Cute & Simple Gift

While browsing through one of my favorite digital scrapbooking websites, The Lilypad/Sahlin Studio, I came across these awesome monogrammed notecards.  At the time, I thought they would be great for journaling about anything (a C for Christmas, S for Swimming), or anyone (N for Natalie, etc.)  I quickly bought them and downloaded them waiting for the right page to try them out on.  Fast forward a month or so with very little scrapbooking time and I still hadn't gotten to use them yet.  Then I remembered I had a friends birthday coming up and I remembered seeing a post on The Letter 4 about making your own notepads.  So I decided I'd try it out.

I made a document with 6 of the monogrammed notecards on it all sized 4" width x 3.5 " height.

I printed 20 of these pages at my local print shop and then trimmed them all to size.  I also cut a piece of cardboard (cereal box, extra packaging, whatever) in the same size for the back.  Then stack them all together getting the top as even as possible. 

Using your glue gun, cover the top edge in glue.  Take a scrap piece of cardboard, and smooth it across the top, smoothing the glue and pushing it around to cover it all.  I did this three times, paying extra attention to all four edges, making sure they are all covered.  Sorry, I couldn't hold the glue gun or the cardboard to smooth it while holding the camera, too.  I hope that makes sense. The glue kind of lapped over the front edge, so I just tore off the top page and used my scissors to cut off any excess on the edges.

This was after the first coat.

I also covered a big Symphony bar (toffee and almond kind, YUM!) to make it extra special.  Everyone needs chocolate on their birthday.  I just took the outside wrapper off, leaving the silver wrapper on.  I measured a piece of paper (8x8 pad of paper was perfect!) to 8"x 6 3/4".  Lay the candy bar inside, wrap up one edge and crease the bottom edge.  While holding that edge, pull the other side tightly and crease that bottom edge also.  Then run a strip of double sided tape or glue or whatever adhesive you like one one edge and glue down the other side on top of it.  I then just wrapped a ribbon around, and then secured the stacked flowers together to the ribbon with a brad.  Again, pulling the ribbon tight, glued it together in the back.  Easy Peasy! This was all a little kit with paper, the flowers, ribbon, and more.  Made this even easier.  Now it makes a little gift something a little more special.  A great little thank you gift for teachers, coaches, visiting teachers or teachees, or someone who just needs a little pick me up.

I also added a necklace to this for her gift.

So there you have it.  Two easy, simple little gifts.  I love giving something handmade whatever the occasion.  I hope the recipients feel the same way. lol


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We're going to party when we hit 100.

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Featured Again

As I was trying to catch up on my emails and reading list from the last two weeks, I found out that Paige from The Creative Paige featured my Save the Holes post. Thank you, Paige!

Another Feature

I'm so lucky! Kelly at Blue Bird Sews featured my upcycling of Chloe's dress into a shirt this week. Thanks Kelly!

Angry Birds Birthday Party

Lucky you! My sister, Leslie, is back again today with another guest post. This time an Angry Birds birthday party.  Here's Leslie:

When it comes to birthday parties, (or any kind of party, really)... I get a little excited!

My son's birthdays are all within two weeks of each other in April and May, so pretty much as soon as Christmas is over I start planning.  (OK, not really that early, but I do get things going in my head quite early).  Today I want to share with you some ideas we used last May for a joint party for my 8-year-old and 5-year-old.  We chose an Angry Birds theme since they (and their Dad) love this game. 

Five months ago, there wasn't much out there you could buy around this theme.  Now, I see toys, games, and clothing all over the place.  (Have you seen this costume idea?  It's probably a good thing I didn't see this until recently. So fun.)  We had to come up with most of the party decorations, favors, and games, ourselves, but that was all part of the fun.

Decorations:
I had drawn out a pattern for each bird on colored card stock that I was just starting to cut out when I found this free printable, so I used it instead.  It looked better than what I was free handing anyway. 



I also used the pattern for the treat bags. (Thank you creative people for putting patterns online!)

Treat bags and invitation.

Invitation:

I free handed the outline and used the face from the printable again.  The party details were on the back (image above).

Food:
You might have seen these cupcakes from the Crafty Chicks website.  They were so fun to make and the kids loved them.  We also had bags of popcorn and lemonade for the kids to enjoy.

