A Chart for School with the Itsy Bitsy 3D Stickers

My son is 4 years old is currently learning about living things and non-living things in school. He came home the other day asking that I make a chart for his class regarding this subject as he wanted to share some pearls of wisdom with his little 4 year old classmates. It was a convenient coincidence that Itsy Bitsy currently has a 20% discount offer on all their 3D stickers! Hurray!! I rushed off to the Itsy Bitsy store and picked up about 10 varieties and pretty soon Dhruv's chart was ready. 

I made the size compact and convenient - 12" by 12" - so that my son could hold it up and explain the different elements with ease. I cut some grass from punch paper along with trees, clouds and a road which formed the background the chart. Then I packed it with different 3d stickers that depicted living and non living things. Here are a couple of closeups. 

I love these little houses, not to mention the traffic signal. Isn't it adorable! And how about these cuddly cows, the coordinated fence and the cute little dinosaur. As you can see I really had a blast with this project!

We thought we'd take the presentation further by introducing an interactive element. After all these are 4 year olds and how often do you see a 4 year old listening intently to a speech. So on the reverse side of the chart, I added some stickers in a grid which would serve as a quiz. After Dhruv gave his spiel about all the living and non living things, he would flip the chart around and then ask his friends what category each of the remaining items fell under.  Here's the quiz side - a simple grid of stickers with a washi tape border. 

The whole presentation was a big hit. Dhruv did a fabulous job presenting to his class so much so that his teacher asked him to present it in the next morning's assembly. I was tickled pink! There's nothing more satisfying than seeing your child shining in his environment and with these adorable stickers from Itsy Bitsy, he had a fabulous chart to help in his presentation.

Are you a chart maker? Would love to see your creations. Leave a comment and tell all! Will be sure to drop by!

Supplies Used

Spectacular Gift Wrappings

I think the origins of my love for craft began with wrapping gifts. I loved going over the top with dressing up my presents. Even if the gift itself wasn't much, I felt it made the experience of receiving a gift substantially more enjoyable when the gift itself was wrapped impeccably. So this blog post is all about spectacular gift wrappings. 

I have 2 gifts to present. For one I have created the gift box from pattern paper and dressed it up with ribbon, flowers and bows . For the other, I used a gift wrapping paper set from Itsy Bitsy which I draped over the gift box in a fairly unique way. I saw it done once at a toy store and it was so original I had to try it at home. So here's my first gift.

I used blue pattern paper combined with blue pearl card stock to create a custom made gift box. A neighbour had just had a baby so I was presenting some home made cookies in this box. Then I wrapped this stiff silver ribbon around and added a few extra loops to make an extravagant bow. As a final touch, I added a blue crochet flower from Itsy Bitsy and a few roses around the lid as well. 

 For my next gift, I picked up this wonderful gift wrapping paper set from Itsy Bitsy. It's simply marvellous as it comes with a substantial amount of paper, coordinated organza ribbon, a matching tag and matching tissue paper to make the inside look great too. All this for just Rs. 20!! Isn't that a steal! After draping the paper and tying the bow, I added some Itsy Bitsy flowers and embellishments to jazz it up a bit and voila! My gift was ready.

Do you share my love for spectacular gift wrappings? Would love to see your creations. Leave a comment and let us know! Till then Happy Crafting!!

Supplies Used

Pom Pom Caterpillars

What do you do when your kids announce on a lazy Sunday afternoon that they are bored and can't go out because its raining? I sure have struggled with an answer on most days. The easiest way to keep my daughter ( and very often her friends) occupied is with a simple craft activity. That's why I love it when ItsyBitsy sends me a bag full of goodies every once in a while. To make these cute creepy crawly caterpillars, you'll need

1. Foam sheets in assorted colours
2. Pom poms - In 2 sizes - Large & small. 
3. Pipe cleaners 
4. Foam circle cutouts in various colours
5. Craft stickers 
6. Straws
7. Strong Glue - like fevicol / glue gun. 
8. Googly Eyes
9. Single hole punch
10. Scissors

To make, 

First Make sure you have all materials on hand. To make one caterpillar we need 1 foam sheet, 1 large pom pom, 3 small pom poms ( one for nose & two for the antennae) , 2 googly eyes, 1 pipe-cleaner for the antenna, One straw for the body. 

