Manly cards....

I hope youl had a great Father's Day weekend. I worked all weekend but managed to have a relaxing few hours with my sweet hubby and talk with my dear dad. 

Between us, I think my boys were glad to have dad all to themselves. They spent time playing Pokemon while mom was working. My hubby is wonderful with his boys. It helps that he is just a big boy himself but they really do love playing together. It is great for me to watch. 

I made a couple of cards for my dad and my father in law. There are 3 to 1 more boys than girls in my hubby's family so male cards are always on my radar. I was tickled to come up with these.

 I am loving Jim Holtz stuff. It is perfect for the manly card. A while back I found some on sale. I grabbed several items. These just don't go on sale that often.

 So here's what I did....

 Start with a nice brown base....

 Stick the checker print and a thin strip of the striped print on a darker brown....

 I love using a bit of jute. Wrap it around twice then tie a bow...

 I used the foam adhesives to give it a bit of pop. Then stick it to the card base.

 From here I used alphabet cards and a nice pin...

 I usually make up a couple of extra cards. If you have the supplies out for one it doesn't take much more to make a couple of extra.

Now when I need a birthday card or something else I can add a couple more embellishments or alpha cards and have a great card in seconds. It's what keeps me from drowning in last minute, "oh no, I nearly forgot" moments.

Thanksgiving Placecards

My sweet friend asked me to help her make place cards for her family Thanksgiving dinner she's hosting again this year. 

She shared an idea from Pinterest. Simple yet fun. It originally came from Eighteen25 guest posting on the Idea Room

 Thanks to photo shop we were able to have our own little version within just a short time. Kaylyn insisted I share so that you all may have some fun too. So here you are. Just cut it down the long side and fold. Then insert your napkin and utensils. What a simple fun way to add a personal touch to your no-china needed family dinner. Choose one or choose both! I think they would look great in a basket right next to your plates.

 Give Thanks place cards

Thanksgiving place cards

If you like what you see, let me know. I love to hear from you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sock Monkey Cards

This year I have been trying to recognize each family members birthday. Living further away has made it harder to celebrate with them. We usually just mail a bit of money but it's the thought that counts right. Beside, with FB, texting and email, snail mail it getting obsolete but who doesn't still love getting a special something in the mailbox? 

My brother-in-law and father-in-law share the same birthday. In trying to scour our brain with ideas for these two gentlemen my dear hubby could only offer one suggestion: Sock Monkey.

It's kinda silly yes, but then again, it is a perfect fit for them. Would you believe that sock monkey accessories are a bit hard to find though. Thank you Hobby Lobby!! They have the best paper craft supply!

Here is dad's.

Here is Mike's...

I think I actually like Mike's the best. You know the feeling when you struggle and struggle and then VOILA!! Everything falls into place and you stand back and go~ PERFECT!

Yep, that was me. I love them. The monkey stickers were the only thing I didn't already have. Plus, I was able to use up a bit of my scraps with these two cuties. I had made a burlap banner and was cleaning up one day. As I tossed the scraps into the trash I thought WAIT!! That might....hmmm I wonder....yeah, I bet that would look great on a card. Add a bit of cute without being girly~ this is after all 4growingboys.

Wouldn't you know! It worked. Gotta love when that happens!

Happy Birthday Guys!

Handmade Cards

I made 20 invite cards for a project at work. I love how they turned out.

Then some Thank you cards with the same color pattern. They were so simple and easy to make.

Here is what I came up with for a more masculine card. The writing says, "Dude, You Rock!"

Lots of complements came with these cards. 

Then for mom's day I made these for the 2 wonderful mom's in my life.

My sweetheart gave me a cuddle bug for Christmas and I LOVE IT! I love how a little imprint can make a simple paper pop.

Making my own cards makes me want to send them more. It's so enjoyable to throw together several cards and have on hand for birthdays or holidays. Just to send a homemade touch, straight from teh heart. Made with love from 4growingboys!

Angry Bird Birthday Invites

Mom to dad..."Ok, we have this and this and this going on this weekend."

Tyler...."yeah, and then next week is my birthday!!"

Mom...running to the calendar...."Oh, crap! How did that sneek up so fast? I thought I still had another week!!!"

