Pooh and Piglet Friends Forever

Winnie-the-Pooh has been a favorite character of mine after reading the A.A. Milne books.  When I discovered the series of clear stamps by La-La Land Crafts, I knew I had to purchase the Pooh-like images and philosophical sayings.  I also found a 6x6 paper pad 'In The Forest' by La-La La Land that coordinated well with the stamped images because the scenes had a animated cartoon-like quality. The papers are printed on both sides with different scenes, some of them are half sheet designs and others are quarter sheet designs. I used my Misti tool to align the words and allow for restamping if necessary. It was super easy to stamp the images with permanent black ink and color them in with Copic pens. I drew in the clothes for Pooh and Piglet. Lastly, I fussy cut the characters and adhered them to the card with foam adhesives.  Super easy and fast!

                                         

Because the Daiso envelope (in a large pack) had some Japanese red stamp position marks, I felt implored to cover them up with washi tape.  Luckily, I had some Winnie-the-Pooh washi tape which added a special coordinated touch. Because this card was so easy to make and turned out very attractive, I know that I'll make lots of cards like this in the future.  Card making should be a relaxing and gratifying craft....it is for me!

Little Chick Easter Basket

I discovered the i-Crafter die for this project in a stack of stuff and I don't remember when I bought it or why it was where I found it.  I am a hoarder aren't I?  Oh well, I was excited to find it especially since Easter is around the corner. It was an easy project that only took a few minutes to complete and I made it using just scraps from my desktop pile.  The die package had every part needed except the handle but that was easily fashioned from two strips of paper.  For the base of the basket I used a sparkly card stock scrap from a 12x12 paper pad. I decided to use a real ribbon instead of using the die to cut a paper ribbon so that the basket would have a more realistic detail.  This paper Easter basket will make a great holder for some jelly beans and chocolate bunnies.  I also think it would also be really cute as a party favor for a baby shower....because of the hatching chick!  I know that the i-Crafter company is no longer in business, but you may be able to find some of their dies still being sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. Do check at HM BFC for other brands of paper dies to make an Easter basket. Happy Easter crafting!

 

Chicks-in-Eggs Easter Gift Bag

I purchased a set of three dotted bags from HM Ben Franklin Crafts and I thought I could turn one of them into a cute Easter gift bag.  At first I was going to just decorate the bag with large die cut eggs and maybe make the eggs confetti shakers.  Then I had the great idea to just put one chick in each egg like it was going to hatch.  Using Spellbinder egg and circle dies I cut out three eggs from printed cardstock.  Before running the dies through my Big Shot machine I layered two of the same colored papers right side up.  Next I glued a piece of cellophane behind the holes so that the cellophane will be inside the eggs.  I cut the foam tape into thinner pieces before applying them inside the eggs to form a cavity for the puffy chick stickers (apply cornstarch to them to make them un-sticky).  I applied additional foam sticker pieces to the top the inside of the paper eggs.  Insert the un-sticky chick stickers into the eggs before gluing the eggs to the bag.  Finally put a strip of foam adhesive under the Doodlebug Designs airplane banner die cut and attach it to the bag above the eggs.  Although the eggs were a little complicated, they turned out very well and the puffy chicks really do shake around....do real chicks get shaken around in the eggs???

I hope this post has given you some ideas for what you can make with a plain handled paper bag.  Being creative is fun and satisfying. I'm sure that you will get a crafting high from using your mind and hands to assemble something original, pretty and useful. Give it a try!

Decorated Easter Recycled Box

 This project began as a test to see if I could impress the Simon Says Stamp 'Playful Bunnies' embossing folder design onto Crafters Companion (ombre glitter) paper.  It worked! The little bunnies look super cute on the glittery multi-colored paper. (Sorry my camera didn't capture the raised design very well.) At first I decided to use the embossed paper to make an Easter card but then I spied an empty gold candy box. (Who ate all the chocolates?) It was easy-peasy to adhere the embossed bunny paper to the box and add on wired floral ribbon and some Recollections flowers. I am very happy with how this Easter box turned out and how simple it was to put together.  It is very satisfying to turn an almost discarded empty box into an attractive gift box.  I think I'll fill this box with homemade goodies.  Bunny Shortbread Cookies anyone?

