Thank You Daffodil Clear Stamps

It feels like spring could possibly be around the corner. I can see little sprigs of my daffodils struggling to emerge from the ground. Thought this would be a great time to share my Thank You Daffodil project with you.

For my birthday I wanted to "give back" to my sisters and sisters-in-law. Each one is a fabulous friend. When I worked on designing this set I knew exactly how I wanted to use it! I purchased daffodil bulbs. I packaged them in homemade burlap bags and made little notecards. Then I passed them out at my little party. It was a lot of fun. I will show you how to make these bags.

This Thank You Daffodil Cling Stamp set was part of the JustRite Papercraft February release. It also has a coordinating SVG Digital Cut file for purchase as well. That made this project very easy!

 

To start this project I cut a sheet full of the SVG Digital Download Cut file. That way I could stamp even more than I needed for this project. I have found having a few extra cuts allows me to make speedy cards later on. I stamped on both the exact cut and the offset cuts. I left the flowers on the adhesive mat for easier coloring. 

 

On a few of them I didn't get it quite aligned. That is ok. Afterwards I just trimmed off the unstamped portion. No one, but myself would even notice.

I made little cards with off white card stock, lace, die cut labels, and brown burlap. 

I stamped on the outside and on the inside. I also cut a sheet of butterflies and colored them in the oranges. After Christmas I picked up some bronze colored metal swirl ornament hangers for $1! I thought they could look like the butterfly "flight pattern" under the stamped image. See below if you'd like instructions for the bag.

 

The daffodil was added to the front. To finish it off I stamped another sentiment, added a small bow and a gem.

BURLAP BAG INSTRUCTIONS:

The bag is just simple sewing. (This type is about all I can do.) You could probably even sew it by hand. The purpose of the bag was just to hold the bulbs. So it didn't have to be heavy duty.

I cut strips of burlap that were about 7 inches wide and 25 inches long. You can adjust the bag size to fit your item. The thing that made this so easy is that it has 2 side seems and 2 corner gusset seems.

Fold the burlap evenly in half. Sew from the folded edge to the raw edge on both sides. (Use a thread color that will blend in with your fabric. I used a contrasting color for photos only. Burlap is so forgiving. Even the white on the green isn't bad.) I did not sew on the top opening of the bag. I like the rough edge of the burlap.

While the bag is still inside out start the gussets. Take one side and bring the bottom "fold" to the side seem as shown. Splay the side seem out. Then sew perpendicular to the side seem. This will make the gusset at the corner. Do the same procedure to the other corner.

  

Trim the point of the corner off and discard. Turn the bag right side out. Push the corner out to reveal the gusset. No need to iron the bag.

  

Fill the bag with your goodies and tie with a pretty bow. Add your card--then give to that special friend!

Happy Stamping!

Grace & Peace,

Amy

My Grocery List

Happy New Year! Praying that 2015 will be a blessed year for you and yours. Every new year seems to urge me to become a bit more organized. Each new year also seems to bring more activity--making organization a bit more difficult.

My husband and I are committed to living within our budget (whatever it looks like each month!). One of the easiest ways I have found to do that was to cook at least 95% of our meals. It also means that we can eat healthier too.

For years I have have written my shopping list and menu. Someone recently asked to see my list. They were amazed to see my menu. Also to see my items listed out by category. It is the only way this cluttered brain can function early on a Saturday morning.

This morning I designed my list onto a printable JPEG for you. I thought if it helps me it could help others too! (High resolution JPEG in grayscale)

You may download this and use it in your daily / weekly shopping.

Here are some directions that I found if you are unfamiliar with printing JPEGS:

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Printing On a PC:

Click on "printable image" for the image you want to print. Once you are on the page with just the image, go to the "File" menu and choose "Print".

NOTE: If you have an image that is taller than it is wide, and you want your image to be printed in portrait mode (vertically), choose "Portrait". Note: this is usually the default setting of your printer options. 

NOTE: If you are printing an image that is wider than it is tall, you will probably want your image printed in landscape mode (horizontally). Choose "Landscape".

NOTE: If you want a black and white image, choose "Greyscale". If you want a color printout, choose "Color" and be sure to send your request to your color printer in the line "Print Command:" where you tell the computer which printer to print to.

If your printer has several sizes of paper available, you can also assign a paper size (usually letter or legal).

Then hit "Print" or "OK".

Printing On a Mac:

For Jpg or Gif images, click on "printable image" for the image you want to print. Once you are on the page with just the image, go to the "File" menu and choose "Print".

NOTE: If you have an image that is taller than it is wide, and you want your image to be printed in portrait mode (vertically), choose "Portrait". Note: this is usually the default setting of your printer options. 

NOTE: If you are printing an image that is wider than it is tall, you will probably want your image printed in landscape mode (horizontally). Choose "Landscape".

NOTE: If you want a black and white image, choose "Greyscale". If you want a color printout, choose "Color" and be sure to send your request to your color printer in the line "Print Command:" where you tell the computer which printer to print to.

If your printer has several sizes of paper available, you can also assign a paper size (usually letter or legal).

Then hit "Print" or "OK".

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There is nothing fancy about this sheet. It just keeps my menu, shopping, and budget under control. I would love to hear what your tips are for getting and staying organized in 2015!

Grace and Peace,
Amy