:: Valentine's Day - diy scrabble love note

Last year I made this card for my hubby for Valentine's Day.

It might have been one of the easiest cards to make.

Supplies:

- scrabble letters (I'm always on the lookout for scrabble games when I'm at thrift stores)

- doily or some type of heart cardstock

- glue gun

So . . . I think it's pretty self explanatory.

- hot glue the scrabble letters to the card and write a love note on back.

Easy enough.

I love homemade cards so much more than store bought cards.
They just mean more to me.

And it would even look cute as Valentine's Day decor after you give it to him.
Frame it and hang it!

Happy Friday!

:: Christmas Cards

I wanted to have a relaxing December, so one of my goals was to have Christmas cards out by Dec.1st.  I have them and we'll see if they get sent out by then.

I usually procrastinate, so I'm pretty impressed with myself this year.

I bought these through Paper Coterie a few weeks ago when all cards were 50% off.

Plus I used some gift cards that I'd bought awhile from them that were 70% off.

Love their deals.

I'll let you know if they go back on sale.  

:: Halloween - free printable card

Last year, I was inspired by The Busy Budgeting Mama and created this pop-up Halloween card for the girl's grandparents.

They all loved them.

So, I think it might be a yearly tradition.

This year I made it slightly different but with the same wording.

And I also made one for you to give out to your loved ones.

Print it out, cut out the pics, put it on a stick, and mail it!

So easy!

You can go here to print it off.

And I wish I could show you the pictures of the ones we made this year,

but my computer isn't working right now (uploading photos).

So, maybe next week.

Also, thanks to Sprik Space for the free design.

Have a great weekend!
We have a trunk or treat we'll be going to
and hopefully after, we'll carve our pumpkins!

:: Free - christmas card templates

So you know me. 

All about saving money.
Especially with christmas cards.
That can get pretty expensive, ya know.

But they need to look classy too.

Well, it's that time again to send out Chirstmas cards.

And I've found some cards online

that you can download for free, insert your picture,

and then print them out yourself.

So much cheaper then having someone 

else designing a card for you or going to snapfish or some other

online distributer like that.

So check out these free downloads.

These are my favorites I've found.

Source: dearemmie.com via Mindy on Pinterest

     :: from Dear Emmie

Source: beckyhiggins.com via Dawn on Pinterest

::  from Becky Higgins

Source: rebeccacooper.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

::  from Simple as That

Source: rebeccacooper.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: from Simple as That

Source: simplicityphotography.com via Amy on Pinterest

::  from SP Design


A big thanks to these wonderful people
who are so generous in providing something that saves me time and money.

Someday I'm gonna learn how to design cards like these,
so maybe I'll have a freebie for ya next year.

:: Last Minute Halloween Card

The other day, I was looking at the blog, The Busy Budgeting Mama. {love it!}

and found this adorable Halloween card.

How creative and cute is this!

I decided to make my own card {using picnik.com}.

And I happend to have all the other supplies around the house.

{yes . . . I'm addicted to the chevron}

I finished it in under 30 minutes.

I think their grandparents need to receive some cute Halloween cards from their granddaughters that miss them so much.

Natalie shows you the tutorial here.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

I showed Ava the finished product and she was head over heels in love with them!

She wouldn't stop playing with them.

So, you still have time!

Get these done and off in the mail!

I'll be linking to these parties here.

craft: mother's day card and canvas

Whoa. Mother's Day is definitely creeping up on us. Here are a few ideas. It's next Sunday people!!!
Last year, this was given to me by Ava for Mother's Day. So cute and so easy! I actually still have it hanging on my fridge {the wings are traced from her hand}. Just place a magnet on the back.

I think we might make these for Reese and Ava's grandmas.

The poem:
This isn't just a butterfly as you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand which is a part of me. It comes with lots of love especially to say,
I hope you have a very Happy Mother's Day!

or if you aren't into the diy card thingy . . . a photo canvas is a great gift to give your mother/grandmother or {send this post to your hubby - - he'll get the clue}.
Right now Canvas People still has their deal of a free 8x10 and you just pay for shipping, plus they'll do free touchups {for mother's day}. Just click here. {although if you buy one today, you won't get it in time for Mother's Day - - but still an awesome late gift, right?}

Oh, and don't forget about my giveaway! It ends on Saturday!
And I'll be linking to these parties here.

Free Valentine's Day Cards

So, I really am back this time. Really. Life just gets in the way sometimes . . . which is a good thing. I have two adorable excuses, though.

I'm very excited to show you what we've been working on in our place. I never posted pictures of our kitchen, but it's almost done and I hope to show you soon. Yes. It's taken awhile to finish.

Also, remember when my hubby put in our hardwood floors? It seems like it was years ago. Time flies. Well, we hadn't put in our baseboards . . . until now!!! They look great (he's almost done). I'm excited to show you how to make your baseboards yourself instead of charging someone a ton of money to do it.

But for today. I found some free Valentines Day cards/bookmark printables. They are so cute and hey. . . they're free!

