I really love the puffy stickers from Japan that are selling at our HM Ben Franklin Crafts. They are so cute and squishy but I don't use stickers too much so I came up with a craft to use them....resin charms! I started with some small resin molds sold at HM BFC for jewelry making. I covered the bottom of the molds with tiny sequin glitter and added some UV resin. After mixing up enough to cover the bottom of the mold, I set the resin with the UV light.
In a panic, I remembered that I needed tags for my jars of honey (We belong to Alan Wong's Bee Project progaram.)that I planned to give to some friends. Becuse time was of the essence, I chose to use paper from my bee themed paper pads and ephemera. Uaing my trusty Little B tag die cutter and my Big Shot Machine it was quick work to produce four die cut tags. A little glue was all I needed to assemble the tags....no stamping, cutting or coloring needed. Finding coordinating ribbons was fun and really perked up the tags. When you are in a pinch for time, don't be ashamed to use the convenience of ready made ephemera and words. I'm sure the recipients of your gifts will just be thrilled to get a pretty tag tied onto a special sweet gift. Honey is a delicious gift from the BEES!
Sometimes when I see a really small stamp set at HM Ben Franklin Crafts I wonder, "What can be made with just those few tiny stamps?" Usually I think that they could be used as add ons to a bigger card. This time when I saw the 'I Love You Mower' by Lawn Fawn, I thought that it would make a really good anniversary card for my husband who always seems to be in the yard cutting the grass. I started with a long piece of white watercolor paper ( 14" x 3-1/4") and accordian folded it into fourths. Then I stamped on the mouse, mower and words using black waterproof ink. After handdrawing the clouds, I painted in the background using Copic pens. Additional coloring was done on the mouse and mower. This simple card was done in minutes and has a childlike quality (my husband calls me his biggest kid) which really pleases me. I used grey imk to stamp the extra moving mice which livens up the card without adding extra thickness. Since some of the colors soaked through the watercolor paper card, I glued on some solid green card stock to the back of the card. I am super pleased with how this card turned out...it was easy and my husband liked the humor of the mower mouse...aka 'the husband worker mouse'!!!! LOL!
After seeing an episode of Joy of Crafting that featured using Puffy Paint to decorate some fabric purses, I decided to buy some and see what I could do with the unique paint. I decided to experiment on card stock and chose a colorful piece from an 8x8 pack. It was easy to follow the design on the card stock with the matching puffy paint and then heat up the design with a heat gun. The resulting effect was a soft lava-like texture raised above the surface of the card stock. To add more interest to the card, I applied a tiny bit of glue here and there. Next, I rubbed on some gold flakes purchased from Daiso (sold as hair decoration). Finally, I stamped the 'Happy Birthday' in gold ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. Using products in unusual ways can result in surprisingly beautiful results. Keep your creativity expanding by thinking outside of the box. Go ahead and amaze yourselt!
As usual, I was running behind schedule so I had to think fast and come up with a cute, girly birthday card for a 1-year old. It took me awhile to find just the right papers, stickers and shaker confetti. Once selections were made the card came together rather quickly. I used an oval die to cut the opening for the shaker element. Foam sticker tape formed the well for the confetti. (I put a strip of foam tape down the center of the card front making the pocket smaller so not too much of the confetti had to be used.) A clear acetate sheet was used behind the oval window. The 'Happy Birthday' was stamped in clear ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. Oh yes, a cupcake sticker was adhered behind the oval opening before the confetti was added. This card is sweet and cute just like the birthday girl. I know that a 1 year old won't know what's happening at the party but perhaps this card will be saved for the future and she will know that her aunty and uncle thought she was a very special birthday girl!
