Saturday, November 9, 2013

The ABC's...and a Pig

I bought a bunch of this alphabet paper a long time ago, and it has been super handy for making kid's birthday cards and other sets.  I even cut out and sewed on a felt pig once!  I thought the set with the brightly colored liners and matching note cards turned out really neat.  Maybe someone has a teacher friend that would appreciate just such a set.  Oink, oink!  Enjoy!




Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Blue, Blue, and More Blue

I really like blue.  I might even say it's my favorite color. And despite the fact that I wear a lot of pink (when I'm feeling perky) and a lot of black (when I'm feeling mysterious, professional, or can't decide what else to wear), I really do prefer blue in almost any circumstance.  So, it's actually hard to believe that I don't have more blue note cards up on my blog. Maybe I haven't made that many!  I must rectify that.  And soon.

So, in the meantime, here are a few that I have done recently. One set of eight note cards and envelopes with liners in various shades and patterns of blue.  You'll note that the Little Cat likes them too.  Next comes a birthday card and then a thank you card...embellished with store bought card stock die cuts.  Short and sweet, enjoy!







Monday, November 4, 2013

Black and Gold

Whoa baby!  Two posts in the past three days!  Woot!  Woot!  Well, like I said last time, it's not that I haven't been making anything, it's just that I haven't been posting it!  Plus, the tiny human is asleep and my washing machine is on the fritz, so I sort of HAVE to sit down in the basement and there's nothing to do here except get on the computer.  And, rather than surfing the interwebs and making myself feel poor (creating wish lists on jcrew.com), making myself feel technologically incompetent (I still don't understand hashtags on twitter), or making myself feel completely unproductive (pinning on Pinterest instead of actually making the things I pin on Pinterest), I shall post on my blog and erase at least a few of those misgivings.

Several weeks ago I sent a somewhat desperate sounding email to several women in my family.  Something along the lines of, "Please, pretty please, with sugar on top, order note card sets for your loved ones for Christmas!"  And, I'm not kidding you, less than an hour later, my wonderful mother-in-law wrote back and said, "I need six."  I'll say it again...  Woot!  Woot!  The only instruction was, "One of the ladies is a University of Iowa Hawkeyes fan, so black and gold would be good."  Yes, I can do that.  

Actually, I did that.  The result is below.  Bright yellow-gold note cards with black and ivory stripe and chevron accents.  Half of the envelopes are yellow with black liners and the opposite for the others.  I think it turned out really great.  What say you?  I have three more sets done for her, and the wheels are turning for the remaining two.  And then it's on to the next projects.  You'll just have to stay tuned. 







Saturday, November 2, 2013

Where to Re-Begin!?!

Alas, it has been quite some time since I last updated my blog. It's not that I haven't been making cards or note card sets, it's just that sitting down at a computer to write something that sounds at least partially intelligent and witty has somehow eluded me. (And by the way, I really did just double check to make sure I was using "elude" correctly. My momma would have been so embarrassed if I used "allude" instead. The curse and blessing of being the daughter of an elementary school language teacher - among her many, many talents and gifts.) But, back to the task at hand...

I've actually had many opportunities to make single cards and sets for my loved ones. Baby showers, birthdays, thank you notes, special orders, etc. I'll have to play catch up a little bit, and although I'm tempted to start with the most colorful or the most recent or the most heartfelt, I really should go in chronological order, lest I forget where I left off.  That's just how my mind works.

As it happens, however, the project first up is all of those things (except, of course, the most recent)...super colorful, completely heartfelt! I made this set of note cards and envelopes for a dear friend expecting her first baby. They were keeping the gender a surprise for all (including themselves!), and I was challenged with making a set of thank you notes that was both "baby" and gender neutral, and fun and classy, just like the baby's momma. I really love how they turned out!  I got the letterpress note cards from Paper Source, although I did actually attend a letterpress workshop they hosted...giving credit where credit is due. And I used multicolored paper for the envelopes and liners.  All tied up with a coordinating organza bow, and voila!  Shower gift!  (I also bought the momma and daddy a diaper pail and washable liner and a cloth diaper cover and wet bag, but those things are not nearly as exciting...I mean, who really wants to think about pee and poop when you can write thank you notes on these lovely darlings!)

More later...and yes, I will write "update blog" on my to do list.  Don't underestimate the power of the "to do" list!  TTFN!