Embarrassing!

Embarrassing! It's been two entire months since my last post.  Ah!  Yes, TWO months...and not just on this blog, but on my other blog as well...even longer!  My last post on Museum + Momma was from June 17th!  Despicable.  Really.  Just totally embarrassing.  I suppose though, I really do have a good excuse.  And though I'm not one for excuses, I'll just come out and say it.  My husband had brain surgery and apparently I have a heart condition that landed me in the hospital for three days.  Oh, and I have a two year old.  So, yeah, I guess that's a lot going on this summer.  One of our dear friends told me, "How 'bout we just write off 2013 for you guys?"  Agreed.  Though parts of it were great...being surrounded by family and friends who love us, sharing tears and laughs with the people we care most about, and (let's face it) having an excuse (or two, or three!) to just chill out, prioritize, and throw your hands up in disbelief.  So be it.  This too shall pass.  

Thank goodness for crafting, yes?!  Some people eat ice cream when they're stressed.  I cut paper with scissors.  

Over the next few days (or probably weeks, if I'm being honest) I'll post some photographs of what I've been up to in my self-imposed down time. I could be vacuuming or doing laundry, or doing dishes, etc., etc. but I don't wanna.  I'd rather being making snail mail.

Here's one of my favorite projects.  (Someone with a birthday in November best not look too closely...'cause you'll be seeing it in person in the not so distant future. Wink, wink.)

Below:  I went a bit monochromatic with this set of eight cards.  I paired bright sunshine yellow and golden yellow folded note cards with honeycomb envelop liners and lace-patterned envelopes.  I embellished with note cards with layers of the coordinating papers, all random, all what spoke to me at the time.  No two cards are the same, and that's just the way I like it.  All tied up with ivory tulle.

Below:  I first encountered the honeycomb paper when making a thank you note for a dear friend.  I thumbed through my stacks of paper and was struck by something I remembered about her.  She shared once in our Bible study that when she was going through a rough spot she was moved by the verse Psalm 46:10, which reads, in part, "Be still and know that I am God."  (NIV)  Shouldn't we all just "be(e) still" sometimes?  I made the card below for her.  She was there for me when I needed her.  And I will be forever thankful.  I was inspired, and then used the rest of the paper for the set of eight above...for another person who is always there when I need her too.

   

Spring Wedding and Father's Day

Alas, it's the first day of summer and my crafting self has been on a bit of a vacation - putting off craftiness in lieu of outside play dates and long afternoons paddling in the baby pool.  But, that isn't to say that I haven't been doing any crafting.  I have, just not a lot.  So, without further ado, here are a few of my recent projects. (I also made a felt hippo plush for a little boy's birthday present, but it's already wrapped up and ready for gifting!)

Above:  I didn't make this for any particular purpose...I was just dying to use this brightly colored floral paper.  And, of course, one can rarely go wrong with lime green polka dots.  The envelope liner is adhesive backed card stock - I was rather pleased with the ultra smooth finish, rather than the occasional lump underneath the liner via errant glue stick.

Below:  One of my very best childhood friends got married a few months back, and I wanted to make her a heartfelt and useful gift.  I made her a set of thank you notes and envelopes in springy, coordinating shades of purple with yellow striped envelop liners.  I sent lavender adhesive mailing labels too.  I found some beautiful floral stamps at the post office and thought they'd be the perfect match.  What newly weds couldn't use a few extra, pre-stamped thank you notes to send off to other wedding guests?!  Hope they liked them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Below:  I'm lucky enough to have three deserving men in my life to which I sent Father's Day cards.  Here's my favorite one.  Ah ha, the lime green polka dots again...this time paired with a wood grain envelope and kraft card stock notecard with a pocket made out of the same adhesive green card stock as in the first image above.  Draw on the stitches in fine point marker, and voila!

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.

Momma's Day!

So, unless you're under a rock somewhere (or chasing a toddler around and generally have no concept of what day of the week it is...like me) you're probably keenly aware that Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12th.  That's right, right?  Right.

What are you doing for Mother's Day!?  I have fond memories of going to brunch with the whole (like 20 twenty people, whole) family, flowers, brunch, hide-and-seek with the cousins, brunch, and then perhaps the sweetest Mother's Day of all...the very first one as a mother, oh, and brunch.  

I'm not totally into gift giving for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, etc.  Why can't every day be the day we show love for the ones we care most deeply about?  But, that said, I do like making things for people...little surprises, and unexpected thoughtfulness, putting in some time to create something for someone else.  Here are some pictures of paper stuff I've made for my momma and my mommas-in-law and other women in my life.  Who I love, very much.

Tans and browns for a stationery set of ten.

Wood grain envelope with scroll-work liner.

Black and white, and yellow too.  Set of ten in two different sizes, with three "baby" envelopes...because they're cute.

Black and white, and yellow too, all packaged up.

Origami paper makes excellent liner paper.

Pink, ivory and tan, a set of twelve for the bestest.

Hot pink, black and grey...because it's awesome.

See something you like?  See something you think someone else will like?  If "yes," we should chat.  Send me an email (oh, gosh, yes, an email) at snailmailblog@gmail.com.