English bulldog greeting card

My neighbor recently gifted me an old Cricut machine--the Expression 2 model, to be exact, because she bought the Explore and no longer needed this one. It's probably one of the most generous gifts I've ever received! Having used a Silhouette machine before, the Cricut Expression 2 is less flexible because it's only compatible with Craft Room software, which requires that you buy the whole set of images in each cartridge (about $10 per set). Whereas Design Space, which is compatible with the newest Cricut model, Explore, allows you to just buy single images (99 cents) and to create your own too. In any case, I'm happy to have any paper-cutting machine to cut out intricate designs like the bulldog below!

My coworker asked me to make this card for her sister, whose English bulldog recently passed away. While Googling images of English bulldogs, I came across really adorable pictures of baby English bulldogs! Only bulldogs can make wrinkles look so cute.

Twine-wrapped monogram door wreath

It's been awhile since I've posted! With Andrew on an away rotation for his residency, it's actually been harder to stay motivated, eat something besides frozen pizza for dinner, exercise and blog more regularly. This past week my neighbor took me under her wing and taught me how to knit and how to make organize handmade soap. That gave me the little kick I needed to get going on some craft projects! P.S. I now have newfound respect for anyone who knits because it took me FOREVER to knit 4 rows...

I recently made a twine-wrapped monogram wreath for a friend who just bought a new house. Surprisingly, wrapping the twine around the cardboard took longer than I expected. I finished playing 3 Settlers games while hot-gluing the twine to the letter. My husband pointed out that I trailed small bits of dried hot glue all over the Settlers game pieces. Oops. And sometimes I was in the middle of wrapping the twine, when it was my turn to roll the dice for my turn. Needless to say, Andrew ended up rolling the dice a lot for me.

Click below for the tutorial for the twine-wrapped monogram!

Embroidery hoop & modern calligraphy

I finally took the leap and tried embroidery + handlettering as a Christmas gift for my friend K, who teaches workshops on mindful brushlettering.

 I was worried that the letters would turn out all shaky or crooked but am pleased with the final result! K had mentioned that the combination of embroidery with calligraphy has been a rising trend this year. I've been practicing brushlettering with brushes, Tombow dual pens, and Daiso pens recently, and Andrew also gifted me with this calligraphy set that I'm excited to try out soon.

 Mindfulness is a practiced discipline of just noticing and describing events so as to process them more carefully instead of automatically repeating a script or mantra. The Mindful Brain, by Dan Siegel

Click below for the tutorial!

Personalized wood slice ornaments with calligraphy

Now that I've given all my Christmas gifts away, I can finally post them up here! When I asked my sister what she wanted for Christmas, she told me, "anything you make!" She is my biggest fan and I love her for it! I decided to make her a personalized wood slice ornament because she really liked the monogram wood slice coasters I made for my brother-in-law.

I also made my friends a personalized ornament for their first Christmas together as a married couple.

For my friend's daughter. They ended up using this to label the door to her nursery!

Click below for the tutorial!

Quilled Christmas tree card

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

My friend Steven has a delightful family tradition where his entire family brings the Christmas cards they received each winter and vote on the best Christmas card. They give out prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and the kids get to vote too! I entered the contest a few years ago and ended up winning 2nd place with this quilled Christmas tree card.

Yes there's a little hidden treble clef in there ;)

May you and your families have a joyful Christmas season!

Quilled flower wreath and pink and gold glam birthday cards

Birthday cards galore! K requested a bright card with red flowers for her mom, and a pink and gold card for her niece, whose recent 1-year-old photoshoot had lots of adorable glam elements.

Materials used: chipboard letters, baker's twine (DIY'd with yarn and a power drill), cardstock, alphabet stamps (similar), and glitter washi tape (exact).

Materials used: paper, paper, and glue 

Pop-up typewriter birthday card and quilled cat bridal shower card

Last month I visited my little sister in San Francisco and we discovered a pop-up Golden Gate Bridge greeting card in a gift shop near Lands' End, one of my favorite places in SF. She immediately turned to me and said, "Make this!" So when I saw this pop-up card tutorial, I knew she would love it for her birthday card! 

In other news, this past week my friend Kristin ordered a custom card from me for a bridal shower. Her requests for the card were to include a monogram and cats. I used to make lots of animal-themed cards for a florist shop in Saint Louis and cats are one of my favorite things to quill.