Cupcake Birthday Party - DCC & Little B™ Blog Hop

“Little B™” Cupcake Birthday Party 

This month the Designer Craft Connection is having a blog hop featuring products from Little B™ LLC.  Each participating Designer got a big box full of creative products to work with - dies, punches, dimensional stickers, Washi tape, paper flowers, and more!  It was like Christmas in September!    The themes of the boxes varied with each Designer so there are sure to be a great assortment of projects to inspire you.  

My box was primarily Birthday themed - with lots of fabulous cupcakes.  So I decided to create a variety of party projects for a Cupcake Birthday Party.  A table display, treat holders, a jar to hold plastic utensils, and cupcake decorations.

Little B™ is also sponsoring an amazing give-away as part of this hop!  $150 worth of product!  Enter using the Rafflecopter link below.

To enter, you must "like" the Little B™ FB page and comment on the blog posts. It's 2 pts for each comment, so the more comments the better the chance you have to win!   Enter until  10/29/15 at 12:00 AM CDT.

Rafflecopter - Little B Giveaway

Be sure to click on the link in the column on the right to find out what the other Designers are sharing too! 

Materials:

These are the Little B™ products used to create these projects

Little B™ Dimensional Stickers 

                - 100144 Cupcakes 

                - 100157 Birthday  Cupcakes 

                - 100167 Birthday 

Little B™ 100600 Happy Birthday Cutting Dies 

Little B™ 100407 Perfect Positioned

Little B™ 100357 Silver Foil Diagonal Stripes Washi Tape - Specialty Foil Tape 

Little B™ 100369 Scallop Circle Punch

DCWV Solstice Stack Patterned Cardstock

Westcott® Scissors 

Toner Fun Wire™ - Marshmallow 

Sizzix® Big Shot™ Machine

White Duck® Tape                  Beacon® 3-in-1 Adhesive 

Instructions:

Table Decoration  

Note:  This die is meant to cut a single piece which is folded to form a card.  Because I wanted to attach several together and create a tabletop decoration instead, I cut the card stock into squares, and placed the first and last pieces face down, and the center piece face up so the words would all be readable on the colored side of the patterned card stock.  If you are using card stock which is colored on both sides, you can cut them as a single piece and cut apart afterwards.  Use Sizzix® Big Shot™ machine and Little B™ Happy Birthday cutting die to cut four different colors of each word. (Little B™ dies come in a fantastic magnetic storage folder - this thing is genius and all of these type of dies should come packaged this way!  No more hunting through a box or bag of dies that have fallen out of the paper packet they come in!)  The Little B™ Perfect Positioner made it easier to die cut because it made it simple to align the die straightly for a perfect cut.   

Attach the words to spell out two sets of Happy Birthday To You.  I placed a small piece of white Duck® tape on the back of each set to hold the words together. (I used Duck® tape because it is a bit sturdier than regular tape would be for holding the pieces in place.)  Repeat with second two sets.  Add Little B™ Silver Foil Diagonal Stripes Washi Tape along bottom edge of both sets of words. 

Add medium sized cupcake from Little B™ Birthday dimensional sticker set to each set of words as shown.  

Cut rectangular piece of 4 1/4" x 3" piece of coordinating patterned card stock and strip of another card stock about 1” wide x 4 1/4".  Mount strip to rectangle as shown using Beacon® 3-in-1 Adhesive.  Mount large cake from Little B™ Birthday set of dimensional stickers.

Attach a set words to each side of rectangle with cake.   Fold, using mountain and valley fold technique, to create table decoration.

Treat Holders 

The size of these treat holders can be adjusted accordingly.  These were made to hold a small bracelet which was made for each guest.  

Cut pieces of coordinating patterned card stocks for however many party goers you expect.

I cut mine 3 1/2” x 9”, then ended up trimming them back a bit afterwards.  

Use Little B™ Scallop Circle punch to punch each piece of card stock on one 3 1/2” end.  Save punched circles for later.

Cut squares of plastic sheet from sticker packaging and use 3-in-1 Adhesive to mount on back side of each piece over punched out area.  

