EmbellishBox Review

I was approached by another local crafty business (EmbellishBox) and asked if I would like to do a review on her new business venture. She already runs a successful business but has now decided to start a monthly subscription box business as part of that. She also has an Etsy shop too. Subscription boxes seem to be extremely popular at the moment and the fact I love trying new crafty things I took her up on the opportunity to review this for her. I have to say I am honestly so glad that I did as I loved the monthly pack that she posted out and I had the chance to learn a new craft - Paper Cutting.  My young children also got involved too, because if you are an avid follower you will know my girls are also very crafty and love to get involved when they can in my work or their own work.  Even though I was sent this box to review, all that I write in this post is of my own personal honest opinion.

So what is EmbellishBox?

If you love paper cutting then an EmbellishBox is perfect for you. (Also great for newbies like me!)
Each box follows a theme, giving you at least 3 printed templates to cut yourself, a self-assembly house to collect and gifts to the monthly theme (The theme this month was Hygge).  It's a collection of beautiful things, and the only way to be first to have the new months templates.  There will never be a repeat box.  During the month, the templates in the box will be exclusive to EmbellishBox members. At the end of the month the templates will go up for sale in the Etsy shop - the cost of the box, including all of the extra items, will always be less than the cost of the templates individually.  The boxes start at £18 month to month. Check online for all prices.

So what was inside this month?

In this months subscription there were:
HYGGE TEMPLATES - Home Sweet Home, Hyggestund
Hygge at home, Hygge house
BACKING PAPERS - From Paper Story ( www.paperstory.co.uk )
HYGGE GOODIES - Hot chocolate Cone (and candy cane) from Van-illa Treats (www.facebook.com/vanillaTreat), Candle from Berry Bootique (www.facebook.com/BerryBootique), Fingerless Gloves handknitted by various talented people.
As a special I was given some colouring in sheets of the designs for my 9 year old daughter to colour. These can be purchased alongside the box if you ask.

I already have scalpels and Cutting Mats at home which is to be expected being a crafter, though it is my daughter who mainly uses the scalpel.  For this project you will need to have a cutting mat and scalpel with spare blades. You will probably need to use a few blades for each piece of work to make sure that the cuts are nice and neat.

I decided to start on the 'Home Sweet Home' design. I have to admit I did panic a bit at first as I have never done this before but after reading the instructions that I was sent from EmbellishBox and also a few youtube videos I found online I was a bit more confident.  I personally think I should have tried first on a scrap piece of paper to get used to holding and using the blade. I did make a few little errors and it was impossible (being a novice) for me to do the very fine details and parts of the design, but nevertheless I think it turned out really well. It might not be to clear from the picture but I did manage to cut parts I wasn't supposed too, but don't worry because when you mount the design onto backing paper you can stick the parts back on!  If you notice in the top right I cut more from the tree than I was supposed to, but it was remedied later.

It was so nice to also stop in between and have a yummy hot chocolate drink which was also provided in the box!  The chocolate pack normally includes marshmallows but being Muslim and also vegetarian (recently) I was provided with Maltesers as a replacement.  I must say I have never tasted any better hot chocolate drink.  I will definitely be trying normal hot chocolate with Maltesers in the future! The hot chocolate was provided by Van-illa Treats, their link is shared above.

I was also really happy to receive the gloves. I actually did need a new pair so this was very good timing. Above is a photo of my daughter modelling the gloves with the hot chocolate.

My 9 year old enjoyed joining in with the review by colouring in the sheets that I was personally sent. She will be sharing those on her blog at a later date, no doubt.  These can be requested as an extra when you place your order. My older daughter is going to have a go at one of the other designs that was included.

We also love candles in our house so it was nice to have a different scented candle to light in our cold winter months as part of the package.  So my final comments about this box are: I loooooooove it and would definitely recommend it to those who are both new to paper cutting like me and also for those who are experienced as you get a new surprise every month, boxes are never repeated.  You also get sent the designs via PDF so you can make more to gift to your friends or family.  I will definitely be doing more paper cutting after trying this craft out.

And so for my finished piece of work.  I used one of the backing cards provided which was a silvery colour but the photo shows it more of a black design. I already had a white frame in the house and placed the design into the frame and it is now proudly on display in my Living room.

As a special offer to my blog followers I have been given a 15% off Coupon Code: KARIMA15 This is valid until 20th December 2016.

