April 08, 2010

Artistic Mother Starter Kit #1 winner & quick 'thank you' card project

Before I tell you who won the Artistic Mother Starter Kit I wanted to share with you a SUPER simple idea that I am sure you all have already thought of/tried, but hey, here is my version: A photo thank you card. 

It was Laura's 6th birthday last week. That means a time of looking forward to celebrate her life, praying for her future, buying gifts she would like, checking the mail for packages from our relatives in Ireland and Tulsa and planning her birthday celebration (this amazing photo combo by Shannon Mucha will give you an idea of what we did for her birthday). And then when it is over it means a time of making thank you cards!


I always include a current photo of the child who is sending thanks. It is so simple and quick and the relatives then get a recent photo in their hand too (as I am terrible at printing and mailing hard copies of photos and Mark's parents don't have internet connection, so this will have to suffice!!!!)


Step 1
I upload the photo to Word and lay it out as the size of the photo dictates (I often do 4 up on a page, but on this card the photo is longer as it is 2 photos together, so I could only fit 2 per page). The photo must float well below the top of the page so that it can be folded over. I add a text box that says 'thank you' and lay it over the image:

 



Step 2
Then I print it out onto a nice cardstock and trim it:

 



Step 3
I fold the card. Then I like to use a bone folder to smooth down the edges. I trim off any excess paper from the back of the card if needed:




Step 4:
Repeat until you have made a set of cards! And there you have it. SO SIMPLE. I can make a set of cards in about 10-15 minutes I have done it so many times now. 
Depending on the age of the child, either they will write the thank you note or I will write it and they will sign it (and in my girl's case decorate it with hearts and flowers and stuff)!

 


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And now - Thank you to ALL those folks who entered for the chance to win the 'Artistic Mother Starter Kit'. I do wish I could send you all one (thank goodness there are 3 more of these to giveaway!), to make it fair I used the random generator (Here is some trivia for you : the random generator was designed by folks at the university I graduated from, Trinity College in Dublin!)

The winner is . I do hope that these supplies give you a burst of creative energy! Please contact me by email with your address. 

For everyone else:
This Saturday I will be giving away another kit, so if you don't mind coming back to leave a comment again (sorry to make you do that, but it is the fairest way I think). I will have another tutorial or something fun posted too to make it worth your while!

I have to apologize to my visitors ~ I am very behind on returning comments and emails right now. I took these last few days off to catch up, but found my time was filled with other things instead ~ house stuff (we are switching bedrooms around and preparing them for painting) and photo processing (I did 3 senior photoshoots last week and have been going through over 600 photos!!). I want to visit your neck of the woods, or at least be polite and say hi back. Please know that I read all the comments and take a lot of joy in the relationship we are building..... which is a good segue to tell you that.....

In May I will be doing another Saturday Follower giveaway. The ranks have grown! As there are now over 500 folks following this blog I will be giving away 2 handmade things each Saturday in May. The nice thing about not selling what I make is that I can give it away!!! I keep anything that has my kid's photos on it, otherwise I am happy to share my wares with you :)

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Remember, doing some art, even something simple like a photo thank you card or ATC, will lift your spirit and if you are a Mom, make you a better one!

17 comments:

  1. Yahoo! Thanks so much! How do I contact you? My email is kimstoys at gmail dot com

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  2. I do the same but without the fancy photoshopping. Ha, I just glue a pic of Wednesday on the front and stamp thanks with a personalized message on the inside. Part appreciation, part showing off my gorgeous kid. :)

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  3. shona .what a perfectly charming card you have made! elk

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  4. Fantastic idea! Thanks for always sharing your thoughts with the rest of us :)

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  5. She is gorgeous ~ love those pix!

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  6. Beautiful cards xxx
    I have necer used that size before and it looks amazing and the effect of two photos from the same stting is just so cool, thats me when i get home.
    thanks for giving me a weekend crafty mission

    love your work

    xxx
    sheree

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  7. wow...breathtaking photos, and great idea for a crad...xxx

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  8. Anonymous10:24 PM

    Congrats to Kim. Love your idea of not buying any new craft supplies, I need to do that too.
    Can't wait to enter (& win?) the next drawing!
    Happy Thursday.

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  9. I love, love, love the photos! What a nice surprise I received in the mail today. I feel like I won the prize : ) & what a beautiful life to celebrate, L is so special to us Mucha's! Thank you for sharing her day with us.

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  10. Oh Shona, your cards are beautiful with such wonderful photos - loved seeing the process step by step...
    Jenny

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  11. Anonymous1:36 PM

    congratulations, thien-kim...;)
    shona, these card are a brilliant idea...thanks!!!

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  12. Shona Thanks for the great idea! I would love to do that! This would go very good on my show and tell which I'm afraid has to get bumped to tomorrow due to doing Dad's paperwork today.

    I saw your photos of Cody last night..great work! So can I make an appointment for next year? Jacob is graduating then. :o)

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  13. love the way you used word to line up the pics! I made photo thank you cards last year for my daughter's bday, used a stamp and cut out a "talking bubble" so the words came out of her mouth. :)

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  14. Oh my goodness, Shona...you are just a non-stop-JEWEL-tree of information! How do you keep going with it all??

    Ok, I'd still love to win so will leave a comment for that purpose, but most importantly:

    THANK YOU. (Those cards are SO cute!!)

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  15. Being greedy and going for comment number two (of COURSE you are on my blogroll!). (See all of my sentiments to you on the previous post, you wonderful woman you.)

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  16. LOVE this!!
    Such a great shot!

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  17. Anonymous2:18 PM

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    http://www.BuySellDirect.net is the future of E-commerce to buy direct from the manufacturer and sell direct to consumers FREE. Their service is rock solid and most important 100% FREE

    ReplyDelete

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