Handmade Hodgepodge {a little of this and a little of that}

Hello again! I got a Facebook notification that it was my friend's birthday today, and not tomorrow like I thought! Ack! This isn't a post I would normally share, but since I had talked about making caramels and such for May Day, I decided to share a few of the things I worked on today for the birthday gift! I plan on making more of the flower embellishments for paper cones and tags for May Day as well. I made 2 of everything because it also happens to be another friend's birthday as well.

I bought the Small Peony Die from The Stamp Market (and the large) when they were first released but this is the first time I have used them! They are so much fun to make and I can't wait to add them to projects in the future! I learned a few tricks while assembling these that I will share with you. I die cut 2 of the largest petals and 2 of the smaller petals, 1 center and one leaf for each flower. I used Blush cardstock and then added some Coral inkblending around the edges for some contrast. My photos aren't great today because the sun was hidden for most of the day! It came out this evening just in time for me to make my deliveries! Tip #1: Hold the petals with the ink blended side facing the table and use a pencil, or in my case, the quilling tool, to gently wrap the petals around it to achieve the curved edges. I find that it is easier for me to make the curve with the petals going in a downward motion.

I used my quilling tool to create the center portion. Tip #2: Wrap it with the "wrong" side (or side that was on the bottom during the die cutting process) on the outside. Once you fluff out the center, you will want the nicer side to show. I tried it with the nice side out, but then then the ugly side showed when I fluffed it. Hopefully that makes sense. Maybe your die machine doesn't make the back look less appealing than the front! LOL! I used a dab of liquid glue to secure the roll together.

Once that is all done, it is time to assemble the flowers. I just used a small dab of liquid glue to the center of each piece and stacked them, alternating position as I went. The center has a nice amount of glue and is just stuck right in the center. The leaf is also attached with liquid glue. I also added some sentiment strips using the Just Sentiments: Belated Birthday stamp set and the Simply Sentiments I stamp set to give them a little something extra. I spritzed them with Shimmer Spray; I usually do this after I take photos, but I didn't and that's why the black strips have a grainy appearance.

Once again, bad photos with lots of shadows, but I snapped these right before I packaged the gift up! Hopefully you can get the gist! I filled the Frosted Tin Tie bags with the homemade wrapped caramels and attached the flowers with foam squares.

Each of the two gifts included some handmade earrings. I know I've shared quite a few of these recently, but I figured I'd show these, too! These would be sweet additions to May Day baskets or cones as well! This pair was made using the Designer Dangles Pinch Me die set. These are some of my favorites to make and I have gotten the hang of how to thread the jump rings quickly and neatly! For this pair I used the Trendy Colorful Craft Leather and the Metallic Basics leather.

I made quite a few pairs of spring earrings that you can see HERE. These were made today, but are just like the ones that I shared in that post if you are interested in details, including the earring display card.

I made 2 key wristlets because I like them, I have everything on hand, and they are so fun to make! LOL! They are the perfect little gift to give to friends and families. I haven't been inside a store for I don't know how long, so the handmade gifts are working for me!

I recently purchased a new hardware set for the wristlets. It has three different types of metal: silver, this burnished gold, and an oil rubbed bronze looking one. It also came with some amazing pliers with rubber tips so that it doesn't mess up the metal when you clamp them shut! This was the first time I used it and it is so awesome!

I used one of my hoarded "P.S. I love you" tags that I only use when I absolutely HAVE to! LOL! I think it's the perfect addition to the backside of the wristlet! I hope today's post has given you a few ideas of some handmade gifts to make! I sure had fun, even though it was last minute! I'll be back again on the 25th for this month's installment of the Keeping Christmas Blog Hop! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. For the birthday cards, I used THESE and added the "Birthday Wishes" sentiment like I used on the flowers across the "BEAUTIFUL" sentiment to make them work for this occasion!