Gift Ideas

Bridesmaid Tote Bags

July 19, 2011 10 Comments

To start my DIY wedding recaps, I’d like to share the gifts I made for my bridesmaids and hostess first.

SO… For part one of my bridesmaid gifts…

I made tote bags for each of my six bridesmaids and my hostess.

Remember my ?

I used the same method pretty much, except I added ribbon and rolled fabric rosettes!

Remember this post of ?

Anyway…

I started with plain black tote bags

(I got mine in packages of three from Hobby Lobby).

I used my Silhouette to cut each girls’ name out of vinyl to make a stencil.

I just cut around and then peeled the names off the vinyl sheet and stuck each one in the center of a tote.

Once they were stuck on well, I used a small paint brush to fill in the stencil with white paint.

I went with a black and white zebra theme with their bags.

I figured that might be something they’d be more likely to use over again than the wedding colors. That’s also the reason I didn’t add “Bridesmaid” or anything more specific than their name.

Once their names were dry (it took a few coats of the white paint to get it bright enough on the black totes), I hot glued a zebra ribbon around the top of each tote.

Each tote also got two fabric rosettes! Also hot glued.

To learn how I made those, .

Once the bags were all finished I stuff them with other goodies!!!

More to come on that soon!

Well, what do you think?

I REALLY hope the girls liked them…. And that they can use them.

For something. 😉

Again, stay tuned for more posts about bridesmaid gifts and other recaps from our July 9th wedding!

P.S. Visit my wedding blog, My Road to Mrs to see what those CUTE little gift tags tied to each bag are all about!!!
A SPECIAL thanks to is in order!! 😉

Wrapping a gift without tape…

July 5, 2011 7 Comments

My sweet mom and sister, hosted a hometown bridal shower for me a few weekends ago.

For their hostess gifts I purchased each of them a picture frame.

A Family frame for my mom. A Sisters frame for Kayli.

Then, the morning of the shower while getting everything ready to leave I realized…

I didn’t have any TAPE to wrap their frames!!

Not to worry! There is ANOTHER way. Especially for a crafter in a hurry!

Apologies for the poor photo quality. A crafter in a hurry also has no time to get out the camera…

So phone pics it is!

My materials

My method for wrapping a gift without tape calls for…

Pretty tissue paper

Glue stick

Ribbon

All materials a handy crafter will most likely have lying around!

(Let’s face it though… if you’re that handy, you’ll have remembered to buy tape. 😉

Wrap the gift in the pretty tissue paper like usual.

Except… Use the glue stick along the inside edge of the paper to adhere it to itself.

Instead of TAPE obviously. 😉

Make sure you press firmly down over the glued paper to make sure it sticks.

(Please don’t glue it to your gift…. What? It had to be said…

Fold the ends of your tissue paper into two corners and firmly glue those to the main part of the gift as well.

Again, just like wrapping a gift normally… Except with glue!

Once you’ve finished gluing the wrapping paper, tie up your gift in a pretty, matching ribbon!

The ribbon helps hold it all together in case any glue happens to come undone. And it looks nice!

I curled the ends of the ribbon with my scissors and viola!

A lovely wrapped gift… Minus the tape!

You can stick a sweet thank you card underneath the bow if you want extra brownie points…

FYI!

P.S. I’m linking this monumental idea

to these fun linky parties!!!

And many of the others listed on our !

Filed Under: Family, Gift Ideas, Kayli, Tutorials Tagged With: Picture Frame

Fancy This Features #29

June 20, 2011 4 Comments

Happy Monday AFTERNOON!
Forgive me for posting late… Today has been a busy day.

After a busy weekend of course!!!

But it looks like you all were busy, busy bees last week too!

We had 32 link ups!

For this week’s features..
Here are a few of the ones that really caught my eye!

Check out this gorgeous upholstered headboard from Becca at From Gardners to Bergers!

She shares other posts on the planning and material seeking as well!

Do you crochet?? If you do, or even if you don’t, you’ll want to check out this ADORABLE crochet crocodile pattern created by Annemarie of Annemarie’s Brieblog!

While you’re there, check out her amazing blog! She writes everything in English AND Dutch!!

And finally… A Father’s Day idea for next year…

How creative is this wall art for dad! It celebrates all of the interests of

Lynda’s (of Something Created Everday) dad!

Each item represents an interest!! SO neat!!!

Here’s a featured button for you three lovely ladies!

Hope you’ll display it on your own blogs somewhere!

It links right back to this post so your readers will know where to find you!

Thanks to everyone who linked up this week!

Excited for next week’s link ups as we get closer to Independence Day!

