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A very warm welcome to my teeny, tiny part of the huge world of blogging. This is where I share my passion for making hand made greeting cards. So - why "Always with a Heart"? Well this is for two reasons. Firstly, it is because every card I produce carries a heart on it somewhere. This can be big and bold or small and almost hidden - the fun sometimes is just trying to find it! Secondly it is because I put my heart into everything I produce. I hope that any visitors enjoy seeing what I post. If you drop by then please leave me a comment so that I know you called. It would be nice to know that you have found my heart in what I do.

Friday, 18 November 2011

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!!

Hi Everyone

A bit of a different share from me today.

Today is the birthday of a special friend .. .. someone who I have been friends with for many, many years.  She used to live up the road to me when our kids were little and we all spent many happy hours together.

Sadly everyone has grown up now and the pressures of life take over and we don't meet up half as much as we should .. .. but the friendship is still there as good and strong as ever.

For our birthdays we agreed years ago to start a theme of "something for nothing" .. .. which means no spending money on a birthday present.  We have had some fun with this over the years and have managed some ingenius gifts between us.

This year I was at a loss as to what I was going to give as my gift until I had a little brainwave .. .. here is my gift to my friend .. .. my "one of a kind" friend!










This used:

My George Basic Shape Cricut Cartridge to make a template for the heart
Sentiment:  Hero Arts Clear Stamps:  CL338 "Be Yourself"
Marianne Creatables:  Rose Die
Trimcraft Ribbon
A bit of old curtaining for the heart
Stazon Inkpad for stamping the sentiment
Bead for the centre of the rose
Snippets of felt left for me by my lovely Sis (thanks Sis xx)

and there we go .. .. my something for nothing present finished.

So I walked round to deliver my little package (as I felt I needed the exercise) only to find my friend was not at home :-(

So I pushed her little package through the letter box along with her card .. .. but sadly I couldn't push her second present through .. .. .. a bag of homegrown frozen runner beans!!!! 

Can you imagine somone asking what you had for your birthday and saying "some frozen runner beans!!"   LOL!!!

Have a great evening everyone and a lovely weekend.

Love

24 comments:

Irene said...

Hello Jules

Your present is absolutely brilliant and I am sure your friend will treasure her little gift.
You are a wonderful friend.

luv
irene
xxxx

Craftbugmum said...

Oh Jules what a lovely gift. Handmade gifts are always the best, bet she loved it.
Hugs Fi x

Doreen said...

A gorgeous present,and I do believe a lot of thought has gone into the making of this.

As for the runner beans I am sure your friend will love them as much.xxx

Louise said...

Wow this is so gorgeous
Hugs `louise xx

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful Jules!! What a beautiful, thoughtful and special gift. I love it and I'm sure your friend was delighted when she got home to find this waiting for her. xx

XxJULESxX said...

Hi Jules im sure your friend will love that! it's soo lovely and i had to smile at the frozen beans!

Wendy said...

This is gorgeous Jules, bet your friend will love it and the beans, well done...hope you have a great weekend.
Wendy xx

Cynthia said...

Oh, Jules, that is SO sweet and SO cute and SO creative! I love it!!

Catherine said...

That is so cute and I am sure it will be treasured...

Vicky said...

It's gorgeous Jules....and what a wonderful idea...I might have to borrow that one...if you don't mind :o)

have a lovely weekend...big hugs Vicky xx

Debs M said...

great idea, its lovely x

Di said...

Simply gorgeous Jules - and such a great friendship. Super idea not to buy anything - gifts from the heart are always the best ones. The heart you made is wonderful but you really missed a trick with the beans. Have you no spark of ingenuity? You could have opened the packet and posted them one by one through the letterbox - job done!! Snort, snort!! I'm on my way to the playground right now so hope the gates are open?! Love, Di xx

Marie-Louise said...

What a lovely gift. Great idea.

Sarn said...

Laughing at Di's comment above! I think she may need a detention for being cheeky! What do you think?

LOVE what you've made, and I'm sure your friend will too. In these difficult economic times, I think your birthday gift idea is TOTALLY BRILLIANT. xxx

Nikbee said...

A fabulous gift. I love the flower. I hope your friend gets the beans soon too!
Nikki x

coops said...

wow this is gorgeous jules.a really beautiful one of a kind gift ;D

xx coops xx

Paper Hearts Handmade Cards said...

what a fab idea your gifts to each other will mean so much more with the thought that goes into them K x

Rita said...

What a wonderful friend you are to create such a lovely gift. Hugs Rita xx

Unknown said...

What a great idea Jules, loads of thought has to go into these sort of presents & thats worth more. Great idea & so beautifully made xx

Debbie said...

What a beautiful and thoughtful gift Jules.You're a star.I bet she loved it.Love Debbie x

Jenny said...

I like this type of pressie idea Jules :)
Your little puffy heart is very sweet...I'm sure your friend liked it as much as the beans! Lol
Jenny x

MagsB said...

What a fab heart, and how clever to make it out of snippets of curtain and felt!! I bet your friend will love the runner beans, home-grown always tastes so much better than shop-bought!

love, Mags x

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful gift! I bet she loved it.
Helen x

Tracy said...

A very pretty gift, i'm sure your friend loved it.
Happy crafting
Tracy x