Luscious Lilies

My husband and I tend to acknowledge Valentine's day with an exchange of handmade cards instead of buying from florists because some are associated with negative impacts on the environment and unfair labor practices. 

One World Flowers provides an environmentally-friendly, fair trade option for ordering flowers http://www.oneworldflowers.org/news-events/tag/wholesale-fair-trade-flowers/

Last Sunday, I was completely, yet pleasantly, surprised when he presented me with a bouquet of red day lilies. He had creatively turned magazine pages, bamboo skewers and an old compact disc into an exquisite bouquet. 

Technique:  For each flower, use a pen to trace the outline of your hand on a piece of paper. Color the flower and the skewer using markers or acrylic paint. Cut out along the lines.  To get the soft bend in the flowers, roll each "finger" around a pencil or pen.  Wrap the portion representing the bottom of your hand around the top of a skewer. Adhere the flower to the skewer with hot glue or tape.  Arrange several in a glass to create your own truly handmade bouquet.

Snow Bird

As the Washington DC metropolitan area becomes covered with another foot of snow accompanied by strong gusts of wind, I read an email from my father which provides news of his latest fishing trip. He had called on Tuesday to let me know the weather was pleasant, in the upper-60s, not warm enough for a swim; but good enough for fishing.

His snow bird status inspires me to use my favorite bird stamp (Hampton Art) to make a dozen postcards from recycled materials.

Technique: Started with cardboard boxes which have not been corrugated (e.g., cereal box, spaghetti box). Begin by disassembling the box along the glue lines, try not to tear the cardboard. I used my large Fiskars rotary cutter to cut the cardboard into 4" x 6" pieces. This is the standard size for mailing postcards.

Look at the pieces of cardboard and find the ones without writing, markings, or color on either side. For these pieces, you'll need to cut a piece of decorative paper (5.5" x 3.5") and glue it to the surface to create the first layer of the post card. For the other pieces, make sure you leave the blank side for the address and any message you want to send. I like to have the final postcard to somewhat reflect the original use of the box. It might inspire the recipient to recycle a box.


Next, I pulled out my Cuttlebug which was the perfect die-cutting tool to use when my neighborhood lost power due to these never-ending storm. I used a daisy (Sizzix) die-cut to make about 40 daisies in a variety of colors using metallic paper. I glued two or three of these randomly along the upper right corner of each piece of cardboard.

To make the image stand out, I used a variety of scrap papers to create a backdrop. First layer of the backdrop is a 3" x 3.5" scrap on which I rounded the corners (sometimes). I then cut up checks and bank deposit slips which were destined for the shredder because the bank has been closed. These pieces are 3" x 2". The last layer is the narrow strip (0.5" x 3.5"). For some, I placed the holes created by die-cutting the daisies on either end of the strip. This gives a similar impact as brads without having to pierce the cardboard.

Before putting the check/deposit slip on the backdrop, I stamped the bird using a black ink which is fading. After it dried, I used my markers to add color to the bird.

The last two pieces of details which varies on each card. I punched a small heart out of scrap paper then used a 1" circle punch to make the heart appear in a circle. To make the heart "pop", I punched another one inch circle from a contrasting piece of decorative paper. I glued the circle enclosed heart onto the contrasting circle. I then rubber stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" on the first layer of the backdrop.

Before mailing, cover each piece with clear packing tape to prevent the paper from being ripped off by the postal machines. So, if you're trapped at home by the blizzard conditions we are currently facing and running out of craft supplies, I hope this sends you to the kitchen or the pantry to find an empty box to transform into mail art.

Hunkered Down

Friends and I planned activities to do while "hunkered down" for the historical snow storm which settled on the Washington DC area last weekend. One of the items on my to do list was to start creating scrapbook pages for a gift album to my mother-in-law. I used the scrapbook layout challenge presented by SEI as the basis for one page.


Technique: Although SEI's "Red Linen Box set" comes with instructions for completing each page in a specific manner, I deviated from the suggested layouts to make this 8 x 8 page. The vertical blue strip has musical notes (Stamp Camp). The box set offers a wide assortment of coordinated papers and embellishments which will help me finish this scrapbook without having to venture out onto snow-covered roads.

My Poker Face

To make enough cards to meet the monthly card swap requirements, I grabbed a box of left over decorative papers which I regularly collect from scrapbooking and card making activities. These scraps are usually pulled into mosaics or used as mats for photos.

I have several incomplete decks of playing cards. These cards would be hard to meld into one deck for a serious card game because each deck has a different design.

I pulled out a handful, wiped them down with rubbing alcohol to remove the finish, then used them as the mat for the focal image (Postmodern Design).

To make the layers stand out, I inked the edges with a marker. After gluing the first layer to the card stock, add a little depth by stamping the corners with a outline stamp (Stampin Up). The other layers are glued in place then a strip of paper covers the center of the playing card. The image is stamped and a dot of glitter glue was placed in the center.

When you click on the finished cards you get a better view of how the differing surfaces (paper, playing card) cause the image to have varying shades.