This took a lot of time.......thanks for sharing the info with us.

snolady, That was a lovely craft....and seems very simple to make...and look very pretty. Bedtime for me now, but I have it on my to-do list for tomorrow. *** Maddya

omg dont think I could make one, to much for me, but yours is beautifull! love your blog, now I see you are the one who makes those beautifull plate flowers, they are on my to do list as soon as it warms up and all the yard sales start, never looked much at the plates before, sure will now. TFS! oddie

Concerning gift cards, be sure to check to see if they have an expiration date (many of them actually do!). If you have a daily-reminder wall calendar, mark the expiration dates down. I'd put a note on, say, 6 months in advance and other sporadic dates saying "You have a $50 Borders card to use up!" so that they remind you that you've got them tucked away and need to redeem them. There's nothing worse than realizing too late that you've lost out on $50 of shopping power. For all those store "preferred customer cards," here's what I do. Most of them I put on a keyring. For cards I use frequently that didn't offer a keyring version, I punch a hole in the corner (away from the bar code or swipey strip). In my purse, I also carry a small rectangular zip pouch that I carry coupons, receipts, paint chips, etc. in, and I tuck in most of the other cards I have and the Bed Bath & Beyond 20%-off coupons (I never shop there without one!). Sometimes I'm tempted to just leave that pouch in the glove compartment (as long as none of those receipts have my full credit card number on them!), so it's there if I need it. Always happens that if I leave the pouch at home, that'll be the time that I need something in it.