Category Archives: Projects

Sleepover Birthday Party Invitations

When planning any kind of theme party, I love to try to make a really cool invitation. Eden has had two different sleepover parties that really didn’t have a more specific theme. I thought I would share two completely different ideas for how to make a fun and unique party invitation.

Sleepover Party Invitation #1:

For this invitation, I made a postcard style card. When making this style of a card, I create a full-page document and then duplicate the page four times. When I go to print the invitation I select “print 4 pages per page” so that all four postcards will print on a quarter of a sheet of card stock. To see a full tutorial on how to do this, check-out my Snowflake Birthday Invitation.  The computer portion of the invitation just contained the standard information: date, time, location, what to wear, what to bring, etc.

On the back of the postcard, I began by adding a layer of black that was slightly smaller than the white card stock and then followed that by a slightly smaller piece of patterned paper. Because this party theme was really just a “sleepover”, I chose to stick to a specific colour scheme for the party. I decided on pink and orange. Once the printed invitation and base were created, the invitation really began to come together with the embellishments. For this invitation, I googled clip art of both pillows and slippers.  From those ideas, I actually drew my own version of both. For the slippers, I made one, then scanned the image and copied it to get multiple copies of the slippers on one page. I printed the image on orange card stock and then used markers to colour it in and add the details. The pillow was a very simple drawing, so I made a tracer and simply traced and cut out enough for each invitation. I inked the edges of the pillow and drew a little “slit” at the end of the pillow case. For the font on the pillow, I used a combination of stamps and Cricut cut-out letters. The P, J and R were made on my Cricut, but the other letters were stamped on the pillow. I adhered the slippers to the bottom corner of the invitation, so that they overlapped the pillow slightly. The final step was to attach the pillow/slippers to the base. I wanted to create a three-dimensional effect, so I only attached the pillow at the ends, so that I could easily slide stretched out cotton balls beneath the pillow to add dimension. I actually found that I didn’t even need to glue or tape the cotton, as the pressure from the pillow seemed to hold it in place. The photo really doesn’t show the 3D aspect of the invitation, but the pillow does have some dimension in real life.

Sleepover party invitation

The P in the top corner is actually part of my scrapbook layout from the party, not party of the invitation. I always make an extra invitation that is added to their birthday scrapbook layout.

Sleepover Party Invitation #2:

For her second (9th) sleepover party invitation, I wanted to do something completely different. This invitation consisted of many components and was a bit complex and time-consuming to make, but the finished project was pretty cool.

The back of the invitation contained a timeline of the events we had planned and a checklist of what they should bring. Here is the pdf for the Sleepover Party Brochure. Sleepover Party Brochure

On the opposite side, I used various printed papers to build a sleeping bag and pillow. The slipping bag was basically made with a layer of polka dot paper and a scalloped edge border for the top of the “bag”. I ran my sewing machine all the way around the outside edge of the invitation using white thread and a large zig zag stitch to hold the paper layers in place. This left both the top and bottom of the sleeping bag open.sleepover party invitation

I used white cotton fabric scraps to sew and stuff an actual pillow for each invitation. I basically made a rectangle by placing right sides of the fabric together and sewing all the way around. I cut a small slit in the middle of the back of the pillow and turned the little pillow right side out. I then ran my machine down both ends and made a zig zag top-stitch down each side. I used the slit in the back for stuffing the pillow with cotton batting as well. I didn’t even close the slit as I would be gluing the pillow onto the invitation and it wouldn’t be seen.

I made the actual invitation portion of the card on the computer (date, time, location, etc.). I printed it on white card stock and then mounted it on orange. I added a short tab made from ribbon and secured with an orange brad. This slid under the “foot” end of the sleeping bag, with the tab sticking out so it could be seen and pulled out.

Finally, I made paper dolls for each of the girls. I honestly can’t exactly remember how I did this, but I think I found one (or maybe a few different ones on-line??) and printed them onto card stock. I then used watercolour pencil crayons to colour their skin, hair and features. Finally, I made each one a “nighty” out of patterned paper. I stamped a little white fringe at the bottom of the nighty and added a few button brads on the front. The nighties were secured in traditional paper doll style by folding the tabs over the back of the dolls. The paper dolls slid inside the top of the sleeping bag.

