{mother's day surprise}

Well... it's more just like a card and a present rolled into one! But I think all my mothers and grandmothers are going to love one.

I suppose the postage would be a bit more on this than a regular card-- I'm handing them out to my family-- but aren't our mothers worth it?

I designed the card fronts specifically for this purpose, to put a pin next to it. Then I made another version for sending without the pin.

Hopefully, my mother's will wear the pins with pride-- and sorry for ruining your surprise-- or at least enjoy looking at the lovely cards!

** I'm putting the card fronts below. I hoping they are large enough and of good enough quality for you guys to use. I recommend printing them two to a page that is printed landscape.

Feel free to print them out and send them for personal use, but not for personal gain! Also, link love is greatly appreciated!**

card for pin

card without pin

P.S. Watch for a tutorial coming soon!

Cherry Blossom Fake-Out

While I love all the beautiful spring blossoms, my nose feels entirely different. So, I appreciate any little way to bring spring inside that doesn't involve a lot of pollen!

There were also a lot of fallen branches in the front yard from all the snow, which were extremely unsightly, but I hadn't gotten around to cleaning them out. So, as I cleaned them up, I had a flash of inspiration!!

This project, which I modified from the current issue of Martha Stewart Living, is simple and almost methodical. The hardest part, especially for me, was cutting out all of the flowers.

I found that if I folded the paper four times, then cut, and then folded each of the petals individually that I got much crisper, cleaner looking flowers. Like this!

1. Cut two to three-inch squares from cardstock-- you can also use vellum, but I didn't have any on hand. Fold the square in half...








2. And fold in half again. Make sure to crease it well, because this will make the flowers look much better.









3. With the folded corner pointing down, cut out the petal. For this one, I used almost a heart shape to make the cherry blossom petals.









4. After unfolding your flower, simply pinch the petals in the center to create a wonderful 3-D effect. I also used a felt pen and dotted the center to give a bit more detail.

5. To attach the petals to the branches, poke through the flowers with a large needle-- or something else sharp. Then dot some craft glue-- it needs to be on the thick side-- and slide the flower down to the glue-- not too far!! Let the branches dry standing up overnight, and you're done and ready to decorate!

{posters}

I've been working on a little decoration for my theoretical craft room. I took a little inspiration from the New York Public Library's digital gallery, which I absolutely LOVE, as well as my favorite spring colors.

I also included a few of my favorite quotes-- two from Jane Austen because I'm on a bit of a kick after re-reading Emma.

I've designed the four prints shown above to hang in a square above my bookcase. I'm thinking black frames, but I'm not sure. What do you think?

{busy, busy}

I've been running all day! But it feels good to have accomplished so much. I finally got around to taking pictures of a few projects-- thank you weather, so expect some new posts soon.

And I made Easter eggs! I tried to use the techniques from the most recent Martha Stewart Living, but it didn't work out quite right... Oh well.

I also made an apple pie-- well... am making. It's in the oven right now, and I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. I kinda ran out of crust, and I didn't feel confident enough to try to expand it on my own. I guess I'll have to wait and see. All that matters is how it tastes!!

The cards pictured at the top were also part of this morning's endeavors. These Easter-- well, more like spring-- cards are just a few hand-cut pieces glued to a Liberty of London card from Target.

I hand drew the flowers, trying to match them to flowers on the cards. Then I cut around the drawings with a craft knife.

I could have saved myself some time and just used a printed drawing, glued to the back and then cut around.

I'm working on a few cards now with bird's nests and eggs. They are pretty cute!

handmade valentines to bring a smile

I think making valentines is one of my favorite parts of Valentine's Day. I've made my own cards for a few years now, and I love them more each year.

This year, I took a little inspiration from avie designs. I also got a little stamp-happy with my new stamp set, thank you Mr. Cupcake!

I had all my stuff spread out Friday and Saturday, paper scattered every where, and glue on everything. I used bits and pieces I had let over from the Christmas tree decorations. It was fun and childish, and it just makes me happy. And giving a homemade valentine makes others happy too.

I'm mailing a few out this year, and I'm going to hate putting them in the mail, but I'm hoping those hearts will pop back to life when the card comes out of the envelope!

Wrap it up!

The title applies to both the year and the few Christmas presents that I have left to wrap.

I love the cute gift wrap that you can buy at Target, but it really doesn't hold up well. But it's too late for this year's bunch. Next year, I'm just going to buy some heavy duty kraft paper, or use brown paper bags, and accent with the cute paper and bows. If only I remember during my Christmas frenzy in 2010!

