Make It Quicker.... Use Some Stickers

This card was made for a golfer who dreams of hitting a score like 64 so I thought it would be fun to use his age to make a golfer's birthday card for him.  After returning from the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show, I had very little time to whip up a birthday card so I decided to cut corners and use dies and stickers.  Luckily, at the show I purchased a die for a golf bag and clubs (Lea'bilities )so it was a snap to run brown paper (for the bag) and silver luster paper (DCWV 6x6 pad)(for the clubs) through my Big Shot machine.  I used the Martha Stewart grass punch to make the ground and then finished up the card with the sticker letters and numbers. Over the years my stash of leftover letters and numbers (lots from clearance bins) has really come in handy for quickie cards.  I love that I can re-position stickers unlike stamping which leaves little room for error.

I like to dress up envelopes but the shortage of time made me look for a quick solution.  I just purchased a Little B birthday punch (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) and thought a punched band would add a decorative touch with very little effort. This band decoration is only recommended only for hand delivered cards.  As I play with this new punch, I hope to come up with more uses for this fun tool. Oh, in the bottom photo is an 'awesome' die (Frantic Stamper Inc.) which I used inside the card (not shown). It is my hope that this post has shown you how easy it is to make a handmade card and not make it so fussy that the recipient feels obliged to keep it for decades....do men ever save cards?

Gift Wrapping with Tulle

 I love to use the tulle on a roll that is sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Mostly, I use it in place of ribbons for gift wrapping.  Tulle is so forgiving because you can re-tie it over and over until you get it just right.  Also it fluffs out easily and can even be re-used.  Here are two gifts tied with tulle that I accented with artificial roses (from the BFC wedding dept.) and paper butterfly stickers (Studio G) that are glued in place with Beacon 3 in 1. Yes, the green tulle does come with glitter on it!

Do you have a creative use for the tulle sold on a roll?  I'd love to hear about it.  Okay, that's it for this surprisingly short post. LOL!

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

.................make lemon bread and lemon curd (butter)!  Yes, it's lemon season again or at least my little tree thinks it is.  I'm always on the hunt for new lemon recipe and when I spied the 'pain de citron' (French for lemon bread) recipe in the Paper Crafts book that I purchasedat HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I knew I had to try it.  Instead of one large loaf, I made two small loaves that I baked in silicon baking loaf pans.  The minor changes I made to the recipe was replacing regular flour with white whole wheat flour (King Arthur) and using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.  I think these ingredients make the bread a little healthier.

The Paper Crafts book showed how to dress up baked goods for gift giving.  I used Penny Black stamped images to decorate my lemon bread and lemon curd (Martha Stewart recipe). These little touches make simple home cooked gifts even more special. Oh, the bread loaf was bigger but I couldn't resist eating some and then I remembered that I needed to take a photo. LOL!  The bread was dense and flavorful but not overly sweet...great with tea.  Hope you'll look for this book because it has lots of great recipes and paper projects.  Have a tasty, crafty day!  

Thank You Valentine Card

After thoroughly looking through The Ultimate Handbook for Paper Crafters, (purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts), I decided to try making a card different from my usual style.  Since this card was being made for some business friends who are culturally quite different from my family, I decided to pull colors from their home decor. We were very fortunate to be invited to their home for a sumptuous Middle Eastern meal and this card is our way of thanking them.  Because I still had my Valentine supplies out, I incorporated a pretty Memory Box heart die into the design. The bright colored papers with gold touches came from an old stash of Provo Craft imported papers.  (Some of the fibrous sheets are difficult to cut with a trimming tool so you may need to use a crafts knife.)

The Die-namics die set contains three script dies: thank you, thoughtful, and grateful.  It is one of my favorite sets and cuts through foil (DCVW 6x6 pad) sheets like butter.  I wish I was able to take a better photo of this card but I couldn't because of the glare.  Anyway, I was very pleased with this combo, Thank You Valentine card, and didn't even mind piecing all the parts of the heart....LOL!

Cat with Heart Balloons Valentine Shaker Card

Happy Valentine's Day!  As was the case with most of my Valentine projects this year, this card was inspired by the printed card stock I purchased from HM Ben Franklin.  The heart balloons on the card stock reminded me of the Penny Black stamp image of a cat holding balloons.

Since I love shaker cards, I decided to cut a heart-shaped window and back it with clear acetate.  I used double stick foam tape (sold in a roll at BFC) behind the edges of the balloon heart card stock to form a pocket for the confetti. Once the shaker part was done, it was simple work to add the cut out colored Penny Black cat image.

Because I couldn't find just the right glitter paper for the balloons, I decided to die cut Paper Smooches heart balloons from red paper and then perch them on thick double stick foam pieces before applying Scribbles glitter glue.  (The mounted paper hearts are easier to spread with the Scribbles because they don't slide around or stick to the table).

I used dies to cut the words for the cards from foil paper (DCWV) purchased at BFC. These are more reliable than stamping and heat embossing.  Some of the confetti I used was from a Martha Stewart set of stars and hearts.  I love this set because of the pretty colors and shapes plus the vials hold a seemingly never-ending supply.  Well, this is the end of my Valentine projects for this year.  I hope that you've enjoyed seeing my work and will return again very soon. Thanks for visiting!

Love You Tons Valentine Card

I am very proud of this card because it came out just as I imagined it and was super easy to create.  Starting with a Pebbles elephant print card stock that I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I cut a piece to fit the pink blank card (Paper Accents).

Next, I used the Taylored Expressions die to cut the hearts.  I folded the sides of the hearts upright and was delighted that they actually resembled elephant ears!

