Cat Candy Containers

I love shopping at Daiso because I never know what I'll find there.  Both the jars and the ceramic cats were from Daiso and were simply put together with UV-LED resin. I thought about just using E6000 glue to adhere the cats to the jar tops, but then I thought the resin would give the containers a more professional look.  I simply spread a generous layer of the resin (Padico UV-LED Resin hard ) onto the wooden cover, positioned the cats and aimed the UV-LED light.  I moved the light around so I was sure that l hardedned all areas of the lid. These cat jars were so easy to create and turned out so cute that I know I'll be making more of them in the future.  Daiso carries many other ceramic animals too, in various sizes. The containers can be used for holding many things besides candy....like paper clips, cotton balls, rubber bands, etc.  Decorated glass jars like these would be perfect as party favors, so easy and inexpensive. Go check out your nearest Daiso and discover a multitude of crafting supplies for your next creative project. 

Shaker Resin Charms

Recently, I've been having fun making resin shaker charms.  It was easy because all the supplies needed (except the resin) came in a kit.  I purchased these kits from Japan and HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Although the instructions for the charms are written in Japanese, it wasn't difficult to use an app (Google Translate) to decifer the words into English.  I was quite impressed with the cleverness of these kits to use resin to construct little pockets to hold the confetti, forming shaker elements.

Some of the kits make two charms and I printed acetate film with the designs so that I could later make multiple charms using the reuseable resin molds.  There are many shaker charm kits available and I am eager to try more as the end products are so pleasing.  You should try making a shaker charm if you can acquire a kit, UV resin and a UV-LED light (sorry not in photo).  I know you'll have fun and will enjoy shaking your charm as it hangs from a favorite handbag.

The Unplanned Card

I call this card the 'unplanned one' as it was created from bits and pieces which somehow all work together.  The card began from a test that I did on craft paper using a Hero Arts background stamp.  I thought that the stamped image looked really old like weathered wood.  In my stash of printed washi papers collected over many years, I found a damaged piece that seemed just right for this card.  I cut away the insect holes and foxing (rust colored stains) and highlighted a mountain shape.  I really like the overall look of this printed washi paper because it looks like an old block print.   

I didn't have many character stamps to choose from and most of them were too large.  I selected one that had 'success' in small print beneath the Japanese characters.  I heat embossed the stamped image on black paper with silver embossing powder..  I am very pleased with this 'unplanned card' and hope to use it for a graduation or birthday card. I always struggle to make masculine-looking cards so I am happy with this creation and I'm sure I will use it relatively soon.

2026 Boy's Day Card

While perusing the goodies at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I spied a set of Dandelion Designs Boy's Day stamps and a 6x6 Forever in Time Perfect Prints paper pad.  I thought that paired together they would make a unique Boy's Day card.  The cute little boys were stamped (with waterproof black ink) onto white card stock, colored with Copic pens, and fussy cut out.  (The Dandelion images on the front of the stamp package are smaller than the actual stamp images so they aren't difficult to color. Also it is easier to stamp the entire rubber sheet first and then color and cut out the images. It is difficult to get a precise cut through the tough rubber.)  I chose a color and design from the paper pad that I felt would look like a scene.  The words in the Happy Boy's Day stampe set were too small for what I had in mind so I used the words from an older Dandelion Designs set,' Boy's Day'. I stamped the words first and then used a circle punch before coloring with a yellow marker pen.

While at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I saw a box of the cutest animal washi tapes. I couldn't resist buying the tapes ( so many adorable printed rolls!).  I knew I would find a use for all of them.  Don't they look perfect on the envelope? You have to check out the washi tape boxes. There are many fabulous designs to choose from...guess I have to go shopping again! LOL!

Chocolate and Cherry Stromboli

 I love trying new recipes, especially cookie and bread recipes.  I recently purchased a Taste of Home magazine featuring bread recipes. I decided to try the Chocolate and Cherry Stromboli because it seemed rather easy and I had all of the ingredients. It turned out fabulous and tasted so delicious! I did substitute the canola oil with peanut oil because it was what I had.  If I bake this bread again, I may try melted butter instead of oil as I like the taste of butter better.  Also the cherry pieces don't show up well in the chocolate so I might substitute chopped apricots next time.  Because I am testing bread recipes for future gift giving, I think I would not drip on the melted chocolate if I was planning to wrap the bread as the melted dark chocolate doesn't harden (needs to be tempered). Perhaps the candy melt chocolate sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts would harden well enough to permit wrapping the bread in cellophane bags.  The recipe specifies applying an egg wash and sprinkling on coarse sugar before baking.  I think really coating the loaf with coarse sugar would add  the sweet taste and be attractive but not messy so there would be no need for drizzling chocolate. Ther were dozens of great sounding bread recipes that I will try out in the near future.  I'll let you know which ones from this magazine are successful and why. If you are interested in perfecting your bread baking skills, I think you should get a copy of this magazine and get cooking!