My new nephew was born in Christchurch at the start of June. I was fortunate to fly down at the start of this month to visit my sister and brother-in-law and meet my nephew, Aiden. I wanted to make their family something special to commemorate his birth, so I decided to create a baby-boy-blue explosion box, embellishing it with water-coloured images from the Baby Bundle stamp set...

Stamps: Baby Bundle (wood: 121482, clear: 120576), Dotted Lines Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel (111256). Card/Paper: Marina Mist (textured 12" x 12": 119687 and A4 smooth: 121682), Not Quite Navy (108606), Daffodil Delight (121680), Very Vanilla (106550), Water Color Paper (105019), Marina Mist DSP (Subtles DSP Patterns Stack: 117152). Ink: Early Espresso (119670), Soft Suede (115657), Crumb Cake (121030), Marina Mist (119668), Bashful Blue (105209), Daffodil Delight (119667). Accessories: Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (119959), Silver Eyelets (Metallic: 105319), Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker (120973). Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402), Scallop Trim Corner Punch (118870), 1-3/8" Circle Punch (119860), 1-1/4" Circle Punch (119861), Blender Pens (102845), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).

On the top of the explosion box I used the scallop trim border and corner punches to create a framed mat...

... and perched on top is a pair of baby shoes.

When I mentioned to my friend, Bev, that I was making this box, she said, "I have the perfect thing for the top!", and then kindly gave me the pattern for these shoes. Aren't they the cutest? Especially the little laces!

Inside the box I popped a small stuffed toy for Aiden. I looked for a small teddy, but fell in love with this little guy when I saw him. In fact it was difficult to give him away...

And the explosion box open...

My husband and kids won't get to meet Aiden until Christmas, so on the inside of the explosion box my family wrote messages of welcome and love to Aiden. There is already one written in the top-left from his Aunty and Uncle. The other three corners are for each of my children to write in (which they did).

I also added some photos of Aiden and his parents and framed them with images from the Baby Bundle stamp set...

I loved making this special gift for a very special little boy. Isn't he beautiful!

If you look closely, you might have noticed that this explosion box was made from the same card stock as the one we made at the Hamilton Extravaganza, and yet they look so different!