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Jun 3 2016

diy : handprint keychain

Posted by hayley
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I’m such a sucker for little kid handprints—unless they’re on my windows. But, let’s face it, those Plaster-of-Paris prints become dusty fossils in a drawer somewhere and I have yet to actually frame any of the paper ones that come home from preschool. Thanks to shrink plastic, now we can carry those sweet imprints on the daily with these charming DIY handprint keychains!

DIY Handprint Keychain - great gift idea! | greyhouseharbor.com

Materials: Shrinky Dinks plastic (preferably the “crystal clear” kind – can be found at Michaels), GLOSS acrylic craft paint, paintbrush, Sharpie, detail scissors, hole punch, 10mm jump rings (found in jewelry section of craft store), split ring keyring, gloss mod podge, parchment paper (or non-stick silicone baking mat), oven.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

A couple things… I only tried this on the CLEAR Shrinky Dinks plastic. I’m assuming it would work just as well on their frosted or white versions, but can’t say for sure. Also, the acrylic craft paint MUST be gloss finish—matte will not stick to the plastic. After experimenting with a few brands, I found that the Apple Barrel brand from Walmart stuck better than anything I found at Michaels.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

1. Paint your child’s entire hand. Coat it well enough to be all wet, but not so drippy that you loose the details of the print.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

2. Gently guide their hand onto the Shrinky Dinks plastic. Firmly press down all their fingers and palm to get a good imprint. Press the plastic against the table with your free hand while you carefully peel your child’s hand off.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

3. If you mess up, don’t worry! I did too. It took me a couple tries to get the paint thickness just right. Good news is that you haven’t wasted your plastic, just remove the mess-ups with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

4. After you have good handprints, wait for the paint to dry completely. Then, flip the plastic over and add your kiddo’s name, age or year to the other side with a Sharpie. A child that is old enough can even write their own name.

* For frosted plastic, do the handprint on the rough side and the name on the shiny side.*

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

5. After the Sharpie dries, carefully cut out the handprint with small sharp scissors (I love these precision scissors from Cutter Bee).

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

You can cut down in between the fingers, but don’t make them too skinny.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

6. Punch a hole before you bake them! One standard size hole punch will shrink to the perfect size for your jump rings.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place your handprint paint side up (sharpie side down). I suggest shrinking just one or two handprints at a time— that way you can keep a close eye on them in the oven.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

8. Pre-heat your oven to 325°F (a conventional or toaster oven is fine—do not use a pop-up toaster or microwave). Once heated, place your cookie sheet and handprints inside. DO NOT FREAK OUT when they start to curl and flip and do all manner of crazy things. This is normal.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

Typically they need to cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on the oven. You’ll know it’s done when the handprint stops moving and has gone mostly, if not completely, flat again. In the event that part of your handprint gets stuck to another part, you can gently pry it apart while it’s still hot with chopsticks or two butter knives.

You can see in the photo below that even though it was done cooking, the handprint wasn’t entirely flat.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

If that happens, quickly press the shrinky dink with a spatula immediately after removing it from the oven to flatten it.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

9. Once the handprint has cooled, it is 9x thicker and very durable. Coating the painted parts with glossy mod podge will help protect the print from scratching off. Try to apply the mod podge only atop the paint and not the clear areas. Let dry.

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

10. Use small pliers to loop a jump ring through the punched hole and onto your keyring!

DIY Handprint Keychain | greyhouseharbor.com

Now, of course these are shrunken handprints and they’ll turn out about 1/3 the actual size. But I don’t know a single mom, dad, or grandparent who wouldn’t be tickled to carry around a daily reminder of the little ones they love.

DIY Handprint Keychain - great gift idea! | greyhouseharbor.com

Editorial Note: After photographing this entire tutorial, I discovered that the handprints hang best from the keyring if they’re punched between the ring and middle fingers—like this…

DIY Handprint Keychain - great gift idea! | greyhouseharbor.com

 

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Tags: crafts with kids, diy, father's day, gift ideas, grandparent's day, mother's day, tutorials
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May 24 2016

sew a sweet bunny lovey

Posted by hayley
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Does your child have a “lovey”? Wouldn’t it be extra sweet if you made it for them? A great DIY baby shower or first birthday idea up on Project Nursery‘s blog tonight – written by yours truly, of course. :)

DIY Baby Lovey

Tags: diy, gift ideas, project nursery, sewing
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Dec 8 2015

hopeful holiday shopping

Posted by hayley
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16 days until Christmas. Sixteen, people!!!

Do you have your shopping done yet? I’m about half done. Only a few stocking stuffers, a secret santa gift, and Handsome left to buy for.

But the more I wander the aisles of the big box stores, the more I’m inspired to instead find thoughtful handmade, local, or fair trade items to gift. Lucky for me, I have an “in” on an exceptional company that offers just that and I want to share their inspiring story with you.