After stamping (with grey Momento ink) the Lawn Fawn elephants on the backside of the printed card stock, I cut them out and adhered them and the acrylic heart with foam dots. I was happy that the elephants didn't need to be colored and they are PINK!  The final step was stamping the 'LOVE YOU TONS' inside the card. Rarely does my imagination translate into reality, so I am really happy with this quickie Valentine card!

Be Mine Valentine

If you are 'vintage' like me, you'll remember the thrill of the classroom Valentine mailbox.  You know, it was set up in every school room so that students could secretly 'mail' a card to a cherished or secret friend.  The Pebbles 12x12 printed card stock seemed perfect for this 'child spirited' Valentine card.  Simply made, I started with the Hero Arts die to cut a red floral heart (it has a space for the stamped words included in the set). I stamped in gold ink and heat embossed with gold iridescent powder. (Sorry, the photo does not show the sparkle of the gold letters.) To make the heart show up better against the colorful background I hand cut another plain heart from the red paper.  By using mini pop-dots to raise up the die-cut heart, I was able to create a shadowbox effect.

The final touch to this kid-friendly card was applying the Paper House 3D stickers.  I was surprised how nicely the stickers matched the paper even though they were not made by the same company. I plan to use the other stickers on similarly styled 'classroom mailbox' cards. Maybe I'll get one from my 'secret admirer' *wink*wink* !

Heart Garland Card

 I know you are looking at this card and saying, "So plain".  However, please note that the hearts in the background are all linked and not only that.... they are made with one Martha Stewart punch!

Surprise!  The best part of this card is inside it.  I made a vellum pocket to hold extra hearts for the recipient to link into a garland.  (The lip  of the pocket was cut with a circle die and the pocket was adhered with double stick Merikan tape.) I think this is a fun way to use up Valentine card stock scraps and unique way to send a small gift to decorate a home or office. I will probably include some pretty twine to staple to the ends of the garland so it can be tied instead of taped in place.

The Recollections alphabet stamp set was purchased a long time ago and so I was happy that I finally found the perfect use for the ornate letters.  The Memento 'rose bud' ink pad was the ideal shade for a bright burst of color.  It takes about seven hearts to make a foot of garland so you can use that to determine how many hearts to send.  Also a 6" square card of printed card stock is needed to fit the 'LOVE' hearts on the front.  This is a simple project which can be altered for other occasions like birthdays and graduations; that will extend the use of the MS punch.  Thanks for visiting this blog site. Please leave a comment if you have the time.  I love hearing from you!

Lunchbox Love Notes

Oh, how I wish I could turn back the clock and make love notes for my children's lunchboxes, but truthfully I rarely made home lunches for them.  They weren't picky eaters and seemed satisfied with school lunches.  On a few occasions when I did put a 'secret' note in a field trip lunch or backpack for encouragement they seemed thrilled with the unexpected message. It is with nostalgia and to spur on those mothers with young ones still at home, that I show you this project.

It all started with the 12x12 Doodlebug printed card stock that I discovered at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  The little squares just seemed to be begging to be made into mini cards and then I thought it would be cute to put them into a paper lunch bag or box.  Since I had a lunch box die which still hadn't had a maiden voyage through my Big Shot machine, I thought I'd give it a try.  There were lots of pieces so I kept it simple and only used a few of them and a silver Sharpie to add details. The box was made with a Sizzix pizza box die I have for my Big Pro machine.  However, the form is so simple I'm sure that a pattern is on some craft website or you can figure out how to make one.  By adding a window to the box top, I think the project turns into a splendid gift for a busy mom or wife.  (Adults would like the cute notes, too!)

If you are the busy wife or mother, you might like making these cards for yourself so you can have them ready to slip into a briefcase or lunchbox.  Don't forget to write a sweet message or words of wisdom....these are love notes right?  I had to laugh when I saw the images on the card stock because I think you might have to explain the typewriter, telephone, and phonograph record to the younger generation....LOL!

Valentine Candy Box Tags

I LOVE all the frou-frou that goes with Valentine's Day....the ribbons, lace, flowers, sweet images, sparkles, and CHOCOLATE!  I decided to give my sister some chocolate plus other goodies for her birthday which happens to fall close to Valentine's Day.  Of course I had to make an appropriate card.  I thought a gigantic Valentine tag would be fun.  I started with two different tag dies to see which would work better.  The large one is from Little B (a set found at HM Ben Franklin Crafts) and the smaller one is from Marianne Design. You might be wondering why I chose a striped card stock that doesn't look particularly Valentine-ish. (It does look a little like decorated chocolates...LOL!)  Well, on the reverse side is a vintage design of chocolate candy wrappers so this set off my brain to think that this card stock would be perfect.

Here is version two.  You can see that I used the doily-like dies (also from Marianne Dies) to cut computer paper into intricate shapes. I found that two sheets of paper together cut better and are easier to remove from the dies...plus you get two doilies and less little pieces to remove. To highlight the edges of the tags I used Little B washi on one and Darice trim on the other.  The bows were made with Heiko ombre ribbon from Celebrations (next to Mapunapuna BFC).

This photo shows the backside of the tags which were made with die cut vellum.  I attached them only by the tag hole so the printed card stock could still be viewed.  The vellum allows for a place to write a message/ greeting and gives the feeling of the inner paper liner sometimes found in a box of chocolates.

Also used on this project were a Spellbinders leafy vine die, CC Designs Cupid stamp, Doodlebug Designs heart jewels, and Sticko heart stickers.  These tags just make me feel girly-girl and in the mood for a celebration.  Go now....make something sweet for someone you love!