Hand Made Flower Greeting Card

So many graduations this month but I think we've covered them all from both sides of the family.  There may still be one more pending, my niece who graduated from UC Santa Barbara.....go Mayra! Today we celebrated my nephew's graduation from high school.  What a feeling to have your life just waiting for you and the possibilities are endless.  I was lucky enough to have the choice of going to college.  Earning my bachelor's degree became the most important thing to me after high school.  I had an unrelenting determination to succeed.  I selected Accounting as my major.  I loved the subject but, let me tell you, it's not an easy subject to study.  I became a tax preparer, then an auditor then an accountant and now I'm a manager, I'm so versatile, lol. It goes with my personality, my interests are infinite and my interests become my passions.  I'm happiest when I have a gazillion things on my to do list.....I know it's crazy, but I can't help it.  

The tutorial today is on a very pretty card that you might want to give to a graduate.  It's very easy to make and all you need is two pages of scrapbook paper, 5"X5" envelope, tape, ribbon, eyelets and an eyelet setter.

First, cut a scrapbook paper, plain color into 5"X10" and fold in half.  This will be the "greeting card", set it aside for now.

Next, you will make the "pouch" where you can place a special something inside it.  A tea bag, a gift card, movie tickets...etc...
cut a decorative scrapbook paper at 4 3/4"X 8.5"  Fold the decorative paper lengthwise at 3" like this:     

Next, fold your decorative paper and use your hole punch and punch out a hole in each corner

In the picture above, I'm positioning an eyelet with an eyelet setter on the corner hole I made.  You can skip this part if you don't have an eyelet setter.  Here's what your pouch will look like:

 Now we will embellish the pouch.  Get some pieces of ribbon and pull through your eyelets, like this:

 Use tape on the back, don't worry if it doesn't look pretty, no one will ever see this side:

Do this will all sides and it will look like this on the back:

next, stamp a message on your pouch with a rubber stamp:

Your embellished pouch will look like this: notice how it looks on top of the "greeting card" you made earlier.   

and inside the pouch is where you'll place your gift:

Add some glue or double sided tape to the back of your pouch to attach it to your "greeting card":

 And here's what the finished card looks like. I placed gift tags inside.  To see how I made the gift cards, go here

In this case, I used a gratitude rubber stamp because it was a thank you card that I made, but you can write congratulations or happy birthday or what ever sentiment that fits your gift.  Inside, you can write a special message and insert the whole thing in an envelope.  You can find 5"X5" envelopes at office supplies or craft stores.  This is definitely one of my favorite cards. 

Let me know what you think, click on comments below to leave a comment.





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Embelishment Air Dry Clay

Well it was supposed to rain today but there is absolutely no rain, in fact it's nice and sunny outside. I had a ton of crafts lined up for today "rainy day" but since there is no rain, I only have one. I'd love to craft all day but the sun and my bicycle are conspiring and are calling my name......."Maria.....Maria....Maria". I guess I'll have to go outside and ride my bike for an hour or two.

I made this cute embelishment that you can use to glue on a simple 99cent gift bag to make it look "expensive" or you can hang on your wall or place on top of your mantle, or a pendant for jewelry, whateva. I decided to glue mine on a greeting card. I have a friend who could use a little lift from a butterfly right now.

You will need a few things that you can pick up at Michael's. I love Michael's and Michael's loves me... When I'm in Michael's stocking up on supplies, I tell myself, I shouldn't, I SHOULD not, I shouldn't, I reaaaally should NOT, OOOOOOHHHHH what the heck! and walk right up to the register. Yep, that kind of love, what's a girl to do but shop.

Anyway, here are the supplies you need. Air dry clay, wood mounted rubber stamp, gold metallic acrylic paint, a dark brown acrylic paint, a paper napkin.

A couple of paint brushes, or if you don't mind getting your fingers dirty, you can use your fingers instead of brushes. A cookie cutter or just your imagination (I'll explain later) a clay blade or a knife will do.

A food grade silicone spray OR vegetable oil OR baby oil, they will all work just the same. They are used on the rubber stamp so that the clay won't stick on it.

First, condition the clay, add water if it's too dry. Shape into a square big enough for your chosen rubber stamp.

Take the oil or spray and apply it to your rubber stamp. Next press the rubber stamp into the clay to make a strong impression. It will look like this.

The next step is to cut all around using your knife or blade to make a clean cut. Next, using your imagination, or a cookie cutter, cut a shape out to make a bail to be able to hang your piece.

I press down on my cookie cutter and voila! I have something that can be shaped to attach to my piece.
I attach it to my piece and let it dry for 24 hours. I placed a skewer so it will not colapse while drying, but don't forget to add some of that spray or baby oil to the skewer so it won't stick.

The next step is to add the gold metallic acrylic paint. You can use a brush or your fingers. Let this dry for about 15 minutes.
Next, apply the dark color acrylic paint and let dry for about 2-3 minutes.
Next, use a napkin to wipe off excess. Leave only enough that will be appealing to your eye.

There, I'm happy with this look

I attached mine to a card with a dot of hot glue and my friend will have a nice thoughtful gift along with her card that she can display on her desk.