Trades of Hope greyhouseharbor.com

Trades of Hope is a missional business that was started in 2010 by two women and their daughters. The founders believed that women worldwide are skilled, valuable, and could join together to change the face of poverty. By hiring artisans in impoverished nations, Trades of hope is empowering these women to become financially-independent businesswomen so that they may provide for their families, escape the sex trade, or afford much needed medical care. I love that it is a BUSINESS; not just a charity. 

Trades of Hope greyhouseharbor.com

Trades of Hope partners with artisans in 16 different countries and practices fair trade principles. This means the artisans are paid 100% of their asking price to earn a living wage (housing, food, medical care, education) and they are paid in full up front — regardless of how successfully their product sells. This fair wage is typically 3-6x the average of their community.

For example in Haiti, the minimum wage is $5/day and most make $3. Trades of Hope artisans are paid $15 and up to $25!

Trades of Hope greyhouseharbor.com

These artisans are not in poverty because they lack ability, but because they lack opportunity. That is where Trades of Hope is beginning to make a difference.

Spoiler Alert: If you’re on my Christmas list, do not peek at the image below.

With offerings of jewelry, scarves, bags, home decor, and stationary, I easily checked several people off my gift list! I especially like how every item is accompanied by a card that tells about the women who made it and the impact this business is having on their lives.

(Yes, that’s my kids artwork in the background… #notaproductphotographer)

Trades of Hope greyhouseharbor.com

This is Jane.

Trades of Hope greyhouseharbor.com

You may remember her from the baby shower I hosted last year. She’s a mom of 2 young girls, a fellow military spouse and a dear friend. She will be ridiculously embarrassed that I’m plastering her beautiful face on my blog, but she is my Trades of Hope secret weapon. As a partner in this business, she is the link between these talented artisans and us! Every purchase made through her website not only provides hope for the impoverished, but a portion of the proceeds also helps Jane contribute to the financial health of her family as well.

Good things all around!

The best news is that if you order by December 13th (this Sunday) all your gifts will ship for a flat $4.95 fee AND (more importantly) arrive in time for Christmas! Get that list done, friends. And feel really good about the women you’re supporting with your gifting this year.

Learn more about the artisans at her Facebook page HERE and shop at her website HERE.

*This post is not sponsored. I just adore this business model and my friends.

Tags: gift ideas, holidays
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Aug 20 2015

baby shower gift : washcloth cupcakes

Posted by hayley
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I was recently invited to a baby sprinkle for a friend who is pregnant with her second child. The expecting parents already own most of the traditional big ticket items and are waiting until the baby is born to find out the gender, so all the guests contributed to a group gift card in lieu of bringing presents. However, as the known “crafty friend” of the bunch, I couldn’t attend a celebration such as this without having a little something up my sleeve. Colorful baby washcloth cupcakes are my new go-to baby shower DIY and are easily whipped together with a just a couple of inexpensive infant essentials.

DIY Baby Shower Gift : Washcloth Cupcakes | greyhouseharbor.com

Materials: baby washcloths, infant-sized white turn-cuff socks, silicone cupcake liners, paper embellishments, a cupcake box and ribbon

DIY Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Supplies

With the tag facing up, begin by smoothing out one washcloth onto a flat surface.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Turn down the top corner to begin rolling the washcloth in on itself.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Keep going until you have a fully rolled washcloth taquito.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Set a single sock at the end of the rolled washcloth, placing the sock cuff just below the washcloth edge.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Roll the sock into the washcloth, being careful to keep everything snug until the entire length is coiled.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Tuck the washcloth coil into a silicone cupcake liner. Then, fold the sock cuff in half down around itself to make it resemble a dollop of icing.

I’ve tried using paper liners and found them to be too slippery and flimsy to properly hold the washcloth tight. The silicone provides a little grip to keep the cupcakes shaped up nicely. Plus, they’re totally reusable, and what new mom doesn’t need a few cupcakes on standby while in the throes of midnight feedings?

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

Garnish each cupcake with a cute embellishment. Scrapbook stickers, small pom-poms or even wrapped candies make ideal toppers.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Tutorial

In order to complete the presentation, I like to gift the cupcakes inside a white bakery box tied with coordinating grosgrain ribbon.

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Baby Shower Gift

Gluten-free, sugar-free, lactose-friendly and cute to boot. Up your gifting game by bringing a batch of these adorable baby washcloth cupcakes to your next baby shower—they’re guaranteed to delight!

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Baby Shower Gift

Baby Washcloth Cupcakes Baby Shower Gift

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Tags: baby shower, diy, gift ideas, tutorials
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I'm Hayley. Wife and mother by day, DIY enthusiast by night. Fueled by sweet tea and jelly beans, I own power tools and know how to use them. Consider yourself warned.

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All opinions within are exclusively and honestly mine. I do not commit to posting positive reviews of any promotional items I may receive. However, if the product or service suits the interests of my readers I may feature it and denote such compensation.
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