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Homemade is Always More Fun

February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I know there are wonderful cards out there to buy and some of them are amazing (I love looking through the cards when I have a chance and I always think what a fun job it would be to come up with them –but not have to make them!).  But I have to admit, I also enjoy making them, even tho I always seem to be doing it at the last minute and they are sometimes late.  I like to think the recipients appreciate the work and thought that goes into them (they seem to).  I do get a few home made cards and they always mean a lot to me.  I keep them and I keep thinking one day I’ll make an album to make it easier to enjoy them.  My Dad makes wonderful birthday cards for the family.  I think I have every one he’s sent me through the years.  I always look forward to them.

Anyway, enough chatter.  Here are my Valentine’s Day Cards that I made.  I didn’t make many.  One of these days I will actually be ahead and maybe make up some, but I usually end up making them especially for each person.  Maybe that’s better anyway.   These were fun, although the photos aren’t great.  The lens I used doesn’t auto-focus on my D60 so I had to focus and a few of them were a little out of focus (they looked ok when I took them).  By the time I realized it the cards were in the mail and gone.  Oh well. 🙂

You can see what I did at Valentine’s From This and That.  You still have time to make some before tomorrow.

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It’s a New Year!

January 7, 2013 By 8 Comments

I guess the first thing I need to do is apologize for not posting more regularly the past several (as in maybe 6 or so) months.  I was out of town for quite a bit of the second half of 2012, helping with my new grandson (oh what a joy!) and then visiting and helping with my 2 step grandchildren (who are older but every bit as much fun).  Then I went and spent some time with my Dad in New Mexico after a few days (not long enough) with my brother and his family.  When I finally got home for good it seems like it was time to prepare for a Thanksgiving visit by my new grandson (he brought his parents along too) and then it was time to get ready for Christmas.

Of course I could have blogged in the meantime but somehow I just got out of the habit –for some reason good habits break far more easily than bad ones.  But, my only New Years Resolution is to get back in the saddle and start blogging again.  I really HAVE  missed it.  It’s not that I haven’t crafted or cooked at all, it’s just that I haven’t done all of the work involved in getting things onto the blog, that is photos and writing.

Now, for today, I will share some of the few Christmas cards I made this year.  Like last year I made them, but I didn’t send out nearly as many.  I got such a late start I used more stickers and stamps than I did before, but I discovered that there are so many beautiful choices that I still liked the way they came out.  You can be really creative and still add your own touches.  And because I was so late getting started most of the items were already on sale!

If you see something you like and have any questions about how I did it, please ask, I will be glad to share.  I’m not going to blog any instructions since they weren’t all that special.  For almost all of them I used prefolded card stock that I already had and sticky dots for most of the gluing (to make things go faster).  I wanted them to go out before Valentines Day!

Now, I’m going to go over to Handmade Harbour  and see what everyone else is up to.  I’ve been away so long, I hope they remember me!  You should go too, I know everyone has been busy.  I really need to check back and see what they were busy with for the holidays, I can’t believe I missed all of that!  See you soon.  I want to share the Moose Blanket I made for my nephew!

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Glittery Mess

August 6, 2012 By 13 Comments

I am very late for Handmade Monday, I made something earlier in the week, and should have just waited and posted it today, but couldn’t wait.  You can see it here. (It’s a musical security blanket for a baby).

Today I did a simple birthday card for a friend who has a birthday coming up. I had done something similar for Thank You cards. They are really easy, altho I’m not all that good at anything that takes really steady hands. All I do is paint glue (either white glue or in this case gel school glue) on my stamp, stamp on my card stock and then sprinkle the glitter over the glue. I let it set and then tap off the excess.
I stamped the sun on some yellow paper and cut that out to glue on and hand wrote the “Happy Birthday” (not my strongest skill set!). It’s pretty amateurish looking but this is an old friend, and I think she’ll like it anyway.
Now, off to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been doing.

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Joy

December 20, 2011 By 2 Comments

Joy
One more card. This one sort of made itself. I had the letters for JOY made from Mod Podge and food coloring –I think I need to do a blog on that, but not today. I wanted to do them in simple cut outs in the card, and it just started from there. It kept just needing *something else*. 🙂 That’s really my favorite way to work.

I ended up using ric rac and lace and glittery ribbon (behind the cut outs) and some snowflakes left over from making gift tags.  I glued the lace down on the dots, and amazingly that worked.  I cut it big enough to go all the way around the other side so it’s very secure.

