Pride 2023 at Nottingham’s Tavern
It’s back! Pride night brought to you by Nottingham’s Tavern and DJ Luna of Asynchronous Entertainment returns on Wednesday, June 21, 2023!
DJ Luna and I have been hard at work canvassing our community for donations from local vendors to make this year’s charity baskets AWESOME.
In addition to the charity baskets, we will be raffling off prizes throughout the night so everyone who buys a ticket has a better chance to win something.
The event starts at 5:30 with a watch party for “The Birdcage” and a chance to meet and greet with several local LGBTQ+ authors. Ladies Night and drink specials start at 9pm, and at 9:30 the party gets hopping with DJ Luna hosting karaoke and raffling prizes!
Just like last year, all proceeds from the raffle ticket sales will be donated to The Trevor Project which is an A+ rated charity that helps LGBTQ+ youth. Our fundraiser page is active, so if you’d like to donate that way, you can absolutely do so!
Mark your calendars, and we hope to see you there! If you are with a business or organization that would like to donate to our raffle baskets, please email me at bunhunstudios@gmail.com so we can work out details!
Savage Fest 2023
I am SO EXCITED! Have you heard?! Bun Hun Studios will have a booth at a local vendor fair next month! I was approved for a space at Savage Fest 2023 (in nearby Savage, MD).
I am very eager to take my online shop out into the real world and make myself known in my community. I have been working non-stop on my displays, signs, and, of course, inventory!
Making the transition from online-only to in-person is tough and expensive, though. So I created a GoFundMe page where you can donate if you’d like to help me cover the costs. There are rewards for giving, and if you would rather not give money, there is an Amazon wishlist of specific items I will need.
If you’re local, you should definitely come to Savage Fest and stop by! I’ll have freebies to give away, and the festival is a great time for the whole family! They have live music, food trucks, games, a petting zoo, and several other local vendors! Hope to see you there!
Valentine’s Heart Wine Glasses
Years ago I was comissioned by a coworker to make a set of wine glasses for her S.O.
She wanted them to have Valentine’s heart candies on them with various sayings, and to have their names on the base (of the glasses with stems). At the time I did not yet own a Cricut, so while my immediate go-to nowadays would be to make the hearts and lettering out of vinyl, that wasn’t an option for me then. I am still proud of how the final glasses turned out, and will now take this opportunity to brag about them to strangers on the internet, like you do.
So how did I paint these glasses if I didn’t have a Cricut and have the drawing ability of a banana slug? I cheated, of course! I printed out pictures of hearts on plain paper, cut them out, taped them to the inside of the glasses, and painted the outside of the glass accordingly. Think of it less as cheating and more as adapting your methods to match your skill level in order to achieve your desired goal. My brain and my nearly-useless hands met in the middle. It was, admittedly, a longer trip for my brain…
I used 2-3 coats of paint per heart because, as you can see, a single coat was VERY rough looking and generally just a hot mess. I painted one or two large hearts per glass with the intent to give them sayings, and then several small hearts all around to fill the empty space. For the sayings, I knew I couldn’t trust myself to hand write them on. I mean, I couldn’t even paint decent hearts without a stencil – lettering was out of the question. So I got myself some alphabet stamps and a red ink pad!
The stamps worked pretty well, though some of the ink ended up a little patchy. I did not trust myself to be able to reapply the stamps in exactly the same position in order to make it better, so I touched it up with red paint and a thin paintbrush. Some of the letters got a little messy, and that couldn’t be fixed without adding more paint, so I did what I could to fix what I could and left the rest as that “handmade” charm. There’s no question that these glasses were hand painted, but with love, so it’s endearing.
I followed the instructions on the paint bottles to cure the paint onto the glasses. This involved placing them in the cool oven, turning it on, letting it get to temp, then turning it off and leaving them in there until it was completely cool again. It helps keep the paint on the glasses even after washing (though I think still hand wash only). Now that I look at them again, I feel like I want to make myself a travel cup with candy hearts on it – but out of vinyl and letting the Cricut handle the lettering.
Birthday Sale!
