He Makes Me Happy - Anniversary Card

Yesterday I told you that I challenged myself to come up with a more manly card to give my DH for our anniversary. The card I shared was a good start, but I was a little worried the pink/red LOVE sticker was still a bit girly.

So I made this one instead. I had the main embellishment (the dimension sticker sentiment) in my stash for years. I think I bought it with a set of wedding stickers when we first got married. The gray/blue/brown stripes were actually leftover strips of paper from other projects.

Once again, this is a very simple design. I love simple designs. I see a lot of cards that are beautiful, but seem to have a lot going on. I like to keep the focus on the sentiment.

My DH is not very judgmental when it comes to these things. He knows I made it and it comes from the heart. That's really how most people view a handmade card. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to look designer or have a lot of bells and whistles going. Yes, some of those super snazzy and complicated cards are amazing and would be great to give. But don't stress about making simple cards.

N says what's the point - no one keeps the cards anyway and she has decided to not buy them anymore. I don't blame her. That's why I make them and hope there will be some sentimental attachment.

A Very Simple Love Note

DH and I celebrate our wedding anniversary in October. (This weekend actually.)  I love making cards but I usually worry about the cards being a little too feminine. So I challenged myself to make a less girly card for my hubby. I came up with a different ideas.

This was probably the easiest card I've ever done! The main part of the card is a piece of gray paper I glued to a blank card. The gray paper was left over from one of the pages in the graduation book I made. It had the white stripes and black distressed look. The only things I added were the "LOVE" sticker and key sticker from a $1 set of stickers from Walmart. The metallic heart on the key came from a set I got from Joann's.

This was a super simple card that could be easily copied. (Go ahead, you have my permission :)  ) And this is a great design if you are in a hurry. Some pretty paper and a couple stickers to compliment and add sentiment.

BOO to you

The best thing about October, aside from the hot chocolate weather, is Halloween. It is the best gift to kids you can give. Think about it - they get to dress up and get free candy. It is a nice way to start the holiday season, give them something fun before all the more formal family get-togethers.

I couldn't resist making a fun door decoration to celebrate. These cute little characters were designed in craft felt and stuffed lightly to give them some dimension. They are stitched to a piece of doubled organza ribbon and accented with orange and black 1/4" ribbon.

I probably should have taken the time to stitch the facial features and letters, but I was really trying to keep it simple. (I've been sick for over a week and dealing with a couple of migraines, so some slack should be given.)

To keep it simple, I used puffy paint. This was probably not the best idea. the cat's smile is a little lopsided, and so is the bat's fangs, and my letters are less than perfect. But to be honest, that doesn't bother me. I like the flawed, handmade look. I don't make things to be picture perfect or look like they belong in a magazine. The imperfections make them special and mine, and so I always encourage new and novice crafters to embrace the imperfections and learn from them, but don't stress about them!

Card for the Expectant Parents

 K and G are expecting their first child at the end of January and recently found out they are having a little girl. I made this card before they knew for sure what they were having, but the colors seem to it now.

This is a super simple card, and a good reason to splurge on some of the $1 paper craft/scrapbook supplies available at Joann's.

The purple paper came from my stash and I used a decorative punch to filigree the corner. The yellow around the quote stands out so nicely on the purple.

The whole reason for the yellow flower in the lower right corner, which is set on a pink plaid chip board sticker, is to cover up a mistake I made with the punch. It never fails, I always seem to goof up one corner. But in this case you would never know if I didn't tell you.

The quote says "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson  Personally, I think this is a great sentiment for expectant parents. I may use it on another card in the future...

A Welcoming Thought (Or a Wreath Alternative)

 This is the time of year that we are supposed to be taking stock of our blessings, thinking about warmth, family and harvest. At least that's how I feel. The holidays are fast approaching and with family stopping by more often, I wanted to start decorating for the season.

There are tons of wreath tutorials and some really beautiful designs out there for this time of year. Don't believe, go look at pinterest. Personally, I'm not a big fan of wreaths and with my screen, they are hard to see. Plus, I don't have that much room to store them. So I decided on an alternative.

I started with this free template from BHG.com for a pillow. I loved the look of it but wanted to personalize it a little. Rather than enlarging as directed, I printed it out on a single piece of paper and cut the pieces out of craft felt. There was the main orange background, a yellow-orange body and the brown stem.

With a pencil, I free handed some lettering and the swirly-curlies and then hand stitched the beads down. For a little extra touch I outlined the stem in the same gold beads as the swirly-curlies and used a pale green ribbon to hang it. There is no stuffing or stiffener to this at all, just basically two layers of felt.

It looked a little plain on my 70's-tastic front door, so I added the fall leaf wreath from yesterday's post to it. My DH gave it his stamp of approval, so it will be up for a bit, until I get my Halloween door project finished...

Fall Leaves For the Home

Fall and spring are my favorite times of year. I love watching all the colors change and transition. Even though all the leaves on my trees are still bright, vibrant greens, I know the changes are coming. The days are cooler, the nights are getting chilly and I'm starting to crave hot chocolate.

Since the leaves outside aren't changing fast enough, I decided to make myself a little bit of fall for the house. Using templates I found on My Cute Stamps, I cut my leaves out of brown, red, orange and yellow craft felt. I added some gold glitter puff paint for the veining and contrast. (Besides who doesn't love a little glitter when it won't rub off on everything!)

The biggest problem was figuring out what to do them. My first thought was a fall table runner or something decorative over my front door. I decided the best thing, given my limited time, was to stitch some 1/4" ribbon to the back (it's a nice pale green) and make a garland.

Yes, my picture is horrible, but I blame time constraints at the moment. Eventually I will update with a better picture.

At any rate, I cut one of each leaf out of each color and ended up with a total of 16 which were then alternated along the ribbon. I hand stitched it because I was watching E and A and couldn't get to my sewing machine. Realistically, using the machine you could easily connect as many as you want in very little time.

Now to figure out what to do with it.

Remembering the First Day

The new school year began this month and who doesn't love that! School age kids are back in class instead of wanting rides and money to hang out with friends. This year E started kindergarten and little A started preschool. So naturally, I got to get the first day of school pictures and then I had to put them on a new layout. (If I'm going to scrapbook, I might as well do it when it happens instead of waiting a couple years! haha)

Sorry for the horrible picture, I used my phone just because it was easier. Besides, I can sacrifice a little picture clarity if you still get the general layout idea.

Each of the little ones got their own page but I planned to have them facing in the book so I made the layouts complimentary. I kept it super simple and really only embellished with a few rhinestones and a contrasting paper on each page. My absolute favorite part is the family picture. How perfect is that?! The whole family walking E to her first day of kindergarten.