Create two scored lines about 1/4” apart approximately 3 1/2" from edge with punched circle.  Fold and glue together on

sides, letting the scored lines form a bottom for each holder (these will be a small gap - this did not matter for my treats as they would not fall through the gaps).  (This is where I cut the extra from the top - as I said - adjust your size according to the treat that will be given out - my finished holders are about 3 1/2" top to bottom.)

Add a Little B™ cupcake sticker from the Cupcakes set to each window on the treat holders.  Add a piece of the Silver Foil Diagonal Stripes Washi Tape to the top and bottom of each holder.  Place bracelets inside.

Utensil Holder 

Even though cupcakes were the focus, a side of ice cream was still on the menu, so we offered forks or spoons to our guests.  This decorated jar was a fun way to hold them.

Place large cupcake from Little B™ Birthday Cupcakes large dimensional sticker set on the front of the glass jar.  

Add a strip of Silver Foil Diagonal Stripes Washi Tape to the top and bottom of jar.  The tape and the sticker will easily remove from the glass after the party. 

Insert coordinating color of tissue paper an add forks & spoons. 

Cupcake Decorations  

This is an easy and fun way to add some pizazz to the birthday cupcakes without purchasing expensive pre-made decorations.  There's even a special cupcake for the birthday girl.

Cut 14, 6” pieces of Marshmallow/white Toner Fun Wire™.  About 1/2” from one end, coil around straw or pencil ending about 1/4" from opposite end.

Cut apart Birthday Party banner from Birthday dimensional sticker set to create individual letter pennants.  

Use 3-in-1 Adhesive to mount each pennant letter to the 1/4” straight end of wires. 

From punched scalloped circles cut apart and mount together to make one multi-colored circle as shown.  Insert coiled wire without a pennant letter through center.   This will hold a birthday candle for the birthday girl to blow out on her cupcake.

Add each embellishment to the center of a cupcake.  Arrange on table or serving tray to spell out Birthday Party.  

Tip:  If your party goers can’t agree on where to sit at the table - arrange them in order according to which letter cupcake they chose to spell out Birthday Party!

etchall® Day of the Dead Decorative Mirror

Day of the Dead crafts are growing in popularity - this mirror combines a variety of mixed media for a finished piece which will make a colorful accent to you home.

Materials:

9" Darice Mirror 

etchall® - Etching Cream, Squeegee 

              - etchnet® stencil - Sugar Skull 

Painters tape 

Makin’s Clay® - Red, Yellow, Green 

                        - Leaves Push mold 

Smoothfoam™ Disc 

DecoArt® Americana® Multi-Surface Satin™ - Deep Turqouise 

Beacon® Adhesives Tacky Glue 

Toner Plastics™/The Beadery® Skull Beads  Paintbrush 

Instructions:

This was my first time working with the new etchnet® stencils with etchall® cream - and I’m happy to say that the results were absolutely fantastic - one of the cleanest, crispest etches I’ve ever achieved!

Apply etchnet® sugar skull stencil to left side of mirror.  Use painters tape to securely tape in place, ensuring there are no ripples in the stencil. 

Pour etchall® cream on the side of the stencil - NOT ON THE OPEN AREA - Use squeeegee to pull etching cream over onto open areas of stencil, pressing slightly to ensure the cream is evenly applied though the net of the stencil.  Once you are sure you have a good even application over the open areas of the stencil, apply an additional coat of etchall® over the stencil.  Let set 15 minutes.  Return etching cream to bottle, rinse to remove remaining cream and remove stencil.  Clean any remaining cream from stencil and set aside for later use (etchnet® stencils are re-usable). 

Create multiple roses approximately 1” in size from red and yellow Makin’s Clay®.  There are multiple tutorials online for making roses with polymer clay and/or fondant - it really is quite simple!   

Use leaves push mold and green Makin’s Clay® to create multiple leaves for the roses. 

Use Beacon® Tacky Glue to mount roses and leaves as desired on left edge of mirror, extending above and below the etched skull.   Leaves and flowers can be mounted when the clay is still fresh, or after dry (normally the clay will be dry in 24 hours). 

Use Tacky Glue to mount blue skull beads randomly amongst the flowers.  Let dry.

