Greeting Card Box

I try to be the card maker who plans ahead and makes batches of cards in advance, getting birthday and holiday cards in the mail on time. Truth is, I am usually whipping them together the night before. In the end it all gets into the mail the same way, but I would love to be more prepared.

For me, part of that is also having a place to store cards so that they're not mixed in with all my other craft supplies. I've seen greeting card boxes - with handy divided sections for just because, birthday, thank you, etc - at Hallmark (although I cannot find a link to one!) and thought it was such a great idea. I decided it was high time to make one for myself.

After a few weeks of searching for the right size box to hold a variety of card sizes, I settled on this floral printed gift box from Michael's. Although I like mums, I do not love the print on the box. I did love the size, magnet closure top and the price of $4 (coupons are the BEST!). I knew I could find a nice piece of paper to cover this, and I was right. I purchased a sheet of the wood grain kraft paper at Paper Source for $2.50.

 

I measured the paper and cut it into two strips in order to properly cover the box. Using book binding glue, paint brush, scissors and a bone folder I got to work. I did the bottom, back and lid first. Then I used the second piece to wrap around the front and sides. The inside of the box was light orange, and will be filled with cards, so I was not concerned with that.

While the box dried I spent some time purging my scrap paper. I recycled a lot of odds and ends, and held on to some of my favorite patterns to make a sign for the front of the box.

Using the Cricut and a variety of cartridges, I made the word CARDS!

I was hoping the letters would pop out a little more, but with pattern on pattern, they were getting lost. At the suggestion of always the clever IHB, I put the letters on a piece of light pink paper.

Ta-da: my very own greeting card box!

A peek inside...

and a side view...

I love it! This was so easy to put together it makes we wonder why I waited so long. Oh well! This weekend I'm hoping to spend some time making cards to fill 'er up!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Thanks for following along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month. Final week!!

Hooray: a card for celebrating

I am not the only one with exciting news these days. In fact a lot of people around me are movin' and a shakin'. I love when life presents you with a reason to shout HOORAY! I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate from a distance than sending a happy card!

My friend Kaci is the mover and shaker I made this card to celebrate. In the 5 years I've known her she's always been a go-getta. It's one of the reasons I love her most; she can appreciate the here and now, but also works hard toward her goals.

Her most recent accomplishment is joining a new office for her growing counseling practice! She'll now be seeing clients in an adorable (so I hear!) office in the Highlands. In addition to the move, she just recently took the steps to obtain an L.L.C. I cannot wait to visit the new office, but even more to watch her business continue to grow! You can read more here.

As I wrote this happy HOORAY card, I realized she actually has a lot to celebrate these days. In fact, here's a countdown to the all for all of it! So here's to shouting HOORAY for all the good things life is handing you these days.

Here's the best part: the day I put this card in the mail, I received an encouraging card from Kaci. Great minds think, and celebrate, alike.

See other hooray cards here. This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Thanks for following along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month. Final week!!

Jay - Oh - Bee

(that means JOB) 

I am so thrilled to share that I accepted a new JOB on Friday. 

My new job is:
a: a full time Meeting Coordinator. Planning is the part of my jobs I've always enjoyed most. It will now be my full time job and I could not be more excited!

b: part of the Conferences and Educational Activities department, which is comprised of four (five including me) talented ladies.

c: working for a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. What does that mean? They are extremely innovative and I have A LOT to learn. If you want to learn more, read here.

d: located in Boulder, Colorado. I will be commuting from Denver, which will be an adventure. I must admit, I would not be as excited to commute to, say, Castle Rock. Boulder holds a special place in my heart and you can see the flatirons from the parking lot - amazing.

e: involves travel! In addition to my daily travel to/from Denver, I'll also have the opportunity to travel for meetings. My first trip, and first day of work, will be traveling to Philly for the annual conference!

 

I am finishing out my two weeks in my current role and saying a proper adios to friends and the Bay Area in general. B will fly out to meet me and we'll drive back to Colorado, taking our time to visit family in SoCal and friends along the way.

It is, of course, bittersweet to turn the page on this chapter in my life. However, we'll always have the memories and be just a plane ride away. Colorado is where my heart, and fiance, reside. I cannot wait to join them there!

I said YES to the dress!

You read that correctly - I said YES to the dress!! It has actually been three months since that day but I still wanted to share the details and a few pictures. While this isn't a creative challenge, per se, it has clearly been a challenge for me to get these posted, so I'm rolling with it!

I was in Denver for 10 days in the beginning of June for two bachelorette parties. During the week between the parties I planned a day of dress shopping with as many of my favorite ladies that were available (others were greatly missed!).

We started off with lunch and bubbly beverages at Vita in the Lower Highlands.  Cheers! It was good to hydrate and fuel-up before trying on dresses because, yowsa it's a lot of work!

