personalized gifts

Make-Your-Own-Cone Tattoos

06.28.11

When I told my kids I had a couple sheets of tattoo paper on hand you would have thought I’d just told them they were each getting a new puppy. (We are not going there, by the way.)

We’ve been playing around with the endless possibilities of drawing some custom tats or picking out premade designs. While we were playing we discovered you can layer homemade tattoos. And that sealed the deal.

I drew out some cones, some ice cream flavors, some toppings. (You can see other custom Silhouette projects I did here and here.) When my daughter had her cute friend over, I let them go to town. And here is what they picked.

They’re both soft serve fans. I can respect a good soft serve, but I’d go for the scoop and hot fudge myself.

By the way, today is the last day to enter a certain giveaway I have going on. I’ll announce a winnetright here tonight.

{ 10 comments }

Kindergarten Teacher Gift, Part Two

06.01.11

I wanted to show you what we ended up doing with our Meant to Be Calligraphy stamp that we’re giving my son’s totally amazing kindergarten teacher.

I always think it’s fun to let the kids in on making a gift for their teacher. They always feel so proud. Even if it’s just a note to go with the gift, which is usually the simplest solution. But this time we thought we’d use our stamp to create some handmade stationary. We really tried to keep it simple and my son loved the project. We packaged it all up with some fun supplies from my favorite Japanese packaging shop, and I’m really satisfied with how it turned out.

I used the giant drawing paper you find at the art store because I love the colors and texture.
We folded it in half and ran it through my paper cutter, then my son got to work with his watercolors and a toothbrush.
I love how it turned out.
We also made some fabric name tape using this method.
Then wrapped it all up with some tape and envelopes from UGUiSU (i want to buy everything there).

And now it is all set to give to one amazing kindergarten teacher.
(p.s. If you’re still searching around for a last-minute teacher gift idea, you might find something to spark your creativity here, here, or here.)

{ 8 comments }

Handmade Gift Guest: Alli of One Pearl Button

10.21.10

Our gift retreat is officially underway. Are you ready? We are kicking things off with a woman whom you will adore, and who will be sharing a gift she’d make if we were all huddled around the craft table this weekend turning out handmade gifts for everyone we love.

Alli writes at One Pearl Button, where I’ve been a fan for sometime. She does beautiful things with sharpies (I love sharpies!) and is even a member of the Sharpie Squad, she’s handy with a sewing machine and with yarn, and she is one of my fashion heroes (heroines?) Also, I love her beginner’s guide to Polaroid photography. Don’t miss it.

And now I’ll leave you in Alli’s capable hands.

+++

I made this little doll for my niece last Christmas, using Emily Martin’s fabulous Black Apple Doll pattern and Chez Beeper Bebe’s doll accoutrements patterns. I had a ton of fun designing and sewing the fiddly little accessories, especially the velvet capelet.

When my niece (who was about to turn two at the time) opened her package, she immediately started beating the doll against the floor, grinning and squealing. Her parents assured me that was her way of showing how much she loved it! It made me so happy to see her running around the rest of Christmas weekend, clutching her new doll.

I felt such a connection to this project, and I love that I’ve passed that connection on to one of my favorite little people!

+++

Be sure to stick around through October and into November to meet the rest of the talented women joining us on our gift retreat.

And also be sure to RESUBSCRIBE if you haven’t been getting my blog in your reader. I’ve broken up with my old web hosting company forever (sweet freedom!), and have moved on to someone better, so you may need to click my RSS button and subscribe again.

{ 2 comments }

T-Shirt Bags

09.09.10

Hello! I am here today to spread the word about t-shirt bags. Are you familiar with them? I learned about them from (who else?) Martha Stewart a few years ago. Is it too much to say that they’ve changed my life? Probably. But I really really really love them.

I love that I can still keep those old, sentimental t-shirts around without them taking up valuable real estate in my itty-bitty closet. I love that those shirts are now more useful than they ever were as a garment that I would only wear while cleaning my house. I love that when I take them to the store I can be loud & proud of the fact that I love Tia Babe’s Mexican food in Santa Paula, California. Or that I was indeed, on senior cabinet in high school. And I really love that I get large, sturdy, reusable shopping bags that are made from 100% cotton and don’t cost me anything, instead of bags that I have to pay for and are often made from questionable plastics. They are such a fantastic way to reuse something that would otherwise be tossed.

