Need a Quick, Personalized, Little Gift?

I'm working on a sort of involved crafty endeavor for church, (I'll write more about it later,) that involves really cool tie dye print wrapping paper.

I decorated some cute little notebooks with the scraps, and figured I'd share the results. I think they'd make neat party favors or stocking stuffers for those of us who still like to write in an actual notebook.

I started out with a couple of mini composition books, but you could use big ones too.

I roughly cut a piece of wrapping paper slightly bigger than the notebook, and sprayed the paper with spray adhesive. (This is an important point because if you spray the adhesive on the notebook cover instead, you'll inevitably get glue on some of the pages.) Cover the book with the paper, working out any bubbles. The glue will reposition for a few minutes. Trim off any extra paper. For durability, I covered the books in clear contact paper from Dollar Tree after the adhesive had time to dry.

(The cool wrapping paper came from Hobby Lobby. You could also use scrapbook paper or some of the kiddos' artwork to cover the books.)

Quick & Easy Crocheted Hat & Scarf

My nieces, (now in their early 20's,) like to tease me about giving homemade gifts for Christmas every year. They accuse me of having a "Little House on the Prairie Christmas."

The truth is, they love it. Some years they put in specific requests, some years I surprise them. They always know they'll be getting something you can't just pick up at your nearest box store. (I think the year I tie dyed socks and underwear for everyone was probably the most unique. Yes, I know that wouldn't fly in every family, but it did in ours. LOL.)

This year one of my nieces put in a request for a loud, rainbow-y hat. Her new mohawk is leaving her with a chilly head. (No criticism here. I currently have blue streaks.) I decided to whip her up a matching scarf to go with it.

The yarn is I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby. I really do love it. It's super soft. The rainbow turned out a little more pastel than I had intended, but it's still a fun set.

The hat pattern was a tweaked version of the beanie from The Happy Hooker. The scarf was made with the One Warm Coat pattern from Red Heart.

Barbie Doll Makeover

V has accumulated a rather large collection of mostly nude, thrift store Barbie dolls with frizzy, tangled hair.

Yikes! Looks like Barbie got stuck in a wind tunnel...

I've been working on making them look a little more presentable. I gave this one a bob haircut, and crocheted her a dress, based loosely on this pattern. It worked up quickly and easily. If you crochet, you must check out this site for a ginormous selection of free Barbie doll patterns.

Barbie, post makeover.

Barbie's looking a little classier these days...

Make Something Pretty (And a Mess...)

V loves to get messy. When I saw this tutorial for marbled paper at Tot School, I knew we had to try it out. (Tip: You can pick up the shaving cream and the food coloring at Dollar Tree.)

Mess.

We had a blast, and made a ginormous mess.

More mess.

It was a fun, open ended activity, which actually turned out a really pretty end result. We'll be using the paper later to make bookmarks, cards, and maybe wrapping paper.

Three year old V's finished products.

A few of my finished pages. 

4th of July Flip Flops

Three year old V likes to be "fancy." (Her word for anything pink, ruffly, shiny, or otherwise over the top.) When I saw these cute embellished flip flops, I knew V needed some for the 4th of July.

I substituted a cut up bandanna from the dollar section at Target, instead of ribbon, and was able to finish this project during V's afternoon nap.

Cute, and easy.

(I tried to get a picture of her wearing them, but in typical three year old fashion, she refused to have a picture taken...)

Last Minute Advent Calendar

I had thought I'd sew up a new Advent calendar this year, but never got around to it. Then I started seeing blog posts showing calendars made of things like toilet paper tubes, and matchboxes, and thought I'd surely have enough time to at least make one of those. I never got around to that either...
Today I realized it was now or never. (Well, not really never, but not until next year, at least.)
Inspired by several blog posts, like this one at The Crafting Chicks, I decided to make one of paper library pockets I had picked up from Dollar Tree a while back.

I used some Martha Stewart glitter I had on hand to make the numbers. The pockets are hung on fine ribbon with paper clips.

It super simple, but I love it. It has all the ingredients for success here: loud colors, lots of glitter, and it was fast and inexpensive.

There's still time to whip up one for yourself tomorrow, out of about $3 worth of office supplies...

If you're wondering what's in the pockets this year, some days have notes about the day's activities. (Christmas Eve=birthday party for Jesus, etc.) Every day will have a Jesse Tree ornament from the Advent Devotional at A  Holy Experience. They'll also be a piece of yarn in each pocket, to line the manger with "hay." (For more info on that idea, check out this post at Live, Learn, Love.)

For more WFMW posts, check out http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ .

