Ruth Marlene Friesen: Welcome!

This site is like Ruthe, the heroine of my novel, Ruthe's Secret Roses

Ruthe is. . .
intimate with God,
prays a lot,
a bleeding heart for the hurting,
a big sister,
rescues friends,
has creative ideas,
likes to give surprise gifts,
loyal to friends,
dreams of love and marriage,
dreams of writing a book
goes the extra mile

So this site offers;
a good books to read!
help to become Friends with God,
The One Ideal Real Friend
a cure for loneliness
An Older Sister's Coping Secret
how to pray Panic Prayers,
& regularly/daily
devotionals,
how to grow in faith
Christian mentoring,
how to share your faith
character development
how to become a writer



te-Oh-oh!

Sample boxes made from Greeting Cards

In an effort to use up about four cardboard boxes of old greeting cards that I dared not throw out as garbage, I made arrangements to throw a craft party at our Western Tract Mission offices on Halloween night. I had handed out about two dozen invitation cards, for which I had cut up some old Christmas cards.

But I had no idea how many might show up. Friends seemed to think it was a good idea but most would not commit themselves. So I prepared for the max I could picture, about 12 people. I prepared like I have many times in the past for a craft night at Pioneer Girls Club, or occassionally for a Sunday School class. I got every possible item I might need packed in boxes, and loaded the car early in the afternoon.

I had also called the printer who does our mission printing jobs, and asked for cuttings. I got not just one, but three boxes of glorious card-stock and in various bright colours. What a treasure trove!

After a quick and early supper, I got my load over there about 5:30. It took half an hour or more to carry everything inside, then to carry it all downstairs to the meeting room, and spread the supplies around on the tables.


Craft supplies spread around the room.


I even brought a bit of party food and my home-made mint tea in a thermos

But then I took the notebooks and cover-making stuff upstairs to watch for my guests at 7 pm. Only four women came, and they got into making booklet covers right away. I had to persuade them to come downstairs where I had much more ready for them.


Once we were there, the women really got into making covers for the notebooks from our warehouse, using old greeting cards and cuts from them. We had interesting, get-acquainted conversations, but I was puzzled that none of them wanted to make a box out of the greeting cards. Nor did I want to force them to stop what they were enjoying. (I let them take home the ones they made, but they still left a spread for me).

I did show off my boxes, and made two so they could see how to do it. I also showed them how I make flowers out of crochet cotton with a plastic star cut out of a margine tub lid, and then put them on my home made greeting cards. They liked that. Betty copied the star pattern to take home and try there.

They were happy to try my tea, and munched on the Beggar cookies and they even liked my cherry flan dessert made with a zucchini chocolate cake.

Their husbands came to pick them up about 10, and then I had to pack up and carry my boxes back up the stairs and out to the car. My feet had blisters, and I sighed over the fact that instead of bringing home half the boxes I still had about as many cards as I'd brought. (Others in the office had left a shopping bag and a box full of cards for us). I don't want to diminish the good time had by those who came, but I know now that it is going to be mostly up to me to use up my stash of cards.

Oh, and in all that packing up I realized that once the ladies arrived I had completely forgotten to take photos!

So to compensate I've taken some after the fact, and will give a quick lesson in making these pretty boxes so you can try it at home.

Step One - Choosing Cards
Root around in a box of old greeting cards and choose the ones that appeal for making your gift box. It didn't take me long to choose three for this lesson.




Step Two - Trimming Cards

Cut the back off the card. Sometimes we use the back for the bottom of the box, but since I have cuttings, I will not need them this time. Notice that this card has a lovely padded piece in the center and a nice red and gold border evenly around it.

For the other cards, I used my paper cutter to trim off the fancy lettering at the top of the card.


Step Three - Marking & Cutting Borders
Now you turn the front cover over, and using a ruler and pencil, measure and mark off the border section, and where you will cut in to make the flaps which must be glued and tucked in.

Just remember when you are marking the piece for the bottom of the box, to either cut the box bottom a wee smidge smaller on all sides, or to bring the marks for cutting in a bit more to the center. This is so the box top will slip over the bottom neatly.



Step Four - Fold & Cut
Cut into the ends of the card up to your corner marks. Fold up the longer sides of the box top and of the box bottom. Fold up the ends.






Step Five - Glue and Tuck Flaps Under
Use a glue gun, or a glue stick, or a glue bottle to tuck those flaps at the ends of the box under the end side folds. A glue stick doesn't work so well with heavy or shiny paper, and a glue gun tends to leave thin strands of glue - so it may depend on what you want to work with.

Step Six - Put the Box Top over the Bottom

Here are my finished boxes, plus I have a strip of card top I can convert to a bookmark.

I'll confess one little mistake. that red bottom for the smallest rose box is just too big to fit inside the top, so I'll have to make another box bottom. :) Yes, that happens sometimes.

Ruthe's Secret Roses available in softcover! Purchase it at BookLocker.com and it will be in the mail to you within 48 hours!


The novel:
Order NOW
Author
Read it Right NOW!

Available at:
BookLocker.com
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com

Or ASK at any bookstore!

Have the RoseBouquet
(my inspirational blog/RSS feed)
sent to you weekly by email: