FREE PRINTABLE HOT CROSS 'BUN'NY EASTER EGG BOX

Whoopee!  The sun is shining and it seems we'll be having a warm and sunny weekend.  Perhaps the Ark will be able to find dry land and we will be able to disembark.  :0)  Poor old Britain, we really seem to have had a hammering this year as far as the weather is concerned.
 

So.... as it looks as though Spring might be heading our way, and Easter is fast approaching, I thought I would share this fun Easter box - ideal for creme eggs and other goodies.

Now before we go any further I think I ought to explain why I have a box with a scowling bunny.

Are we the only country to have hot cross buns at Easter?  (They are a fruit bun with a cross marked on the top which we toast and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion)  When they come into the shops you know that Easter is on the way bringing with it Summer and some warm weather - can't wait!

I digress - As to how I came up with this stunning Easter bunny box idea -
  

The other day we were reading a story about a bunny who got stuck in a hole in a tree trunk, and he was a ......  hot cross bunny .... and my little butterfly brain suddenly had a lightbulb moment and I thought - how about a Hot Cross 'Bun'ny Box for the Tiddlers Easter eggs.  It's cute and you don't get too much sugar overload, always a problem on Easter Sunday.  Tiddlers tearing round like mad things on a sugar high is never a good thing when you have a house full of people!

So off I went to the trusty computer and came up with this.

The file is downloadable, printable and very easy to put together.  You get two on a sheet of A4 card (preferably photo paper) and the only other thing you need is some glue.

If you want to have a go the link to the file is below, then right click and 'save as'
If you download it please leave a comment or send me a photo of your creation. I'd love to hear from you.

I must admit my little Hot Cross Bunny might not be everyone's cup of tea, so I'll be adding a happier, sunnier bunny box in the near future.  Stay tuned!

BRING ON SOME BLING FOR VALENTINE'S DAY WITH THESE "ROMANCE" BOXES

This set of three boxes is available now for immediate download in pdf format for you to customise with your own text, print off and assemble at the discounted price of £5 by clicking the 'add to cart' button below

Instructions are included and they are all super easy to make.  You can make as many as you like all with different text, and they are ideal not only for Valentine's day but any other 'romantic' occasion.

If you wish to buy the files individually, they are available for £2 each in the posts below

IT'S TIME FOR SOME SNOWMAN SOUP - WITH A FREEBIE!

Brrrrrr........   It's cold out there and the time has come to hurry home, get into the comfy warm sweater and your favourite snuggly slippers and slurp away on a lovely mug of snowman soup - Mmmmmm.......

If you would like to make some for gifts to cheer up a fellow chilly mortal, the ingredients and a freebie printable label are below.

click here to download the front of the label

click here to download the back of the label

Download both files and print on either side of card stock, cut out labels and punch a hole for ribbon to go through

Then get some cello cone bags (I got mine on e-bay from Dummigan123 and they cost £3-75 for 50.  Not bad eh!) or a largish plastic bag. (you can pop everything into the corner of the bag to make a cone shape)
Next I cut about a third off one of the bags and fill the little cone with some instant chocolate/cocoa power.  I measure out enough to make a cup of chocolate and then seal it.  Then I pop it into another cone and add some marshmallows - lots of little ones are nice to float on the top - and some Milky Way Magic Stars.

These are popped on top of the chocolate in the bag and a candy cane is stuck on top to stir with.
Then I tie it all up with ribbon and add the label - free download above - and voila! Snowman soup!

Have a little go.  They are so easy to make and are always welcome on a chilly winters eve  ;)

THE CONTINUING TALE OF ROBIN'S ROUND TABLE (WITH FREEBIE CUTTING FILES)

So it was over to me..

First there was the problem of what to use to cover the table.
Seven foot of table takes a lot of covering!  Inspiration struck and a red kingsize flat sheet was purchased.

Then table mats.
I didn't want to be cluttered up with fourteen sets of anything Christmassy for the rest of the year.  So out with the trusty Craft Robo and fourteen snowflake table mats were cut out of photo paper together with matching wine glass decorations. So pretty, just the right size and perfect.

If you would like the files for the tablemats and wine glass decorations they are here for you to download.  They come in .GSD, .studio and .SVG formats, so hopefully there will be something that you can make use of. - enjoy!

Download Snowflake Table Mat Cutting Files 

Download Wine Glass Decorations Cutting Files

Next Christmas table gift boxes.  I had seen a file on the internet here at Extreme Cards, of a snowflake top box which would fit in so well with the theme (There are so many wonderful ideas on this site) So once again it was Craft Robo time and with some red mirror board that problem was quickly solved.

