kids craft-Thank You Cards

It is always important to send thank you cards whenever you receive a gift. I have been very dedicated to this custom all my life and want my children to know how important it is as well. So this Christmas I started the tradition with my daughter and asked her to help me make the cards. I still wanted them to look nice, so since she is only 3 years old we started with some small additions she could make to the cards.

I found some adorable "handmade for you" stickers and instantly came up with the idea of putting Elizabeth's hand print on the cards.

She helped me cut the paper for the background into squares using my sliding paper cutter and then we painted her hands and stamped them on the cards. Add the Thank You and handmade for you stickers and we were done. Then I wrote the thank you notes for her.

As she grows and learns to write I know she will be able to make the cards alone but for now it was a really fun project.

Holiday Card Display

We receive countless holiday cards and I have trouble trying to display each of them with out looking like I have a mess of cards piled in our home.  Tonight I came up with a great solution.  I made a pretty display frame where I can hang our favorite cards this holiday season.

Yes, all the cards are my own family cards because we haven't received any from friends yet!

I started with a big frame I had in my closet.  The glass had broken years ago and I saved the frame thinking I would replace the glass someday.  This was a perfect frame for my holiday card display!

I spray paint on plastic outside and use glass beads to hold the plastic down when it's windy.

I used a couple coats of Krylon's Cherry Red spray paint to give the frame a festive look.  Then I added Krylon's Cherry Bomb Glitter Blast and finished it with Krylon's Glitter Blast clear sealer.  I LOVE the Glitter Blast paint!

Picture taken after first coat of Cherry Red paint.

I used one yard of pretty fabric to cover the frame backing.  I simply folded it over the cardboard backing.

Next I used wire trim to make the sections where the cards attach.

Just like before with the fabric, I simply wrapped the wire around the edges of the cardboard backing.

The back of the frame looked pretty sloppy when I inserted the covered cardboard.

I made sure the fabric and wire was pulled tightly before clipping the frame closed.  Instead of trimming the fabric I folded the edges and used the frame clips to hold each side down.

I found the perfect spot in my home to hang the holder.

Then I added some cards. 

Now I'm just waiting for actual cards from friends so I don't have to display my own!

I'm linking this post here.

 

Turkey Button Cards

I always like to keep in touch with my family through letters. It may be old fashioned but there is something delightful about getting mail (that is not bills). I especially like sending cards to my grandparents. Always with little stories and a few pictures of what we are up to these days. So with Thanksgiving right around the corner I decided to make some cute turkey cards using my little mismatched button stash.

They are super easy and would make a cute holiday decoration. Here is how I made them:
-construction paper
-buttons
-wiggly eyes
-blank cards

I used the bottom of a hand soap container and a large button to make the turkey body.  

Then I free hand cut the beak, wings, and the gobble gobble (I don't know what that is really called). Next I glued all my pieces together to make the turkey.  

And finally I drew feather shapes with craft glue and glued the buttons in the shapes. Easy, fun, and a great way to get rid of all those little buttons you will never use.

Easy Gift Bag and Matching Card

I really enjoy making gifts for people but often feel frustrated when it comes to wrapping.  I recently purchased a few plain white gift bags to stock in my wrapping box to avoid that frustration.  I embellished one and made a matching card for my daughter's little friend a couple of weeks ago.  The bag and card took less than 15 minutes to put together and turned out adorable!

Supplies:
-Plain gift bag
-ribbon
-matching thread
-plain card (folded cardstock) and envelope

Optional:
-embellishments

I adjusted the tension on my sewing machine to ruffle the ribbon.  Then I sewed it directly onto the paper bag.   

I only sewed the ribbon to the front panel of the bag but you could easily continue all the way around.

Trim your edges of the ribbon and your bag is done!

I sewed the ruffles to the front of the card too.

You will be able to see the stitching on the inside cover of your card.

I cut adhesive cardstock to cover the entire inside of the card.  No more yucky stitches on the inside!

You now have a pretty card to match your bag.

I took this one step further and added some cupcakes and a number for the birthday girl!

Instead of using a plain gift bag, you can get even more creative and try using a shopping bag.  Extra ruffles would easily cover the store logos.  I'm never purchasing a cute gift bag again!

I'm linking this post here.

 

Celebrate Easter

Just wanted to share some Easter ideas with you all before the big weekend.

First I made my kiddos dress in their Easter outfits early just so I could snap a couple shots for all of you to see.For Elizabeth's dress I used white muslin for the lining, this gorgeous fancy eyelet in mint that I found on fabric.com, and moda fandango cotton (my favorite line from last season). I also used a gathered flower ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby for $1 a yard (on sale). It is a basic bodice that I attached elastic in casing to for the shoulders. It gives it that scrunched look that I love. Then I added the skirt. I cut 2 pieces of the white that were 16 inch x 30 inch. Then I cut the eyelet 12.5 inch x 30 inches. I sewed a loose stitch all the way across the top and gathered the skirt. Then I added it to the bodice. I made the sash out of the white, and added the flower ribbon to the top. Then I created a fabric flower and added a yellow button to the middle.



Her head band is just fabric flowers that I played with and hot glued to felt. Then I wrapped a headband in white fabric and glued the flowers to the top.

For Jackson's tie I used the same fabric as the bodice of Lizzy's dress. I thought he deserved something special as well. He thought it was really cool to have a real tie like dad. He even had dad tie it for him. I got the pattern from this website: Purlbee

After the photoshoot we made resurrection rolls. I have seen these floating around the web and have to admit I love the idea for Easter and they taste really good. If you would like to teach your kids about Christ and Easter this is a great lesson and activity. You can find the instructions HERE.

Finally we made Easter cards for our grandparents and great grandparents. They love getting cards. I cut out the shapes and the kids glued them on (with a little guidance) and then added stickers and their own drawings inside. Here are some of the cards we made.

Dictionary love poem

I saw a really fun idea to make love poems using an old dictionary at mmmmboppin' last week. To see the original post, go here.

Our wedding anniversary was this week so I used the idea to make my husband a sweet card letting him know how wonderful I think he is. I originally planned on making a wall hanging for his office but then when I realized the size of my dictionary, I decided to make a card instead.

I printed his name on blue cardstock and folded it in half to make a card. I glued the clippings from the dictionary directly onto the card next to the letters. The little red heart gave it a splash of color. We were on vacation last week so I had very limited time to make a card. This could have turned out so much cuter but given the 15 minutes I had to make it, I think it's perfect and my husband loved it!




This would make a perfect Valentine's Day card for someone special!