Iron Craft Challenge #1: 4th Anniversary

Time for the first Iron Craft challenge of the year!  Last year I did 14 challenges, so my goal this year is to do at least that many.  The first theme is the 4th anniversary present ideas: fruit, flowers, and appliances.  Now's the time to paint polka dots on your washer and dryer!  I didn't do that...

Instead, I went for a project that used up some of my stash and also replenished something that we had almost used up: thank you notes.

So about two kids ago, I decided making cards could be fun.  Maybe it's because I found this huge stack of various sizes of envelopes on clearance for $0.50.  Maybe it's because my sister makes awesome cards.  (Way better than mine.)  Maybe Pinterest is to blame.  At any rate, I've had a pile of cardstock and a drawer full of envelopes for two years? Three years? A long time.

Since we just got done with thank you notes for Christmas, we only have a few left.  Perfect timing!  So to Pinterest I went, to my long-neglected Cards board.  Inspiration found.

I got as far as cutting half the card bases and the baby woke up, so I finished cutting the rest while holding her.  There was also Lego sorting by Jonah, Matthew was playing with our old license plates, and I think Hannah was throwing things around the room.

Crafting with four kids is not for the faint of heart.  So that was as far as I got initially.

Then I played with the stamps and kind of figured out where I wanted to go with things.  This first one is not perfectly aligned because I was still testing different ideas, but I came up with something I liked.

So then I started stamping them all/  First the blue, then the red and the lines.

And then I had to take another break, because kids.  They like to eat or something.

I finally finished making flowers and gluing them on yesterday while watching Downton Abbey and drinking coffee.  Luckily, it only took me a few minutes, because that was the amount of time that all 4 kids were napping/having quiet time in their rooms.  And then Elizabeth woke up and wanted a bottle.

Still, they got done, and they're ready for the next time we need a thank you note.  And I'm really happy with how they turned out!