Entertainment:
This was the funnest part of the party.  We stacked lots of cardboard boxes in different formations with a few pesty pigs (green balloons with faces) hiding in between.  Then the kids took turns hurling balls (with bird faces) at the pigs. 

I was amazed at how long this kept them entertained. Build a tower, knock it down. Repeat. Repeat.

Party Favors:
I filled the treat bags with some Easter grass (is that what it is called?), eggs filled with candy,

and these fun key chains. 

I made them using a similar technique as described here (I use Glossy Accents rather than Diamond Glaze). Also, rather than use scrabble tiles, I wanted something bigger, so my brother cut these wood squares for me, which measured about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2".    I found the graphics online and put a character on both sides.  Then I screwed in the key chain parts that I purchased from JoAnns.  (If you want more details on how to make them, just leave a comment or email).

Gifts:
Where to begin?  First, we made these figurines from polymer clay and used Jenga blocks for their battleground.  In this picture I used sticky-tac to set things up for a picture.

The boys were really excited about these and helped me create each character and make sure they looked like the real thing. 

Next up were these shirts that my sister, Kimberly helped me make.  The boys opened them the morning of the party.

 I used felt for the birds and sewed them on the shirt (thankfully all the shapes are pretty much basic circles, triangles, etc.).  Kimberly cut the words on freezer paper using her Cricut and then I painted them.  (Cheri at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar explains this really well here). 

The last gift I made for the boys were these little guys:

They were made with much love, laughter, and a little frustration (when I sewed a face on the wrong side, or make a head oblong with too much stuffing). My Mom is awesome at this kind of stuff. I had planned on just showing her the characters from the game and seeing what she could come up with, but we actually found this tutorial which helped immensely!  She and I stayed up until midnight every night working on these babies when I took the kids to Idaho to visit during our Spring Break.

Lining them up...Ready, Aim,

 Fire!

It was a fun party and the boys are still talking about it.  If you want better descriptions of anything mentioned above, just let me know.  Thanks!

Boy, do we wish we lived closer to Leslie as she throws one awesome birthday party! Thanks for sharing, Les!

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Friday Tip - Save the Holes

So I was a little early getting this posted and up on Thursday instead of Friday. :)

How many of you have "distressed" jeans in your closet, or bought a new pair of worn out jeans for your kids this year?  When we were having our back-to-school fashion show, Bill was not too happy that Cheyenne and Natalie bought matching jeans with holes in them.  He felt a little better when we told them the were on sale, but we still got a big eye roll. :)  Anyway, at both their schools, it's against the dress code to wear clothes with holes in them - the half holes are okay, but when it gets to showing skin, it's not, I guess.  So I decided to take preventative measures.  I bought a package of iron on patches from Walmart, cut out close to the shape, and following the instructions on the package ironed them on to the INSIDE of the pant leg.

This does two things, 1- it provides a backing to the hole, of course, if the threads start to break,  2 - it also sticks to the threads, hopefully keeping them intact longer, or if they do break, they'll stay in place and you won't notice anyway.  After ironing, you could stop there, but I wanted a little extra insurance, so I turned them right-side-out and stitched around each hole, too.  That will keep the whole from fraying more and getting bigger.  You can only notice the stitching if you're really looking for it.  Great way to let those jeans be worn a little longer.

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Prettying up my Bathroom

My bathroom is nothing special.  It's nice, it's clean, it functions really well, but there's not a lot of pizazz in there.  No one else sees it but my husband and me, and occasionally the kids, so why spend a lot money in there, at least while there's other rooms to do.  A year or so ago, I did spruce up a little and brought some actual decorations in, a little color, and last year for Christmas Bill gave me new pretty towels, three sets, (yes, he's a very practical man. c:)  We each have our sinks (best idea ever!) and I realized the other day, that mine was looking pretty cluttered, 4 different kinds of lotions, this tin bucket that seemed to keep an endless supply of junk, and a sad, sad little jar for q-tips that I'd had for seriously well over 20 years - the bottom had even fallen off and I hot glued it back on. Ugly little corner.