Confetti Resin Earrings

In an effort to use some of my hoarded stash of confetti, I had a light-bulb moment and decided to use them in resin molded earrings.  Since I've been thinking about what to do with a Sierra Pacific Resin Earring Kit, this seemed like the perfect project.  The kit comes with many silicon mold sheets to make a great quantity and variety of resin earrings.  It was easy to put a little Padico UV-LED resin in one of the cavities and add some confetti,  I used a small pick to spread out the confetti before adding more resin. Next I turned on the UV light and put it over the filled mold.  The UV light (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) turns off in one minute resulting in a hard resin surface.  Before popping out the resin piece, turn over the silicon mold and light up the underside. This should harden up the backside of the earring but if not, you can light up the piece outside of the mold.  Each mold cavity has a piece to form a hole in the resin earring piece for stringing onto the earring wires.  The earring kit also comes with a generous amount of silver and gold earring parts. With simple jewelry pliers you should be able to put together dozens of earrings very quickly. As a finishing touch I applied a bit of GS-Hypo glue on the tiny decorative wire coil that is on each ear wire finding. Doing this keeps the coil and bead from sliding off the earring wire. Making earrings with confetti can be addictive (so many choices) but I'm sure you can invent your own filling for your resin earrings....candy sprinkles?  Give it a try!    

Bunnies and Shaker Egg Spring Card

 As you may know if you are a frequent visitor to this blog site, I 'collect' (hoard) confetti.  Recently, I discovered and purchased some great spring confetti at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Using one of the Spellbinders egg dies, I cut one out from plain white card stock.  Next, I cut apart a Heiko cello bag (from HM BC) and trimmed it so that it was about 1/2" larger than the die cut egg.  I used double stick tape (narrow width) along the edge of the egg.  I folded the edge of the trimmed cello egg so that it formed a 'bag' around the egg with a small opening. Through this opening I filled the egg with confetti being careful not to overfill (or the egg won't have the shaker effect).  The open edge was folded over the egg to form a closed shaker egg.  The green grassy frame was cut with a Lawn Fawn die.  I made a turquoise card blank and used Fabri-Tac glue to adhere the green frame to it.  Using my Misti stamp alignment tool I stamped the words on the card. I also used the Misti so to stamp the bunnies in dark brown permanent ink on white paper. The tool allows me to repeatedly re-stamp the images if they are not perfect.  The Hero Arts stamp set came as a bundle with the matching dies which is a real time saver if you are making multiple cards...no fussy cutting!  The bunnies were sparingly colored with Copic pens and attached to the card with adhesive foam dots. Because the grassy die cut frame had cut out grass, it as easy to tuck in and glue the large confetti shaker Easter egg.  I am very happy with the way this card evolved especially because I was able to use confetti again but in a new way.  I hope this post has given you some new ideas and you will be inspired to make an Easter card too!

Floral Rabbits Easter Card

I'm not a big fan of Easter, but I do love bunnies and decorating eggs.  As I dug through my boxes of Easter stuff, I found a barely used Avery Elle bunny stamp and die set.  It was easy-peasy to stamp and die cut the bunnies from Simple Stories floral print paper (old paper pad).  The inner ears were die cut from pink scrap paper and white cotton pom poms were glued on for tails. I purchased the package of pom poms from Daiso for only $1.75.  The lavender legal size envelope was also from Daiso (many other colors available). The EASTER word was from a Doodlebug Designs package of die cuts. The pearl studded pink flowers were from my stash of artificial flowers...origin unknown.  For the final touch, I clipped the card corners with my corner chomper tool. Making this card made me happy so I'm going to make more bunny and egg themed cards/crafts. Please visit my blog site again to see what new egg-citing Easter projects I create! 

