Chocolate Rabbit Easter Card

When I think back to my childhood memories of Easter, chocolate rabbits are a major part...(still are..LOL!). One chocolate rabbit story will never be forgotten. I'm not sure why but on a very long car ride to a far away beach house, I put my precious (just received) chocolate rabbit on the ledge of the back seat. Of course you can guess what happened...why didn't my parents predict the outcome?  Not only did the candy treat melt, the car ants ( I guess we had a colony) got to it too!  Well, I was only five and my eight year old sister did the same thing....two geniuses!  This card is a tribute to that never eaten chocolate rabbit.  I started by die cutting the rabbit from brown card stock and the bow from lavender card stock.  These were glued together and covered with Glossy Accents to make them look like a chocolate treat.  By putting the paper sweet into a small cellophane bag and tying it off with shimmery Heiko ribbon, I was able to make a 'forever' chocolate rabbit to adhere to the card.  The background paper was cut from a 12x12 Echo Park Easter cardstock. I am happy with this whimsical Easter card which brings back 'sweet/sad' memories.  I guess the melted chocolate rabbit  was a science lesson of sorts. Hahaha!

 

When I saw Annette Allen's blog post on her site (My Clever Creations), it reminded me that I bought that bunny stamp at the end of last year's Easter season and didn't have a chance to use the adorable stamp.  Amazingly, I found the stamp where I thought it should be...so I inked it up and this card is what I made  I started by cutting the floral print paper to fit the card that had it's corners rounded with a corner punch.  Next, I stamped, colored, and die cut (die comes with the stamp set) the image. It was then simple to stamp and gold heat emboss the script words. The card was assembled easily with Heiko tape and foam adhesive dots  I know that it looks like the bunny is camouflaged in the floral print of the Echo Park Easter 12x12 card stock, but perhaps he's resting from hiding Easter eggs and doesn't want to be discovered. *Wink*Wink*Wink* Well, onward to more Easter projects....time to hunt for rubber stamp eggs and bunny printed paper!

 

Saimin and Sushi Card

I was besotted with the Clearly Besotted stamp sets, Fast Food Plushies and Fast Food Scenes. They are so cute that it doesn't take much effort to create something adorably yummy.  I started with a piece of fibrous washi paper and dry embossed it with the Whimsy 'Thatched' embossing folder.  I used the Hero Arts Infinity dies to cut the card blank and washi paper (before embossing). If you align  the fold of the card stock just below the the top of the die you can easily cut a card blank to fit a Daiso envelope (small slimline size, 5 in a pack).  The images were stamped with permanent black ink and colored with Copic pens before fussy cutting them.  The words from the Whimsy stamp set (We Go Perfectly) were stamped and then cut out before gluing down.  The fussy cut images were glued or adhered with foam dots.  I am happy with the finished look of this card and especially like the look of the background which I think looks like a 'tatami' mat (woven grass Japanese floor covering).  I think the products I used for this card will have many uses for future projects....always something to consider when making craft purchases. Okay, time to eat...this card makes me hungry...LOL!

 

Tangerine Loaf Cake

 This year our tangerine tree was very prolific. It was getting boring eating tangerines everyday so I wanted to create a recipe that would use up as many fruit as possible.  I started with a citrus cake recipe and altered it a bit.  The result was a lovely textured, moist cake with a slight tangerine taste.  The odd looking fruit slices are dried blood orange pieces that a neighbor gave me.  They look unappetizing but taste great.  Next time I'll use regular dried orange slices or leave them off completely. I baked the loaf in a paper loaf pan that comes in a pack of three for $1.75 from Daiso.  The baked loaf cake comes out easily without having to oil the paper and you can just give the loaf as is. This recipe makes two delicious loaves. I will write up the altered recipe for you if you send me your email address.  (Warning: Tangerines have a lot of seeds so it will take a bit of time to seed and pulverize 2 cups of tangerine pulp.)