Paint sides of Smoothfoam™ disc with Turquoise Multi-Surface Satin™ paint.  Let dry. 

Apply liberal amount of Tacky Glue to top of Smoothfoam™ disc and mount mirror.  The disc will give added depth when the mirror is mounted to a wall. 

One Skull - Two Ways - Gothic/Day of the Dead Keychain

Today on the Makin's Clay® blog I'm sharing instructions on how to create this Gothic Skull/Day of the Dead Keychain with Makin's Clay® and DecoArt® products - whether you like it plain and creepy, or colorful and ready to celebrate - it's a super easy project that would make a fun pendant too.  Just in time for Halloween!

Faux Hand-Carved Wood Bowl

This month on the Smoothfoam™ blog I shared this autumn project - I created a faux hand-carved wood bowl with a Smoothfoam™ half ball and DecoArt® Americana Decor® Chalky Finish paints.  Find the full instructions here.

Birdhouse Table & Chicken Wire Bird - FaveCrafts® Best Blogger Craft 2015 Challenge!

It was an honor to attend the recent FaveCrafts® Blogger Event at CHA in January!   When my box of swag from some of the event sponsors arrived, it was like Christmas all over again!  I received fabulous products from MD® Hobby & Craft - which are EXACTLY my style - a great assortment from Plaid®, items from Simplicity®, Clover®, and Prima® Bead.  

When I found out about this awesome Best Blogger Craft 2015 challenge to use products from one of the sponsors to create a unique creative project and submit it FaveCrafts - my mind instantly began to turn and churn and I knew I wanted to create something unique, and functional!

I love birds and birdhouses, so this Birdhouse Table & Chicken Wire Bird were a natural choice.    The table could be a functioning birdhouse, but it also works as a great side accent table for a plant, or on a porch next to a comfortable chair to hold a cool beverage, etc.  The little chicken wire bird is a totally unique accent piece to set on the table, or in pot with a pretty plant indoors or outside on a porch. 

I built this birdhouse from scratch and have included measurements - but of course you could buy a large pre-made birdhouse, cut the top off flat and create something similar for an easier option!  

Voting in this challenge/contest begins on February 25th and runs through March 4th.  I encourage you to visit the FaveCrafts site and vote for your favorite project - there are sure to be many amazing creative projects to choose from!!!   Here's the link - http://www.favecrafts.com/contest/Blogger-Contest

Materials: (items in GREEN were included in my swag package from FaveCrafts!)

Plaid® FolkArt® Home Decor Chalk Paint- Seaside Villa 

Plaid® Martha Stewart Crafts™ Multi-Surface Satin Acryilc Paint - Sandcastle 

Plaid® Outdoor Mod Podge®

EKSuccess® Inkadinkado® Stamp Set - Flower Icons 

Wrights® 5/8” Black ric-rac from Simplicity

MD® Hobby & Craft Metal Working Gloves 

MD® Hobby & Craft Brass Rolled Metal 

MD® Hobby & Craft Chicken Wire 

MD® Hobby & Craft Hobby Shears 

KellyCraft™ Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square & Multi-Mat™

Westcott® Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors 

Craft Attitude™ Printable Craft Film 

Staz-On ink pad - Jet Black

Jax® Pewter Black 

Beacon® 527 Adhesive 

Repurposed wood 1/2” thick (I used old fence boards to create this birdhouse). 

Assorted carpentry tools - saw, staple gun, drill, safety glasses, large hammer, rag 

Paintbrushes 

Permanent glue stick

Instructions: 

Cut 4 pieces of repurposed wood (approximately 1/2” thick for all wood) 5” x 21”.  Nail

together to create center of birdhouse.  

Cut 2 pieces of repurposed wood 7” x 10”.

Cut 2 pieces of wood 4 1/2” x 5”.  

Cut 2 triangles 8” x 6 1/2” x 5.  Assemble  to create side portions of “roof”.  

Cut piece of wood 11” x 11”. 

Cut piece of brass metal 12” x 12” and 2 pieces 8” x 11”.

Place brass metal pieces on hard surface, hit with large hammer to distress.  

Apply Jax Pewter Black to all brass to add patina to age

distressed metal.   