{L to R: Chels, Sarah, Kaci, Me, Crystal, Jess. Layna taking pic!}

After lunch we walked around the corner and up the stairs to the sweetest bridal boutique in Denver - Anna Be. I was so happy to start my dress shopping here because it is so charming; great space (hardwood floors, plush rugs, exposed brick walls and floor to ceiling mirrors with good natural lighting), beautiful selection of dresses and helpful, accommodating staff. 

After admiring all the dresses and securing our glasses of champagne, we got down to business. The gentleman who helped us allowed each lady to choose a dress for me to try on, which was so much fun! This gave me a wide range of possibilities, especially since I did not really know what I wanted.


I went into the whole dress shopping experience with a very open minded. I looked at magazines and online but did not obsess. I had ideas of what I liked, but knew from experience with other friends it's best to be open minded. Going into the day I thought I knew what I would not like, but you know what? Those two details are part of what I ended up with and I could not be happier!!

Back to shopping...I tried on a lot of pretty dress...

With each dress I got to model them for the ladies. Layna kindly documented the day so I could look back at all of the photos later. It was so fun to try on an array of dresses and get the immediate feedback.

I quickly realized what I liked and did not like. No surprise, my favorite part of every dress I tried on were the details!! Here are a few snapshots of what I'm referring too...

{click to enlarge}

So lovely!  

After getting a better idea of the styles that looked the best, our helper grabbed me a few more dresses. The top two at the end of the day were two he'd picked out for me. Clearly a trained professional! Before we left, he sketched pictures of those two dresses for me to keep.

I also tried on some fun accessories. Shown below is hair vine by Sara Gabriel. It might be hard to tell from the photo, but it is two flower clips connected by a 'vine'. You clip one flower to your hair and wrap the vine around like a headband. Then clip the second flower wherever you like. It was so neat! I don't think I'm going to do this for the wedding, but I really liked the idea!

After Anna Be we made a pit stop for ice cream and then headed on to the next dress shop, D'Anelli Bridal. This shop is randomly a mile from where I grew up and also where several of my friends found their dresses. I went into the shop having a good idea of what I wanted. I was delighted to see one of my "top two"from Anna Be on a mannequin. I was thrilled to then find out all the sample dresses were 25-75% off. I tried on a handful of dresses leaving my top choice for last. 


When I put the dress on again, I still loved it and so did the ladies and my mom. When I found out the price (75% off) and that it was my size, I could not say no! It also happened to be B and my 4 years anniversary and one year from when we wanted to get married. Since we couldn't do that date for our wedding, I thought I could at least buy my dress. So I DID IT, I said YES to the dress! The best part was that I got to take it home that day, since it was a sample dress.

I am still kind of surprised at my impulse purchase, but I am so happy I did!!! After the big purchase we went out for a drink to celebrate.

After the holidays I will start the alterations process. For now it hangs in the closet at my mom's house. Every time I've gone home I unzip the bag to look at it! I've only taken it out and put it on once...so far :) 

Over the summer I had the opportunity to try on a 50 year old family wedding dress. This dress was worn by my mom's second cousin, her two daughters and daughter-in-law and my aunt. It's been altered for each woman and their name and wedding date embroidered inside. I feel so lucky to have tried on such a piece of family history!

 ~

Engaged? Check!

Photographer? Check!

Venue? Check!

Engagement photos? Check!

Popping the other question (bridesmaids)? Check!

Wedding dress? CHECK!

283 days and lots of details to go!!

Gift Idea: Just because

Today I have another wonderful guest post by my dear friend, Jess! One of the things I love most about Jess is her thoughtfulness. Case in point, the sweet little gift she's going to share with you today...

I love giving gifts. The best kind of gift to me is one that is unexpected and for no reason or occasion at all, except because I want the recipient to feel loved.  When I saw this post on Smilemonsters, I had the perfect person in mind that could use a little reminder of how special she is.  Plus, who doesn’t love a little stash of happiness to break into on one of those rough days at work?!

First, I went to the good ol’ standby – Target – to find a plastic, reusable cup to stuff full of goodies.  While there, I found little snacks and other helpful/cheery/practical travel sized items to fill it with.

Deluxe Mixed Nuts (because regular mixed nuts just wouldn’t cut it for this special gal!)

Tinted Burt’s Bees lip balm (she’s quite fashionable and sometimes a little lip color can really brighten up your day)

Orbit gum (for that just brushed clean feeling)

Advil (we ALL need some, some days…)

Hand sanitizer (we do work in a hospital after all)

Chocolate bar (for that afternoon sweet craving)

Then I went to work on creating a personalized tag to tie onto the straw.  I know this particular friend is a huge Hawkeye fan, so I knew I wanted to stick with a black and gold theme (because who DOESN’T love the black and gold!)

I found this cute large polka dot paper on clearance at Michael’s.