Using scissors, roughly cut the foam sheet into long strips about 2 inches wide. We cut along the long edge of an A4 foam sheet. 

Then we did an accordion fold along the velvety edge and pressed really hard to form a zig zag shape. Then we used a single punch to make holes through each fold to string the straw in.  

At home we strung a pipecleaner through the holes as it was tough for the kids to string in a straw. But you can try whichever is easier for your kid.

We first stuck the big pom pom as the face. Added a nose & googly eyes. Then we twisted a pipe cleaner as an antenna. Stuck two pom poms atop the antenna and then stickers on the back. You can modify as you wish. Use pom poms instead of stickers. 

Hope you enjoyed this simple craft and will try out more options. Do check out the blog for more such ideas. Also, don't forget to leave a comment here with suggestions. I would love to get your feedback.

The Itsy Bitsy Big Shot Party!!!

Itsy Bitsy proudly presents a unique craft-tea party. We are inviting all our friends, fans and supporters to join us for a never-done-before craft workshop while simultaneously enjoying a 'cuppa' and stimulating conversation with like minded crafters. All you have to do is bring your Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, your favourite dies and embossing folders and your amazing ideas to take part in this truly one-of-a-kind experience. 

We will have on offer a fabulous range of crafting materials at your disposal like  12 x 12 pattern papers, jute sheets, gem stones, embossing Powder, Heat gun, Versamark stamps, We. R. Memory keeper’s Alpha stamps, Boutique elements and loads of other other Craft Goodies. With these fabulous supplies and your Big Shot, you will have to create a fabulous scrapbook layout. We will photograph your layout and upload it on to the Itsy Bitsy Facebook page. The layout with the most likes will walk away with Rs. 3000 worth of Sizzix dies from ITSY BITSY!

You could also tell your friends and family to help you out in winning the contest. Voting will be open for 4 weeks from the date of uploading the images giving you ample time to spread the word and get the votes.

Now if you don't have a Big Shot, don't despair. You can purchase one at our store prior to the workshop and join in all the excitement and fun!

So join us on Saturday 6^th of July, 2013 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, at the Banashankari  Itsy Bitsy store – No. 77, 21^st main, B.S.K 2^nd stage Near BDA complex, Bangalore – 70

You can register on bigshotparty@itsybitsy.in . We have limited seats available, so hurry with your registrations. Further details will be given upon registration.

Photo Frames for a Special Baby

All babies are special, they bring so much joy, happiness and love to a family. But some babies are literally miracles and that makes them a little extra special. A friend of mine had one such baby. Her pregnancy was fraught with complications, the baby had to be surgically delivered early and after delivery, my friend had another bunch of complications. Through it all, she had the most wonderful support team apart from her husband of course. They were her mother and her mother-in-law. Now 3 months later, the moms are moving back home and my friend wanted to give them a special gift to say thank you. A picture of baby Samaira in a beautifully crafted, one of a kind photo frame. So here's what I made for her. 

My first photo frame is a beige and gold project. I used some Itsy Bitsy punch paper to cover the chipboard base and then stamped this lovely filigree design using my versamark pad. After a dash of superfine gold embossing powder and the heat gun, this gorgeous background was created. The butterflies were die cut from the Itsy Bitsy butterfly die and then heat embossed as well with gold embossing powder. Love the finish!

For my second frame I used one of the frame kits at the Itsy Bitsy store as the base. Then I embossed some pink pearl card stock to provide that pretty background and on the corner, created this arrangement of mauve flowers all from Itsy Bitsy. I had one beaded butterfly left in my stash so that took the other corner and of course, pearls finished it off. I'm so pleased with the result. 

I was totally in the photo frame zone so I decided to make another one, this one perhaps my friend could keep at home. The colour scheme was a bright green and here I used some fabulous Itsy Bitsy flourishes and the super tie dye gypsy flowers to embellish the frame. I gotta say, I'm not too kicked with the result - what do you think folks?

