Eas(el)y does it

Good morning from Podgy, your favourite bear. Last night I had a whirring brain and itchy paws, so I decided to try out a new idea I'd seen in magazines recently; easel cards.

I thought it would be nice to try something different, so I pawrused the Internet for inspiration and found some really lovely creations. I thought the cards might be too difficult for such a small bear as me but decided it would be fun to try anyway.

Of course, half the fun of learning is sharing it with others so here is my tutorial on a simple easel card.

First, you will need to choose a suitable card blank



for this simple easel style an A6 card works well.

Next, gather some basic craft supplies






A comfy chair is a must for crafty bears, and we have a Therapod adjustable office chair, which is so comfortable, it's sometimes difficult not to nod off while card making



Zzzzzz, ugh! sorry, back to the tutorial...

Select your topper. Pooh used a lot of our stash in his recent mega card making spree, but we have been busy making more





Your chosen card blank should be in landscape format


And to achieve the easel effect you will need to fold what will be the front of your card in half, like so. This will create the easel of your finished card.



Now, you will need to cut a piece of cardstock to roughly the size of your unfolded (bottom) piece of card blank.








This can be a little smaller, but must be no bigger, as you need the card to fit into a standard sized envelope when finished.

Now apply glue to the folded front of the card, like so




And adhere your cut card, so it looks like this






Choose some coordinating patterned paper to add interest to your card. If you have punches and corner rounders, you can add some fancy edges to it.


To add a bit of a 'zing' to your topper, try adding some 3d sticky foam to the back



Be careful when using scissors, as they can cut your delicate paws


For the base of the card, you will need to add a 3d sentiment or similar, to allow the easel to stand properly. Cut a small piece of card




And add some 3d foam



This will create a platform for the easel to stand against, and prevent floppy cards.

Before sticking everything, make sure you are happy with the placement of your topper, then stick, stick stick.



I found some silver gems, which match silver in the topper, fabtastic for that extra special finish.



Here's what it looks like from the side



Once folded, it will fit into a regualr envelope, so no need to worry that you won't be able to post to your distant bear friends.



I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, now I'm off on a hunny search.

With love from the bears 🐻

Toptastic crafting

Hello, Pooh here today to show you how to turn your stash into lovely cards.

First, take your box of previously made toppers, or shop bought toppers, whatever is in your box




Have a good look through



And choose some variations of a theme, maybe all of one colour, or flowery toppers.

Then choose some pre scored cards of differing sizes, to match your toppers


Your Cuttlebug could come in handy for cutting patterned paper into various shapes to form the base of your cards.





As I chose to use square cards, I decided to cut my patterned paper into squares to match. Here's one of the papers and toppers I chose to use



Fold the patterned paper into 4, and place onto your chosen die, I used Sizzix framelits square set.








Roll the paper and die through your Cuttlebug, you may need to roll it through more than once with the paper being folded so many times, this will depend on the thickness of your chosen paper.


I cut squares from several different papers, all from the same paper stack, to match my flowered toppers.


Next, glue the back of your cut squares, and adhere to the card, spacing them evenly for a more pawfessional look. Be careful to not get glue on your paws, sticky paws are not good!




Now take a 3d glue dot or sticker and place in the middle of the back of your topper. Place the topper in the middle of your squares, and there you have a lovely card, or two, or more, depending on how crafty you're feeling.





With love from the bears 🐻

Daft Dinners.....

.....Or something to cheer up a dreary day; we've all heard of a rainy day box, well this is a rainy day dinner, to cheer up a Bank Holiday weekend of rain, a little rain, and a bit more rain. I don't think it stopped all weekend.

Consequently we were stuck indoors looking out on a wet and miserable looking landscape







Bears really don't like to venture out in wet weather, it makes our fur far too soggy! We decided we needed something cheery to brighten our weekend, and what better than food, funny food....

First we made a cheesy potato pie,




it's really just your basic mashed potato with a little (or a lot if you're that way inclined) of cheese mashed into it. Add some grated cheese to the top




and bake in a preheated oven, 210c, along with a tray of sausages, for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how well done you like your meat. Pork has to be cooked through for humans,




and contrary to popular misconception, bears like their meat very well done, not rare! Of course, make sure before and after handling food to wash your paws.




If you like warm plates, don't forget to put them in the oven at the same time as your food, cold plates make your food cool quicker.




As the sausages and cheesy pie are cooking, forage in the fridge for the other ingredients, you will need two cherry tomatoes per serving, and one mushroom, or anything else that could resemble a nose (we usually use cheese triangles but Horace had eaten them all in a fit of cheese bingeing last weekend!

You will also need a tin of beans,


Add the beans to a pan




and warm through just as your pie and sausages are reaching the final stages of cooking.




Oooh steamy, a free sauna at the same time as you warm the beans!!

When the pie and sausages are cooked, remove from the oven. NB (note to bears) you MUST wear oven gloves for this or you will singe your fur!




Now to assemble your smiley face dinner

First dish up the cheesy mash in a circular pattern, then add a sausage for a mouth, two tomatoes for eyes, and the mushroom for a nose, next, take your pan of beans off the heat and add them to the top of your 'face' to create hair




Now comes the best bit - eat eat eat.




mmmm, cheesy pie faces, cheery, and perfect for weather that's dreary.

With love from the bears 🐻

Fab Flowers

Evening all. Horace here to show you how to make fab paper flowers from your cardstock. I found this handy tutorial while perusing blogs

http://bearpuffsadventures.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-make-cute-paper-flowers.html

It's so easy to follow, and helps use up all those pieces of cardstock you keep in the hope they'll come in handy one day. Of course, making your own flowers saves a fortune compared to shop prices for blooms.

The first step is to choose some card, you need enough in one colour to cut three squares, one 4x4" one 3x3" and one 2x2"










Fold each square of card twice, into a triangular shape.



Now take some scissors, and cut in an oval fashion across the shortest straight line of the card, unfold your cut card to reveal this



Repeat for the two remaining triangles, then punch a small hole into the middle of the petal




Choose a coordinating brad from your stash, ours are in small baggies sorted by colour - we're very organised bears!


Add the chosen brad to the middle of your smallest petal, then layer the other petals underneath the smallest, making sure to feed the brad through every layer. Your flower should now look like this


Next, mist each layer of your flower with water, until it's quite wet, but not dripping. Scrunch up each individual petal of the flower as you wet the layers.


Once every petal is scrunched up, carefully uncurl them, and leave to dry. Then you can sit back and admire your creation. How pretty.


With love from the bears 🐻