Simple Summer Craft for Kids

Looking for an easy craft project for the kids to keep them busy one of these summer days?  Try this fun paper tissue art. Here's all you need:

Materials Needed:

* Colored or pattered tissue papers

* Die cut shapes (heart, butterfly, etc.) in cardstock

* Glue sticks

For this project, first cut out a few simple shapes on cardstock using your Silhouette or Cricut.  My nieces really love butterflies and flowers, so those were easy choices for me.

Next, using some scissors, cut the tissue paper into small squares, about 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches.  You can make them bigger if you want the design to come up...taller. ;), but I found that this size works well.

And now...you hand it over to the children.  :)   Because this craft will include children using glue, having a table cloth down is always a good idea. :)

To make the design, you put a little glue on one side of a piece of tissue paper.  Then put your finger into the middle of the paper square on the opposite side and press the paper down onto the cardstock, glue side down.  Repeat with other squares of tissue paper.

Put your finger in the middle and then put a little 

Press the tissue paper down onto the cardstock using your finger and "fluff" the tissue on top.

The kids can have fun making patterns with the different colored tissue papers on their shapes.  If your kids like art, this can keep them occupied for awhile and not make much of a mess.

Isn't my niece a good little design maker?  This is her butterfly. :)  Hope your kids enjoy it just as much!

Treat Gift Box

Are you tired of just sticking some cookies/treats on a paper plate, covering it with foil, and calling it good?  To be honest, that's what I usually do. However, recently I got thinking about how easy it would be to cut out a simple box using my Silhouette or Cricut and putting my homemade treats inside it instead of just on a boring paper plate.

So I made some fudge the other day, found this simple box from the Silhouette store, and cut it out. To top it off, I cut out the word 'fudge' using my 'off set' tool on Silhouette Studio and glued it to the top of the box.  (If you don't know how to use the 'off set' tool on your silhouette, simply go to 'object' then 'off set'- simple as that.)

I loved the way it turned out and it made giving this fudge seem extra special. Also, make sure that you use a heavy card stock for you box so that it isn't too flimsy. 

This would also work for Christmas treats, birthdays, and other holidays.  You can add whatever words you want on top, or just leave it blank.  The possibilities are endless!  Make gifting treats fun again!

You + Me

How are these for a few simple lil' "love decor" ideas?  

You + me = aWEsome.  :)  ('Aint it true.)

Or, you can try "You [I love using a heart as the 'o'] + me = us," and then adding the wedding date at the bottom.

You + me = us, and wedding date.  Perfect to make and give as a shower or wedding gift.

Easy as can be!  The first is just made using Silhouette Studio (or Microsoft Word, etc.) and sent to the printer, and is then stuck in a frame of your choice.  This particular one was actually made for a cousin's wedding and set next to the sign-in scrapbook along with a few other framed photos.

[Idea: Instead of a sign-in wedding book, try making a few mostly empty scrapbook pages of engagement photos, etc, and using those pages as the sign-in sheets.  Much more interesting and memorable than just signatures, and it's a great way to add meaning TO your engagement scrapbook photos.  See examples below.]

The second was just a simple block, painted black, with the words cut out using white Silhouette vinyl.  (You could also easily use clear stencil vinyl to paint the letters on; or, in the reverse, paint the block white, put the letters of the stencil vinyl on once it dries, paint over it black, and then pull off the letters.  So, ya' know, a lot of possibilities.)

Simple as can be, and perfect for decor, to put on gift tables at a wedding reception or on your own mantlepiece at home.  Here's to you (+ me) (to we) (to being awesome).

