Monogram Card Set

It has been an AWESOME day for me...I did craft projects all day long...SWEET!!!  To make it even more enjoyable, my exchange student, Lena, was making cards with me!  I think you have figured out by now that I love to see all of the creations other people make, they are soooo talented and come up with great projects and are generous to share with the rest of us.  My next project today came from Taylored Expressions who has been doing the 12 days of Handcrafted Christmas projects on her blog and website.  She has some fabulous stamps, card kits, supplies on her website http://www.tayloredexpressions.com/ , so please stop by and check it out.  Anyway, one of the projects she has is a Monogrammed card kit.  I really liked it and since I have a lot of medallion stamps, I decided to use the idea to make a set of cards.  The hardest part was the monogram, of course.  If you order the kit from Taylor you get a free monogram download, so that in itself is worth it.  I checked through all of my fonts and even found some I had on CD's to download to my computer and finally chose 3 different fonts printed at size 72.  Next, I punched them out with a 1.25" round McGill punch.  I completed  12 cards using a 5.5" x 4.25" base in CTMH Pansy Purple, and a white cs cut at 5" x 3.75".  I stamped a medallion stamp from Clear Stamps that I purchased from Scrapbucks in CTMH Hydrangea on the white cs off centered because of the B&T to added, then I sponged hydrangea around the punched monogram and taped it to the center of the medallion.  Next I used black cs and two different Martha Stewart border punches to make borders for a piece of 1.5" x 3.75" B&T paper in different patterns which was then taped to the opposite edge from the monogram.  After I finished the cards I showed them to some friends.  Their first question was,"What are you going to put them in?"  Taylor has these gift boxes that are magnetic and are perfect for card sets and are currently on sale, but I couldn't wait to get them, so I went ahead and made a box for this set that I decorated with the same layout as the cards.  The box bottom is 8.75" x 6.5", scored at 1" from the edge all the way around, folded and one cut made along one score line at each corner so it can be folded in and taped to form a box.  I increased the measurements for the top box by 1/8" and did the scoring again at 1" from the edge on four sides.  I cut the B&T for the outside of the lid to fit.  I really like the way it turned out and am thinking of who I can make these for....hummmm....yeah, I think they will like them...you never know, it may be for you!! :)