Have you made any photo frames using our products? Would love to see. Leave a link in the comment list and I'll be sure to drop by. Till then Happy Crafting folks!

Supplies Used:

Measuring Dad for Fathers Day

Father's Day may be this over-hyped holiday made popular by greeting card companies but I still think it's worth celebrating. Perhaps it's because I have a wonderful father or because my husband is a wonderful father to our little tots. So I really wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion. I also think it's great to encourage our kids to set aside a day to just make Papa feel special.

So I got this project idea from this page and I thought it was just genius! My husband doesn't really care for flowery, intricate projects so I had to keep it clean and innovative. Since my son who is 4 would be giving it to him, I thought it would be great to have an interactive element too. So I made a measuring tape full of clever little comments on what 'not so great dads do and in one single spot, it says 'Practically Perfect in every Possible Way'. The idea was that my son would measure his dad's waist and only at this point would this message appear. I also made a gift box for the tape measure and here are some photos. 

I basically used a whole bunch of Itsy Bitsy card stock to create this project and added some of their latest washi tape to neaten it all up. The foam alpha stickers also came in handy and how do you like my big satin bow at the top? Love it!

Finally if you're wondering how I put this whole project together, here is a pictorial collage that explains all the steps involved in creating this project. Of course if you have any doubts, do leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Did you do something special for your dad or husband this Fathers' Day. Leave a comment and tell us all about it. I would love to drop by and see what you did.

Supplies Used:

Cupcakes and Cookies with a Plunger Cutter

My little girl recently turned one and I chose sunflowers as the the theme for the party. I love baking almost as much as I love craft so I had a blast working towards bringing the theme to life. Of course, once I got my hands on the Sunflower Plunger cutter from Itsy Bitsy, everything was smooth sailing.  

My cake turned out awesome but ultimately I felt it  a little small so to add to the quantity, I made little chocolate cupcakes surrounding the main cake. Each cupcake was topped with a double layered fondant sunflower, cut using this dreamy plunger cutter. I've added a close-up of the toppers above and  you can see the awesome detailing that the cutter delivers. For the centre I just used some chocolate chips. 

This cutter can also be used for cookies and one of the snacks I was serving for the little ones was in fact sugar cookies. The pack comes with 3 different sizes so I used all three cutters to make an assortment of little sunflower cookies. Once they were baked, I used some yellow glaze icing to colour the petals and for the centre it was chocolate sprinkles! Have to say they were quite a hit! Sugar cookies always are!

What do you think of my little baking escapade? Would love to hear your feedback. Leave a comment and let me know. 

Supplies Used

The Itsy Bitsy 'All that Glitters' Challenge

It's time for a fresh challenge here at Itsy Bitsy and this time the theme is 'All That Glitters'. That's right - we want to see the magic you can create with bling, shimmer, shine, glitter and sparkle!! Doesn't that sound like fun? We sure think so and once again we are welcoming submissions in 2 categories - Jewellery Making and Paper/General Crafting. To give you an idea of what we're looking for and to perhaps give you the josh to create something fabulous, here's some inspiration for you.

Our jewellery making pros at Itsy Bitsy came up with this absolutely stunning creation for the 'All That Glitters' theme. They've used some amazing sparkling beads from the Itsy Bitsy beads collection to put together this  masterpiece, that I personally would love to wear with ethnic or western attire. Here's a look at the cluster necklace from another angle.

Now for the paper crafting inspiration, I decided to do something I've never done before - Masquerade masks! I found this awesome Mask Making kit at the Itsy Bitsy store and used that as the starting point for 3 heavily embellished and brilliantly glittering masks. I also got the chance to use the newly launched Itsy Bitsy embossing powders for this project and boy did I have fun with that. This first gold mask for example, is completely embossed with gold embossing powder. The black stamped design is again embossed with black superfine embossing powder. Just love how it turned out. All I had to do was add some adhesive rhinestones, red roses, ribbons and feathers to complete the look and I'm loving the result!