Custom Coloring Books

Last year, for L's Pokemon birthday party, I made some little custom coloring books for the kids.They were a huge hit. I was going to make some more for the kids for Christmas this year, but came upon an even easier idea.

I found these plastic folders at Dollar Tree. Each one has dividers and 14 pockets. Instead of actually binding a coloring book, I just printed lots of coloring pages in the kids particular areas of interest, and placed them in the pockets of the folder.
(My kids prefer to tear the pages out of their coloring books, so I think they'll actually prefer this unbound version.)
I know this sounds super simple, but kids are constantly hounding me to find and print them some Mario or Pokemon coloring pages. I have a feeling these are going to go over well.
In case your kids just happen to be into the same things as mine, here are links to a couple of the coloring page sources I've used.

Mario Coloring Pages at Cartoon Jr (Look around the site, as there are coloring pages for virtually every other theme. The Hello Kitty picture I used on the cover here came from there also.)

Pokemon Coloring Pages at DLTK

Hello Kitty Coloring Pages at Coloring-Book

Coffee Filter Snowflakes

Several years ago, when L was just a little guy, we made these together.

You fold a regular old coffee filter into 16ths, and dip the corners into food coloring dyed water. Unfold them, lie them flat on a paper towel, and let them dry. (They dry quickly.) The result is cool, tie dye effect.

After they dry, fold them back into 16ths, and with sharp scissors, carefully start cutting simple shapes into the edges.

When you're done, unfold them, and carefully iron the coffee filters to flatten them out.

In our case, because L was so little, and not yet able to do much cutting, he was in charge of the coloring portion of the project, and I did the cutting. An older child could make their own.

For the traditionalist, plain white coffee filters turn out pretty too.

We have some white ones hanging in our window, and the colorful ones are hanging in our dining room.

By carefully storing these, the colored ones have actually lasted us several years.

Cheap, easy, beautiful Christmas decorations work for me. For more WFMW posts, check out http://www.wearethatfamily.com/.

Yo Gabba Gabba Nesting Dolls

I saw this set of Yo Gabba Gabba nesting dolls on Gabba Friends a while back, and decided to attempt a set for V. I picked up the blank dolls at Hobby Lobby for about 6 bucks. Mine are decorated with acrylic paint and permanent markers.

They're not perfect, but V loves them. :) They were actually supposed to be for Christmas, but I caved, and gave them to her early.

If I were more artistic, I would attempt a Mario themed set for L, (Luigi, Princess, Mario, Toad, and a mushroom.)

DIY Mini Bowling Set

Another craft inspired by this month's issue of Family Fun Magazine: Bowling Boys, (and girls.)

Basically a teeny little bowling set, with these guys as the pins, and a rubber ball as the bowling ball. Cute, and super easy. I think they'll make a fun little stocking stuffer.

Ready, Set, Craft (for Christmas)

It's time to start thinking about crafting for Christmas. After looking through several old issues of Family Fun magazine, and all the things I've bookmarked in my "Christmas" folder, I've come up with a list of things that might be fun to try this year.
Maybe they'll inspire you too...

These felt coffee cup cozies from Family Fun would make a neat gift for aunts, teachers, and Sunday School leaders.

Also from Family Fun, these Popsicle stick ornaments incorporate one of V's favorite activities: painting.

I've posted before about my love of felt food. This project is a hugely simplified version of the life sized, 3D foods most people are making. They're also really cute, and represent healthy food choices. (Bonus points!)

I bookmarked this toilet paper roll Nativity set at Catholic Icing last year. It's awesome. (Even though I'm not Catholic, I've found a number of neat projects there. Be sure to check out the archives, regardless of your denomination.)

We made thumbprint reindeer bookmarks last year, and everyone loved them. Check out this post at Linaloo about how to make thumbprint reindeer cards.

If you don't already have an Advent calendar, I love this idea I found at A girl and a glue gun for using a shoe organizer as one.

I love this Winter Sweater Wreath at Design Sponge. I think I actually may have enough felted sweater scraps to make this one this year...

What are you making this year?

Mario Brothers Ornaments

I'm beating the proverbial dead horse here, right? More Shrinky Dink Ornaments, made in my usual fashion, by tracing the pictures.
This time, my little buddy L joined in and made a few of his own, one to keep, and one to give to a friend.

Meet Brobeena

I picked up a McCall's pattern (number M5826, if you're interested,) a while back to make weird little toy monsters for the kids. On closer inspection, I noticed one of the body patterns looked a little like Brobee, from Yo Gabba Gabba.
I dived into my pile of partially disassembled wool sweaters today, and started working on some of Brobee's slightly eccentric relatives. :)

Here's the only one I managed to complete tonight. We've named it Brobeena.

