Sharing a Painting

I wanted to share a photo with you of a watercolor painting I finished this past December. A friend asked me if I could paint a picture of their home so she could give it to her husband as a Christmas gift (and since they are one of the very sweetest couples, I was glad to say yes, I'll give it a try). This was my first painting of anyone's home, and I had a lot of fun with it. 

I like having commissions and projects with deadlines so that I actually finish something. Our home is full of half-finished paintings. I have so many ideas for paintings and so many sketches, beginnings, and good intentions. I'm just not very good with the follow-through. If I was smart, I would probably begin work now on the things I want to finish for next Christmas....

Tiny Mailbox

 

Here is something new for you, just in time for Valentine's Day. Inspired by Scout Creative's Chicken Coop Calendar, I decided to create a paper craft design of my own to share. 

The result is a 3D mini mailbox design that you can print and assemble to fill with letters and notes for your friends or family or loved ones. The PDF is just one page and contains the design and directions to print on a sheet of cardstock. If you don't get around to using it for Valentine's Day, this would make a sweet and encouraging little gift for someone who needs a little cheer. 

Click here to download the PDF (and then click "Download Original"). Pictures of assembly are below. Enjoy! 
 

Score the tabs and cut out the pieces.

Fold the tabs.

Fold the main piece into a U-shape and put glue on the tabs.

Glue the side pieces to the tabs.

It's okay if the sides don't line up perfectly, just trim them when the glue has dried (below).

Trim the edges.

Snip the bottom tabs along the dotted lines.

 

Fold in the tabs.

Glue the bottom piece to the front tab to make a trap door.
To close the door, use a little removable tape or tuck the door under one of the other tabs.

Fill with letters and postcards and give it away!

**Apologizes for the quality of the photos; I had to use a phone camera since our real camera is currently broken. 

2 and 3

a bottle cap & a bird feeder

a bottle cap: If Josh & I had our own soda, we would serve it in glass bottles. The cap might look something like the one pictured above. And while we are pretending, I thought 1683 sounded like a good year to begin production.

a bird feeder: The other night, Josh and I bought our first bird feeder. There was a little snow on the ground this weekend, so everything looked pretty and wintery and it was perfect weather for filling out birdhouse, scattering the seeds, and waiting for the birds to come. So far, we've spotted cardinals, tufted titmice, a white-breasted nuthatch, a sparrow, and dark-eyed juncos. I found a photo of a white-breasted nuthatch online and drew it for today's picture. I sort of ran out of time and space for the bird feeder and ended up hastily squeezing it into the background. Oh well. :)