Ok boys time to gather the troops. After a bit of trouble shooting I managed to throw together a cute little invite for Tyler's buddies. Get the troops together and set up the assembly line. Ok boys, here are your asignments.....

Gotta love that! It didn't take long before the cards were done....

                                         Rather cute dontcha think?!

We got all of them done slipped a typed note about the party into them and got them out in the same day. The best part was having all the supplies already on hand!

Texture in the Cards

A local scrapbooking store fell victim to the economy like so many other businesses. It always makes me sad to see this happen but I did manage to get some great deals while they were closing up shop. These metal brads and word buttons were some of the deals I scored. I coordinated some paper scraps, added ribbon, and the brads.

I love how buttons and brads add texture and dimension. Something so simple can really take you card to the next level,.

I used ribbon for the stem and petals on this flower.

One of my favorite craft stores in Idaho Falls sells bulk buttons. You get to go through and pick out what you want. Sometimes there are great finds other times they are just basic buttons. These all came from those button bins. Nothing fancy but threading the bright colors together should brighten someones day. You could do this with any color or any holiday too. I just stamped a little Thank you on the bottom corner. I also did one with the Thank You stamped all the way up the card. It wasn't bad but I liked this one the best.

For all of these cards I already had most of the supplies on hand. I did buy a few of the phrase stickers but the paper and embellishments were from my stash. Not too bad for some nearly free cards. Even better was that I got to use up scraps. I love when you end up with a win-win!

What do you think? Have you been able to use any of your supplies and scraps?

Thank You's

Just a few simple ways to say Thank you!

You never know when you may need to give a note of thanks so it is great to have lots of these lovelies on hand. They are simple and can use up paper scraps.

Just a ribbon, button and a stamp....

I love how simple this one is but yet elegant. Just ink the edges, add a sticker embelishment over a piece of ribbon with stamped wording.

Making several doesn't take anymore time than making one so while you have your supplies out, make several of each card. You will have built a nice card file before you know it! Ready for those last minute thoughts.

Simple Elegance

A basic idea can go a long way.

A little glitter ribbon for some bling.

Some shiney paper

and a tender quote.....

Pin It

A little tip from my mom....

Fold your ribbon in half and cut it on and angle to get a chevron tail.

Simple and Elegant.

A way to use up scraps....

I used to do all my scrapbooking with paper but now I digital scrapbook. Consequently I am left with lots of scraps of papers. I don't save as much as I used to but I don't want to waste anything either so I love when I can turn some of those scraps into something fun and useful.

Coordinating scraps, a touch of ribbon and a quote sticker.....

These 2 cards are basically the same with just a couple of minor differences. Just rounding the corners and turning it on it's side.....

This card became one of my favorites. The pattern came from 365 Cards, a book I picked up at Joann's. 

I didn't have cookies stickers or stamps so I had to improvise. I used my scallop punch and overlaped a couple of the punches to get the bitten cookies. Add a few chips with a brown marker and soften the edges with brown ink. The quote was great.

"Friends are the Chocolate Chips in the cookies of Life"

Card Making for Beginners

So what did you all think of the cards yesterday? 

Did you try any for yourself?

Give it a go. Invite your best girlfriend over and while you visit throw together a couple of cards. You will be surprised at how quickly they go together.

Here are some I threw together while visiting with my sweet friend.

With boys are birthdays tend to get a bit "Wild and Crazy".

I thought these rub on monkeys would be great. They are from a zoo set but hey, this works too.

Just add a touch of ribbon for some texture and you are done.

I picked up a small pad of quotes and sayings for all occassions. One tip my sweet mother in law gave me was that any quote can be turned into a saying on a card. It was simple to just round the edges of some scraps of paper, add a ribbon and finish it all off with one of the sticker quotes. A note just to shay 'hey'.

She had also picked up some of this paper from the dollar store. I think it may have even been discounted- she IS one of the most frugal ladies I know after all!

I used my 3.5 inch scalloped punch and a smaller punch to make the sunflower then added a gem to the center. Simple but I think it is just right for a "just because" kind of note.

BTW: I purchased my large punch with a 50% coupon as a "splurge" to make Christmas tags but it has been handy and ooh, so fun for many other projects too. Go ahead "splurge" on one for yourself. You will love it.

