Making a greeting card from scratch - involves sewing a button...

Well, this post at least involves sewing, as far as sewing a button goes.
Since there is not much time to sew I try to use my creative energy for other things. I made this card to send to our friends who just became parents of a baby boy.
There seems to be a baby boom amongst our friends and colleagues. I was bored with the store bought, expensive cards and wanted to find a way to produce a lot of pretty, but not too expensive cards to send. Something pretty, different and suited for both baby boys and girls. So I came up with these. By using two buttons it can even be used for twins.
(I've done the outlines almost free-handed, but made up a neat PDF pattern for the stroller and the heart. Scroll down to download it)

Materials needed: 
- a set of blank greeting cards with envelopes (doesn't have to be the best quality since they will be covered with wallpaper which gives more thickness)
- structured wallpaper (is much cheaper than structured craft paper!)
- gift wrapping paper (I've got one with small red and blue flowers)
- a thin, brown cardboard box (I picked up mine at the greenery)
- cute small buttons - pink or blue
- a thicker white or other colored thread
- double sided tape
- craft glue

How to:
- cut a stroke of the wallpaper that measures the height of the card. Then fold and tear the shorter sides to size
- glue the wallpaper to the outside of the card
- cut the outlines of the stroller from the gift wrapping paper and glue it onto the wallpaper
- cut the heart from the cardboard
- using a needle sew the blue or pink button onto the heart with the thread (the ends can be left as they are)
- attach the heart on top of the stroller with double sided tape
- done!

 



To download the stroller and heart outlines click on the arrow next to 'Scribd.' below:

Welcome Baby Card by doortje05

Dirty hands

Last week in a hurry we've managed to finish the downstairs toilet and the kitchen floor just in time! Yesterday I've done a morning shift in the hospital and after that I have crawled on my hands and knees on the floor for 4 hours to grout the kitchen tiles... Mr. X was very motivated to finish everything but all I wanted is to get some rest. My hands were swollen and dirty, pfffff.....
The toilet is not fully ready though, only the back wall is finished for 80%. I still have to grout the side walls, but you get the idea. Love the little black row of tiles!



Here is what the kitchen floor looked like today in the morning. We used dark grey grouting, hence my dirty looking hands in the first picture. I quickly cleaned everything one more time before the kitchen-guy got started:



And here it is, our 50's style 'Piet Zwart' kitchen! Actually, this design was the standard kitchen from the late 20's till the '60's in every Dutch home. We choose a brand new one. There is one kitchen maker who currently holds the licenses since most parts are handmade and painted in one particular fabric in the country. The sizing of these cabinets is still different from the standard sizing of the other cabinets, but everything is modified to fit built-in appliances, which was not the case 60-70 years ago.  I love the pale pastel green color!!!
(For once, after a bit of cleaning I don't have to do anything here today, just watch someone else doing the hard work! In the evening I start again with 4 nightshifts in a row, so that's enough for now.)

 

Work (still) in progress in the house

The downstairs toilet gets more and more a finished look! I'm really happy with the vintage styled black border and the small, rectangular wall tiles.

In the meantime: a before and after of the same kitchen wall. The kitchen is coming next week, the floor tiles still needs to be placed.





At last, the first sign of  spring in the  new garden (and it's snowing again...) We are having an unusual long and cold winter here.

Tiles

 

  

This week we made a start with finishing the downstairs toilet and the bathroom upstairs. (Yes, that's me on the first picture) We choose 50's style tiles for the toilet. On the right the bathroom - left the shower cabine and right the toilet with the same niches as downstairs. (although different tiles, a bit more modern)
It's nice to see the rows of tiles growing every day!

New retro envelop patterns from Burda

   

Back in october I wrote about the Burda retro patterns. The new retro patterns from the 2013 spring collection are all in 60's style.
The 60's are not my favorite fashion period. With a broad upper back and a swayback the shapeless dresses with no darts gain some kind of pregnancy charm which I'd rather like to avoid. I still love the two patterns above, especially with the addition of a jacket and a cape which are shaped with shoulder darts, something I miss on the modern patterns. Since these patterns aren't expensive they are on my list to buy. (It's a pity the dress pattern with the jacket starts at size 12)

House to sell

Interior of our house - the other one, which we still need to sell.

2012 review?

I didn't do much sewing this year, did I? Still managed to be a pattern tester for the Sewaholic Cambie dress and made up a Renfrew top and a cloche hat. Still didn't finish the brown Burda top though...
In the meantime a lot happened. It was probably one of the busiest years of my life until now!

Back in january I've got a new job, started with a new BA course, in june we've bought a house, in october I've got diagnosed with Graves' disease (a thyroid disorder) after everyoe thought I was having some kind of nervous brake down... I felt terrible. By the end of the year I've decided to quit both my job and the BA course and go back to my old job. I'm now on medication. After months of feeling exhausted, gaining weight and feeling completely worthless (partly because of a necessary combination of two medicines) I'm feeling much better now! I have more energy, start to feel like I was 'before'. I started running again, we're trying to finish the remodeling in the house by the end of february and hope to pick up sewing by that time as well!

Sewing plans 2013:
1. There are two patterns I'd like to start with, the Sewaholic Alma blouse and the Sewaholic pants. I like the clean lines and great fit of the Sewaholic patterns!

   

2. I'd really like to make a suit jacket. With a swayback and a broad upper back it is not easy to find good fitting ones. One of these would do the trick:
A vintage vogue re-edition (2885) and a vintage inspired Burda 7173.

 

3. Since I love dresses I already had plans to make up these dresses (Simplicity 2145 and Vogue 1224) Both are patterns from the past years and both are for knits:

  

Of course, there is a lot more I'd like to make! I keep collecting inspirational pics of dresses and fabrics...