I used the ribbon spool to make perfect circles and traced out two for the tag and glued them together so the pretty paper was on both sides.

I picked up some sparkly stickers (disclaimer – I love bling) that would really show on the black paper.

I stuffed all the goodies in the large cup, trying to arrange so she’d be able to see everything in there (I did remove things from their packaging to squeeze it all in).

Topped with a little gold ribbon and the personalized tag, it was ready to go!

She was very excited to receive the surprise and I was the recipient of a big hug and a happy smile!  And the best part? I’ve seen her using the cup around the office every day since she received it!

I hope you’ll use this idea to bring a smile to someone you know, or at least be inspired to give, just because. Be sure to stay tuned for more September Creative Challenge – you never know, I might make a repeat appearance!

So thoughtful, Jess! I especially love the bling letters and shout-out to the Hawks! Thank you so much for sharing this sweet little gift!! 

This lovely guest post is part of my September Creative Challenge. See the other guest posts from this month here and here. Thanks for following along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month. 6 more days to go!!

Greeting Card Round-Up

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I love making cards! With so many wonderful patterns, shades and textures of paper, not to mention ribbon, stickers and other accessories the possibilities for crafting the perfect card are ENDLESS.

That being said, it might come as a surprise that I also really love purchasing cards. I have a soft spot in my heart (and wallet) for letter pressed, pretty paper and clever/humorous or heartfelt cards. I never miss a chance to peruse the card section at gift shops or even the drug store. I can totally appreciate the time, energy and talent that goes into making them. Plus, my cards are crafty and not necessarily humorous. Often life calls for a humorous card, so I am thankful for so many talented card makers out there!

In honor of my two of my favorite ladies birthday today, Layna & Janelle, I thought it would be fun to do a round up of some of my favorite sources for cards.

First up is Curly Girl Designs! I was introduced to these cards by my curly haired pal, Jess. Over the years I've received a few of the cards (from Jess) that I've held onto because I love the message and artistic collage style so much. This birthday one is so cute...

{Curly Girl Designs}

Next up, Snow and Graham. *sigh* lots of letter press cards and beautiful paper, which I just can't resist. They sell many of their products at Paper Source. This card is not necessarily just for birthdays, its for anyone who rules!

{Snow and Graham}

Next up, Papyrus! Their stores have long been a favorite of mine with lots of pretty cards and wrapping paper. They have gorgeous line of handmade cards, which I'm sure you've seen on sale at Target too (love that!)! I just had to share this one because I'm pretty sure that's Pippin (Layna's cat)...

{Papyrus}

Oh Paper Source, how I love thee. In addition to all their lovely paper products and materials for crafting, they carry tons of great greeting cards. This one especially made me laugh...

{Paper Source}

Last but certainly not least, Seltzer Goods. This company is new to me, but I've already purchased several of their cards because they are so funny. Spoiler alert: This one is particularly perfect for Jnelly and I bought it several weeks before her birthday! We worked at DQ together for several years, so I HAD to buy it...

{Seltzer Goods}

If you send cards, do you have a favorite place to buy cards? Or do you prefer to make them?

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!

Ric Rac and Fringe

While packing up for our move, I did my best to purge throughout the apartment. There is nothing worse then moving junk across town, much less across the country. This purge also, thankfully, took place in the craft closet.

I recycled a lot of old, partially used materials. There were a few pretty patterns of cards that I haven't used in a while, but couldn't part with. I decided they were the perfect thing for a creative challenge...an upgrade to make them more usable. 

I took these old patterned cards and ric-rac flat note cards  ...

and turned them into these ric-rac and fringe thank you cards...

with coordinating lined envelopes!

I think they are a million times cuter and perfect for writing a quick thank you or simple note (i made some of the cards without ty stickers).

Materials used:

Thank you circle stickers

Ric Rac flat note cards

Off white envelopes

Tools used:

Fringe scissors

Sewing machine

Straight edge scissors

Glue

To make the fringe, I folded a 1 inch thick piece of paper in half. Using my (new) favorite fringe scissors, I cut along the unfolded side.

Ta-da: fringe!!

They are so much fun. I highly recommend purchasing or borrowing a pair STAT!

Next I stitched the fringe onto the ric-rac cards, using the same ric-rac stitch. I simply sewed along the crease in the fringe paper. Using regular scissors I clipped off the extra fringe and thread along the edges.

Here's an up close of the fringe...

With the remainder of the pattern paper, I lined the off white envelopes. To do this I simple traced the envelope onto the pattern paper. I then cut it down to size, leaving room for the envelope seal. Place a small amount of glue along the triangle part of the liner and carefully slide into envelope. Note: Its best not to glue the whole liner, just the top, so that the envelope can open and close without tearing.

This project proves, yet again, that it's good to purge! You never know what unused craft materials can be used for a new project!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!