Make-It + Mail-It #3: Upcycling + Madewell!

Hey you guys! It’s time for Make-It + Mail-It Challenge #3! Sure hope you can join in.

For those new to Make-It + Mail-It Challenges, it all got started here when I was the recipient of a bunch of cards that really touched my heart. It was like getting a big huge hug from all around the world! I wanted to do something to encourage people to make cards and send them so others could feel that way too. So, the challenge is pretty simple:

• Make a card (or anything else!)
• Mail it, then
• Link back here so that we can all enjoy the happy mail that’s going out around the world! (I’ve found that a challenge gives me a little extra motivation to get things mailed. Are you the same way?)
• After all the links are in, I’ll randomly pick a participant to mail a card to. So fun!

I like to make a whole batch of cards to send out when I’m doing a mailing — the more the merrier, right? Plus I like to get my supplies out and make a big mess, ha!

I have a theme for each Make-It and Mail-It, but that’s just my theme — you can do whatever you like! For this challenge, I was inspired by this Electric Ikat Top from Madewell, check it out:

I love the colors, and how the pattern looks kinda watercolor-y, don’t you? (Love Madewell so much, the one near me is just a bit down from J.Crew and across the street from Anthropologie and the Apple store. Plus there’s a tea room on the same street with amazing teas, scones, and other treats. It’s all very dangerous!)

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My little secret.

Yep, that’s a picture of veggies. (Were you expecting donuts? Or cupcakes?)

They’re from the Angel Valley Farm stand that’s just a few miles from our house. Aren’t they pretty? I took the photo to tease my Dad in Ohio (where it was still snowing just a few weeks ago — no fresh rainbow chard for him, ha!)

Plus, I didn’t want ya to think that all I ate were donuts and cupcakes.

So, now that you know my terrible secret, it’s time to announce the random winner of the second-ever Make-It + Mail-It Challenge: Hey Sweets!

It’s….

…

…are you ready?

#11, Isha! Yay! (I emailed you.)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the challenge — it really made me smile BIG to know that mailboxes around the world would be filling up with those fun cards.

I’ll be announcing another challenge just as soon as I can — have a big work deadline looming right now. (eek!)

Hugs to all, and hope this post made ya laugh a little :)

I *donut* know…

Hey you guys! I did it! I made a donut card to mail for the Make-It + Mail-It Challenge #2, woo! My knee was hurting so I kept it simple, but I really love how it came out — really keeps the emphasis on the yummy donut! Sometimes, simple is best, you know?

The thing with simple cards is that you want to add that “little” something to make them special. In this case, I stamped the dots with VersaMark Dazzle ink in forst. This is a watermark ink, so it sinks in the paper and just makes the paper a few shades darker. This ink has a subtle shimmer that’s super hard to photograph, but oh so cool in real life. Here, I’ll try to show ya:

And my other trick with simple cards? Stamp the inside! Just adds another little touch.

Yay!

This is going in the mail today. Can’t wait until my friend gets it. :)

Resources: The notecards are from Paper Source in cement (gah! love this color!). When you do the VersaMark stamping trick, you want to use uncoated cardstock — this cardstock is not the white core (white inside) but the same paper through and through. The donut paper is by Snow & Graham — got it at Paper Source too! The “donut know” message is from the Hero Arts Have a Donut set — the message is actually all together, but I just cut it apart with scissors so that I could stamp part on the outside and part on the inside. VersaMark Dazzle frost ink by Tsukineko (love this ink so much!). I used tea dye distress ink to stamp the message. And the dots? They’re one of my long time favorite Savvy Stamps! Love how they give that letterpress feel. I think that’s everything. (Lotsa stuff for a simple card, eh?)

What are your favorite tricks for simple stamping? I’d love to hear!

And, in case you made a card to send to someone — the Make-It + Mail-It Challenge #2 is open until the end of today, yay! (This challenge is near and dear to my heart. I received a bunch of cards when I was going through a hard time recently, and I can’t tell you how much they meant to me. So the challenge is just my little way to encourage everyone to send cards — or anything else! It really makes you feel good, and makes the recipient feel good too. What better way to spend 44 cents, eh?)

Guess what, I figured out that I can put the inLinkz script in more than one post! woo! So, feel free to enter from here!

A crochet cupcake for a sweet friend.

Hi you guys! This is my first attempt at a crochet cupcake. What do you think? Is she good enough to eat? :)

I’m going to mail her as part of the Make-It & Mail-It Challenge #2, so I had to take a few pictures to remember her by. (Not saying who she’s for in case she sees this.) (And sure hope you will have time to join in the challenge! It’s not just for cards, feel free to make and mail anything you like.)

(Resources: The crochet pattern is from Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. I love this book so much, I want to make everything in it! Amigurumi is a kind of crochet in the round that is popular in Japan — I first found out about it while I was browsing a bookstore in Tokyo. I litterlly squealed with delight when I  first saw it, startling quiet shoppers! But it was all in Japanese and I’m not that good at crochet yet. I was so happy when I found this book in English! Beads  and paper doily are from the craft store. The eyes were hard to come by, but I finally found some at Hobby Lobby. The wooden plate is one that I got from Keyuca in Tokyo. That store is awesome! I made the napkin a while back.)

Have a sweet day,

Make-It + Mail-It #2: Hey, sweets!

Hey sweets! It’s time for the next Make-It and Mail-It challenge! What’s that I smell? Could it be? Oh yes, it’s DONUTS!

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