monogram tags

So I saw these on a website and also in the Pottery Barn store...how cute are these?! This is a dilemma I have been having this year...we have stockings that I have yet to monogram. I just can't justify the $15 each to put a name or a simple initial....

So, I decided to make my own....today..Christmas Eve....never go to Pottery Barn 2 days before Christmas! They were inexpensive in the store, but I made these for free with stuff I had at home....

Step 1: Cut out a 1 1/2" monogram letter of your choice...I used the simple Plantain Schoolbook on Shadow on the Cricut
Step 2: Cut out 2 circles from cardstock - 2 3/4" and 3 1/4"...I might have done smaller circles and shadowed them, but I wanted a wide lip for the glitter.....don't forget to hole punch or gromit a hole before you glue on the glitter:-)!
Step 3: Taking glue (I just used Elmers)....brush glue around the edge of the circles...front and back, if you want. Step 4: Glitter the edges. I used a fine glitter that I had, but I would love to make these with vintage glass glitter...I liked the greet, since it matched our stockings....Step 5: I wanted to make these more vintage-y, so I sprayed the whole tag with spray mount and used snow glitter over the whole front....let dry and tie them with some ric-rac.....I love them!

waterless snowglobe

I am big time into jars and into creating a scene in jars or buying jars to display and hold things. Remember those houses that the girls made over Thanksgiving break? I saw those houses on the BHG website and thought that they would make a beautiful little winter wonderland....

You're going to need some basic supplies....a gallon glass jar, a thin piece of chipboard (like the kind you might find on the back of a paper slab), a craft knife, a corner-rounder punch or a lacing tool, a ruler, a bone folder, hot glue, glue dots, fake snow, fishing wire, patterned paper, and various decorative elements and embellishments that might suit your fancy...

Just create your own winter scene...I glittered the roofs and used a lace edger to give a Swiss "chalet" look...Once the glue had dried on the house and the trees in the jar, we filled it with some fake snow and iridescent flakes....You cant give out the jars without decorating the lid, too....I took fishing line and glued little stars from varying lengths and used glue dots on the lid to hold them in place. That way I could reposition them if I needed to....I love the results! Hope our teachers do too!

Thanksgiving in a Jar

Thanksgiving was coming up and I was trying to think of something new and fun for our family to do. I thought about buying a tablecloth and having everyone who was coming sign it and use it year after year. My great grandmother did that for Christmas and it is the neatest thing to see who came to their house year after year after year. The only thing is that right now in our lives we're the only ones at Thanksgiving when we make our own dinner. Byron's family does their own Thanksgiving that we go to every other year....

So, I thought about all the things I was thankful for and all the things the kids might want to write down that they are thankful for too....well, here is the result....Step One: Find a super cute apothecary jar....I found mine at Walmart for $4 a piece....
Step Two: Find super cute scrapbook paper and cut into 1 1/2x7 inch strips...I guess the length would depend on how tall your jar was....Step Three: Put a sheet around the inside that says something like "Family" or "Thanksgiving Memories." I found some cute Thanksgiving rub-ons for my paper...
Step 4: Find some cute fall ribbon...Walmart actually surprised me and had this cute vintage looking satin...
Step Five: You need some directions...attach the following poem to your jar..."I made this jar that we can write. After passing it around the table tonight. Each one of you give thanks if you are able. Then make a chain and hang it above the table." Of course you could hang your chain anywhere...on the mantle, on the chandelier, anywhere....

Halloween teacher goodies

So, both of our elementary teachers said that she wanted to have some of my Halloween decorations....okay, I thought...so, I'll start with one of my favorite ones!

I didn't take pictures of the banner as I was making it, but it basically came down to super cute scrapbook paper from here...I used just the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge on my cricut on shadow and cut out the "Boo"...Then I cut my triangles out in different sizes and pinking shear cut the bottom black layer....I took 3 silver pipe cleaners and twisted them together and added some decoration to cover the twisting bits....I think they turned out pretty cute! Hope the teachers enjoy!

feelin' like Halloween....

It's my favorite...it's true....I could have my Halloween decorations up all year long....I laugh thinking that I should have been born in another era - with bats, ravens, candles...maybe Victorian England...I love this stuff.....

So, as the weather has definitely turned "Fall like" here in So Cal, I decided it was high time I put up my decor.... below is just a sampling of the fun... enjoy!