Oh! I just thought of another good thing about these bags: making them is a super forgiving project. Straight cuts and sewing lines are not required. This is one of those projects that takes 10 minutes or less and non-perfectionists are invited and encouraged to participate. Those are my kind of projects!

Have I sold you on the idea of t-shirt bags yet? If not, I’ll try one more. How about making a custom trick-or-treat bag for a child you love from one of their old t-shirts? (Ah! Is it too early to start thinking about Halloween?) Or, if trick-or-treating isn’t in your future, perhaps you could make a great library bag. Martha has a nice tutorial on her website, but here’s a photographic version from me:

Items needed: a shirt, scissors, sewing machine.

Additional items needed if you want to applique: fusible web (I used Wonder-Under), iron, ironing board. (Remember to read the directions thoroughly on your webbing, in case they differ from those shown below.)

Your t-shirt bag is now finished. Easy as pie, right? You can stop here or go on to add a bit of custom magic to your bag. I chose designs that read a bit Halloween-y, but wouldn’t look completely out of place when we use them as library bags for the rest of the year.

Viola! You now have a super cute and custom bag for your child. Now go dig through your closets, pull out all your old t-shirts and get cutting. Your shirts will be so happy to be back in your life.

What is your favorite way to reduce/reuse/recycle?

What simple items make your life easier?

+++

Crystal stops by GiversLog a couple times a month to share her fresh ideas. When she’s not writing for GiversLog, Crystal can be found mothering, knitting, and cooking. Stop by and see what’s new at her etsy shop: monograms, Greek keys, and chevron stripes. Oh my!

{ 12 comments }

when all else fails, DIY

08.05.10

When it comes to my preferred method of keeping track of my grocery budget, grocery list, and weekly menu selections, I like to keep everything front & center and totally non-digital. Impromptu to-do lists fall under this category, too. (I have a really great planner that keeps my life in order and is full of daily to-do lists, but occasionally I need something quick and visual for those moments when I have company arriving in an hour and I still need to sweep the floor, wipe the smudges off the windows, take the diapers out, switch the laundry, and unload the dishwasher. ) I wanted a board I could hang on a bare spot in my kitchen, but I wasn’t finding anything that was a great solution.

Here’s a bit of my method for keeping these items up-to-date and accurate:

Grocery Budget: I like to jot down how much I spent after each grocery shopping trip so I don’t have to keep receipts or enter it into any sort of computer/spreadsheet or have to open my online bank account to check my balance. I have a two-week budget, so anytime I spend money on food during those two weeks, I jot it down and keep a running total so I know how much I’ve spent. (I used to keep the total budget amount at the top and subtract each time I spent something, but I’ve decided that it’s way easier to add than subtract! Ha!)

Grocery List: I like to keep a running grocery list that I can add to every time I notice we’re running low on something.

Weekly Menu: I like to pick three meals a week, add any needed ingredients to my grocery list, and then write down the names of the meals so I don’t have to remember what we are going to eat that week. (Wondering why I don’t cook more often? My husband is in grad school so he’s gone a few nights a week. On the nights he is gone, the boys and I generally have something super fab like quesadillas, eggs + toast, or leftovers for dinner.)

So.

My Problem: wanting a pretty whiteboard but not finding a pretty whiteboard.

My Solution: DIY! This tutorial from eighteen25 and our own AmberLee’s post at The Idea Room got my wheels turning, but I’ve adapted them a bit. This would be a fun {and easy} gift to personalize for a teacher or boss, too!

I bought a few yards of fabric from a thrift store. It’s kind of fun, right? You could also use pretty paper or a photograph. And I picked up this clip frame from Hobby Lobby. It says it is $5.99, but don’t let that fool you. These things are always on sale–I think I paid $3.00 for this one. I’ve also picked them up at IKEA for just a few dollars. Take the glass off the backing and figure out what part of the pattern you would like to feature. Trace around the glass and cut out the fabric, being careful not to tug on the fabric as you go. (I made that mistake on my first try. The fabric ended up smaller than the frame. Oops!)

I didn’t get a picture of this, but after some trial and error, I spray mounted the fabric on a piece of light cardboard (think: cereal box) just to give it a bit of stability when putting it back in the frame. You can skip this step if you use paper or a photo.

