Scraptastic Monday Challenge: Thanksgiving Gift Box or Bag! (And Blog Candy Winner!)

Happy Monday, my sweet friends! I hope your weekend was crafty and beautiful. :o)

Today's post is packed with fun! Not only is it the very first challenge for Cindy's Scraptastic Designs, but after my project you'll find my blog candy winner from the blog hop AND a delicious treat! Whew! :o)

Challenge #1 is to decorate a Thanksgiving-themed gift bag or box, which must include a tag, stitching, and a button. It is NOT a requirement to use one of Cindy's images or any digital stamp to play along with us. Simply follow the theme by any means you desire. The more who join us, the merrier! :o)

For my project, I leapt at the chance to use the Sweet Tooth Boxes cartridge again! One of my favorite gifts to give for the holidays is baked goods. There's something innately special about that, don't you think? So I made a treat box for my sweet boyfriend. :o)

A couple close-ups before I show you the rest of the box! First, Cindy's digi stamp, Thanksgiving Friend:

Another new personal favorite of mine from Cindy's designs, Horn of Plenty:

There's a teeny tiny story going on here (I'll tell you in a sec), which made this extra fun. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this was the perfect chance to remind my sweetheart that I'm thankful for him. So I typed up a sentiment that was fitting for us and this particular project. 

He will feel honored being mentioned in the same breath as cookies! ;) I used beautiful quilted paper for all of the mats on this box for some added texture. The brown base is from Cloud 9, which I used for this because the design makes me think of chocolate or gingerbread snowflakes. (There really should be such a thing.) The box top is an ivory fall leaves design, reminiscent of a gently frosted landscape. :o) Just like Thanksgiving! The Chocolate Truffle Trendy Twine is one of my all-time favorites... in fact, I'll re-order it before I get dangerously close to running out. I love the two shades of brown with the white! :o) The Dark Chocolate swiss dots ribbon is my favorite from Papertrey Ink. (Funny how both favorites have 'chocolate' in their actual product name! A treat for the eyes.)

And now, the story. See this fabulous image of Cindy's? It's the gingerbread girl from the tag set Sweet Gingerbread Tags. I cut her out and nestled her within a snowflake tag. It's trimmed in Stardust, but the flash washed it out (the clouds came!):

This sweet gingerbread girl has broken INTO the treat box. She tried to cover her tracks by faux stitching around the snowflake window and scallop trim. I wrote "Cookie" on the tag surrounding her, which I love because her little arms make it look like she's pointing into the box where the treats reside. (What she left of them, anyway.) :o) Maybe the Liquid Pearls I used for the icing on her cute little body made her feel all powerful. I can't really blame her, though... a girl needs her cookies. ;)

*** Before I share a special treat, I want to announce the winner of my blog candy! ***
Thank you VERY much for participating this weekend and helping us celebrate the grand opening of Cindy's store! It was such fun! The winner of the My Craft Spot gift certificate is #11: KELL! Congratulations!!! Thank you for hopping along with us! Contact me through the email address listed on the Contact Me page and we'll set up your prize! Woohoo! :o) You have two weeks to claim your prize! (Monday, November 21st.)

A couple of weeks ago when I saw the challenge for today, I already knew I wouldn't be posting my Sweet Saturday feature the weekend prior due to blog hops. I asked Cindy if I could include the corresponding recipe for this project since it's a part of it. She is so sweet that she loved the idea! (How amazing is she?! Thank you, Cindy!) Therefore, here's a peek at the delicious treat I made to go in the box, along with the recipe. :o)

Gingerbread snowflakes! They DO exist! I love gingerbread treats and this is my very favorite recipe for gingerbread cookies. It was a favorite of my boyfriend's last year, so I was eager to make it again when November rolled around. No huge commentary on it because the focus today is Cindy's Design Team, but just know that these are delicious! Soft, chewy, thick, and bursting with seasonal spice. (Note: I will be attempting actual cookie decorating later this month! Royal icing, even. We'll see how it goes! Until then I will continue to make willy nilly designs and top it with Cake Sparkles.)

I hope you'll join us this week by linking up your Thanksgiving gift boxes or bags at the home of Scraptastic Mondays: Cindy's Scraptastic Designs. I would love to see your take on the challenge! :o) Be sure to dance on over to the rest of the Design Team's blogs to see their incredible projects. This is a wonderful team and I am honored to be a part of it. :o)

Thank you for visiting me today! Blessings and cookies for everyone! :o) (P.S. I'm still using my Sweet Saturday label, despite it being Monday. Shhh, don't tell.)
***

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 large egg

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the molasses and egg until combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least one hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookie shapes onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Source: Annie's Eats
***

Key Recipe Components (for treat box):
 * Cricut cartridge: Gypsy Wanderings (for snowflake window), Sweet Tooth Boxes
 * Spellbinders Nestabilities: Labels Four
 * Paper: Cloud 9, Papertrey Ink, stash
 * Stamps: Horn of Plenty, Sweet Gingerbread Tags, Thanksgiving Friend (all from Cindy's Scraptastic Designs
 * Coloring medium: Copics
 * Ribbon: Papertrey Ink
 * Twine: Trendy Twine
 * Button: My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie
 * Miscellaneous: iRock, Stickles