Well I don’t know about you, but I am feeling a little exhausted after the holidays. Don‘t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade that hustle and bustle and piling in on top of each other for anything, but I’m always ready for a break afterwards. Especially as I get older. So I thought I’d do a simple craft today that anyone could do with limited experience, materials and time. Just a simple little hand-made treat for your friends and family who so graciously thought of you during the holidays.
I never used to send thank-you cards after Christmas and actually am not in the habit, but my sister-in-law and her family always sent thank-you notes after the holidays. Why I never thought to do that, I’m not sure. I send thank-yous and have taught my kids to send thank-you notes after graduations and weddings and anniversaries or any other special occasion, but never birthdays or holidays when you always get gifts. That’s so strange to me that I’m that way. Anyways, I’ve tried to do better as I’ve gotten older. It’s just such a nice way of saying thank-you to those people who took the time to either make you something or take time out of their schedule for you or even just spending their hard earned dollars on you. It’s just nice and this world can use more nice!
I started with some blank note cards, I made myself. Just cut some 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock in half and then scored them through the middle. Sometimes when I make cards, I’ll run them through the printer to print a little saying or just a thank you inside. I left these blank this time, but I’ll do some in the future with the printing inside so you can see what I’m talking about.
I had ordered some glittered printed and solid paper card stock in those matstacks from Hobby Lobby during a clearance sale one year. We live in rural America and the closest Hobby Lobby is a two hour drive, so I order a lot of stuff. Anyways, I picked a few sheets out of it.
I loved the glitter paper as it is now January and it reminds me of the glittering snow we are sure to get this month (at least here in Colorado.). I picked a white, plain sheet and a white with blue polka dots from the stack.
And then I gathered up my scissors and double-sided tape dispenser along with some leftover ribbons ad stickers from scrapbooking or other projects and started designing..
Whenever I work on big projects where I put a lot of time and effort into picking materials, let’s say decorating for a graduation table or wedding mini album, I will keep the scraps together in a ziplock bag and throw them into a photo box for later use. Then, when I have a little free time, I can easily grab a ziplock and a few items like my scissors and tape and I’m ready to go. It has worked out great for more than just cards. I use them for scrapbook pages or decorating a photo frame as well. I’m sure the uses are unlimited if you put some thought into it.
So after about ten minutes, I had finished seven cards. Pretty easy on the time and material. It was all scraps from bigger projects. And yet, the result is still a beautiful, handmade card I think anyone would enjoy.
I love how they turned out. The black and white and the white on white (which is one of my favorites) with the touch of blue just reminds me of January. They are simple and elegant and a great way to say thank you to those you love. Thanks for following and let me know if you have any questions.
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