Now it’s time to hang. If you have a little boy at your house, he’ll probably come a’runnin as soon as he sees the hammer & nail come out of the tool box. And then he’ll go get his toy saw and hammer so he can help. What a sweetheart.

Since this board will be used for some serious list-making, I would suggest anchoring it with some Command Picture Hanging Strips as well. Have you ever used them? They. are. amazing.

And viola! Pull out your dry-erase marker and start making lists lists lists.

Do you use a grocery list? Do you have a grocery budget? Do you create a menu? I’d love to hear what works for you.

+++

{ 12 comments }

Shoot-Along Gift Idea: Photo Games

07.26.10

I am a fan of family game nights.

And I love the idea of making games from pictures of all of your family’s favorite people, places, or things. Here, a few of my favorite personalized game ideas. With one more coming tomorrow.

Totally beautiful memory game by Say Yes to Hoboken. Get the full tutorial here.
Also love this bottle cap version.

I was completely blown away by the method for making these photo bean bags.

And a few favorite ideas for photo puzzles from here,

here,

and here (via here).

{ 6 comments }

Shoot-Along Gift Idea: Portrait Buttons

07.22.10

Melanie over at You Are My Fave did the sweetest thing to honor her grandfather on his big bash for turning 90, she made photo buttons for all to wear. (p.s. Don’t miss her ice cream party in a box idea over at Marta’s today).

And here, a little more personalized button inspiration.

From Cup of Joe.

Available here.

And monogram buttons from Natalie Jost, made especially for her by Emily of Orange Beautiful.

p.s. more fun buttons available here.

{ 1 comment }

Book Portrait

07.22.10

Books are such an important part of who you become. Which is why I am completely in love with the idea of getting a portrait made of the books our little family is particularly fond of at the moment, which you can have done here. Thanks Letter Soup and LMNOP.

p.s. What book helped make you who you are?

{ 2 comments }

Silhouette Drink Tray

06.29.10

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Silhouette fun here over the last week. I am so excited to get to share one of these machines with one of you tomorrow. If you haven’t had a chance to enter the giveaway on facebook, you can like me there and leave a comment there to enter, or if you missed the original giveaway, you can find it and leave a comment right here.

I want to share one final project with you. A favorite project and an appropriate one for the Silhoutte SD; a drink tray I made for my mom with the silhouettes of her grandchildren.

I started with photos of the kiddos.

My favorite way to take silhouette shots is indoors in front of a light window. The backlight makes a great contrast. You can find an excellent set of tips for creating silhouettes from Inchmark, I find it especially true that it is important to make the kids smile and look up a bit, and for long hair to go in ponytails.

I created my silhouettes with Adobe Illustrator, but if you don’t have a drawing program, you can print your photo and snip the silhouettes out of dark paper, then take a picture of the new silhouette on light paper. This should create a crisp shot that the Silhouette SD will turn into an image it can cut with no problem. You just use the “get outline” button, and you can create an outline from any graphic.

I was tickled to pull away the extra vinyl to see perfect miniatures of my children’s profiles.

The vinyl transfer paper made it easy for me to position and reposition the silhouettes until I had them just where I wanted them.

And there you have it. The final product. Ready for serving and for hanging proudly on a wall between service.

+++

If you’re looking for more pretty things to hang on a kitchen wall, don’t miss the mini-goals chalk boards by Mary Kate McDevitt. She also has a new Lincoln wall quote that I just love.

{ 7 comments }

Etched Hand Mirror Tutorial

06.28.10

Have you ever played with glass etching before? Once you invest in a bottle of etching cream the possibilities are endless. We decided to make a mirror for a little friend of ours, so I thought I’d share.

Materials:
Glass etching cream
Sponge brush
Vinyl or contact paper and something to cut it with (I used my Silhouette, but you can use scissors or a craft knife)
Something pretty to etch

I picked up this mirror at Target and wish I would have picked up more than just one. Isn’t it the perfect thing for a little girl to admire herself in?

I used my Silhouette to cut out a sweet tiara. Did you notice I used regular contact paper? I wanted to save my premium Silhouette vinyl for other purposes (I have about a million things I want to try), and since I had a whole roll of contact paper, and the Silhouette can cut anything thin, I went with the contact paper.

