hola, isabel

I’m away in Albuquerque this week (I’ve perfected the spelling of Albuquerque, BTW). In case you don’t know it, New Mexico is pretty darn close(r) to Nevada (then Seattle). And in case you don’t know it, my BFF currently resides in Nevada. And speaking of my BFF (AKA: May), who is talented beyond anything I could ever imagine, and pretty, and giving, and since it’s almost Christmas….well, long story short May has offered to share her amazing talents with all of us and help us make our own greeting cards. (May has helped make greeting cards before.) (May is also the genius behind my uber awesome How-To post on making your own iron-on onesies!)

May has graciously offered her time and talents to the interweb, FOR FREE. (She usually gets paid the big bucks for this kind of stuff.)

Blah, blah, blah….here’s May:

Can you believe Nevada Day is this Friday? (I’m sure you all have that marked on your calendar, right? RIGHT?) That means Christmas is just around the corner. The time of year when you think, “Oh crap. I need to think of some good present ideas. Whatever shall I do?”

I suggest you make your cards 4.25″ x 5.5″. Because that’s a sheet of regular cardstock folded in half, then cut in half. Dude, 2 cards out of a sheet of cardstock. That’s crafty AND thrifty. Click on this image below where I explain it all.

GLITTER GLUE IS NOT OPTIONAL. See how I made all the cute polka-dots on the backgrounds? They’re for you to dot glitter glue onto. You don’t have to go overboard, sometimes less IS more, but seriously, everything is better with glitter.

Random Bullet Pointed Tips:
* Buy envelopes before you make your cards. That way you can make the cards exactly the right size. Or, if you’re like me, you may have a stockpile already to pull from… (Because you never know when you’ll need 500 envelopes, right?) (Size A-2 envelopes are 4.375″ x 5.75″, and fit cards that are 4.25″ x 5.5″. Do a google search for A-2 envelopes & find lots of lovely options.)

* I buy reams of card stock to make my own cards, but craft stores carry nice little 25-page packs in a variety of colors that are lovely. I use a paper cutter to cut it down to the right size. If I’m really ambitious, I’ll use a butter knife to score where the paper will fold before I cut it. Then I get a pristine fold line. It’s very satisfying.

* Coloring Your Card: I think Colored Pencils are the best. Watercolors will work too (if you’ve laser-printed the designs, but if you printed it on an inkjet printer it will smear.)

* Again I say it, glitter glue is your friend. Embrace the glitter glue. For best results, color the design in first & then enhance & highlight with the glittery goodness.

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!

PS – I originally made this craft for my Non-Denominational-Christian-Moms-Group, MOPS. I joined this group when I moved to Reno because:

1. I needed to make friends QUICK. We don’t do well without playdates.

2. I needed a break from my kid (I love my kids, but dude, being a SAHM can be INTENSE.) When you go to a MOPS meeting, you get to leave your kid at a class run by nice church ladies. I say it again. YOU GET TO LEAVE YOUR KID FOR TWO HOURS. And then talk to other ladies. Real conversation where NO ONE ASKS YOU FOR A SNACK. I know. It’s like heaven.

Here’s some of the cards we made at our meeting last week. Awww….