Hello crafters! Jennifer here, with a super sweet, yellow and pink baby card that I made for a friend's baby shower this month.
I decided to use some printed punch outs from an old Close to My Heart kit, as well as
*Printed and solid card stocks
*Blank card and envelope
*Helmar Quick-Fix Permanent Adhesive Runner
*Helmar ZapDots
*Helmar Tacky Craft Glue
*Ribbon and twine
*Buttons
*Pens
After trimming all the extra white edges off my punch-outs and trimming my papers to size, I planned out my general arrangement to make sure I'd have enough room for everything and wouldn't run into problems once I had the adhesives out!
In general, I like "dry" adhesives for paper-to-paper applications, so the Helmar Quick-Fix Permanent Adhesive Runner does a fabulous job of attaching the flat paper items to the card front.
To add some interest to the b-a-b-y block images, I added Helmar ZapDots to the two B blocks.
To amp up the sweetness of the card (because I know the recipient just can't get enough of it!) I added buttons tied with twine to the buggy wheels and a couple more buttons with ribbon bows tied on (tip: slip the bow or ribbon through the loop of twine on the back of the button before tying the twine snug for a more secure fit). To attach them to the card I trust Helmar Tacky Craft Glue to do the job.
I returned to the Helmar Quick-Fix Permanent Adhesive Runner to affix two pieces of card stock and another trimmed punch-out to the inside of the card–nothing bulky to keep the card from closing, but just enough to dress up the message section.
There are exceptions to every rule, and this is a prime example. Since my card has to travel through the mail and I really want to give my envelope decoration every opportunity to stay put, I dispensed with the "dry" adhesive and used Helmar Tacky Craft Glue, instead, to adhere the baby bottle cutout to the bottom left corner of the envelope. I've always found liquid adhesives better suited to the more rigorous trials of mail art due to the different type of bond they form between items.
The last step was to add some pretty pen-work to the card and envelope. I used two shades of pink and a bright yellow to mimic the colors in my punch-outs and patterned paper. Then I filled out the card and popped it in the mail. I hope my friend enjoys it!
Wishing you creative days,
P.S. This post marks the end of my first full year on the Helmar team, and I've got a look back at all my Helmar projects from the last 12 months over on my blog today. Come by and say hi! This isn't goodbye, though–you'll see a lot more from me in the coming six months as I'm staying on for another term!
