bugaboo, mini, mr & me

Showing posts with label easy*shmeezy. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

It's Spring! Here's some Flower Bookmarks!

It's Spring! It's Spring! It's finally here! Though I thought that a few weeks ago and then it snowed, so I may be wrong. But it sure feels like Spring! It's sunny. I've gone out without a winter coat. The grass is actually more green than brown. The trees are starting to bud with "baby leaves" as mini calls them. The kids are riding their bikes. AND I'm officially done paying attention to my child's homework, signing papers, initialing agendas and packing lunches. And by officially done I mean mentally done, because school does not actually end until May, but let me tell you I AM DONE.

So. It's Spring. And in honor of Spring, here are some Spring-inspired bookmarks for you to make - and they're so easy!

You need:
big-ish paperclips - any kind, really. I used green so they'd represent the stem of the flower, but you can use any color. They are the big kind, but not giant. (I got them at the dollar store)
fabric yo-yo's
buttons, needle and thread
White (or light colored) felt
Scissors
E6000
Clothespin

You can get fabric yo-yo's pre-made at fabric and craft stores - check in the notions or by the scrapbook embellishments. BUT, although you CAN go this route, I highly recommend making your own! Why? Because you can use up all your scraps! Plus you can personalize your yo-yo's and use your favorite fabric. AND they are easy and super fun to make. Seriously. Sometimes I sit in front of the TV at night and just make a bunch of yo-yo's to be used at future times for various projects. Does that make me weird? Probably. If you'd like to know how to make a fabric yo-yo, (and trust me, they are SO easy) check out this tutorial.

So. You've got your yo-yo's. Now find some coordinating buttons and use a needle and thread to sew them to the front (AKA gathered portion) of the yo-yo. It's ok if you go all the way through as no one will see the back.

Now, cut out a felt circle, just smaller than your yo-yo flower.

Put some E6000 (not too much) on the back of your flower, and a little on the front of your felt circle. Place the flower on the top of the paperclip (the end that is only a single wire layer, not the end the separates with the two layers of wires) and press the felt circle to the back of the flower - sandwiching the paperclip between.

Use a clothespin to clamp the flower and felt circle together until the adhesive dries.

Unclamp, and voila! Adorable little flower bookmark!

These guys come together really quickly and are so adorable, they make awesome gifts for the avid readers you know! How about an end of the year teacher gift??

Make a whole set and package them up on a cute card.

You can also use this exact same method with covered buttons instead of yo-yo's, and they're pretty darn cute as well!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Thursday, February 19, 2015

(Understated) Glam Pinecone Wreath

I made a wreath! I've shocked you all, I know. They're almost my favorite thing to make. Besides chocolate cake. Nothing beats chocolate cake.
But door decor is pretty much the homey-est thing you slap up on your house. Want your house to say "welcome! We like it here! We hope you do too!" Make a wreath. Put it on your door. Done.
If you'd rather your house say "Go away, I'm taking a nap." well, I can totally understand that. But a wreath won't help.

I started by gathering a bazillion pinecones. I actually used them for a different project first, and kept the nicest ones for the wreath. I don't actually have any pinecones like this in my yard, and because it seemed absolutely ridiculous to pay for them at Joann's, though I knew I could, I drove out to my church building and ran around all the pine trees with a huge bucket.
I did this during the day, and my church building is on a fairly busy highway, so I'm a little surprised no one called the police with my suspicious activity. Surprised, but grateful.

After collecting the pinecones, I sprayed them a bright metallic silver. Nice and shiny!

For the wreath form base, I used a flat chipboard circle I got at Hobby Lobby. It wasn't very pricey, and though I usually use foam forms I get at the thrift store for like 25 cents, I "splurged" this time because the flat, sturdy, light and NEW chipboard form was beckoning me.

First, I wrapped the whole thing in gray yarn for a nice cozy coverage. You can sort of kind of see it in this picture if you tilt your head to the right and squint really hard.

