Spread Happiness Wherever You Go

HM Ben Franklin Crafts now carries Mama Elephant stamp and die sets!  I've always loved this brand but the cute separate stamp and die sets can be pricey.  That's why I was so excited to see these combo sets at a reasonable price.  They even come with several appropriate sentiments.  I chose this set because the balloons are usable for many occasions and the animals are sweet.  The background was made with Ken Oliver dye pigment powders. I love playing with these colors and water on watercolor paper.  This experiment resulted in a background piece that reminded me of a celebration.  I discovered an ink pad, Versafine Onyx Black (from HM BFC) that works really well for heat embossing even on an uneven watercolor paper surface. I used this ink for stamping the sentiment and all the other images.  Embossing the images makes coloring them much easier and neater.  I cut off the balloon strings and replaced them with thin black wire so they would be longer.  Finally, I attached the strings with Beacon 3 in 1 glue and applied Crystal Accents over the balloons.  The 'sprinkles' were tiny heart confetti (Martha Stewart).  This was an easy to make card that can be used for many occasions especially for graduation or bon voyage. Have a great summer!

Easter Greetings Die Cut Card

 This card was super easy to make because I 'found' the already die cut and colored rabbit in my 'Easter stuff' box. I guess I made it but didn't use it last year.  Anyway, this is what I made with the Hero Arts bunny die cut and some Spellbinders die cut eggs.  I love making the eggs because they use up paper scraps that are overflowing my craft desk.  The IO Easter Greetings die is one of my favorites because it cuts well and is so artistic.  I also have too many flower embellishments so I am making an effort to use up as many as I can on every project. This time I added some K and Co. flowers that were in the bottom of my flower stash box. Oh yes, the background was rescued from a boo-boo card.  "Waste Not...Want Not" is my crafting motto!

Bunny Treat Basket

 This sweet bunny basket was created to hold some Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Rice Krispies Treats.  It was an easy container to make because the base was a Ripple Board Tray Box  (from HM BFC) that was decorated with die cuts made using a Paper Smooches set.  I forgot to show the back of the basket which has a cotton puff tail.  A printed cello bag from HM Ben Franklin Crafts holds the wrapped treats and the pretty wired spring ribbon is also from my favorite craft store. 

 Here's a view of the Cranberry Pumpkin Seed Rice Krispies Treats.  The printed pre-cut wax paper was purchased from a Daiso store in Japan, but maybe it can be found in our Honolulu Daiso stores.  I used the  basic recipe on the marshmallow package, but you can find various Rice Krispies Treat recipes on many web sites. Be sure this Easter you make something sweet for some bunny you care about!

Local Graduation Cards

 Graduation season is just around the corner so I decided to check out graduation items at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. I found some cool Darice tropical plant embossing folders and a graduation die set. I used the die set to to cut and emboss the caps and diplomas.  I added tassels made from embroidery floss and added Heiko ribbon to the scrolls to give the card more dimension and interest.  The 'congrats' was cut with a Hero Arts die.

 Of course graduation cards should include a gift card or monetary gift so I used the Lawn Fawn die to cut the slots on embossed rectangles which I attached to the inside of each card. This was an easy  card which can be produced quickly so you can certainly make multiples in various school colors. The 'fake' flip flop rock is also from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I thought it was cute and very 'local'!

Little Miracle Baby Card

I wanted to get this card in the mail quickly so I decided not to do any coloring or fussy cutting on it.  I started by die cutting the pink frame (Whimsy Stamps) and passing it through the Sizzix embossing folder to impress the delicate floral pattern.

 This close-up shows the embossed design better as well as the sweet Sticko baby stickers (from HM BFC).  I love the tri-colored Heiko ribbon (from BFC or Celebrations)...the perfect baby ribbon.  The little 'It's a GIRL' tag is from the baby decoration department in HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I've forgotten where the 'Little Miracle' die cut sentiment is from but came in a pack....maybe from Echo Park? The printed card stock background is from a K and Co. 8x8 pack.  I actually remembered to stamp  'handmade with love' on the back of the card. I recommend that you purchase the Lawn Fawn set so that you can personalize your special card creations. Happy Spring Crafting!

Easter Double Waterfall Card

After posting two waterfall tags, I decided to try my hand at a DOUBLE waterfall Easter card.  I wasn't sure how to do it but I figured two waterfalls going in opposite ways might work.

I decorated the squares that were attached to the main piece with bunnies, chicks and die cut eggs.  The bunnies were images from Sister Stamp sets and the chick images came from an Ai stamp set.

The yellow dots were punched out and decorated with Lawn Fawn stamps. To balance out the card I glued on some Martha Stewart daisies.

The 'happy easter hunny bunny' Dandelion Stamp message and the 'Some Bunny Loves You' (Studio G)  were stamped in purple ink and heat embossed with Nuvo powder.  Oh yes, the waterfall slider parts were attached with flower shaped brads.  This card would be fun for a child to play with because it is sort of like a flip book.  Even I enjoy sliding the panels in and out...hope I don't break the waterfalls...LOL!

                                           

Asian Waterfall Thank You Tag

 I enjoyed making the waterfall ice cream tag (see previous post) so I decided to use the same Sizzix die set to make an Asian style waterfall tag. Instead of using the ice cream dies in the set, I used three stickers from my overflowing box of Japanese stickers.

I used the same Little B tag die to cut two tags, one black and one printed.  I trimmed the edges of the printed tag so that when glued together the black tag, it would make a border. Because it is white in the back, it also provides a good surface for a message.

The arigato  (thank you) and Japanese character stamps are both Mari and Me products (old wooden style).  Embroidery floss was used to make the red tassel and tag hanging loop.

 As a last embellishment, I folded two origami cranes from gold paper and glued them to the tag. I think they added a touch of gold and interest.

 Oh yes the stamped words and characters were stamped in a slow drying dark blue ink and dusted with Nuvo black sparkle heat embossing powder.  (I couldn't find my black stamp pad so I substituted since the ink wouldn't show under the powder.) Tip: Always use slow drying ink for embossing so that the powder will stick.

 I was pleased with the outcome of this tag especially since it will be good for use on a bag containing omiyage (thank you gifts brought home from a trip). If you have lots of Japanese stickers/seals and printed Japanese card stock (KaiserCraft pad is the perfect size for the dies.) you should really give this project a try.  It's so easy to craft an elegant Asian waterfall tag!