I ran it through my Silhouette with the backing still on, then peeled off just the negative space of the design and stuck it on the mirror. Run your finger over the design a few extra times and make sure all the corners are stuck down.

I loaded up my sponge brush with etching cream and brushed it on. A good friend taught me to paint it on heavy in multiple directions, and give it a few minutes longer to sit than the bottle directs, so I usually do.

Once the time is up, you just rinse, dry and peel away the contact paper.

And that’s it. The perfect mirror for a little princess.

+++

I hope you’re enjoying my Silhouette fest! Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for a Silhouette SD of your very own. You have until Wednesday. And don’t miss the great discounts offered by Silhouette for GiversLog readers. Once you have this machine, your head will spin with the possibilities.

{ 16 comments }

Rubber Boots, meet my Silhouette SD

06.25.10

A country girl just isn’t a country girl without her pasture boots. And my last pair had given all they had. I was in desperate need of a new pair. And though I’d love a pretty pair of wellies, they weren’t quite in the budget this month. But I came across this pair, totally affordable, and all made from a solid piece of something sturdy, so I brought them home.

I walked in the door and put them down, then looked at my Silhouette. Then back at my boots, than at my Silhouette. Wait. a. second. I found a friendly doily shape that came with my Silhouette and thought it was just the thing.

I sized the doily shape to work on my boot toes, loaded a page of vinyl on my Silhouette, and put it to work, purring away and cutting out my doilies.

I have never worked with vinyl before. So this vinyl transfer paper was new to me. It is a dream come true. You peel off the negative parts of your design from the vinyl you’ve cut, then stick vinyl transfer paper right on top of the smooth side of your vinyl. Then peel off the bottom of your vinyl to reveal the sticky side. This lets you place your vinyl right where you like it. Once it’s in place, you peel off the transfer paper.

After placing my vinyl stencil, all that was left to do was color in with my sharpie, let them dry, then peel away the vinyl.

Do you like how they turned out? I’m very satisfied. My daughter is dying to design her own.

Steel-toed boots are great and all, but doily-toed boots? You can’t beat that.

+++

I hope you’re enjoying my Silhouette fest! Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for a Silhouette SD of your very own. You have until next Wednesday. And don’t miss the great discounts offered by Silhouette for GiversLog readers. It’s okay to email this to someone who loves you as a hint for an early Christmas. A very early, very good Christmas.

{ 22 comments }

Silhouette SD

06.23.10

I am not a gadget girl. In my kitchen I like to have one good knife, (okay, and I also have a mandolin cutter and a food processer I love), but I don’t have the other specialty choppers and slicers. Maybe I’m a little too simple minded to keep track of more than three slicers.

But I could not wait to get my hands on a Silhouette SD. Because it’s not a gadget, it’s the good knife. Just wait, I’ll show you what I mean.
If you’re not familiar with the Silhouette, it’s like your printer, only instead of laying ink on a piece of paper, it cuts shapes out of paper, cardstock, vinyl, and more. I was sent one of these wonderful wonderful machines to sample, and told if I didn’t like it I could send it back, no strings attached. That was very polite of you, Silhouette, but puh-lease, I’m not sending back the Silhouette. And I’m not sending back my first born either. Thank you.

The second I plugged this thing in a world of possibilites opened up to me. (Wahahaha, the world is mine!) I can’t even believe how my head was spinning from the possibilities. So in honor of the Silhouette, I’m having a week-long Silhouette fest. Starting and ending with this giveaway.

Here are ten things you need to know about the Silhouette.

1. My husband was impressed. He was saying things like “Hmm, you can use an SD card if you don’t want to plug it into your computer.” My husband has never, NEVER noticed a craft or art supply in his life.
2. I set this thing up all by myself. I am notoriously bad at installing software. But this I set up in a flash. You can congratulate me. Thank you. But really, it was very easy.

3. You can purchase designs to cut at Silhouette’s online store. One by one if you like. For really cheap. No cartridges are involved. And Silhouette has sales to make things cheaper. And the designs rock. Here’s a Silhouette design I used for a little project I’ll be sharing with you soon.
4. You can draw your own designs right in the software. Check it. The drawing tools are super intuitive. And one of the best buttons for doing it is the “weld shapes” button, which lets you draw two or more shapes and weld them into one.