Sadly, this should be my last post before the holidays, and I just might be able to squeeze one in before New Year's, but I can't make any promises.

But until then, I leave all you last minute wrappers with a little gift wrap inspiration, and a lot of FREE downloads!

Gift Wrap, Anyone?

• free printable gift wrap from Creature Comforts
• gift card wallets via Screen Prints
• fabric gift envelopes from Paper n Stitch
• monogrammed letter gift wrapping on Design*Sponge
• snowflake pillow boxes on Creature Comforts
• printable holiday packaging via How about Orange...

Bows and Tags

• a gift bow from a magazine via How about Orange...
• free printable gift tags via Creature Comforts
• brooches as bows on Bugs and Fishes
• bows from felt on Twig and Thistle
• adorable deer tags on Creature Comforts
• button tags and bows from Bugs and Fishes
• twist tie pom poms on Craftzine
• vintage photo gift tags from Nice package
• free gift tags via Creature Comforts

Holiday Cards

• free printable holiday cards via Creature Comforts
• another free printable on Creature Comforts

Something for Your Sweets

• a sweet holiday tag available on The Long Thread
• a goodie bag topper from Love.Obsess.Inspire.
• revamped hot chocolate mix from Lolly Chops

Sleepy Sunday Christmas Craft

I'm really excited about these adorable trees! I worked on them today and a bit yesterday, and I am loving the way they look. I might move them from the mantle to the table... but really, they look good anywhere.

I started with three Styrofoam trees, two smalls and a large, and several different scrapbook papers in greens, browns, blues, and a red. I tried to pick smaller prints so that they would be visible when I cut them.

For the large tree, I followed this tutorial from Thompson Family Life, but used paper instead of felt. The larger tree is the one toward the back, but I'm rather shorter than the mantle, so the scale is just a bit off.

1The smaller trees are made from leaves cut from the paper. The first row is one strip of paper, to cover the bottom edge of the foam.


2Pin the leaves onto the styrofoam with flat head straight pins. Each row should overlap the preceding row in order to hide the pins. I let my colors alternate rows, but it would also be cute in diagonals or randomly placed.

3For the snowy top of the tree, I cut a cresent shape-- like the tops used on the tree from Thompson Family Life-- then scalloped the edges. I glued the sides into the cone shape, then pinned it atop the tree!!

This project was so easy, and the results are so cute! Another addition could be a bell or bow to the top, or maybe use decorative head pins as ornaments for your tree. No matter how you do it though, this craft is definitely one to get you in the Christmas spirit!

Paper Pom-Poms

Don't you just love that alliteration! I've seen these cute, cute pom-pom kits at Wal-Mart many a time, but why would I pay for that?? Tissue paper and string? Come-on!

So, when I found the directions on Martha Stewart's Web site (oh, that tricky, tricky lady), I was thrilled.

What she doesn't tell you, however, it that four sheets only make half a pom, which is good if you want to put it on something flat or use it as a napkin ring. But, if you want to make a garland or hang them from the ceiling, you'll need to make two and tape them together.

It would make sense to pull two sheets one way and two the other, but that doesn't give much "pom". But using eight sheets might cause rippage, so just make two and tape them!


How-to:

1. To make a small pom-pom, cut a sheet of tissue paper into four ten-by-five sheets.
.

2. Stack the sheets, and fold into a 1/2 inch accordion fold.


3. Tie the paper in the middle using floral wire or just string.


4. Gently unfold into two fans and then pull the layers gently toward a center point on one side. Make sure to leave the bottom layer flat. You will only have half a pom.

For more, or to get dimensions for a larger pom-pom, visit Martha Stewart's Web site.

Failure clips and successful gift... boxes

I decided to make a friend some hair clips. I wanted to whip out my embroidery skills, but they were much more rusty than I thought. But I persevered. I embroidered the clips with paisley designs, but it was such a small space that it did not turn out the way I wanted.

So I tried to redeem myself with a cute gift box made out of paper... and I think I did an okay job!

I've never been good at sort of origami crafts, but my mother and I used to make these small boxes out of greeting cards.

For these boxes, I just used scrap booking paper, but I think a heavier craft stock would be better. These boxes are cute for small gifts, and I tied this one with embroidery floss. You could also attach a loop at one corner and use this as a cute ornament! A garland of them would be cute for birthday parties or make many in different colors for your Christmas tree.

The instructions were in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, which I highly recommend! You can also find the directions at Martha Stewart Living.





(I apologize for the pictures. The lighting in my kitchen isn't great!)