Janet's Smiles

We begin week two of the A to Z Challenge with the letter G.  I am using it to show my Gift Card Holders.  Giving someone a gift card to Starbucks or really anywhere has become a normal thing to do nowadays.  When I worked at Michaels whenever someone bought a gift card they asked if we had holders for them.  We didn’t always.

Here are some examples of a few different types I’ve made:

Around Christmas time I made these cute ones.  As you can see, there is a brad holding the top on and if you swivel it, you can slip a gift card in the pocket.

The slider cards are not in the Etsy site at the moment since Christmas has passed but I will be making more of them for baby gifts and birthday gifts so stay tuned!

For birthdays, I made some in the shape of cakes and ice cream cones:

I just realized that these could even be used for wedding gifts.  I would leave off the candle and add another layer to the cake part or put a wedding topper on instead of the candle.  Watch for something like that to show up too! 

And for those people who give Starbucks cards, there are some in the shape of mugs:

All of these have special envelopes that I have made out of coordinating papers.  They can also be custom made if you like particular colors or want something stamped on the front. 

Hopefully you are enjoying these examples of the different things you can do with card making.  I know I am enjoying visiting all kinds of interesting bloggers during this challenge. 

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-g-is-for-gift.html
via IFTTT

Jim has given us the words Burn/Fire/Flame for our #SLS challenge this week.  I am working on the A to Z Challenge and so this is a short one and it is very late as we went to the San Francisco Giants game today. 

Nickelback is a band that gets some bad publicity occasionally.  I don’t like all their songs but we did go to see them in concert and this is a video I took of their song, Burn It To The Ground:

Lyrics:

Hope you all had a happy Sunday. 

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/song-lyric-sunday-4719-burn.html
via IFTTT

We’ve made it through one week in the A to Z Challenge!  Fortunately I have been able to keep up and tomorrow I’ll have all day to prep for next week and hopefully beyond.  At least I have some idea of what I’m doing for the rest of the letters, except for a few.

Today’s example from my card making file is Feathers.  This first one is to encourage a friend who may be having some hard times.  “Don’t let life ruffle your feathers” it says on the outside.  There are several different types of feathers on the front of the card and the inside has more. 

And the envelope.  I really have to work on the lighting I have in the new studio if I’m going to be taking pictures.  They come out too dark.  I am using my phone because it takes the best close up pictures but I can see some experimenting is in order.

The second example is a birthday card.  A little different with the types of feathers, all of which are made from paper. 

The inside and the envelope.

Aren’t they fab?  Please take a minute to visit my Etsy shop.  The pictures there are much better, at least for now.  Click on the links above.  Visit the other A to Z’ers and congratulate them on the week.  Thanks to Linda for giving us an “F” word (fab) for the #SoCS! 

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-f-is-for-feathers.html
via IFTTT

As part of the A to Z challenge this year I am going through my repertoire of cards, mini-albums and other paper crafts that I create. 

Today is the letter E and in my case E is for Easel.  These cards are normal appearing at first.  The front has a large focal point and the inside has a message that is propped up on foam tape to make it pop up…   

Here’s another example.

Of course they both have envelopes that match.

And there are a couple of other ones on the Etsy site. 

Have a look at some of the other participants in the A to Z challenge and come back tomorrow for the letter “F”!

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-e-is-for-easel.html
via IFTTT

“Mistaken Identity Crisis” is available for preorder on Amazon

You can read more about James at his website:

 https://jamesjcudney.com

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/cover-reveal-mistaken-identity-crisis.html

via IFTTT

Making my way through the alphabet with the cards and crafts that I make, today is D for Duckie.

A bunch of yellow ducks adorn the front of this card made to celebrate the birth of a baby in the family.  I really like the colors and they could be for either a boy or a girl, although truthfully I think boy when I see it.  Is that gender typing?                                                                                                                   

As always room to write inside and the envelope has a boat to match.

Simple one today.  Trying my best to keep up until I have some time on the weekend.  Check the Etsy site to see more pictures.  Make sure to catch up with others on the A to Z train and come back tomorrow for “E.”

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-d-is-for-duckie.html
via IFTTT

Hey there A to Z’ers!  “C” is for castle and today I have two castle cards to show you.

One is in the shape of a castle.  There is a little brad as a doorknob.  The inside shows a cute little princess and the cut out opens so you can write a secret message behind her.

Lighting for special effects – LOL

The second one shows the castle in the background and a carriage on the front which holds the card closed.

A crown adorns one corner of the message and the envelope has some purple sparkle tape on it and some paper that matches the inside.

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-c-is-for-castle.html
via IFTTT

I’m going to start this one out by saying that I am bilingual – meaning I am creating my posts on Blogger but they are “simulcast” on Word Press thanks to the IFTTT applet which John Holton, one of the A to Z team leaders taught me about.  John’s a wealth of technical info!  Of course I don’t expect people to leave a comment on both platforms, just trying to reach as many people as I can.

And now we move on to the letter “B.”  Backpack.  I never gave my kids cards to start the school year off but I did try to take a 1st Day of School picture each year for their scrapbooks.  I’ll bet they would have rather gotten a card with some money in it.

I think this one turned out kind of cute with the little handle and buckles.  The big pencil brad jumps right out at you too.

Another big brad on the inside but there is still room to write a message if you want.  During back to school night I used to leave messages in the kid’s desks encouraging them for the year ahead.  A card like this would have been nice to put in there.  I’m sure they would have been the envy of all their friends! 

The envelope has pencils down one side.

Maybe the grandparents who got the card from yesterday’s post would send a card like this to their deserving grandchildren on the first day of school.  Maybe it would have a gift card in it to Office Depot or to Barnes and Noble.  Just in case you’d like to do that, you can find this card in my Etsy shop as well!