It’s my birthday this week, so everything in the shop is on sale!
Starting today, Sept. 12, 2022 and ending 11:59pm Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 everything in the shop is 10% off! This sale will also be applied to any custom orders that are submitted and paid for before the sale’s end.
And as always, orders over $35 ship for free!
Ornaments are Back in the Store
Last year the Holiday sale season ended early because I could not find a supplier for my disc-shaped ornaments, but I found a new one, I have the supplies, and the listings are back, Baby!
If you are familiar with the store’s old designs and notice some popular items are missing, it may be because my business partner used to make them. I have decided not to take on her old designs and to continue with my previous designs as well as trying to add some new ones as inspiration hits.
Along with these listed designs, I love making custom ornaments for a truly one-of-a-kind gift, so if you have an idea for the perfect ornament and don’t see it already listed, send a custom order request!
Product Spotlight: Square Leather Dice Rolling Trays
Tabletop gaming is a super fun pastime, and if you’ve never done it I highly recommend you give it a try! Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most well-known, but there are a lot of options out there. Once you start playing, you quickly find that there are a lot of options for gear and accessories to maximize your fun and cater your experience. One of the ones I proudly stock in my shop are custom dice rolling trays!
The purpose of a dice rolling tray is both to protect your table surface and to keep your dice from rolling off the table. The purpose of a dice rolling tray with a custom design on it is to do both of these things as well as show everyone else at the table how cool you are, obviously. Metal and other heavy kinds of dice can be damaging for a lot of play surfaces, so a dice rolling tray allows you to use whatever awesome dice you’ve got without worry. Plus, you don’t have to hunt down or worry about any more “play it as it lies” rules for dice that stray off the table and go wandering. The trays I sell also snap at the edges so they can go flat for easy transport to and from the game. Just slip it in your backpack or bag, and you’re good!
In the store I offer several colors of trays as well as several different options for design color and finish so you can really get the perfect piece just for you. Most of my designs are based off the base classes in D&D 5e, though there are several options that are geared toward more generalized gaming.
But anyone who has gamed can tell you that each group has approximately 94 bajillion inside jokes, and this is why I offer custom designs. People have based them off their group motto, their favorite school of magic, classic art from a favorite campaign, and even a DM who bought custom trays for all of the players in his/her current game. The choice is yours!
The best part of the custom trays? They don’t cost any different than regular trays! You still pick your tray and material color, then just type “custom” in the personalization box and send me a message about what you want! I will send you a mock-up before actually creating your tray to make sure it’s what you really want.
The only caution I want to mention about these dice trays is that heavy dice (such as metal) will leave small dents in the leather and the design over time. They should not be deep enough to statistically alter your dice rolls, but they will be visible so I like to make sure people know that before ordering. Consider them your dice tray’s battle scars from all the adventures you go on together!
So, what is the best BEST part about these dice rolling trays? THEY’RE ON CLEARANCE SALE! Way to bury the lead, huh? I have found a new style of dice rolling tray that I personally like better and plan to stock soon, so I am clearing out my inventory of this style and you get the benefit! These trays that usually cost $20.50 are on clearance for only $8.99. Yes, that still includes custom designs! Some colors are already sold out or low in stock, so order now before they’re all gone!
And if you’re interested in Tapletop RPG’s, my husband runs a blog where he reviews games, books, systems, and even publishes some of his own content. Check him out at The TTRPG Factory!
Bunny Baby Shower
One thing you need to know about me: I love party supplies. I love shopping for party supplies, I love looking at party supplies, and as you can probably guess, I love making my own party supplies. So when I was pregnant with my daughter and my mom and mother-in-law were planning a baby shower, I begged to be allowed to make the invitations, favors, and decor.
They didn’t like the idea at first, but realized if I didn’t do it then they would have to do it, and I was WAY more enthusiastic about it than they were, so they agreed. Can you guess what theme I chose?
I had decided to use bunnies in my daughter’s nursery, so a bunny shower was a great way to get ready for her arrival. I based the invitations off this similar design I had seen on Pinterest, but obviously changed the unicorn into a bunny. The white paper was irridescent and shimmered so nicely with the gold glitter border! The eyelashes were cut out of a flocked paper, so they were velvety and fuzzy, which was such a cute touch.