Rikkuma Bear Felt Ornament

 Rikkuma is the Japanese bear character that I am very fond of so when I saw a kit to make a felt Rikkuma at HM Ben Franklin Crafts (Mapunapuna), it quickly went into my cart (along with a Sumigurashi felt kit). The Rikkuma kit had all the felt parts, thread, stuffing, instructions, and a plastic needle for sewing. It took me about an hour to sew and stuff the bear.  I am pleased and proud of the way my Rikkuma turned out.  Even though this felt Rikkuma was way larger than I had expected, I think it makes a great hanging ornament. Japanese girls must really like extra large key ring decorations because this felt Rikkuma kit came with a metal key ring. I think this felt Rikkuma could also be stuffed with dried potpourri (lavender) to make a sweet sachet.  The instructions for this kit were written in Japanese (which I can't read) but I could easily follow the step-by-step illustrations.  HM Ben Franklin Crafts in Mapunapuna (and maybe other BFCs as well) has a large assortment of Japanese craft kits.  Like me I'm sure you'll want to get several and then go back for more....so addictive!

Unicorn with Star Shaker Card

Since I still had the second half of the pink sprayed background paper, I decided to make another card.  This time I chose a unicorn image by Avery Elle.  The image was stamped and then sparingly colored in.  A Sizzix star die was used to cut out the opening in the speckled pink paper. A small Heiko cellophane bag (from HM BFC) was cut to size and filled with assorted confetti (silver stars, pink stars and unicorns) before taping off the opening. The confetti filled bag was taped behind the star opening before the card was attached to the card blank with double stick tape. The unicorn image was attached to the card with foam adhesive dots. Finally, the words, 'May all your Dreams come true.' were stamped on the card with black ink.  This card took very little time to create and I think it made good use of the sprayed background paper.  My mind is now busy thinking of other cards I can create using the other background papers I made recently. (See previous post.)  I am also eager to use the copious amount of confetti I've purchased.  Did you know that confetti collecting is addictive? LOL! 

Happy Girl's Day from Two Kimono Bunnies

I was testing out some new Ranger ink sprays and was very pleased with the results. I used watercolor paper and sprayed a variety of colors and water on each sheet.  I decided that the pink speckled sheet would make a great background for a Girl's Day card.  I used a corner clipper to round off the corners of the card.  The kimono wearing bunny by Taj is one of my favorite local stamps.  Initially, I planned on making two cards, but one bunny just looked too lonely on the card.  Rather than coloring the kimonos I stamped the bunny on printed origami paper and fussy cut out the kimonos and glued them onto the bunnies.  Color pencils were used to add color here and there on the bunnies.  After stamping the Taj words on the card, I heat embossed them with silver powder. The bunnies were attached with adhesive foam dots and the metallic blue sticker heart was added.

Here are just a few of the spray ink sets available from Ranger.  The possibilities are really endless.  I can spend hours and hours making color combinations with sparkly accents. Oh yes, the stamp, ' Sweet Girl's Day Wishes' by Dandelion Designs was used inside the card.  I hope that you'll get some Ranger spray inks and start creating amazing backgrounds for your cards.  It's fun and addictive!   Have a creative and Happy Girl's Day!

Heart Foil Birthday and Thanks Cards

I had two new products that I didn't get around to using before sadly Valentine's Day was over. Boo Hoo!  Since I love all things heart themed, I decided to try to make cards that had hearts but were not Valentine cards.  I used my new Simon Says Stamp! Pinnacle Hearts embossing folder on a piece of Recollections Foil Cardstock Paper Pad.  I love how it turned out....rainbow meets metallic sculpture!
 

 

I also  love how the colors of the rainbow foil paper change colors as the card is rotates.  It took a bit of time to find just the right background paper to match with the impressed foil.  I finally found one in a pack of Valentine 12x12 printed card stock.  

The Birthday Card is 5x7 and the Thanks card was made from the rest of the 12x12 sheet.  I moved the foil pieces around until they felt balanced.  I used word dies to cut the words from aqua blue foil and shimmer blue DCWV paper.  I think that the shimmer 'Happy Birthday' matches better with the card background but the 'thanks' foil stands out more.

It was fun and easy to make these cards. I will definitely be making more non-Valentine heart cards to use up my heart supplies ( lots of heart confetti and printed paper).  I probably won't ever make a dent in my hoarded stash but it will be fun to make and send out 'love' notes to friends and family.  HUGS! 

