sweet pea

as I mentioned in my personal blog, these are the baby shower invitations I made for my sister-in-law's baby shower. this first picture makes it seem like there aren't that many, but they seemed to keep coming while we were finishing them. if you decide to make this card, let me know and I will help walk you through it if you need help. it's a very intense card, and I ended up recruiting my mom and brother to help me because it was so much work. thanks again!

final card size is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.

to make the outside/envelope - cut a 8 1/2 x 11 in. piece of brown bazzil cardstock in half, so that the halves are 4 1/4 x 11 in. then fold each piece in half, so that there are 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. sections. note - the bazzil (textured) side goes on the outside of the card. cut from the top of the folded line to the bottom corner of one of the halves on each piece (do this so that the sides form a mirror image). place the two uncut sides on top of each other and glue together. next cut out two triangles out of to different pink patterned paper that will be glued to the top of each of the triangle sections - each pink triangle will have the dimensions of 4 x 5 1/4 in sides, and a 6 1/2 in. hypotenuse. again, the triangles should be mirror images of each other. I was able to find a double sided patterned paper that I just cut a 4 x 5 in square and then cut that into two triangles. glue pink triangles to the brown triangles, making sure they are flush on the bottom outside corners. then fold the two sides together and glue together, making a pocket.

next, cut out a 1 x 5 1/2 in rectangle. sew two parallel lines along the outside edges. glue to the front of the envelope.

for the last section of the envelope, cut out three circles, a 2 1/2 in. cream cardstock, a 2 in pink bazzil , and a 1 1/2 in brown bazzil. make scallops around the cream cardstock, and punch small holes at each scallop. glue all three circles together. next, cut out a pea pod shape out of green paper using a cricut or die cut. use three green brads to make peas. glue the pea pod to the circles, and the circles to the envelope.

to make the inside/card - cut out a 4 1/8 x 5 3/8 in. square of pink bazzil. print the invitation on cream cardstock so that the final size measures 3 3/4 x 5 in. round the edges of both pieces of paper, then glue together. sew the papers together, using a straight stitch. cut out a 2 in. circle of pink bazzil and a 1 1/2 in. circle of cream cardstock. cut scallops around the pink circle. glue a green button to the middle of the cream circle, and sew on. write "sweet pea" along the outside of the button on the cream circle. glue the two circles together and then glue to the card.

and finally, place the card inside the envelope and take a nap - you deserve it!

note - if you don't have a way to scallop the edges of the two circles, get in contact with me. there is a way to make scallops with a paper edger, and I am more than willing to help explain how.

signature thank you

I consider this card to be my signature thank you card. and I have made way too many of them recently. (I made about 30 for our clinical sites last semester). they are easy, and I think unique and cute. they are also very versatile - you can use so many different patterns to fit the situation.

to make this card, cut out a piece of thicker paper so that you have a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card. cut out six 3/4 x 4 in. rectangles out of patterned or solid paper. cut out six 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. rectangles out of light solid paper. write t-h-a-n-k-s on the light solid paper, and glue the light colored paper with letters onto the larger rectangles, leaving a slightly larger border on the top of the larger rectangle. attach the letter rectangles to the card using eyelets or brads.

thanks a bunch!

to make this card, make a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. card base of white cardstock. cut out a 4 x 5 1/4 in. rectangle of patterned paper. glue to the middle of the card base, leaving a small border. cut out 2 x 3 in piece of complementing floral paper, and a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. piece of white cardstock. glue the floral rectangle to the white rectangle. insert brads to three of the corners. glue the rectangle to the left side of the card. cover a pre-cut chipboard letter t with paper, and sand down the edges. glue to the rectangle. use rubons to write the rest of the word thanks. use a brad to attach flowers to the right side of the card.

you're a star

to make this card, cut a patterned paper to make a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. card base. use an ink pad to distress the edges of the card. cut out 2 stars, one slightly smaller than the other. glue them to each other, and then glue to the left side of the card. cover a chipboard letter b with paper, and sand the edges. glue the b onto the stars. cut out the rest of the name bryson using a cricut, diecuts, or punches. glue to the card. add the word welcome by using a rub-on. to attach star shaped brads to the left and right sides of the card.

