Saturday, February 20, 2010

With a cherry (blossom) on top

I very much like cherry blossoms. So much so that I have a tree blooming with them behind me at work. Mr. Woo even included a couple branches of blossoms with my Valentine's Day surprise last year. Unfortunately, I couldn't incorporate it into our winter wedding, but I did try.

It's exciting to find outlets for our likings, and when an opportunity came for me to create Valentine's Day cards I definitely went this route. I participated in a card swap this year. I was sent three names/addresses to send my cards to within a time frame, and then was to expect three Valentine's in the mail myself! I sat and pondered for some time, before I came up with the idea of mimicking my tree.

Part of my bargain-hunting is to dig through clearance items, even if I don't have a current need. I keep it in my stash, much like a squirrel I suppose, for a later purpose. So whenever I'm crafting, I'll look through what I have first, before going out to make a purchase (with coupon in hand). One of these items would be the card that I used as my base. It was a gray dictionary-like front and back with many words and definitions. To complement this word-y theme, I chose to include my own haiku on the inside as well (just like my wall!).

It wasn't difficult so much as tedious. It doesn't require much supplies, so I was able to use leftover materials from my wall.  Here's how I got it done in time:

Materials needed:
  • Card or cardstock
  • Pink tissue paper, various shades
  • Brown crafting paper (I used butcher paper)
  • Green construction paper
  • Glue
  • Patience and nimble fingers
Time: 25 minutes per card

Note: Finger tips may hurt from so much pinching.
  1. Start with a base, the card. If you can't find any with words on it, you can type/print it on or even use some stamp letters.
  2. With your brown paper, cut off a strip the size that you would want your tree trunk to be. Tip: Start with the width, then adjust the height (or vice versa). Also, you may want to crinkle your trunk to give it some interesting detail. Be careful not to rip it completely!
  3. After you "plant" your trunk onto the card with glue, cut off a few smaller strips of brown of various lengths. These will be your branches. While crinkling, try twisting off the ends of the branch for a less blunt end.
  4. Start planning where you want to place your branches. When you have made more, taken some out, and finalized the look of your tree glue them down.
  5. With the pink tissue papers rip off small pieces (cutting it off won't give much of the flower-y texture). Then crumble it up into a wad. If you're more meticulous, pinch tissue into a rosette-like pattern.
  6. Just like the branches, you can plan your placement of each blossom before gluing it down. Use 3 different shades for more "pop" and bloom them in clusters of 2 or 3.
  7. If you'd like you can add some fresh, green grass. I cut it in a zig-zag, angled patter to give more appeal. Add any adornment (and a haiku perhaps?) that you wish!

For the envelope, I took blue colored paper and use a die-cut. I folded along the creased edges (created from the die-cut) and glued it in place. To make it look more attractive I sealed the top fold of the envelope with pretty flower stickers instead. Ta-da!

You can now see it featured among some fabulous Valentines here!

Did you DIY any Valentine cards this year? :)

3 comments:

chris said...

Wow! You are SO creative. Your valentines look so prettiful! Unfortunately, no...I didn't make any personalized valentines this year (though I should have, and would very much have liked to - oh well, something to try next year...). Oh, and the additional embellishment of the haiku is a nice touch, too. So nice of you to go to so much trouble to craft such cards =) - sadly, you are a dying breed in this miasma of the modern monstrous mass-production mentality =(

Hannah said...

HAHAHA actually! David and I were very low-key for valentine's day this year. But while perusing valentine's day coloring sheets for AWANA, I found a really cute one of a little girl kissing a boy on the cheek. So for our valentine's day card to each other, we colored it in together. :D I colored in the boy... and David was supposed to finish the girl, but I have a feeling it's sitting on his desk unfinished.

I said "Yes" to Mr. Woo! said...

@Chris - Thanks! I felt like a schoolgirl again to trade V-Day cards. :)
@Hannah - That's cute! With these kinds of things (for most guys), you just have to do it right then and there. I don't think I made Mr. Woo a card this year... It was a busy week/weekend.