Finished, finally. I should of probably had this to Tara by now, but it's been hectically chaotic around here since the start of the second half of my management systems course. This week alone I pushed at the computer keys for ten plus hours and that was for just the one class! And as far as I'm able to determine, the systems class is to go full force 'til the end of May. It's to be a painstaking two months...but hey, I'll be an Access & Excel pro when all is done!
I cherish this box and it's many hidden contents. I actually can hardly wait for Tara to receive it as I know it'll be greatly to her liking. I tucked three to four handmade art pieces inside the box in conjunction with vintage see-through glassine envelopes containing various notions and antique assorted papers from Hunt and Gather. I opted for the see-through box not because I thought it was particularly attractive, but because I prefer that the contents be seen as "a whole" from the outside. I also desired to create a unified connection between the gorgeous polka-dot fabric , tag and everything within. Shockingly, it came together really well..I wasn't sure if the plastic container would suffice here. What saved me was the soft texture of the fabric and the personalized tags..it's amazing what one can do with plastic from the kitchen section of The Container Store!! I'm tempted to buy more of these cute, practical containers for the organizing of scrap supplies...
Fabric doesn't necessarily require "trimming" is a worn look is preferred. In preparing the fabric for the box, I first had to select a fabric from my fabric stash. I opted for neutral because it kept from minimizing my tag color options. I laid the fabric on top my kitchen table and measured three inches in from it's edge (salvage at the bottom) and trimmed a notch (about a 1/4" inch in length). I then used the notch to tear the fabric along it's grain so as to create a long ribbon-like strip of fabric for wrapping around the box. A word of caution here - it's easy to ruin a perfectly good piece of fabric during this process. There are a number of quilters and seamstresses out there (including myself) that cringe at the idea of fabric being torn because it tends to pull at the weave..personally, I'm a scissors kind of gal when quilting. For the purpose of this project though, I'm all for tearing!!
Moving along...I enjoyed dinner with a friend this evening and her two adorable daughters. We dined at the local Olive Garden, one of our favorite restaurants!! It seems that regularly me and Jing Jing get together and partake in lengthy conversations about our intrinsic liking of paper and embellishments and the numerous other things going on in our lives. She's such a wonderful, kind-hearted person and I always look forward to our gatherings. We've a lot of fun whenever we meet up (minus the two hour pizza wait..next time, lets do take-out Jing Jing!!)
Aren't her two daughters precious?! We've a play date set up in the future with the kids..at this point, Ethan won't stop talking about visiting Jing Jing's house. He's super excited and so is mom..new friends!! Yeah!!
Midnight has struck my friends! Thank you for sharing your Spring Goals with me..we'll see if any of mine pan out into something that's tangible and beneficial long-term. Next goal to tackle - officiate the dating process!! Saving this conversation for later :) Have a fab weekend everyone! ~CM
