Halloween Treat Baskets

 When I bought the Sizzix Berry Basket die for Easter, I was planning to make bunny baskets but you know how time flies. LOL! Because it was a basic basket shape, I knew I would use it for other occasions....like Halloween!  This die takes a 12x12 cardstock (printed on two sides will make a more attractive basket).  I'm sure you have lots of Halloween card stock in your stash that will make great treat baskets.  The die cut is super easy to assemble and with the addition of ribbon and a sticker, you're good to go..... and give.

 Lots of candy fits in each basket so trick-o-treaters or friends will be thrilled to receive a Halloween basket of treats from you.  I plan to cello bag the basket of treats and tie it with a fancy twisty tie for presentation.  Of course you could include nailpolish, lip gloss, or other small gifts instead of (or with) the candy.

If you don't celebrate Halloween, this basket will make a good autumn (or Thanksgiving ) table decoration when filled with mini apples, pumpkins or even a cupcake!  Thank you for the time you spent reading my post today.  I hope you found it interesting and will return to read another post in the future. See you soon!

Floral Thank You Card...trying a new technique

There are so many new, exciting dies on the market for paper crafters.  Recently,  I've admired some of my fellow bloggers' clever use of die cuts.  The technique of cutting out shapes and gluing in the same shape with different patterned papers is particularly appealing to me because I enjoy making puzzles and liked the effect that makes the design appear to be quilted.  For this reason, I purchased (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) The Little B Bouquet die set.  First I cut out the card base using The Spellbinder second largest die (place the fold of the card just under the cutting edge of the die) from pink card stock.  Next I cut the white card with the Sizzix largest die from the set and sprayed it with Mr. Huey's dyes.  After the card was dry I cut out the flowers, leaves, and words with the Little B dies.  To make the card look more quilt-like, I chose calico printed paper to cut out the little pieces to glue into the card.  Finally, I spread stick glue on the top of the pink base card and placed the white card onto it.  The petal and leaf pieces were then glued into the openings.  The rose was a little tedious to piece in but I do like the effect.

 On this second card I decided to simplify the process by only using the hydrangea flower shapes.  To further enhance the quilt look I used my newly acquired Mama Elephant scallop frame die set  (also includes the stitched rectangle die).  This version came together quickly except for the fact that several times I had the dies upside-down so had to re-do it...arrrgh! Oh yes, this is a tip I learned from Emily Leiphart (Art From the Heart) :  To make a card with the scalloped rectangle die, cut two rectangles and score the top of one just below the scalloped edge.  Glue this scored card to the back of the other scalloped to form the card hinge.  I hope that you'll give this die cutting technique a try but even if you decide it is too 'puzzling' for you, you can always just glue the flowers and leaves to decorate your craft projects.  The Little B die set  (includes a  useful magnetic holder) contains 17 dies!...enough to make many, many floral variations.  Thanks for reading through this loooong post. I appreciate your time spent here....please visit again for more crafting ideas and information.

Easy Embossed Tags

 I love making fancy tags, but I don't want to spend too much time on them because they are afterall just tags, usually serving a one-time use.  When I spotted this Sizzix fancy tag embossing and die set at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I didn't hesitate to purchase it.  It has 8 dies and 3 embossing folders, so you can really make a great variety of tags.  I embossed the die-cut smaller panels and then rubbed them with Distress Inks to bring out the designs.  Next I cut two of each tag, one of cardstock and one of parchment paper.  I embossed the parchment tags in Darice folders so that when adhered to the cardstock tag a pretty design would show.  Next, I added some Petaloo flowers to the salmon colored tag and misc. leftover flowers to the lavender tag. Finally, some matching ribbons were attached to the tags and voila!...they were done....easy peasy.  I really recommend that you purchase this Sizzix set so that you too can lickety-split make some elegant tags and be ready for any occasion.  Happy Crafting!

Resin Heart Pendant

I made this resin heart pendant a while ago but couldn't decide on how to fashion it into a necklace, so I put it aside.  Then one day I thought of the acronym my husband always tells me, 'K.I.S.S.'    Some would say that it means, 'Keep It Simple Stupid' but my hubby says the last 's' stands for  'sweetheart'.  Anyway, I opted for a silk ribbon that slips in the pendant loop and ties around my neck. I think it looks simple yet elegant.

To make this pendant, I cut a length of faux rhinestone chain to make a heart shape.  I adhered it to a piece of clear packing tape and then added a layer of UVresin.  After setting the resin with a UV light, I added the rose printed acetate piece and more resin.  Once the resin is totally set and of the height desired, peel the pendant off the tape.  Because one of the faux gems was slightly discolored, I used metal jewelry glue to adhere the Vintaj bird.  This was a happy accident which I really think makes the pendant special.

You can find all of the supplies for this project at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I think I will make more of this type of pendant because it was easy, inexpensive and looks very shabby-chic vintage.  I hope that you will give this technique a try and perhaps create many of your own Christmas gifts.  Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you will visit this blog again, soon.

