Katemade Designs: Turn a Matchbox into a Test Tube Holder

Whew. Last week was uber busy getting ready for the boy's party. Today is his actual birthday. Hard to believe it's been 8 years.

I was very happy with the treat boxes I made. They were an add on to the box created by the
Matchbox Stampin' Up! Bigz XL Die. Here are the pieces created with the die. I chose Only Orange and Tempting Turquoise (also from Stampin' Up!) as the colors because they matched the invitations.

Below are the die pieces put together.

Below is the box I made to go around the matchbox. In the center of the cross are

four circles that I cut Xs across so mini test tubes could be put into the final box.

Below is the larger box put together. You can see the Xs cut in the top ready for the test tubes.

I gave the boys grow capsules that you put in warm water and watch them expand into spongy sea creatures. I printed out the instructions and put them in the bottom of the boxes.

After the instructions were put in the bottom of the box a handle needed to be added to the drawer because there was only one way to get into these things and it was difficult to do that without a drawer pull. I punched a hole in the end of the box with my Crop-o-dile then used coordinating Making Memories brads with long tongs. If you want to make a drawer pull it's best if you can get your fingers around it and with a brad attached flush to the box that was difficult at best.

To add some distance between the brad head and the drawer I used buttons as spacers.
Hold them with one hand and flatten the brad back with the other.
Once it's flat tape it into place so it sticks out.

Here's the back with one of the mini test tubes in the big box.

Below is a completed box filled with treats. I wanted to use patterned papers and make them

a bit more decorative but my son said he wanted them just as they were "just add their
(the party guest's) initial to them". I think they look a bit like file cabinets with the initial

on them but it's what he wanted and they were a big hit.

The only things that would fit in these tiny test tubes were Nerds candies, mini M&Ms
and TicTacs (my kid prefers orange over mint). The drawer contained the expanding capsules
I mentioned before and a mini box of Nerds. My girlfriend found the Science Project books in the dollar bin at Target months ago and got them for the party. They were a huge hit we did several experiments from them after the planned experiments were done.

Below is a picture of the happy birthday boy showing off the Pop Rocks that were one of our experiments. No we didn't combine them with Coke to see if it would explode but the boys had great fun showing off the candy in their mouths.

In other news...
I'm registered to take Jessica Sprague's class Inspiration Everywhere. I've never taken an online scrapbooking class and want to see how it's done. Plus the price is right, it's FREE. Go. See. I looked at the supply list and need to do a bit of shopping. So much for free. I have most of the items on the list but I will need to get:

Matte photo paper and/or presentation paper (at least 15 letter-sized or A4 sheets) - Darn, all I have is glossy. I wonder if that will work.
One inkjet transparency - I think I have this but it may require some digging.
Muslin or canvas fabric, plain, at least 1/2 yard - I think I can get some from my sister. Otherwise the fabric store is going to be seeing me.
String or twine, at least 2 yards - Hmm is what I have appropriate?
Ring-bound sketchbook (5x7, 8x10, 9x10, etc) Should have a hard cover. - Going to have to get this too.
Optional: Pinking shears - Note to self, get the borrowed scissors back. If this is for fabric though I am golden.