Butterfly Punch and Card

Some of my friends who are new to papercrafting remarked that many of the projects in blogland are too difficult for a newbie or require too many supplies. This thank you card project is for them. I wanted to show them that with just a few supplies, you can create a card quickly and be proud of your efforts. I started with a plain folded blank card and used white ink (the pigment type that dries slower) to stamp the leafy foliage. Next I sprinkled white embossing powder over the wet ink. Using a heat gun, I melted the powder to form a more finished look. (You could just stamp with the ink and not emboss.) Also for a bit of sparkle I sprayed a little Shimmer over the card but this is also optional. Next I used the new Martha Stewart magnet butterfly punch that allowed me to punch out any place on my card. Finally, I made a mask from a small piece of scrap paper (punch out a butterfly on it) and alligned it under the buttlerfly punched in the card. Holding the mask in place on the inside of the card, I stamped the words 'thank you' multiple times in blue ink so that the buttlerfly image appears inside and outside of the card. Making cards like this one is the perfect beginning for those of you who are just learning to enjoy papercrafting. The new products like the MS magnetic punches keeps crafting exciting for even the pros. If you haven't started writing your thank you notes yet (like me) a card like this one can be produced by the dozens and yet each one will be slightly different because they are handmade with love. Send some love today!

Blog Award from Cami

Imagine my surprise when Cami (Capture a Heart) sent me this blog award. This is the first award I've received for my blog, so naturally I am very honored. I am supposed to tell you eight things about myself and then pass the award on to eight other bloggers who have sites that I enjoy. I know that most of you don't know much about me because haven't dressed up my blog at all or even submitted a profile. I'm not sure that many of you are really interested, but here are eight facts about me:

1) I was the editor of the Ben Franklin Crafts Club Newsletter but changed to the writer of this blog when publishing and mailing costs became too high.

2) I have two grown sons (one working, one in college) so now I have more time to craft!

3) My college diploma says I have a degree in fine arts (ceramics) but I haven't made a pot in years.

4) I love shopping, especially for craft supplies. (You didn't know that did you?)

5) My husband supports (financially) my craft addiction and is an enabler who built shelves all over my craftroom when I couldn't fit anymore Iris rolling bins.

6) Rose pink and sage green are my favorite colors but I do love lavender, aqua and apricot too.

7) I've collected rubber stamps for more than half my life (no, I'm not telling you how many years) ....so long that some of the stamps have melted or crumbled from old age.

8) Papercrafting, jewelry making and antique collecting are my favorite hobbies....can shopping be a hobby?

The following eight crafters (in no particular order) have sites that I read often both for their content and the fact that they update often. I hope they will accept this award and pass it on to someone deserving. I'll understand if you don't have the time to do the 'chain letter' part of the award because you are all busy people but please accept the award anyway. You deserve it for writing a great blog and inspiring all of your blogland readers.

Cheryl

Joy

Kris
Shirley

Jean

Kim

Kassidy
Katie

A Christmas Gift from Kris

This surprise Christmas gift came in the mail from Kris (K-lusive Kreations). She did such a neat job on the note pad set and matching paper clips I just had to show them to you. I think she probably made the decorative head pins, too. I'm saving them to make some extra special birthday cards. I'm sure many of you are regular visitors to Kris' blog site, but if not; you should check it out because she is a fabulous blogger and crafter. Although I have never met Kris in person, she is a wonderful blogland friend and one of the reasons I am happy I started to write this blog. Thanks Kris for both the sweet gift and your blogland friendship!

Flowery Thank You Cards

Finding all the Hero Arts stamps on sale (20% OFF) at the Hilo Ben Franklin Crafts store made me obsessed (as you can see from the upper photo) with making felt flowers. After making a bunch of them (simply stamp flower design on felt with craft ink, cut out and use green floss to sew felt flower together with the Hero Arts packaged art flowers and a flower shaped button), I decided to use some of them on my thank you notes. Can you believe I'm not done making my thank you cards and still have to make and send out my yearly family newsletter?

These products (in bottom photo) are what I used to make my cards. (The blue pearl head pin was from my sewing kit.) Don't you just love the K and Co. Valentine head pins? That reminds me: You need to go now to check out the Valentine products (by Jolee's, K and Co., Martha Stewart, and others) that have arrived at Ben Franklin Crafts. They came in early and are going fast. When you go to use your 40% off coupon this weekend, take a look at the new Martha Stewart Valentine punches with a magnetic bottom which allows you to punch out designs any place and angle on your paper. Well gotta go and write more thank you notes. Please stop by again to see more crafting ideas for 2011.

Melody Ross Products

Another great find at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts was the line of Melody Ross products. I'm not sure if the other BFC stores will carry this line or if it is on sale one time only at the Mapunapuna store. In any case, I love these vintage-look embellishments and I think they will pair well with the new rubber stamp designs we are carrying. As I look through card making, scrapbooking, and other paper craft publications, I think it is safe to say that, "everything old is new again". The colors and graphics of the 40's and 50's suddenly look fresh. For older crafters the images are a walk down memory lane and for the younger ones a chance to glimpse their parents' past. I think perhaps the reason these vintage craft items are popular is because we are all looking wistfully at a time when life was simple and innocent. I don't know how much longer these Melody Ross products will be at Mapunapuna BFC or if they are at our other BFC stores, but I know that you really should take a look at them before they sell out because they are already on sale at a greatly reduced price. (Oh, the 12x12 sheet with the oven mitt design is a K and Co. product that seemed to fit perfectly with the other vintage designs.) May your new year be filled with shopping bargains and crafty creations!

Hero Arts Clings Silhouette Rubber Stamps

Last week I had the opportunity to shop at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts and happily found some new Hero Arts rubber stamps. I could hardly wait to get home to ink them up. Since I have many people to write thank you notes to, it seemed to be a perfect time to try out these new stamps with old-fashioned graphics. The ornate frames and buckle style tags were cut using Spellbinder dies. It may not be apparent in the photo, but both die cuts have embossed designs. The black and white background papers came from the La Creme DCWV paper pack. The only problem I had was that the solid areas of the stamped image sometimes did not leave an even black color so I had to do touch-ups with a black small tip marker. Ben Franklin Crafts has lots of new silhouette stamps so you should pick some up. I'm sure they'll make writing thank you notes more enjoyable. Don't forget 40% coupon day is coming up. Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you'll visit again soon to see what other projects I come up with in the new year. Happy 2011!

Little Yellow Bicycle Products

Isn't the name, 'Little Yellow Bicycle ' a weird name for a craft line? I guess the name does help consumers to remember the company. Anyway, this new company has the yummiest line of papers, stickers, embellishments, mini albums, etc. For those of you who can't ever get enough cupcake and other sweet designs, you're going to love these products. Because many of the papers have hearts on them, they would be perfect to use for a jumpstart on Valentine's Day. I can also see using these fresh and cute items on the thank you cards you are probably working on right now. You are making them aren't you?

Hello Kitty is in my photo dressed up as a rabbit to welcome in the New Year. 2011 is the year of the rabbit. I was lucky enough to win the Hello Kitty doll at a game arcade in Japan. I love the arcades there because you can actually win without putting in a ton of money. I hope that 2011 is a lucky rabbit year for you too!