A week of cards....

My mother in law has a nack for making simple yet lovely cards. 

Whenever you get one in the mail from her you can just feel the love that went into making that card.

It always brings a smile to your face- but more so when I discover yet another little secret of hers. 

A little snip here.

A bit of sparkle there.

Top it off with a witty note and 

VOILA, you have a "made especially for you" card from a sweet lady.

Now my cards on the other hand are...well... *ahem*....let's just say not quite that good. So this year I wanted to improve on that. It makes me feel good so I thought I could make some of my family feel good too. There are lots of times to send a quick Thank you note or a note to say "I'm thinking of you". I would have sent lots more had I already had some cards on hand.

I also realized of late that some people think Birthdays for adults are big deals too. They want to have the rest of us do special things for them as well. Apparently it IS a big deal to have your grandchildren wish you happy birthday....even if those boys say Happy Birthday and quickly pass the phone off.  

So mom, I have learned my lesson and plan on making a bigger deal of birthdays this year. After all, without Nov. 3 I wouldn't have a great mom like YOU!

Sooooo, I spent some time making cards of all sorts. Some Thank you's, Sympathy's, Birthdays, and Just because's. Now I have a basket full just waiting for the right moment to send a sweet note to someone special and let them know just how special they are to me.

This next week I will be sharing some of the cards I have made thus far. 

Now, I know there are lots of great, fantastic card makers out there. Mine won't be anything like those.
These cards are for those of us more simple minded ladies.

Not to mention those of us who only have so long before school is out and the kitchen has to reopen.

Let It Snow

The glitter words didn't work out the greatest but it was a fun experiment. Just a little pattern paper, snowflake stickers, glue and glitter.

Since I did this around Thanksgiving I just couldn't help the Gobble Gobble. 

I thought it was silly but it became Dear Hubby's favorite.

A remnant piece of brown, ric-rac, and turkey stickers.

One of my sweet nieces favorite color is orange. It's so crazy but she loves the color. I thought of her when I made this card. What better than a simple Happy Birthday sticker in ORANGE of course, of set with a rainbow ribbon.

See what I mean....

SIMPLE!
Now, I am ready to go. I'm sure I will have more elaborate ones soon, I'm having too much fun making them to not expand. ;-)

As for the insides.....I leave them blank most of the time. More room to write my personalized note just for them!

Have fun and let me know what you come up with!

Organize those sacks

My sis-in-law and I have been talking about frugality lately. We are both trying to pinch our pennies in more was than one. Some out of necessity, some out of practicality. She is an inspiration to me in how she can decorate and cook, etc on pennies. I love her decor and she pays so little for it. I usually have great ideas but the cost too much for me to accomplish. Anyway, I have been looking for useful and stylish ways to reuse stuff. I love to organize and just don't do well with chaos. My drawer of bags- you know the Ziplocs, trash, bread, etc is out of control! I love my reusable grocery bags so I don't have many of them but they tend to get crazy too. Well, with this in mind I came across a great idea. You know those clorox wipes containers?- this is what I did!Take the label off the container and glue your own on. I used 6x12 on both my containers. The red one is a little short but the labels don't go all the way around themselves. I love how the blue and green one looks.
Now, I plan to fill them with sacks. Grocery sacks will fill the one under the bathroom sink for a quick refill of the garbage. Bread sacks will no longer roam free in the sack drawer. VOILA! Instant organization. What do you think? I can't take credit... like most ideas I'm not the original source but I definantly know how to reproduce a great idea.

My other project of this weekend is scrapbooking. I scanned some of the LDS papers into my computer to work with. I haven't found a lot of LDS themed digi scrap supplies so I took matters into my own hands. Our friends little boy was baptised last month and they forgot their camera. We took lots of pictures for them and I planned to scrapbook them into a mini book. Plus, this spring I will be ready when Keegan turns 8. I can't believe it's coming up already!
I got my outside Halloween decor down but not the inside. I will hit that later this week. I plan on getting the outside lights up this week-maybe tomorrow- too. I love this time of year! We hit the Toys R Us sale this weekend. I think our shopping is just about done. I just have several more projects to make. I need to get sewing and MORE crafting, oh, the horror ;-).......