Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Umbrella Card, Mail Box Card

These cute cards are fun to make with gel-pens or glitter glue. Children can use crayons and stickers. The above is an umbrella, suitable for any occasion.


I really enjoyed inventing this one. It is an old fashioned country mail box. You can use gel-pens to outline things in a contrasting color so that it shows up dramatically, or shiny glitter glue. On the lid of the mail box, write the name of the recipient in the same gel-pen or pen. The scribbles paint that I use is too messy for children and has a drying period. Gel pens work better for this. When cutting along the dotted line (see template papttern) be sure only to cut the top layer. Place the pattern on the fold, as shown.




Cut the template on the folded cardstock, then glue only a thin line inside the card, where you see the arrows, above. It forms a little pocket to put miniature mail in.



When the glue is dry and the pocket is formed, you can pull down the front of the mail box and see this cute mail.


This is a bit blurry but it shows a sample of the sweet little sayings or verses you could write or rubber-stamp inside the little letters.





This is the template pattern. Right click and save to your documents or pictures, then click "print" --or maybe you can click "print" directly from this page. Print it out and then glue the entire thing to cardboard. Cut out the pieces and use them to trace around on your good papers and cardstock. I have even included a little stamp and a rose to use as a sticker. I used it as the pull tab on the mail box cover. There are some little rain drops near the umbrella. If you did not want to cut out such small pieces, you could always use pre-cut raindrop stickers, or you could use your clear glitter glue to make them directly on the card.
I really hope you and your children have a lot of fun with these.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I am so glad to find your blog!! It looks like something I will really enjoy looking through! :)

Amanda

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your crafts some I hope to make to give to people in need. I intend to make treasure boxes from the many hot chocolate and cereal boxes we have. I look forward to seeing some of the sewing crafts that you spoke of in a previous post. I am making drawstring bags to send to Haiti and note keepers from placematts to send to project bean. God bless you.
Margaret really likes pearls.

Secondhand Blessings said...

These cards are adorable. Thank-you for sharing the templates too.
Brenda

Anonymous said...

Hello Lady Lydia,

I am a regular reader of your blog and a sometime commenter, but I decided to make this comment annonymous becuase of the private nature of it's contents. I apologize as this is not applicable to the current subject of htis post, but I wanted to share this with you all the same.

I know you have talked about the benefits of being in the home for women, especially during times like illness. I have often concurred with that as I still work part time (I do not yet have children) and often find it maddening when I am ill and have to run run run to catch up and feel guilty I can't be at work and go in anyway despite being sick, and housework gets behind, etc.

Well, today is the probably the worst day of my worklife ever. I am in the midst of a miscarriage, and while I did take two days off, I simply could not take any more days off, and despite the fact that it's still on going and very emotionally painful (as you can imagine) I simply could not ut off my work another day, as I work in accounts payable and there are people depending on me for getting paid. There is no one else in my business trained to do this, and so here I am, in the midst of probably the most trying time of my life, in the midst of the pain of losing a child that I have wanted desperately for years, and I'm sitting at a desk instead of at home. The joys of being a woman in the workplace! THis is what we've faught for, ladies.

I nearly had an anxiety attack when I cam into the office today, just at the thought of seeing so many people, and my boss who knows what's going on, and not wanting to do deal with it all. It's hard to focus, but focus I must, and get this job done. But I wanted to post this here as I know you often discuss these kinds of woes tat come with being a woman in the workforce, and please do feel free to post my story if it will help convince other woman who have an opportunity to stay home that they should (my husband has allowed me to cut back my hours, but is not yet ok with me not working at all until we have children).

Thanks for being a place I could vent a little of my frustration and pain today. God Bless you,

A sister in Christ

Lydia said...

Dear sister in Christ. Anywhere on this blog is the right place to make a comment.

I do sympathise completely. Are there not any men that can become familiar with accounts payable in companies? Are men so scarce that women must be brought from their homes and their sick beds to do the payroll? This is where men are really needed. They do get sick, too,but there must be several in a company capable of doing these things, so that women are free to go home.

If employers would say to the men: I will give priority to hiring men whose wives are at home. I will pay you what you both would earn in my company, and your wife can still stay home." there would be a greater motivation for women to stay home. Women ought to get a prize for staying away from the office and tending to matters at home, even if it is just to recover from illness or get more rest or just prepare the place for their husbands. Illness is certainly a good reason to stay away from work, and women need more care.

Stacy @ The Next-to-Nothing House said...

Dear Anonymous,

Lady Lydia expressed herself so beautifully that I have nothing to add, but to say that you are in my prayers.

lauraelizabeth4@outlook.com said...

We LOVE the mailbox idea - made it for my "secret sister" at church and put in a bunch of God's Promises for the "mail".

Also, Anonymous - we too are praying for you. The Lord is a strong tower and our refuge. I had the exact same experience before my children were born - in accounting, dealing with the loss of a baby. God is an ever present help in trouble...I pray that He will bring you peace.