Make a joyful noise.  And some cards!  🙂

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Christmas Cards

December 11, 2011 By 18 Comments

I am closing in on the cards, and hopefully by the time you read this they will be in the mail –at least most of them.  But I am writing this a little early so that I can get it posted and get back to work.  I have most of them finished, so I thought I would do a few photos before I put them into envelopes and realized I was short a few (or maybe not a few!)

I won’t go into details about the making of them, since eat one was different.  I will just admit to using my Cricut (and I will post a photo of it soon for those who don’t know what it is) to cut the cards and the words and some of the shapes.  I also cut out things from wrapping paper, and leftover Christmas cards from other years, ribbon, and fancy pens, colored pencils (altho sadly I cannot find my good artists colored pencils, they have managed to hide themselves somewhere in the craft room mess, but I know they will turn up).

I wrote the messages on vellum paper that I had from another project because I was afraid if I tried to write directly onto the cards I would mess up and have to throw away cards I spent a lot of time on.  I spent a great deal of time deciding how to affix the vellum into the card, but finally settled on the little corners you can buy to put photos into scrap books.  This has the added advantage of not only looking nice (they basically disappear on the page if you use the clear ones) but the recipient could recycle the card if they wanted to by removing the greeting and putting their own in there! Or, even replacing it with a photo.  It was an accidental idea, and I have to give my husband credit for pointing it out to me.  I should also mention that he’s the one who cut out all the vellum for the messages too.  He’s a wonderful partner because he never seems to mind those mundane tasks that make me crazy!

I’m pleased with the cards.  Some of them look a little whimsical (that means they look like a small child made them!) but hopefully the people who get them will enjoy them.  I know I had fun making them.  I would have had more fun if I had started them in August.  🙂

Now, go and check out the other Handmade Monday crafts.  I am going to, and then I hopefully will post a few other things over the next week.  I have done a few other Christmas Crafts.  Once the cards are in the mail, and I have my Christmas shopping done (closing in on it!) my only other big project is little kitchen thing that is going to disrupt the entire house, I’m afraid.  So, I will either have lots of time to blog, or I will be nowhere to be seen.  I’m not sure which.

 

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A LIttle Christmas Mess

December 4, 2011 By 23 Comments


I have been working on everything at once this week.  It’s the season to be doing everything at once and making a mess.  I don’t know how I used to do it all and with kids and all of their busyness as well.    I don’t have any tutorials to share this week.  I did make something that I will share, but I wanted to perfect it (it’s a recipe) and everything else I did was something I’ve already done before, except for the cards, and those I’m not good enough to do a tutorial for and I’m cheating anyway, with my Cricut!  🙂

So, I just thought I would take a photo of what I’ve done and what I’m working on.  My Step Grand Daughter asked for a Mod Podge ornament and so I made one for her and her brother –they turned out well, I hope they like them.  Then someone else made noises about wanting one of the Mod Podge cups, so I went ahead and made a special one for THAT person and will get that off in the mail right away.

The cards are another story.  I decided to make my Christmas cards this year, which is kind of silly since I normally send out about 30.  I’m cheating and using my Cricut, but still, it’s going to be quite an undertaking.  As you can see, I’ve finished 2.  🙂  But I have cut out 27, and that’s a lot of the work, so I hopefully will get them finished next week and into the mail.  I will try to take some photos of some of the better ones.  I usually have trouble cutting things straight and getting glue where it doesn’t belong.  So, we’ll see.  🙂

Anyway, if you’ve stuck with me this far, please head over to Handmade Monday and check out what everyone is doing.  I know everything there probably has the glue in the right place and they usually cut their lines straight!  🙂  I’m going to check them out!

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Something For Dad

June 13, 2011 By 9 Comments

It’s Handmade Monday so of course I’m running very late. I actually had the project mostly done yesterday but I wanted it to dry completely before I put it together which means I couldn’t get my final photos done yesterday, which means I didn’t do my write up –etc etc etc (please read that with Yul Brynner’s voice from The King and I, it’s far more effective…).

Anyway. It’s Father’s Day next Sunday, and I have to get this done and in the mail. My Dad makes the most wonderful cards for people for their birthdays. He’s also difficult to get presents for, so I thought maybe he would like something to help him organize his cards. I’ve been working on it for weeks, and kept running into snags. Finally, it’s done!

I think it turned out well. I’m not going to say this was simple or easy. It combined some things I enjoy with some things I really don’t like to do at all, but I think a lot of projects are like that (sewing –cough cough).

It also gave me an idea for something else I’m going to make, which I’ll share later this summer.

So, let’s head on over and look at how I made my Daddy a Card Keeper. 🙂

Finished Card Keeper

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