Keychains and Luggage Tags/Identifiers

So...travel much?  If you answered yes, you know that most everyone in the world has luggage that basically looks like this: 

Rectangle.  Black. And almost exactly the same.  And, if you are like me and have such nondescript luggage, you likely also resemble me when I'm at baggage claim at the airport, lifting up lots of luggage as it comes around the turn-stile, not quite sure if it is mine.  "Does mine have handle like that or not?" "I don't remeeemmmber a pocket there, but maybe it's just because it's upside down?"  And then I wonder, again, why I didn't tie something to it to help me identify it easier, or why I didn't duct tape a giant "X" across the front and back with neon colored tape.  ;)  Which is why something like the following would be useful:

I made these handy-dandy little things just using my Silhouette as gifts for my nieces to put on their backpacks and one for my roomie who is just about to go on a trip (to Russia!).  The butterfly and cat are my nieces' respective favorite animals, and the "S" was meant to be reminiscent of the OSU emblem for my roommate Sarah who is getting ready to leave her work at OSU and move across the country to start med school.  Way to be, Sarah!  Each was simple to make with just some scrap fabrics, and each would be easy to tie to some luggage, a child's backpack, or to use as a personalized key-chain. 

Obviously, such thing won't help you spot your luggage or bag as easily as, say, buying bright orange and yellow stripped luggage might, but it's an easy (and cheaper) alternative.  ;)  Plus, they're just kind of fun to have. Here's how to make them using your Silhouette:

Materials needed:

*Silhouette Fabric Interfacing (sewable or clean cut both work fine for this)

*Fabric scraps (large enough for the various pieces--the size you desire.  My two smaller ones were each about 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches, so obviously only need scraps, especially for the lettering.)

* Ribbon

* Key ring (optional)

Cheap End of the Year Teacher Gifts

Need a quick and cheap gift for your child's teacher this year?  Here are two simple ideas that cost less than $5.00! I created both of these tags using my Silhouette machine and then printed them out on my printer.
 The first idea, is a potted flower with a tag that says: "Thanks for helping me GROW this year!"  I changed the 'o' in grow to a flower to make it look a little cuter.

 Our next idea is some nail polish with a tag on it that says: "Teachers like you PAINT bright futures!"  I like to this one for the specialty teachers that my child sees- computer, art, music, aids, etc.  They tend to get forgotten and this is a cheap gift that you can give to a lot of different people.  If your child has a male teacher- change up the nail polish for some finger paint or watercolors.

And there you have it, two simple and cheap ideas that you can give to your teachers at the end of the year!

Teacher Appreciation Week

I am the room mom for my child's classroom this year, and for teacher appreciation week, they asked us to create a candy poster for them.  However, I didn't want to do the same thing that everyone has already done.  So after collaborating with my sister, we came up with an idea to make a 'wanted' poster.  I think it turned out pretty cute and should stand out from the rest of the posters around the school. 

While I was creating this, I found a cool function on my Silhouette called "offset".  When you have your Silhouette program open, look under the 'object' file and it will be there. What does it do you might ask?  If you look at the word reward on the poster, you will see that it is all one big word cut out together. It didn't start this way though. I typed my words out using whatever font I wanted and then 'offset' it.  Then when you cut it, you will have the word cut out in one piece.  It was totally awesome, and I loved how it looked.  This is a great function if you are cutting out of paper and don't want to glue each individual letter down.

I also put together this gift basket for our teacher with some fun things for her classroom and for her.  I found this cute blue basket at the dollar store and to personalize it, I cut out the teacher's name in vinyl and stuck it on.  It just made it that much more cute, and only took a few minutes to do. 

So there you have it, two nice and easy things you can make for your child’s teacher for teacher appreciation!  We are so grateful for all the teachers out there and for all that they do to help teach our children!  

Easy DIY Laundry Room Decor

If you haven’t noticed I have gone on a vinyl kick in my house lately.  What I love about it is that it is so easy to use and can really transform a boring wall to something more.  I wanted to spice up my laundry room, so I searched all over Pinterest and found a quote that I liked.  The two fonts that I used were Century Schoolbook for “The laundry room” and Lucida Handwriting for “loads of fun”. I wanted this quote to be pretty big, since it was going on a big blank wall.  Here is the font size for each set of words: The- 217, Laundry room- 390, Loads of fun- 140.  Hopefully the font names and sizes will help you recreate this project easier. However, you could use whatever fonts you wanted and make it the however big or small you wanted.  After I cut the letters out of vinyl, I used transfer tape to help me put it up on the wall and get it positioned just right.  Transfer paper is a must for projects like these! You can find it on our website here: http://www.makeitscrappin.com/products/cricut/cricut-vinyl/cricut-vinyl-transfer-tape.php

