini Cards with Kraft Paper Envelopes

Mini Cards + Envelopes

In art class, I liked doing things small. A lot of people would paint/make huge things, but I always like to confines of small spaces, tiny squares of watercolor paper and mini sketchbooks.

It's the same way with paper. I like to go SMALL.

One of my grandmas had a birthday coming up and I wanted to make her something special. So the mini cards + envelopes were born! (That's her last name on the front.)

I had to mail them out right away so I didn't really have time to take too many photos. These cards are folded cards, and they measure 3.5 x 2 inches when folded, just about the same size as regular business cards!

Perfect to slip in your purse, add as a gift tag, or even just for a short note! (Too bad the smallest size envelopes/postcards the post office will accept are 5 x 3.5 inches. I would have so loved to be able to mail these as is.)

The envelopes are a tiny bit bigger of course, just the right size to slip these babies in. I'm even thinking of making envelopes just for business cards! How cute would that be? And don't you just love the citrusy orange and green color combination?

I have so many fun color combinations and prints I want to make them in. Definitely lots more mini cards and envelopes in my future. And soon available in the hellowhimsy etsy store too.

And cause I'm super excited about all the new things coming into my etsy store, here's a coupon code for 10% off your first purchase from hellowhimsy!

Etsy Coupon Code: hellowhimsyonline515

Happy Monday Everyone!

D-I-Y Doilies

I've got a new favorite thing to craft with.

Doilies!!!

Who would have thought you could do so much with them?

My favorites so far are pretty doily place cards used in two ways:

Photos from Martha Stewart Weddings and intimateweddings.com

Aren't they so sweet, especially when paired up with some gorgeous calligraphy?

And my most favorite new way to use doilies...

Doily Envelopes!

They're super easy to make too. All you've pretty much got to do is fold a square/round doily into an envelope. I've also seen other doily envelopes with tracing paper or vellum used as a protective sheet (made into another envelope and placed inside the doily envelope.)

I had some special cards to send out and it was the perfect opportunity to try making my own doily envelopes. I used round ones and an envelope template to cut them out.

I love how dainty and sweet the envelopes look.  Definitely something I'm going to keep in my craft arsenal!

Lots of Thank Yous!

I wanted to come up with special thank you pillow boxes, and I started out by first designing the paper to make them with, since I couldn't find any available. I wanted one that would say "thank you" all over the sheet.

So I give you, my first "thank you" sheet!

I whipped these up in Photoshop then printed them out.

And then made... Thank You Pillow Boxes!

I've always believed gratitude to be very important and that's become such a big source of inspiration. Expect lots of thank you inspired work in the future! And pillow boxes too! Can you tell I'm obsessed with pillow boxes?

The digital file is up for sale on etsy and the pillow boxes will be soon too! Stay tuned!

holiday rush!

I have been so busy preparing packages and cards for the holidays I've barely had any time to blog! So I thought I'd just catch you up with the packages I've been preparing. Some of these are special orders, some are gifts for family friends.

Special Delivery: Chocolate Bark Gift Box

A Gift Box Full of Chocolate Pockets!

Chocolate Bark Gift Tin

Full of Pretty Chocolate Pockets

Another Chocolate Gift Tin

Full of Chocolate Bark in Assorted Flavors! Notice the White Chocolate Macadamia?

So that's what this busy elf has been up to! Working with lots of new chocolate bark flavors too, like White Chocolate & Macadamia, Milk Chocolate & Macadamia, and Dark Chocolate with Walnuts. And lots of candy making and gift-wrapping in the works!

Can you believe it's 14 days to Christmas?!

inspired table numbers

Having just come off wedding fever, wedding related paper products are still very much on my mind (as you can see from my previous post of place cards!) 

Inspired by my dear friend's wedding colors, I started playing around and came up with the idea of cutting the border and text from card stock, then gluing the entire thing on another piece of card stock. 

The end product has a kind of "pop-up" or embossed effect with the border and text being raised. I'm currently experimenting with fuzzy, felt-like paper to give the border and text even more texture. We'll see how that goes!

But in the meantime, these table numbers are now for sale at the hello, whimsy! etsy store. Lots of more stuff coming up soon! Please do drop by!

presenting... the chocolate pocket!

With the holidays coming up, my husband and I wanted to give little tokens as gifts to friends, family, and co-workers. Of course we wanted to give my specialty, homemade Almond Bark. (Bite size candy pieces made of a buttery, crunchy, graham layer, topped by premium dark chocolate and toasted almonds!)

And I wanted nice, Christmas-themed, handy little containers.

So, the Chocolate Pocket was born!

The cute pillow box pockets measure 4.25 in x 2.5 x 1 inch and they hold about 1 oz of bite size candy pieces.

I also have non-Christmas-themed pockets of course, lots of cute little prints and solid colors as well. I'm going to start selling them on Etsy soon, at $2.50 a pocket. Perfect for wedding favors, baby shower favors, as any kind of party favor, really!

And of course, a hello, whimsy! special pocket.

Aren't they adorable? I am currently obsessed with them. I'm even making matching scallop circle or square shaped tags. I can't wait to give them out for Christmas!

Candy Pockets also up for grabs so if you'd like to order some, just send me an e-mail at marilenn.alcantara@gmail.com.

seaside inspiration

While shopping for paper (which I spend waaay too much money on) I came across this pretty pack of cardstock that immediately brought the beach to mind. (I've lived in a tropical country most of my life, I think about the beach a lot!)

Immediately, I started thinking about what I could do with it and what symbols/icons remind me of the beach.

So I've come up with two seaside themed place cards/tent cards/escort cards. 

A Seashell Design...

And a Starfish Design!

Wouldn't they be so whimsical on a table with some sand, more pretty pebbles, and white flowers? Perhaps I'll try making a seahorse next.

Do you have any suggestions for sea themed place card/escort card?

almond bark sale

Due to popular demand, I am now taking orders for my homemade almond bark!

And what is Almond Bark you may ask? Well, they're bite size candy pieces made of a buttery, crunchy, graham layer, topped by premium dark chocolate and toasted almonds.

I have to admit, it's becoming one of my specialties. I love giving it to friends when we come visit or to relatives when we see them as well. It's always gotten rave reviews and recipe requests.

8 oz Almond Bark Tin: $10.00 plus shipping
Bark made from premium dark chocolate and quality ingredients

For now, just the almond graham bark is up for grabs. 

An 8 ounce tin (pictured above) is $10.00 plus shipping. 

I'm also working on sampler packs, photographed below.

1 oz Almond Bark in Pillow Box: $2.50 plus shipping

These pillow boxes measure 4.25 x 2.5 x 1 in and they each hold about 1 ounce of candy bark. The boxes are fully customizable I can make them in any color you want.

Aren't these pillow boxes the cutest thing ever? They're perfect for parties, giveaways, or even just as a little thoughtful gift. I'll post more about them soon.

Each pillow box with about 1 ounce of candy bark is $2.50 plus shipping.

I'm working on a walnut version, a macadamia version, and varieties of milk and white chocolate. So excited to test new varieties!

For orders and inquiries, send me an e-mail at marilenn.alcantara@gmail.com.