For my next mask, I decided to use the Itsy Bitsy glitter daisies to add shine and sparkle to my project. I lined the entire outer edge of the mask with some pink lace in my stash and then added a glitter daisy border to the outline. A couple of satin ribbon bows created the dainty feel to the project and who can go wrong with pink adhesive rhinestones to line the eyes. Don't you wish we could add eyeliner like that for real!!

Finally for my third project, I went with silver and purple, one of my all time favourite combinations. Once again I used silver superfine embossing powder to get that rich silver gritty base. Then I used plum satin ribbon to create a frill and lined the outline with purple rhinestones. 2 over sized feathers on the side coupled with a satin ribbon bow completed the effect.

Now on to the rules for the challenge:

• For the Paper/ General crafting project, your submission can be a card, box, tag, scrapbook layout, dress, embroidery, crochet work etc - anything as long as it is handmade and incorporates the theme 'All That Glitters' either partly or entirely.

• For the jewellery making project, your submission must be some form of jewellery and once again it must incorporate the theme 'All That Glitters' either partly or entirely.

• Quilled jewellery or jewellery made out of paper beads will fall under the Jewellery making category.

• The contest closes at midnight on 30th June 2013

• In order to submit your entry, click on the inlinkz button provided at the end of this post, add your image and link to your blog post containing the submission. There is a separate button for each category.

• If you do not have a blog, please send in your entry to itsybitsycraftcontests@gmail.com and we will add your submission for you.

• Each participant can submit a maximum of 3 entries within each category

• Submitting old projects is not permitted. All submissions have to be created after 5th June 2013

• In your blog post, create a link back to this page - The ItsyBitsy All That Glitters Challenge.
• Entries are welcome from all over the world however if you are the winner, we can only ship your prize to an Indian address.

• 2 winners will be selected, one for jewellery making and one for paper/general crafting who will each receive a voucher of Rs. 1000 each, redeemable online at www.itsybitsy.in.

• In addition 3 to 6 finalists in each category will be selected all of whom will receive a badge to display on their blog. 

• We would love it if you display our new badge on your blog, you can find it on the sidebar.

We are super excited to see what you come up with and judging by the talent displayed in previous challenges we are 100% certain that it's going to be a gala hit! So hurry up and start linking! Looking forward to your creations!

Submissions for Paper/ General Crafting

Submissions for Jewellery Making

Supplies Used:

Winners of the Itsy Bitsy Pristine Sparkle Challenge

It's time to celebrate the wonderful creations that came in for last month's Pristine Sparkle Challenge. Many of you remarked on how it was quite a challenging challenge and that you were finding it difficult to comply with the guidelines of White on White with a touch of Silver. So we were positively thrilled when we saw the entries - all 56 of them. It seemed like you talented ladies really poured your hearts into your work and the results speak for themselves! Lovely!!

So without delay, I am thrilled to present the winners of our Pristine Sparkle Challenge. Both these participants are quite new to the craft challenge circuit so we are delighted to showcase their work and share in their victory. For paper crafting, we've got 12 year old Anushree who made this stunning quilled card, how gorgeous is that! And for jewellery making, it's Viola Girbert for this elaborate and intricate set, isn't that a looker!

Congratulations Anushree and Viola. You will each receive a voucher for Rs. 1000 from Itsy Bitsy and a winners badge to display on your blogs. We are aware that neither of you have blogs and you both sent in your entries via email, so considering your success here, perhaps you would like to create a blog to participate in more challenges and join this wonderful world of craft blogging!

We are also happy to share the 6 finalists for each category. For paper crafting, the finalists are displayed below. Each of these creations made it particularly difficult to shortlist the winners so kudos to you. 

Sathya

Tanvi

Durga

Nehal

Rucha

Shalu

For jewellery making, the quality of work was simply outstanding! We had a really tough time choosing one winner so hats off to each of you finalists for coming up with such stunners!

Shwetha Abhilash

Esvee

Pratyusha

                         Archana

Tina

Anurtia

And with that we come to the end of this chapter. Congratulations to all the crafters featured here! Winners please write in to info@itsybitsy.in to claim your voucher and badge. Finalists please write in to to info@itsybitsy.in to claim your badge.

Stay tuned to another fun and exciting challenge to be launch tomorrow! Till then Happy Crafting!!!