 

Embossed Birthday Card

I liked the last embossed card so much, I decided to do another one.  This time I made it a birthday card for my stash.  I began by embossing the white card stock with the same folder I used last time (see previous post). Next, I rubbed the design with pink and silver Inka-Gold metallic paste (from HM BFC).  After stamping the words on vellum, I applied silver embossing powder and heat embossed it. By carefully fussy cutting the words, the vellum piece was glued (with 3 in 1 Beacon glue) onto the embossed card stock. The embossed piece was then attached to the pink card before the tiny heart was glued on.  I cut off the metal arms from an old heart brad.  I tried many embellishments, but in the end I decided to keep it simple so that the embossing would stand out.  I like that I have another birthday card to add to my stash. Every new year brings more birthdays so it's always good to be prepared with a bunch of pretty cards to mail out. Be Happy! Keep creating!

 

Elegant Embossed Wedding Card

I was eager to test out the new Sizzix Tim Holtz embossing folder that I just purchased. After running plain white card stock (in the embossing folder) through my Big Shot, I decided to rub some Inka Gold metallic paste over the embossed design to bring out the details.  I used both gold and platinum colors. (If the paste dries out over time, you can refresh it with water.) When I was satisfied with the results, I die cut the Marianne couple image from silver vellum. I really love the slightly raised details of the couple's attire and features. (Sorry the photo was not able to capture the subtle details.)  Next, I stamped the words from the Hero Arts stamp set on a white card stock and heat embossed it with silver powder. After the swirling embossed rectangle was adhered to a pearlized white card, the die cut couple and heat embossed words were attached with Fabri-Tac Beacon glue. This card came together quickly and I was very happy with the end result. Hope you'll give 3D embossing folders a try. I think you'll be very happy with the results and amazed at how easy it is to give a plain piece of paper an interesting look.

                                           

 

Chocolate Dipped Mochi Nuggets with Sprinkles

One of my favorite snacks from Trader Joe's is Mochi Rice Nuggets.  They are plain but addictive. I decided I wanted to make a sweet treat for a friend so I decided to fancy up the nuggets with chocolate and sprinkles.  It was easy to melt the chocolate (available from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) according to the package directions.  Each nugget was then hand dipped and rolled in the sprinkles (also available at HM Ben Franklin Crafts).  This easy treat was then packaged in a pretty cello bag for gift giving. (Both Daiso and HM BFC have wonderful bag selections.)  If you want to purchase some Trader Joe's snack products check House Mart shipping.com.  They currently do not stock the Mochi Rice Nuggets, but they may if there are some requests (hint-hint).

 

Thank You Valentine Card

I am reluctant to put away my Valentine supplies because I love hearts.  By incorporating hearts into my general card stash, I have been able to stretch my craft dollar.  In this example, I used a Trinity Stamps hot foil plate to set the dark blue foil onto lavender card stock before die cutting out the heart shape (die comes with the foil plate).  Recently, I purchased some pretty Easter papers (Echo Park) from HM Ben Franklin Crafts. I decided that the new Easter 12x12 card stock would be a perfect background for the foiled heart.  By adding some paper flowers (from HM BFC) and a foiled sentiment strip, the card was easily completed and serves the double use as a Valentine and/or thank you card.

I used a Paper Arts card blank with matching envelope (from HM BFC) for the base. I think having a matching envelope adds elegance to any card you send out.  Hope you'll try to get more use out of your Valentine supplies by making double duty cards. Hearts and love never go out of style so spread them around and make the world a better place.

 

Sending Big Hugs Cards

Amongst the Valentine paper crafting items at HM Ben Franklin Crafts I discovered the Lawn Fawn giant lettered sentiment die.  At first I just imagined using it for Valentine cards but then I realized that by just adding a single word I could change up the purpose of these cards. (See photo below.)  Also in the Valentine section of HM BFC I saw some lovely card stock papers which I knew could be used for non-Valentine projects.  For these cards I selected some Echo Park papers.  I like that the backs of the papers are coordinating so I just reversed a sheet to die cut the super-sized words. 

