Paper Leaf Garland

I stumbled upon an idea for fall leaf paper cutting online today and it brought me back to the days of paper dolls. This might be a fun one for the kids to work on over Thanksgiving break.

I decided to recycle the ends of the kraft paper I use for the back of my frames...ahhhh, recycling!

I found a maple leaf out in my yard and cut a long strip of paper the same width, then folded it accordion style until I ended up with a 3x3 inch square. I used brown craft paper, but think outside the box with wrapping paper, parchment paper, paper grocery bags, or even pull some out of your printer.


I arranged the leaf so that part of the leaf extended beyond the borders of the paper on two opposite folded sides. Leaving the folded edges intact is what creates the "paper doll" effect when you unfold.



Trace the leaf then cut, being careful not to cut through the fold (see arrows). It's more interesting to angle it slightly rather than tracing it straight up and down.


Pull apart your leaves and you've made a garland! I draped mine over my mantle. Happy Fall!

Autumn Leaf Wine Charms

Let's kill two birds with one stone this year and make personalized wine tags that can double as place cards!

Supplies:
A leaf template
Shrinky dink plastic
Scissors
Hole punch
Colored pencils
Sharpie
Toaster oven
Hoop earring blanks (found in any craft store)

Print out your template and place the shrinky dink plastic over top, shiny side up. Trace the shape with your Sharpie, then print the guests name in the center.


Using the hole punch, punch a hole for the hoop to slide through later.


Cut out the shape then color the rough side with colored pencils, acrylic paint also works for a more intense color (water it down a bit)


Place onto a piece of parchment and pop into a 300 degree oven for about 1 minute as it shrinks then let cool. You can press it flat with the bottom of a drinking glass if you'd like, but I like the edges curling a bit for this leaf shape.


Thread the hoop earring into the hold and place onto the stem of your wine glasses before you set the table. Cheers!


Cheers!

Tutorial Tuesday!

Baby Cheeseburger Costume:

Bento Box Lunch Ideas:

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Meatballs:

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An InLinkz Link-up

Recycled Gift Bows

Repost from December 2011, Enjoy!

Need some last minute gift wrapping ideas? I always run out of bows when i don't have time to run to Target.  Here are some bows you can make with magazine pages, wrapping paper scraps or even old homework papers!

Pull out your old magazines, girl, because I know you are just like me and hold on to those dang things "just in case"! Well, the time has finally come. Nah, nah, Big Guy!

Use a page of print to wrap your gift, then make this quick and easy gift bow GGCAA taught me how to make from a colorful magazine page. For this example I used a magazine photo of a giant ice cream cone!

Recycled Gift Bows

Supplies:

Magazine
Scissors or paper cutter
Stapler
Tacky glue
Tape

I used my handy dandy paper cutter to cut 9 strips of paper 3/4 inch wide:



Next, I sized them as follows:

Leave 3 strips at this length.
Cut 1 inch from the end of 3 strips.
Cut 2 inches from the end of 2 strips.
Cut the remaining strip to a length of 3 1/2 inches.

Now, begin to form figure 8's from all the strips except the shortest. Staple them to hold. *(I had a momentary brain fart during this step, but I finally got the hang of it. Just keep looking at the picture.)



The last strip will be glued to form a small loop.

Now, nest those babies! Begin with the largest figure 8's like this, placing a dot of glue between the layers:




Go ahead and layer the remaining 8's, largest to smallest then staple the whole lot together in the center:



Using a dot of glue, slip the loop you made from the smallest strip into the center:



Check out what you can do with an old homework paper and an ink pad. You're so clever!



Want some more ideas?

Try dressing up a paper lunch bag with scrapbook paper and ribbon.

Wrap yarn round and round plain brown craft paper wrappings, like ErinEverAfter:



Wrap in a square of reusable fabric, like Chewingthecud:



Or weave this amazing paper gift topper like PaperCrave:

Stinky Sports Gloves

It's that time of the year again and the gloves are getting real stinky. Let's revisit this post from last year...

My son's football gloves REEEEEK when he gets into the car after practice.  It's a horrible sour, stinky smell that could be a weapon of war.

