Mementoes In Time

Our 24 Days of Christmas Series has sadly come to a close but there are still a few projects waiting in the wings, that we would like to share. This will be our 'extended 24 Days of Christmas series'.

While wondering what to call this extra run of projects, I remembered that last year I wrote about the fact that our family has a tradition of keeping a few small gifts to open either a tea-time on Christmas Day, or on Boxing Day. This is a nice thing to do, as it gives the smaller members of the family something to look forward to and stretches out the fun a bit.

Today's project fits very well with the theme of Tree Presents. On the blog last Christmas, we featured a range of mini projects, ideal for thoughtful little gifts for friends and family. If you are interested in those, search back through the blog, under the 'Chipboard' topic, or visit our Projects and Tips page.

This year, I was struggling to think of something small to send abroad to my mother and I actually stumbled on the idea for this project, while sorting through a massive bag of chipboard squares, that I unearthed under the bed. It is quite surprising what you can find under your bed when you look! This little parcel opens to reveal a surprise inside..

For this project, you will need two small chipboard squares, approximately (5.25cm) 2 inch square, or any size square you want really. I've rounded the edges of mine with a corner rounder, but you don't have to. Cover the front and back of each square with your favourite papers. This is yet another project that is just perfect for using up scrap papers.

Next, cut a piece of thin card or paper and concertina it to create the panels. Measure and score the card first to make sure the folds are nice and accurate. Mine has 6 panels each approx. 4cm square (1 5/8 inch).  Cover your panels with photos, messages, printed pictures or anything you like.

For my project, I chose to put a range of photos from the year, into a word document, where I could resize them to the same dimensions before printing them out.

If you are writing, you will need to use a fine pen and write small!

Put photos, sentiments or anything personal inside for someone special.

Glue each end panel to the inside of each chipboard square, so that when you concertina it back together, it will form your parcel.

I've put a faux ribbon bow on the front of my parcel and then glued another piece on the front and tied it around to the back, so the parcel actually is untied from the back (see below). So there you have it, a sweet little parcel for to charm those proud grandparents, or to express your appreciation to a special friend.

I hope you have enjoyed this project. Please do take the time to comment below if you like the projects we have featured in this series. We value each and every comment that we get.Our next project will be posted soon.

Happy Crafting!