Fold edges of each piece back 1/2” and use staple gun to mount to two slanted roof pieces. 

Mount 11” x 11” piece to top of birdhouse to create table top.  Fold edges of 12” x 12” metal piece back 1/2” and use staple gun to mount to flat 11” x 11” table top (staples on folded edge). 

Drill 3 evenly spaced 1 1/2” holes in center of birdhouse, and one in each slanted side roof piece. 

Drill 3/8” holes beneath each large hole.

Paint birdhouse with FolkArt® Home Decor Chalk paint.  Let dry. 

Paint 2 1/2” band of Sandcastle paint beneath each hole on

center of birdhouse.  Let dry.   

Ink birds on a branch stamp with permanent black ink.  Place Craft Attitude film onto Multi-Mat  and use Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square to help align separate rows of stamped bird images as shown.  

Cut into strips.  

Use permanent glue stick to mount stamped Craft Attitude to Sandcastle sections.

Cut black ric-rac and mount to top and bottom of each painted strip.  

Cut twigs and use Beacon 527 to mount in 3/8” holes.   

Coat all wood surfaces with outdoor Mod Podge.  

I first saw a chicken wire bird on Pinterest.  When I received the chicken wire from MD® Hobby & Crafts I knew I had to try to create

one myself.  I used several photos for reference, then hand molded/formed the bird. 

Hard Liquor and a Hammer Oughta Fix That!

Hard Liquor and a Hammer oughta fix that!  Every girl should have her own tool box..... for so many reasons lol!   Created this card with another fun Jimbo Lojik™ verse and Makin's Clay®!  

Materials: 

KellyCraft™ - Jimbo Lojik™ Set E

            - Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square

                    - Multi-Mat™

Makin’s Clay® - White, Tools Push Mold 

DecoArt® - Dazzling Metallics™ Shimmering Silver, Crafter’s Acrylic™ - Raw Umber 

Tool patterned paper, white crackled paint patterned paper

Gray card stock

Beacon Adhesives® Tacky Glue 

Clearsnap® ColorBox® Crafter’s Ink - Night 

Foam tape 

Westcott® Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors, Trim-air Trimmer 

Instructions:

Open package of white Makin’s Clay®.   Press clay into tools push mold, remove and let dry.  Store unused clay in zip lock bag with damp paper towel or bay wipe.  When I am push molding pieces, I always make extra with remaining clay so I have a stash to go to for future projects…..

Paint hammer with Dazzling Metallics™ Shimmering Silver and Crafter’s Acrylic Raw Umber.  Let dry. 

Cut gray card stock to desired size and fold in half to form card. 

Cut piece of tool patterned paper and use Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square to align and mount to center of card front.

Ink Hard Liquor and a Hammer verse with black ink and use Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square to align and stamp onto white crackled paint patterned paper.  Trim around verse. 

Ink edges of verse with black ink. 

Cut grey card stock mat about 1/8” larger on all sides than verse.  Use Laser Square to mount to bottom front of card about 1/4” from bottom edge. 

Use Laser Square to align and mount verse centered onto mat.

Cut mat for clay hammer and mount hammer with Tacky Glue.  Use Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square to align and mount on top right front of card as shown.  

Smoothfoam™ Jumbo Conversation Hearts!

Everyone loves those little candy conversation hearts you can find everywhere around Valentine's Day (although the messages sure are different these days then when I was young lol!).  Learn how to make my jumbo version featuring DecoArt® Americana® Chalky Finish paint and Craft Attitude™ to decorate your home for Valentine's Day on the Smoothfoam™ blog here.

Offray® Ribbon Blog Hop - Polka Dots & Sparkle Little Girl's Apron

The Designer Craft Connection group is participating in a blog hop featuring projects made with Offray® Ribbons.  We each received as shipment of pretty ribbons to create our designs with.  I used the pretty pinks they sent for the hop, along with some other fun polka dot Offray® ribbons I had from a prior project, added some pretty fabric from ADORNit® and just a bit of BLING with Connie Crystal crystal sheets to create this "Polka Dots & Sparkle Little Girl's Apron"!   And of course, for those of you who follow my creative projects, you know I very seldom actually sew - I use Beacon®'s Fabri-Tac™ Adhesive to hold it all together!