birthday bling

to make this card, cut out a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in card base out of pink bazzil. cut out a 4 x 5 1/4 in. rectangle of patterned paper. glue to the middle of the card, leaving a border. cut out a 2 1/2 in pink circle, and scallop the edges. cut out a 2 in. green circle, and glue to the pink scalloped circle. glue to the left side of the card. cut out a 1 x 5 1/4 in. brown bazzil rectangle. wrap a ribbon around the brown rectangle, and make a bow on the left side. glue the rectangle to the bottom of the card. cover the letters h and b with paper, and sand down the edges. glue to the card, making sure the h is on the circles. write out the rest of happy birthday. glue bling on each of the scallops and three on the letter b.

love windows too

a friend convinced me to sign up for a valentines card exchange, and this is the card I ended up making. I really like the card I made last year, "love windows," and decided to do a slightly fancier version of that one. to make this card, start with a piece of dark pinkish cardstock that is 4 1/4 x 11 in. fold in half. at the top of the card fold a 1/2 in. border, and glue together. punch two small holes about 1 in. apart in the middle. cut out four 1 1/2 x 2 in squares of cream cardstock. glue to the card. sew around each of the squares. cut out the letters "l, v, e" using a punch, diecut, or cricut. carefully color the edges of the letters to make them stand out. (or if you use a cricut, they make these markers that you use to draw the letters before they are cut out). glue the letters to their correct windows. cut out a heart using chipboard (a very thick, dense piece of cardboard-like paper). cut a heart out of patterned pink paper, that is the same size as the chipboard. glue the two together. you can use sandpaper to smooth the edges together. glue the heart to the correct window. finally, use raffia to make a flat bow through holes on the top of the card.

big star

I made this card as a thank you card for graduation, but there is no writing on it, so it can actually be used for pretty much anything.
to make this card, cut a piece of cardstock to be 12x3 in. fold into thirds, making sure that the top section is short. punch out a star (or other shape) using a punch, die cut, or cricut. attach the shape to the card using an eyelet or brad, making sure it hangs over the short edge.

love letters

my friend tiffany did this craft, and I wanted to do it too. thanks tiff!
I found the letters at joann fabrics, and they were already painted white. I glued the paper I chose on using either spray adhesive or a glue stick. use sandpaper to shave off the extra paper. I actually put paper on the letters a couple of weeks ago, and then I didn't like how it looked, so redid it. it matches the living room better now...

easy invite

this invitation format is pretty easy to do and does not take a ton of time, but it always turns out super cute.

to make this invitation, cut out patterned paper to be 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. then print the invitation on another piece of solid paper or vellum. make sure that when your invitation prints, the final size will be smaller than the back (I'm really bad at computer stuff. I honestly can't tell you how to do it. I've found that if I am able to make a full page template, I can take a digital copy to a place like kinkos and they will make it the right size, print it on the paper of your choice, and even cut them out for you. and it's pretty cheap too!) after the invitation part has been cut to size, attach it to the patterned paper using brads or eyelets. you can be creative in the number and place you attach them together. have fun!

name tiles

to make this craft you need: your desired number of flat wooden squares (or other shapes as desired) 2 different fabric patterns, iron-on adhesive, ribbon, a cricut or die cuts, and a rotary blade and mat. begin by ironing on the adhesive to the back of both the fabrics you are going to use. cut the letters by using a cricut or other die cut system. iron on the back fabric to the wooden squares (I promise, it works). then cut around the squares by using the rotary blade and mat. next, iron on the letters. finally, glue ribbon on to the back of the squares so you can hang them up!

fleur de lis

To make this box, find a box in the shape and size you want. Remove the hardware. The fabric takes a lot of patience to put on, so just take it a little bit at a time. I started by doing the inside first, by using spray adhesive and a little ruler to flatten out the fabric. After the inside is dry, adhere the outer fabric. Allow plenty of time to dry. Add the hardware and decorate as desired.

heather

I made this invitation for my good friend heather's bridal shower. I hope that she will forgive me for not thinking of a creative title (unless someone thinks of a good one!)

to make this card, start with a 12x6 in piece of beige paper. fold into thirds, making sure that the top third is a little shorter in length. print the invitation onto green vellum. attach to the middle part of the inside of the card using a brad or eyelet. fold, and close using a wax seal. write the invitees name on the outside of the invitation using a calligraphy pen (or get your talented friend who knows calligraphy to do it for you).