Greetings cards in a hurry - rubber alphabet stamps

I often find myself putting together greetings cards in a rush (Sorry, friends and loved ones). The following post shows an idea for a personal greetings card that is laughably simple and requires little to no artistic flair whatsoever - if you're intimidated by drawing or printmaking then this is for you. The end result is quirky, witty and really simple, but in so many cases the simplest ideas can be the most striking and effective.

Materials:

Rubber alphabet stamps (mine are from Muji)

Ink pad (Hobbycraft)

Blank cards

Baby wipes/damp tissue

The little extra something comes in the form of a multi coloured ink pad - I got this one at Hobbycraft. When I saw it I was immediately tempted by it, as I can never really be bothered with lots of different coloured pads, a bit too faffy for my liking. This is perfect and there is a nice little range of colours. The alphabet stamps were a present from friends several years back, but you can see they came from Muji and are still available in their shops now.

TIP - buy a pair of cheap baby wipes and have one to hand to blot each stamp after you use it. This stops your colours from getting messed up. I got mine in Wilkinsons for under £1. Bless you Wilkinsons, saviour to cheapskate crafters everywhere!

The real beauty in this method of card making is that the creativity and genius lies not in the technique, but the words you choose to put on the card. As well as the obvious 'Happy Birthday' etc, you can put someone's favourite quote from a film, a joke, a poem, a personalised greeting... the list goes on. All the cards you see here are completely personal to the people receiving them. These are cards for three special girlfriends who made my recent stay in London fantastic from start to finish. They're already through the postal system by the time this blog post goes out, so the surprise hasn't been ruined. ;-)

I really like the personal touch, the splash of colour and the classy minimalism of these cards. The materials are easy to get hold of, will last for ages and can be used in so many different ways. This is also ideal for a craft group of any age. I think blokes would like this style of card too, what do you think?

Mini Puppet Theatre Craft

As this blog goes along you’ll see I love all things miniature. I first made a mini puppet theatre for my friend back at university – the great thing about being on an arts course is you can make your friends bizarre presents like this for their birthday and they don’t mind.

This craft is great to do with a child as it’s fairly easy, they can throw a lot of their personality into it and make it their own. In fact, this craft is basic, the nuts and bolts are shown here but the final design will be very much down to you and your ideas. If you run a craft group or youth group, it’s also ideal, as the necessary materials aren’t hard to get hold of. 

You’ll need:

A smallish cardboard box

Scrap cardboard

Scissors/craft knife

Glue

Cutting mat

Paints

Paintbrushes

Lollipop sticks for puppets

First, you need to cut a hole in the front of your theatre for the stage area. I found it easiest to work the cardboard box apart so it’s flat, and draw a square with a ruler. Cut out the hole with a craft knife or scissors. 

Glue the box back together, and use masking tape to tape shut any flaps. The bottom of the theatre needs to be open for you to use your puppets, so cut these flaps off, or tape them inside the box to make the theatre more sturdy. If you want, cut out curtains from a piece of painted card, or fabric, and glue these behind the stage, making sure they don’t crowd the space for the puppets.

If you’re feeling adventurous you can use scrap pieces of cardboard to give your theatre more structure. I cut castle battlements and a house shape for my theatres. The possibilities are endless – a rocket, a tower, an opera-house… or why not theme your theatre around a favourite film or TV show? Perhaps make puppets of your friends or family? Next time I do this I’m making a Tardis theatre with little Doctor Who puppets… 

Next, paint your theatre. I used my trusty Plasti-kote craft paint, but acrylics or poster paint will work just as well. Again, this part is up to you and your imagination. If you’re stuck for inspiration, bright colours and simple patterns work well, or you could go for a Punch and Judy stripy effect.

I’ve painted lollipop sticks for my puppets, but feel free to go one step further – you could make cardboard or fabric puppets and stick them on the lollipop sticks for a more 3-d effect. Or maybe you could cut pictures of people out of magazines and mount them on some card.

That’s all there is to it really. Enjoy!

Upcycled chocolate tins

Two chocolate tins were kicking around the office after Christmas, and I whisked them home to have a go at transforming them into pretty cake tins. I wanted to let loose with a spray can and these seemed like the perfect first project.

The paint came from Wilkinsons, and cost about £3 per can. After each tin, I still have just under half a can left, so it was quite cheap.

Interestingly, the Heroes tin (blue) took the paint really well, but the Quality Street tin was another matter, with the paint struggling to stick. Three coats later though, and I was pleased with the effect. The spraying took up a day, with about three or four coats applied.

