A 'Smashed' Tea Bag Card

I purchased SMASH (K and Co,) products awhile ago, but never got the crafting urge to use them as I only thought of them for scrapbooking (which always seems like such a daunting task). Recent papercrafting publications have featured Smash items on and in simple do-what-you-want journals and mini books.  I've taken the product to another even simpler use.....cardmaking!

I started this card by die cutting the Studio Calico (Take Note collection) double-sided cardstock with the Sizzix die called Card, Flower Flip-its.  Next I stamped the Hero Arts 'word pop' cling stamp onto the dotted side of the cardstock.  (Please note that this useful dot stamp has two dots on the stamp rubber that can be popped out and fulled in with a small stamp, sticker, initial, etc.....cool huh?)

Next I added the Prima flower and Smash product embellishments including tape, a tab, a sticker, and a pocket.  I stapled on the tab and wrote 'Drink Me' on one side and 'for you' on the other because I filled the pocket on the back of the card with a tea bag.  All the colors and parts seemed to effortlessly go together because they have the vintage look.

All the products used on this card are available at Ben Franklin Crafts (the double-sided  card stock comes in single sheets too) so you can easily get going on your own Smashing card.  I know you're going to love making cards and other crafts using this anything-goes Smash method.  Have fun today...craft something that makes you smile!

Ben Franklin Crafts Gift Card Winner!

I almost forgot that I had chosen May as the month to put all the comments to my blog into a box and draw one name for a surprise prize of a gift card to Ben Franklin Crafts.  For those of you who are new to my blog, I  pick a random month and then pick a winner from that month's comments.  If you left one comment in May you will have been entered one time or if you wrote 20 comments you will of course have 20 chances to win.  Without any further ado......drum roll please.....the winner is.....Karen who has the fabulous blog called, Have a  Scrap Happy Day.  Congrats Karen!  (Please send me your mailing address via my e-mail address, lsakami@aol.com so I can mail you the gift card). Karen comments on my posts frequently, but oddly it was her very last comment to me in the month of May which was randomly selected (very low-tech...see photo).  Thank you everyone who takes the time to boost my craft spirit by sending me a sweet comment; maybe next time your name will be chosen as the lucky winner of a Ben Franklin Crafts gift card.

Japanese Thank You Flip Card

While visiting Maui, I had a few minutes to spare so I popped into the Kahului Ben Franklin Crafts store.  I didn't expect to find anything that I couldn't get from the Hilo BFC, but I did!  I purchased a Sizzix flip card die that had sold out at the Hilo store and used it to create this card.  First, I embossed part of the die cut card base with a bamboo embossing folder from Darice.  Next, I cut a second card from a piece of printed Japanese paper and cut it to fit the side of the card that was not embossed.  (Three sides of the printed paper were trimmed to show an eighth-inch border.)  The Japanese lady and cherry blossom branch (Hero Arts set) images were stamped onto marker pen paper, colored with Copic pens, cut out with a circle punch, smudged along the edge with ink, and adhered to the card with pop dots.  Finally, a Japanese character stamp (thank you) was stamped in the small cartouche on the front of the card.  This card was a cinch to make because of the super amazing Sizzix flip card die.  Thank you for visiting this site and I hope that you will return to see what other great items I found at the Kahului BFC and learn what I crafted with them.

Graduation Cap Flip Card

I love playing with new craft toys and I recently finally got my hands on three of the new Sizzix flip card dies: flower, heart, and diamond.  After cutting out several of each design, I realized that the diamond one looked like a graduation cap.  Since I recently acquired a Darice embossing folder with the word 'Congrats' on it, I decided to put the two products together and create one last graduation card.  I started with cardstock that has an inner core color so that when you impress designs on it; the design can be revealed by sanding the paper. First I die cut the diamond flip card (can be cut from an 6"x 8" piece) and then embossed it in the folder.  I had to emboss the bottom a second time to complete the pattern.  Next I sanded (with sand paper) the embossed design to bring out the under color.  I stamped , colored, and punched out the Dandelion Designs monkey graduate.  (Note: The edge of the circle was colored by rubbing an ink pad on the edge and smudging.)  The Hero Arts label  desgin was stamped on white cardstock and then the words (TPC Studio) were stamped inside. (The ends of the label design were cut off.).  The label and monkey were raised on pop dots.  Finally, I added American Crafts ribbons to the top and bottom of the card and attached an embroidery floss tassel (with a Pebbles glitter dot) using Beacon Fabri-Tac glue. This graduation card took very little time to create because of the Sizzix die and Darice embossing folder; both of which can be purchased at Ben Franklin Crafts.  I hope you liked this post and will return to this blog again to see how I used the other new Sizzix dies. I wish you happy days of crafting!

Wedding Cake Card

This wedding card had its inspiration from some Jolee's stickers that looked like frosting (shown on a previous blog post).  I had intended to decorate a stamped image of a wedding cake with the frosting stickers, but although it turned out okay; it was not as fabulous as the couple getting married....I knew I could make a better card for them. After playing around with my supplies, I was finally satisfied with the outcome of this simple, frosting inpired 'Wedding Cake' card.  The supplies for this card were purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts.  The 5"x7"card blank is an American Crafts product and the printed background card stock  is from the DCWV Luxury paper stack.  The silver woodgrain ribbon is a Martha Stewart product from my stash. I think the heart charm is from a Darice bargain package and the crystals are Swarovski.  The dangle was added by stringing the beads and charm on an eye pin which was hung from a hole punched in the label (hidden by the Prima flower).  The label was cut using the Eclips basic shapes cartiridge and stamped with images from a Hero Arts wedding set.  I was very pleased with the outcome of this card, because although it did not turn out as planned; it captures the sweetness of the event and the loveliness of the couple.  Dana and Corey, I wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Black and White with a bit of Red

While rumaging through my collection of earrings I sadly realized that I didn't have a single pair to match my new black and white blouse.  Although I often wear black and white, for some odd reason I've never made or purchased a pair of earrings in that neutral combination.  Since many of my outfits have a bit of red with the black and white, I set to work creating a pair to match.  Photographed here are two pairs I whipped up.  Once I had the beads out I decided I might as well make an extra pair.  The top pair has a rounded hook with no latch finding from Sierra Pacific and the bottom pair is a decorated endless hoop from Darice.  The beads were simply strung on fancy head pins and attached to the earring hooks/hoops. If you are new to jewelry making, I suggest that you check out the supplies at Ben Franklin Crafts and start with simple projects like these earrings.  I hope you are enjoying your Memorieal Day weekend and thank you for taking the time to visit.  An extra big 'MAHALO'  to you, if you took the time to leave a sweet comment!

Vintage Graduation Card

As soon as I saw the Art Deco/ Art Nouveau style rubber stamp (http://www.lost-coast-designs.com/)  at ABC Crafts in Osaka, Japan, I knew that it would make a perfect image for a graduation card.  Our niece is a very attractive girl, who has always been somewhat under the shadow of her older brother and sister, so I thought the lovely image and inspirational saying would be ideal on a graduation card for her. After stamping with Memories dark brown ink, the image was colored with Copic pens to look like a hand-colored vintage photo.  The background two-sided printed 12x12 paper is from Graphic 45. The dark brown card blank is an American Crafts product.  To accent the wings on the girl, I applied Stickles over the Copic inks and for added sparkle I glued on three bluish crystals.  I sincerely hope that all 2012 graduates will take to heart the message of this card and 'spread their wings and fly'.  Good luck to all of you!