It doesn't help that he usually strips them off all sweaty and stuffs them into his helmet after practice to sit there until the next night.  Soon the smell is all through his helmet and all over his face after a few days.

I try to keep on top of it during the week and pull his gloves out of his helmet, rinse them under water and stuff rolled up newspapers into the bottom.  Prop up with his water bottle and cooler so we don't forget them the next day. (warning: the kids will playfully arrange the fingers to make several rude gestures when you are not looking!)

For a super stinky pair that has been hanging out for awhile, I turn them inside out and really scrub the inside, then flip them to dry normally.  After they are dry, I fill them with baking soda and let sit overnight.  Pour out soda and wear as usual.

For SUPER SUPER smelly gloves, pour in some vinegar to let them fizz up after sitting overnight, then rinse and dry with the newspaper. This is a 2 day process with all the rinsing and drying but well worth it.

DIY Cheap, Easy Christmas Cards!

I just finished making my Christmas Cards for this season and wanted to teach you how to do the same.  It's super easy and waaaay cheaper to do this yourself rather than order from the pricey companies out there.

DIY Christmas Cards

Instructions:

Choose your favorite photo or photos

Upload to your favorite photo editing program (photoshop, or the free online site PicMonkey.com)

Resize your photo to 5x7 inches 

Using filters and editing tools make your photo super special.

Add text using the text tools by clicking the text button - Say whatever you want to say in whatever font you love!

Save photo to your computer.

Upload photo to your favorite photo processing site and order 5x7 prints in a matte finish (I ordered mine through Sharpprints.com).

Buy card-sized envelopes (5 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches).

Mail out to all your friends!

I just ordered 60 prints for about $30 and found envelopes for $10 per 50 pack (I found mine at Walmart.com ship-to-store). 

So that makes less than $50 for all my cards this year!

Hey, Bob Vila...I love you.

I grew up without cable TV, so a few grainy network stations and crystal clear PBS were the only channels we had.  Back in those days I loved watching old reruns of Dark Shadows, Star Trek, and This Old House on PBS.  Bob Vila was one of the pioneers of home improvement TV.

These days, Bob has embraced the age of technology and has his own website called BobVila.com .  It's filled with all the great stuff Bob Vila is known for plus little extras like interior design, lawn and garden tips, travel suggestions, and much more.

Imagine my excitement when I was contacted a few weeks ago to contribute a feature to the website!  He has a new feature called Genius! and they shared The World's Largest Slip and Slide in the Genius! section.  You can check it out here!

Thanks, Bob...I love you, man.

Box Hockey!

Have your kids reached that part of summer vacation where everything is "boring" and "there's nothing to do?" We saw this homemade game at a graduation party this summer and I snapped a photo so I could figure out how to construct one for our house.

One quick trip to Lowe's and about $25 later, we had a solution that worked with standard wood sizes for minimal cutting.

Let's build a Box Hockey Court!

Supplies:

1 sheet of plywood (we used 1/2 inch)
4 2x4 boards
Wood screws
Drill
Jig Saw
2 wooden broom handles
1 hockey puck

 

Instructions:

The long sides of the game will use the 2x4 boards as-is, the short sides will be 4 ft long so you will need to cut one board in half, and the remaining center board will need to measure 44 1/2 inches.

Mark your goal notches on the short boards - 2 notches in the center board (equidistant from the center), and one centered notch for each end "goal".  The notches should measure about 2x4 inches.

Cut out notches using your jig saw.

Construct your simple frame using the 2x4's and wood screws, making sure to locate the notches at the bottom. 

Attach the bottom of the frame to the plywood with wood screws.

....Flip it and Play it!

How to Play Box Hockey

1. Place hockey puck on top of the center board. Each player's goal will be to their right, and they will attempt to score on their opponent to the left.

2. Players begin by tapping their sticks down on their sides, then tap them together in the center, 1, 2, 3!

3.  After the third tap, players try to be the first one to knock the puck off the center board and toward their opponent's goal.

4. Scramble to shoot the puck through your opponent's goal to score.

Coconut Oil Lip Balm

Our birthday crafty activity this year was making homemade Coconut Oil Lip Balm!  Here we go...