The brochure indicated they should bring their dolls to the party. One of the activities the girls did at the party was design and make clothes for their dolls. I had some templates, writing/colouring tools, scissors, patterned paper and other embellishments for them to use.sleepover party invitation

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Great Idea for Giving a Coffee Gift Card

So, with all of the components of the gift basket made, it was finally time to pull this gift basket together. The mug in this basket is really not so much part of the gift as a great way to hide the real gift. I saw this idea on Pinterest (can’t find it now) and I loved the concept, but just changed it a bit to make it my own. Here is what I did:

  • bought a “coffee” themed mug
  • taped a Starbucks stopper/stir stick to coffee gift card.
  • slid the card in the mug
  • poured coffee beans over the card to fill the mug

I loved this idea because it not only looks good, but smells delicious too.

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Coffee Themed Homemade Card

What homemade gift is complete without a homemade card to go with it. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought the idea would work perfectly for this coffee themed gift basket I was making for my children’s teacher. I downloaded to free fonts for the greeting: KG Skinny Latte and SF Espresso Shack.

Coffee Cup Card

Coffee Cup Homemade CardThis card was super easy to make and I kept it very simple because I wanted it to look like a coffee cup. I made it postcard style, so the greeting is on the back.

  • I cut out embossed white paper that I had on hand in a mostly rectangular shape, with the slightest angle extending from the top of the cup/card to the bottom so that there was a bit of tapering towards the bottom.
  • I then used brown ink to darken the edges.
  • I used a woven textured white paper for the lid of the cup. I basically cut out a long rectangle to fit on the top and extend slightly over the sides. I then carefully cut the sides of the top to create a lid like look. I inked the edges of the lid as well. The card is quite plain, so the ink just helped to give it a bit dimension.
  • I took a piece of brown card stock and ran it through my crimping tool. I made it long enough that I could wrap it around the cup and slide it under the “greeting” on the back of the card.
  • I cut-out a circle charm on my Cricut (has slits in it) and slid some brown ribbon that I had on hand through the slits. This ribbon actually had an adhesive backing, so it was as simple as peeling and sticking it to the corrugated card stock. I then used some Weld Bond glue (my favourite crafting glue) to stick the little button heart on the top corner.
  • For the greeting, I wanted something to fit with the coffee theme. I am a total sucker for word plays, so I wrote a cheesy little “coffee greeting”. I downloaded two free fonts for the greeting:  KG Skinny Latte and SF Espresso Shack.Coffee Cup Homemade Card

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Coffee Themed Bookmark

Paint ChipsPaint chip projects are all over the web and like so many others, I absolutely love the cool things that are being made with them. I have wanted to do something with paint chips for a long time, but have never really gotten around to committing to anything quite yet. I guess a part of me is a little uncomfortable with going and taking an entire stash of paint chips. I know they are free for the taking, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable. For this project I did select a few panels as I was on a very specific mission. I don’t know my children’s teacher very well, but I do know she likes coffee. For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to make her a little coffee themed goody bag. I thought that a coffee themed bookmark would be a cool idea and then I could finally say I have done a paint chip project.

Coffee Themed Bookmark

I went to the paint store and found a small selection of colours that actually have “coffee terminology” in their title. I was able to find the following:  light mocha, cappuccino, café mocha, and espresso. Of course, they weren’t on the same panel, so I had to cut three of the squares out and cover the existing squares on the “espresso” panel. I then double mounted the paint chip card on white card stock, followed by brown on the base. I found some coffee clip art online and just printed the little coffee logo off on my computer and then cut it out with my circle cutter. For the reverse side, I found this cute little poem type verse on-line called Coffeeology.* I basically just retyped the words on my computer using various fonts to create the final look. When typing, I created a text box that worked with the long and narrow dimensions of the bookmark.  Finally, I punched a hole in the top and added an eyelet to prevent the paper from tearing. I added a ribbon and a little wire with beads at the end (both were salvaged from the Christmas Crackers handed out at Christmas dinner). I also added a little button to the Coffeeology side of the bookmark.

