Sweet Mice shaker Oornament

The Lawn Fawn mice stamps are so cute and just the right size to fit into the half ball ornaments sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I love making shaker cards, so I thought making a shaker ornament would be equally fun.  I started by using a Spellbinder circle die to cut a circle (from printed card stock) just slightly bigger than the plastic ball circumference.  At first I wanted to use some colorful, bright Xmas card stock but then realized that the mice were hard to see on such busy prints.  I looked through my 6x6 Doodlebug Xmas paper pads and found sheets that would compliment the mice.  The Doodlebug sheets are printed on both sides so you have to consider the designs on both sides. (Printed card stock 6x6 paper pads have small prints which makes the paper perfect for this project.)
 

Once the paper circles were die cut, I shaped the words (Wishing You A Sweet Christmas!) into two arcs before stamping them on the die cut circles and embossed the words with gold powder.  Next, I stamped the mice on white cardstock, colored them in (with Copic markers) and fussy cut them out. I freehand cut some white cardstock (with a little texture) to look like a bed of snow for the mice to play in.  I glued in the snow before using adhesive foam dots to adhere the mice into the snow scene.  Before gluing the half ball clear ornament down over the scene, I added about a tablespoon of snow glitter.  I used 3 in 1 Fabri-Tac glue (my favorite from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) to adhere the globe down and add the tri-colored pipe cleaners around the globe.

Finally, I twisted some artificial wired greenery and red pips onto the hanging ring that is part of the plastic half globe. This view of the ornament backs reveal why it is important to choose your papers carefully. Even though most of these supplies are from my stash of Xmas craft goodies, I think you should be able to find almost everything at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Half globe shaker ornaments are so easy to make I think I'll make a bunch of them this year to add as gift toppers or as decorations for hostess gifts. Hope you'll try making some for your tree too!   

    

Xmas Gnome Belly Band Box

 Whenever I receive a sturdy cookie-sized gift box, I usually save it with the intent to recycle it into another decorated gift box.  This gift box once housed some Japanese cookies and was plain brown with a printed belly band label.  I decided that I would keep the decorations simple and fashion a belly band too, as a secure way of closing the box without a ribbon.   

First, I covered just the top and sides of the box cover with crinkled, gold speckled washi paper (purchased at HM Ben Franklin in a large sheet). I decided not to try topaper over the ends of the box cover because corners are a little tricky to do neatly.  I glued the paper down with Fabri-Tac 3 in 1 glue. This glue (available at HM BFC) is my favorite because it dries clear and makes it easy to reposition paper pieces.

The belly band was easily fashioned from printed card stock and decorated with a die cut circle of Lawn Fawn Sparkles paper that comes in a 6x6 paper pad. The gnome is a Spellbinbinder stamped image that was colored with Copic pens and fussy cut out.  I looked into my stash of Xmas stickers hoping to find a 'Merry Xmas' or 'Happy Holidays' label to fit above the gnome circle.  Amazingly, I discovered a wonderful shaker Merry Christmas banner sticker that fit and matched the belly band.  I don't know when or how I got the 'perfect' sitcker but finding it made my day! Finally, I added some wool roving for the gnome's beard to make him even more lovable.  I hope this project has given you ideas for recycling gift boxes. It's fun to do and results in a novel way to house your home baked goodies for gift giving.  Happy Homemade Holidays!

Thanksgiving Swivel Surprise Turkey Card

I purchased the Lawn Fawn Swivel Surprise die set because it looked like a fun way to make an interactive action card.  The die set did not come with written instructions so I went on the Lawn Fawn site to view the videos that show how the constructions are done. It took me awhile and several tries to get the paper mechanics to work correctly.  Once I got the paper base working reliably, I began decorating the card.

I used autumnal colored printed card stock for most of the card because I wanted to create a Thanksgiving card.  I always love a humorous card so I chose a cartoon turkey stamp (Hero Arts) to use as the center of the circular card parts.  Although I do enjoy turkey meat at a Thanksgiving feast, I always feel sorry for the comical looking birds who get slaughtered every November.  Therefore, this card is dedicated to all the innocent feathered creatures that unwittingly become part of our holiday celebrations.  Thank you for your sacrifice!  Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!

P.S. I used Fabri-Tac 3 in 1 glue instead of double stick tape for this card.  My double stick tape didn't hold the the moving paper pieces very securely.

Let's Go Nuts Swivel Surprise Card

 In the previous post I introduced a card that I made using the Lawn Fawn Swivel Surprise die set.  Here is another Swivel Surprise card with a squirrel theme this time.  I just love how the squirrels circle around the nuts as the card opes.

It's very hard to show the squirrel action with still photos but I am not skilled in making videos. The squirrels and acorns were stamped and die cut using Lawn Fawn sets Big Acorn and Let's Go Nuts. The images were colored in with Copic pens.

The words, 'Let's Go Nuts' were from one of the stamp sets.  I curved the words on an acrylic block before stamping .  The stamped words were then free hand cut in an arch.

