Free Seed and Tea Packet Printable

So whenever I come across something cute and FREE I like to share it with all those who come to read my blog. I especially like free printables. I came across a blog by the talented Tricia-Rennea who is an illustrator and graphic designer. She designed these adorable seed and tea packets! Just print and assemble. Slip in a tea bag in one and seed or seed packet in the other and give this to your guests that come to your ladies luncheon! This would also make great favors for any other event. I love the little blue birdie illustration on these. They just "chirp" SPRING to me! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. To print your own just click here.

Free Printable Cake Box and Gift Box Template

Who doesn't like getting a piece of cake? Problem is when you give someone like a neighbor a piece of cake you might never see the plate or tupperware you gave it in again because they decided to hold it hostage! Fear no more....now you can dress up your cake and actually keep what belongs to you! These are little Kawaii (Japanese for "cute") cake boxes you can just print, cut and fold from the comfort of your home. Print them out on heavy duty card stock so they are sturdy. Pack up that delicious piece of chocolate ganache cake into the cake box and than put it into the gift box. Voila...you have a gift within a gift! If you would like to print out one of these just click here. Special thanks to Gaby from www.dailycute.net who originally posted this template. You can find her blog here or by clicking on her button in my Shop and Blog links section.

Zooples ABC Flash Cards

ABCDEFG (singing voice)....ok now that, that is in your head and you can't get the song out let me show you a cute shop I stumbled upon.

There are many different ways to teach your child the ABC's but most of them are typical. "I Design My World" on Etsy has come up with a bold, creative, whimsical way of doing just that with their "Zooples" series of cards. Their illustrations are captivating to say the least. Each card has a different animal featured on it with the name of the animal printed in the front. In the back you will find the letter you want to teach your little wee one.

The animals featured in the set are:

Alligator+Bear+Cat+
Dolphin+Elephant+
FrogGoldfish+Hippo+
Iguana+Jaguar+
Kangeroo+Lion+
Monkey+Narwhale+Octopus+
Penguin+Queen Bee+Shark+Tiger+
Unicorn+Vampire Bat+
Wolf+Fox+Yak+ Zebra

You can even feature your choice of animal as the first card and pick your coordinationg ribbon for the packaging. Whats so great about this shop is they recognize that over time cards wear and tear so they even offer "individual" replacement cards. How great is that? Each replacement card is $1.oo if you have previously purchased a full set and $2.00 if you want to purchase just one card as a sample.

Each card is printed on sturdy cardstock and measures 4.25 x 5.5 inches. These would make great new baby gifts or just to have on hand to give as a gift for any other occasion. If you would like to purchase a set you can find them here.

DIY Matchbox Birth Announcements

Having a baby is an exciting time in every couple's life. I should know....I'm in my eighth month of pregnancy and can't help but gawk at anything baby related! So you can imagine I was really excited when I came across this cute posting about birth announcements! How adorable are they?! I especially love the one in the front with the little chics on them! Thanks to the good folks at Little Window Shoppe for posting this cute tutorial. It looks so simple to do, yet appears so elegant. You can customize these any which way you can think of since the market is filled with beautiful scrapbook paper. You can add anything inside from the diaper pins pictured to candy. If you would like to see the instructions just click on the title above to be taken over to the tutorial. As usual, enjoy!

Hand Loomed Straw Flower Tutorial

Vintage inspired crafts of the 60's can be so hip and colorful sometimes. Take a look at these straw (synthetic raffia) flowers for example. Not only is the display bright and beautiful to look at but the flowers themselves are cheerful looking! These flowers were made on a loom. A what???!!! Remember those plastic circle thinga-ma-bobs with pegs that we would wind yarn on in figure eight patterns in art class when we were kids? Ya, those!!!! To purchase them you can head over to Ebay or you can purchase them in a pack from an Etsy seller named cathyofcalifornia. Cathy Callahan from Cathy of California's shop herself demonstrates how to make these bright flowers on the Martha Stewart show. Just click on the title above for instructions. You can also see a video tutorial by following the link to the Martha Stewart site and clicking on the "watch video" tab at the bottom of the picture there. Whats so wonderful about these flowers is the endless possibilities in crafting. You can make these and attach it to a hair clip. These would also be lovely as brooches to dress up a shirt. Attach them around a wrist cuff and you have an instant cute accessory! The only limit is your imagination! Enjoy!