As you can see, I just added the foiled  words (using my Spellbinders hot foil machine) to the same style card and I now can use them for different occasions. The little dog with the heart was created from a Sunny Studio stamp set.  Although the image was intended for Valentine's Day, I know that I will use it for other projects...the dogs are so cute.  Even though these cards didn't make it in time for V-day, I hope that you can see that hearts are not just for Valentine's Day.  Send love out into the world everyday!

 

'Love Is In The Air' Valentine Card

Although it is barely discernable, this card started with a card stock that has a pastel print of clouds.  Using the Whimsy slimline die with hearts, I cut out the front panel and glued it onto a self-made blue slimline card.  It was simple to stamp the images, color them with Copic pens and fussy cut them out. I tried to keep the card in the pastel range instead of the usual bright reds and pinks of traditional Valentine cards. I like the soft look of this card. For the words, I shaped them on the acrylic block before stamping so that they would seem to be floating.

I was super happy to find just the right lavender colored slimline envelope at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. The stamp set from Clearly Besotted (a new company for me) worked very well, printing a clear sharp image with permanent black ink. (Sometimes lesser quality stamps need to be repeatedly stamped with specialty inks to get a clear image.)  Anyway, I am happy that I was finally able to use this Whimsy die which stayed in storage from last Valentine's Day because I just couldn't fit it into my schedule of card making.  Again this year it is past Feb. 14th, but I am going to keep making cards/projects with hearts because I just LOVE them!

 

Tweet Heart Valentine Cards

As soon as saw the Trinity Stamps birdie image, I thought of the Snow White and Cinderella animated films.  The sweet birdies really reminded me of the entertainment world of my youth.  It didn't take long to whip up these cards.  I kept them simple and made them one sided like the old vintage Valentine cards.  I found some conversation candy heart print papers to use as backgrounds. Together with the Whimsy, Spellbinders and Sizzix dies (shown below) it was simple to put together these two cards  The stamped images were colored with Copic pens and then fussy cut before mounting them on foam dots.

Here is another version of this card which uses more vintage colors and has the addition of glossy heart stickers to add a little bit of texture.  I am pleased that these Valentine cards take me back to the sweet innocent days of my childhood.  I feel thankful to have such wonderful memories to remember..

 

You're Pawsome Valentine Card

I made a practice background with my Hero Arts Hearts Hot Foil Plate.  I thought the red foil hearts really upgraded the plain black and white XOXO card stock.  Then I purchased this Sunny Studio mini stamp set, Puppy Love.  The images made me smile and matched very well with the background rectangle which I mounted on a plain white gift enclosure card.  The dog images were stamped, colored with Copic pens, and fussy cut before mounting them with foam dots. Sometimes a gift enclosure card (knda old fashioned?) is just right for a small gift that says,  "I'm thinking about you".

However, I forgot to make the card fit any of my existing mini envelopes. These cards were a little too big for some and too small for others. My solution was to add some washi tape decoration on the bigger envelopes...LOL!  Anyway, these cards will go into my miscellaneous mini card stash.  I like knowing that I'm prepared for a variety of gift giving occasions.

 

Valentine Kraft Treat Containers with Windows

I'm not sure why but I was excited when I found these plain Kraft treat containers with acrylic windows.  I just knew I could make something out pretty of the unadorned Kraft cardboard containers.  HM Ben Franklin Crafts had these three shapes (and others as well) that were folded flat but easily assembled.

Here is the third form with a cute handle.  I had an epiphany of sorts when I placed the Daiso origami pack (of 60 sheets) next to the containers.  It was a simple task to use my Spellbinders heart die set to cut out three sizes of hearts.  The origami papers are thin enough so you can cut several sheets at the same time.  It was super easy to use Beacon 3 in 1 glue to adhere the hearts to the Kraft containers, even the sides got decorated.