Double Tag Birthday Card

This card came together very slowly, probably because I usually struggle with masculine cards.  Since I recently purchased some Little B die sets from HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I decided to start with them. This card is for my son and these days we mainly communicate by texting, so I decided to incorporate a Hero Arts cell phone stamped image onto the card. (Yes, he has a purple phone!)  I was still playing with inks and watercolor paper from a previous project so I searched through my background stamps and found a Hero Arts number and symbols one that I thought matched the cell phone image.  Using the largest Little B tag die in the set I cut one tag from black cardstock and one from the stamped dyed watercolor paper.  Before taping (with Merikan) the two tags together, I trimmed the watercolored tag so that a black frame would show.  Oh, the cell phone stamp set includes many texted words bubbles and icons.  To give the phone a more realistic look I covered the face with acetate film and toned down the white with a grey Copic pen.

Here are the backs of the tags.  The sentiment in the corner is from a Mambi chalkboard sticker set (shown in a previous post).  The gold words were die cut from leftover foil wrapping paper using dies from another Little B die set.  The black tag back is an ideal surface for writing a birthday greeting in opaque white marker.  (I should have used black chalkboard paper :( .....next time.)  To add movement to the card, I linked the tags with a small ball chain (found in my junk pile, but probably available at BFC).  The chain is great for attaching the card to the gift.  Finally the saying on the smaller tag is from Funny Bones and the 'Time For Presents' stickers are from my birthday sticker stash but could be made with a Dymo label maker.

Hopefully my son will enjoy receiving this unorthodox birthday card.  He is at that age of revelation that we all arrive at eventually.....being older means assuming more responsibility.  When did I get old enough to have a son THAT old!

Magnetic, Reusable Chalkboard Tags

I'm still playing with my Sizzix 'Life Made Simple' die sets. This time I am using them to make tags with the smaller size card dies.  I put tiny (but strong) Sierra Pacific magnets in between the front and back tag pieces.  By doing this the recipient of the tag can cut the twine and use the tag as a magnet or if she is making a Project Life type album, the card can be written on and slipped into a pocket.

This close-up shows the Doodle Bug sprinkles I used to embellish the tag.  I love the opaque but shiny look of these little adhesive dots.

 On this tag I used  Studio 112 flower dot stickers. They are so cute and so inexpensive that they will definitely make you 'smile'.

 All of these tags made use of my seemingly unlimited supply of scraps.  This alone is a great reason to make tags, but I love making them because they are fast and fun.

 If you use chalkboard paper for the back of your tag, they can be erased and reused again and again.  A message can be written on the tags with chalk or bistro pens and then the magnetic note can be left on the refrigerator.

All of the supplies for these magnetic chalkboard tags can be purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. I think your friends would love to receive a gift with a magnetic chalkboard tag that they can reuse or display, or put in an album.  (Remember to keep the magnet tag away from your credit cards.)  I hope this post has been of interest to you.  It is always my desire to make your visit to this blog enjoyable. Please visit again and leave a comment if you have the time.  I love hearing from you!

Summer Soda Cap Card

The hot days of summer can really make a cold bottled drink hit the spot.  That refreshing feeling (captured in the 'vintage-look' Hero Arts clear stamp set) plus the papers in the American Crafts 'Shoreline' 6x6 pack and Crate Paper 's 'The Pier' 6x6 paper pad, inspired this card.  As in the card shown in the previous post, I used the Sizzix Life is Simple die set so that this card can be sent to someone who can then put it in her Project Life album (the bottle cap may not fit).

 I didn't tape all around the striped card so photos, tickets, receipts, etc. can be inserted and saved.  I don't know why I could only find a beer bottle cap (heh-heh-heh) to use on this card, but a pretty soda cap would be better.

To raise up the magnet (so it will be flush with the top edge of the cap) I used Martha Stewart clay epoxy (comes in different colors and used to make mold shaped jewelry charms).  A very tiny Sierra Pacific magnet was taped inside the card front and card base.  These magnets are sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts and are super strong so they can hold the bottle cap magnet onto the card and your refrigerator too!  I like to put a little gift in with my cards and this magnet is just the perfect pretty 'gift' embellishment.

I am pleased with this card so I plan to make more....keep some and send some.  This will be a good start to my Project Life album.  You should consider doing cards like these and swapping them with your crafty friends sort of like the ATC (artist trading cards) which were popular to collect and trade a few years ago. Thanks for visiting today.  Please leave a comment if you have some free time. I really enjoy hearing from you.

End of the Summer Fun Card

 As summer draws to a close once again, I find myself pulling out all my summery papers, dies, and stamps in the hopes of capturing one last fleeting memory and to savor the sunshine days a bit longer.  The duo of Dandelion Design stamp sets and the Sizzix Life Made Simple die sets seemed to be a perfect pairing because of their child-like simplicity.  I folded a 12x12 sheet from the Pier pack (Crate Paper) and tucked the fold just inside the large die (rectangle with rounded corners) so that when cut the card base would be formed.  Then the Laugh die was used to cut a sand colored sheet.  This piece was adhered to the front of the card along the edges.  The DD images were stamped, colored with Copic pens and fussy cut before positioning onto the card.  Pop-dots were used to raise up the figures and small shells from Ben Franklin Crafts were used as 3-D embellishments.

I had a few extra stamped images so I glued them inside the card.  Because the 12x12 sheets used for the card was printed on only one side, there is a good blank surface for writing a greeting/message.  This die cut card was a snap to make and can be changed up easily with other characters or animals.  As you can see the Life Made Simple dies are not only useful for Project Life albums.  Imagine them used to die cut tags, magnets, place cards, etc.  Well, I think I have a few more days to crank out summer crafts....I'll post them soon!