day 172 - dandy bee thank you card

used a few of my clear rubber stamps to create this clean and simple bee thank you card.  the bee and sentiment stamps are from Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees set, the top hat is by Catslife Press, and the frame is from Stampin' Up's Frame It - Clear-Mount Stamp set.

the bee, hat & sentiment are stamped in StazOn Black and the frame is stamped in StazOn brown.  i colored the hat and bee in with a simple yellow marker.

Day 171: Felt Spider

MEET ARAGOG!

yes, this is Hagrid's forest friend, Aragog the giant spider. but this spider is made of felt and fuzzy pipecleaners and only about 4 inches big.

aragog was created for the Swap-bot swap, "Hagrid ATC & pet mini stuffie (plush)" in the Harry Potter Fans Worldwide group.

here's how i made it:

1. to make the abdomen:  cut a felt circle about 5 inches big
2. sew a running stitch around the outside of the circle and pull thread tight while stuffing the body with polyfil.  tie thread tight to close the ball.
3. to make the cephalothorax (head) - cut 2 small circles of felt (about 1 inch)
4. sew eyes - using embroidery thread, make french knots to make tiny beady eyes.
5. add legs - cut four 4-inch pieces of black/brown pipecleaner, slightly fold them in half so you know where the middle is, then place them between the 2 cephalothorax pieces.  stitch around to sew the 2 pieces of felt together, spacing the legs out nicely and stuffing it with just a tiny bit of polyfil.
6. attach cephalothorax to abdomen - using matching thread, sew the two pieces together... and you're done!
7. just shape the legs to that your spider stands up.

Day 170: Blue Butterfly Thank You Card

made a CAS thank you card for my Grandma to thank her for my birthday card.  i love that if all else fails, i always get a card from her every year on or before my birthday.  i used a diecut paper butterfly i received in a Swap-bot swap, a single self-adhesive rhinestone and Papertrey Ink's "thank you" sentiment from their Think Big Favorites #5 stamp set inked in black.

Day 169: Red Butterfly Thank You Card

made a CAS thank you card for my in-laws to thank them for my birthday present.  i used a diecut paper butterfly i received in a Swap-bot swap, a single self-adhesive rhinestone and Papertrey Ink's "thank you" sentiment from their Think Big Favorites #5 stamp set inked in black.

Day 168: Autumn Dreams Butterfly Postcard

i made a simple hand-stamped postcard for the Swap-bot swap, "Rubber stamp postcards" in the Handmade Postcard group.



i repurposed some cardboard from my USPS postage stamp order by cutting it down to 4 x 6-inches. 
i had some autumn leaves paper left over from another project, so i cut it 3.75 x 5.75-inches and adhered it to the cardboard.  i cut a scrap piece of plain white cardstock to fit on the postcard (about 2.75 x 3-inches) and rubber stamped the poppies from the Papertrey Ink Botanical Silhouettes stamp set in Stampin' Pad Tangerine Tango and Old Olive.  the sentiment is from Papertrey Daydreamer set (inked in black) and the butterfly is from the TJ Design Elements stamp set and inked in Stampin' Pad Marina Mist.



there are no butterflies on the back, but i hand stamped everything and thought it turned out quite nice.

everything is inked in black:  the Postcard stamp i found on Ebay, the airmail and center border stamps are from TJ Design Elements stamp set, "Please Deliver To:" is from Paper Pastries, the date stamp i found at an office supply store, "from" is from the Inkadinkado Holiday Tag stamp set, "hippofairy" is a custom personalized rubberstamp, and the postage stamp border is from Papertrey Ink's Postmarks stamp set.
handmade postcards sent to FarStarr & MissPaula

Day 167: Halloween Spider Bookmark

made this just for fun while trying to fill up a laminating sheet (making other Christmas bookmarks for Swap-bot swaps).

used a scrap piece of Halloween paper cut to 2 x 5.5-inches on top of white cardstock (cut just a little bit bigger). rounded the edges of both papers, then adhered and laminated them together. punched a hole in the top and braided white, black, and orange embroidery thread for the tassel.

cute huh? i made two, but my husband took one to use. :)

Day 166: Silver Bee Jingle Bell Cellphone Charm

got my package of bee charms and beads this week!  i'm so excited to be making more bees for the private Swap-bot swap i'm in. :)  the bee charm is made by TierraCast right here in California!  they make the most beautifully detailed metal beads and charms! 

so i just dangled a silver jingle bell from the black cellphone strap, added a couple more jump rings and a pink acrylic flower bead, a couple more jump rings and the bee charm at the bottom.  they're nicely tiered, i think.  cute little charm to hang from your phone or zipper. :)