I faced the usual fun stuff when using aerosols – horrible fumes, motes of dust and tiny hairs deciding to stick to the wet paint, etc. I also had to be patient between coats, something I am terrible at. But at the end of day one, each tin was coated nicely. Success.

The Quality Street tin had an embossed lid that I didn’t really want people to see, so I came up with the idea of giving it a padded fabric panel on top. I cut out a couple of pieces of octagonal cardboard and stuck them together to make a sturdy base, then simply stretched a piece of scrap fabric over some wadding and stapled it all secure. Loads of strong glue and a heap of heavy books on top overnight secured it nicely. When it was dry, I ran the glue round the edge and glittered it up to hide where it meets the tin.

Next came the risky part – I bought potted paint and decided to try hand-painting the tins. I didn’t want the tins to finish up looking too polished, or mass produced, and a hand painted look would give the tins the folk-art look I wanted. But sometimes something can look great in your head and turn out, well, rubbish. But I bit the bullet and went ahead.

It paid off! The potted paints don’t smell or give off nasty fumes like the spray cans. They mix beautifully and the consistency is perfect, I had no problems with dripping or anything like that. The closest thing I can compare it to is using acrylic paint, though obviously this is a more permanent medium, and with a smoother finish. They’re also water based, so no need for horrible paint thinners to clean your brushes. It goes on like a dream and you can go into fine detail no problem. It also dries fast. Cue shouts of hooray from impatient people everywhere. 

I painted the green tin’s fairly basic patterns first, and it went so well I was emboldened to try something more complicated for the blue tin. I wanted something that was illustrator-y and slightly unconventional, so I came up with a portrait illustration for the lid, and little cake illustrations for the sides.

So, at the end, I’d probably give this revamp job 7 out of ten. I’m pleased with the end result, and the paints are really good. I learnt some lessons for next time - I’d probably mask off the top of the tins where the lid goes, as I suspect repeated use will wear the paint away there. The fabric cover on the green looks alright, but now I don’t think I’d use this tin for food storage as washing up would be tricky. But overall it’s been fun and I loved painting the little pictures and patterns. If other people have tried similar projects I’d love to hear your feedback.

A going-away gift

I first made a going-away package for my friend Imogen when she went traveling a few years back. This year my childhood friend Charlotte is moving abroad to start a new job, so I’ve put one together for her. Below is a guide to making your own for anyone you know going off an adventure.

Firstly, you’ll need an empty box of some kind. Personally I think a shoebox or similar is a bit too big, as the whole idea is the gifts are compact. Part of the fun lies in finding small gifts to include, and the recipient probably won’t have a lot of room to pack a large collection of presents. The box I’ve used is an empty Ferrero Rocher box (mmmm), it’s an ideal size, and I like the aesthetic of the gifts behind the transparent plastic.

Now the fun bit: tracking down some cute little presents to include. Charlotte loves making a house into a home, so I’ve included some little homey bits for her new apartment: little fridge magnets, a photo frame, a teabag holder. Think about the personal situation of the friend, to help you find appropriate gifts. Where are they going? Is it for pleasure, a new job, a new relationship? Are they likely to be homesick? What will they be doing? An example: if your friend is hiking, you could get some new shoelaces, a little compass, or an energy bar.

Aim for a mixture of useful gifts and some frivolous humourous ones. I’ve used labels to make the gifts a bit more special and raise a smile (Suki’s Box of Labels). The Eric Carle strawberry badge is an in-joke: we used to have a giant strawberry cushion in our old flat. The linen heart was a great find, now Charlotte can have a little piece of the UK hanging up on her wall.

To encourage her to keep in touch (and because she loves stationary and will be working in an office) I’ve packed up this cute letter set, and some sticky notes and stickers. These are great because they are lightweight and pretty, perfect for Charlotte to stow in her case. All these came from Artbox.

I just love the look of all the little presents nestled in the box!

I rubber stamped a large sticker for the top of the box and finished it off with pink ribbon. This is a really unique way to send your friend away smiling. To turn the concept on its head, this could also be a great goodbye gift for a friend or relative if YOU are going away – a Don’t Forget Me box, perhaps!

Finished!

Some other ideas for traveling/farewell gifts: 

• Small pieces of jewellery
• Keyring
• Handwarmers/socks/cute tissues
• Non-perishable food: energy bar, sweets/candy
• Little notebook/pen
• Small toiletry items: chapstick, hand cream, toothpaste etc.
• A photograph of a favourite local haunt, pet or friends

 Have a go!