Guests received a pink envelope in the mail with their names and addresses printed on the front, and inside was this sweet little bunny with the invitation and diaper raffle tickets. If you are not familiar with a diaper raffle, it is when guests bring a pack of diapers separate from their shower gift which enters them into a raffle for a prize.
Once the invitations were sent, I had to focus on the next big task: favors! I always struggle with what to give as favors, but I had a brainstorm and thought of a very cute and practical gift for the guests.
Simple pearl earrings are an incredibly versatile accessory, so I figured they would be fine for all the guests at the shower regardless of age or general tastes. And by presenting them on these adorable little cards as bunny tails, who could resist? As you can see, I mimicked the look of the invitation on all of the other paper cards and accessories for a uniform appearance throughout the party.
I am generally a fan of cupcakes instead of cake at parties because each guest gets their own and serving multiple flavors is easier. No time is dedicated to slicing a cake or remembering which side or tier had which flavors – it’s usually fairly obvious and they can be handed out quickly and easily. Plus, it’s a perfect chance to make cupcake toppers, which are a very easy way to add personality to storebought or homemade cupcakes. I designed these bunny ear cupcake toppers after seeing something similar on Pinterest, but I copied the ears from the invitation and reused them for the shape of the toppers so that it better fit with the exact look I had established.
For the favors, I decorated a crate I had at home with a bunny garland and a hilarious pun banner made from the same pink, gold, and irridescent white papers that had been used throughout the party. Guests were free to pick them up whenever they had a moment during the party.
For the tables, I bought a pack of tiny bunny figurines and painted them gold, then covered them in glitter. Then I covered them in clear coat so they didn’t just shed glitter everywhere. One of my friends took a few and still uses them in her Easter decor to this day, and they are as glittery as ever!
I saw some white waffle-fold balls at the party store and couldn’t resist giving them bunny ears using the template from the invitation and cupcake toppers. I added them to the tables for a little height variation and visual interest.
The tables were finished with some milk bottles that I had made for a party years before. I got blank milk bottles and used the same process as I’d used for the bunny figures to add gold glitter. Half of the bottles had large gold glitter polka dots all over them, and half just had glitter gold for the bottom half. They were mixed up and set in groups on the tables with sprigs of baby’s breath in them. You can see a little peek of them in the picture above.
Together, the gold bunnies, pom pom bunnies, and bottles with flowers added interest to the tables without taking up too much space, so the guests didn’t have to struggle to fit their plates and drinks around it all.
It was a very cute party, if I do say so myself, and I loved how everything came together! If you see anything you like and would like me to make you something similar for your own party or event, hit me up here or on any of my social sites and I would be happy to get you a quote!
Pride event at Nottingham’s
Last night I had the pleasure of helping out at a local Pride event hosted by my friend DJ Luna of Asynchronous Entertainment.
Guests enjoyed music, dancing, karaoke, prizes, and everyone celebrated love! There was a raffle for baskets loaded with gift certificates, booze, and tons of goodies donated by local businesses as well as a swag table with all kinds of LGBTQ+ stickers and some swanky shot glasses donated by some awesome local business (it was me – I donated the shot glasses). All monetary donations and raffle ticket sales will go to The Trevor Project which helps LGBTQ+ youth. The event donation page is still open and will be until July 1st, so if you’d like to donate, click here!
I had a fabulous time and was so grateful to have been invited to be a part of it! The owner of Nottingham’s has already said that he would gladly host it again next year, so we’ll see you in 2023!
Always Crafting!
I have made many, many crafts and projects over the years. Some have been for myself, some for friends, some for holidays, some for parties or events – I’ve made a lot! This page is where I will feature projects I’ve made as a way to showcase some of my skills and designs that aren’t featured in my Etsy shop. If you see anything here that you like and want to discuss having something like it made just for you, be sure to get in touch through email, Etsy, or social media!
Bun Hun Studios 