Box of Sweet Traits

Well, first I have to apologize for not posting for so long. I don't think I have that many followers, so I never feel too bad about that.  Until someone asks me "What's going on with your blog"? (Thank you Sheila) and that reminds me that, yes, there are a few out there that take the time to read my stuff.


So gratefully and humbly here I am.  First I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I know I did. My girls and their hubbies (and my 4 "Grand-Dogs") were all here for Christmas. Being together is what made it sooo special. We had such a wonderful time!!!  I will post some pix later this month of the fun stuff we did. But now I want to share this year's Birthday Card.


My sweet "twinkies" turned 32 and every year I try to make them a special birthday card. This year I came up with the idea of a box of paper chocolates that were filled with the girl's wonderful character traits.


So this project is:



Birthday Box of Sweets

you need:
decorative papers, glue, small box and sweet treats (optional)


I used a cigar box for one 'candy box'. On the outside I printed a birthday message onto scrapbook paper from my computer. On the inside of the lid of the box I printed this:
"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get"... And we are so happy we got you, because you are:


And then I made a paper divider for the bottom of the box, and started making lots of little boxes from scrapbook paper or old cards, etc. These have to fit into the little spaces. If you would like to know how to make the little boxes please go back into my blog archive 12-30-11 to see how to do it.


Then I printed sweet traits (ex. talented, pretty, patient, etc.)  onto long strips. These I glued these into the boxes. Then I found some small chocolate treats and put them into the boxes also.

I told the girls that they could eat one treat a day, and exemplify that trait throughout the day. That way the card/gift keeps on giving. They loved it, and I loved making it!  Remember, a special gift doesn't have to cost a lot, be resourceful, recycle and put your time and love into it.

tip of the day:
After the holidays, it can be a lonesome time. Take a minute, drop someone a note, call a friend to come over for a board game, throw a pot-luck party for some silly reason! Did you not hear from someone in December, call or email to see how they are doing.


That's all for now,
:Dee

3 Dimensions

This post is a couple of days late, because I didn't want my girls to find out about their party...

Last week my twin daughters had their birthday.
We are planning a big bash for Saturday to celebrate. And, of course, I am happily going crazy making stuff for the party.

Their nicknames are "the Twinkies", given to them from my dad. And so I made some paper wrappers on the computer that say Happy Birthday to the Twinkies. And wrapped and taped them onto...what else...twinkies. Those are the party favors.

The left over paper strips (I cut off from the twinkie wrapper papers) became curly decorations to stick into their cake. Just take thin strips of paper, tape together at the bottom, and using the edge of the scissors, curl the ends. Attach to toothpicks or skewers with tape.


curled or not, these cute
decorations will go on the cake.

 And their cards have to be extra special, too. And this is what today's project is:

city scape



garden scene

3-D greeting cards
You will need:
~paper
~stickers or magazine pictures or recycled cards
~glue
~scissors

First you need to assemble all the parts you are going to use. The pictures or stickers or the fronts of recycled cards you have received (that's why you save all those cards you get).
Cut out the individual pictures.
Then get some card stock for the base of the card, and fold in half. The standard size is 1/2 of an 8 1/2" x 11" piece.


city scape pieces


Then get some scrap paper for the 3-D pop outs.

You need 2 pieces smaller than the base, fold in half and then fold up the bottom 1/2" and snip at the fold. These are the tabs that you are going to fasten to the base. I call these 'smaller cards'.

You will glue each one onto the base, by folding it up, put glue on tabs, place next to the fold in the base card - at an angle. Close the base. When you open it up, the 'smaller card' should open easily. 

I used two smaller cards, and 2 boxes

Adjust if need be.

Then make a couple of small 2 sided 'boxes'. These are rectangles, folded in half, with a tab at each end. Glue this onto the front of one of the 'smaller cards' and also onto the base.

Now you can start adding all the fun pieces to it. Glue them onto the 'smaller cards' and the 'boxes' and scattered around the base.



I added 'streets' before I glued
 down the pop up components.



You may have to glue this whole card down onto a larger piece of card stock if you find that your pop ups stick out beyond the base when it's closed.

You can keep adding little things until you have a look you like.

I made my own envelopes to fit these cards. I used scrapbook paper (12" x 12") and folded in all the sides leaving 1/4" space all around so the card slips in easily. I like to cut off the corners (squares). Glue 3 sides leaving top flap open.

Happy card making. Once you've perfected these simple pop-up shapes, there is no end to the fun cards you can make.

tip of the day:

When you plan a party, a theme is really the thing that ties everything together. The theme for this party is 30. Because that's how old my girls are now. All the guests were requested to make their gifts "30" themed. That is something that has 30 in., or 30 oz., or 30 pieces, or 30 on the package. It's a hoot to see what people come up with. It takes a bit more thought, but oh, so worth it, to see their creativity.

That's all for this week!

:D

pie crusty

      I had a chance to visit Seattle before Christmas. We had a wonderful time with our daughter, Betsy and her husband Justin the week before. And while we were out and about, they were very accommodating and let me seek out a shop that had purchased my pie servers on Etsy.
     So we wound around the city after breakfast and finally found Pie Ala Mode. And lo and behold inside were my 5 pie servers (fused glass and wire wrapping) in a cool display area.

     We bought a whole pie to go, which was incredibly delicious and took these pictures along the way.










Hi Me! Hopefully they will sell and I will get some more commissions!  But it was so fun to visit with the kids and enjoy a super great holiday!

tip of the day:
I was doing some super cleaning, and coming upon my mom's wine glasses that were in the back of my china cabinet, I found several nicks in the rims. My mom passed away in 2006, and I saved many of her things, and among them were these wine glasses. She even kept the little labels on the stem bottoms stating that they were made in Germany. They were precious to her, and so very precious to me.

Anyway...I have decided that I would not just put my special things away for safe keeping - but USE them. So I wanted to pass on this tip.

If you have little nicks in your glasses, put them under the faucet, with running water trickling over them, use sandpaper to sand down the sharp edges.  Depending upon the nick, you may have a little dip in the glass, but at least you can still use it. Make sure you sand the inside, top, and outer edge. The thinner the glass, the less you need to sand. It sure beats throwing them away! Cheers!

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY today TO DANA AND BETSY!!! xoxoxoxoxo smh

That's all for this week!
:D