Gift

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Craft it Forward: 7 of Hearts

craft it forward button

Craft it Forward Button: Grab it for your own blog

In early February, I launched my first Craft it Forward.  It’s been great fun having an excuse to craft all year and the pleasure of trying new things.

December’s Craft it Forward is ‘7 of Hearts’ representing my 7th work from the heart.  As soon as I secure Vivien’s address, they’ll be on their way to the UK.

Vivien blogs at Where the Journey Takes me. She writes:

I live in a small old mill town nestled into the Pennine hills in Yorkshire with my long-suffering husband of thirty some years. I have two beautiful daughters who have flown the nest (most of the time!). I paint and draw (a little) when time allows, make and bake sometimes but not often enough and garden and grow things as much as possible. I recycle and up-cycle, hate waste and I couldn’t live without my time planner and lists.

Vivien is slowly renovating a quaint and picturesque cottage in Scotland, where she will eventually retire. We share a mutual love of gardening, card-making and organizing.

I crafted a set of cards from KaiserCraft’s Enchanted Garden Collection.  Vivien uses flowers and butterflies in her own cards. I incorporated both into the designs, below.

butterfly die cut

Die cut butterfly using my Silhouette

Butterfly Cards

Butterfly Cards

Using the same paper, I made a set of quilt cards, one of my favorite designs for the Silhouette. I enjoyed combining the geometric patterns of the card design, with the more ethereal patterned paper. Each of the six cards features a different combination of the papers.

Envelopes and card detail

Envelopes and card detail

quilt cards

Quilt cards

The last two cards feature the intricate illustrations of the Enchanted Garden designs.

Enchanted Garden Cards

Enchanted Garden Cards

I’ve kept the packaging simple, honoring her desire to scale back: they’re wrapped together with a single piece of ribbon.

What is Craft it Forward?

If you think you might like to try this on your own blog, G+ or Facebook page, here’s how it works. You put forth the offer to create a handmade item. The first five people to comment on your original post receive a handmade item, uniquely your own . In return, they agree to pay it forward, crafting their own unique item for the first five people on their list. Craft it Forward encourages community, creative spirit and camaraderie. It also encourages flexibility, so I expanded my list from five to seven based on interest in the project. Isn’t it fun making your own rules?

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Green Friday: Repurposing in and out of the Garden

Re-purposing was common practice during the Depression era.  It’s still common in developing countries where nothing goes to waste.  I’m a huge fan of giving new life to items that might otherwise be discarded.  There is an entire movement afoot, people reusing items in clever and original ways.

So, in honor of Green Friday, check out these fun ideas.

Greenhouse-Made-from-Windows

Greenhouse Made from old windows
Between Naps on the Porch

sweet magnolia chair

Lovely old chair breathes new life
Sweet Magnolia Farm

umbrellabeantrellis upcycle

Umbrella Bean Trellis from Dirt du Jour

bird bath light fixture

Light fixture bird bath from Indulgy

I wish I had 100 hours a week to read all the fascinating blogs out there. Here’s a small sample:

Dishfunctional Designs: Creative Things To Make With Old (I love the clever title)

Indulgy.com: Light fixtures live again

Denim Do Over: giving new life to old denim

Pinterest: Set the timer or you’ll never get anything done.

Facebook: Re-purposed, Recycled, Reused, Reclaimed, Restored

I like to re-purpose my wall calendar each year.  I reuse the pages to make envelopes, bookmarks, gift tags, small stickers, gift-card holders and other small paper items.

Last year I made a wreath for our front door using scraps of tissue paper, candy wrappers (ahem) , a dry-cleaning bag and the plastic sleeve from the newspaper.

Katherine, over at Pillows a-la- Mode recently refashioned an old sweater into the most adorable teddy bear you’ve ever seen.

Diary of a Mad Woman uses a similar sweater to make Christmas stockings. 

I hope you have as much fun as I did, visiting all these fun sites.  Please share your own re-fashions, links or blogs in the comments below.

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Vintage Box Card: Garden Style

I’ve been at it again.

Last week I mentioned the Cameo by Silhouette, the clever addition to my crafting tools.  It’s so sophisticated, that I can hardly imagine topping it.  I won’t say that too loudly, as my limited imagination didn’t foresee carrying an entire computer in my purse a mere decade ago either.  For now, I’m thrilled with the state-of-the-art possibilities.

That said, I’ll always enjoy combining the old with the new.

My good friend Donna has a booth at Antiques Colony in San Jose called Green House Supply.  Donna is an avid gardener, crafter and purveyor of all things vintage.  She sells a variety of gently aged paper goods, including these alphabet flash cards (below), bingo cards, maps and pages from beautiful old books.  Her shop is great fun.  I never leave empty-handed.  This time I was on a mission.  I wanted to make her a thank you note to show my appreciation for the generous bag of gardening books she left on my doorstep.  I’ve been plowing my way through them and will also be offering them in our Little Free Library when we finally get that off the ground.