I’m sure the red, white and blue will be flowing soon!

Have a LOVELY week friends!!!

Filed Under: Fancy This Fridays, Features, Gift Ideas

My First Vinyl on Glass Experience

June 15, 2011

Have you heard of Groupdealz yet?

If not, you should just go ahead and go sign up.

I’ve gotten some great deals on some really fun items through their daily deal email alerts!

One of my recent purchases was a Wedding Day Subway Art Vinyl Decal,

a $20 value for ONLY $10!

From My Treehouse Treasures

*My Treehouse Treasures

I ordered my vinyl in black and patiently waited for it in the mail!

Meanwhile, I bought a floating glass picture frame from Wal-Mart, also in black.

When the vinyl arrived, I sat down to apply it to the glass… And realized it was a little harder and took a little more patience than I’d thought.

First, peeling of the backing without tearing the intricate lettering took awhile…

And it was a large sheet, so it was kind of hard to place it on the glass, centered, all at once.

But I finally managed.

Then came the problem of getting it all smoothed out.

But once it was done…

I LOVE IT!

I am planning to use it on the guest book table or somewhere as a decoration for the wedding…

But for now it’s sitting on our less than exciting… but hoping to get better mantel. 😉

So… What do you think? Should I include an engagement picture of the mister and I behind the letters?

I could do one in black and white?

Or leave it as is?

Thanks to the it’s now 25 days away,

instead of four…

That means more time for lovely little wedding projects!

See there is an upside!

Hope you’re having a FABULOUS week!

Filed Under: Crafts, Gift Ideas, Home Decor, Wedding ideas Tagged With: Picture Frame, Silhouette, Vinyl

Poker Card Tile Coasters

March 24, 2011 13 Comments

Today is my sweet friend, Kayce’s birthday!!

I wanted to make a fun gift for her that she would enjoy, and would also be inexpensive. We’re about to close on our new house!! YAY! But that means there’s not ~~any~~ a whole lot of extra money floating around for birthday gifts….

Anyway… Miss Kayce is a Poker playing fool!

I know the idea of tile coasters isn’t new…

Remember these that I made for some friends using my Silhouette??

Well…
I put a new spin on them for my poker playing friend!!!

Luckily, I already had everything in my craft stash…

So really it didn’t cost my anything…

But if I had gone out and bought the supplies just for this project…

They would’ve cost LESS than $5 to make!!

The materials needed for this project are:

1 Sheet of black scrapbook paper

Deck of playing cards ($0.99 new)

Four tiles (I got mine at Home Depot, ($0.14 apiece)

Mod Podge

Foam Brush

Mod Podge Spray Sealant

1 Sheet of Felt

Glue Gun
Scissors

I cut four black squares out of the scrapbook paper and Mod Podged them to the tops of the four tiles. Then I chose a few cards from the deck of playing cards and Mod Podged those on top of the black paper.

Then I sprayed a couple layers of the sealant on top!

Finally I cut four squares out of the piece of felt and hot glued them to the back of each of the four tiles to create a soft surface so that they won’t scratch my friend’s table!!

There you have it!

An inexpensive, but SUPER fun gift for a Poker playing lady!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS KAYCE!!!

Me and Kayce in South Padre, Texas

These would make a GREAT addition to your guy’s poker night table too!

No more glass stains on your table…

But the guys don’t have to use girlie coasters either! Win win!

I’m linking these Poker Card Tile Coasters to the

$5 Challenge at The CSI Project!

P.S. Please go say hi to Miss Andrea! This week’s !!

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Tutorials

Fun Gift Tag and Card Using the Silhouette SD

March 23, 2011 6 Comments

One of my BESTEST friends

(yes, bestest is a real word when referring to friends),

Miss Tracey Lou,

had a new baby boy recently…

But she lives FAR away…

So I had to wrap up her gifts and mail them to her…

She also has an older little boy already…

And the #1 Rule when gift giving to little ones…

You can’t give one without the other!!

It’s only fair!

Baby Boy Gifts

They live where it’s STILL really cold… So I sent a hand crocheted beanie for the new baby boy… In white and blue. And a matching outfit.

Blue and white onesie with little blue jeans. SO CUTE.

I also sent a baby blanket and stuffed snowman that I won around Christmas from a giveaway over at somewhat simple.

For the big brother… A fun Cars coloring book and crayons!

Even if it’s something simple… Like I said…

It’s not fair to give one kid and not the other!!

The real fun when mailing a present…

The packaging!!!

For the big brother’s present…

I used my Silhouette SD to cut out a cute gift tag.

I used the free guitar shape and typed his name inside with a fun font, then cut it out of green scrapbook paper.

