Fast Friday

Hi Everyone!  Christmas is right around the corner and if you are super busy, Fast Friday is the answer!  The design team has come up with some great projects that can be done super quickly!  Not to mention, they are super cute!!

Let's take a look at what the design team has come up with today! 

Rudolph Candy Wrapper
Patti Milazzo

Packaging for small gifts and stocking stuffers can be kept simple yet still be creative. The snowman candy bar wrapper has been a favorite of mine – who doesn’t like the gift of chocolate, right? For my project, I was inspired to make my own reindeer version of this idea using some of my favorite go-to supplies, Bo Bunny Cardstock and a little bit of Double Dot Ribbon.

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Cardstock: Dot/ Decaft & Sugar; Flourish/Wild Berry; Stripe/Chocolate
Ribbon: 3/8 Clover

Other Supplies: chocolate bar, small jingle bell, black paint or black broad point marker; black fine tip marker; pink artist/scrapbook chalk or discarded powdered blush; Fiskars Punches (cloud, puzzle piece, a little out of shape) Optional - scallop edged scissors and puzzle pieces

Patti has even made a tutorial to help you make these cuties!!

Instructions:
1. Cut 5 ¾”H x 6”W piece of cardstock – you can get 4 wrappers from 1 – 12” sheet.
2. From the left, score at the 1 ½” mark , then score ¼” over from that, then 2 ¼” over from that, then ¼” over. Fold the score lines. This will create a sleeve for the candy bar. Set aside.

3. Punch a shape for the nose. I had an irregular square that I wanted to use, but you can just as easily use a circle (about 1.5”) or even a square. I used punches for the antlers (trim off one end) and tuft of white fur as well. Use adhesive to layer these pieces at the top of the wrapper.

Tip: Other alternatives could be actual puzzle pieces covered in cardstock (or painted brown) for the antlers and a punched white oval trimmed with scalloped scissors for the tuft of fur.

4. Place the wrapper face up and at about the middle apply the “blush” with either chalk or real blush with a cotton swab or stiff bristle paint brush. Next, add eyes – I positioned the nose to help space the eyes and mouth. I then used the blunt end of an old paint brush dipped in black acrylic to dot the eyes but you can also simply do the same with a broad tip marker. Mark a line or a smile below where the nose will be.
5. Add the nose with a bit of adhesive foam for dimension.
6. Carefully wrap the candy bar with the wrapper and secure with adhesive.
7. Cut a 6” strip of Chocolate cardstock and wrap this around the bottom of the candy bar – this is Rudolph’s collar. Accent with a ribbon bow and jingle bell. It’s ready to share & enjoy!

Suggestions:
-Give this as is or attach a gift card to the back or even tucked inside the wrapper as an extra surprise.
- Apply the same basic design to cards, pillow boxes, tags or any packaging.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

Next up is this beautiful layout using the new Enchanted Collection from Mireille!

Love
Mireille Divjak

Supplies
Cardstock :Double Dot - Sugar Dot, Licorice Dot
Patterned Paper: Enchanted- harlequin, fairytales, whispers
Trinkets: Enchanted
Jewels: Enchanted, Smoochable
Combo Stickers: Enchanted
chipboard: Enchanted
Staples- Bo Bunny

And Samantha came up with this pretty gift bag idea.  This is perfect for a quick and beautiful way to add some flair to your packaging!

Gift Bag

Samantha Wright

Supplies used:
Patterned Paper: Father Christmas 6x6" Pad, Father Christmas Holly
Chipboard: 12" Father Christmas

Other: Punches, stickles chalk ink

Designers Tip: Need a gift bag in a hurry? The Bo Bunny 6" paper pads are perfect for altering gift bags suitable for any occasion. Minimal cutting required!

Don't Forget!

There is still time to participate in the ongoing challenges! 

Have a great weekend! 

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Hello! This is Patti and today I have some handmade Christmas ornaments to share with you.  My favorite collection this holiday season is Bo Bunny's Blitzen line.  I love the colors and knew it would be perfect for the stitched and stuffed distressed paper ornaments I had in mind.  I've made 3 examples that are a breeze to make and can be done in very little time. 
 

BO BUNNY SUPPLY LIST:

Patterned Paper: Turtle Doves, Stripe, Blitzen and Sentiment/ BLITZEN; Winter Joy (brown)/WINTER JOY

Cardstock: Flourish/Orange Citrus

Buttons: BLITZEN

Jewels: BLITZEN

Chipboard: Layered Chipboard/BLITZEN

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Create or find an ornament shape to use as your template.  You can also use large die cuts if you have them.  Stick with simple shapes (that are about 4" - 6" high) as they'll be easier to stitch and stuff.  I already had these templates (bird, snowman and tree) on hand that were ideal for these paper ornaments.  With a pencil, trace and cut 2 of each of the shapes from Bo Bunny patterned paper.

• 2 triangles and 2 trunk shapes
• 2 bird bodies and 2 wings
• 2 snowman shapes

 2.  Ink the edges and distress, if you like.  To further distress my shapes, I also sprayed them lightly with water and carefully crinkled them.  Be careful - the paper tends to be very fragile while it's wet.  Then I flattened them out a bit and dried them with a heat gun.

3.  Once the paper shapes are completely dry prepare them to be stitched together.  This is a good time to attach a ribbon or string to hang the ornament.  Simply adhere it to the top back side of the front shape with a bit of adhesive.  It will be further secured once you stitch the ornament.  For the tree, stitch around the trunk leaving the top of the trunk open.  Add a very small amount of polyfil and with a little bit of adhesive attach it to the bottom back side of the front tree shape - again, it will be more secure once you stitch the tree ornment.











4.  Next, align the front and back pieces of your ornament - with wrong sides facing in.  Determine where you can leave a 2" - 3" opening on the ornament for easy stuffing and begin stitching around the shape - stitch 1/8" from the edge.  Also, be sure to backstitch a little bit to prevent it from coming undone later as you stuff. 













TIP: Change out your regular needle used for sewing fabric and dedicate a needle to paper sewing.  I switch them as needed.

5.  Before adding any stuffing, this is the time to add any details that would be difficult to add later - hand drawn details, rub-ons, etc.  I added the snowman's face  - a bit of blush with a cotton swab, and the eyes and mouth were added using the end of a paint brush dipped in black acrylic paint.  I also glued on the cardstock nose and punched heart with liquid glue.














6.  Add small amounts of polyfil or other stuffing to the ornaments.  Be sure not to over stuff as it will make it difficult to stitch.  Stitch the opening closed and tie off the ends at the back of the ornament.

7.  Attach the wing to the front side of the bird with a strong adhesive.  Then adhere any additional embellishments or accents to complete the ornaments and they're ready to enjoy!

Other suggested shapes: gingerbread men, stockings, stars and hearts.


Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial and that you too will be inspired to create a few handmade ornaments this season. 

♥ h a p p y  c r a f t i n g ! ♥
Patti

Focus On Forever Fall

It's that time of year where the air is getting crisp and the leaves are falling. The kids are back in school and the pumpkin patches are open. It's the perfect time to shine the spotlight on the collection, 

Forever Fall!

The vibrant colors and designs in this beautiful collection are perfect for all of your Fall Pictures! It is also a great fit for fall altering and cards, too!

The design team has provided an example of each of these ideas.  Let's have a look!

Tussie Mussie

Debbie Sherman

The flowers in the front of this beautiful arrangement are an altered bouquet made with paper and the centers of the silk bouquet.

 

 

Bo Bunny Supplies List:
Patterned Paper- Forever Fall:Impressions, Foliage, Blaze
Buttons- Forever Fall
Cardstock Stickers - Gratitude
Dimensional Stickers
Double Dot ribbon

Additional items:  Fall Bush Bouquet, Styrofoam Come, Lace
Ribbon for bow, Therm O Web Zots, Tape Runner XL, Ink

Autumn Card Set
 Patti Milazzo






Bo Bunny Supply List:
Patterned Paper: Foliage, Impressions, Nature, Blaze, Bouquet, Dot, Dusk, Stripe and Sunflower/Forever Fall
Cardstock: Double Dot in Almond and Chiffon, Journal in Chiffon
Card Kit: Forever Fall (dragonfly)
Buttons: Buttons & Bling

Britten
Mahlin Wiggur

Mahlin's layout is all set and ready to give as a gift.  She has left space for a photo that her recipient will add.  Who wouldn't love to get this beauty as a gift?









Bo Bunny Supply List:
Patterned Paper: Foliage, Dot, Dusk and Stripe /Forever Fall
12" Chipboard:Forever Fall
Jewels: Forever Fall
Brads: Forever Fall
Dimensional Stickers: Forever Fall
Trinkets: Forever Fall
Layered Chipboard: Forever Fall
Noteworthy: Forever Fall
We hope you are inspired to create with the
Forever Fall Collection!

As always, we invite you to share your pages, cards and projects with us on Facebook.  Don't forget that Bo Bunny is now on Pinterest, too!

Happy Creating!

Fast Friday

Welcome to another Fast Friday! 

How long do you spend creating your layouts?  Are you a fast scrapbooker or does it take you hours or maybe even days to create one layout?  Either way, today’s post is just for YOU! 

We challenge you to create a layout in one hour or less.  We also challenged some of our designers to do this and here is what they came up with.

First up, we have this beautiful layout by Tomoko. At first glance, this layout looks like it would have taken days to create.  I know I thought so at first, but Tomoko shared some tips about how to create gorgeous with limited time.  Tomoko didn’t use much paper on her layout.  She used the large die-cut paper and then embellished the page with cutouts from some of the patterned paper, chipboard, stickers and Noteworthy.

Wanna Play?
Tomoko Takahashi

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Patterned Paper: Garden Girl, Arbor, Stripe, Cut Outs, Die Cut /Garden Girl
Cardstock: Chocolate Journal
Stickers: Dimensional Stickers
Noteworthy: Garden Girl
Brads: Garden Girl
Jewels: Garden Girl
Rub-ons: Garden Girl
Chipboard: Garden Girl 12 x 12
Trinkets: Garden Girl

Our next layout was created by Patti.  She kept it simple with one picture and a nice linear design with her patterned papers and title.  She finished it off with some chipboard, stickers and buttons.

  "Autumn Leaves"
Patti Milazzo

Tip: For a multi photo layout, push your photo more to the right and the title and embellishments to the left. Elongate the paper below the photo into a rectangle. That should give you enough room to double your space to fit 2-3 photos total

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Patterned Paper: Fall Breeze, Dot, Impressions, Stripe and Dusk/Forever Fall; Extra, Stamped and Symphony/Et Cetera
Cardstock: Journal in Chocolate
Stickers: Forever Fall Combo Stickers and Et Cetera Combo Stickers
Brads: Forever Fall
Rub-ons: Forever Fall
Chipboard: 12” Forever Fall
Buttons: Forever Fall
Other: natural hemp; oak leaf punches and border punch (Fiskars Americas)

Next we have Robbie.  Robbie added layers and easy details for her page.  Taking advantage of shapes from the Noteworthy and stickers made the page come together quickly.

Robbie Herring
2 of a Kind

Design Tip:  Take shortcuts to add detailing.  Use an embossing folder on Noteworthy for a more customized look.  Use a punch for leaves instead of handcutting.  Lots of foam dots can help with layers and dimension.

Bo Bunny Supplies List:

Patterned Paper:   Garden Girl, Garden Girl Dot and Chiffon Double Dot

Noteworthy:  Garden Girl

Brads:  Garden Girl

Buttons:  Garden Girl

Stickers:  Garden Girl

Layered Chipboard:  Garden Girl

Chipboard:  Garden Girl

Rub-ons:  Garden Girl

Our last layout for today is from Samantha.  She made it fast and kept it special by using basic shapes with her paper and adding her beautiful details with embellishments, brads and jewels.  Destressing adds even more detailing.

So very grateful for you
Samantha Wright

Bo Bunny Supply List:

Patterned Paper: Fall Bouquet, Fall Foliage, Fall Nature/Forever Fall

Stickers: Forever Fall Combo Stickers and Gratitude Cardstock Stickers, Dimesional stickers/Forever Fall.

Brads: Forever Fall

Noteworthy: Forever fall

Jewels: Barefoot and Bliss

We invite you to share your pages with us on at Facebook! 

 We love seeing what you are up to!

Thanks so much for dropping by and we hope you are inspired to try your hand at creating a layout in one hour or less!

Get to know...Patti Milazzo

Hey there Bo Bunny Fans!  It's me, Patti and today it's my turn to be in the spotlight.  Let me tell you a bit about me and my family and then I'll show you some new projects that I've made.

I'm married to a truly wonderful man named Joe.  Later this month, we'll celebrate our 17th anniversary.  He has the patience of a saint and sweetly tolerates my crazy obsession with paper and glue.  We met at college our senior year and it's been very much my "happily ever after" story since then.  Here's Joe with Alex this summer at a nearby amusement park.  This was just a few minutes before Alex got completely drenched on the log flume bridge.  


















We currently live in southeastern Pennsylvania and as you can see we have two sweet yet zany children, Sheridan (15) and Alexander (10) who we love dearly and keep us on our toes.  They keep busy with the usual sports and school activities as well as being in band.  Strangely enough, they are both musically talented.  I say strange because neither Joe nor I can read music and we can barely carry a tune...lol!  But Alex has excelled with the trumpet in just a few short months and Sheridan plays flute and piccolo for band as well as learning to play a handful of other instruments.  Her brother is quickly following in her footsteps.
 
Here they are together when we visited a orchard near us.  We picked a TON of cherries this season and made a very scrumptious cherry filling that I used for a super simple tart recipe.  I gave them the task of pitting the cherries...I'm pretty sure they snuck eating more than just a few!

Next, meet Lucky.....he's the 4 legged family member who has us wrapped around his little paw.  We adopted him last fall from a local rescue and he is a bit goofy but the sweetest dog ever.  He sticks to me like glue and is my constant companion while Joe is at work and the kids are at school.  He's typically under my scrap table, safe from most scrappy things except for the occasional wayward sticker that I'll find stuck to his tale later in the day.

As for me...you might not guess it but I tend to be pretty shy (camera shy too!) and reserved.  I'm very much an introvert and a homebody.  I ♥ being home!  Outside of being with my family and crafting, my favorite thing to do is read.  I love books...all kinds but you'll often find me with a Lynn Kurland book, basically a PG romance novel involving medieval history with a bit of time travel thrown in for fun.  What can I say...I'm partial to a lighthearted story with a happy ending.  :)  Aside from the above, I also like to take photos, cook and try out new recipes, watch movies, play Wii with my kids (happy to report my virtual golf game is improving), vacationing with my family and I have a horrible weakness for chocolate and coffee.  This summer, I expanded our container garden and we're having great success with a few vegetables and some herbs.  The kids love it!










We always have tomatoes for salad, I fried up some zucchini sticks last week, lots of Basil for fresh pesto and we have more Jalapeno peppers than we know what to do with.  Any pepper recipe suggestions?  :)  Now that we've had some success, I'm looking forward to starting a vegetable garden in the yard next year...wish us luck!

My scrapping adventures started back in 1996 following shortly after the birth of my daughter.  I found a CK Magazine at my local craft store and I was hooked.  I already loved taking photos and doing my own version of journaling in my photo albums but once I realized what more I could do I became obsessed with pattern paper and cardstock.  I'm not certain that I have a distinct style but most of my projects tend to have a few things in common...lots of detail, layers, usually pretty linear, my own handmade embellishments and my stuff tends to be a bit on the fussy side.

I started designing for manufacturers in 2004 and had the opportunity to join the Bo Bunny Design Team in 2009.  It has been a fabulous experience and I can't say enough wonderful things about the Bo Bunny company and the incredible designers I've been able to work with.  I'm looking forward to another fantastic year with the team! 

Just a few days ago, my box of Bo Bunny arrived with the latest releases just in time for me to dive in and create 6 new cards to share with you today....  If you love soft hues of blue and green and lots of flourishes, you are sure to love the Welcome Home collection.  I made a card with lots of detail, layers and flowers...and went a little crazy with my glitter too!
"Welcome"

 

















Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Stripe, Dreams, Key, Flourish, Front Door, Portrait, Welcome Home, Family and Dot/Welcome Home
Stickers: Welcome Home Combo Stickers
Noteworthy: Welcome Home Die Cuts
Brads: Welcome Home
Jewels: Welcome Home
Chipboard: Welcome Home 12"

My daughter is thinking about hosting an end of summer ice cream social and we thought these candy filled jars would make a cute and tasty addition to our party planning.  We filled them up with candy coated sixlets from the party store.  This one will be a gift for one of her friends.
"Sweet Thing Card & Candy Topping Jar"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Cut Outs, Delish, Sweet Tooth, Temptations, Recipes and Just a Pinch/Sweet Tooth
Stickers:  Sweet Tooth 12" Combo Stickers; Sweet Tooth Cherry on Top Stickers; Welcome Home 12" Combo Stickers
Rub-Ons: Sweet Tooth
Chipboard: Sweet Tooth 12" Chipboard
Trinkets: Sweet Tooth

I chose the Garden Girl Card Kit for this next card.  I used the design suggested in the kit but changed a few things up to give it my own personal style.













But even with the changes, it took me just 10 minutes to put it all together.  That's record time for me!  I loved that I didn't have to start from scratch and so much is already done for you.  If you haven't already gotten your hands on one of these card kits, I highly recommend them.
"You Make Me Happy"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper:Poppy, Garden Girl and Stripe/Garden Girl
Cardstock:   type and color
Stickers:  Garden Girl 12" Combo Stickers
Jewels: Garden Girl
Card Kit: Garden Girl

It's pretty difficult choosing a favorite collection but Et Cetera is definitely up at the top of my list!  It has a great vintage look with beautifully muted pops of color.
"Thanks"





















I used the Et Cetera Stamp set for the background of my card.

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Mail Room, Extra, Index, Geography and Odds & Ends/Et Cetera
Stickers:  Et Cetera 12" Combo Stickers; Et Cetera Just Be You Stickers
Stamps: Et Cetera
Brads: Et Cetera
Jewels: Et Cetera
Chipboard: Et Cetera 12" Chipboard

I've gotten a head start on a couple of Christmas cards with the Father Christmas and Blitzen collections...
"Joys of the Season"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Poinsettia, Jingle Bells, Holly, Celebrate, Father Christmas, Dot, Berries, Merry & Bright, Stripe and Sleigh/Father Christmas
Stickers:  Father Christmas 12" Combo Stickers; Father Christmas Comfort & Joy Stickers
Chipboard: Father Christmas 12" Chipboard


"JOY"















I punched a bunch of circles, distressed them a bit and then adhered them across the card.  I secured them with stitching and added a few more embellishments to complete the look.

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Snow Globe, Gifts, Turtle Doves, Blitzen, Sentiment, Stockings, Stripe and Reindeer/Blitzen
Stickers:  Blitzen Dimensional Stickers; Blitzen 12" Combo Stickers
Buttons: Blitzen
Brads: Blitzen
Jewels: Blitzen

I'm going to follow the leader and also share some previous projects that I've made.  These are some that I've made for fun or for other assignments...
"Autumn Pins"















Bo Bunny supplies: Learning Curve and Olivia collections

"Paper Pumpkins"

Bo Bunny supplies: Olivia and Double Dot Cardstock

"Winter Birdhouse Home Decor"

Bo Bunny supplies: Noel collection

"Trick GRRR Treat" Card

Bo Bunny supplies: Whoo-ligans collection

And this "King of HEARTS" layout of my son.


















Bo Bunny supplies: Persuasion and Love Bandit

And finally, some favorite projects that I made for previous challenges here on the Bo Bunny Blog...
"Noel" Angel

Bo Bunny supplies: St. Nick

"Paper Quilted Ornament"

Bo Bunny supplies: 'Tis the Season

"Spiderman" layout

Bo Bunny supplies: Whoo-ligans

And this "Snowflakes" layout of my daughter.


















Bo Bunny supplies: Winter Joy

Now.....is anyone out there interested in winning some Bo Bunny goodness??  If you'd like to have a chance at winning a prize at the end of this month, be sure to leave me a comment below.  Bo Bunny will hold a drawing for each Designer Spotlight giveaway posted this month.

Also, if you'd like another chance to win a prize pack from me on my blog and take a peek at another card that I've made using Bo Bunny's Forever Fall collection, then stop by my blog too!  You can see the details there.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope I've inspired you just a bit!

♥Patti