Introducing Mother

Mother.  Someone who we can turn to for advice and count on no matter what .  One of the few people who has know you your entire life.  The annual holiday set aside to observe this important person in our lives is right around the corner, May 10th to be exact.  In order to make this the most memorable Mother's Day yet, for both you and your own mother, myself along with our incredibly talented design team have put together THE best collection of homemade gifts from the heart.  All of which use our NEW Mother stamp set.  A bit further down this post, keep your eye out for the FREE download that includes complete supply lists, instructions and full-color photographs of all eleven of the gifts mentioned by the team today.

Want to know the BEST part about today's presentation?  I know the economy is hitting a lot of folks hard right now.  Everyone's trying to make a dollar stretch as far as possible as the price of necessities seems to increase overnight.  Isn't this the PERFECT opportunity to create gifts that are inexpensive to the pocketbook, but extravagant when it comes to meaning and gratitude? 

Almost all of the gifts that the team and I have created

would cost less than $15 to put together!

Talk about a bargain!  I can guarantee you that the recipient would prefer it over a new purse or a gift certificate to a spa ANY DAY!  So, what are you waiting for!  We are giving you plenty of notice!  Start planning now for what you would like to create for Mom!  Just you wait and see how good it feels to give a gift from the heart!

Before I get to the rest of the team's presentations, I wanted to share my personal project with you.  When the idea for this gift came to me, I was SO excited to execute it!  It was fun, easy and will surely serve as a very memorable mother's day gift for my mom.

To begin, you will need one of our clear top nugget tins, spring moss Bitty Dot Basics paper (cut to 3.25" x 5") and four photos that are cropped to measure about 2" x 1.25".

Adhere the photos to the spring moss paper.  Apply Scor-tape around the outside edge of the clear window on the top of the tin lid.

Adhere the photo mat FACE DOWN on the top of the lid.  The end result will be your photos peeking though the interior of the lid.

Next, you want to create a pretty top for the tin.  I found that if you cut your cardstock down to EXACTLY 3-7/16" x 5-5/16" and round the four corners with a corner rounder punch it will fit perfectly.  I love this sentiment from my new Mother stamp set,

"Everything I am today, I owe to you because your love showed me the way." 

This is exactly how I feel about my mother, so I knew this would be the perfect phrase to use.

I adhered the completed piece to the lid of the tin with Scor-tape, just so I know it isn't going anywhere.  It's definitely a good idea to do all of your embellishing and stamping for the topper before you adhere it in place.  Just makes everything easier!

I wanted to put some pretty little feet onto the tin and decided to do so with beads.  You could easily just glue four beads to the bottom of the tin, but I decided to take it up a notch and add a decorative silver bead as well.  After some brainstorming as to the best way to attach them, it occurred to me that these headpins I normally use for making my own stick pins, were the PERFECT solution.

I turned the tin over and pierced one hole in each of the four corners of the tin bottom.  I used a paper piercer to do this.  A few light taps with a hammer allowed it to go through the tin bottom easily.

After adding the beads to all four headpins, I simply inserted them through each of the holes I just pierced, folding the end of the headpin down so that it was flat against the tin bottom.  I used strong tape to hold down these ends.

The finished bottom looks like this.  It is amazing how a small, quick & easy addition like these beaded legs really dress up an ordinary tin!

In case you were wondering what my vision was at this point, I wanted to create a jewelry box.  To continue, every jewelry box needs dividers.  I designed some super easy-to-use dividers for our nugget tins for Christmas a few months ago. 

You can go HERE to see the original post and complete directions on how to assemble the dividers.

Or, you can just go directly  HERE to download the FREE template!

I began by printing the template onto a piece of Stamper's Select White cardstock.  I then used Heat-n-Bond iron-on adhesive to attach some pretty cotton fabric to the WRONG SIDE of the template.  (I used a quilter's grade cotton and it worked beautifully.  I'm not sure how other fabrics would work for this particular project, but I would love to hear from you if you try something else that works well too!)  I was REALLY impressed with how well this technique worked and look forward to making more "fabric" paper in the future!  Look out Amy Butler! *wink*

I then flipped the cardstock over to the RIGHT SIDE of the template, with all of the printing, and cut out the divider pieces using a craft knife and ruler. I scored on the appropriate score lines using my Scor-Pal, just as I would if there weren't any fabric on the opposite side.  I folded them according to the original instructions and was thrilled with how well the fabric took the folds!