Valentine LOVE Shaker Confetti Card

I was playing with my Minc foiling machine and some new Valentine foil cards from Pink and Main and  the results were so sparkly and attractive, I knew I had to make some cards for my favorite sweethearts.  I started by die cutting the LOVE letters on the foiled card stock.  I glued some clear acetate plastic to the back of the letters.  Around the letters I adhered some pieces of double stick foam tape forming a rectangle.  (I cut the tape into thinner pieces.)  Into the rectangle of foam tape I added some Valentine confetti, pulled off the backing of the foam tape and placed another acetate film onto the tape. Doing the confetti box like this is less frustrating and saves on confetti (instead of doing the whole card as a shaker). This whole confetti foiled card front was then adhered to the card blank with more foam tape. Finally, the Ai images were stamped and colored with Copic pens before fussy cutting them out. They were attached with foam dots to add extra dimension. 

This second card was not as pleasing to me as the top one, because the design is a little too busy so the LOVE can barely be seen.  However, I think the candy heart confetti will please the recipient.  As a finishing touch, I added some pink Stickles to both cards.  Making foiled cards is really fun and will please both young and old alike.  Hope you had a sparkling and sweet Valentine's Day!

Valentine Tag with Bear Pin

I was inspired to make this bear pin tag by a new product that I discovered at the Mapunapuna HM Ben Franklin Crafts store. (It may be at the other BFC stores too.)  The pipe cleaner like  product (only thicker and fuzzier) from Japan was designed to be fashioned into cute little animals.  The instructions for this new craft are available for free at the store.  Although the instructions are in Japanese the illustrations are fairly easy to follow.  One warning: The instructions are for both the bear and rabbit but that is not clear until you notice that the animals are in different colors. 

I think the bear turned out pretty cute even though I forgot to get the eyes and nose so I substituted seed beads. The bear is holding a plastic candy conversation heart sticker that I found in my copious stash of Valentine 'stuff'.  The cardboard Valentin stickers were also from my old stash but I'm sure you can find lots of Valentine worded items at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.

Besides the eyes, nose, and plastic candy heart I also glued a pin back onto the tiny, fuzzy bear.  To attach the bear to the tag, I made a slit and pushed the pin back through.  I am very pleased by the way the bear turned out and that there is enough fuzzy pipe cleaner product in the package to fashion two animals.  The fuzzy ball edging on the tag was a serendipitous addition which added color and texture that matched will with the bear pin.  I think you'll be very pleased with this new pipe cleaner product available at HM Ben Franklin.  Because there are different colors and thicknesses you will be able to make a variety of animals. Go check it out and start a new craft hobby....so much fun!

Vintage Gold Heart Locket Collection Necklace

About 25 years ago, I saw a photo of a heart locket necklace for sale.  It was gorgeous but too pricey for me so I began the my search for vintage gold lockets.  I believe that most of these vintage gold lockets are from around the 1930's. Most of them are marked 10k, 1/20, or gold filled.  I used to find them often in antique shops for around $20-$40 but they have become quite scarce and many are priced around $50+.  My collection of lockets is rather large now but I didn't think it would look attractive to put them all on one necklace.  Sometimes the lockets have old miniature photos in them ... super sweet but sometime scary...LOL!  I was lucky to find a heart link gold filled chain and gold heart clasp in my stash of jewelry findings. I knew I'd find a use for them eventually....hoarder! The necklace that started me on this collecting journey just had a plain chain and clasp. I have enough heart lockets to make more jewelry so I might create a bracelet next.  Sterling silver lockets are easier to find these days, possibly because they are not as old as the gold filled ones so you might try collecting lockets to make a silver version of this necklace.  Anyway, collecting and designing jewelry is a fun hobby for me.  I plan to wear this creation on February 14th...... Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Scalloped Valentine Door Card

For this card I used a 5-1/2" scalloped heart die.  If you don't have one you can easily make a regular heart template and trace out the two hearts.  After die cutting the two hearts, I cut one in half to form the two 'doors'.  On the whole die cut heart I folded 'door hinges' on the sides.  I glued the two half hearts to the hinges of the whole heart.  Ribbons were glued to the half heart doors and the ephemera Valentine sweethearts were attached to the card with adhesive foam pop-up dots. 

