Party Like a Pineapple

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

According to the Days of the Year website, today (27th June) is International Pineapple Day and National Sunglasses Day ... so of course seeing I had dies that fitted both those themes, I had to make a card.

As you can see by the photo above, I have created a honeycomb card using Creative Craft Products' Pineapple die set from their Tropical Honeycomb Collection. This set includes dies to create both the pineapple and the sunglasses.

I created a Mini Slimline card using Karen Burniston's Short Rectangles - Crosshatch die set for the patterned paper background.

Normally I can fit a honeycomb card in an envelope, as I can fold the honeycomb paper back for mailing. However since I wanted to decorate the front of the pineapple as a face, this card will need to be delivered by hand or placed in a box. 

The sentiment at the top right of the card is from Creative Craft Products' Tropical Sentiments stamp set. 

Here is a look at the inside of my card. I computer generated the "If life gives you pineapples" sentiment. The "Cheers" and the images are all from the Creative Craft Products' Tropical Sentiments stamp set.

Flamin' Gorgeous

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

According to the Days of the Year website,  today (12th April) is International Day of Pink, as you can see I had to make a pink card!

My card uses the new DL Diamond Card which is part of the Fancy Folds Collection from Creative Craft Products available from Craft Stash. This card measures approximately 3 7/8 inches x 8 1/8 inches when folded, so can be classified as a Slimline Card, it's actually sized DL in UK size as their sizes are slightly different to US sizes.

I used the Pastel Gingham & Tiny Dots Paper Pad to decorate the panels, this paper pad is also part of the collection along with a bright version too.

To decorate the centre panel of this card I used the Flamingo Die Set from Creative Craft Products Tropical Honeycomb die set. This die set can be used with or without the honeycomb paper. As I love the honeycomb paper I opted to use it on this card. I did add a piece of hook and loop tape, so that the honeycomb piece could be closed when needed, like when placing in an envelope for mailing. The leaves around the top of the card, were also included in the Flamingo die set.

Here you can see how the side panels, fold into the centre panel when it needs to close to be placed in the envelope, another reason why the honeycomb panel on this card needed to be able to be closed.

Here is a view of the back of my card, I decorated the side panels with the same patterned paper I used on the front of the card.

I added two sentiments and the flamingo which are all from the Bird Sentiments stamp set which coordinates with the Flamingo die set.

Somebunny Loves You

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Well Easter is just a few days away, so today I am sharing an Easter themed card I created recently.

I created a Double Diamond Fold Card using a template included in Crafter's Companion's Template Library which I was lucky enough to get hold off before it went out of stock. From what I understand this may not be reordered, or if it does it will be dearer than the original one as Crafter's Companion were able to make a deal buying so many for all their different tv outlets. The Template Library consists of a book that includes plastic templates for a variety of cards, boxes and envelopes. There is a coordinating book that shows the recipes and instructions for each template, plus there are links to videos. There are also 20 dies included in the library. I much prefer using dies to create cards these days, but some styles of cards don't have dies available so having a template is the next best thing,  and I was more than happy with the process to create my card using the templates.

To decorate my card I used some of the decorative pieces included in the Step into Spring Honeycomb Cardmaking Kit which was a freebie with purchasing Papercraft Essentials Issue 222. There is so much included in this kit, it really is great value and I am enjoying using elements other than stamps and dies on my cards from time to time. 

This card folds down to be approximately 5 1/2 inches x 6 inches. Mine won't be completely flat as I added the honeycomb egg to the rabbits belly, however if you didn't add something like that or made the honeycomb piece be able to fold flat by adding hook and loop tape it would fit into an envelope.

Hoppy Easter

 

Hi Crafty Friends, 

As Easter is only next weekend, this week I will be sharing a few Easter cards I have created. Today I am sharing two Bunny Shaped cards that also used Honeycomb Paper.

I have made these to give to my grandchildren, as I have a grandson and granddaughter, I die cut the honeycomb eggs from pink and blue honeycomb papers.

I love all the Honeycomb die sets that Craft Stash has released through their Creative Craft Products brand. Unfortunately I was too slow to get the Easter collection, however I did manage to find the Bunny die set from Paper Wishes when I was searching for a few other die sets, so I grabbed it and I am so glad I did. 

Besides the large bunny die which is just under 7 inches tall, you get a lot of other dies included too ... the flowers, carrot, eggs, watering can and a sign (not the one I used here). Lots of goodies to make you fun card or scene.

As the bunny is so tall, I decided to make a top folding bunny shaped card. I die cut the bunny four times and then glue two together using Collall glue which makes the card very strong. I then score along the bottom of the ears where the head lines up with the ears and glued the ears of the back panel to the card front.

I die cut the various pieces included in the die set and added them to my bunny.

I wanted a sign to say "Easter" so I used one of the notched square dies from the Creative Craft Products Notched Squares die set and stamped the "Hoppy Easter" using stamps from an older Sugar Pea Designs stamp set. 

To make it easier to place the bunnies into an envelope, I added hook and loop tape to the one side of the honeycomb egg, that way it makes it easy to flatten the honeycomb for delivery. The recipient can then open up the honeycomb egg and use the hook and loop to keep the honeycomb egg open.

For the inside of the card, I added an sentiment egg using the Step Into Spring Honeycomb Cardmaking Kit which was the freebie from the Papercraft Essentials Magazine Issue 222.

Other Supplies:

Honeycomb Easter Bunny Die Set - Creative Craft Products (discontinued)

One Big Hoppy Family Stamp Set - Sugar Pea Designs (discontinued)

It's Cocktail O'Clock

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a Mini Slimline card I created recently. My mini slimline measures 3 1/2 inches x 6 1/2 inches.