I started with the outside ring of cones. I used the largest ones on the outside layer, and tried to space the extra largest ones evenly around the circumference. I used hot glue and just held each cone in place for a couple of seconds until it was grippy. Then I worked on the inner ring of cones, which I had saved the smaller sizes for. I used hot glue, and placed each cone in between two of the larger cones, kind of smooshing it in there. It worked really well, the uh, what are those? The petal things slid in between each other really nicely and added even more gripping power.

Those pinecones aren't going anywhere.

So there you have it. My Understated Glam Pinecone Wreath. It's all silvery and wintery. Which was nice and elegant-ish in like December. Even January. Now??

Now it's just depressing.

Come on, excruciating cold! Give it up already!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Wrap 'em up and Round 'em up!

So, we have come to the end of our little valentines series. If you aren't aware of the nature of the series, I shared some DIY valentines you can create (with very little effort, I might add) from dollar store materials.

Here's a quick wrap-up of all the projects:

Cute Erasers - 3 Ways

Marbles

Well, you've no doubt
had enough of Valentines for the year. Maybe too much. Maybe you're so sick of Valentines you're gonna boke (the word we have to use for throw up because my daughter will have a panic attack if she even hears "throw up." Apparently it's Irish?)
But I just couldn't resist finishing up this little series with a good old fashioned round up! You know how much I love those! Here are several MORE valentines you can make after a trip to the dollar store.

Watercolors by Smart Schoolhouse

Wooly Sheep by Hello, Wonderful

"Tu tu" Scrunchie by The Nature of Grace

Google Eye Cards by Raeann Kelly

Candy Robots by Lisa Storms

Rulers by Re:Located Living

Play Doh by Grace and Good Eats

Colorful Gluesticks by Re:Located Living

Pack of Gum by Mommy Musings

Cute Pencils by Or So She Says

Nail Polish by Simply Kierste

Sea Creatures by Haley's Daily

Big Dinos by Simmworks Family Daily Blog

Clothespins by DIY Inspired

Yoda Glow Sticks by design. wash. rinse. repeat.

Socks by 30 Handmade Days

Bouncy Balls by Paging Super Mom

Crayons by Simply PChee

Balloons by Willowday

Erasers by Re:Located Living

Army Men by Love and Marriage

So you can get a jump on next year. Ha!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Thursday, February 12, 2015

BONUS! Pen valentines for the teacher!

Thought I was going to stop at 15, huh? Just because the initial announcement said "15"? Psh. I'm a rebel.

I came up with (what I think) is a pretty cute teacher valentine! It's not going to make them fat, it's not expensive, it's not mushy gushy (that would be my son talking again...), it's useful, it's something they need, and it's cute!
So if those aren't enough reasons for this bonus DIY valentine idea (that can still be made from dollar store materials, mind you) then I don't know what'll convince you!

If your kiddo's teacher is stu-PEN-dous, this is the valentine - and free printable! - for you!

So you can really package them up two different ways.

First, you can give your teacher a whole pack of pens. You'll need a hole punch (preferably small), twine, pens and the printable card.

Simply punch two holes at the top of the card across from each other horizontally. Then punch two holes in the pack of pens directly under those holes. Wrap twine through all of the holes (I wrapped it around the whole package twice) then tie in a bow on the front.

Or, you could just give a single pen - a great option if your child has more then one teacher.

For this option you need the pens, printable card and a craft knife.

Then you just slice two slits in the card, one at the top middle and one at the bottom middle. Make sure you make the slits long enough to make up for the diameter of the pen. (I find you usually have to make them a little longer than you think you do.) Then just stick your pen through the slits.

Voila! A teacher valentine!

I think these would make super cute classmate valentines, too (which is why I made the printables a little generic, no "teacher" or anything...).
Just buy a BIG pack of pens and slip one in each card.

Here are the last valentine printables I'm giving you!