This was one of my favorite May Day projects.  We made a cone out of scrapbook paper and filled it with pixie sticks.  We made the pixie sticks look like flowers by adding some punched scallops and circles.  I also used some fun stamps to embellish the flowers.  I punched a hole in the back of the cone and added an eyelet to thread the ribbon through.  Super easy to make!

We made these little matchbook favor boxes last year for May Day.  Here is the tutorial on how to make those.

This year I haven't decided on what we're going to make for our baskets.  I have a feeling fabric and felt will be be involved.  I'll be sure to post the finished results.

Speaking of finished results...want to know the winner of the April Craft Challenge?

When people ask me what products got me excited at CHA, I always mention the button and shape studio from Epiphany Crafts.  It's difficult to tell what it does by looking at the contraption so I had them do a quick video demo on the product.  I think you'll like it!

Erin made a slide show tutorial so you can see how to make this great card and teacher gift box. You can find the links at the bottom of this post for the free downloads.

Download the card here and the box template here.

I love to reuse and recycle. Though, where we live in the country a convenient recycling program. So, I'm bigger on reusing items. I think everyone can come up with a use for empty paper towel holders. The most common is probably binoculars. My son has created them on his own quite often.

Napkin ring holders are a great craft that kids can participate in making. Hosting a family dinner or event? Crafts like this keep the kids busy while you tend to the menu and are decorative table art too!

For my summer napkin ring holders, I'm using a ladybug to decorate the top of the ring. If you have a die cut for this pattern, it will make things a snap.

Supplies:

Empty paper tower roll (this will make 7 napkin rings at 1 1/2 inches in length)

White acrylic paint

Cardstock: Black, Red

Ladybug die cut (or cut out manually)

Hole-punch (if you don't have a die cut)

Black or silver pipe cleaner (chenille sticks)

Googlie eyes (optional)

Cut your empty paper towel holder at 11/2 inch increments to make 7 rings.

Paint your napkin ring holders with acrylic paint. I prefer white, however, the color may vary depending on how you plan to decorate your ring.

Cut one black circle and one red circle for each ladybug body. I used my Sizzix Originals Circles #2 die to cut a circle at about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. I then used the smallest circle on the die to cut out two black circles for heads (about 3/4" in diameter).

Cut out a triangular section for the wings on one side of each of the red circles. Punch two holes on each wing for each red ladybug body. I used a larger hole-punch for the back and a smaller for the front. These make the black spots on the ladybug. Adhere the red body circle to the solid black body circle. I used 'sticky do' foam dimensional adhesives to give the ladybug some dimension. You can paint eyes on your ladybug head or leave black. I used googlie eyes on mine for a fun affect for the kids.

Cut a piece of chenille stick about an inch long. I folded the ends to make the tips of the antennae and then folded the piece in half. Attach to the back of the ladybug head. Attach the head to the body. Now, simply use craft glue or an adhesive of your preference to attach the ladybug to the painted napkin ring.

Other ideas you can do are to adhere jewels, or paint an initial as a monogram. Decorate with patterned designs with glitter glue. Wrap ribbon around the ring to fancy it up at bit.

I did a few of these for demonstration. The options are endless!

Nova Ordner a/k/a Glass Half Full, formerly owned and ran a Litigation Record Procurement Company for 12 years. Currently, she is a Household Manager, mother of two children and wife to a farmer. Nova is also proud to be a Team Writer for Root & Sprout. She's an optimist who sees life from the greener side. She's a Glass Half Full Gal.

This tutorial was made possible by Craft Sassy. I had a chance to try out Crafty Sassy for myself and make my own darn scrapbook paper. I thought I was going to be all fancy and take my own high resolution pictures but I was too lazy and found some online here. I used two different images and made two 12 X 12 single-sided pages and two 6 X 6 single-sided pages.

The process was easy and while a little spendy compared to your typical scrapbook paper, I can see how this service could really appeal to those with those extra special projects. You can use your kid's artwork, family pictures, or design your own scrapbook page layout and have it professionally printed by Craft Sassy. Have you ever thought of designing your own line of scrapbook paper? They have information for wholesale opportunities as well.

The most difficult part of the whole process was deciding on my images. Once I did, I knew exactly what I was going to make with them. My sister-in-law sent me a magnet board earlier this month. Her sister, of mythreelittleladies, made it using a 12 X 12 piece of tin covered with scrapbook paper. I loved it and thought it would be the perfect way to showcase this special scrapbook paper.