Blog Give Away! (Ends May 8/09)

Welcome to my first ever blog give away! I will try to hold one on a monthly basis if life permits!!!!!!! I am giving away a set of my "Itty Bitty Flower Bites" along with some square chipboard/epoxy buttons that I have created. Both have a slightly tacky adhesive back so they are perfect for your paper craft needs. If you prefer it without just simply let me know. The Itty Bitty Flower Bites come in shades of pink and aquas. Each flower is embellished with a glittery center and attached with a pop dot to give it height and dimension. They measure 1 inch each in total. My chipboard/epoxy button embellishments come in three different types of patterns and colors as well as size. The largest being 1 inch, medium is 3/4 inch, and small is 1/2 inch. *note* These are not the same chipboard buttons from my shop. Both items will come nicely packaged (for example see shop listing for wobbly chipboard epoxy buttons...last picture) in a cello bag with bag topper. So what do you have to do to enter? Its simple....

1) visit my shop and in the comment field please post which product you like
2) link my Etsy shop AND my blog to your blog

Want to earn extra entries? Than simply
3) add yourself as a follower under "My Blog Followers
4) blog about this give-away in your blog

You will earn one extra entry for EACH action you do from #3 and #4

Winner will be announced May 9 2009....Good luck!

www.thelemondroptree.etsy.com

*UPDATE* To those who participated thank you for all of your lovely comments. The winner of this giveaway is Pixeltrash! Congratulations Pixeltrash, please contact me with your mailing information within 48 hours to claim your prize.

Forest Friends Gift Card Envelope

Awhile back I came across a paper craft magazine that showed how to make these cute little gift card envelopes. Now one doesn't have to just hand over a plain gift card but can "fancy" it up by putting it in one of these. I thought they were so cute so I HAD to try it out for myself! I have made a few and have decided to list them in my Etsy shop soon in the next few days starting with this whimsical "Forest Friends" one. The envelopes have glittery detailing on them, along with a belly band that slips over the envelope to hold it shut which has a cute deer embellishment on a glittered scalloped circle. On the inside there is more glitter detail and a mushroom accent. The whole card is inked at the edges to give it a "distressed" look and the card is finished off with embossed detailing at the edge of the card (top flap) along with the edges having a fancy punched out lace type of detailing. As usual custom requests are always welcome! Please convo me through my Etsy shop if you are interested.

*UPDATE* this item has sold out within a day of listing it in my Etsy shop. I am working on a few more in different colors so please check back regularly in my Etsy shop for future listings.

Shooby Boo Loves Spring

Who is this little guy hiding behind his floral tree you might ask? Well its none other than Shooby Boo! He's a colorful sock monster who belongs to the "Kapooshie Monster Family." Shooby Boo is sewn from one sock, embellished with Fimo-Soft clay buttons and he holds a stem of felt flowers. He comes with personal id as well. But thats not the best part! He wears a little necklace around his neck that can double as a bracelet for you!!!! He likes to share....how cool is that?!!!! If you want to adopt this lovable monster (oh he doesn't bite....did I mention that?!) than just click on the title to be taken to where he currently resides along with many others of his kind. I hope he finds a good home. Will you be the one to take him in? Let us know!

Felt Cupcake/Pencil Topper Tutorial

I love things that you can get multiple use out of. Take for example these cute little felt pencil toppers which were originally used as felt cupcake toppers! These would make such a good present for the other kids in your child's class. You can make these in just about any design your imagination can think of. There is a step by step tutorial you can find by clicking on the title above. I especially like the little pink felt cupcakes that were made as toppers! In the tutorials she uses a sewing machine to stitch things together for some of the toppers. Since I don't have a sewing machine and am too lazy to sew in the first place I thought of making these without the machine. All it requires is a little bit of good ol' glue and embroidery floss and you're good to go! I would love to hear your feedback on this tutorial if any of you make this. Feel free to post pictures on flickr and link to it here in the comment section.