 After I added this quote, I realized that I needed to finish decorating my laundry room.  So, I found some frames that I had laying around the house, spray painted them black and you guessed it- added some matching scrapbook paper in them.  Also, since they were small frames, I stapled some ribbon to the back of them to make it look like they were hanging from the ribbon.  I really just used the picture hook on the back since my ribbon wouldn’t hold that much weight.  Then, I added a button on top of the ribbon for a finishing touch.  Just like that, I turned my boring laundry room into a nicely decorated room and it only took a few hours  to do!

DIY Bathroom Decor Addendum

After the post about DIY bathroom decor ideas, I realized that I forgot to post one more idea.  It is super simple and can be adapted in many different ways.  My girls were constantly forgetting which towel hook was theirs and were always complaining to me that one or the other had their towel.  Thus, I added their initial above their towel hook and problem solved!  If you didn't want to just do their initials, you could do their whole name, favorite shape, or for an adult bathroom- his/hers, husband/wife, mine/yours... the possibilities are endless!

DIY Bathroom Decor

How many of you have ever decorated a room and struggled to find wall art that matches? Then, if you do find something in the right colors- its ugly! I run into this problem all the time. My solution- PAPER!  I love to decorate with scrapbook paper, and with my Silhouette and Cricut machines, it makes it so easy to do!  I go to my local scrapbook supplies store, find paper that matches my colors, break out my Silhouette/Cricut and next thing you know… you have a custom picture that matches perfectly. 

I recently redid my girls’ bathroom and wanted a cute picture to hang up- and this is what I created.  I used a 12x12 picture frame and 12x12 paper for the backdrop.  Then I found this cute bird and branch on Cricuts cartridge Straight from the Nest (buy it here: http://www.makeitscrappin.com/products/cricut/cricut-cartridges/straight-from-the-nest.php 

for only $29.99).   

After I cut it out, I inked the edges and glued it all together.  So simple and it was just what I wanted! After I hung it up, I cut out a swirl design in vinyl and placed it directly on my wall right above the frame.

I also thought it would be cute to add some vinyl saying to the wall.  Using my Silhouette, I used the font Throw my hands up in the air, which was a free font I downloaded online.  I made the first letter in each sentence slightly larger than the rest of the letters on my sayings to make them stand out. 

To top off the girls' bathroom decorating, I took some old 5x7 frames that the glass had broken out of and wrapped strips of fabric around them.  To get a more frayed look, rip your fabric and take off some of the loose strings of thread.  For a finishing touch, I found some matching buttons and glued them on.  So simple and easy!

 I also had been looking for a quote to put in my master bathroom for some time and while I was at my friend’s house, I found it!  I wanted something uplifting to think about as I was getting ready in the mornings, and not something ‘bathroom related’.

Since it was going to be in my small toilet room, I didn't want to put it on a big, clunky wooden board. So, after I cut out my vinyl I just stuck it right to the wall.  The font I used was called Digs my hart, which was another free download.  Then, I just created my tally marks.  I love the way it turned out and now everyday as I get ready, I am reminded to count my blessings!

Cute Easter Gift Idea

Looking for a cute and simple Easter gift idea? I know I was!  Then I remembered that Silhouette's free shape of the week has an Easter basket on it and this idea was formed.  I had seen this idea on Pinterest and wanted to recreate it.
My favorite Easter eggs are Reeses, but you can use whatever kind of eggs you want.  I also could have used the print and cut feature on my Silhouette, but I was feeling lazy- go figure.  Once I had my tag, I put some chocolate eggs in a basket along with some plastic ones and delivered my gift to my neighbor.  So there you have it, a simple and quick Easter gift idea.