My mantle with ravens, eyeballs in a jar, a skull under a cloche, and dead twig garland....
What halloween decor is not complete without bones, a tree, and some ghoulish items in jars?
The ever glowing skull....
The kids' favorite decoration...a haunted house that makes sounds and lights up.....
Jars full of pumpkins and ravens.....ohhhh....

Happy Halloween!

Teri's baby shower decor

I was in charge of decor for my friend Teri's baby shower..she is having a boy after having a girl and a boy 7 1/2 years ago....

I wanted to do something that would not involve a lot of money and that could be fun and cute...I thought of putting little miscellaneous things she registered for in jars and labeling them...that way I could give her a bigger assortment of all the little things she'd need....I also thought about all the snacks she now will have to pack....Can't wait to meet the little guy!

Back to School Gifts!

I haven't posted to this site all summer because my crafty side hasn't quite kicked in yet....

School has started again....we missed the annual Meet the Teacher, so I put together a little "get to know me" about each of the girls and attached it to some cute file folders I found at Anthropologie...also because we missed the ice cream part of Meet the Teacher, we brought each of the teachers their own ice cream...For the first day of school I had made magnets for the teachers in their classroom colors....I had to remember to use strong enough magnets to hold up posterboard!I attached a little note that said "Happy 1st Day of School! I am so excited to be "stuck" with you this year!!"

Hair Yo-Yos "How-To"

I saw these on a friend's website recently and I saw them again attached to a pin for the 4th of July. I started thinking about how fun it would be to have them as hair accessories.

Maddyn and Abby are always up for fun experiemental crafts, so we decided to try them last night when Abby was over....

Step One:
Find any scraps of fabric you have lying around....Cut a circle out of fun fabric. I used the top of a plastic cup for the size yo-yo I wanted.

Step Two:

Tie a knot in your thread. Stitch a running stitch about 1/4 inch from the edge and all the way around.

Step Three:

Pull the thread and gather into a yo-yo. For a typical yo-yo, you would want the inside of your circle to be neater than this, but for this it is ok. Tie a knot to keep the shape.

Step Four:

Embellish your yo-yo. I stitched a button in the center.

Step Five:

Stitch a pin to the back.Step Six:

Attach to headband -OR- glue to a bobby pin for a fun hair accessory!

Aren't they fun? The girls want to make more....another day for sure!

father's day cards

For father's day this year, I made little word clouds...they are really fun to make and you can personalize them using colors, fonts, shapes,etc. I asked the kids for characteristics of their father...

I came across www.wordle.net ....what a neat project. it's might be fun for a "back to school get to know me"..hmmm..

check out my wordle here...have fun!

End of the year teacher gifts

"End of the year gifts" for our teachers were really hard for me to think of this year....we've had 3 amazing women who have worked non-stop for the past 9 months and deserve a little something that will promote some R&R....So, I decided, for summer what's more R&R than a beach towel, a magazine, and some diet coke:-). I also decided to put in a little extra something expressing how much we have appreciated them this year....

I found this idea here...and modified it with a little more cuteness than just a jar using apothecary jars found at Walmart for $2 a piece! Score!...I like the way they turned out...bright, fun colors for summer! I hope they like them!

Camp Birthday Party

Lorien's obsession with the Jonas Brothers and the color purple had to be a part of her birthday party this year....so, we decided that we'd do a "campout"-themed party with some bits and elements from the Disney movie "Camp Rock" that featured the Jonas Brothers....thank goodness Target happened to have Camp Rock items in their dollar bins!

The invitations were done with pink, purple, and brown...Joe Jonas greeted the girls as they arrived to camp (good thing we haven't painted Lorien's room yet, so we could use this!)....The girls checked in with the camp directors (Maddyn and Abby) and received a glow bracelet and a licorice treat...(the boys were wondering why the poppers had to be saved until the end of camp)...We divided them into groups and they visited the Camp Store (what was better than a camp store to get all the supplies you need)....Camp food was always served on trays in the cafeteria.....
Camp crafts was always a must...they made picture frames and friendship bracelets (thanks to the help of another camp director, Maddie Atkinson)....And the best part of camp....s'mores! I think these girls devoured at least 3 a piece! With double marshmallows!The night ended with poppers (because you have so have some sort of firecracker thing at camp).... I think the girls had a lot of fun at camp tonight!