Teacher gift idea

I know this post is a little late for giving to a teacher this holiday season, but thought I would post it anyways. Always something you can make in advance and give during Teacher Appreciation Week. Or use the gift idea for someone else this holiday season.

I took a plain front small notebook (mine was cardboard, not plastic) and applied some craft glue to the front of the notebook. Then I added the scrapbook paper to the front and trimmed around the edges to clean it up. Using my Cricut, I cut out the letters for my son's teacher and glued them to the front.

Pair it with a nice pen and it makes a cute little set. Also made some of these for birthday presents for friends.


Who doesn't love a personalized present?

Personalized snack bags

I got a new embroidery card for my sewing machine a while ago, but with the crazy schedule and the exhaustion that comes with pregnancy and chasing after my three year old, I haven't had a lot of time to devote to learning the in's and out's of how it works and all the quirks.

Now with my Christmas vacation, I have been enjoying some crafting time and learning how to use it. So when a friend wanted some snack bags made for her 3 little girls I had another excuse to use it. Especially since she wanted all three bags the same but with their initial on it to let each girl know which one was hers.

The picture makes the letter look darker than the polka dots, but the thread color is brown, just looks really dark with it all together.

I do think it adds a nice little touch....but my girlfriend got super lucky with these, as I do think I will charge more for the added touch as it eats up a lot of thread and more time than before. But still way cute!

Do think there will be some happy girls eating snacks and looking adorable!

Bowling Boys

If you aren't a subscriber to Family Fun magazine and you have small children in your home, you should definitely look into a subscription. It's such a fantastic magazine with a lot of fun projects, ideas, cooking tips and such.

That's where I discovered the Bowling Boys idea.

I made these little guys for my son, and while they were intended to be a Christmas stocking stuffer...he got them a little early because once I finished making them he saw them and loved them.

I picked up the wood pieces at my local Michaels and used left over ribbon from my stash with some craft glue and a Sharpie. The best bouncy ball was from my Old Navy store in the jumbo $.25 trap they have. Super easy to whip up and a cute little addition this holiday season!

JOY Jars

I always tend to have a last minute Christmas present that I need to make or get and am clean out of ideas. Anyone else? I love to give handmade gifts but sometimes I run short of ideas.

So last week when I went to my mommy group Christmas gift exchange I loved this idea and totally went home to make some of my own! Many thanks to Melissa for this great present!!!!

 These little jars certainly brought some joy to my day and week as I made them for friends and family.

Psst.....If any of you see this in your Christmas present bag you'll know where my inspiration came from.

Take some glass jars and decorative rocks and fill your jars a couple inches deep.

Then using a Cricut and some scrapbook paper...I used scraps from previous projects, make a background 3x5 card and round the edges and cut out your letters for JOY.....

You can also do different holiday cards so you just have to change out the cards from one holiday to the next.... Hearts for Valentines Day, 3 ring clovers for St. Patrick's Day, MOM for Mother's Day, EGG for Easter, DAD for Father's Day, USA for Fourth of July, BOO for Halloween, or just put 3 pictures on paper to keep in the jars while you wait between the seasons.




I love these holiday settings because they can become functional all year without having to redo much in your home.

Making crayon fun!

For some of my Christmas presents I made my nieces an art smock and wanted to add something else with a personal/crafty touch. Rather than buy new crayons, I raided my crayon stash at work (I'm a full time teacher, so there were plenty of broken crayons in my classroom.) and had the kids peel off the paper for me. I took some silicone ice cube/baking trays from the local dollar store (and some borrowed from a friend) and made my own homemade crayons!

Note: This project did get a bit messy with crayon bits all over my kitchen floor and under my nails, so be prepared to clean up.

I baked mine for about 25 minutes about 200 degrees.

1- Peel crayons, break into small pieces and sort into colors. Or you can mix up the colors if you like.

2- Employ small children to help you break them- oh, so much fun!- and then sort them. Talk about a learning game.....productive and entertaining for mom and kids!

3- Lay out your trays on top of a cookie sheet or flat baking surface so it easier to remove.

 

4- Let your crayons cool in the pans and harden. then carefully pop them out.

5- Sort them out into little plastic baggies and you've got a great little gift!

 

 

Fireman tee shirt

My little man loves firetrucks, firefighters and all such things....so I redid a plain red shirt and decorated it just for my little fireman want to be.

I found the tee on clearance at Target, but little man isn't a fan of plain shirts. It had a pocket on the front of it, which I removed with my seam ripper. I used some June Taylor transfer paper and ran it through the printer with this little decoration then cut it out and ironed it on top of where the pocket had been. Big hit with my boy!

Now if only my warm Florida weather would return so he could wear it!

Wubbzy Art smock

I've got a sweet little girl that is a dear friend of ours up in the cold region of Minnesota. So I wanted to make sure to send her a Christmas gift she could use in the nice heated indoors. Being that I know her and her mama are both crafty ladies I decided on making her an art smock, chalk mat and then a little zippered tote with art supplies to use. And yes, there is a lot of Wow, Wow Wubbzy fabric involved in this gift set!

Here's another art smock I used for a previous birthday present....I see a few more being made before the Christmas holiday!

Pillowcase Dress Duo

I've made a little girl dress in the past, but this past weekend I worked on a matching set of dresses for some adorable cuties and their Christmas outfits. 

Maybe because it's Florida, but we're not always in full Christmas attire this time of year, so the mama went for a fun flirty pattern they could use year round with our weather. Love the versatility of these little dresses. 

I also enjoyed the flowers that I added to the dresses, felt like a nice little touch.

Fabric Baskets!!!!

LOVE these little baskets! After scouring all over Etsy and planning on buying one from a shop, I scored an awesome pattern from Nestings. After searching through some fabric and a quick late night trip to Wal Mart for some craft fuse here are a few samples I have of the little fabric baskets.


These Cars ones below are going to be for my little man at Christmas time. I have a few sets of Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars that I've already purchased for him and I'm going to toss them in here with tissue paper for under the tree.

This little one was my sample with handles. Still not sure which way I like it better. The basket is a little small for the handles, so I am afraid it looks a little funny. But at the same time, I might use it as a gift holder for small toys or treats, in which case little kids might enjoy the handles. 

I have already started planning the big baskets and will post photos of those once I get them made.

Let me know what you think about the baskets....and handles or no handles.... :)

It's here...long over due

So after a huge, terrible, frustrating, infuriating ordeal with my local sewing store (from which I did purchase my sewing machine a couple years ago) I finally was able to track down an embroidery card that is compatible with my machine so I can add names, monograms, and personalized touches to my projects!!!! YEAH!

After sewing some projects together today, I went ahead and set everything up to transfer my machine from sewing into embroidery station and give this thing a go. I get it all ready and lo and behold my embroidery hoop for the machine is m.i.a.! Seriously, after all this time, I can't find the hoop! I know I have it somewhere, but it's not in any of the places it should be :(


So frustrating. Oh well, I suppose it will just be something I have to go purchase tomorrow. Grrr. to the local sewing store. Grrr... to me misplacing my hoop.