For extra color, I added some red heart stickers from my ever expanding stash.(Notice the locking flaps closing the Kraft treat containers.) I think the overall look of the Valentine Kraft treat containers is very pleasing and I'm looking forward to getting more plain treat containers to decorate.  Is it time to bake Valentine cookies?

 

Silly Puns and Conversation Hearts Valentine Cards

When I was a child, Valentine's Day was an exciting event. I was especially fond of conversation heart candy, silly sentiments, and of course the ever mysterious classroom Valentine mailbox.  I'm not sure if the public education system allows teachers to have a mailbox in their classrooms anymore due to the fact there were always some children who didn't receive any cards.  These cards are my attempt to capture some of the sweetness of my childhood memories during Valentine's Day.  I started by foiling some tiny hearts using my Spellbinders foiling machine and the Spellbinders foiling plate shown below.  The printed card stock that I chose was rather plain so the foil hearts really added some bling. I used the largest Whimsy slimline die to cut the background paper before adding the foam conversation heart stickers and gluing down the pizza and strawberries die cuts.  I found these decorations in my Valentine stash box and I don't remember which company made them.  I do remember buying them from HM Ben Franklin Crafts where they should currently have some items suitable for adding onto cards.  The card base was made from plain white card stock folded with the corners clipped using a corner rounding punch. These cards were super easy to complete and are destined for my two pint-sized sweethearts. I'm hoping their childhood Valentine's Days are filled with anticipation and joy like mine were.

                                           

 

Foiled Rose Valentine Card

Recently, I've been playing with my Spellbinder foiling machine again in the hopes of creating some Valentine cards.  I was still having a hard time getting clear images from some of the metal foiling design plates.  The thin edged designs transferred well but the bigger solid areas had some freckled missing foil spots.  I solved the problem by adding a cardboard shim before rolling the platform with metal plate into my Big Shot.  This gave more pressure onto the design, eliminating the spotting on the resulting image. I absolutely love the rose hot foiling plate and die set and I can see many uses for it.  The large-letter LOVE foil plate seemed like it would make a bold background for a variety of cards.  However, after foiling many times on a variety of printed and solid card stocks, the result was always a very faint design.  I was about to throw out the seemingly useless papers with barely visible designs, when I was struck with an idea....why not use the throw-aways for backgrounds?  This card was the result of a less-than-perfect foiled card stock. Hopefully, I will post other foiled cards in the coming weeks before Valentine's Day.  Oh yes, the gold foil words on the card were made with a sticker (from my old stash).  If my high school French memory is still clear, 'je t'aime' means 'I love you' so this foiled phrase adds a bit of elegance to my simple Valentine card.  Je t'aime for visiting my blog site!

 

Punny Mini Valentine Calendars

I love word puns so I naturally gravitate to the Dandelion Designs stamp sets.  Recently, a crafty friend sent me a DD stamp set that I didn't have (the shoyu one) so I was inspired to make these calendars (my last three for 2023),  

These were so easy to whip up because the small images required very little coloring....the fussy cutting was a little more involved.  

For information about how to construct these calendars please visit my previous post.

I decided to show the backs of these calendars so that you are aware that printed card stock selection is important so that the back of the calendar design is not upside-down (middle calendar)...hahaha!

These Dandelion Design stamp sets (plus others) are available at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. Have a PUN time shopping and crafting!
 

