Craft Bric a Brac: Part Deux

 

I would like to thank McDonald’s for putting a semi-useful toy in their Happy Meal this go round.  We got a Strawberry Shortcake doll that smells delicious along with a strawberry cookie cutter.  

So, using some break and bake Pillsbury cookies (that were 2 for $5, plus a $1 off coupon at Publix), my daughter and I tried to make some strawberry cookies.  This was not an easy task.  The dough was too sticky.  So I said forget it.  I baked the cookies as they were, straight out of the package.  When I took them out, I “stamped” them with the cookie cutter.  And, um, beware of the hot lava cookie dough burning the palm of your hand while doing this.  They looked so cute (though I forgot to take a picture)!  But Avery thought they needed jazzing up so we tinted a little bit of canned frosting red and green.  This is what we ended up with:

We added jimmies to some of them for seeds.  We didn’t have chocolate ones though, so they didn’t look like I wanted them to.  I think these could also pass as tomatoes, but that sounds gross for a cookie lol.

I also got started on my heat embossing for Christmas presents.  After some experimenting with pigment ink pads and a better heat gun (take that Martha Stewart), I finally had some successful results. 

I bought some scrapbooking cardstock paper at the Hobby Lobby on sale (72 pages for $4.50).  The paper itself was really pretty and several patterns had glitter on it already.  I was also able to find some nice alphabet stamps at Michaels for about $3 on clearance.  Here is a sampling of the cards I have done:

 

I used a corner punch that also embosses part of the design to dress up some of the paper.  This stamp is so intricate and beautiful.  I was surprised the powder didn’t bleed together more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a few different letter stamps, but I really like this typewriter-style.  I also really like the black embossing powder.  It looks like patent leather.

 

 

 

 

 

I figured out that the glittery powders are temperamental and do not melt evenly.  There is also a lot of static cling and it made specks on my finished product, even though I tried to brush the excess away.

 

I plan to make several sets of these cards and give them away as presents to teachers, friends and family.  And while it has been quite an investment (money and time wise), I have really enjoyed making these cards.  And since it involves no cutting or drawing circles or straight lines, then I can do it almost to perfection!