I love playing with the honeycomb dies from Creative Craft Products which are available from Craft Stash. My card today uses the Cocktail Die Set, using pink honeycomb paper to add the "drink" to the glass. I added sentiments using the Tropical Sentiments stamp set also from Creative Craft Products.

I added hook and loop tape to the back of the honeycomb paper  and the base of the glass, so that the honeycomb can be flattened when mailing.

For the background of my card I used Trinity Stamps Mini Monstera die set, I die cut the background using Ombre Glitter Card. I layered this panel onto a holographic panel before finally layering it to a green pearlescent card base.

For the inside of the card I used another of the sentiments "have a drink on me" and the drinks image at the bottom, both of which are from the Tropical Sentiments stamp set. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from the In The Window Sentiment stamp set.

 

Have A Cracking Bird-Day

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Apparently today (5th January) is National Bird Day. So seeing I have been wanting to play with this fun honeycomb parrot die set for some time now, I decided to pull it out and use it for today's card. This die set is part of the Creative Craft Products Honeycomb die sets.

You have the option to create the parrot with or without the honeycomb wing, as you can see I added it to mine. I did use hook and loop under the wing, so if I wished I could flatten the wing for mailing purposes.

For the card I decided to create a Tower card using the Made To Surprise by Sam Calcott's 5 x 7 Terrific Tower Card die set.

I used blue glitter card for the matting layers on all the sections of the card.

The Bird-Day sentiment is from the Bird Sentiments stamp set also from Creative Craft Products.

Here is another view of the card, this time when it is lying on the desk. Hopefully you can see the side panels a little better.

For the back of my card, I added a white panel so I could add a sentiment and have a place to add a hand written greeting. As I used a parrot on the front of my card, I searched my stash for a bird or parrot themed sentiment. I found one in a Your Next Stamp stamp set called Parrot-ise Stamp set, so I used on of the fun sentiments from the set as well as adding one of the parrots.

Angel Christmas Crackers

Hi Crafty Friends,

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day yesterday!

Each year for about forty-five years or so I have been creating my own Christmas crackers to use on Christmas Day. Over the years I have created many styles of crackers, included round crackers using formers and square crackers using score boards, dies etc. For the past couple of years, I cheated by buying store bought crackers and decorating them. This year I was excited to create my crackers all from scratch again.

A few months ago, I found a die by John Next Door which creates what he calls a Proper Cracker ... that is one that is round like those above. I agree with him these are the proper or traditional style of cracker. I have never seen a die to create this style so after watching a few videos about the die, I decided to order one. I am glad I did, these have to be the easiest crackers I have made from scratch and they turned out better than I could have hoped. John Next Door also had a coordinating die set so you could make a Christmas hat and die cut a riddle to add to the crackers. I have always made my hats by hand, so it was great to finally have a die for them.

To create the crackers this year I used Craft Artist Ombre Glitter Card, it is available in A4 and 12 x 12 sizes. There are a variety of colours available in the pack, but I stuck with the pink for the girls and green for the boys.

To decorate my crackers, I decided to used Creative Craft Products Honeycomb Christmas die set, which is this adorable Angel with honeycomb paper in the front. Normally I would add hook and loop to the honeycomb, so I could close it when needed, but due to the width of the dress, I decided against it.

As I also like to include gifts in the crackers to suit the individual, I always need a way to know who should get what cracker. This year I just changed the colour of the hair of the angel.

It's Penguining To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a fun Christmas themed card and treat box that I created recently. I just love this cute penguin, which is one of Creative Craft Products Honeycomb Collection. I picked this up from Craftstash a couple of months ago, but as it is from last years release it is no longer available. There are a number of other honeycomb dies that are available either with a Christmas theme or a generic theme. I just glad I managed to get hold of it, as this is an image that could be used all year around.

In the photos above you can see how the honeycomb portion of the card and treat box is attached to one half of the penguins belly using hook and loop tape, this allows for easier postage and/or storage of the finished items without squashing the honeycomb.

For my card I used one of the Easy Fold dies from Creative Craft Products, this is the Hexagon fold die set from that collection. As I used red and green waterfall glitter cardstock on the penguins, I decided to also use it for the layers of my card to tie the green on the penguin to my card. I just love the unusual texture of the glitter cardstock and I will definitely be getting more. As I didn't want to waste the glitter, I die cut a hole in the centre of each of the layers, so I can use those for something else.

As the main focus of this card is the penguin, I decided to pull out a penguin themed Christmas sentiment. This one is from Mama Elephant from their Cool Penguins stamp set. 

I kept the inside of my card fairly simple, adding a strip of the same patterned paper I used on the front to the right side of the card. This can be seen when the card is closed.

The sentiment is from Honey Bee Stamps St Nick stamp set, and I added the cute penguin in a box which is also from the Mama Elephant Cool Penguins stamp set.

A few months ago, when Creative Craft Products released their 2022 Christmas Honeycomb Collection, Sam Calcott also feature the penguin creating a cute little gift box to hold a treat or small gift. As I love the idea, I decided to create one using my penguin die.

I also used White Fluffy Stuff Cosmic Shimmer to the bobble on the penguins hat for both the box and card.  It gives it a puffy look.

Here is a side view of my treat box, the penguin on the back is just plain with the box sandwiched between each of the penguins. In the photo above, you can see that I have the lid of the box open, so you can see how it opens, so the treats don't fall out.

Other Supplies:

Honeycomb Christmas Penguin - Creative Craft Products/Craftstash (discontinued) 

Holly Jolly Christmas 12 x 12 Paper Pack - Simply Made Crafts/Craftstash