Teachers Have Heart Gifts and Card

There are certain times in the year when we all thank the teachers who look after our kids.

I made these little Post-it note holders when you need little gifts to say "Thank you" to special teachers.  As a teacher, I know how handy little post-it-notes are on your desk to scribble down a reminder, email address, to-do note etc so when I saw this pattern for making them I just had to give it a try.

This was a really simple craft activity.  You could easily whip these up the night before you needed them if you had to! The stamp set I used is Close to My Heart's Teacher Appreciation.

You can see this little project on Chris' blog here.

What have you made in the past to give to special teachers? Thanks for stopping by,

60th Birthday Album of Memories

I have a few projects to share that I made in December when I didn't find the time to blog.
This special Album for my Dad's 60th Birthday is one of them.
I emailed family and friends and collated stories and photos all about my Dad.
Then I printed the stories onto white card and put them all together in the book.

I covered and painted a Kaisercraft wooden Album.  (They have 30, 40, 50 etc different numbers for different aged birthdays or anniversaries.  The books only cost about $8.)  The papers are from the Project Life Cobalt Edition I have had in my stash for ages.  The number 60 I painted in gold acrylic paint.

The photos I printed out as 3x4s.  There was about 100 in total.
I kept the book as simple and as masculine as I could.  I couldn't resist a few gold star stickers.  I figured my Dad is a super star and they could be justified!!!

The photos were a real mixture from childhood, adolescence, young married and family life and life in the last ten years or so, up to now.  When I was making the book it really struck me how life does seem to pass in the blink of an eye.  We pass through the milestones of births, weddings, family events before you know it you are grown up and have kids of your own!  It was a reminder for me to cherish the moments and cherish the events.  The baby showers, weddings, christenings, birthdays...they are important milestones, Rites of Passage in our life.

My Dad loved the book.  So did my Mum.  (I did one for her 60th in January.)  Mum loves having all the photos together in one place. Its hard to believe my parents are both 60. Life goes quickly!

A new start...

Happy New Year 2015
A fresh new start!
Isn't it lovely to have the opportunity to say Thank you and Good bye to 2014 and  Hello to 2015 - a new year full of amazing possibilities!
Are you making New Years Resolutions this year? I couldn't actually remember mine from last year! I found them in the front of my planner from last year. I achieved some of them!
I am making some again for this year...but they are different. I'm taking a different perspective.
I'm focusing on myself a bit more. Things I want to make happen. Gratitude is also big on my list. I believe in the magical power of gratitude.
Have a beautiful day. I wish you wonderful things for 2015.

How to Make 10 Quick Christmas Cards

Hello,

It's Alicia here from Time To Create.

Today I am sharing a quick and easy way to make a set of ten Christmas cards using minimal equipment.  Anyone can follow these 7 Steps to make ten gorgeous hand made cards and send them out to family and friends before Christmas.

Step 1 - Gather your Equipment

This is the equipment you will need to make your cards:

1. 10 folded cards with envelopes.
2. Basic Sketch
3. Star hole punch (or star stickers or star-shaped chipboard or buttons)
4. Paper Trimmer
5. Adhesive or glue
6. Mounting tape or squares
7. Christmas paper (any type you have at home will do)
8. Sequins, jewels (any type of small embellishments)

Step 2 - Draw a Basic Sketch

This was the basic sketch I had in my mind...very simple.  I ended up not adding the pot for the tree in on my final design as I felt it wasn't really necessary, but you could easily add it in if you prefer.

Step 3 - Work out your Measurements

Decide on your measurements.  The folded card base I used are 5 1/2 inches x 4 1/4 inches so I measured my paper pieces to fit the card size I used.  If you use a slightly bigger sized card you may want to alter the measurements to suit a bigger card.

Step 4 - Cut your Paper

Cut out all the strips with a paper trimmer and punch out ten stars.

I chose papers that co-ordinated each other.  Red, green and a touch of pink.  You could use whatever papers you have at home.  Solid red and green card could look very effective...or gold would be nice too!

Step 5 - Add Adhesive

Put adhesive on the backs of all the strips and put mounting tape on the backs of the stars.

Step 6 - Attach to the Base Card

Adhere all the pieces onto the card bases.

Step 7 - Decorate

Add some sequins for decoration.

Thats it!!

These were very quick and easy to make.  I was surprised at how quickly they came together.  You could easily use this design to make a large quantity of cards and have them all ready to go for Christmas!

Need more Christmas card ideas? See this blog post:

50 Handmade Christmas Cards -DIY

Good luck with your Christmas Card Making! How many cards do you usually send out?

This post was featured over at: Enchanted Home Schooling Mom.

Birthday Wishes Card ~ "Lovely Birthday" Stamp Set

You can never have enough birthday cards right?

This was a little quick one I whipped up awhile back now and its been waiting to be shared.

Very simple.

I have been very busy working behind the scenes on a big project for my Dad's 60th Birthday.

Its all finished and mailed off to my Dad now.

I promise to share it on here once he sees it himself, probably next week.
Have a great day.

Blog Makeover

So can you see the new Blog Look here? I must say I am in love with the fresh new look!! My thanks goes to Sarah at Trisarahtops Smiles. If you are looking for an affordable, professional Blog makeover I can highly recommend Sarah. Have a beautiful day.