A Very Crafty Birthday Bash!

I had the GREAT pleasure of doing a Craft themed Birthday Party for a group of 8 year old girls last weekend. These are some of my favorite events. Adults are fine; don't get me wrong... but 8 year old girls; AWESOME! Talk about EXCITED! They were super cute, and VERY well behaved! I was also pretty darn impressed with their stamping abilities.

We made these Shrinky Dink Charm Bracelets, which are QUICK and easy. I buy a pre-sanded Shrink Plastic at my local Hobby Lobby... but it's also sold at Frantic Stamper; it's called Pre-Sanded Frost White Shrink Plastic. And as long as I am linking out to Frantic Stamper... check out their BLOG. They have some cool CHA Sneak Peeks. More of which you can see by the way at www.craftcritique.com. Tell all your friends about Craft Critique would ya? Today we're talking Die Cut Systems. And contact me of you'd like to be a participant or contributor!

Back to the subject at hand; creating these bracelets was a snap. The girls stamped their names and some cute images with Staz-on Ink, and colored the images in with colorful Sharpie Markers. Then we punched out the letters with a 1 3/8" Circle Punch; being careful to leave room for the 1/4" round hole we needed at the top of the "charm". With the image stamps we punched a hole to hang the charm with FIRST... then we cut all around the images using straight lines. We found that if you tried to curve around the image with your cutting that the plastic could crack very easy.

Then you just bake the Shrink Plastic according to the package directions... SO SIMPLE! The girls made the bracelets; Plastic Pony Beads Strung on simple plastic stretchy cord like Stretch Magic. Then I attached the charms with jump rings. Aren't they cute!


And of course no Birthday is complete without a gift for the birthday girl! I made this Altered Paint Tin for Kaya. It contains a simple paper covered notebook and some colored pens. A perfect place for all Kaya's notes and all those little things that pre-teens save! The paper is from Stampin' Up!'s "Playhouse" Collection.


Below you will see a closer look at the can. I used Heat and Stick Powder and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter to get this "Super-Duper-Glittery" look. The flowers are from the beautiful and versatile "Bodacious Bouquet". The letters were die cut with my Cuttlebug and the "Red Tag" alphabet... except the "K"... that's an "On Board Simon Lower" from Stampin' Up!


Here is a closer look at the method I used to cover the can. I took a 12"X12" piece of paper and cut it into two 12"X 5 1/2" lengths. Then I cut two 3/4" X 12" strips from a second piece. I ran the paper through my Xyron and then I affixed it to the can... starting with the back side. The paper is practically seamless; and I like how the tin shows a bit... It's funkier! Plus with this method you don't have to worry about cutting holes for the handles. After you apply the paper; embellish the can, tie some cute ribbons on and your done! I find that Glue dots worked well to hold on the heavy embellishments like the chipboard.

Tip of the day: If you need to hold something REALLY heavy; use Glue dots and heat up the dot with your heat tool for a few seconds... this will help create a better bond.

Blogger Valentines :: 1 of 5

And here they are... In no particular order... the group 1 of 5 of the Blogger Valentines.

First up... a lovely card by Alora Sweetser. First let me say that Alora ABSOLUTELY has the BEST name of all the blogger swappers. And her personality seems to match! This card is fan-TA-stic... hard to tell from the pic; but the watercolored focal image was stamped on Shimmery White... so it totally POPS. I love the colors she selected; great for a non-traditional valentine (Rose Red, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery). I also dig the paper piercing above and bellow the stamped image... and how she carried it down to the base of the card design. Great card all around. Be sure to check out Alora's blog "Oh the Things You Can Ink". She has some wonderful designs to share!

Next we have... Lynn Mercurio. Lynn created a wonderful layout for this funky Valentine. She even used a preview set that will be in the NEXT Idea Book and Catalog; "Double Line Doodle". Isn't it cool? I love how she stamped and embossed in white on the "Loves Me" Designer papers. That cool shiny background is made by dabbing various reinker colors onto glossy Cardstock with a Rubbing alcohol soaked cotton ball (at least that's how I do it!). It's such a unique marbled effect! And don't miss the glitter PUNCH she added with stickles around the pink medallion focal image... what a perfect match to the teal velvet ribbon (from the Flirty ribbon original series). Be sure to visit Lynn's "Stamperosity" blog. She has some great designs; including Bella's! And if you don't know what a Bella is... well you just best go take a looksee!

Stay tuned for more amazing blogger Valentines! Just subscribe to my blog to get email updates whenever I post some new and wonderful thing! (see the little widget on the right for the subscription box)

CHA Sneek Peeks!

Ok... I lied... I did not stamp today. There was TOO MUCH to read, and too much to WRITE! All the sneak peeks from the Winter CHA have me in a tizzy! I have compiled a bunch of the highlights... and started a new Blog to boot! I couldn't be in Anaheim... but thanks to all my blogging buddies and the wonderful world of cyberspace... I definitely got a taste!

I present to you...

www.craftcritique.com Ta-da!

Enjoy!

and... if you have an opinion... please know that I am looking for contributers. See Craft Critique for more info! :)

Pizza for Breakfast :: Why I am Fat.

I'm not a big fan of the traditional breakfast. I crashed early last night... like 8:30. And those of you who know me personally understand HOW odd that really is.

So I woke up at 6:00 AM... which is often when I am GOING to bed. With the house this quiet I figured I would enjoy a nice breakfast of Senseo Coffee and left over pizza. So I did! I have been munching, drinking and editing photos to upload later.

I did a Birthday Party yesterday for a group of 8 year old girls; one of my fave activities. I mean I love doing workshops for grown-ups too; but little girls ROCK! All they wanna talk about is toys, TV and crafts... and that's all I wanna talk about too! I never grew up. Their projects came out SO GREAT! I will share with you later...

I have had a TON of tutorial requests... so today I will work on getting some of those created... Stay tuned for an EASY shaker card, a file folder scrapbook, and a step by step on the Love Notes File I posted a while back. And remember.... I take requests! :)

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Buy Yourself Something Pretty!

In honor of the super fun box of goodies I received from my very adorable friend Shannon of Boogiebead, I thought I'd tell you all about her beaded stuff and why you need to buy something from her!

Shannon lives in St. Petersburg Florida, where everything is always warm, sunny and laid back. In my imagination she just lies around tanning, sipping fruity umbrella drinks out of pineapples and beading... but she does have a 9-5 job, so I suppose she must change out of her bikini on occasion.

Her stuff is so cute. I have no Idea where she finds these amazing glass beads, but I love them! Be sure to check out her "Peeper Keepers"... beaded eye/sunglass holders. They make great gifts for teachers and well... anyone who wears peepers! You can also visit her wonderful shop at Etsy. Buy Shannon's jewelry with confidence! She is a top notch artist, and you will not be disappointed with the quality of her work. Here is a picture of the funky Valentine bracelet Shannon sent me!