That’s B for you.  Make sure to visit some of the other A to Z’ers and come back tomorrow for the letter “C”.

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-b-is-for-backpack.html
via IFTTT

I am SO not ready yet but here goes…This is the 10th Anniversary of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge which was started by Arlee Bird.  It has grown more than he imagined I bet.  I am happy to be a participant on this special occasion.  Thanks again, Arlee!

I mentioned in my theme reveal that I was going to showcase some of the cards and other paper crafting I do and I am very excited to be able to work in my new studio!  Since I just finished a major undertaking with the Sketchbook Project, my first few letters will probably be of things I have already made but I am hoping that at some point during this month I’ll be giving you a peak at my creative process as well.  There may be some familiar things but I’m also showing cards that are a bit unique.

Without further ado, here is my offering for the letter “A”:

I am not sure how many people know about “Grandparents Day.”  I don’t have living grandparents but my kids do and I was never very good about reminding them to send a card.  This one has lots of detail with a huge A+ brad in the center and string running around the front of the focal point.  It is up on foam dots to make it stand out as well.

A+ for you

The inside says that great parents get promoted to grandparents.  Pretty sure some “not so great” parents get to be grandparents too but that’s neither here nor there.  Still, it’s a nice sentiment, don’t you think?  The inside has plenty of room for you to write a personal message. 

All my cards come with hand made matching envelopes.  This one has bits of paper from the card.  I think it adds something that you are not going to find in most card stores.   

 Grandparents Day is September 8 this year, just in case you want to be prepared to send a card to yours.  You can find this card in my Etsy shop if you are interested.

Make sure to visit some of the other A to Z’ers and show a little love.  Stay tuned for “B” tomorrow.

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-to-z-challenge-2019-is-for-a.html
via IFTTT

I want to thank everyone who came by my blog and commented or liked my showcase of things found at a Michaels Arts and Crafts store last month.  I was pleased to be able to finish the challenge on time this year and it was a lot of fun.  I was also a little afraid that it would be boring but it seems to have sparked some inspiration in a few people to check their local Michaels for things they would not have done before.  Now if I can just get Michaels to give me a kickback, it would be perfect, right?

In case you missed an installment or want to see something again, here is a recap of my Blogging from A to Z  of Michaels Arts and Crafts store:

A – App
B – Baking
C – Candles and Clearance
D – Drawing
E – Events and Classes
F – Floral
G – Glitter and Glue
H – Home Decor
I – Iron On
J – Jewelry
K – Kids
L – Lighting and Liquitex
M – Miniatures and Missions
N – Necklace holders and needlework
O – Organization
P – Picture frames
Q – Q-Line
R – Ribbons and Rocks
S – Scrapbooking
T – T-shirts
U – Unique and Unusual
V – Velcro and Vases
W – Wedding and Washi tape
X – X-treme, X-acto and X-tras
Y – Yarn
Z – Zentangle, Zippers and Zots

In addition to my recap, I have to put a shout out to several new people I met along the A to Z this year:

Leanne from Cresting the Hill – She blogs about midlife and the empty nest.
Wendy at Wendy’s Waffle – She wrote about sports, the usual and the unusual.
Trudy at Reel Focus – She had a great movie game where you were to guess the title from the tagline.
Deena at Deena’s Days – She was great with Elvis as her theme.
Sue at Sue’s Trifles – Her A to Z was about occupations.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco at Everyone Has a Story – I thought I knew a thing or two about Nancy Drew until I started reading her A to Z.

My friends from previous years:

Jacqui Murray at WordDreams who talked about the different genres in writing.  Jacqui, in addition to being the inspiration for my A to Z theme, was also the 100th follower of my blog!  Thanks Jacqui!

Patti at Scarlett 79 who shared great movie quotes.
Erika at Dorky Mom Doodles who doodled her way through her past.
Cathy at Curious as a Cathy who used her iPad to create some really neat sketches.
Iain Kelly at Iain Kelly Writing who took us on a trip through Europe.
Deborah Weber who gave us wonderful new words to learn in her manifesto.
Joe Owens at Fiction Playground who wrote a great detective story.

and we can’t forget the founder of the A to Z and his wonderful assistants:

Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out who talked about cleaning the clutter.
John Holton at The Sound of One Hand Typing who played his word games again.
J. Lenni Dorner at Blog of Author J Lenni Dorner who once again gave us a thrilling tale of speculative fiction story of life on another planet.

If I’ve left anyone off my list, it was not intentional.  There were hundreds of participants again this year and while there were a few minor glitches with linking some of the days, all in all I thought things went very smoothly.  Of course you can’t visit everyone every day and there are probably many more blogs I would have enjoyed reading so I’m thankful the lists are still available.  There is also the Road Trip starting on May 23 which should be fun.

Just a couple of things I tried this year and felt that they really helped was to get a draft post started for each letter, even if I didn’t have the pictures or even the writing done.  There are a few paragraphs at the beginning and the end of every post that were the same so by having those things in place at the start made it much easier when I got down to putting the pictures in and writing the story.  The next thing was to start this recap post at the beginning of the challenge as well and then each day after I officially posted my letter, I would link it here that way once the challenge was done, all my links would be ready and I would just need to add the fluff.  It was also nice to see the number of draft posts I had start to decrease as the days went on.  When I was down to 3 to 4 drafts left I knew I was gonna make it!

Did you have a good time with the A to Z?  Do you have your theme for next year yet?  Any bloggers out there I should immediately go check out?  Any tips you want to share?  Let me know.

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2018/05/blogging-from-to-z-2018-reflections.html
via IFTTT