Some time before I had downloaded a file from here at Computer Crafted by Gigi,(another site for great cutting files) for wine glass coasters for a party we had had and I thought I could use the idea to make coasters with our names on, firstly as place cards and then to stop the inevitable problem of whose glass is whose later in the meal, and with cold season upon us it seemed a good idea.  So back to the Craft Robo and these were made.

As you can see the whole table looked SPLENDID!

Only one problem (there's always one isn't there?) Just a small one.  The only people who could actually reach things in the center of the table, were the six footers amongst us.  Thankfully we have a lot of those in the family, but they were busy during lunch ;0)

IT ALL STARTED WITH THE TABLE ......

Last Christmas there were fourteen coming for Christmas Lunch. PANIC!!

Our new round table, which I had bought and restored earlier in the year would only seat eight at the most, so what to do?

DIY Husband to the rescue - Dan-Da-Da-Dah....!

First there was the measuring to be done. How much space would each person need? Much measuring of seats, elbow room calculation etc.  Circular or square table? How high?  Oh! decisions, decisions.

Then out with the calculator and ruler and he disappeared into the garage, not to be seen again for some considerable time. But when he did re-appear it was with Robin's Round Table.
 

Seven feet in diameter, It was HUGE!

but it would seat all of us very comfortably and we would all be able to chat to one another without craning round the person next to us. King Arthur eat your heart out!

PERFECT!!

Now it was my turn .........

SANTA'S CHRISTMAS LANTERN ADVENT CALENDAR BOXES, WITH EDITABLE AND PRINTABLE LETTER FROM SANTA AND 'TASK' INSERTS

  A couple of years ago I made these cute little lanterns as Advent calendars for the Tiddlers and they were so admired by everyone that I decided to put them into a downloadable and editable PDF file.  

 The idea originally had been to hang them up using little pegs, but after the problems of the year before when the calendar was mysteriously empty by the 8th of December, it was decided that the Santa would send his Christmas Elf to deliver them daily instead. So on the 1st of December a letter arrived from Santa introducing Elfred the Christmas Elf.

Inside the lanterns, there was a joke, a gift (usually a sweet) and a task to be performed that day, which if carried out would ensure Elfred would look kindly on them and deliver a lantern overnight for the next day.

   
Now, our Elfred has a wicked sense of humour and hid the lanterns in different places every day, so as you can imagine great fun was had running around in the morning trying to find them!


The lanterns themselves were very quick and easy to make - just as well as I had to make 72, owing to a little cousin getting in on the act!

Requirements for making the Calendar

1. The PDF download - which includes the 24 lantern boxes, a fully editable letter from Santa and 24 editable  'task for today' inserts for the boxes - available below

2. 12 sheets of A4 size good quality photo paper, 240gsm preferably or the heaviest card that will go through your printer for the boxes

3. 2 sheets of A4 card for the inserts

4. 1 sheets of A4 card for the Santa Letter

5. A pair of scissors

6. Double sided sticky tape,

7. And maybe, if you're bold enough, some little pegs to hang them up with.

The 'tasks' inserts can be edited by highlighting and replacing the 'your text here' with the task of the day, and the letter from Santa can be fully edited with all the text being replaced in the same manner or if you prefer just the names where indicated

The pdf file has two boxes per page and instructions for putting them together.  The boxes themselves measure 3.5inches high (excluding the hanger) by 1.75 inches at the widest point and as you can see a individual size Haribo packet of sweets fits inside very nicely.

I hope you have as much fun making them as I did and your Tiddlers aren't outsmarted by your Christmas Elf.

Lantern's Glow Advent Calendar Boxes
Price - £4-00p

AND - WE'RE BACK!

After the most hectic summer imaginable - owing to all the fabulous weather we've had - I've just realised that I haven't posted anything for months. Where did the time go?
Two of the main time pinchers were the Tiddlers and then there was Chloe.

 

 
Chloe is our much adored, very special and cherished classic caravan.  She's just over 40 years old and is a Cheltenham Springbok.  We've had her for about 25 years and in that time she's been a two berth, a four berth and now back to being a two berth again.  She's the last of five Cheltenhams we've had over the years, which we have restored and reluctantly sold on.  They all have had names, Genevieve, Araminta, Daisy (A van used by Cooper Cars as a hospitality van at race meets) and Lottie. 

Although her general appearance is very traditional, we couldn't live without our comforts - we're knocking on now and like a little luxury - so we've got hot and cold water, double glazing, a shower, the cassette loo and a microwave, and quite frankly we can't find another caravan to outclass our Chloe.