I just can't stop opening and closing this card to see the squirrels circling around the acorns. LOL!

Oh yes, the panel on the front of the card (fall is in the air) and the inside one (love you) were taken from a Simple Stories printed card stock pad.  The leaves on the card front are actually an autum leaf garland I purchased from HM BFC a few  autumn seasons ago. Now that I understand the mechanics of making a Swivel Surprise card, I know that I will be making a few more this holiday season....spinning gnomes?  Please return to this blog site again to see what I create using the amazing Lawn Fawn Swivel Surprise die set.  Woo! Hoo! Let's Go Nuts!

Hanafuda Card Necklace

After showing you hanafuda card tags on a previous blog post, I started to think about what else I could create with the colorful rectangle Japanese playing cards.  I decided that they might make unique jewelry. I began by using a hand drill to make two small holes on the top of a card. Then I strung some brass wire through the holes and formed hanging loops.  Next, I coated the front of the card with one minute UV LED resin (Padico (sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts)). I used a LED light (available at HM Beb Franklin Crafts) to set the resin.  I applied the resin to the back and edges of the card as well before setting it with the light.

 It took a long time to select just the right beads from my stash and wire them together to form a 24 inch beaded chain.  I didn't put a clasp on the necklace because it is long enough to slip over my head.  I am so happy with the outcome of this project that I am making another necklace using the resined hanafuda card in the photo below.  I hope that you will look around and see what non-traditional items you can incorporate into your crafts. I'm sure you will create something wonderful because you ARE so crafty.  Happy Creative Crafting!

Everything Pumpkin Spice Card and Tag

You know it's fall when the pumpkin spice flavored drinks and desserts start appearing everywhere.  Although I'm not a fan of boba tea, I do like the Lawn Fawn Build-A-Drink-Bubble Tea Add-On die set.  I thought it would be fun to make a shaker confetti element out of the bubble tea cup. I thought about the construction for a long time and then decided to just cut the plain cup out of another piece of vellum and then glue it to the back of the cup using Fabri Tac glue. Although this shaker confetti element doesn't have very much room for the pumpkin pie and green sparkly confetti, they do move around enough. Because I used vellum for the cup lid and straw, it was necessary to adhere them to the card with a special tape that doesn't show through very much.  (I'm not sure if the tape dispenser I have in the supplies photo is a brand sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, but the store does carry other brands which I'm sure will work under vellum, too. The Whimsy character hugging the cup actually was holding on to another cup that I fussy cut out. The words and image was stamped with permanent dark brown ink before coloring in with Copic pens. The background of the card was made from the front and back of a printed card stock sheet which is probably no longer available, but HM Ben Franklin Crafts has stacks of 12x12 two sided printed autumn themed card stock so I'm sure you can find something to please you.

With the leftover paper scraps on my work table, I fashioned a matching Everything Pumpkin Spice tag.  At first I was going to deorate the doughnut with colorful sprinkles but decided I wanted it to look like it came from a fancy bake shop so I applied Nuvo white Crystal Drops to look like a sugar glaze and then sprinkled on some gold flakes (sold as craft confetti) so that it appears to be edible glitter like the type used in some classy bakeries.  Although I'd love to linger longer and play with my autumn craft supplies, it's time to move on the Christmas craft goodies. I can't wait to get started.  HO HO HO! Time to be JOLLY!

     

Autumn Leaves Blessings Card

Even though we don't really have an autumn season in Hawaii, it still is my favorite time of the year.  I love the colors of autumn and the idea of the trees dropping their leaves....so pretty.  In honor of this gorgeoius display of nature, I made a card with golden, sparkly leaves. The leaves were cut with metal dies from Cutter Bee and Spellbinders.  I used Japanese washi papers that were crinkled and came in really large sheets.  I think they are available at HM Ben Franklin Crafts (Mapunapuna).  One sheet was green with gold/copper/silver flecks of foil and the other one was crinkled white with colored spots.  Before die cutting the leaves, I sprayed the washi paper with Tim Holtz Distress inks. (I only had green and golden yellow sets but a reddish rust color set would have been a good addition.)  Once the inks were dry, I used the leaf dies to cut out crinkly leaves with vein details.  Using a Hero Arts (old wood handled one), I stamped the saying on a small rectangle of paper that coordinated with the card.  The edges of the rectangle were rubbed with the same ink color.  I used my Misti stamp aligner to make sure my TPC Studio  (Autumn Harvest) clear stamp images would end up exactly where I wanted them to be.  The final step for this card was gluing down the golden, speckled leaves.  Once I was satisfied with the arrangement I applied the 3 in 1 Fabri-Tac glue (from HM BFC) to get a quick, secure, clear adhesion.  This card was super fast and fun to create and I think I'll use the leaf technique to decorate other items like tags, boxes, and calendars.  I think you should try making your own autumn leaves. It will make you feel a little like Mother Nature (LOL) and result in a pile of lovely, sparkly, leaves!