 

I decided I need to do some sprucing up.  I'd seen several tutorials for the cute, easy apothecary jars so that was the first order of business.  A little trickier than I thought since my mirror is so low and there's not much space in that corner.  I scored a few deals, a little candle holder on clearance from Michaels for $1.75 and the little jar for $.50 at a local printing/wedding supply store.  Add a little glue and I have my apothecary jar.  I cleaned out the pink bucket and was amazed at what I found.  A couple sample sizes of Johnson's baby shampoo (um, I haven't had a baby for 6 years!), an old watch, a paint brush, various kids toys, in other words a bunch of garbage.  I thought it was being useful all this time and that I'd have to find something to replace it. Ha! I don't think so. Then while browsing our local thrift store, I came across this awesome pewter tray for $1.75. Score!! This is a nice tray.  Realized later that it was the last perfect addition to my corner.  So there it is, my nice, clean, pretty little corner.

Is it that big of deal, no, but it makes me happy when I see it.  Plus, added bonus, I don't pile the junk on it and it makes me want to keep my counter free of all clutter (curling iron, straightener, makeup, etc.) because now it looks nice.  So grand total for my little corner of loveliness - $3.75.  So worth it!

Do you have any corners/areas in your house that could benefit from a little sprucing up? Or have you prettied up an area that just makes you smile every time you see it?

Linking up with:

Tales from Bloggeritaville

Yesterday on Tuesday

Momnivores-Dilemma

Allie Makes

Saved by Love

Thrifty Decorating

A Glimpse Inside

Gluesticks

Frugalicious Me

The Creative Paige

Roca and Company

Ladybird Lane

Blissful and Domestic

Finding Fabulous

Home is Where my Story Begins

Tales of a Trophy Wife

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Upcycling a Dress into a Shirt

On Saturday morning, Bill wanted all the kids outside first thing to help dig up all the potatoes in our garden. (I was heading to the church for a fun-filled craft day, part of which I was teaching.)  I told the kids to put on their work clothes (i.e. not good school clothes), plus it was still a chilly morning. So Chloe comes down the stairs in her good capris, flip flops, and this super cute shirt, inside-out and backwards. She is 6, don't quite know what was going on with the shirt.  Anyway, as I was taking her back upstairs telling her EXACTLY what she should wear, I realized I never posted about her super cute shirt I made.  Did a little scan through the pictures and realized, yes, I took pictures for it and everything and never posted. So here it is, the transformation of a dress into a shirt.

 Before                                                                                                  After

Before - Chloe in her modeling pose, I guess.

This was one of Chloe's very favorite dresses, mine too, for that matter.  I was so sad as I realized it was too short to wear to church anymore.  I couldn't give it up.  It sat in her closet for a few weeks, then in my sewing pile for a few more weeks, just waiting for inspiration to strike.  Then it came as I was visiting Make it and Love it and came across this tutorial.  Perfect!!  Basically, you cut the dress off to the length you want (plus enough for a hem.)  Have your subject try on the shirt and mark where you want the waist.  Remember, as I found out the hard way, after your shirt is gathered with the elastic, it will ride up a little more so take that into consideration when marking the waist.  Then you cut a 1" strip of material from the leftover dress.  You're going to make a casing for the elastic with this strip.  Pin the strip onto where you marked the waist (on the inside of the shirt) and sew close to the edge, leaving a small 2" opening on the bottom.  Cut a piece of 1/2" elastic just a little bigger than your subjects waist, you want it to gather up, but not be tight. Pin a safety pin on one end of your elastic (great tip for threading elastic or anything else) and start feeding it through the opening.  Once it's all the way through, overlap the two ends and stitch on top of them. Work the elastic the rest of the way through and adjust all your gathers.  Have your little girl try it on and admire your crafty genius!  Then call all your friends and family and tell them how awesome you are. Oh, is that only me who does that?  It really is pretty darn simple again check out Make It and Love It if you need more detailed instructions with great pictures.  She also shows you how to make short sleeves out of long sleeves.

After - Yup, still striking a pose. 

Linking up With:
The DIY Showoff
Making the World Cuter
Sew Can Do
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Sweet Peas and Bumblebees
Tales from Bloggeritaville 
A Glimpse Inside 
Saved by Love 
Gluesticks 
Allie Makes 
Momnivores-Dilemma 
Yesterday on Tuesday 
Frugalicious Me 
Happy Hour Projects
The Creative Paige
Blissful and Domestic
The Crafty Nest
Finding Fabulous
Home is Where my Story Begins

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