Still Tagging It

Yes, I'm still playing with my Xmas supplies.  Never too early to start making tags for Christmas 2016 right?  wink*wink*  Actually I couldn't resist using the Penny Black stamps that I purchased too late for this year and to try out a new resist product with a fine line tip.  After stamping the images on watercolor paper ( inks won't bleed through the back) and coloring them with Kuretake brush pens (love the fine brush tip), I drew the masking fluid onto the image to protect it from watercoloring.      (This method avoids tedious image fussy cutting.) Once the masking fluid was dry, I randomly painted splotches or vague suns and trees using the Kuretake watercolor set.  (If you haven't treated yourself to an after Xmas gift, this watercolor set is a beauty and the colors are intense.)

Finally, I rubbed off the rubbery mask and added Wink of Stella white, Mister Huey white or Frantage white embossing powder to give the effect of snow.  The Martha Stewart sparkling yarn (snapped up from the clearance area in Hilo BFC store) was used for the ties.  A Let It Snow Paper Smooches die cut was added to the hedgehog tag.  Experimenting on tags with new products is a great way to build up a stash of Xmas tags before the next season comes rolling on....it will be here in a heartbeat....really!

Merry Christmas and theTen-Minute Xmas Table Decoration

 

It's Christmas!  I decided to leave you with one last quickie craft as a Xmas gift.  I simply pulled a wooden log slice, bear ornament and a package of miniature trees off the shelves of HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Then with a hot glue gun I affixed the bear and tree to the base and voila instant table decoration.  The stores have several ornaments which would work and you could make several for your holiday table.  By leaving the ornament screw eye in place, a name tag or message could be tied on.  Since this idea is probably too late for this year, I think the after Xmas sales at BFC would be a good time to get the parts for next year's holiday table. (This decoration idea was inspired by a craft shown on the Ideas and Inspiration BFC blog site....a toy car was used instead of a bear.)  I like the natural wood base but maybe next year I will add some glitter so it looks like it's snowing.  Anyway, I hope all of you will enjoy a bountiful and safe Christmas. Thank you for being my blogland friends; I've enjoyed sharing my holiday crafts with you.

Cocoa or Tea Treat Box

I haven't used my Big Pro pillow box die for ages, but I was inspired to do so because of this Echo Park Xmas mug double-sided DP.  Many holiday craft/cooking shows have been showing simple co-worker gifts with cocoa mixes, candy canes or cinnamon sticks, and marshmallows in a box or mug.

I thought this large pillow box could even hold a few cookies.  If you don't have the die or a machine, did you know that you can use the Big Pro machine and pillow die for free at Ben Franklin Crafts if you buy the card stock there?

There are lots of Xmas DP to chose from but I like this print because it matches the Paper Smooches mug die.  Both the mug and 'Let it Snow' cuts were made from the reverse of the paper.  I used fleece yarn as a ribbon and a miniature Darice gingerbread ornament for decoration on the mug tag.

Ben Franklin Crafts has many paper designs to choose from including some with cookies that would make great pouches for holiday cookies. Someone suggested that instead of cocoa I could fill the box with fancy tea bags and perhaps a vintage teaspoon for an extra special gift.  I am done with party favors and office gifts for this year, but I will definitely keep this sample in my idea box for next year.  I think you can do something like this for Valentine's Day co-worker gifts.  Give it a try!

Resin Purse Charms

If you've recently visited our HM Ben Franklin Crafts in Mapunapuna, I'm sure you've seen our big area devoted to Japan crafts.  I finally found some time to try out some of the purse charm resin kits I bought a few months ago.  I love the kits because they come complete with all the findings and little embellishments.  Also the kits have full instructions in English.

Although I've been told that you can set the resin with sunshine, I am too impatient and prefer the speed of a UV light (available at BFC).  These bracelet style purse charms are the rage in Japan because additional charms can be added to the chain.  The one on the right can actually be worn as a bracelet if your wrist is small enough.  The cookie-like bird charm on the left is my favorite but the ice cream charm is the most realistic.

To make these charms you will need UV resin and  jewelry glue plus a UV lamp.  These kits would make fine gifts for someone who has a UV lamp, but you could make the lamp part of the gift.  Making these charms was exciting and I know that I'll make more because I purchased lots of molds, colorants, and embellishments.  Since I am giving lots of small purses for Xmas this year, I plan to attach charms to them.  I hope you have a chance to see and buy these unique resin crafts at the Mapunapuna BFC store.  Happy Holiday Crafting!

Oh! Fudge!

To me nothing says Christmas like fudge and cookies so that's what I like to make and give to friends and family.  This year I tried a new recipe for Coffee Shop Fudge that I found online (Food.com).  It was really easy because it was made in the microwave.  It was too soft in the beginning but after a few days it hardened up to a perfect consistency.

The taste is very rich but it doesn't have a strong coffee flavor so I may add more espresso powder the next time I make this fudge.  I like to line my containers with parchment paper to make it easy for the recipient to lift out the slab and slice.

I bought the container from Ben Franklin Crafts last year but I think this type is available at Celebrations (next to Mapunapuna BFC).  I love the click down side clamps.  The ribbon for the bow was discovered in a sale bin at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  It makes me happy to know that after eating the fudge the container can be reused as a food container.  Just thinking about fudge makes me giddy....think I'll have a piece now!

More Elves Not On Shelves

Here are two more elf Xmas crafts.  The first is a mini bag made with a Lawn Fawn die.  I like that the handle opening allows for a bow and makes it possible to tie it to another gift.  I added jingle bells to the ends of the Heiko ombre ribbon (from the Celebrations store).

This side view shows the depth of the bag and that it could easily hold gift card(s), specialty chocolates or maybe even jewelry(?).

Elves in boxes (made with a Neat and Tangled die) are my favorite elf tags.  The 'packing' in the boxes is made from fake snow glued onto cotton batting (both from BFC).  The card stock papers are Doodlebug, Echo Park or American Crafts. As with the elf projects from my last post, the images were colored with Copics and Kuretake brush markers.  The caps were embellished with Fun Flock (Stampendous).

I hope that you will think of new shapes for tags/cards and decorate them with happy elves.  They are lots of fun to do and with the dies most of the work is done for you.  If you are running out of crafting time, think about making tags/cards for next year.  After New Year's Eve, I usually make a bunch of tags and cards before putting away my Xmas stuff.  This really gives me a jump start for next year.... Xmas comes around really fast...yeah?

Xmas Elf Banner Tags

I still needed a few more tags and wanted to use the Hero Arts elf stamp and die set that I purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Rather than use the traditional tag shape, I chose a Lawn Fawn banner die.  It was simple work to cut the tags from my scraps of printed Xmas card stock.  The elves took a bit of time to color but they were a snap to cut using the die.  I added Wink of Stella to give some sparkle and Fun Flock to create fuzzy embellishments on the caps. The loops were made with ribbon, pipe cleaners or pine tree sprigs. I also added jingle bells and holly berries   All the embellishments were from BFC too.

For those office goodie bag tags, I went with a mock clipboard tag.  The banner shape was cut from the reverse side of the double sided Xmas cardstock.  I cut the faux metal clip from DCWV shimmer paper (in 6x6 paper pad).  Oh, I forgot to show the Paper Smooches stamp set that goes with the clip dies.  I left room on the tag front to write the to and from names and you could add the name of the treat in the bag on the faux metal clip.

Here's a look at the back of the clipboard tags.

I think you will really have fun with the HA elf stamp and die set.  There are so many applications and all three elf images are really adorable.  Come back and see my next post where I will show you two more elf projects...my favorites!