All you have to do is "like" Florabella Collection on Facebook and then you can download them. Awesome. But hurry. It's only for a limited time.

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's 80 degrees today where I'm at, so we'll be soaking in some sun!

Card Obsession: thank you cards

What?! You exclaim! More cards? Yep. I made more. I need to send out a bunch of cards to express our thanks and have been waiting for this package in the mail. I love how they turned out. Don't you? Make yours at http://www.vistaprint.com/ . Right now, you can make personalized postcards and pay for only shipping! Amazing!

Now I just need to buy stamps. (don't forget about the giveaway below!)

Giveaway results: Birthday Postcard

Thanks to all who entered! I loved reading your comments. Now the moment you've all been waiting for. Drumroll please.

And the winner is:

lezanac, who said:

"The last time I sent out a birthday card was at least 5 years ago but it is something I would love to start doing again."

Now. If you really don't want to make your own and you really like these postcards I made . . . I listed them in my etsy store so go check them out (come in a 10 pack) here.

Card Obsession: Valentine's Day Card tutorial

So, I was able to complete 6 Valentine's Day cards for a few special grandparents of my little girl. And it didn't take long. (did it while watching a full episode of Martha and a quarter of Oprah) They were super easy to do. It might take a little prep on your part though.

Valentine's Day Tri-fold Card

supplies:
3 pictures of your little one/ones (edited with text on them or not - - 4x6)
scrapbook paper/cardstock
glue
ribbon

So, I first took a few snapshots of my little one. They didn't turn out how I had planned. Does anything goes as planned with a 2 year old? Nonetheless, they were cute. I really wanted a picture of her just holding a candy heart that said "I love you" (with the heart in focus). But I tried, and tried. And I couldn't get her cute, chubby, little fingers to hold it how I wanted. This is what I ended up getting:

I went on http://www.picnik.com/ (because I don't have photoshop) and was able to write a little message and even placed the candy heart in her fingers. Then I printed them out.

For the center of the trifold, I used a solid color scrapbook paper sized 8.5"x4.75". I then folded 0.5" on the top and bottom of that paper (like the pink paper below).

You then want to cut 4 of the patterned papers: 7.5"x 4.75".

Then glue each of the patterned papers to the tabs of the center of the tri-fold. It should now look like this below.

Now it's time to glue on the pictures. You figure out where you want them and glue them on. (I'm also going to leave a spot where she can personalize her own little message - - ok . . scribble it, that is.)

Now you're almost finished! You just need to tie it up with a cute little ribbon. How easy was that!

This will definitely help you get that favorite special grandchild status.

Card Obsession: Giveaway!!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to send a birthday card to all of our family members (parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews) throughout the year. Buying birthday cards at the store can be a little expensive. So I decided to make my own using a picture I'd taken. Then with the photo editing software (http://www.picnik.com/ - - free by the way) I use, placed a little message. At http://www.vistaprint.com/ they have a deal for postcards - - 100 postcards (you make yourself) for cheap! So I'd decided to use this photo below for the postcards.

I just received them in the mail today and was so excited to see the finished product.

And now, since I have a ton of birthday postcards, I've decided to do a giveaway. Woohoo!

The winner will receive 15 of these birthday postcards (including the envelopes).

So . . . onto the rules:

This giveaway starts on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10 p.m. (PST)

and will end on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10 a.m. (PST)

The winner will be announced on Friday, February 5, 2010 on this blog.

One winner will be chosen randomly.

Open to everyone! One entry per person.

On February 5, after the winner is announced, the winner will need to leave me their e-mail address in the comment section so I can contact that person. If not, a new winner will be chosen randomly.

All you have to do is:

1. leave a comment of the last time you sent out a birthday card (I will be the first to admit that it's been a very long time for me).

And if you like this blog, go ahead and follow us!

Good luck!

(And for my family members who had b-days in January . . . they will be arriving shortly.)

Card Obsession: Valentine's Day Cards

Growing up I remember how I loved to make Valentine's Day cards for my siblings. I remember one particular day, where my mother brought out loads of cardstock, doily hearts, stickers, markers, and glue. We had a blast. We made one valentine after another. Then we'd sneak out the back door and doorbell ditch our own home, leaving our homemade, glue-stained, un-fancy Valentine's Day Cards for eachother. It's a memory that I'll always have etched in my mind.

So this year, for Valentine's Day, instead of dishing out the dinero for unpersonalized Valentines Day cards . . . make them yourselves! Not only will you save money, but it will mean a lot more to the person you're giving it to.

Here are a few ideas that I found on Martha's lovely site. Click on the link above the picture and the instructions on how to make them will be shown. Just lovely!

Doily Envelopes

Pop-Up Valentine

Paper Heart Wrappings

Rosy Stationery

Easy Doily Valentines

Valentine's Day Sign Card

Heart Envelope Card

Quilled Open Heart Valentine

Secret Message Cards

Playing Card Valentines
I'm tempted to make that pop-up Valentine for my hubby. Can't wait to show you what my little girl and I are making for her grandparents. They're bound to be adorable! I hope.