Screen Shot of Silhouette SD Software

Once it was cut out, I poked a hole in the end of the guitar and attached it to the gift with white ribbon.

Gift tag using Silhouette SD

For the new little brother, I used the same free card shape that I used to make my , and the same font for his name.

Screen Shot of Silhouette Card cutout

I cut the card out of green scrapbook paper and backed his name with blue paper to make it stand out.

I used two-sided tape to attach the blue to the green.

I also cut out a smaller guitar to add to the front of his card.
(Also stuck on with two sided tape)

Silhouette SD Greeting Card

Then I tied the card, with more white ribbon, to his bigger present.

What do you think??
The little guitar shape within the Silhouette software is SO cute!!

There’s SO many things you could do with it!!

P.S. I’m linking this project and several others to the
I Love my Crafty Cutter Party
happening over at Serenity Now!

Hope you’ll link yours up too!!

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Tutorials

Tile Coasters

February 3, 2011 17 Comments

I recently took on a fun project!

I copied a status from someone else on Facebook to my own status… Basically it said,

“First 5 people to comment on this status get a handmade gift from me.”

I ended up allowing for two more, so seven handmade gifts in total.

The first two are finished, I decided to make them the same thing…

Cheap, easy, but super fun and way cute!! Tile Coasters!

I’ve been seeing these all over blogland. I initially saw them here at Mostly Food and Crafts where Danielle made some sweet Holiday coasters…

So I decided to take this idea and make my own.

The materials needed are:

4 square tiles (I bought mine at Home Depot for $0.14 each)
Scrapbook paper (about half a sheet for each set of coasters)
I used my Silhouette SD for the cutting, but you could use any stencil or hand cut the designs yourself…
Hot Glue Gun
Modge Podge
Foam brush
Modge Podge Sealer
Scissors
Sheet of crafting felt

I think in total the materials only cost me a couple of dollars

for each of the 2 sets of coasters that I made.

I made the first set of coasters for my friend, Katie.

I LOVE personalized things and TYPOGRAPHY, so I chose to use her name for one of the coasters.

And I used a cup with a straw from the free designs that came with my Silhouette.

I followed the same steps for the second set of coasters for my friend, Tess, except I used her name and the free wine glass that came with my Silhouette.

This is the screen shot of Katie’s cutouts on my Silhouette screen.

I simply measured the tiles, decided the size I wanted for the squares, inserted the cutouts and then printed/cut the page onto the scrapbook paper.

Next I used the foam brush to brush a layer of Modge Podge onto the two tiles, then took my cutouts and placed them in the center. I let those dry for about 15 minutes.

I brushed two layers of Modge Podge over the top of the cutouts on the tiles and allowed those to dry for 15 minutes each in between coats.

Once the second layer was dry, I sprayed two layers of the Modge Podge Sealer over the cutouts and tiles. Those dried.

For my last step, I cut out strips of matching felt and hot glued those to the bottoms of two of the tiles. The bottoms of the tiles are rough, so they felt serves as a protective barrier between them and the table surface they get placed on.

For the bottoms of Tess’s coasters I cut out a full square of white felt.

This last week I saw where Jennifer of Green Door Designs used a full square instead of strips and I liked the look!!

Here’s Katie’s coasters!!

What do you think??
I think they turned out so lovely!
Great for my first attempt! haha!

And here’s Tess’s coasters!!!

Sorry for the glare on that one…

And here in use…

Now they will each have a set of their very own, personalized coasters!

I wrapped each set up in ribbon and tissue paper….

I found these perfect little boxes at the Post Office…

And they are on their way!!!

Two handmade gifts down! Five to go!

P.S. I’m linking this project up to the CSI Project!
This week’s this is Typography!!

Go here to link your Typography projects!

And here…

Filed Under: Crafts, Gift Ideas, Home Decor, Tutorials Tagged With: Scrapbook Paper, Silhouette, Tile

The 12 Days of Christmas with Poem

January 4, 2011 9 Comments

I know we’re already into the New Year, and Christmas posts are past… But I couldn’t share this one in December for fear of ruining the surprise for the receiver… So here it is..

The 12 Days of Christmas!

Mine and Kayli’s little Granny, who we dedicate this lovely little blog to (read more ), had the tradition of doing the 12 Days of Christmas for someone every year. When we were little she would do it for us, but as we got older and started figuring out it was always Granny that was our Christmas Spirit… We began helping her give to others.

Granny and Kassi

Granny passed away this last August… And we knew we wanted to keep the tradition alive in her honor! This year we chose my soon to be sister-in-law as our person! She is a sweetheart, with two little ones that run her ragged… So of course, we decided she was the one deserving a Christmas Surprise!

