Quiet Bunny Conversation Card

 I've admired Lavinia stamp designs for a long time and finally took the plunge and purchased some.  I'm so happy that I did because the delicate stamp designs are exquisite and print out perfectly everytime. In my craft area I had a bunch of watercolor paper scraps that were used as tests for Tim Holtz watercolor and Distress inks (including metallic ones).  Rather than throw away these ink tests, I saved them in the hopes that they would be useful one day.  I found one watercolored piece that was the right size and look for the card I had in mind.  It was easy to place the stamps in my Misti stamp aligning tool and get perfect images on the watercolored paper.  The Misti  tool allows for restamping exactly to get a perfect dense image.  I used the bottom of one of the stamps to complete the grassy foreground.  For a more finished look I mounted the watercolor stamped piece on a metallic cardstock and then onto the purple card blank.  Finally, I used silver ink ( Liquitex metallic ink) and a stiff bristled brush to flick on a little sparkle magic.  The finished card has a misty magical look that I really love.  Why did it take me so long to invest in Lavinia stamps?  

Honeycomb Hexagon Bee Boxes

I bought the Whimsy hexagon box die years ago, but I didn't put it to use until recently.  The die makes a cute 3" hexagon shapped box with a hinged lid that flips up.  Because the box shape reminded me of a honeycomb, I thought it would be fun to try to design a series of adjoining boxes to mimic a honeycomb.  I die cut three boxes out of yellow medium weight card stock.  After gluing (with Fabri-Tac glue) the box tabs, I used the same glue to glue three boxes together.  I only applied glue to lower half of the box sides (where I wanted to join the boxes) so that the box tops could be opened and closed. (You could actually join many boxes together but I suggest putting a cardboard base under them for support if you want to join many boxes together.)

I used half of the die to cut out the printed card stock pieces (from my scrap pile) for the box tops. I added some artificial flowers (form my stash) plus bees stamped ( Doodlebug Designs), fussy cut and colored with Copic pens.

The words came from a package of bee themed ephemera purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Some glitter dinensional paint (in a squeeze bottle applicator) was used to decorate the bee's wings.

I also made a single hexagon-shaped gift box which I think will be perfect for a small gift.

These hexagon boxes were super easy to create thanks to the Whimsy die. I really enjoyed decorating the boxes as I love bee themed papers, stamps and well...bee design anything.  I hope you'll try to make bee-u-tiful bee themed hand crafted items just bee-ause they're sweet as honey. Well, time to buzz on to more craft projects. Hope you'll buzz to this blog site again...soon!

Mice and Strawberries Thank You Card

While shopping at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, my eyes spied the cutest Doodlebug 6x8 paper pad (berry sweet), Doodle Cuts set ( berry sweet treats), and icon sprinkles (bitty berries).  I think they just jumped into my shopping cart and followed me home. LOL!  I love the paper pad because not only is it super adorable, but each sheet when folded forms a perfect 4x6 card blank.  I was amazed that I found all the papers I needed for die cutting, ( mice, basket, strawberries and flowers) in my scrap bin. Not sure why, but I get a crafter's high when I can use up scraps that might normally be thrown in the trash. Some say obsessed but I say thrifty.  At first I was going to use the dies 'thanks A BUNCH' to make the words on the card front, but it just didn't look balanced.  On my desk I have a baggie of cut words that didn't get used on other projects.  In this baggie I discovered the perfect script 'Thanks' in blue foil...big SMILE! Sometimes I think the crafting gods direct me to the perfect crafting solutions.  Aren't I a lucky crafter?  Oh yes, I LOVE, LOVE the tiny Doodlebug 3D strawberry stickers so I HAD to find a place for them on this card.  Don't you think they add just the right sparkling sweet touch to the adorable mice?

 

Bees and Flowers Card

At HM Ben Franklin Crafts I spied a sweet 6 x 8 paper pad (Bee Happy) of bee and flower themed double sided card stock made by Doodlebug.  I purchased the paper pad and a package of matching die cut pieces (173 pieces!).  Unlike the normal 6 x 6 paper pads the sheets in this pad can be folded to become  4 x 6 cards with pretty designs on the inside too!  There were lots of die cut images and words to choose from so it was pretty easy to layout a card design.  For a little extra pizzaz I made a shaker heart element using Spellbinders heart dies.  I filled the heart shaker with flower confetti pieces (Sprinkletz available at HM BFC).  I love how this little moving part adds so much to the charm of this card.  (It did take me a long time to pick out just the green, yellow, blue, and white confetti flowers. Hahaha!)  (The word ephemera banner, " Enjoy The Little Things in Life" was from a Photoplay pack available at HM BFC.)

