Be Thankful

Did everyone have a great holiday?? I have been so incredibly lazy these past couple of days. Working out this morning turned into a slow walk on the treadmill catching up on US Weekly...

I have, however, been busy working on some new wedding invitations I can't wait to share with you and lets not forget thank you cards! It's three days after Christmas so our grace period is officially over. Time to give thanks where thanks is due. Lucky for you I've added some new goods to the shop so hop on over and grab some thank you cards and get to writing!  

Say Thanks!

How was everyone's weekend?? Did you brave the real world and attempt any holiday shopping? The malls are OUT OF CONTROL. I used to consider myself a mall rat but whoa. Even I've been getting a little overwhelmed...

The only shops I will endure the crazies for are the paper stores. I headed out bright and early and hit up a few of my favorites and came home with some super fun stuff! I was really gravitating towards the pinks and blacks when I was shopping...not sure why that is but I LOVE how these simple thank you cards turned out! They're funky and colorful and a great mix of patterns. I added them to the Etsy shop so go grab them if you're in the market!

I know I promised you some more colored pencil creations and I WILL get them posted! I got distracted with the acrylic paints so you know how that goes...

Have a great week and make something pretty :)

Whoa...it's been way too long!! I promise I will never ditch you like this again. Except for maybe next week...I'm going to North Carolina for a wedding!! I promise I will come back with new inspiration though. 

Speaking of inspiration, I moved last week, hence the lack of new posts. Luckily the new home of "Richelle's Paperie" provides ALL KINDS of new scenery so I'm pretty excited about that. Lots of birds, lots of trees, oodles of dachshunds!! I'm in heaven.

Anyways, I got this owl stamp on sale at Michael's a couple of weeks ago and I swear I have been hearing owls in my sleep. He's been haunting my dreams so I knew I needed to get moving on making a card based around this little guy. 

My aunt is visiting and she actually gave me the inspiration for this design! In typical Richelle fashion, I had visions of doilies and burlap floating around my head but she is a teacher and she said that teachers are always getting surprise gifts from parents, students, etc. so they're always in need of thank you cards. She suggested something really simple that she can keep in her desk and grab in a hurry, yet something that still looks handmade and unique. Teachers are some of the craftiest people I know so it's only appropriate that their thank you cards reflect their style.

I stamped the brown owl on a crumpled paper bag and used this really neat floral paper from Michael's as a background. I used a "thank you" stamp in corresponding brown ink and there you have it! They are so simple, yet they have a little extra "oomp" that plain store bought cards do not have. 

I added them to my Etsy shop so go take a look! I'm also having a little summer sale on Etsy so if you're in the market for some cards they are all 50% off! All of this sweet, sweet sunshine called for a sale! 

This must be the week of good manners! Everyone seems to be wanting thank you cards lately. Well, I am more than happy to oblige. 

I was about to extend my "recycle your resources" lesson but lucky for you I got a new idea to share. :) I decided to use one of my favorite embellishments: burlap! I am OBSESSED with braiding it. You should try it. All you do is get a piece of burlap at the fabric store (I got mine at JoAnns) and you can pull it apart and do all sorts of fun stuff with it. I have a whole list of ideas to try out...

Anyways, I made a nice messy braid and used it to border the patterned paper against the kraft and finally finished it off with a rustic "thank you" stamp. Super easy and customizable. Don't forget your "P's" and "Q's."

I think a big part of being a good crafter is learning how to use your resources and stretch your materials. There really is soooooo much you can do with what you have, you just have to try new stuff out! 

I received an order for some thank you cards and got my favorite design stipulation of "make whatever you want" so I recycled one of my favorite stamps and kept it rustic with a bit of a pop. 

It's always so hard to see in the picture but this is the same stamp I used for one of my invitation suites but instead of using brown ink I used hot pink embossing powder! The pattern looks awesome in real life and is subtle with a great contrast against the kraft paper. I stamped the heart on a crumpled brown paper bag and then added a burlap bow. Here's a hint: I only glue random areas of the heart to keep it from lying flush against the card. You know how I feel about flat. :)

I recently received an order for some Thank You cards and how convenient is it that I just got all that cool paper from Cost Plus I was telling you about last week?!

I made a set of six, two of each design, and not only do they look beautiful but they were seriously so easy to make! I contemplated adding some burlap or another embellishment to them but the paper really speaks for itself so I let it! 

They are so striking in real life. I think I'm going to experiment with tissue paper next! As always, I will keep you posted. :)

Lately it seems like I have been eating, breathing and dreaming wedding invitations. They have definitely taken over my creative life in a very positive way!

Anyways, I was at Cost Plus World Market today seeing if I could pick up any new inspirations and I found this beautiful paper! Isn't it amazing? The contrast between the teal and brown is so rich. I've been really inspired by bright colors and big patterns lately. 

As I've been working on my invite designs, I've also realized that I love working with paper bags so I think you're going to be seeing quite a bit more of them :) I think they add that extra handmade feel that you don't get from plain, flat paper. Granted it smells like it might catch on fire when I'm using the embossing heat gun, but the finished product is totally worth it.

I picked up some other great papers today so keep watching for some new paper good creations! 

I love making cards for my friends because they give me so much freedom to do what i want, and i get to add a little bit of their personality to the designs as well!

one of my best friends asked for an assortment of cards: thank you, "i'm sorry," just because...

I included some oldies but goodies in her set and also created a few new ones! The "you're the best" card is one of my new favorites! I laughed when she requested an "i'm sorry" card (and didn't ask for further details) and decided to take a happier approach on the message.

I definitely think the recipient will forgive her after getting that card. :)

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday and spending some much needed time relaxing and with family!

I had an absolutely wonderful Christmas and I can't wait to send out these thank you cards to show my gratitude for all the amazing people in my life.

If you're in need of some thank you cards as well, just let me know and i would be more than happy to make you some! I can do any paper, color scheme, ribbon color, ect. that you would like!

They're 5" x 3" so they're the perfect size to express your appreciation for all the great gifts, meals, love and attention you received this weekend. And before and after as well :)

Everyone will have a favorite :)

These were so fun to make and I can't wait for the wedding!!!!

As promised, here is the finished thank you card that my best friend chose! Well, one of them at least. She asked me to make an assortment of different colors so I had a great time picking out paper and ribbon for this project.

This is one of my favorites so I thought it deserved a close up, but I'll post a photo of all the different colors as well.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I only glued down the center part of the ribbon and the very center of the flower so it doesn't lie flat on the card. You know how much I hate that :)

Speaking of thank you cards, my beautiful best friend Elizabeth is getting married next year and she asked me to make some thank you cards for her engagement presents!

Sooooooo excited for her and soooooo happy to do these! I gave her some options to choose from, including the one to the left, but you'll have to wait to see what design she ultimately chose...I'm almost finished with them and I'm sure she's going to love them! :)

And here's the "boy" version!

Even though the only baby in my life is my sweet dachshund Rudy, I saw this stamp and got a great idea to make thank you cards for new parents!

I made this one with a baby girl in mind but I also made a "boy" one that I'll post next.

This card is great because I can easily replace the "Thank You!" with the baby's name to use for an announcement or the words "You're Invited" for a shower. Lots of options!