2014 Birthday Cards

Every year as part of my Christmas gift to my parents, 

I make them enough birthday cards to give to their kids and grandkids for the year.

2013 was kind of a crazy year for me.

I felt like the harder I tried, the more behind I got.  

With everything.

So they didn't actually get this part of their Christmas gift until well into January.

I'm hoping 2014 will be a better year for me....we shall see :)

Supplies used:

Paper: SU! Birthday Basics DSP, SU! Basic Gray Cardstock, SU! Old Olive Cardstock, SU! Whisper White Cardstock

Stamps: SU! See Ya Later

Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad

Other: SU! Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, star punch (non SU!), oval punch (non SU!)

'Happy Birthday' Card

Last week I shared THIS CARD, and mentioned that I was working on a girl version.  It took me longer than I expected, but I finally have it ready to share.

Here's the inside pocket.  I'll be putting $$ in these, but didn't have any cash on hand for the picture.

These cards are so much fun!!  I made them to send to my nieces and nephews this year for their birthdays.  Hope they love them as much as I do!!

'It's Your Special Day' Card

It's been a while since I've had a chance to make cards.  

And I've missed it!!  

After taking the holiday season off from paper crafting, 

I'm now itching to get back to it!

The inspiration for this card came 

from the amazing Becky Roberts.  

She shared a gift card/money holder card HERE, 

and it's been on my list of cards to try for a while now.

Here's my version... 

The folded Top Note Die IS the card.  

There's a pocket inside that's perfect 

for holding a gift card or cold hard cash.  

I ended up putting a small piece of velcro 

on the side to help keep it closed.

Here's what it looks like with some $$ in the pocket. 

My mustache punch is turning out to be a good investment!  

I absolutely {love} it!

A tutorial for the folded Top Note Die can be found HERE.

I'm working on a 'girl version' of this card, 

and will hopefully be ready to share it later this week!

Have a great Monday!

My Spin on the Pin {6.22.12}

Summer is in full swing at our house.  I've been trying to keep my kids busy so they won't fight, but some days are better than others! 

With 5 kids home all day, there isn't much time for me to do anything crafty.  But I had to make an exception as soon as I saw THIS PIN.

Here's My Spin on the Pin...

The paper pieced cupcake is my favorite part of the card...

And here's another version...

The paper is from the Project Life Cardstock - Clementine Collection by Becky Higgins.  I am in LOVE with the stuff!

Have a great Friday, and happy Pinning!

From the Desk of... {Birthday Gift}

One of the ladies I work with in my church calling had a birthday a few weeks ago, and I wanted to give her something I knew she would use.  Here's what I came up with...

A 'From the Desk of' Gift Set! 

(the template can be bought HERE)

I made 8 cards to go inside...4 that looked like this:

And 4 that looked like this...

A matching Post It Note Holder fit perfectly...

And for a little treat...some chocolate!

This was such a fun gift to make, and she loved it! 

Now I need to make one for myself...

Another Birthday Card

I'm still on the hunt for some cute cards to make for my parents as part of their Christmas gift.  What do you think of these? 

I love the look of these cards, but I don't thing they would work for boys.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't think boys would appreciate getting a birthday card with a flower on it.  I'll have to see if the flower can be switched for something more 'masculine'! 

Paper Pieced Candle Birthday Card

Every year for Christmas, part of my gift to my parents is birthday cards.  I make enough for them to give to all of their kids, in-laws, grandkids, and throw in a few extra in case they need them for friends.  I've been on the hunt for cute cards that would be easy to mass produce, and here's one of the options I'm considering for this year.

The inspiration for these cards came from HERE.  What do you think?  I'm still searching for other ideas, so if you've made or seen a cute card on the web, could you do me a favor and leave a comment with the web address so I can take a look?  Thank you!!

Pull-Tab Treat Can Tutorial

Last week I had the opportunity to guest post at Meremade.  In case you missed it, here's the tutorial I shared...

Finding ways to recycle 'trash' has become a hobby of mine.  I love taking something that would otherwise be thrown away, and turning it into something useful and {cute}!  Today I'm going to show you how to make a Pull-Tab Treat Can... 

 
These Pull-Tab Treat Cans would make a fun addition to your kids' lunch boxes, or even a great gift for a teacher or friend!

Let's get started, shall we?!  Here's what you'll need:

*1- Fruit Can with a pull tab on top (I used an 8.75 oz. can of peaches)
*1- Safety Can Opener
*1- 3.75"x8.75" piece of scrapbook paper
*ribbon & other embellishments
*hot glue gun
*scrapbook adhesive
*candy

First, using your safety can opener, open your can from the BOTTOM.  Empty the fruit out of the can and wash both the can and the bottom lid well.  Dry thoroughly.

Adhere the 3.75"x8.75" piece of scrapbook paper around the can, and decorate as desired.

Fill the can with candy, leaving a 1/4" to 1/2" head space.

Put some hot glue on the edge of the bottom lid and quickly place back on the can. 

And there you have it...easy peasy!!

You can get really creative and use other items besides candy to go inside the cans as well.  How about putting a few bracelets and maybe some earrings inside?  Or what about some small toys?  The sky's the limit!!

Pinwheel Card {Boy Version}

So a few weeks ago I shared some pinwheel cards with you, and mentioned that I'd made some 'boyish' ones too.  I finally got around to taking a picture....what do ya think?

I used boy scrapbook paper for the pinwheels, and a star punch for the center.  When asked my husband what he thought, his response was this: "Boys don't really care about the card."  Well...that's good to know!!  I always worry that the cards I make for boys turn out too 'girly', but with his sound advice, I'll quit stressing about it!

A Birthday Treat

My neighbor had a birthday recently, and I wanted to give her a fun gift.  She loves chocolate almost as much as I do {wink}, so I finally settled on making her this:

A standard size Hershey's bar fits perfectly inside...YUM!

I used THIS TUTORIAL as a guide for the box, but changed the dimensions to these:

**Cut a piece of cardstock to 6.5" x 6.5".
**Score at 1/2" and 6" on one side, then turn cardstock and score at 1", 1.5", 4", and 4.5".
**Cut the box and put together as laid out in the tutorial I linked to above.

These boxes go together really quick, and dress up chocolate in a big way! 

Sewing Camp Project #1: {Paper Bag Albums}

For my girls' first 'Sewing Camp' project, I decided to go with something easy...paper bag albums!  All they needed to do was sew one straight line (my kind of project!).  It was a good starting point, because they got to practice backstitching as well as sewing a straight line.

This one is my soon to be 12-year-old's.  Her paper bag album is all ready for the pictures we'll be taking at the big birthday party (which is this Saturday!).

Here's a few of the inside pages...

Didn't she do a GREAT job?!

All the kids loved sitting at the sewing machine when it was their turn to sew their bags together.  They can't wait for our next project!

Linking to these fabulous parties:

It's Stinkin' Cute Craft Thursday @It's Sew Stinkin' Cute

Super Simple & CUTE Cards!

I'm always on the lookout for FAST, CUTE card ideas.  As I was browsing around blogland, I came across THIS IDEA from Nichole Heady, where she used stamped address labels on her cards.  Super simple, and SUPER cute!!  I don't own many stamps, so I took that idea and designed some labels on my computer. 

Here's a few of the cards I've made using this awesome idea.  These first 3 have the same label, but I used different paper on each one.

The next two are birthday cards with some fun owls...

And finally, I made a few 'Congratulations' cards...

What I love about this concept is that I can use the same label, but change up the paper on my cards to make them all a little different.  The possibilities are really endless!!