How to do the 12 Days of Christmas, Granny Nell Style!

Choose a family member, friend, neighbor, or someone less fortunate that deserves a little Christmas pick me up!
Purchase 12 gifts, of small value, so that each day of the 12 days they will receive a nice little surprise.
Enlist the help of others if need be to get the gifts to your person without them knowing where they’re coming from.
Include a little note on the first day, explaining the 12 days
Start 12 days out from either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Enjoy sneaking a gift every day until Christmas Eve or Day to your chosen person!
Choose to share your identity with your person, or keep the secret as their anonymous Christmas Spirit. Your choice.

Again, we chose Brianne, my future sis-in-law. We purchased 12 little gifts. Our gifts included:

Sugar Cookie Mix and Sprinkles
Christmas Cookie Cutters
A DVD
Upside Down Tomato Plant
Rooster Table Runner
Rooster oven mitt (her kitchen is roosters)
Nail kit and one nail polish
Christmas Drink Coasters
Gingerbread dip tray
Small kitchen towel
Family picture frame
Red sweater jacket

Each of our gifts was around $5-6.

We wrapped the gifts up, using Christmas paper just for her, in case she came over and saw the Christmas paper under our tree…

Trust me… my brother used that once to discover it was Granny because she used the same paper under her tree that our Christmas Spirit was using… heehee.

The next year, his gifts were wrapped in newspaper… She showed him!

I typed up a little poem for Brianne’s letter and even typed her name on the envelope, so she wouldn’t recognize the handwriting.

The poem went something like…

Happy Holidays Brianne!

There’s 12 days left ’til Christmas!

The 12 days of Christmas you see!

Every day from now ’til Christmas Eve you’ll get a little gift

You’re a great mama and a sweet lady

So you deserve a little lift!

On the first day of Christmas your Christmas Spirits hope you enjoy

A little present to share with your little girl and boy

Guess and guess until you’re sure

But we won’t tell our secret ’til the 24th!

We enlisted my future brother-in-law, Brianne’s hubs, to help us deliver her gifts! And he did an awesome job! He told her that her Spirits were leaving a gift in his pickup at work everyday…
She had NO idea!

I printed out the numbers 1-12 and cut and then taped them onto each present so that he would know which one to take which day.

It was so fun Christmas Eve getting to tell her that it had been us!

So, just an idea to share the Christmas Spirit next year! Feel free to borrow our little poem and edit it to your liking! If you do, hope you’ll let us know! We love hearing 12 days stories!

Happy Holidays everyone! From Truly Lovely!

AND

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Holidays Tagged With: Christmas, Printable

Paper Boxes!

December 24, 2010 11 Comments

Alright so it’s almost Christmas- you bought your friend an awesome (but incredibly tiny) gift and you’re so excited to give it to them. BUT you have a few problems…. ONE! Sure the gift wasn’t cheap but it isn’t HUGE either and the last time you checked- they didn’t make bags and tissue paper this tiny… TWO! Now you’re panicking because you don’t know how you’re going to wrap it and you’re suddenly wishing you would have bought something bigger…
TAKE TWO DEEP BREATHS and chill- Kayli’s got you covered Use a paper box! Here’s a tutorial-

1. Get your materials together- two pieces of scrapbook paper (tissue paper and ribbon later for pretty wrapping) and some type of folding mechanism- I used my hands 😉 Yeah- that’s it. That will be all you need.

2. Take one sheet of paper (this sheet will be the bottom half of your box) and fold it pattern-in hot dog style one way- then unfold it and fold it hot dog style THE OTHER way.

3. Alright now unfold again so it’s flat- and lay it pattern down. Now take each corner and fold it into the center of the paper so it looks like this…

4. Now take the bottom of your paper and fold it into the center and do the same with the other side, like this…

**When you make the top of your box, you’ll want it to be bigger- so at this step just make sure you don’t fold ALL the way into the middle- leave a space in between, nothing drastic- but if you make them touch like above- then the top won’t fit over the bottom..**

5. Unfold it so it looks like this-

6. Now push both sides of your paper in like so-

7. Then fold the top over on one side so it looks like this-

8. Then do the same to the other side and TADA!!! You have the bottom of your box! Confused look?? Where did I lose you?? haha

So I completely love these- I use them to hold notes and keepsakes, and for wrapping gifts! It might seem crazy complicated- but it’s really not- and once you’ve started, just keep one to use for future reference! Here are some others I’ve made- as well as the one I made for this post. Anyone else have clever ways to wrap gifts?? We’d love to hear your ideas!