Is it just me or is everyone having babies? Well, maybe not everyone. Certainly not us.
But if you find yourself in need of a cute baby shower gift, look no further than these adorable DIY washcloth cupcakes. In just the last month I’ve had occasion to gift 4 boxes of these and they’ve always been a huge hit. It’s the perfect inexpensive accompaniment to a gift card and super easy to make – I promise!
Visit Project Nursery for the full tutorial.
For my cousin’s wedding last month, I gifted him and his new bride a dry erase family calendar. Having made one for my own house a few years ago, I know first hand how very useful it is for keeping track of everyone’s schedules. It’s the perfect place to keep all the details of school stuff, appointments, travel trips, birthdays and other activities in one central and easy to read place.
Want one too? I thought you might…
1. Purchase a large frame. I bought mine from Michael’s with a 50% off coupon. All the following dimensions are based on my preferred frame size of 24″ x 36″, but feel free to adjust these instructions larger or smaller as needed.
2. Disassemble the frame and use spray adhesive to cover the cardboard back-piece with fabric. I like to use light colored fabric so the rectangles show up better.
3. It’s always easiest to initially cut the fabric too big, then come back and trim the excess.
4. Find scrapbook papers in a coordinating color theme of your choice. Mix subtle patterns with solid colors, but I recommend not using any high contrast prints or dark colors, as it is difficult to read the writing on them. Cut the papers down to 35 — 3″ x 4″ rectangles ( 7 columns x 5 rows).
5. Use a craft punch, Cricut, or Silhouette machine to cut out 35 circles of white cardstock, all 1″ diameter. If you don’t have access to those things, you can also use the 3/4″ white price stickers they sell for garage sales.
6. Adhere the circles to the upper right hand corners of all your rectangles.
7. Before gluing anything to your large board, arrange the rectangles to get a composition of colors and patterns that you like.
8. To attach the rectangles, I used my Xyron sticker maker to apply permanent adhesive to the back each one. However, a glue stick or other craft glue will work, too.
9. Measure down 10″ from the top of the board and square a tape measure across. Glue your center paper with it’s midpoint at 12″, then glue your two outside papers 1″ from the edges. Eyeball the placement of the other four papers in between. Work your way down until all are attached.
10. Back at the top, add your family name and a box to write the month.
11. Use your craft cutter or purchase letter stickers to apply the month and days of the week.
12. At the bottom, I like to add lines for To Do’s.
13. Reassemble your completed calendar inside the frame. These adhesive pen holders are perfect for keeping a fine tip dry erase marker handy. Just stick it to the outside of the glass.
While smartphone calendars are nice, this is such a great way to keep visual track of your entire family’s monthly happenings!
My parents have the great fortune of spending many weeks a year traveling together. Whether they are sailing the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, enjoying a food tour in some new city for the weekend, or simply catching a flight to come visit their awesome grandkids, those two are always on the move.
Up until Mother’s Day (when I gifted her these great new trays), my mom had been using one of those little paper hats that they put on hotel cups to put her jewelry and things in at the end of the day. Resourceful, but chincy.
If you’re jet-setting this summer, sew yourself a little travel tray—the perfect spot to keep your keys, rings, phone and glasses together in one spot. Simple to sew, the tray unsnaps to fold flat in your suitcase for no-bulk packing too. And… even if you don’t sew, you can still make one! Scroll to the end of these directions for that info.
Materials:
– Two fabric pieces measuring 8.5″ x 11″ each. You’ll want the interior fabric to be a solid light color, so that it’s easy to see your items within.
– low loft batting
– snaps (I like the ones that install with a hammer, rather than the sew on type)
1. Use a letter sized paper to cut two pieces of fabric and your low loft batting to 8.5″ x 11″ each.
2. Stack the three pieces with batting on the bottom and the two fabrics with right sides together on top.
3. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew together all three pieces. Be sure and put the batting on the top, otherwise it could snag on the jagged feed dogs of the machine.
4. Sew most of the way around, leaving a space of a few inches for turning.
5. Turn the fabrics right side out and the batting will tuck inside. Top stitch 1/8″ around the entire piece to close it up.
6. On each side, sew a straight line 1.5″ from the edge.
7. Inside the interior rectangle, sew lines every 1/2″ for a quilted effect.
8. From the corner, measure in 1″ and install your snaps.
9. Finished! Snap the corners together and you’ve got yourself a nifty padded tray. The finished useable inside space measures 6″ x 8.5″. I found this ideal for a small cellphone, a pair of sunglasses and some jewelry, but you can easily customize the size by adjusting the beginning dimensions.
I mentioned earlier that you can make one of these without sewing! Instead of cotton fabric, cut out a square of marine grade vinyl. Attach snaps in the same location, 1″ off the corners.
If you’re not the traveling type, these make excellent gifts for those in your life that are. My mom raves about it’s usefulness and I’m so glad she’s no longer hoarding hotel cup covers!
You’ve heard of the Waterlogue app for iPhone/iPad, right?
Right?!
Oh man, if not… let’s just say it’s rocked my world. Coming from someone who actually IS an artist, this app is phenomenal. Basically it translates any photograph you take into a watercolor “painting” in a very fluid and intuitive way.
There are hundreds of uses for this kind of digital art, but the week I bought the app ($3), my lovely friends were having a housewarming party for their very first home. And you can’t show up to a housewarming party without a handmade gift! (or at least I can’t)
This is the photo I snapped of their house when they were unawares.
It helps that it’s a seriously gorgeous home to begin with.
I ran the photo through 2 of the different Waterlogue filters and combined them in photoshop to get this:
Inkjet printers work great on cold press watercolor paper – just adjust the settings to “cardstock.” It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the textured paper makes it look like an actual painting.
“Home is the nicest word there is.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder
I also folded heavyweight cardstock paper and printed some personalized notecards with matching envelopes. Cute, right?
I only had birthday and christmas wrapping paper in the house, so I doodled with a sharpie on a roll of brown kraft paper instead.
A little bakers twine and banner topped it off just right.
Buying your first home is such a big deal and I couldn’t be happier for them! It doesn’t take a lot of money or time to put together a meaningful housewarming gift – just a little creativity and a very cool app.
* as of this posting, waterlogue is not yet available on Andriod devices. :(
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.
