Honey Jar Tags

In a panic, I remembered that I needed tags for my jars of honey (We belong to Alan Wong's Bee Project progaram.)that I planned to give to some friends.  Becuse time was of the essence, I chose to use paper from my bee themed paper pads and ephemera. Uaing my trusty Little B tag die cutter and my Big Shot Machine it was quick work to produce four die cut tags.  A little glue was all I needed to assemble the tags....no stamping, cutting or coloring needed.  Finding coordinating ribbons was fun and really perked up the tags.  When you are in a pinch for time, don't be ashamed to use the convenience of ready made ephemera and words.  I'm sure the recipients of your gifts will just be thrilled to get a pretty tag tied onto a special sweet gift.  Honey is a delicious gift from the BEES!  

'I Love You Mower' Anniversary Card

Sometimes when I see a really small stamp set at HM Ben Franklin Crafts I wonder, "What can be made with just those few tiny stamps?" Usually I think that they could be used as add ons to a bigger card. This time when I saw the 'I Love You Mower' by Lawn Fawn, I thought that it would make a really good anniversary card for my husband who always seems to be in the yard cutting the grass.  I started with a long piece of white watercolor paper ( 14" x 3-1/4") and accordian folded it into fourths.  Then I stamped on the mouse, mower and words using black waterproof ink.  After handdrawing the clouds, I painted in the background using Copic pens. Additional coloring was done on the mouse and mower. This simple card was done in minutes and has a childlike quality (my husband calls me his biggest kid) which really pleases me.  I used grey imk to stamp the extra moving mice which livens up the card without adding extra thickness. Since some of the colors soaked through the watercolor paper card, I glued on some solid green card stock to the back of the card.  I am super pleased with how this card turned out...it was easy and my husband liked the humor of the mower mouse...aka 'the husband worker mouse'!!!! LOL!

Watering Can Thank You Tags

 These two tags were completed a lot faster than the last two because they didn't require fussy cutting and hand coloring. All the parts for the watering can tags were easily die cut using a simple die cutting machine and the Lawn Fawn dies.  Happily, I was able to use random paper pieces from my scrap pile. Artificial flowers were chosen for their color/size and glued on.  Finally, specialty yarn from my ever-growing yarn collection were selected for texture and color.  Finding just the 'right' yarn is my favorite part of making tags.  Perhaps I will attach a mini calendar to the back of the tags as an added bonus to a package of goodies. That will make it a gift that lasts all year long! (P.S. the Totoro images on the seed packets are simply small pieces of Totoro washi tape.)

Summer Cookout Tags

I noticed that my stash of tags was running low so I am working hard to increase the types and number of tags I have available to use on the spur of the moment.  I tend to use tags way more than cards as I like to give baked goods and 'just because' gifts to friends and family.  Tags just seem to be a quick way to send a message of gratitude/thumbs-up rather than mailing a long, hand written card.  Also tags just use a small amount of supplies and they are quick and easy. Don't forget if you receive a handmade tag think about trimming it down and gluing it onto a small gift card.  You can also recycle a clever tag into a magnet by attachig a piece of sheet magnet to the back.  I hope that you will upcycle small sheets of printed paper into tags and pass them out to friends and family...of course be sure to tie it to a cello bag of homemade cookes! 
 

Puffy Paint and Gold Flakes Birthday Card

 After seeing an episode of Joy of Crafting that featured using Puffy Paint to decorate some fabric purses, I decided to buy some and see what I could do with the unique paint.  I decided to experiment on card stock and chose a colorful piece from an 8x8 pack.  It was easy to follow the design on the card stock with the matching puffy paint and then heat up the design with a heat gun.  The resulting effect was a soft lava-like texture raised above the surface of the card stock.  To add more interest to the card, I applied a tiny bit of glue here and there. Next, I rubbed on some gold flakes purchased from Daiso (sold as hair decoration).  Finally, I stamped the 'Happy Birthday' in gold ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. Using products in unusual ways can result in surprisingly beautiful results.  Keep your creativity expanding by thinking outside of the box. Go ahead and amaze yourselt!  

Sweet Girl Shaker Birthday Card

 

As usual, I was running behind schedule so I had to think fast and come up with a cute, girly birthday card for a 1-year old. It took me awhile to find just the right papers, stickers and shaker confetti.  Once selections were made the card came together rather quickly.  I used an oval die to cut the opening for the shaker element.  Foam sticker tape formed the well for the confetti.  (I put a strip of foam tape down the center of the card front making the pocket smaller so not too much of the confetti had to be used.)  A clear acetate sheet was used behind the oval window. The 'Happy Birthday' was stamped in clear ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  Oh yes, a cupcake sticker was adhered behind the oval opening before the confetti was added.  This card is sweet and cute just like the birthday girl.  I know that a 1 year old won't know what's happening at the party but perhaps this card will be saved for the future and she will know that her aunty and uncle thought she was a very special birthday girl!

Sanrio Character DessertThank You Card

I love Sanrio characters so when I spotted the package of character envelopes at Daiso, I had to get them even if I didn't know what I'd do with them.  After looking at the envelopes for awhile, I had a light bulb moment and decided to fussy cut the dessert dish of Sanrio characters. I thought the fussy cut dessert would look good on some pastel striped card stock (Lawn Fawn paper pad purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts).  After positioning the Sanrio character dish on the striped card stock using pop dots, double stick tape was used to attach it to a turquoise card blank.  To make the card seem more sweet shop like, I added punched out strips of white typing paper. The punch was discovered at Daiso.  Also I attached some cute puffy stickers (from Daiso) to the dessert dish to give it more interest and dimension. Finally, I added a 'thank you' sticker from a pack that I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. I am pretty happy that I was able to change a simple cute envelope design into a sweet thank you card.  It's fun to challenge your imagination to turn something simple into something you are proud to send to someone.  I know you are clever, so use your mind to design something wonderful!