The most difficult part of this project for me was to find the metal. I bought a 12 X 18 sheet of plated steel from a home improvement store. I brought it home to my handy husband to cut with his tin snips. He also broke out some tool to buff the edges. This is all optional, of course. I'm sure the home improvement store would help with the cutting if you ask the right person. My husband also drilled the holes in the metal. They are about 3/4" from the top and 1 1/4" from each side.

The only other things you'll need for this project are: Mod Podge, a paintbrush, scrapbook paper to fit your cut metal, and matching ribbon.

View Full Album

1. Apply a layer of Mod Podge glue to one side of the metal. Don't be afraid to let your kids help you with this. At this point, it is really hard to mess this up.

2. Lay down your scrapbook paper. Use a bone folder to get out any creases or bubbles.

3. Use something to poke out the holes to match the ones on the metal. I just used the back of my paint brush.

4. Go get a drink of water or check your email. Give it a chance to dry a bit.

5. Apply a layer of Mod Podge to the top of the scrapbook paper. If you've never decoupaged before, that's really all there is to it.

6. Wait for it to dry. Maybe you can pick out your ribbon while you wait. Or, eat some chips and salsa. Your choice.

7. Cut two identical lengths of ribbon. Length will vary depending on how you want to hang your magnet board. Just make sure to leave plenty at the ends to tie. You can always cut it shorter but it is impossible to cut it longer.

8. Tie a knot. Trim the edges of the ribbon.

9. Enjoy.

I'll be posting a few of these in my etsy shop if anyone is interested.

I used to store all of my paper punches on a shelf. This quickly invited all the little hands in my house to play with them. They are sturdy enough that I was never worried that they would break, it was just a pain to try and find them again somewhere on my floor. I wanted to mount them somehow on the wall.

A few months ago we remodeled our bathroom and we had a leftover towel bar. We decided to install the towel bar in my craft room because it is the perfect thing to hold my Stampin' UP paper punches.

************************************************************************

Reminder: Today is the last day to buy your April craft challenge packet! Today is also the last day to vote for the winner of March's craft challenge. I will close the poll before I go to bed tonight.

Here is the second of the projects for Raesha's Virtual Stamp Workshop. This treat box is so quick and easy!

Supplies:
Yummy Stamp Set (one of the sets you can get for FREE with any $50 order)
Big Shot Die Cut Machine
Box #2 Bigz XL Die
one piece of Bashful Blue cardstock cut to 6" X 11"
scrap of Whisper White cardstock
Classic stamp pad in Riding Hood Red
Scissors
1/4" white grosgrain ribbon (20 inches)
adhesive

You'll notice from yesterday's post that most of these supplies are the same! With just a core set of tools and papers, you can make a wide range of projects.

1. Place bashful blue cardstock over the box #2 die and run through the Big Shot machine.
2. Score at marked score lines (shown above).
3. Stamp "Yummy" sentiment using Riding Hood Red ink onto white paper.
4. Cut out design with scissors.
5. Use adhesive to attach sides of box. This is a great die cut because you only have to tape in two small areas.

6. Apply tape to one end of the grosgrain ribbon. Place it on the back of the box. Wrap the ribbon around, overlap the ends, trim, and adhere using more tape. See above for an example of this.
7. Adhere stamped cut-out to the front of the box.
8. Using the remaining ribbon, tie a small piece around the ribbon going around the box using a square knot.
9. Fill the box with yummy treats!
10. Give it away!

Remember, all orders placed at my Stampin' UP website until Thursday will count towards Raesha's virtual workshop. All orders will be sent directly to you. Take advantage of Sale-a-bration and get extra product for free with every $50 purchase. It's my favorite time of the Stampin' UP year!

Over the next few days I'll be helping Raesha, at My Love, host a virtual stamp workshop. She does the hosting...I do the workshop. Over the next two days, I'm going to show you how to make these two cute items. The one on the left is a box and the one on the right is a pouch to hold a baggie of goodies. I wanted to show something that was quick and easy to make that would most likely use most of the same supplies you already have.

Today I'll show you how I made the pouch on the right. Come back tomorrow for the box of yummy treats.

Supplies:

Tart & Tangy Stamp Set
one piece of Bashful Blue cardstock cut to 4" X 11"
Washington Apple Designer Series Paper cut to 4" X 4"
scrap of Whisper White cardstock
scrap of Riding Hood Red cardstock
Classic stamp pad in Riding Hood Red
Scallop punch
1 3/8" circle punch
1/4" white grosgrain ribbon (6 inches)
Crop-a-dile (or other hole punch)
adhesive

1. Lay Bashful Blue cardstock out lengthwise and score at 4", 5", and 9".
2. Adhere Washington Apple DSP to the 4 X 4 section of your pouch.
3. Stamp apple using Riding Hood Red ink pad on your white paper. Punch out using 1 3/8" circle punch.
4. Punch a scallop circle out of Riding Hood Red paper.
5. Use adhesive to attach white circle to scallop circle.
6. Fold over your pouch. Be careful to only apply adhesive to the top half of your stamped scallop. Attach to the flap of the pouch.
7. Use Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in the side through front two layers of paper only.
8. Tie with ribbon.
9. Wrap this around a little baggie of goodies.
10. Give it away!

Making your own envelopes can be a great way to add just a little something extra to cards, invitiations, or even just a handwritten letter. I can assure you that they are easier to make than you might think.

Gather up your supplies. You'll need:
paper
pencil
scissors
bone folder
envelope template
glue
remoistenable glue (optional)

I have plastic templates of some envelope sizes. Plastic templates are nice...but not necessary. You can take apart an old envelope to use or there are also several templates online that you can print out. The first thing you'll want to do is trace around your template. Mine has slots where the folds should be. I use my bone folder to score inside those slots to make my folds and then I cut it out along the traced lines.

Fold up your envelope. This time I decided to use the patterned paper on the outside. It would look cute with the patterned paper on the inside, as well. When you fold your envelop, make sure that the bottom flap goes on top of the sides.

On the sides of the bottom that touch the side flaps, place some glue and adhere it to the side flaps. That is the only place you want the bottom to adhere or you'll have a hard time getting your card to fit in there!

This next step is totally optional but it is one of my favorite things about making my own envelopes. Remoistenable Envelope Glue can be found at craft stores or online. Apply the glue to the top flap and then let it dry. Once it is dry, you can lick it or moisten it like you would any store bought envelope.

Share your homemade envelopes at the flickr group.

This project is a quick and simple way to make some wrappers for pencils, candy canes, lollipops, or whatever else you can think to slide through the slits.

Gather your supplies.

I took this picture before I started making these so there are a few items pictured that I didn't use and a few items that I had to add later.

Here is the list:
paper trimmer
corner rounder
slit punch
scallop punch
paper
adhesive
stamp
ink
pencil or candy cane

Using your paper trimmer, cut the paper for the wrapper to 2 inches X 3 1/2 inches. You can get 12 wrappers from one sheet of 8 1/2 X 11 paper. Place the paper horizontally into your trimmer and cut 3 1/2 inch strips. Turn those to trim your 2 inch strips. You will have very little waste if you trim the paper this way.

Using your corner rounder, trim off each edge. I thought I wouldn't do this because it takes a lot of extra time--especially if you are making a large amount of wrappers. In the end, they look so much better with the edges rounded. So, I took the time to do it.

I stamp multiple images on a sheet and then punch them out all at once. This will save you some time if you are making a large number of these.

I chose a round stamp that would fit perfectly in a scallop punch. I had intended to have this be an extra layer on a different color scallop but since I spent the time to trim the corners, I eliminated this step. There are a number of ways you can embellish your wrapper!

This is a slit punch. There are a lot of great uses for this kind of punch but this has to be one of my favorites. I turn my punch upside down so I can see exactly where it will be punching the paper.

You'll want to punch a slit on both narrow sides of your wrapper. You can eyeball it but I had it a little less than 1/2 inch from the bottom and top.

Remember that you won't actually be removing any paper with this punch. Don't try to pull it off. All you will be doing is making a slit.

Now all you have left to do is attach your stamped scallop and put a pencil or candy cane through the holes made by the slit punch.

This project doesn't need to be limited to just the holidays. Can you image birthday party favors? Halloween candy wrappers? The simple techniques used to make this can be applied to a variety of projects.

Try out this easy project and then share your wrappers with me in my Flickr group.