Easter Bunny Tags

 My stash of Easter paper scraps is overflowing and I needed tags for goodie bags so I came up with these.  Using the second largest die from the Little B tag set, I cut tags from various printed and dyed card stock.  The large size of the tags makes it ideal for writing a happy message.  The bunny die (Hero Arts) cuts out some adorable bunnies that had pop out ears, paws, feet and tails. (click on the photo for a close up).  I colored parts of the bunnies with Copic pens and colored pencils. Just the outer edges were glued down so that the bunny parts could be popped out.

 The Studio G stamp sentiment, "Did someone say chocolate bunnies?",was used on some scrap paper strips and glued down. The ribboned tags were tied onto some printed cello bags (from HM BFC).  I haven't filled in the goodies yet, but I hope that the recipients will be hoppin' for joy when the Easter bunny makes his delivery.

Easter Mini Treat Baskets

 My grandsons are too young for marshmallow peeps or chocolate rabbits, but 'grandma crafter' ME just had to make something Eastery for them.  I kept these mini paper baskets simple since I know that they will be thrown away after the treats are consumed.  (I plan to put little Kimi balls, Japanese treats that melt in your mouth, in the baskets because they look a little like eggs.)  I used the Lawn Fawn die to cut out two pieces for each basket. The 12x12 card stock was also from Lawn Fawn. I like the color and pattern of the card stock because it looks like a woven basket. Two baskets can be made from one 12x12 piece.  The felt stitched bunnies and carrots are actually stickers that I purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts. Tip: Rub a little cornstarch on the back of the rabbit ears that extend over the basket so they won't be sticky any more.

 I used an oval die (Sizzix) to cut the labels and stamped them with Studio G words.  I could have stamped and colored the eggs too but I found some Mrs. Grossman stickers in my ancient stash and used them to save time.  The store also sells the fake grass (in the Japanese packaging section of HM BFC).  If you need some sweet, quick Easter treat baskets (maybe for your co-workers or the kids at
pre-school), this might be the easy solution for you. Speedy crafting is happy crafting!

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Easter Egg Shaker Card

 This is my first Easter card of the season.  It started with the purchase of Avery Elle stamp and dies sets (the little chicks). Because of the small size of the images, I intended to use them to make tags or gift bag decorations, but then I felt like making a shaker card and they seemed perfect for this use.  (The large resin bunny and Easter Egg Hunt sign were from HM Ben Franklin Crafts, too.)

I pulled out my egg dies (Spellbinders), bunny stamps ( Sister Stamps, discontinued), Easter Greetings  die (Impression Obsession), Lawn Fawn grass dies, and Sizzix circle dies.  The shaker egg part of the card was made by cutting three large eggs one from Doodlebug Designs printed paper, one from clear acetate, and one from thick sheet foam. The little colored and die cut chicks and flower sequins were placed on the card before the egg was glued down.

The Easter Greetings sentiment is one of my favorite die cut words because it is so fancy and delicate.  It is a little difficult to pop out the script without tearing it but it is so worth it. I used pearlized purple paper (DCWV) but foil paper looks good too. The Sister Stamp bunnies are my favorite Easter images because they are so-o-o- adorable especially the naughty one on the left of the egg.  I wonder why rabbits are associated with Easter eggs because we all know that they don't hatch out of them?......Chicks do!

Da.....I...so....Crafty! Floral Resin on Wooden Products

 After finding these Daiso undecorated wooden items, I knew that I could 'pretty up' these $1.50 items easily with dried flowers and LED resin.  I purchased my dried flowers from the Japan Hobby Show, but with a little time you could easily press your own plants between tissue and some books.  The LED resin I used to adhere and protect the flowers is a no-mix, quick setting (about 1 min. under an LED lamp which can be purchased at HM BFC along with the resin) product.  This resin process makes decorating a cinch.

 This jar with a wooden cover is my favorite floral decorated resin project so far.  I plan to use this pretty container as a loose leaf tea caddy

 Here are two bamboo trays that I think will make excellent soap dishes or trinket trays.  I contacted the manufacturer of the LED resin and was told that the resin surface is not intended for food usage so be sure to tell the recipients or buyers. The tray on the right was totally covered with resin (about three coats applied with my finger LOL!) It turned out a bit too shiny so on the second tray I only coated the floral parts and left the rest of the bamboo surface natural.  I think this was a better idea.

I love the way these tea scoops turned out.  They were quick and easy to do and make nice add-ons to a gift of a tea caddy/tea. They would also look super as place cards/or favors at a party and you could even use a wood burner to personalize them. How 'Da...I..so...Crafty' are these resin projects? Send me a question or comment...love to hear from you!

Kumquat Marmalade

What do you do when someone generous gives you a bowl of beautiful kumquats?  Well, you eat some and make the rest into marmalade!  The skin of the kumquat is so thin and sweet that it can be eaten as is. Slicing the fruit and removing the seeds makes it ideal for cooking with sugar and turning into delectable marmalade. Kumquats are fruits (like blueberries and ohelo berries) that contain enough pectin to gel after cooking without any additional ingredients besides sugar.

How to make kumquat marmalade:

1) Measure cut and seeded fruit. Place in medium sized pot.
2) Add 3/4 cup of sugar for every cup of fruit.
3) Add water just to cover fruit and sugar.
4) Boil on medium heat for approximately 20 minutes.
5) When mixture is slightly thickened ladle it into jars.
6) Cool marmalade and refrigerate. Enjoy!

P.S. The canning jars were purchased from the Piikoi Daiso store. Yes, they were only $1.50 each!

Baby Shower Two Bunnies Card

 I bought the Whimsy Stamp set for Valentine cards but then I realized it would be useful for other occasions. Because of the umbrella, the bunny image seemed appropriate for a baby shower card. I started first with the Hero Arts raindrop die.  It takes a while to get all the little drops popped out but it's worth it to achieve the look with the silver sparkle card stock behind the blue card stock.  The bunnies in the umbrella were colored with Copic pens and fussy cut out.  This was a cutting challenge for me with my 'old lady' eyes.  The clouds were die cut from pearlescent vellum paper so that the Sizzix cloud images would be translucent and show the raindrops inside them.  I found the green 'BABY SHOWER' die cut in my bin of baby ephemera. To me it just fit in the card perfectly; so the card was DONE! I hope the parents-to-be will be happy with this 'made with love' baby shower card.

Miso Happy Thank You Card

As soon as I saw these Avery Elle stamp and die sets at HM Ben Franklin Crafts , I knew I HAD to buy them.  They are so perfect for lots of local cards, photo frames, etc.  It was so easy to to stamp the bowl image and add the words and smiling face.  Using the dies made cutting a no-brainer. Copic pens were used for coloring.  I 'discovered' an old Mari and Me wooden stamp with the Japanese characters which worked perfectly on the printed washi paper.  I wanted the bowl to stand out so I didn't heat emboss the black ink.  Maybe next time I'll heat emboss the characters with gold powder since the paper did have gold highlights.  Anyway, I do like the way this card turned out and I'm adding it to my stash of cards. Happy Mail might be coming your way!