Be sure to click through the DCC link on the right to see what the other participating designers are sharing with their Offray® projects!

And - Sign up for Offray.com email newsletters to receive information about new products, project ideas, and special savings. Plus, receive 15% Off your first order at Offray.com when you sign up for email!

Materials: 

Offray® Ribbons - Gross grain - assorted polka dots, solid pale pink sparkle

ADORNit® Basics Fabric - Tiny Check - blue 

Connie Crystal White Crystal Sheets
Beacon® Fabri-Tac™ Adhesive
Westcott Brand® Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors

Instructions:

Cut fabric to 18 1/2" x 22".   Fold in left and right edges approximately 1/2", fold over top edge approximately 2", iron to make crease.

Cut bottom edge with pinking shears, or create small folded seam and glue in place.

Use Fabri-Tac to glue down folded left and right seams.

Place Fabri-Tac on outer edge and glue down top edge to create pocket for ribbon to tie apron.

Cut several pieces of assorted ribbons approximately 4".  Fold in half, use Fabri-Tac to glue ends together to form loops.   Glue loops along bottom edge of apron extending approximately 1/4" beyond bottom of apron.

Glue light pink sparkle ribbon along top edge of ribbon loops.

Cut piece of white crystal sheet about 1/2" wide (3 rows) x width of apron.  Glue in center of pink sparkle ribbon over ribbon loops.

Create pocket by cutting piece of fabric 5" x 6".  Fold all edges over to make 1/2" seams and iron seams.   Use Fabri-Tac to glue strips of ribbon over front of pocket, wrapping top edge over and glueing to inside of top of pocket.   Glue pocket in place on apron.

Cut strips of 1/2" (3 rows) of white crystal sheets to create monogram letter and glue in place.

String pink sparkle ribbon through pocket at top of apron to create ribbons to tie in place. 

All-Star Designers Winter Series: Valentine Treat Mason Jars

This week in the WCK All-Star Designer Winter Series I'm sharing three versions of "Valentine Treat Mason Jars featuring products from Makin's Clay®, Etchall®, DecoArt®, Kunin Felt, Beacon Adhesives, JudiKins, The Buckle Boutique and more.

Love This! Valentine Heart Clay Earrings

This week the Designer Craft Connection's blog hop theme is "Love This!"  We were asked to share projects featuring something we love - a product, tool, technique, etc.   I'm sharing a project featuring several products I love, and a few techniques too!

Be sure to follow the Designer Craft Connection link in the column on the right to see what other creative projects the designers are sharing!









Materials (A few that I LOVE!):

Makin's Clay® - White & Red
                         - Clay roller, Heart Cutter Set
Connie Crystals - red and clear
Beacon® Adhesives 527
JudiKins French Script rubber stamp
Clearsnap® Ann Butler's Crafter's® Ink -
Silver French earring wires, silver flat head pins
Jewelry pliers

Instructions:

Mix small amount of white and red clay to swirl and create shades of pink.  Roll thin (approximately 1/8" thick.  I love blending clay and leaving it slightly swirled - I think the effect is so pretty and each piece is totally unique. 

Ink script stamp with red ink and stamp into rolled clay.   Use medium heart cutter to cut 4 hearts.  Let dry (should only take an hour or so since clay is rolled so thin).  I love to rubber stamp Makin's Clay® - you can stamp it when it's wet or dry - use the stamp to make impressions in wet clay, etc.  Endless creative options!   And this JudiKins French Script stamp is truly one of my must have stamps - I've used it on so many projects I've lost count! 

Cover back of 2 hearts with Beacon 527.  Place flat head pin with head at base of back of heart.  Place second heart on top to seal pin within.  Let dry.  Beacon's 527 is one of my "go-to" adhesives - it works on virtually anything, is super strong, and dries clear! 

Add clear crystal bead and then red crystal bead.  Create loop at top of pin.  Add to earring wires.  Connie Crystals are a great embellishment for many projects - I love having them in my creative stash to go to for not just jewelry, but paper crafts, mixed-media and more!