It's a little wacky looking, (no mess ups on my part this time, it was supposed to be,)  but V loves it. She got to weigh in on some of the details, like the fact that she wanted it to have "mommy lips."

I used the body pattern as is, and added the horns, (ears? whatever they are,) and the facial features. It looks like you could also use one of the included patterns to make a pretty good Toodee, and with a few alterations, you could probably make Muno as well.

I have several more of Brobee's pals in the works.

Crocheted Wrist Warmers

The other night, as I was battling insomnia, I whipped up a really cute pair of crocheted wrist warmers. I actually got the pattern out of a book, but these ended up being one of those pattern-that's-not-really-a-pattern types of things. Basically, you figure out how long you want them to be, and make a chain that long. Then you crochet a rectangle wide enough to go around your arm, and finally, you seam the edges, leaving a hole for your thumb. Since there's no gauge when you do it this way, you can pretty much use whatever yarn you want, and make them as long or short as you want

I made these out of Patons SWS yarn, and one skein was (barely) enough to finish them.

Now I'm itching to make a teeny pair for V. Wonder if she'd wear them? These would make a fun, easy Christmas gift too...

Halloween Soap From Dollar Tree Molds

Dollar Tree seasonally stocks holiday themed silicone ice cube trays. I picked up some Christmas Trees last winter, and some hearts in the spring. Last time I was there, I saw these Halloween molds, and had to snap up a couple of them.

Skulls and Pumpkins

These have several uses other than ice cube making. They're great for candy molds, you can use them for molded crayons, and best of all, they make cool soap molds. (I haven't tried it, but they'd probably also make cool play doh molds for the kids...)

I made some orange and black pumpkin and skull soaps to put in a mason jar for Halloween, in the bathroom. They turned out really cute, and I tried at least six times to take a good picture of them, but couldn't come up with anything decent.

Take my word for it, and go pick them up, while they still have some.

Volcano Play Mat

Another felt play mat today, along the same lines as yesterday's. L had very specific instructions about this one. He wanted curvy roads, a volcano, and rocks.

We've been on toy burnout around here. The kids seem sick of everything.
I love that this little project made from stuff I had lying around has re awakened an interest in cars, at least temporarily. :)

Felt Car Play Mat

I love when I start making something for the kids, and they get so excited about it that they stand by the sewing machine, waiting for me to hurry up and finish it.

Heavily inspired by this project at Serving Pink Lemonade, I decided to whip up a little felt play mat for the kids. I didn't have any Wonder Under, or whatever she used, so I just sewed everything up on the machine. Her way looks a little neater, but in typical fashion, I wanted to do it NOW, so I just used what I had.

You may be wondering by now if L owns any shirts, since he's never wearing one. He does, but it's all I can do to get him to wear pants sometimes...

They kids are currently fighting over the play mat. I'm going to have to hurry up and crank out another.
(You should check out all the projects at Serving Pink Lemonade. Lots of good stuff there.)

I Finally Finished Something

It seems like I haven't had much to show and tell about lately. I've had the same pile of unfinished projects lying around on the desk for at least a couple of months.

I'm crocheting a lot slower these days, because my hands and arms are still giving me trouble, but I've finally finished another toddler sized baby blanket for charity. This is probably the last one for a while, as I'm planning on attempting some of the fantastic projects from Wolf Dreamer's blog for L, for Christmas. (You must check out her blog is you know anyone that loves Pokemon or Mario Brothers.)

What are you working on these days?

Pokemon Shrinky Dink Christmas Ornaments

Each year I try to make or buy the kids some ornaments that reflect whatever they're into that year. I'm hoping they'll end up with a fun collection to take with them when they're all grown up. (Although I can't bear to think of them actually growing up and moving out.)

Last year I ended up making the Yo Gabba Gabba cast, a couple of Transformers, and Max and Ruby.

You may remember these Spongebob ornaments I made recently. Both kids like Pokemon, so I decided to make another series of ornaments, with a few of their favorite characters.

As per my usual technique, these were traced from books. I've discovered through trial and error that I prefer the way these turn out when colored with colored pencils, instead of Sharpies.

Crocheted Christmas Star

My sweet brother in law, who knows I love all things crafty, picked up the book A Family Christmas Handmade Gifts and Heartfelt Stories a while back, when he saw it on clearance.

Aside from having some pretty fantastic looking cookie and candy recipes, I was drawn to the crochet patterns for "Heavenly Ornaments." The angel and star patterns looked easy and quick, two of my main prerequisites for anything these days.

I thought they'd make nice little gifts for people at church. I haven't gotten around to making the angel yet, but I thought the star turned out pretty, sort of reminiscent of thread crochet, but without all the eye strain.