Below are some handy links for this business:

Subscription box website: http://www.embellishbox.co.uk/

Business Website: http://www.embellishcuts.co.uk/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/embellishpapercuts?__mref=message_bubble

Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thepapercuttingroom/?__mref=message_bubble

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/embellishcuts

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/embellishcuts

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/embellishcuts

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/EmbellishPapercuts

Here is a link to an interview: http://www.artiststrong.com/creative-spirit-amy-purdie/

Free Islamic Surah Certificates to Print

I recently designed and printed off some certificates for my 6 year old daughter to encourage her while she is learning her Surah's. I shared the photograph on my Facebook Page and had a great amount of interest in them. I decided to design some specifically so that my followers and friends can download them for free, direct from my blog. The links to the free download are at the bottom of the page.

I have designed a choice of 6 colours. You could either give your child (or these could even be used for adults!) a different colour each time they have completed their memorisation of a Surah or if you have a few children you could keep to one colour for each child so that they know which certificate belongs to them!

I have left a space on the certificate so that you can either hand write their name or using a computer package you could type and print off their name onto the certificate. I have also left a space so that you can place the name of the Surah that they learnt along the dotted line.

I personally have printed these certificates out onto A5 card rather than A4 as this saves space on my daughter's bedroom wall and also saves money on ink! I have also laminated these certificates to make them more durable - this is an option if you have a laminator machine.

The photograph below shows the original ones I made for my daughter, I have only slightly changed the design to make it easier to download via the internet. The photo isn't very clear because I have laminated them and this makes it difficult to get a clear photo!

Here are the links to the free downloads to the certificates - they are all in PDF Format for easiness to download.

 Blue Surah Certificate =  bluesurahcert.pdf

Gold/Brown Surah Certificate = goldsurahcert.pdf

Green Surah Certificate = greensurahcert.pdf

Pink Surah Certificate = pinksurahcert.pdf

Purple Surah Certificate = purplesurahcert.pdf

Red Surah Certificate = redsurahcert.pdf

Sorry I had the wrong link for the purple surah certificate - I have now updated this!

If you are interested in some other Islamic printables, here is a link to a previous post where I have them. islamic-placemat-and-worksheets

Eid Gift Swap 2013

 This year I participated in an Eid Gift Swap with another Blogger, Sheen from fabulositystudio. We originally planned to do this at Eid Al Fitr but we ended up both being too busy during Ramadan, so we decided that we would do this for Eid Al Adha instead.

We both decided that the theme would be 'handmade' and gave each other a budget limit as we would also be paying for postage costs! We had to prepare these early as Sheen was going away before Eid so we sent these to each other last week. I had a bit of a panic on though because I had left things a little too late and my grandmother took poorly unexpectedly. This meant I had to spend time at the hospital for a few days so couldn't do what I had originally planned!  This meant I had to compromise and send her some handmade gifts that my children had made as well as the gifts I personally made.

I designed an Eid Card and printed this off on the computer, I made a Felt Brooch and a Felt Cupcake Pincushion. My 11 year old made the Eid prayer beads and my 6 year old made the Felt Star Key Ring.

The photograph below shows the lovely gifts I received from Sheen.

I received a lovely Gold coloured Eid Card with a lovely personalised message inside. I also received a Pincushion Box (this is one thing we agreed to both make). She also sent her own Handmade Face Mask and Handmade Body Oil.  There were also 2 Handmade Brooches which she made from earrings! Also included were a couple of Headbands for my girls and 2 lovely scarves. I know the gifts are for Eid but my daughters have already been wearing the headbands! I will however wait until Eid before I use any of my gifts Insha'Allah.

My blog post this week was the tutorial for the felt brooch that I made for Sheen: easy-felt-flower-tutorial

I have also previously made a tutorial for the felt Key Rings during Ramadan, here is the link: felt-key-rings-30-days-of-ramadan

I will also be making a Tutorial post for the Felt Cupcake Pincushion that I made for Sheen very soon Insha'Allah.

30 Days of Ramadan Crafts - Roundup

 

I have really enjoyed doing the 30 Days of Ramadan Crafts Project. Yes it has been tiring and hard work putting all the posts together, but my children have really enjoyed being involved with all of the crafts. In this post I have given links to all of the posts to make it easier for you to search for them all.

