Child's Play

I've gone crazy for Eclips card cutting. There are just so many cute cards to cut and envelopes are a breeze too. Shown here are just two of the cards I whipped up and embellished. To the ladybug card I added flower brads so the wings would be movable. Pipecleaners and googly eyes added more dimension. The strawberry card was brightened by a glittered 'Thank You' and the Eclips cut the dimples on the fruit. By making a matching envelope or lining one with matching paper you can really jazz up a card. If you have children who always seem to need birthday, thank you, etc. cards, having an Eclips means that you can make a box of card parts for them so they can create a handmade card whenever they need one. A bottle of glue, some stickers, flowers, and other embellishments will be all you need to get their creative juices flowing. You'll save time and money too. Even my husband got creative for my birthday and made an 'interesting' card for me using pieces from my card parts box. Card making is satisfying and useful. If my husband can do it, so can you and your children!

Cupcake Card with Bookmark

After making the cupcake boxes I was still playing around with the Eclips machine and discovered the cupcake card on the cartridge. I love extra large cards and cupcake designs. The card I created seemed to need a candle, flower or cherry on top. Because I had the items from the Celebrations store out, I decided that maybe the plastic food dividers could be converted into a bookmark and clipped onto the card. By simply cutting off one of the animals from the strip and gluing it to a paper clip (Office Max product) I had an instant bookmark. I didn't glue the top of the polka dot paper so that the bookmark could be attached without the clip showing. Thank you for reading this post. Please visit again and leave a comment if you have the time. I enjoy hearing from you.

Cupcake Boxes

The trouble with baking is that I am tempted to eat too much. Cupcakes seem to solve that problem because they are portable and easy to share. Who doesn't like a little baby cake? The Eclips machine has a cartridge that allows you to turn a 12x12 piece of cardstock into a box that perfectly fits a regular size cupcake. I used printed glitter cardstock from a DCWV stack for the bottom of the box. For the top I used colored cardstock and trimmed the lid with repositional tape (from the Celebrations store). To finish the box I taped acetate to the inside of the lid. Because the little cupcake decoration (food pick) was too high for the box I cut a slit in the acetate to allow the animal pick to peek out. This cupcake box is available as a die for the Big Pro machine too. Go ahead.....make some cupcakes and make some cute boxes too so you can share the sweet things in life.

Too Old for Candles

Every year just before my birthday my hubby asks me what kind of cake I want. My reply is always the same..."I don't know. I haven't found it yet!" Truthfully, I'm a very picky dessert person especially now that I'm trying to eat healthier; every calorie must be worth it. This year I decided to make my own whole wheat Red Velvet Splenda cupcakes. As you can see they turned out very well and they tasted delicious too. I was pleased with my cake choice from 'Lynn's Home Bakery' LOL! Did you notice that the cake decorations are the little bento picks that I bought at the Celebrations store? In my next post I'll show you how I packaged the cupcakes to give away. Even though they were low-sugar and high fiber, sharing is always better for MY waistline....(smile). Share your smiles today!

Celebrating 'Celebrations'

Yes, Ben Franklin Crafts is celebrating the opening of a new store called 'Celebrations' located two shops away from the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts. While on a day trip to Honolulu I had the time to peek into the store which had a quiet opening this past Saturday. I was allowed to be the second customer even though it was only Thursday. Here are some photos of the shop which is a mini version of a gigantic stationery store, Shimojima, in Japan. As you can see there are lots of unique products with Japanese flavor. I didn't have carry-on luggage or a suitcase with me so I could only purchase a few items, but believe me I intend to go back to Celebrations soon. What I did find utterly irresistible were the ribbons. I loved the thin ones with the gold trim especially the red, white, and blue one. It's hard to see in the photo but I purchased a brown and green woven raffia-like ribbon which has a very special rustic look. There were lots of beautiful three color raffia strand spools like the pink one on the right in the photo. I can't wait to use these ribbons on my cards and other projects. Even though I don't have a little one to make home lunches for, I still got a cute 'bento' (lunch) box for my snacks. Now I'm regretting that I didn't buy one of the musubi shaped boxes, too. Althought the cute animal pick are for children to use to eat their lunch, I plan to use the picks for decorating cupcakes. The plastic animal strips are for separating and decorating bento lunches, but I see a use for them as bookmarks.

I'm always attracted to the Japanese tapes and the Celebration store had lots to choose from. The two on the left are the plastic type used for decorating packages, envelopes, etc. They are cute and useful. The four on the left are the tearable repositional type that crafters find useful in scrapbooking and card making. There were lots of designs to choose from so it took me awhile to pick just a few favorites. I wish that I had a suitcase with me.

This photo shows three unique items which I managed to squeeze into my rather small plastic bag. The first item on the left is a small scissors which can be attached to a purse, making it really convenient for traveling. The middle two items are a mini eraser dispenser and refills. The eraser is easily dispensed like a lipstick. On the right side of the photo are package closures which come in a bag (I took them out for a clearer photo). These flower shaped closure tabs will make fastening clear cellophane bags more attractive especially if you add crystals or stickers. The closure tabs come in different shapes and colors. Now I wish I had picked up a few more bags.

This last photo features some stationery and bags. I really like the Paris themed bags which come with matching stickers. Of course I couldn't leave without some new gift enclosure cards and the pastry designed ones are so cute. The purple and green packages contain sheets of paper for writing letters, but I love the texture and shiny specks on them and I know they will be great for many paper projects.

Well, I hope I've been able to intrigue you with all these new items and that you'll check out our new store, Celebrations. Whether you are having a celebration or not, I'm sure that you'll have something to celebrate after you shop at 'Celebrations'!

Still Learning

Yes, I'm still playing with and learning from my Eclips machine. So far, I've only completed this wedding card, but I have a Ziploc full of cut out pieces ready to be assembled. I have learned how to use the laser light on the Eclips to cut exactly where and what I want. This is such a paper-saving feature of the machine. Also the machine can tell me if I can cut multiple pieces in the size of paper I inserted. The Eclips machine is smarter than me! For this card, I simply ran the cut pieces into a Xyron machine to add adhesive. I used a Martha Stewart glue pen and Beacon 3 in 1 glue to attach the embellishments. Probably the hardest part of making this card was gluing the little pearls along the curve of the cake. The papers used were from a S.E.I. pack and the card base is an American Crafts product. Okay, that's it for today. No time to craft tomorrow, but I'll work on finishing some projects this weekend...... so come back for a visit.

Trying Out the Eclips Machine

Yes, I finally broke down and invested in an Eclips machine. After seeing guest crafter Cheryl Miyashiro (on the Joy of Crafting) cut out really neat paper projects on the Eclips machine, I knew I NEEDED one. At first I didn't set it up right, but through the kind help from the crew at the Hilo Ben Franklin Crafts, my Eclips is up and running. I just had to show you a few of the items I cut out in a matter of a few minutes. I haven't glued down the parts or decorated the items, but I was excited to tell you how easy it all was to do even for a very technically handicapped crafter. I usually hate figuring out technical stuff but this machine is not that difficult, if you read the manual. I have the Cricut too, but I think the Eclips is a little easier and I don't have to keep refering to the manual as the Eclips tells you when you need to make some adjustments to the size or pressure. The best part is that the Eclips machine scores really well, making boxes and cards a breeze. I'm a happy crafter tonight and I plan to decorate some of the stuff I cut out and I have an idea for two wedding cards I need to mail. I know that the Eclips machine is going to save me lots of time. Thanks for reading this post. I hope it has given you some feedback about the Eclips machine. Please stop by again to see my upcoming Eclips creations.