Mustache!

A few weeks ago I made a little mustache card for a dear, dear friend who lives so very, very far away.  In full disclosure, I did not make the envelope...'twas a purchase quite some time back from my most favoritest of paper stores.  And, I have to admit, I didn't come up with the idea of a mustache on a tooth pick all on my own.  I got the idea from the book Craft-a-Day by Sarah Goldschadt.  I checked it out from the "new books" section of the public library last fall...and then purchased it from Amazon two days later!  It's awesome.  Super easy instructions, but oh-so-very-genius ideas for adorable crafts you can make any day.  It's loosely organized around seasons and holidays, and with a different theme every week, there's certainly no shortage of cute crafts you can keep, give away, or send via snail mail.  Ahem, cough...you should send snail mail...cough, ahem. 

So, for this card, I simply traced the mustache out of the book and onto tracing paper.  I cut it out of black felt, and then cut a small rectangular piece to fit around the back of the mustache to cover the top of the toothpick...which I hot glued onto the felt.  Two simple cuts with a craft knife to make a slit in the card, and voila!  I also stamped "hello!" onto the front using super cheap stamps (like $1.00 for all twenty-six letters plus some punctuation).  Oh, and FYI, toothpicks totally go through the mail just fine and dandy.  Try it out, and send someone a little surprise.

For My Niece

My sister-in-law once told me that my niece likes crafty stuff.  That might have been a mistake.  Because, now, instead of getting awesome clothes or music downloads, she gets gift cards to Michael's and crafting supplies and...

...wait for it...

...wait for it...

...THIS!  See below!  This is the awesome "make your own note cards and envelopes set" I made for her birthday a few weeks ago!

I made templates out of card stock using the plastic templates from my own stash.  I made templates for the envelopes, liners, and note cards in three different sizes and wrote the instructions directly on the templates.  No keeping track of separate instructions sheet required!  I folded them up the way they would be put together when finished and then wrapped them up with a variety of fancy paper in all different patterns, some pre-cut note cards, a glue stick, a Sharpie pen, various embellishments and labels, and some hot pink striped washi tape.

I hope she liked it!

Here's the template for the smallest card, perfect for gift cards or gift tags.  The circled numbers indicate which flaps to fold in first.  I wrote "glue" wherever she'd need glue to secure the flaps.  In this case, some of the "glue" instructions are on the edges of the flaps facing toward the table.

Here are the templates for the middle-sized card and envelope.  For the note card template, I used just a flat rectangle.  Notice that I suggested tracing it twice, edge to edge, and folding where the two come together to create a folded card.

Here you can see where I indicate to "glue" to secure the flaps and make the envelope.

Here's the finished set of all three template sizes.

I folded the templates into "envelopes" with the liner templates and note card templates inside so that she could see how it would all fit together.

And here's the whole set!  I made sure to include small stickers so that she could secure the final envelope flap without using the glue stick.  (It's easier for the recipient to open and allows them to better see the liner paper.)  I also added some light-colored mailing labels so that she could use darker colored or patterned paper for the outside of the envelopes and the address can still be read easily by the postal service.  I'm all about snail mail, as you know.  I also included some pre-cut rectangular and scalloped note cards, because, why not!?

What I Made for Mother's Day!

So, here's just a quick post to show you all what I made for Mother's Day.  I'm lucky enough to have three mommas in my life...who have all received their fair share of hand made note card sets from me.  I hope they like them.  

First, I made a set for my very own momma.  She's one classy lady, so I kept it simple with black dots on ivory and toile for the envelopes and liners and included thick cardstock note cards that are black on one side and khaki on the other.  

Envelopes and liners.

I also made a "matching" greeting card with profile silhouettes. 

"Love you more!" Added a scalloped medallion to the front of a larger card and stamped on a greeting.

Next I whipped up a set of six note cards with envelopes made in white lace on a tan background and wood grain paper.  The folded note cards are kraft paper cardstock with a little help from Martha's paper flowers.

Wood grain liner inside lace envelope, small flower on card.

Lace liner inside wood grain envelope, larger flower on card.

Completed set of six, with two "baby" envelopes just for fun.

And at long last, here is the follow up to a previous posting about what I did with the green note cards with washi tape.  I made two of each of three different combinations of envelopes, coordinated to the washi tape.  Voila!  These were sent off as the third Mother's Day set.  

Green with green, with more green.

Fun with Washi Tape

Because it's just so darn easy to use, washi tape is my new "go to" embellishment for paper crafting and anytime crafting alike. When momma needs a time out, even if it's just for a few minutes, I can just stick some washi tape on an empty coffee can, and voila!  Pretty yes?  And with the amount of coffee I go through in a month, just think of all the washi tape covered possibilities!

I also recently made a set of six note cards with three different styles of washi tape stripes.  More photos of the finished set with envelopes in a post yet to come.  Keep your eyes peeled for more on my latest projects!  

Various shades of green washi tape.  Very springy, yes?

Washi tape note cards and coffee can pencil/marker/scissors holder.