I found a piece of bee printed paper in my scrap bin that was just the right size for a tag so I made one to go with the card.  The ribbons were purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts for another craft project but I think they are perfect for this tag, too.

Bees and flowers are so summery and crafting with them makes me very happy. My mind is already 'buzzing' with ideas of what to make with the 12 x12 Photoplay bee paper pack I purchased too.  So much summer crafting fun!

Moru Rabbit with Ice Cream Cone

I love my Moru Doll bear so much that I decided to make another doll.  I bought a second Moru kit from HM Ben Franklin Crafts but decided to see if I could make it into a rabbit by elongating the ears.  It was easy to form the rabbit even though I can't read the Japanese instructions.  I just followed the diagrams.  After finishing the rabbit I decided she needed a hair ornament so I bought a rainbow heart clip set from HM BFC.  Then I thought maybe she should have an ice cream cone since it was a hot summer day so I bought some ice cream buttons and glued one on.  Finally, I thought she would look even cuter in a dress so I purchased one in the Moru Doll area at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. There...she's perfect now.  Hey Sweetie! Don't get ice cream on my computer!
 

While at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I noticed a cool book with instructions for making smaller chenille pipe cleaner animals.  There were lots of colored pipe cleaners to choose from too!  Go take a look at the new Japan craft area in HM Ben Franklin Crafts and I'm sure you'll get hooked on a new passion like I did. So much cuteness...so much fun!

Popsicle Summer Card and Summer Tags

This is the third of my bright, summer cards designed for a refreshing lift to the summer heat.  It is a super simple cut and tape (double stick adhesive) composition.  The papers were from 6x6 paper pads and a Sn@p journaling card.  I don't journal or scrapbook anymore, so using the Sn@p papers to make greeting cards seems like a good use of them. To give the popsicles a shiny, wet look, I applied some Glossy Accents liquid (from HM BFC) over the treats and let it dry.  (Sorry, I didn't include the Glossy Accents squeeze bottle in the supplies photo.)   

I never like to waste even tiny scraps of paper so of course I turned the leftover printed scraps and solid pieces into useful tags.  I used tag dies from an I-Crafter set and a Hero Arts Infinity die set.  It didn't take long to piece together the tags and attach striped twine cords.  For a little added interest I added tiny epoxy popsicle stickers to the tags.  I am happy to have a new supply of tags to attach to impromptu gifts and home baked treats.  It was so easy and environmentally correct.  Don't throw stuff into the trash unless it is really unusable! Summer is the perfect time to craft refreshing cards and tags before the holiday crafting season begins.  Enjoy the sweetness that is summertime! 

Ice Cream Summer Card

                                    

Ice cream and summer just seem go together. With crafting and real ice cream I can never put on enough sprinkles. As you can see I over did it again!  I started this card by layering papers from Echo Park and Doodlebug and fussy cutting the ice cream cone from a Snap 4x 6 card journaling/scrapbook pack.  I mounted the ice cream on adhesive foam dots before adding the Nuvo white crystal drops. Next I added the sprinkles (Oops, let some of the ice cream show...LOL!) and finished off the look with some clear crystal glitter. This card looks way  better in reality.  Sorry that this photo didn't capture the sparkly, yumminess of the ice cream. I guess you'll have to make an ice cream card for yourself or maybe eat a real ice cream cone...with sprinkles of course!

Flip Flop Summer Card

Why make a summer card?  I find that summer is the season for spontaneous gatherings of friends and family.  This often requires a hostess gift and of course a handmade card.  Yay!....another reason to make a card! This simple card started with a 4X6 Snap card that came from a pack of 48 different sayings and images.  You may not be able to find this particular summer paper pack at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, but there are many printed card stock paper pads with summer themes which would also work well on a summer card. It was simple to cut the various papers  (from 6x6 paper pads) to frame the main sheet with the words. All the sheets were mounted onto a yellow card blank with double stick adhesive Heiko tape.  Two paper flowers from HM BFC were glued onto the rubber slippers.  Happy Summer!

