'Hello' Frame Shoe Shopping Card and 'Smile' Frame Cupcake Girl Tag

 A very sweet blogger friend sent me a die set (Taylored Expressions : Picture Perfect- smile/hello) that I love. I was going to wait until some new Lawn Fawn stamps arrived, but I just couldn't wait to try out these die cut frames.  I stamped a Penny Black image and easily colored it because there really wasn't a need to do shading.  I am especially proud of the shoe shopping card (I love shoes!) because I was able to rectify an overabundance of background ink.  I covered the excess in with white ink and glitter. This paired with a silver frame added a 'Tiffany' bling to the card.

Since I had some scraps on my craft desk, I decided to make a tag using the other frame die.  This cupcake girl image was from a set that came in a European craft magazine. My favorite part of this tag is the girl's eyes, which look like antique doll eyes because I added Beacon Glossy Accents to them. For the fluffy sparkling frosting on the cupcakes, I applied Bo Bunny pearlescent paint and fine pink glitter. I truly enjoyed making these Hello and Smile frame projects and plan to feature them in future crafts once my autumn and winter stamps arrive. Come back soon to take a peek!

Resin Charms and Flower Necklace

In my last blog post I featured a pretty little die cut box with a flower topper.  I teased you with a promise to tell you what I would create to put in the box.  Well, I decided to make a resin pastry charm. It's so easy to fashion with the L Bell kit, UV resin, and a UV light.  I love the kits because they have EVERYTHING included, even ENGLISH instructions!

 I made two other flower topped boxes and resin items to put in them.  This necklace is made with real flowers that are resin strengthened and attached to a lace backing.  The die cut sentiment pieces attached to the boxes are from a Kaiser Craft package of die cuts that match their romantic card stock papers.

 Here is another L Bell purse charm that was completely made from a kit that contained everything needed except the UV light and resin.  Attention Hilo crafters:  A large selection of L Bell products will soon be sold in the Hilo HM Ben Franklin Crafts store. There will be lots of kits and other items to please your resin crafting desires. Happy Crafty Shopping!

Portrait of a Lady Gift Box

 When I first saw the 'Portrait of a Lady' line of Graphic 45 papers and embellishments, I fell in love with them.  They are so romantic....perfect for any season!  I also was drawn to a Cutter Bee box die that is also sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Together they made a very feminine gift container.

 The box die packaging shows the box tied up with a bow but I thought a flower would be nicer.  I glued the Hero Arts blossom right onto the box handles because the box can also be opened from the bottom.  Graphic 45 offers a lot of matching die cut pieces.  The one that I chose was a little too large for the front of the box so I simply trimmed it down and glued it with Beacon 1-2-3.

If you are wondering what gift I will put in this dainty box.....well, you'll have to read my future posts to find out!

Autumn Friend Shaker Tag

 I was planning to make a card using the autumn image in the Dandelion Designs 'seasons' stamp set, but the image was too small so I decided to use it on a tag.  I paired it with the Cutter Bee leaf die that I also purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I die cut the leaf from the front of the tag (Little B tag die set) which was made from a sheet of Lawn Fawn plaid card stock. The girl in a kimono was colored with Copic pens and fussy cut. The sentiment also came in the DD stamp set.

 I cut two more tag shapes...one from tan card stock and another from printed origami paper.  These were attached to the back of the tag front after it was made into a shaker element and filled with tiny leaf sequins.  For the final fall touch I added raffia ties so the tags can be attached to some holiday goodies.  When I receive my Vippies 2018 calendars, I will add them to these tags so the recipients will have an additional gift after the goodies are eaten.  I love a gift within a gift...don't you?

More Bookmark Calendars

 Here are two more bookmark calendars (minus the calendars which still have not come in the mail).  They both use the larger Santoro stamps which I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. As in the previous post, the images were fussy cut by hand and raised a bit with sticky foam dots.  This allows the sequins to move around easily.

 Again the backs have inspiring sayings from the Paper Smooches 'Spreading Sunshine' stamp set. Don't forget to attach some pretty yarns or ribbons to the bookmark just to add the element of fun.  I can't wait for my Vippies calendars to arrive so I can finish off these bookmarks and start working on my other holiday projects. Keep crafting and smiling!

A Calendar Becomes a Bookmark

 While cleaning up my craftroom (well actually just moving things around) I 'found' a stack of vinyl bookmark sleeves and a booklet of printed adhesive strips that fit them perfectly. The long shape of the bookmark paired well with the larger Santoro stamp images.  I knew that they would make beautiful tuck in gifts especially if they had a calendar attached.

I had some lovely heart-shaped sequins ( from Eva's Etsy site) which I poured into the front of the bookmark before sealing the top with double stick tape.  I love the shaky-shake sound of the sequins which makes the twirling the yarn even more fun....I really wear down my bookmarks so it's good that this one is sturdy.


Here is the back of the bookmark which I enhanced with a saying from the Paper Smooches 'Spreading Sunshine' stamp set. I used the die for the set to cut the rectangle for the saying. The addition of decorative fancy yarns completed the look. I order my mini calendars from Vippies (but I haven't received my 2018 order yet.

 If you don't have the DCVW adhesive border strips, you can easily use a paper trimmer to cut some cardstock to fit the bookmark sleeve.  I don't remember who I purchased the vinyl bookmarks from but it was ordered online...hope that helps.  I think this gift add-on can be used first as a calendar (tie it somewhere) and then eventually used as a bookmark....does anyone read real books anymore?  Well, you could use it to mark your place in your planner.....sweet!

Anniversary Toast Card

I needed an anniversary card ASAP so I used a minimalist approach. Recently, I saw a ready-made birthday card involving toast.  I filed the idea away for later use and my crazy mind came up with this anniversary version of the card.  Luckily, I had this Paper Smooches 'Wake Up' stamp set...so cute!  I started with a double-sided printed Authentique card stock which had a very vintage feel to it....perfect for this card.

It was simple work to stamp the toaster and images, adding the eyes and arms. Coloring with Copic pens was a 1-2-3 you're done job. The toasts on the front of the card were fussy cut and raised on foam sticky squares.

 At first I planned to hand print the words, but my handwriting is .....well, ugly!  I remembered that I had a Tepra label printer (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) so I could easily print out the words I needed.  Type...type...type...and the label sentiments were done!  The label tapes have adhesive backs so that makes them even easier to apply.

 This card was super easy and fast to complete. I'm excited to mail it off and I know that it will get there just in time for their anniversary. YAY!

When Life Gives You Limes

You know the saying, "When life gives you lemons....make lemonade"?  Well, life gave me limes (only 4 this year from a new tree) so I made lime curd (also known as lime butter).  The limes aren't the prettiest, but the curd is deeeelish!  Anyway, to decorate the jars to give away I wanted to use cloth or paper that was greenish but I couldn't find just the right soft fabric.  I did find some neutral colored washi paper in my hoarder's stash, but it was badly foxed (reddish dots).  I decided that rather than throw out the handmade fibrous paper I would try to dye it. I first dampened the paper with water, crumpled it, and applied assorted dye inks and powders.  It worked!  I was very pleased with the color that matched with the Heiko raffia ribbon and successfully covered up the foxing.  My aging stash of washi paper will be definitely get the dye treatment so it doesn't go to waste. Please try recycling and upcycling..... I think you'll be pleased with what you can achieve.