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Homemade Thank You Cards

Friday, December 30th, 2011

Do you send out thank you cards to others? While growing up, my mom always made us write a thank you note to acknowledge the thoughtfulness of the person sending the gift.

Now I also make my kids write out thank you notes for everything. I think that this is a good habit to have in life. So… I am still feeling the Christmas craft mood and thought of a beautiful homemade thank you card I received last year. This year, I decided that I want to make a couple cards to send out instead of using the store bought ones that I traditionally use.

I did not want to spend a lot of money. I knew I had to buy the actual cardstock cards so I stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a 25 count package of cards with envelopes for only $5.00. I had pretty paper, fabric, ribbon, gift tags and wrapping paper that I have collected throughout the years (and this year while unwrapping gifts!) that I could use to make the cards:

I also picked up small Velcro pads to be able to ‘lift’ articles off of the paper to make it two dimensional:

And then I just went to town pasting:

And pasting:

See how I used my new pinking shears I got for Christmas? And I found a new way to use my old paint sample strips!

Since they are my homemade cards, I decided not to write ‘Thank You’ on the front of card because my handwriting is sooooo bad. The solution would be to buy a thank you stamp:

Wouldn’t card making be a fun project to do with the kids? Below are some examples that I found online:

I love the cards with buttons:

Just be aware of what you put on card if you are sticking in envelope and mailing. I tried tying a ribbon around card but then could not make it fit in envelope. You could always use a larger envelope.

Do you send out thank you cards? Don’t you think a homemade card would really make someone’s day?

If you need help making your home happy and comfortable, contact me today.

All photos other than mine are from pinterest.

It’s All in the Details Baby!

Bring in Spring By Forcing Branches Now

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Posted in Gift Giving, Interior Decorating, Reduce Recycle Reuse, reuse | 2 Responses »
Tags: artwork, Decorating ideas, fabric, homemade cards, homemade Thank You cards, Thank You cards

Restored Love

Monday, November 28th, 2011

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See my old hope chest? My parents gave this to me as a graduation present when I was 18 years old. A hope chest is what us girls all got as a gift around our 18th birthday so we would have a place to store what we would buy to prepare for our wedding and future household.

These advertisements sought to equate the ideal of domesticity with a Lane “Hope Chest,” in which a young woman stored clothing or home furnishings in anticipation of marriage. This was summed up in the company’s tag line: “The gift that starts the home.”

Lane advertisements reached a high point during World War II, persuading thousands of GIs leaving for overseas to purchase a Lane Hope Chest for the sweethearts they were leaving behind. Ads combined romantic images of men in uniform and their fiancées with patriotic slogans and the well-known face of national spokeswoman, and symbol of all things American, Shirley Temple.

I have used my chest all of these years to store all my cherished items: wedding mementos, all my children’s special items and many other important memories. I still love my chest but knew it was past time for a makeover:

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This is the fabric I found earlier this month that I loved:

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Of course I wanted to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint- it makes the project so much easier! I choose the color Old White. No prep needed, I just unscrewed the top:

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Here it is after the first painted coat:

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I wanted to keep the antique brass hardware not only because of the cost, but I thought they looked good together with both the fabric and the off white paint:

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All finished painting:

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So pretty! What a difference!

Here are some of my special loves in my hope chest:

My son’s blankie that my mom made for him:

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My daughter (who is getting married!) holding my wedding veil:

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Awwww.. Here is a picture of my Christening hat:

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Do you have a Hope Chest? What do you keep special in yours?

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Fabric Workroom Visit

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Have you ever been to a fabric workshop? I am in absolute heaven as soon as I walk through the door:

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Look! Everywhere you turn there are more fabric books to look at:

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I love, love looking through all the books. Most fabric workrooms are open and available ‘to the trade’ only, meaning that you need to show identification as well as a state identification sales tax number. Each state has different requirements to obtain a sales Id number. If you are interested in obtaining, I would call your state tax office to inquire. At this particular workroom in Providence, RI, you must be ‘in the trade’ to browse here and purchase fabric.

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Why go through the bother of visiting and purchasing from a workroom? For a few good reasons – not only do you get to pay wholesale cost which is considerably lower than the retail price, but you are able to see the latest and hottest fabric trends and colors, you can also borrow any books for a few days to bring home and you can order fabric samples right there quickly and easily! How great is that!

Each fabric workshop is unique in that each have their own fabric collections that they represent. This shop had Kravet, Duralee, Robert Allen, Carole and many others. I seem to always be drawn to the Duralee fabrics because of all the great colors and patterns they use. This fabric below (and above) is from the new collection of Eileen Kathryn Boyd. So gorgeous!:

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The reason for my visit this particular day was to look at fabric for window treatments for a client’s dining room. I had to work with this fabric below that was on her chairs:

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I actually had a good idea of what I was looking for and I found rather quickly:

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And then I was able to relax and browse through a few books for ideas, inspiration and fun! Here were two of my favorite books I brought home:

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I love this blue fabric:

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Another project I am working on is refinishing a old hope chest. I think I will use this fabric for the top. Don’t you just love it?

So if you would love to browse through fabric books, you should check out your local fabric workroom. Have you ever been to a workshop? Do you enjoy going?

If you need help finding the perfect fabric that goes with the perfect wall color, contact me today.

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Posted in Fabric, Interior Decorating, window treatments | 2 Responses »
Tags: fabric, fabric workshops, window treatments

Color Extraordinaire Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Have you noticed the bold and beautiful design work of interior designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd is everywhere lately? Her rooms are so full of life, so well designed, all in such great color proportions.

Isn’t the room above gorgeous!! OMG. Love, love, love.

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She blends traditional with modern, throws in some bold color and magic is made! Eileen is known for drawing her inspirations from the fashion runways and bringing them to life on her showroom floor as well as inspiring bold works of art.