On the inside of the card I attached a Valentine saying die-cut piece from my stash. You can find lots of die cut sayings and ephemera at HM Ben Franklin Crafts or online from various papercraft companies.  I really hope you'll give this style of Valentine 'door' card a try.  It's so easy and results in a unique looking card for your special 'Valentine'.  It's sure to impress him/her this year. Happy Sweetheart Crafting!

Lavender Sachet Valentine Card

 

I love Valentine's Day cards and the scent of lavender flowers so it seemed only natural that I would try to combine the two.  I started with a lavender colored card blank and a heart shaped die.  I used the die on a printed light pink piece of card stock slightly smaller than the card blank.  Next, I used Fabri-Tac glue to make a small bag from the sheer gauzy ribbon netting (from HM BFC). The bag was sized to fit behind the heart opening.  I filled the bag with dried lavender flowers (possibly available in the soap or candle section of HM Ben Franklin Crafts) before sealing it with glue and adhering it to the back of the heart opening. The whole printed card stock with the lavender sachet bag was glued to the card blank before the lacey ribbon  (maybe available at Daiso) was glued around the border of the card.  Finally,  artificial flowers, Valentine glitter card stock stickers, and vintage Valentine ephemera (Time Holtz Ranger) were glued in a pleasing arrangement.  Even though my husband may disagree, I think it is important to have an abundant collection of ribbons, stickers, ephemera, and other pretty things to select from.  LOL! I think I'll continue to gather 'stuff' ' to make whatever idea floats into my mind. Isn't Life Wonderful!  Happy Crafty Valentine's Day!

Valentine Confetti Shaker Calendars

Using the same format as the last calendars I posted, I decided to make some confetti shaker ones with a Valentine theme.  It was easy to use a heart die to cut a heart shape into the unfolded calendar base.  I placed a confetti filled bag (small Heiko) behind the opening.  After securing the bag with tape, I taped a piece of card stock ( a little smaller than the calendar front) onto the back of the calendar front. Next I used double stick tape to fasten the calendars (purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crats).  I stamped the Hero Arts cat image and Special Delivery words, coloring them before die cutting.  Pop up foam adhesives were used to secure the stamped images down.  That was it...so easy to make cute, shaker calendars. I'm really  happy with these calendars and plan to keep one for myself.  That's how you know I'm truly pleased with the outcome of a project! Happy Valentine's Day!

Easy Valentine Bookmarks

 I wanted to make something Valentine themed for young readers.  I came up with these simple book- marks.  I started with a 12x12 Doodlebug Designs card stock (from my stash) that had tag designs on the front and back. They were easy to cut out with a paper trimmer. If you can't find a Valentine card stock sheet with tag designs, you can just cut out tag shapes and punch a hole on the top.  I glued together two tags for each bookmark so they can withstand lots of handling. Through each tag hole I strung a 12" piece of ribbon and glued down the end onto the tag.

I glued the other end of the ribbon between two die cut hearts.  This project is a good way to use up Valentine paper scraps. I'm sure that you can make dozens of Valentine bookmarks to give away, perhaps to a kindergarten or first grade class.  These bookmarks are also very lightweight for inexpensive mailing. Instead of a usual Valentine cards this year, try making some bookmarks instead. I'm sure they'll be gratefully received.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Exciting Purchase from a Mapunapuna Locker Box

 Every time I shop at the Mapunapuna Ben Franklin Crafts store, I always check out the lockers containing wonderful handcrafted items.  The last time I went shopping I was lucky to spot a gorgeous handmade copper mermaid pendant intertwined around a lovely piece of blue drusy quartz crystal. I was impressed by the artistic craftsmanship of the piece and the reasonable price.  The pendant was on a leather cording which was suitable for the piece but I think I will keep  a look out for a copper chain necklace to pair with the copper mermaid pendant.  I hope that you will also look into the locker boxes at the HM Ben Franklin Stores because I'm sure you'll be thrilled by what you see.  I think you will be excited by the high quality of the craftwork and maybe inspired by the cleverness of the hand crafted pieces.  Support Crafters!