I recently participated in a partnered recipe box swap with a group recipe card swap.  Each participant made one box for a partner and one recipe card for each member of the group of 35.  At the end of the swap, each participant had a decorated box and 35 holiday or winter sweet recipe cards to fill it.

Box 1 above used Bo Bunny papers and Lettering Delights’ “Eskimo Pie” collection.  I added a few cut files from the Silhouette Online Store to add canisters, tools, and a gingerbread cookie to the sled. The “recipes” title brads are from Farmhouse Paper Company.

On one of the sides, I used another cut from the Eskimo Pie collection and cut off the fishing pole and replaced the fish with more gingerbread men.

As I did on the front die cut, I used my Copics to add the skin tones and fur texture and a Uno Signo-Ball white pen to add the icing details.

For the second side, I used Lettering Delights “Jan’kufuudo” cut set to add the hot chocolate mug.

And finally, the inside of the box using some of the Bo Bunny die cuts, some foam, tape, and chipboard:

Box 2, below, is a winter steam punk trunk with an adventurous Echo Park penguin from the Silhouette Online store.  I cut several penguin layers in different patterned papers to create his trousers, vest, and cravat, and shirt and then hand-trimmed to make him the little gentleman penguin that he is.  I purchased his vintage doll house binoculars from Etsy and added a chain.  The trunk features Tim Holtz buckles, brad nails, and Theresa Collins paper.  I added Prima flowers, kitchen charms, gears, a clock key, and a mixer from the Farmhouse Paper Company Kitchen metals brads to finish the box front.

The penguin’s map, of Antarctica,  is cut from an October Afternoon 12×12 map page and folded.

Metal handles from Kaisercraft are adhered to the sides of the trunk.

Box #3 uses Graphic 45’s Tropical Travelogue and Prima flowers.  I also added some metal butterflies, a lock, and key to add a little more G45-like elements to the box.  Most of the design elements were hand-cut from 12×12 paper.  I learned that it is possible to fold the metal butterfly wings up to add a little more dimension.

The inside of the third box is the most interesting of the three and included several layered G45 elements adhered on chipboard for added dimension.

The boxes I received in return are amazing.  Many thanks to my friends, Esther, Amy, and Ashley, for the beautiful boxes that each made for me.