For the inside of the card I simply used some rainbow washi tape and a stamped/die cut flip flop image.  I think it will be cute to sign my name on the rubber slippers. This quick card really took only a few minutes and now I'm ready for any spontaneous gathering where a hostess gift would be appropriate.  Please stop by and visit this craft blog again to see more quick summer card ideas. 

What's Wapen-ing? Nano Block Charms!

When I spied the Rilakkuma Nano Block mystery packages in a Japanese store, I knew I had to buy a few packages. Upon opening the packages to see which characters I had, I realized that there were way more pieces than I anticipated.  Undaunted, I started to make the models but I guess I'm not a very good engineer/architect.  I couldn't build even one character.  My dear husband volunteered to try and he did it!  So far he's made two characters...isn't he a sweetheart?  To insure that his hard work wouldn't be accidentally broken, I decided to paint 1 minute UV resin over each model. I did one section at a time and added a loop metal cap to allow the pieces to be hung like a charm. 

I hooked one charm onto the ball chain that came with the Wappen dog and attached them both to a see-thru pouch which can be used to hold money, candy, or other charms.

On the back of the dog I glued on a plastic heart and two plastic button footprints. 

For the second Nano block charm, I attached it to a pouch with a charm cord and added a sushi patch. I thought that the Japanese Nano Block alien? needed some yummy Japanese food.  You maybe able to find Nano Block kits online or be able to adapt some of the mini block kits (available at our Daiso stores) into resin charms. Hope you have a CHARMING day!

What's Wappen-ing? - Resin Charms!

 Have you fallen in love with the Wappen items in our HM Ben Franklin Crafts stores?  I can't seem to stop buying just ONE more!  This white fuzzy Wappen rabbit with sunglasses really captured my heart. To add more color and cuteness, I made a pink resin rabbit charm.

Making resin charms is fun and easy to do especially if you use the 1 minute UV resin available at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Powdered colorants can be added to the resin before pouring into the molds so you can really make any color you desire.  These particular molds make a hole in the resin animal which can then be covered on one side with a small acetate sheet and sealed with resin before filling with confetti.  A second small acetate sheet can be then sealed on with resin.

A cupcake butt was added to the white rabbit for delicious fun. LOL!

I like the size and color of this Wappen pouch so I decided to add a cat resin charm and glue on a small Wappen cat and dish of yummy plastic ice cream.

On the reverse side of the pouch I couldn't resist adding this large Winnie-the-Pooh Wappen patch (purchased at Daiso).  You really need to check out the Daiso Wappen items ...so many at incredibly reasonable prices.  Like a kid in a candy store, I can't stop thinking of new Wappen creations and choosing yet another deliciously addictive part to add to my collection and creations.

Peace Sympathy Cards

As the popular old song goes (I probably have some of the words wrong): Sunrise, Sunset....Sunrise Sunset...swiftly go the days...each one following the other...ladened with sadness and joy... That's how my life has been going these days as I keep creating both sympathy and baby cards.  Today I am featuring two sympathy cards on my blog.  It was difficult for me to keep these cards masculine as I prefer flowers and hearts.  I began with somber origami paper that had just a touch of gold.  By sticking with square and rectangular shapes, I think I was able to avoid making the card too feminine.  Having a good supply of printed origami paper (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) made these cards come together quickly.

Oops!  I forgot to photograph the rubber stamp that I used for the peace character.  Anyway, it was from an old set that I don't think is available any more.  I'm sure there are many Japanese character stamps available for sale online. I used this stamp with gold ink and then applied gold embossing powder before heating it up with a hot air gun.  It was simple work to use the smallest two Sizzix dies (from the square die set) to layer the pieces onto the card.  I found a scrap of lovely gold and silver textured origami paper that I used beneath the white (with gold and silver flecks) character stamped square. Finding just the right papers is the key to making these cards.  The search for them is what usually takes me the longest part in the creation of a special, simple but meaningful card.  Even though it is sad to hear of the passing of a much loved person, if the departed was suffering for a long time, I truly hope he is finally pain free and at peace.