I love Sanrio characters so when I spotted the package of character envelopes at Daiso, I had to get them even if I didn't know what I'd do with them. After looking at the envelopes for awhile, I had a light bulb moment and decided to fussy cut the dessert dish of Sanrio characters. I thought the fussy cut dessert would look good on some pastel striped card stock (Lawn Fawn paper pad purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts). After positioning the Sanrio character dish on the striped card stock using pop dots, double stick tape was used to attach it to a turquoise card blank. To make the card seem more sweet shop like, I added punched out strips of white typing paper. The punch was discovered at Daiso. Also I attached some cute puffy stickers (from Daiso) to the dessert dish to give it more interest and dimension. Finally, I added a 'thank you' sticker from a pack that I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. I am pretty happy that I was able to change a simple cute envelope design into a sweet thank you card. It's fun to challenge your imagination to turn something simple into something you are proud to send to someone. I know you are clever, so use your mind to design something wonderful!
Although, I just purchased some sealing wax and metal stamps from HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I couldn't resist the great assortment of wax and stamps at Daiso. I can't wait to make more seals on parchment which I will save to be added to my envelopes, cards and gift packages.
The use of sealing wax is not a new craft. It has in fact been used for centuries as a way to secure persnal mail by stamping a unique mark (signet ring) into melted wax. Supposedly, the recipient of the mail would be able to tell if the mail was interceped because the wax seal would be damaged. Today the use of wax seals is mostly for a decorative effect. HM Ben Franklin Craft stores sell both the wax pellets and stamping tools.
Like the explosion of wax pellet colors, sealing wax stamp designs have also multiplied drastically. You can buy stamps attached to handles or buy just the metal part and use one handle for many metal design heads that screw on, The new wave of metal stamp head designs is truly exciting and you're sure to find many that suit your needs.
The ends of the wire passing through the pearl and with the formed hanging loops were then attached to the chain ends and wire wrapped. Ta da!....all done! Wasn't that easy?
I was thinking of designing either a shaker or pop-up birthday card for a 1-year-old, but I was short on time and not really sure that a child celebrating a 1st birthday would appreciate the effort it would take to make one of those cards. I opted to make a colorful, personalized card with a matching envelope.
I needed a present for a girl who loves to dress up and wear jewelry. I thought that a baroque pearl bracelet might be the perfect gift. I chose twelve assorted baroque pearls from my stash and wire wrapped them with 22 gauge sterling silver wire. It was easy jewelry work that was finished off with a sinple clasp and charm.
Since I was happy with the first bracelet, I decided to make a variation of it. This one has pearls, adventurine rondels and a special aquamarine charm.
Next, I thought I'd create a bracelet with aquamarine and adventurine beads plus a sweet amethyst charm. The clasp on this one was a puffy silver heart with a securit;y lock. It turned out lovely so I was encouraged to make another version of this simple bracelet.
The fourth variation of this wire wrapped pearl bracelet included larimar chip beads, a puffy heart clasp and a 'LOVE' heart charm. The look of this last bracelet enticed me to make the fifth and final version of this pearl bracelet.
This pearl bracelet features two large unique baroque pearls. One of the pearls looks like two large oval pearls fused together. The other special pearl has a round white pearl nestled in a shell-shaped grey pearl. This 'black and white' pearl bracelet was finished off with an 'S' clasp that is embellished with an amethyst cabachon. As a reward 'wink' for making five baroque pearl bracelets in a row, I decided that this last bracelet is.... MINE. Lucky hardworking ME! (The extra three bracelets will be sold in my HM BFC locker box.)
I love inventing new cookies for holiday gift giving but usually I start my test batches too late in the year and thus I reluctantly bake the same (but delicious) cookies year after year. This year by starting my 'cookie experiments' in the summer, I should be able to create a few new cookie taste delights. The batch of cookies shown in the photo was the product of my love for the Trader Joe's Mochi Crunch Rice Nuggets. Before finishing off my last bag of the tasty treats, I decided to add a cup of the crushed nuggets to a basic butter cookie recipe. The original recipe said that the batch would result in 4 dozen cookies but I only formed 2-1/2 dozens. My idea of cookie size must be a bit bigger than other bakers (hahaha!). The cookies were super delicious but not very festive looking. I think for the holidays I will try to add something colorful like sprinkles or mini M&M candies. For a more Hawaiian taste to send to mainland cookie lovers, I will add chopped macadamia nuts to a future batch. As it gets closer to Christmas and I tweek this recipe into perfection, I will keep you updated. Yummy taste tests ahead....YAY!
