Hand made cards

I am not an artsy craftsy person. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Michael's and A.C. Moore. I could spend hours looking at all of the cute scrap booking stickers, papers, embellishments, and pick out all of the most adorable items. But, when it comes to actual execution, sigh. I just don't have "it-" the it factor that many women have when it comes to scrapping or making crafty things. (Nor do I have the patience, steady hand or precision, but that's another story.) This applies to all areas. Case in point- I love, love, love to bake things, one because it's a stress reliever, and two, because I love giving sweet baked treats to loved ones. My sister-in-law also loves to cook and bake. She, however, turns it into an artistic feat. In fact, for Thanksgiving, she made turkey shaped cupcakes. The most adorable little cupcakes you've ever seen; they should've been in the window at some local bakery. My bakery creations, however, taste a LOT better than they tend to look. The sugar cookies I made last Christmas looked like they were decorated by my 3 year old niece, but they sure did taste yummy! Anyway, I recently participated in a hand made craft exchange. Don't ask me WHY I thought this was a good idea, cause I got nothin'. Actually, I think I was more focused on the cool hand made things I was going to get, rather than the fact that I, too, was responsible for making something hand made to exchange! Doh! I don't sew. I don't knit. Crochet? Nope. Needle point? Funny. But I do really love the scrap booking aisles at the craft stores, so I went looking for inspiration. I've had a little "success" at making cards for people. (read: I avoided making them look like my Aunt Mildred spilled her overstuffed-purse-full-of-stuff-only-old-ladies-carry-around on them.) So, I figured, what the heck. Here are a few of the results, pictured. I tried to keep them simple, because I do possess a gaudy, glitter loving gene that doesn't believe that "less is more" so I reeeeallly had to reign myself in. In all, I wasn't embarrassed by the finished products, and I hope the cards will be a blessing to those who received them. I enjoyed the process and it did end up being a healthy distraction and stress reliever. I plan on continuing this little hobby, and hopefully getting better at it!