Here’s what I made.

Using a page from a child’s picture dictionary, I created the box card (with the Silhouette). I bought a vintage flash card with a D on it, turned it on its side, and added three-dimensional flowers. I wrote the note on the back.

Box card cut from vintage paper

Box Card and Insert

completed box card

Completed Box Card

I used scraps of paper for the face of the card and the band, inking the edges for an aged look. I added a small strand of leaf-shaped ribbon and another flower for a finishing touch

inside of box card

Note tucked inside

Closed card, sealed with band

Closed card, sealed with band

threaded leaf ribbon

Threaded ‘leaf’ ribbon, the finishing touch

The card is resting on a polka-dot plant and a dusty hydrangea, patio favorites each summer.

Box card design by Samantha Walker.

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Craft it Forward: Three’s a Charm

I dubbed this month’s Craft it Forward: Three’s a Charm. I incorporated three loves (photo manipulation, paper and cats) to create my third craft it forward: a series of greeting cards. If you’re new to the concept of Craft it Forward, you can read about it here.  Links to the first and second project are at the end of this post.

I’m trying a little something different with each craft, stretching the old comfort zone if you will.  It’s good challenging myself.

This set of cards is for Sheila.  She’s an animal lover, photographer and all-around nice person. She fosters cats and nurtures children and is always quick with support or a compliment.  She’s guiding and supporting a young woman through a difficult time now.  I hope these cards serve as a little pick-me-up.

At my request, Sheila sent a digital photo of one of her cats, a stunner named Rodent. I altered the photo using Picasa software, creating three different images. Sheila loves purple and robin’s egg blue, so I applied colored filters to the photo to achieve the effect you see below. The third photo is in its original form. After manipulating the image, I printed the photo on heavy-duty watercolor paper. The paper absorbs some of the color, creating a mat finish. Let me know what you think.

Included with Three’s a Charm:

  • Twelve, 5 x 7 greeting cards, 4 of each design
  • Twelve ‘Secret Garden’ envelope seals
  • A small, faux birdcage.

The small faux cage currently houses the cards.  Once empty, she can reuse it to hold a small house plant or fill it with laundry lint and other soft materials for nesting birds.

Birdhouse of Cards

Birdhouse of Cards

Purple cards

Lovely Lavender

Kitty in the Garden

Kitty in the Garden

blue cards

Shades of Blue

cards in a cage

Cards in a cage

Craft it Forward:

craft it forward buttonHere’s how it works. The first five people to comment on the original post receive a handmade item with the gardening nirvana touch. In return, they agree to pay it forward, crafting their own unique item for the first five people on their list. Craft it Forward encourages community, creative spirit and camaraderie. It also encourages flexibility, so I expanded my list from five to seven based on interest in the project. Isn’t it fun making your own rules?

Further, in the era of the internet, who doesn’t like ‘real’ mail? If you haven’t started your own Craft it Forward, today is a good day to get one going.

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Crafting Gifts: A Plan for the Holidays

Making cards and gifts for the holidays takes some planning. Since I’m organized at heart, I start thinking about it early in the year. When I was young and broke, I made all my holiday gifts. Life got busier and I fell out of the habit.  When my boys were young, I didn’t have the time or the energy.  I’ve come full circle this year (for the most part).  I’m trying to make my cards and a few small gifts. Alternatively, it’s fun to buy from craft fairs.  I enjoy supporting artisans in my community.

Mini Photo Fold-Out Album

Last spring I attended a mini-workshop lead by designer Karen Phillips. Karen is a paper crafter and Creative Memories consultant.  She designed a charming, pocket-sized photo album which she sells in kits. She lead us through the process of creating our own.

I’ve made two so far, one in pink with pearl accents, and the purple mini album pictured below (with a floral theme, of course!)

Mini photo album

We like to show our appreciation for the boy’s teachers at the holidays with a small gift.  I plan to make a few of these to include with a monetary gift card.

Mini album and sleeve

Inside viewphoto album open viewCosmo Seed Cards

Late summer, when the Cosmos were in full bloom, I collected seeds from the prolific flowers. Cosmos are easy to grow under many conditions. They brought me such pleasure. I wanted to share their beauty with others.  I made seed packets using glassine envelopes from The Paper Source. I designed a card using digital software, a cute little five-sided fold out.  It’s the perfect size. I’m waiting for the 20% off sale before placing my order. Stay tuned for the completed project.

So many of you are crafty souls.  Are you planning on making gifts for the upcoming holidays?

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