And thank you again

Still making thank you cards for my stash. I've made a few using Embroidered Blooms, another new set from Papertrey Ink. Love the delicate two step leaves and flowers which do look like they were put in with little stitches:

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Thank you kindly

Needed to send a few thank you cards recently and when I looked in my stash of cards, there were only a couple there. So I busted out the stamps and made a few more to have on hand. If you can bear it, here are another couple of cards using Quilled Elegance. Perfect set for cards like this.  This one uses coloured cardstock:

And this one is a more colourful effort on white:

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Surfeit of thanks

Two more thank you cars if you can bear it. These are mini cards (4 x 4 inches) similar to others I've made. They come together very quickly - cut some patterned paper and some labels, die cut a border and you're done. The images and sentiment are from PTI's Embroidered Blooms set.  I didn't have the right coloured rhinestones, so coloured clear ones with my copics to match:

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Recipe organisation

I spent ages looking for a particular recipe the other night. I wonder why?

I've been getting frustrated with my recipe 'storage' but couldn't decide how I was going to organise it. In the past I've had recipe books and card indexes, but somehow neither seemed to work long term. For a while, I kept a folder, but it was too large and I couldn't find anywhere to store it.
Then the other day I was walking through Whitcoulls and saw these on the shelves:

They're A5 size ringbinders with dividers and little plastic pages protectors inside. Like this:

I pulled out all those loose recipes I've downloaded and torn out of magazines, culled them and saved the best. And my recipes have gone from this:

To this:

And this:

Now I can actually find what I'm looking for, and if I decide I don't like a particular recipe after all, I can just remove it and replace it with another one. Bon appetit!

Decorated mason jars

This post by Melissa Phillips was very timely. Her gorgeous mason jars inspired me to redesign the jar labels for the homemade preserves I give as gifts. Looks much nicer than plain adhesive labels!

And a close up of the bow:

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Other - paper doily

Papertrey MIM #100

Yes, it's the 100th Make it Monday challenge at Papertrey Ink. You can see the details and play along here.  This challenge couldn't have come at a better time, because I was looking for ways to package up this card and send it to a friend who's just had a baby boy:

Since the ribbon round the sweater makes it a bit bulky, I decided to make an envelobox for mailing. I followed the instructions in this post and am really pleased with how it turned out. I used the same patterned paper I used on the card, together with the cute heart from Knit Bits. I die cut and stamped the address label for more of a polished look:

The envelobox is about 1/4 inch thick which just accommodates the ribbon nicely. Of course, you could always make it a bit thicker by adjusting the score lines slightly. I'm sure I'll be making some more of these!

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Butterfly birthday and gift packaging

I'm loving PTI's Quilled Elegance stamp set. The images are super versatile and, as the name suggests, very elegant! So I've been making quite a few cards with it. Here's a simple butterfly card for a friend's birthday this month:

 I bought her a cute set of toiletries from L'Occitane and re-packaged them so they coordinate with the card. A cello bag, coordinating ribbon and die cut label and voila!

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Other - Nestabilities Labels 14

Staying with the boys

The son of another friend is having his first birthday this month.  As both Brennan's parents are into cars, I think he'll grow up to be a bit of a petrolhead. When I was in Brisbane over Christmas I found the perfect gift - a cute set of fabric trucks from Ikea.

Here's the card and packaging I made to accompany the gift. Both use PTI's enjoy the ride stamp set and die.  The headlights are glass brads from Creative Imaginations.

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Another harvest card

Time for one more card using Simple Stories Harvest line. For ease of assembly, I cut up various coordinating papers and embellishments and then just layered them together. Add a flower, some ribbon and I was done. Sort of all purpose card I can use for virtually any occasion and add a sentiment when I'm ready to send it out.

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Make it Monday 99

It's a while since I took part in any Papertrey Ink challenges, so I thought I'd give this week's Make it Monday a go. The challenge was to use a rainbow colour scheme and repeating design. You can check out the challenge here.  And here's what I came up with:

Probably not very easy to see, but I popped up the yellow butterfly to give a bit of dimension:

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Or baby boy?

As I mentioned a few days ago, two friends are expecting babies this month. Not sure whether the second baby is a girl or a boy, so I had some fun making a second sweater baby card - this one using a spring rain colour scheme. Of course, if it's another girl, I'll be making a third card!

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Other - ribbon from stash

Happy harvest

Not quite the right time of year, but I still love the autumn colours in Simple Stories' Harvest line. Whipped up a few quick cards to have on hand in my stash. No sentiment yet - I'll add one when I'm ready to send it!

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Baby girl

Two friends from work are having babies this month so I needed to make a couple of cards. The first is a cute sweater card using PTI's sweater die. I knew I had to make one when I saw this card from Melissa Phillips just a couple of months ago.

Everyone thinks the second baby is going to be a boy, so guess I better make the next one in blue!

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Other - lace and ribbon from stash