Decorating envelopes with markers

I like to decorate envelopes, when possible to match the cards.  This Thanksgiving I’m trying different mediums.  This is about the ones I used magic markers on.  

 

Off they go…

Well, we’ve sent our shoeboxes off to Operation Christmas Child again this year.  This is a program of Samaritan’s Purse where people in a number of countries fill shoeboxes with various items like toys, school supplies, candy, hygiene supplies, etc. then they send them to needy children worldwide. I believe it started in the early 90’s in response the Bosnian crisis.  Over the years these shoeboxes have brightened the Christmases of a number of children all around the world who otherwise wouldn’t have had any other presents or celebrations in hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps, and other dreary spots around the world.  Over the years my family’s boxes have gone to eastern Europe and Africa (that we know of either from letters, or through their

Baseball envelopes

If you read my blog, you know that recently I’ve gotten into decorating many of my envelopes I mail out.  Well, some of these designs are quite feminine, so here is a more sporty/masculine alternative: baseball envelopes.  On a recent trip to Ohio I went to a baseball game with family, so that seemed to be a good theme for the cards containing photos of the trip, plus I had some baseball stamps.  Here is a completed envelope:

And the winner is…

As many of my readers know I did a review and giveaway for My Memories digital scrapbooking software this month, and this is the big day.  My thanks to everyone who entered, I wish you could all win, but only one can, so today I drew for the winner of the My Memories giveaway.  Congratulations goes out to:

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Yes, I know Christmas is still over two months away, and personally I like to avoid decorating  or listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving (although my entire holiday schedule is off since The Game [Ohio State vs Michigan] is now after Thanksgiving, instead of before, totally changes the whole feel).  But, we are still starting to work on Christmas. 

I’m getting our Christmas card list together and beginning to embellish the envelopes and address them.  This is taking a little more planning than normal since when we bought our cards on clearance last year we picked 3 different kinds, and are picking which one is best for which person/family.  I’m actually a little behind on this, since my goal is to have all my envelopes return addressed by now, but hopefully I’ll be able to

Fall tree craft

Last year I made a “Thanks Tree” Just some sticks, dried leaves, and little pieces of paper with different things I was thankful for like: Family, Faith, Freedom, etc. This year I decided to make a fall tree. Once again I went out and gathered some sticks and dried some leaves. Only, instead of writing what I was thankful for, I used photos that seem to illustrate some of the fun parts of fall to me.

For the base, I used a couple rubber bands to make the sticks into a bunch, then I put them in this pitcher I had on hand which was made by a local craftsman. I then used scrap computer paper to crumple up and stuff around the bundle to hold it upright. I used other leaves I’d dried to cover the paper:

My Memories review & giveaway

I was contacted by My Memories a couple weeks ago about doing a review and giveaway of their digital scrapbook software on my blog. So I thought I’d try it out. I’ve enjoyed making photo books for trips I’d made and having a way to do it the same no matter what printing service I used appealed to me. I’d tried doing a little in PowerPoint, but that just wasn’t the same. Plus, this scrapbook software also works for many other things like additions to decorating, cards, etc. They also have nice add-on kits to get more paper, embellishments, and texts. I really like that you can change your photos into more than 20 different shapes and apply over 15 different effects for photos from the traditional black & white to more creative ones like Impressionist Painting, I think that would be fun to use as a

Fall/Thanksgiving hutch

I enjoy decorating for fall especially with a Thanksgiving slant, but while doing so, I hope all the while, not to be here on Thanksgiving to see them. You see, my family lives hundreds of miles away, and for years, I’ve preferred to go back home to see them. While I don’t know if it will work out this year or not, I certainly hope so, but I’ll enjoy decorating even if it is just leading up to. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Maybe not always the reality of how it works out, but the idea. Fall is my favorite season and since Thanksgiving is the quintessential fall holiday, that may have something to do with. I mean what’s not to love: cool weather, good food, parades, football, family, memories, laughter, games, etc. Anyways, here’s how the hutch in our kitchen worked out for fall/Thanksgiving this year:

Making templates for decorated envelopes

Well, I’m beginning to understand the fascination mailart holds for some, while I’m not making mail art, at least yet, I’ve found that decorating envelopes is somewhat addictive. When I’m working on the envelopes I think about the people who are receiving the mail seeing it in their mail. I hope it brings a smile to the face of the person receiving it. So here’s another easy way I found recently to jazz up envelopes.

I had seen on a blog (I’m sorry, but I seem to have lost the link) about using a business card to make a border around the address on letters, then embellishing the box. Well, I didn’t really want to free hand it. So, I decided to give the business card itself the decorative edge then use it as a stencil. I wrote the address on the back of the card to check the size, then I cut around it with a pair of patterned scissors (taking a little off one size to

Shutterfly photo books

I’ve enjoyed making photo books over the years mainly to document trips to visit family. For those of you who may have never seen a photo book, they look somewhat like a coffee table book, but with your own photos in it. They can really look professional (and shock those you show it to that you were able to make it), and are a nice, and not too costly way to keep your photos and memories handy. I have used a number of different on-line and in store providers. I used Shutterfly photo books once for a book for my great Aunt M, but have never done one for myself. I was able to check out how it turned out when I was visiting her this summer, and was quite pleased with