Shaker Accordion Baby Card

Yes, our family is really expanding....another baby will be born soon.  Because the gender reveal will take place once the child is born, I had to keep the colors of this card gender neutral.  I like cards with movement so I chose a Sizzix die (Circle Flip-its #2) and put a shaker element with bears and hearts on the front. Using the circle dies that came with the die set, I layered acetate and die cut papers to make the shaker.  I used four layers of marker paper to form the well for the confetti but in hindsight I should have used 6-8 pieces as the bear confetti don't move around very much. The papers used were old ones from Simple Stories and K and Company. 

On the back of the revolving circle I glued on a die cut circle that was cut from a 12x12 sheet printed with various baby sentiment.

A Lawn Fawn die set was used to cut out a sweet gift card/money holder, matching the baby card.  The die set even had a die that cut a message card with an eyelet edge...how lovely!

To make the card suit either baby gender I even chose boy/girl confetti (from HM BFC)...love the one with bears!  The Heiko pastel thin ribbon bow made a perfect finishing touch for the card front.  I am pleased with the movement on this card and that I was able to keep it gender neutral. It was fun to make this card because it was simple and now I am ahead of the baby factory production line....LOL!

Folding Step Baby Card

 Our niece is pregnant with her second child and is due very soon. I had to rush this card so I kept it super simple.  I used a Sizzix Framelits Step-Ups die set and mostly Echo Park printed card stock.  For the decorations I fussy cut out words and images from Echo Park sheets.  It took just a few minutes to cut out al of this and glue it onto the folded 'steps'.

Since I had lots of baby print paper scraps, I decided to make a gift card holder.  I'm pretty sure that the scraps were also Echo Park papers since they match the step card.  I wish I could tell you the name of the die I used to make the gift card holder but I've misplaced it....it's somewhere in my craft area????

It's been awhile since I last used this Sizzix step card die but I think I will use it more often as it makes a very interesting card that folds up into a standard envelope.  In the near future I will probably be revisiting some old but clever Sizzix card dies...everything old is new again! Please check out this blog site to see what NEW cards I create with some OLD school tools.

Happiness Comes In Waves

While perusing my pile of water colored background papers, I came across an ocean colored one that I saved because it was too nice to throw away but too riddled with dark colored blobs.  I decided to test three new background stamps on it using various embossing powders.  I started with the jellyfish stamp and used clear stamping ink with clear sparkly embossing powder.  I stamped and heat embossed several times before moving on to the word stamp.  Again, I stamped with clear stamp ink but this time I sprinkled on copper embossing powder.  Even though the letters are blurry, they do look like they are underwater.  Using white embossing powder, I stamped and embossed the coral/sea urchins.  After mounting the embossed piece onto a turquoise card blank, I glued on some small pieces of coral, a broken sand dollar, abalone shell, teeny tiny shells and seaweed-looking yarn.  I am proud that I was able to convert an almost-throw-away water colored sheet into an interesting and usable greeting card.  Because the words on the card front are so hard to read, I stamped just the one line ' Happiness Comes In Waves' inside the card.  I think these words say it all and make this card usable for many occasions.  Free-styling card making is full of unexpected and pleasing surprises. Give it a try!

 

Paper Theater Crafts at HM Ben Franklin Crafts

 When I was recently at the Japan Hobby Show, I purchased some full size kits (see bottom photo) and was given this small sample to try.  At first I thought, 'Oh my, this is going to be hard because there are so many pieces', but it was actually quite simple to put together the cute bunny scene.  All the pieces of plastic-like paper were easy to take apart and glue down. The instructions were in Japanese but had easy to follow numbered steps.

I used the glue that I purchased from the Paper Theater vendors, but they told me any white paper glue would work.  I suggest a thin white glue in a small tip applicator.

Here are the kits I purchased at the Japan Hobby Show.  They sold hundreds of kits in various character themes. Our HM Ben Franklin Crafts Mapunapuna store has Paper Theater kits in stock and you might find Paper Theater kits in our other HM BFC stores too.  I think this is a satisfying new craft that will please you with the results that you will proudly show off to your friends and family.  Check out our Japanese craft sections in all our stores for new creative fun!