5. You can turn any image what-so-ever into a design to cut. (I almost hyperventilated when I discovered this.) Just click on the “get outline” button and choose the image from your computer. I decided to put this to the ultimate test and upload silhouettes of my kids and nieces. I could not believe my eyes when I peeled off the vinyl. I was looking at intricate, detailed, accurate little portraits of my own children.
6. You can cut any true type font on your computer. Like I said, the possibilities are endless. Here’s a cake I decorated using an image and font I sized to fit the cake. (Yes, it even decorates cakes. Just place the design, sift sugar over, and remove the paper. Easiest cake decorating ever.)
7. When you get your Silhouette SD, you will immediately fall into a happy oblivion. Don’t plan on doing any laundry or dishes that day. You will start bookmarking all kinds of projects, like glass etching, screen printing, vinyl wall decorating and vinyl iBook decorating, homemade garland, homemade cards that will make everyone think you’re a creative genius, and so so much more.

I wanted my ibook to be as much of a geek as I am. This may be a good time to tell you, Silhouette is deisnged only for PCs right now. A Mac version is expected to come in the fall. In the meantime, there are a couple hacks you can use to run it from your Mac.
It’s possible I got a little carried away.
Here’s a sneak peek at a very fun girlie tutorial I have coming soon.

8. Silhouette has very awesome mediums you can buy on their shop. I worked with their vinyl and it was premium. Oh so smooth with perfect tackiness. I can’t wait to try the heat transfer and make myself a cool tee.
9. You will never, ever have trouble coming up with a customized gift. Do you like how this drink tray turned out for my mom? I made it in a flash. I’ll share full details soon.

10. You will wonder how you ever lived with out it. Kind of like my first born.

To sum up. The Silhouette SD can help you with your homemade gifts, gift wrap, home decor, party decor, your baking, and your DIY fashion. Not bad. Stick around to join in on my week-long Silhouette fest. Tomorrow you’ll hear from Crystal (hooray!), then you can expect three Silhouette tutorials and a giveaway winner announced on Wednesday. It’s going to be fun.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about all this. I’ll leave you with a little more eye candy from the amazing crafters at Silhouette.te Stop their site to see more. Good luck!

{ 672 comments }

Sponsor Hello: Mini Goals Clockboards and Chalkboards

06.01.10

I am thrilled today to have you meet my new sponsor. MaryKate McDevitt of Portland has been on my personal Etsy favorites list for some time. When I first saw her handpainted mini goals chalkboards, I was immediately in love. I am a list girl, and I especially like the idea of a simple list in plain view. Perfect for scribbling down my most important plans, like call grandma for roll recipe and make it with kids.

pretty handpainted mini goals chalkboards

on display at Orange Beautiful’s lovely Chicago shop

And as if the mini goals chalkboards weren’t enough to make your heart go pitter pat, you also need to see MaryKate’s mini goals clockboards. Now that it is June and I have officially kicked my husband off this blog until Father’s Day, I feel at liberty to tell you, I think a clock would be perfect for the garage or workshop. Especially if I left it at the right height, I am sure the kids could not resist doodling notes to him now and then.

MaryKate’s mini goals clockboards

a peek at how your mini goals chalkboard will arrive

Be sure to visit MaryKate McDevitt’s shop or flickr to see more of her lovely designs.

P.S. What’s on your to do list today?

{ 3 comments }

Aedriel Originals

05.13.10

I can’t be on the topic of weddings without telling you a little about one of my sponsors, Aedriel Originals. If you’ve been around for a while, you may remember the lovely teacher appreciation plate she did for me last year. Aedriel came through again for me this year when I needed something special for my SIL’s wedding when we headed out to Utah. (I love giving a platter because it’s a beautiful heirloom gift, and also because when you receive a platter as a gift, you don’t have to wonder where you’ll store it.) When you get a chance, stop by Aedriel’s shop. She has so many lovely creations. And Aedriel is the sweetest person you’ll ever work with, and wicked fast. She can whip up whatever you dream up in no time.

(In the pics below is my daughter giving her aunt a squeeze. There’s nothing little girls like better than getting to flitter around all day in a pretty dress next to an aunt in her pretty dress.)

+++

If you’re interested in becoming a GiversLog sponsor, I plan to open up sponsorships again in late May, early June. In the meantime, you can check out all the nitty gritty details here.

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries