Treat Bag

I have been using pure therapeutic essential oils for almost two years now.  I have no regrets. And I'm not turning back.  Young Living (Member ID:  10811270) is now a part of my lifestyle - one of the ways I'm trying to get rid of harmful chemicals that are out there.  It has made a very big difference to me and my household.

Anyway, I was tasked to make something crafty in one of the essential oil facebook groups I'm in.  So I made this treat bag to put Young Living Ningxia Nitro in.  Ningxia Nitro is like Red Bull without the harmful chemicals.  I always have this with me when I travel or when I have band gigs.  This is most especially helpful to me having an infant who wakes up often in the middle of the night.

For this project, I used the Favorably Simple Gift Box die by Spellbinders.

This treat bag can hold 1 Ningxia Nitro, with fillers.

Or up to 4 Ningxia Nitros without fillers.

This little project was a good chance to use this die.  Can't wait to use it for future holiday projects.

'Til next blog!

Pick Your Poison

I was inspired by a fellow crafter after she posted a project using Starbucks bottles.  I have used these bottles before, but it has been a long time.  Her post reminded me that I still have a lot of them hiding in the basement.  So for my Halloween treats this year, I used up all the bottles I have left.

I covered the bottle caps with punched DP, and quickly did some stamping for the front, which was layered on black cardstock cut with Spellbinders.

Now we're all set for Halloween.  Just in case we run out, we have more goodies in treat bags.

'Til next blog!

Picture Frame

There is a small group of Filipino-American community in Northern Michigan.  Twice a year, the members would gather and enjoy home-made Filipino food and activities.  For the summer party, I wasn't able to make it due to prior engagements, but I wanted to make something for them to use.  I had two cardboard pieces from a rolling cart that I thought I could use as a base frame for a photo booth. I saved it for a future project, and the summer party was a perfect opportunity to utilize it.

So I painted the cardboard white, and started decorating.  The alphas are mainly chipboard and big stickers, while the stars were foam sheets cut with Spellbinders dies.  Of course, this frame's gotta have bling.  

To me, the most important part of this photo frame are the colors. The left side features colors from the Philippine Flag, while the right side shows colors from the American Flag.

I may be absent from the event, but it sure feels good that a lot of their pics have my work in it.

'Til next blog!

It's a Girl ! Part 2

I always like to make stuff for parties.  I jump on it when I get the chance.  I've heard people say why spend so much time in making them when you can just buy them so cheap at a dollar store.  I get it.  In this fast paced world, time is of an essence.  Some people just don't have time.  But I like to make time for things like this. Besides, handmade decor makes the event extra special and memorable.  I do have a rule when it comes to this.  When I make things like this, it's because I want to do it.  I don't like to get paid or receive anything in return.  To me, the fun goes away when there's money involved.  And it makes the process stressful. 

Anyway, when I learned of my friend's baby shower, the first thing that came to mind was to make a banner.  I love making banners. She picked a baby dress stamp for her invitation cards, which I used to make the banner.  I stamped the image, embossed it, scanned it, then enlarged it with the magic of Photoshop.   

The letters were cut with Cricut - sorry, can't remember the cartridge. I used the same edge punch used is the same as what was on the invites. 

This next project is a first for me.  My friend found this idea online, and I thought it was just brilliant!  The guests are to write their names on each dress, then hang it on the clothesline.  Aside from being a guest book, it is also a keepsake for their first baby. 

My friend picked the wooden frame, then I did the rest, trying to stick to the baby shower invitation design.

For souvenirs, she picked some hand sanitizers from Bath & Body Works.  This was a quick project, as I just did a whole lot of paper punching (all Stampin' Up).

See my name on one of the dresses already?  I was so sick that day, that I just went to drop off all the goodies.  I didn't want anybody else to catch what I had, so I left right away.  Hey, at least I get to sign the guest book.

See the white box above?  That's where all the dresses are for the Guest Book.  It's actually a watch box.  Just didn't throw it away, and now I found a good use for it.

And since we have leftover materials, I made a Thank You Card Set to give out to her guests.

This sure is one of my biggest baby shower projects ever.  It's not over yet, as I still have to make the baby's first year scrapbook.

'Til next blog!

Kiddie Signs

This is going to be short and sweet.  I'd have to say Tinker Planet has been busy with guests this summer.  After the wood signs we made last month, we had had two nieces and their friend come over to do some crafting.  I had 12 x 12 chipboard so I had them make name signs to hang in their bedroom.  They selected the DP for their background, the alphas for their names, and embellishments as well.  It was a fun girls' day!

'Til next blog!

Anniversary Frame

Our new GM celebrated his 40th anniversary with the company.  That sure is an achievement.  I don't think I'll ever work that long with a company.  20 years would be cool, and I think is feasible. I don't know.  We'll see.

So anyway, I snagged an oak frame at work, and made something for all employees to write a message and sign.  This is another quick project - I just got a variety of alpha stickers and embellishments that would work together.

Here you'll see wood, translucent stickers, felt chipboard and jelly chipboard.

This frame sure got full of messages and signatures.  It's not displayed in his office.

'Til next blog!

Tinker Christmas

Hello crafty reader!  I'm sure by now, your trees have tons of gifts under the tree - some of them especially crafty.  I was looking for the one crafty gift for myself, and I think I have found the one I really like.  I will discuss that in another post.

But for now, let me share with you my craft projects this Christmas.

Decorating wreaths has become a tradition in Tinker Planet.  This year's wreath is nothing fancy.  Just like last year, I adhered pine cones and bling.  I finally used up my pine cone stash from the yard, and the bling is from leftover decorations from a wedding at the hall where I wash dishes.

Part of my crafty Christmas tradition is making handmade ornaments.  Last year, the "main ingredient" of my ornament was scrap staples.  This year, I'm using leftover lumber ticket material from work.  It's white thin sheet of plastic - very durable.  I'm not sure what it's called, but I do know I can create a lot of things with it.  Actually, I have made a quick retirement banner with it in July (click here to see).  

With Sizzix dies (probably retired), I was able to make the following:

Snowflake Hanging #2

Snowflake Hanging 3-D #2

Snowflake Hanging 3-D

Starburst, Hanging

Start 10-Point 3D

And of course... cards!  I wouldn't let the holiday season pass without making any Christmas cards.  I'll share all of them on my Christmas Day post.

'Til then... enjoy your Christmas Eve!

Halloween 2015

We never really celebrated Halloween growing up in the Philippines.  I remember just reading about it in books or seeing it on TV.  So when I lived in an American community, I can say I appreciate Halloween more than most people.  Back in Japan, I like to make Halloween crafts with my Japanese students and take them trick-or-treating.  Oh yeah.  I like to dress up too.

I didn't carve my first pumpkin until I moved to the US.  I love to carve pumpkins that I even bought a good set of carving tools.  I like to light them up with candles outside on the porch.  I'd decorate too, and dress up.  But for the past couple of years, I was just too tired from work to do anything Halloweeney, though I still made sure to make halloween treats to give to the kids.

Not this year.

I searched for my pumpkin carving tools and worked on 7 pumpkins in one night.  Yeah.  My arms hurt that night and the following day, but it sure was worth it.  All designs carved here were patterned from Cricut die cuts.

This is the biggest and most detailed of them all. 

Of course, I had to make one for my band IDK. 

Then comes the treats for the kids.  Nothing too fancy, but with lots of goodies inside!

I used a couple of $1 stamps by Inkadinkado, garnished with some bling.

I may have not decorated for Halloween, but I sure was a Crying Comic Girl during my band gig that night.

Hope you had a fun Halloween... 'til next blog!

Retirement Party Part 1

The General Manager at work was retiring and we have been preparing for his retirement party.  I was tasked to organize everything, which I don't mind because it's kind of my thing.  For this post, I'd like to share with you the crafty side of the retirement party.  Some are quick and easy projects while the others were pretty challenging, with the celebrant being a male.

The retirement banner was easy.  The company deals with a lot of wood, so I used wood designer tape for the letters.  Nothing fancy. But what makes this banner special is the base.  I used the actual tickets we use for our wood products.  

For a more festive look, I added ribbon in between the letters.  See the border in the bottom?  Those are remnants from a previous project.

Using the same material for the banner above, I used the printed version of the tickets to wrap the retirement gift.  And to really maximize the materials we have at work, I used banding for the wood pallets to make a ribbon/bow with.  I have to say, this gift topper was the hardest to make because the banding is really stiff.  

'Til next blog!

One Saturday

I can't even remember the last time I babysat for friends' kids. Guess what? I got to do it last weekend. First thing that came to mind - craft time!  And craft time is play time.  At least for me.

Well, the girl I babysat likes crafts too.  Perfect!

She is pretty familiar with my planet, and every time she's there, she knows what she wants to do, what materials to use, and how to mix the colors together.  

So last Saturday, she wanted to make a wall decor for her bedroom. I showed her different kits, but as soon as she saw the Flower Garden Pack by Colorbok, she knew what to do.  But first, she had to see all her choices.

After a little bit of planning on the layout, she was able to layer her elements, and was able to put together her wall decor.  I just helped her with tools, and showed her the effects of inking the edges.  She sure liked that!

I learned something from this experience.  Not to think too much when I have a crafting project.  Brooke did the exact same thing, and she did a really awesome job.

'Til next blog!