*Coffeeology is all over the web and therefore I don’t know who the original source or author is. I tried to research it, but came up empty. There is a coffee shop called Coffeeology in North Carolina, but I can’t seem to connect the two. So just to be very clear, I did not write this, but would love to give credit to the author, so if you know something I don’t, please let me know and I will update this post.

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Upcycled Cereal Box

I was putting together a little something for the kids’ teacher for Valentine’s Day and really wanted to put it in some kind of an open box. The problem was that I couldn’t find anything that was the perfect size, colour and shape. I didn’t want to use a gift bag, because it was really important the gift didn’t tip over or the contents would spill, and thus a box was a must. I finally decided to make one. I did a quick search and came up with this awesome website full of cardboard projects. Being that my kids are a bit older, I can’t say that many of the projects appealed to me, but some awesome ideas if your kids are a bit younger. What I found to be the most helpful for me on iKatbag was Lorraine’s post on the different types of cardboard and what purposes they best serve. Her tutorial is very thorough and complete with pictures and a great explanation.

Working With Cardboard:

First and foremost, if you plan on making any cardboard projects I would check-out Lorraine’s post. Why re-invent the wheel? Clearly she knows what she is talking about. Here are a few tips from her post:

  • avoid pre-existing creases unless you plan to incorporate them into your project
  • always make your folds, bends and roll lines parallel to the corrugated flutes between the liners
  • make tabs that will overlap the other piece or cardboard when joining two pieces together
  • Turn the cardboard inside out, so that the print ends up on the inside
  • score before making new folds (run the back of a knife blade along the cardboard to weaken the surface, but don’t cut through it)

I followed Lorraine’s suggestions for how to re-use a cereal box and all of her suggestions were great. In making mine, I used the existing bottom of the box, but cut down the height and length of the box following her directions.  I then covered the exterior with brown butcher paper in much the same way as you would wrap a gift. Finally, I punched holes for handles and ran a string through. This gave me the versatility to make the box the size and shape I wanted and I was also able to finish it off in the colour that best suited my needs.

At the end of her post, Lorraine has a picture library consisting of all of her fabulous projects (over 50) with links to her full tutorials. Thanks for sharing all of your cardboard wisdom, Lorraine!

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Want S’more Valentine Ideas?

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, then you already know how I love those quirky little word plays that offer double meanings. Well, this cute Valentine’s idea is no exception. Eden and Shay are in the same classroom this year as they are enrolled in an alternative program/multi-aged classroom. This will be Eden’s last year in the 4/5/6 Alternative Program and for the second time in their elementary schooling, both kids are in the same classroom. We are so fortunate to get to experience this for the second time as they were also together when Shay was in grade one and Eden grade three. The kids get along very well (especially at school) and it is so nice to have one set of notes, field trips and even curriculum.

I am not even sure if their class is having a Valentine’s party, but regardless, I have prepared treat bags for their classmates ~ one class, one set….Yay!!!  I really loved the idea of putting together a little s’more treat bag and found lots of cute ideas on-line for “catch phrases”. In the end, I found one that said “I love you forever and then s’more.”  I liked this, but thought the “I love you” part was inappropriate at my kids’ ages, so I made up my own version of the slogan.

Homemade S’more Valentines Cards:

I made the little “s’more” tags and microwave directions on the computer. I was able to fit 12 “s’more” tags on one 8 1/2″ X 11″ sheet of paper, so I just made two copies of the document. I copied the tags on to a very dark pinkish/coral polka dot paper. I fit all 24 tags with the microwave directions onto one page.  I then used my paper trimmer to cut all of the tags out. Once cut-out, I tore the edges of the polka dot paper to reveal the white edge below the surface of the paper. I like the contrast of the white edge against the black card stock background. Finally, I used my Cricut to cut-out a plain white heart for each tag. I then ran the hearts through my crimper to jazz them up just a bit. I mounted both of the tags on a piece of black card stock (with the bottoms sitting along the edges and the tops of the tags sitting towards the middle where the eventual fold would end up. I ran a marker around the edge of the microwave instruction tags in a line/dot pattern. This simple addition just helped to finish off the look.