Winnie-the-Pooh 2023 Mini Calendars

Since I had extra mini calendars (purchased from Vippies but possibly available at HM BFC), I decided to use them up before the year flies by....again!  I chose a Valentine card stock with conversation hearts printed on it.  Be sure to select a design which has printed hearts that can be used upside down too, for the back of the calendar. Three calendars can be made from one 12x12 sheet.  Start by cutting a strip 3-1/2" wide and folding at 3-1/2" and 7". Then continue to make a fold at 7-3/4", 8-1/2", and 9-1/4".  Accordion fold the pleats, cut off the extra paper and glue down the flap. (See bottom photo.)  Glue the images to some plain white card stock before fussy cutting them out and attaching them with foam dots to the calendars. Super simple and so cute! These mini calendars are perfect for tucking into Valentine treat bags or leaving on the desk of someone special. Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Winnie-the-Pooh Shaker Card

This Winnie-the-Pooh shaker card was super simple to make because the characters didn't have to be stamped and colored.  The images of Pooh and Piglet were cut from an envelope that was in a stationery set purchased at Daiso.  There are eight sheets of paper and four envelopes in the set so there are many images.  I glued the Pooh and Piglet onto a plain white card stock paper before fussy cutting them out so that they would be sturdier as the envelope was made of a thin vellum-like paper.  The heart opening in the printed heart background card stock was cut with a Spellbinders die before a small sheet of acetate was attached to the back of the heart opening.  Foam tape was used around the back of the heart to form a well into which the Daiso heart sequins were deposited.  The protective tape from around the heart opening was removed before a small piece of printed heart card stock was adhered to the back of the shaker element to seal in the sequins.  More foam tape was attached along the edges of the main heart printed card stock so that it could be adhered to the white card blank. Finally, the Pooh and Piglet images were glued to the front of the card. Voila!...a cute Valentine's Day card for just pennies!  You can create and save by shopping at HM Ben Franklin Crafts and Daiso!

 

Decorated Daiso Glass Jar and Wooden Spoons

 As promised, this post shows two Daiso products that I decorated for Valentine's Day.  (Visit my previous post to see the Daiso items before they were decorated.)  I glued some red heart sequins on one wooden spoon, applied UV-LED Padico resin (hard)over the sequins and then put the spoon under the UV light. (Before you glue the sequins, be sure to glue a sample on paper first because some glues make the color on the sequins bleed.)  For the second spoon I simply wrapped washi tape around the handle before applying and curing the resin.  On the wooden top of the Daiso glass jar I glued four heart-shaped plastic beads (use a strong jewelry glue from HM BFC).  Around the jar I applied some washi tape with heart designs before I painted over the tape with resin. Using the UV light (available at HM Ben Franklin Crafts) I set the resin. The resin makes the spoons and jar waterproof but I'm not sure if the resin is food safe so don't apply it in the jar or the part of the spoons that will touch the food.  Please check out both Daiso and HM Ben Franklin Crafts for products that you can use to create some sweet Valentine gifts.

Daiso Shopping and Crafting

Most people shop at Daiso for the great prices on unique products (almost everything is only $1.75); I do too, but I am also always on the lookout for items for crafting.  Recently, I discovered a lot of Daiso items that are perfect for Valentine's Day. I plan to use the heart confetti in my shaker cards and of course the heart design washi tapes will be useful on my projects all year.

I also found some wooden spoons, ceramic tile magnets and hair ornaments that I will turn into Valentine gifts.  I will post the projects when they are done.

Daiso had some really cute stationery products.  Many of them had rabbit images on them because it is the Year of the Rabbit.  Rather than use them as gift money envelopes, I plan to incorporate them onto greeting cards.

The assortment of Daiso origami paper packs and stationery are amazing and will most likely be fashioned into cards or used to decorate bags and boxes. I will post the finished products.

Finally, I purchased some super cute pouches and zippered bags.  I think I will use them to make matching sets of greeting cards or tags to give as small gifts to friends.  The recipient will then be able to use the stationery and then have a pouch to use to hold other items.  Anyway, I really had fun shopping at Daiso and thinking of creative ways to use the products in craft projects.  I hope that you will shop at Daiso to take advantage of the great prices and unique products. I know that you will be able to make something fun from what you purchase.  Happy shopping and crafting!