Blast 4:: More Envelopes....(and some blueberries)

Because someone....a little someone loved those little envelopes and wanted to make notes for friends, herself, her family and maybe even passersby on the street at the rate she was going.

And this was good! Time to break out the bag of vintage and newer wrapping paper I thrifted about a year ago.

I decided that I would mix it up and make some fancy cards for some of the envelopes...

(blue card stock is from  here - our absolute favorite craft store) and use just plain paper construction paper for others.

I loved seeing how just by folding the paper you can highlight certain parts of the designs.Such a treat to see little birds or flowers popping up in just unexpected but perfect spots.

But, I'm jumping ahead a bit. Because our crafting didn't get going til well into the evening.

First, our day started with this....

Which, of course, led to this....

Then some swimming for the bigger kids, a nap for baby (hmmm, I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here) and a little craft-prep time for mom (while the dishes soaked, again). When the guys got back we had some dinner and got to card making. Two hours later I realized it was way past bedtime....time seems to have its own speed in summer.

After the older kids were asleep (another mama party ensued  - hmmmm, I think some little people are getting their sleep schedules slightly muddled). When they were tuckered out, hubby and I watched Pirate Radio (fun movie!) while I folded, and folded and folded some more into the wee hours of 2 am (the time we are scheduled to give the strep cure so I was a little justified....maybe).

Paper crafts are usually not my first choice for crafting (one reason why, although I loved the vintage wrapping paper, it sat around for a year). I think it has to do with my confidence level in my creative abilities. See, look at that, yet another reason to add the list of why this stash blasting so good! It gives me a push me out of my crafting comfort zone. So glad I gave it a whirl  too since I found this really enjoyable and something that was easy to do with the kids and while watching a movie. Doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Another part of this process that was enjoyable was the feel of working with the older wrapping paper. It has a different weight than most wrapping paper made now. Much heavier and often  texturized. It was also super sweet seeing old tape marks on the paper from years ago when someone had been gifted something inside it then tucked the paper away for later use. Such fun imagining what may have been inside those packages so long ago and the relationships they represented.

Maybe even a little more fun? I also imagine those people never would have guessed that 40+ years later their saved paper would be repurposed by a mom and her kids to create cards to say "I love you" and "You're my friend" and... "Thank you".

Yes,anonymous  ladies of long ago....thank YOU for your saved treasures still enjoyed today...and maybe even for more years to come.

Blast 3:: Envelopes

Because it's birthday season and having thank you notes handy means they'll get sent, right?

This was actually a quick fix, fun little project! The super simple and quick tute for envies from precut paper can be found  here. I finished 20 envelopes in four listens of this song (thanks Helen!) while the guys were swimming, the baby slept and the dishes soaked in the sink. Also super nice was the chance to use some of the stash from a scrapbooking bag full of goodies I won from a silent auction this past spring. The envies are made from 8x8 sheets of scrapbooking paper with a dab of  this cool and very easy to use glue that was also in the bag. The finished envelopes ended up being roughly 4 x 3/12 inches.

Aside from the fact that I tend to be a "good enough" kind of girl and I think crafts like this and my ...'oh my, I can't even imagine origami' temperament...might require a bit more preciseness than I usually muster on a given day this was a pretty satisfying little excursion. A bit of my ummm, learning curve can be seen if you closely at the picture...

I guess tomorrow looks like a day of miniature thank you notes ;)

Oh, and our winner of a little owl? Hmmm, let me mix up all these names here...and.....Oh! It looks like Helen!  Now wasn't THAT easy peasy? ;) Let me know which one you like sweet lady!

Next Saturday night I will draw another winner for something crafted during the week, just say a quick hello in the comments section and I will randomly draw a name - good luck!