A 2-year-old's first mail art!!!

Tweet

My daughter Grace loves to color, play with stickers and pretty much do anything her mommy loves to do...what two year old doesn't, right?  Well, Grace drew a picture for her Memere (her Grandmother) and said, in such a cute and matter of fact way, "now it needs a stamp!"

I started laughing and figured there was no reason she couldn't decorate her own envelope for her Memere.  I also realized that she's really been watching this whole envelope making business.

So below is Grace's first attempt at mail art.  And I, as her mother, think it is absolutely perfect!

FRONT

BACK

This is such a great way to accomplish a few things with your kiddos:

-  It gets them thinking of Grandma, Grandpa or anyone who needs a special surprise from the little ones.
-  They are doing a really fun art activity - maybe giving you a few minutes of uninterrupted cleaning, laundry...or just a minute to sit!
-  If you are working with stickers, this builds dexterity in those little hands.
-  Gives you a chance to talk about mail and, on the most basic of terms, what it means to send someone you love a letter or picture.

I'm writing this as Grace naps so I plan on taking her to the mail box with me so she can put it in for herself.  I know she will get a kick out of that.  I have a feeling this is really going to be the start of something for my little peanut and I.


I also happened to make one of my own over the past three days for a woman in Spain.  Hope she likes it.  The front is adorned with some cute stickers and the back...well...I had a great idea, I just didn't know it was going to take me close to thirty minutes to do it.  It probably could have taken less time, but I'm a perfectionist.  But first, the front...

So for the back I cut out this little image of a little girl dressed as a fairy princess with an exacto knife...I guess that's what she is.  But it was cute and it was kind of going with my whole bubble gum and pink thing.

The image is from an old card.  I save every card that has been given to me.  They are great ways to get really cute images...for free.  There are of course many cards that I would never, ever touch with anything sharp or sticky and those stay in a safe place.  But I love taking the images and putting them on my own cards or scrapbooks.

Another really great idea, especially if you scrapbook, is to cut the card in half (you can also frame them...I've got one card that I plan on doing this too with a shadow box).  This way you can showcase not only the beautiful front, but also the loving message inside, especially if it is hand written.  Also, even if you use the card for it's graphics, you can always keep the message.  Just cut them out nice and neat and keep them in a box.  It's nice to go back and read them and think about loved ones.

Until next time...

Shanna

Shanna...with a "h"

Tweet

Hello!  I wanted to share a new envelope that I made for a young lady down in Louisiana.  And guess what, her name is Shanna too....just with an h on the end.

She has a cute blog dedicated to her love of letters and all things papery called "Write Before Your Eyes."  I just love the name of her blog and she has recently found a few great bargains on stationary...it's quite the loot.

For this card I simply made the envelope and took some scraps of other cardstock to add interest.  I used modge podge to glue the pieces down.  It dries clear and it is completely stable so I don't have to worry about it falling apart on its way to Louisiana.

Shannah is also sponsoring a giveaway featuring her very own artwork on a set of note cards.  I love anything handmade so I'm definitely entering.

Until next time....

Shanna

mAiL aRt

Tweet

HELLO!!!!  I haven't posted in a while and I have a few excuses as to why...

1.  I got a brand new camera, which got fried!  I plugged in the USB cord into the computer, as usual, but nothing was happening...and I was smelling smoke!  I pulled out the end attached to the camera and the cord's end was bright red!  I don't know if I ruined the port because we ordered another cord and even though the description said it would fit...it didn't.  Well, procrastination has just taken charge of this situation and I continue to take photographs...but don't have a way to download them.  Silly right?

2.  I have a 5 MONTH OLD!!!  And she doesn't sleep!  I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world when Claire was sleeping 9-10 hours every night at 6 weeks.  Well, now she just wakes up every hour and I'm exhausted.

3.  Because of the aforementioned excuses, I just haven't wanted to really make anything.

However, I guess my creative juices are still flowing because I started writing my niece and nephew letters and in doing that I started drawing, coloring, etc.

So, in my limited spare time, I started writing letters to others, made my own envelopes and decorated them.  There are a ton of blogs dedicated to this.  A couple of my favorites are Papered Thoughts, Penpal of the Week and Missive Maven.  

Here are a few of my attempts at Mail Art...oh and all of these envelopes were hand made.

I hand stitched the envelope and even though it is white on the outside,
when you open the envelope it is filled with color!

I used a charcoal pencil and shadowed all the creases.
I think it makes for an interesting look.

These are made from basic paper but it is so easy to color
with colored pencils.  I like to draw the address frames.

I'm in love with this envelope.  The print on the inside is
 a beautiful brown and cream  pattern.  I cut out a
butterfly from the scrap paper and glued it to the top of the
address label made from another piece of scrap paper.

I also got to send out my friend, Jennifer's, baby blanket and burp cloth set I made for her newest little addition, Ben.  He's a cutie pie and I'll have the "making of" photos as soon as I can get them off of my camera!

By the way, I hand embroidered that square.  So proud of myself!!!!

My niece, Jazzlynn, responded to one of my letters a week ago and she was using some of my mother's stationary, so I thought I would whip up some stationary for her featuring some inked drawings by me.

This is so much fun.  It has given me a creative outlet without having to drag out SO MUCH STUFF!  I love to sew and I can't wait to have my very own sewing/crafting/drawing/art studio where I can keep the machine and whatever current project I am working on out in the open...with a door....that I can close....and no little fingers can get them!

I'm going to try to post more...and as soon as I can get the pictures off the camera, there will be quite a few posts to make.

Until then....

Another Great Bow!!

Tweet

Hello!  I made another bow last night.  This is actually one that I had started and then hated.  I had originally used the pink and grey plaid ribbon for the base but it's so flimsy, it just looked silly.  So, I went all out instead!  

I love the look of this bow.  It's a big one at 6 inches.  I think it is a show stopper.  I love the stack on this bow.   Once I get my camera cord I'm going to start putting up tutorials for the bows.  They are surprisingly easy to make.  I love how you can get a very new and interesting bow just by adding another layer or another ribbon.

I'm excited to complete this order.  The order is for a young lady who is participating in the "Adopt a Child" program.  All I know is that the two little girls love pink!  So they are getting two large bows and four small bows.  You can see the other bows I've made so far in the Christmas Bows post.

I can't wait to share with you the other bows that are to come.

Until then...

Shanna

Christmas Bows are on Sale!!!

Tweet

Christmas Hair Bows

The holiday season is a time for pretty dresses, cute patent leather shoes and stockings.  But you have to have a pretty little bow on top.  I'm selling those pretty little bows on top.  They are always so fun to make.  I really got into making them for my daughter after never seeing what I liked.  So here are a few of the little beauties I have created.

I had a couple of orders for pink bows, but all are made to the clients specific color requirements.  I'm offering two different sizes; Large (6-inch) and Small (3-inch).  Large bows are $8, small bows are $5 for one and $8 for a pair.

The "Miss Put Together" bow is a 3-inch bow with two ribbons and small center embellishment. Would be very cute as a set with pigtails!
(All bows are made to your color specifications)

The "Christmas Princess" bow is a 3-inch bow with two ribbons (one will be sheer organza) with center embellishment. 

This is a very pretty bow.
(All bows are made to your color specifications)

The "Christmas Wrapping Bow" is a 6-inch bow with three different ribbons and center embellishment. Very fun bow!
(All bows are made to your color specifications)

Merry Christmas!  I love making bows and I'm happy to be able to make a ton of them this year.  I'll have more pictures to come.

Shanna