 

DIY Coconut Oil Lip Balm
Adapted from Intructables.com

Supplies:

• containers for lip balm - we bought cheap lip balm at the Dollar Tree and emptied and cleaned them for refilling.
• glass measuring cup
• small grater
• yellow beeswax
• coconut oil
• vitamin E oil
• measuring spoons
• pan for water bath for melting
• glass ramekin

Recipe:

• 2 parts coconut oil
• 1 part beeswax
• a few drops of vitamin E

Directions:

Grate the beeswax then measure and add wax, coconut oil, and vitamin E to a glass ramekin.

Set the ramekin into a shallow pan of boiling water and stir to melt.

Once melted, pour into your container and let set up  (speed the setting up by placing into the fridge).

Picnic-for-Two Basket - Anthro Knock-Off

I came across this Anthropologie Picnic-for-Two Basket a few weeks ago and pinned it into my "gift ideas" file for a birthday gift for a friend.

I loved the idea, but $128 was a little steep for me!

Fast forward a few weeks later as I was browsing the Target Dollar Aisle (more my budget), I spied this straw bag ($3) that resembled the Anthropologie bag and inspiration hit me!  I found most of what I needed in that dollar aisle that day.

Picnic-for-Two Basket

Supplies:

Large straw bag

Plates

Wine glasses

Mason jars

Plastic utensils

Straws

Tablecloth

Napkins

+ any other "picnic-y" item you can think of!

Directions:

Pack it all up into the bag for a compact last minute picnic on the go!

Change Purse First Aid Kit

I'm leaving for my annual adult Key West Weekend soon, and I am only taking carry on luggage.  Everything I'm bringing has to be in a tiny size to make room for everything.

Last year, I woke up on day 2 with a terrible head cold and spent most of that afternoon riding around in 90 degree heat and 80% humidity searching for a pharmacy with Sudafed.  Never again.

This year, I will be prepared.  You can make one too for your next trip or even for your purse or car!

Change Purse First Aid Kit

Supplies:

Change purse (I found mine in the Target Dollar Bin)
Various medications (Advil, Tylenol, Tums, Alka Seltzer, Sudafed, Advil cold and sinus, Nyquil, Bandaids, cough drops, Immodium, prescription medications...)
Tiny zip top bags (I found mine at the craft store)
Marker

Portion out a few days worth of each medication and place into labeled zip top bags.  Just write the names on the tiny bags so there are no mix ups).  The labeled baggies will also help you replenish when you run out of something.

Place everything into a cute change purse and toss into your bag!

Easter Grass Wreath

I saw a tutorial for this wreath online and I cannot remember where! What in the world did we do to remember things before Pinterest?!?

So, thank you to the nice lady who showed me how to do this on a video where she complained about the light being to bright but she didn't want to re-record it...anyone? Anyone remember this video so I can give props to my Easter Grass Wreath girl??

***UPDATE: I just found it!!  CC Mcafee Perspective Blog! Thanks, girlfriend***

Anyway, it inspired me because I began to think about how this could be used after Easter and I thought it would be cool to set it out for the birds to use for nest supplies.  In fact, The Treat Girl told me this is exactly what happened when she tried to make this wreath  - the birds stole all the grass for nests!  I want pretty Easter grass nests around my house!

Ready?

Supplies:

18 inch straw wreath form
5 bags of assorted Easter grass colors
Floral U pins

Instructions:

Remove all of the grass from the bags and mix together so you have a nice mix of colors:

Grab bunches of grass and pinch between your fingers like this:

Attach the bunch to the straw wreath with the U pin by trying to grab most of the grass in the center, push pin into wreath:

Add bunches of grass in the same way next to each other like this:

Continue to add bunches next to each other until the straw wreath is covered:

Once the straw wreath form is covered with the Easter grass, begin to shape the wreath by pulling the extra-long pieces of grass from the edges of the wreath to the back of the wreath. Pin the extra grass in the back to keep the shape of the wreath. Do the same thing in the center. I left some pieces sticking out for a more natural shape.

Tada! This cute little wreath cost me about 10 bucks!

When Easter is over, I'm going to hang this in the trees for the birds to use for nest building supplies. If I find a super-cute-easter-grass-bird-nest this spring I am sooooo taking a picture for you!