The design is amazing and we can't for the life of us figure out why it has never been copied by the newer companies. It is so stable to tow and the interior layouts mean that you can happily have 8 or 9 people in for drinkies without crowding and the size of the kitchen surfaces is huge.

Inside it's like a little country cottage with oak lined walls.  I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea, but we have never been on a site where someone hasn't come up and admired it.

The other time pinchers, The Tiddlers, have also been caravanning with us with Mum and Dad in their Cheltenham Springbok - they tend to get in the blood - and so we've all been galavanting around the countryside enjoying the best of Britain

and it's been glorious!

HATS OFF TO SPRING

  

 

One of my the things I really have enjoyed doing this spring is making these little boater hat boxes for everyone for Easter.(well, I think it's spring although I could be mistaken . It's still more than a little nippy out there, and even my daffs aren't inclined to bloom - sigh!)


 
They are so easy to make - I used a pattern from Sandra Lounsbury-Foose's book and made a cutting file for my craft robo, so they cut out just like that and all I have to do is stick them together, and voila! beautiful little boxes that take two or three Ferrero Rocher or Lindor chocolates.

I've slightly modified the ribbon for the girls one and also added little name tags to the ribbons which make them look a little more special.

BACK AGAIN WITH AN EASTER FREEBIE

I have just realised how very long it has been since I posted something.  Now don't think I've been shirking...  I've actually been very busy trying out new programs, and trying to find the program that does everything I need.  I do find it so frustrating having to constantly copy items from on program to another to get the finish I'm looking for.  But I'm hopeful that I've at last cracked it and my copy/paste function will get a bit of a rest.

My problem is I like to make so many different types of things - I'm a craft magpie.  I see an idea and just have to try it for myself, and whilst doing that it gives me other ideas as to how I can use it and off I go spiralling out of control, happy as larry churning out all sorts of wonderful bits and pieces ;0)   heaven..........
    
Anyway, back to the matter in hand.  Easter is on it's way and I thought I would share these Bunny Boxes I designed a couple of years ago with you.  They are super easy to make and hold a Cadburys Creme Egg (or egg of a similar size) very comfortably.  Even tiddlers can make them with a little help and it produces a nice little gift that doesn't cause sweetie overload.

You don't need much equipment - scissors, glue, something to make a hole (paper punch, sharp pencil or scissor tip with something soft to go the otherside of the card as a buffer to prevent stabbing) some ribbon and of course, sweeties.

see below for file to download

                 Click here - then right click and save image as .......


I hope you have as much fun making these as my Tiddlers and I did!

If you do download it please leave a comment for me and perhaps mention it to others who might be interested.  However, as I have said before, although you are quite at liberty to use it to make as many boxes for whatever purpose you choose,  please don't pass the file off as your own. -  Your conscience will get the better of you and I will come and haunt you!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNGLED!

Well, Easter is on its way and the weather here at the moment is like mid summer. How wonderful is that!!  Over the past couple of weeks I've been knitting like crazy, getting jumpers made for the Tiddlers, knitted Jelly Baby dolls for our two new arrivals to the family, Summer and Talon, and an arun for me, because although the weather has been spectacular for this time of the year, I tend to err on the side of caution and keep my winter woolies handy - I've been caught out too many times before.  Also I've found, when taking the Tiddlers to school in the morning, it's still mighty parky. brrrrrrrrr.

 
But now the time has come to get the Easter goodies ready for the holidays.  I needed something cute for wrapping creme eggs and this little box is just the thing.  I made them in pink, yellow and blue and they are going down a storm.  They are so easy to make and the kids just love them

SOOOO CUTE!

BUNNIES BOTTOM

The only problem I have with these little darlings, is I have to rob my stash of creme eggs to fill them - doh! 

Hopefully someone will share with me at Easter. * wicked grin*

MAY THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON BE LUCKY FOR US ALL!

I just can't believe how quickly January is going.  I've just got over the new years celebrations and here we are celebrating the chinese new year - the year of the dragon.

Each year I make a card for Michael and his family, to wish them good luck for the new year.  I always have a bit of a panic in case the writing I put inside, which I hope is "Happy New Year" is correct, and that I haven't caused serious offence by a miss spelling.  They are all still talking to us, and as he runs our local exceptionally good chinese takeaway The China Garden and hasn't poisoned me in revenge, I think I must have cracked it ;0)

Paperfolded Fan card in black, red and gold with lucky coins attached

My Year of the Tiger fan card with, hopefully, correct sentiment inside

So Kung Hey Fat Choy or Gong xi fa cai to all my Chinese friends and here's hoping 2012 is not only happy, healthy and prosperous for them but for us all!!