Make // Pleather Bows & Other Gift Wrap

PLEATHER... Great for decorating your presents AND your friends!

who knew??!!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Make // Design Your Own Textiles

Last year my kids brought home art smocks that they had made at camp. They looked like very colorful batik, but instead of using wax, kids school glue was used for the "wax resist". And instead of using fabric dyes, acrylic paints were used. While it was very pretty and colorful, the acrylic paints made the fabric stiff and prone to cracking. I know I didn't want stiff fabric, but I also didn't want to use messy, toxic dyes, so I had to do a little homework and find some alternative materials.

Last weekend I finally got around to trying out this technique and am pretty happy with the results!

Make // Mother's Day Gift Boxes

I first shared this tutorial at SEI Lifestyle. 

I have a confession to make-- I am a gift wrap slacker.  I'll buy the gift then set it aside and forget about it. Then the day of the event I'll panic a bit, and stuff the gift into a bag. Sometimes I'll throw in some tissue paper. I'm fancy like that.

So this year I thought I'd be proactive and get a head-start on my Mother's Day gift wrap. Sometimes presentation is key and I think Mother's Day is one of those occasions. I had fun dreaming up these boxes that pretty much scream "Happy Mother's Day!" and "Spring is here!".

click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Wordless Wednesday] Rainbow Pom-Pom

Click "Read more" for the wordless tutorial :)

[Make] Destash and Wrap

Like most people who like to craft, I have a TON of stuff just waiting to be used-- leftovers of this and unopened packages of that.  Instead of buying more (so tempting sometimes), I decided to dig into my container of this-n-thats for some gift wrapping inspiration.  After the dust & fluff had settled, here's what emerged...

Happy Pom-Pom Gift Wrap (inspired by the popular Anthro wrap of course)--

free ticket gift tag download from how about orange

mini pom-poms (similar)

Click "Read more" for the rest of the post

[Make] Stamped Wrapping Paper

Instead of buying a bunch of wrapping paper, this year I decided to invest in a bolt of craft paper-- A ginormous bolt that will literally last a lifetime.  I kept it simple and used stamps, fun tags, twine and pompom yarn to keep it interesting.

I usually dread wrapping presents, but this is kinda fun!

Click "Read more" for the details

[Round-Up] Holiday & Christmas Projects

Christmas is 10 days away.  Say it with me "What??!!!".  I think I say this every year, but this year seems EXTRA crazy! Self-imposed crazy, of course, but still enough to keep me chugging along late into the night. Anyhow, I thought it would be a good time to do a round-up of my past and present Holiday projects. After all, there are still 10 more days to create!! :)

Hope you're having an awesome weekend!

[Make] Cinnamon Apple Scented Gingerbread Men

Good enough to eat!  

Or maybe not... probably won't kill ya but your taste buds will hate you...

Click "Read more" for the details

[Make] Folding Water Color Birthday Card Banner

This weekend we celebrated my Sister-in-Law's birthday. She adores the boys, lavishes them with a lot of attention, and is basically their #1 fan.  :)  And since they are always eager to make something for her, I knew that they would have a hand in her present. 

Since water colors always turn out nice and I have a lot of scrap paper in my stash, we decided to make this really happy and colorful folding banner that would also serve as her birthday card.

[Make] Felt Gift Card Holders

For the first time, I'm giving several gift cards as Christmas presents. It feels like I'm "cheating" on my gift buying duties, but somehow I think the recipients (mostly teenagers) will be pretty darn happy to pick out their own doodads! Since presentation is important to me, I knew I wouldn't be happy just giving away cards in envelopes.  So today, I created these easy felt gift card holders.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Round Up] Pretty Gift Wrap

Just a few pretty gift wrap ideas... 

feather & map gift wrap via a beautiful mess

aluminum foil gift boxes via you are my have

clay & wood gift tags via two shades of pink

colorful holiday wrap via decor8

Click "Read more" for the full post

[Round-Up] Free Holiday Printables

Just a Reminder...

The Shabby Apple jewelry giveaway ends tonight at 6 PM PST

Enter now for a chance to win!

click [HERE] for the details!

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Have you started wrapping presents yet?  I've wrapped a few-- some for a children's toy drive and some for my out-of-town friends.  I have a long way to go... Here are a few inspiring printables from around the blogosphere.  Oh yeah, and they're all free!

whimsical tags via eat drink chic

peace on earth tags (more tags available) via the inspired room :: created by kylee noelle

paper bow via simply modern mom :: created by ez from creature comforts

neon tags via hey look :: as seen on cake

naughty or nice gift tags via brooklyn limestone

joy and bow tags via heysusy (scroll down for the download links)

12 winter bird tags via rebecca's misc. :: as seen on making it lovely

gift bag greetings via 30 handmade days :: as seen on be different, act normal

no peeking tags via simply modern mom :: created by kristen from paper crave

chevron wine tag via house of fifty (page 86) :: created by pamela sherry of pixelimpress

aqua and red gift tags via domestifluff

bird ornaments via that's happy

Happy Wrapping!

[Make] Salt Dough Gift Tags & Ornaments

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days of damp and cold weather...  which is so odd to say since it was 85 degrees today and dry as the down of a thistle (ah yes, I've been reading Twas the Night Before Christmas over and over again...). Anyhow, we're not very good at being housebound on the weekend, so I had to come up with an activity to keep the boys busy and my sanity intact.  

I've had clay gift tags on the brain for a while, so that seemed like the perfect project that everyone could do. At first I was going to use air dry clay, but since I didn't feel like running to the store... and I had LOTS of flour and salt... I decided to make Salt Dough instead.

I remember making salt dough ornaments as a kid.  I also remember my dog eating them off the Christmas  tree and getting sick as... well, a dog.  So, just something to keep in mind if you have a salt-loving hound in your house.

cut & painted by the boys

The boys (ages 3 & 5) had a great time playing with the salt dough.  Their favorite part was rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutters.  After the ornaments were dried, they painted the hearts-- first white, then red... which soon became pink.  Then they topped them off with some fun glitter paint. Pretty snazzy!  Hmmm... I think I'll keep these in mind when Valentine's Day rolls around.

Click "read more" for the tutorial.

Gift Wrap Bonanza - Use What You've Got

Are you done with your gift wrapping?  I'm almost done.  I usually HATE wrapping presents, but I have to say that I really enjoyed making wrapping a fun, crafty project this year. Instead of buying new supplies, I decided to use what I already have onhand.  Good for my pocketbook, as well as my conscience.



Here's some of the stuff that I "found" in my craft room:

butcher paper "gift wrap"  ::  2009 ikea gift wrap  ::  grocery bag strips ::  upcycled xmas card tags ::  baker's twine ::  target  bag pom-poms  ::  decorative scissors ::  decorative punches ::  decorative duct tape  (at target for $3.69)  ::  doilies  ::  stiff felt snowflakes  ::  martha stewart gift tags  ::  trader joe's holiday bag "designs" ::  old christmas sheet music strips  ::  scrapbook paper "bows"  :: decorative buttons  ::  hole punch  :: handmade fabric flowers (not pictured)

this was a great decorative "find":  the trader joe holiday bag... fun!

old sheet music & grocery bag strips trimmed with decorative punches

Here's the Gift Wrap Detail: 

Hope you're having a nice and stress-free week!

linked to:

all things merry & brite @ all things heart & home
someday crafts
paisley passions
the shabby chic cottage