Random Acts of Kindness 2013

January 7, 2013 | madebymamaleh | Posted in Gifts, Handmade Card, Misc, Random Acts | Tagged handmade card, mama elephant stamps, random acts of kindess

Happy New Year!

I am not really one for New Year’s resolutions. I generally take stock of the more serious stuff at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I am constantly trying to keep on track with Weight Watchers and the gym so there’s really no resolution to be had in that department either, I just keep on keepin’ on. Last year, my goal for the secular new year was to try one new recipe a week and give my neglected cookbook collection a workout. I tracked this for a while and then slowly stopped writing it down but did keep some of the momentum going throughout the year so overall I’d say it was a success.

As 2012 came to a close and I filled in my new birthday calendar (I printed out an awesome 11×17 one from Lemon Squeezy), I was originally thinking my goal for 2013 was simply to mail old-fashioned snail mail cards for people’s birthdays and anniversaries. It’d definitely be an improvement to the Facebook birthday wishes that everyone seems to have defaulted to these days but still, it’s sort of expected. So, I am upping the ante – not only will I remember these special days but I will also commit more simply random acts of kindness this year since the best cards or treats are the ones that are completely unexpected. A couple of months ago my friend Samantha sent me the cutest card just to say thanks for being her workout buddy and give me some encouragement – it made my day if not my week. So, for 2013, I want to spread some of that kindness and cheer.

For my first random act, I decided it was the perfect excuse to pull out my brand-new Cup of Wishes stamps by Mama Elephant.

I stamped the cup and tea bag on some animal print paper using my Versafine Onyx Black and then carefully cut it out. Then I stamped the Warm and Thoughts using VersaMagic Cloud White to get that steamy effect on a plum-colored A Muse notecard and rounded the corners. Then I attached the cup using foam squares and tied a little ribbon on the top. Now all I need to do is throw in a little Starbucks card (I still have a few of the Mini Moments cards that are perfect for this endeavor) and I am all set to commit random act #1. Now the only question is who will be the recipient…

What about you? Any resolutions or fun endeavors for 2013?

A Bat Mitzvah Card!

November 1, 2012 | madebymamaleh | Posted in Bat Mitzvah, Celebrations, Crafts, Handmade Card, Rubber Stamps | Tagged bat mitzvah, handmade card, rubber stamps

If you haven’t been following on Facebook, my crafting has been on hiatus lately thanks to my craft room reno. The reno is done and now I am slowly unpacking and organizing and getting ready for some serious holiday crafting (and some fun blog giveaways so stay tuned!)

Today I managed to squeeze in a little card since a friend was less than enthused about the bat mitzvah cards she found at the store and asked if I wanted to make one for her. I jumped at the chance and asked her to send me the invite as inspiration for the card. Here’s the invite:

I decided to use the glittery blue and green as a starting point but wanted something with some Jewish-ness to it too while still being youthful. Here’s what I came up with:

I cut a tall skinny size card that is one of my favorites at the moment (3 1/4″ by 6 1/4″) out of Bazzil cardstock (can’t remember the name, sorry). Then I stamped some Stars of David (this one is from a Jewish stamp set I bought forever ago) using VersaMagic CloudWhite. Next I punched some lime green flowers which I glued on and accented with True Blue Stickles. Then I cut and rounded a piece of white cardstock and stamped Mazel Tov from PTI in Grass by Fresh Ink and then gave it a little Firefly Stickles accent. Finally I lined the inside with more of the lime green cardstock and then paired it with one of my skinny Impress envelopes. Sorry it’s not the best pic – photographing cards is so tricky and I am still getting the hang of it especially now that sunshine has left us but hopefully you can get a sense of it.

New Year Cards!

October 6, 2012 | madebymamaleh | Posted in Handmade Card, Misc, Rosh Hashanah, Rubber Stamps

You know how folks typically get half-way through January guilt-ridden with having failed to send holiday cards? Well , that’s me this month of Tishrei. But, just like the fact you pretty much have all of January to say Happy New Year, the same goes for Tishrei and the entire period of time between Rosh Hashanah and Simchat Torah (and then some).

My friend Jona and I sat down with our kids well before the holidays started to make a few cards and I even managed to come home and finish mine which have now sat in a nice little stack since then. 🙂 Here was the scene in our kid-card-making chaos:

For my grown-up cards, I went with a honey theme and simple design with a little depth thanks to pop-up foam squares. With any luck, I’ll actually get them in the mail this weekend.

Honeycomb stamp by Impress; bee, beehive and L’Shanah Tova stamps by A Muse Art Stamps (retired)

Honeybear stamp by MOMR (Museum of Modern Rubber)

Did you make or send new year cards this year? Before I go, I just have to share with you Maggie’s brilliant idea for one of her cards.

I love it!

Shanah Tova! And, Happy World Card Making Day (today)!

Happy Shavuot to the Lactose Intolerant!

May 25, 2012 | madebymamaleh | Posted in Handmade Card, Shavuot | Tagged gift tag, handmade card, Shavuot

Chag Sameach! I thought I’d whip up a cute little tag in honor of Shavuot which begins Saturday night at sunset. Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai. Among all of the customs associated with the holiday, it is traditional to eat dairy foods which isn’t really working for me now that I am lactose intolerant. So, I thought even better, I’d attach my tag to a nice pint of coconut milk ice cream.

For the tag, I used some Stardream paper (sorry, I don’t remember the color, think it’s the bronze), punched out the tag using a punch, stamped the Torah and sentiment using a watermark pad (the Torah is from Paper Trey Ink Mazel Tov Stamp Set – one of the best Jewish sets out there; “Chag Sameach” (which translates to “joyous festival!”) sentiment from the Paper Trey Mazel Tov Additions set). After stamping them, I embossed them using some pearl embossing powder. I love how the combo turned out!