 

 

Day 1 - ramadan-calendar-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 2 - ramadan-lolly-tree-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 3 - paper-mache-kaaba-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 4 - 99-names-of-allah-tree-30-days-of.html

Day 5 - ramadan-countdown-crafts-30-days-of.html

Day 6 - islamic-doorknob-hangers-30-days-of.html

Day 7 - ramadan-bunting-decorations-30-days-of.html

Day 8 - sadaqah-money-box-tutorial-30-days-of.html

Day 9 - designing-ramadan-and-eid-cards-30-days.html

Day 10 - eid-countdown-poster-wipeable-30-days.html

Day 11 - glass-lanterns-30-days-of-ramadan-crafts.html

Day 12 - paper-mache-mosque-tutorial-30-days-of.html

Day 13 - islamic-bookmarks-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 14 - islamic-placemat-and-worksheets-30-days.html

Day 15 - felt-key-rings-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 16 - crescent-moon-and-star-wall-art-30-days.html

Day 17 - henna-crafts-30-days-of-ramadan-crafts.html

Day 18 - pillars-of-islam-crafts-30-days-of.html

Day 19 -mosque-collage-30-days-of-ramadan-crafts.html

Day 20 - ramadan-food-crafts-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 21 - prayer-mat-crafts-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 22 - mosque-sponge-painting-30-days-of.html

Day 23 - games-crafts-30-days-of-ramadan-crafts.html

Day 24 - arabic-calligraphy-artwork-30-days-of.html

Day 25 - mosque-gift-bag-template-30-days-of.html

Day 26 - window-stickers-diy-tutorial-30-days-of.html

Day 27 - ramadan-t-shirt-designing-30-days-of.html

Day 28 - ramadan-certificates-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 29 - scarf-surprises-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Day 30 - eid-gifts-ideas-30-days-of-ramadan.html

Extra Crafts Post - ramadan-crafts-extra-30-days-of-ramadan.html

 

 

Below are a few photos of the more popular crafts I have blogged about in this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't Forget that if you have made any of the Ramadan Crafts that I have blogged about, then please send in a photograph and I will publish this on my blog and my Facebook Page! You can send this via email (karimascrafts@gmail.com) or post on my Facebook Page Karimas-Crafts directly.

 

Ramadan Certificates - 30 Days of Ramadan Crafts

Day 28 - Ramadan Certificates 

What better way to end the blessed month of Ramadan with the children than to give them their very own certificate for taking part! I have designed 4 different certificates. I have designed 2 certificates that are black and white and can be coloured in by the children and another 2 certificates that are designed in full colour ready to just present to them (once you have written on their name!). You could even get these laminated or framed.

Here is the First Free Download of the coloured design - that just needs the child's name entered: certificatecoloura.pdf

 Here is the second Free Download of the coloured design which leaves space for your own Ramadan Message on it. certificatecolour1a.pdf

Here is the third Free Download of the black and white certificate - that just needs the child's name entered: certificate1abawa.pdf

Here is the fourth Free Download of the black and white certificate which leaves space for you to place your own Ramadan Message on it!:  certificate2bawa.pdf

Helpful Hints: These certificates can be used just as an idea and you could get your children to design their very own Ramadan Achievement Certificates!

Don't Forget that if you have made any of the Ramadan Crafts that I have blogged about, then please send in a photograph and I will publish this on my blog and my Facebook Page! You can send this via email (karimascrafts@gmail.com) or post on my Facebook Page Karimas-Crafts directly.

Mosque Gift Bag Template - 30 Days of Ramadan Crafts

 Day 25 - Mosque Gift Bag Template

I have personally designed a Gift Bag which is in the shape of a mosque. I have made available 2 designs, one which is just the shape of a mosque and the other one has the words 'Eid Mubarak' written on one side so this could be used specifically to use as a gift for Eid. I designed these with an extra 2 flaps at the top, so that you can secure a little of what you put inside the box as a gift!

Requirements:

Printout of the template onto card

Pens/Crayons, Paint

Hole Puncher

Ribbon to secure the box closed.

Instructions:

Print of the template onto card stock from the links above.

Colour in the template with the colours of your choice.

Fold the card along the lines that are highlighted on the template.

Secure the edges together with either glue or double sided tape.

Allow to dry if using glue.

Using a Hole Puncher or something similar make 2 holes at the top where the holes are shown on the design.

Fill your box with some little goodies/gift.

Insert some ribbon into the holes and make sure the box is closed securely.

The link to the Free Download for the above Gift Bag is: mosqueboxtemplate1.pdf

The link to the Free Download for the above Gift Bag is: mosqueboxtemplate2A.pdf

 Helpful Hints: You could leave the gap (ie not cut it) alongside the bottom of the gift bag and fold them up to make the bottom a bit more secure. You could print this out onto coloured card to give it more detail.

Don't Forget that if you have made any of the Ramadan Crafts that I have blogged about, then please send in a photograph and I will publish this on my blog and my Facebook Page! You can send this via email (karimascrafts@gmail.com) or post on my Facebook Page Karimas-Crafts directly.