Here is the tin with the fabric cardstock dividers officially added.  I just LOVE how it turned out!  The addition of fabric really helps to make the tin feel more sophisticated and inviting.  I'm sure you noticed the addition of the decorative metal piece on the front, too.  It is just a little something from my stash, but I did find a source for similar bits and pieces that you can check out HERE.  The piece was adhered  in place with just a few small dabs of Gorilla Glue.

So this means the jewelry box was complete!  Although… shouldn't there REALLY be a sentimental piece of jewelry to put inside…

This is a bracelet and accompanying poem that I wrote, inspired by other "color symbolism" bracelets I have seen around the web. 

You can download a copy of the poem here…
Download Colors of Mother Poem

I picked out beads for the bracelet based on the colors listed in the poem.  After a bit of bead play, I found an arrangement I liked. 

The poem is designed to be trimmed and rolled into a scroll that will fit in the long compartment in inside the jewelry box.  I love the idea of my mom using this small tin as her *everyday* jewelry box.  Perhaps kept on her bedside table to put her jewelry in as she prepares for bed each night.  It warms my heart to think about her reading the special message on the lid each night, and then seeing all of the special photos inside as she tucks her jewelry away.  I think it will really be something that she cherishes for years to come.

I decided to create a card to go along with my jewelry box, and of course the two need to coordinate!  I used the flourished "Mother" image in the lower corner of the card, flanked by another one of my favorite sentiments from the set.

"I never knew the depths of your love until I became a parent myself." 

Don't you just LOVE that Mother image!  I think it has such a pretty flourish to it!  Because it it still maintains "clean" lines it can go from vintage elegance to understated simplicity with just a few changes in color and embellishment choices!

One of my favorite details is the leftover fabric cardstock strip I added to run down the center of the card.  It was a great way to use up a leftover scrap and help to integrate the two projects together.

Here's shot of the completed ensemble.I'm just over the moon with how it all turned out and I hope you feel as though this is something you could easily  recreate on your own after all these detailed instructions!

So now it's on to the rest of the team! To help you execute all of the design team's projects, I have compiled a thorough pdf that you can download and keep on hand as an easy reference.  You can download it here…

Download Thrifty Gifting- Celebrating Mother

Now for a run down of the other contributions!  Click on each individuals name to link to their Mother's Day creations!

• Geny Cassady
• Niki Estes
• Lisa Johnson
• Dawn McVey
• Lauren Meader
• Heather Nichols
• Becky Oehlers
• Debbie Olson
• Melissa Phillips
• Betsy Veldman
• Michelle Wooderson

Aren't you just SO excited to get your hands on this new set and create your own gift for mom!  I am
anxious to see what all of YOU create with it once it arrives at your
doorstep!  One lucky winner will have the set arrive FREE of charge!!!  Let us know which gift from the team is something you plan on making this year!  Or perhaps one of the sentiments you saw from the new sentiment tugged at your heartstrings?

One comment will be chosen randomly to win a copy of this all-new Mother stamp set!

The
Fine Print: Only one comment per person please.  Contest will close at
9am EST, Wednesday March 14th.  Winner will be announced by noon EST HERE, on our official March Release Prize Page. Winner will be responsible for contacting Customer Service to claim prize.

Melissa Bickford has a few more things to inspire you using Wishing You!

Stamps: Mother (available March 15th)

Ink: Fresh Snow

Paper: spring moss, ocean tides, aqua mist, Bitty Dot Basics (spring moss)

Other: vintage cream buttons, clear top nugget tin, hydrangea flowers from Prima, beads (for legs) and 21 gauge (.028") headpins, decorative metal hardware (substitutes can be found at Nunn Designs), paper piercer & hammer, fabric for lining, scalloped scissors from Paper Studio, Scor-tape, Heat-n-Bond Iron-On adhesive sheet & iron, corner rounder punch (Fiskars), Leafy Branch Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), sewing machine

Finished Card Size: 5" x 5.5"