Homemade S’more Valentine Treat Bags:

  • small zipper seal bags (dollar store)
  • 4 graham crackers
  • 2 individually packaged chocolates
  • 2 marshmallows

Finally, I folded the black card stock in half and slipped it over top of the zipper seal. I then stapled the tags to the top of each bag.

*Normally, I would have made the cards so that the kids could at least sign them, but I had originally planned to print the tags using white ink on black paper and wasn’t sure I could trust my white pen for them to write their names on all of the tags. In the end, my printer wasn’t working properly, so I ended up using the polka dot paper and black ink.

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Homemade Valentines

Here are a few samples of some of the homemade Valentine Cards we have made in the past.

I made a template using clip art and printed them out on card stock. I then mounted the printed portion of the card on navy card stock and then added red tape and a chocolate heart.
The kids gave their teachers an apple and some chocolates with this tag.
Eden made simple friendship bracelets for all of her classmates to go along with these homemade cards.

When creating a class set, you really need to look at feasibility. You want to plan a card that can be somewhat mass-produced without too much detail work. The friendship bracelet and card was found on dandee. I used her idea and made my own version of it. This was a really cute idea, but without Eden’s commitment to making the bracelets, it would have been a bit much. Eden made all 24 bracelets for her classmates and I made the cards. There are so many cute ideas on the internet and I love giving something handmade. In many cases, you don’t even need to have scrapbooking tools, just create the card/tag on the computer, print them off and cut them into individual cards. I can often get 6 to 8 cards on one page, so you are only printing about 3 pages for an entire class set. I am a sucker for little treats with a tag that has a “play on words” ~ I love those cheesy little sayings! Borrow someone else’s idea or get creative and make your own.

Here are the Valentines I made for Eden and Shay last year ~ very quirky, but oh how fun!

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Winter/Snowflake Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday!

Well, my little girl is now 12 and has officially reached babysitting age….I can hardly believe it! The birthday celebrations are behind us, but I thought I would share some photos to show you how the theme all came together for the party. Click on the links below to visit the original post for each of the theme elements:

Here is the finished invitation.
and pulling until all the layers are pulled apart and you have a nice full pom pom.
These oversized paper flowers were made out of white tissue to create a snowflake…ish look.
We added a few white balloons to our fig tree to look like snowballs.
Completed 3D snowflake.
3D snowflakes
I picked up this twig snowflake garland in the after Christmas clearance. I got it for $6 regular $60 and it became the inspiration for the whole theme.
The snowflakes on the banner were printed with old paper towel tubes.
Finished snowflakes with a few clear sugar sprinkles and a silver candy ball in the center of each.
Snowflake Cupcakes
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.
I tried to wrap her gifts in paper that tied into our colour theme.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Homemade loot bags.
Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, Lindor chocolates and little cellophane bags. These were included in the loot bags.

I did end up making cake pops and I have to say I was quite surprised how easy they were to make. I have heard lots of people say how much work they are. To be honest, I found them much easier than many of the cakes, cupcakes and cookies I have decorated. Watch for the upcoming post on how to make Cake Pops.

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Homemade “Snowflake” Themed Birthday Card

I consider myself to be one of those people who is more of a “Jack of all (many) trades” than a master of any one thing. I like the fact that I will attempt almost anything at least once, learn from my mistakes and sometimes try it again so I can do a better job the second time around. If I achieve some degree of success and find the experience enjoyable and rewarding, I will continue to perfect that particular skill. The problem with this is that I love to try new things and therefore don’t really have a specific area of expertise. So, I do many things well, but few with the level of excellence I have grown to expect of myself. Such is the case with card making. My experience with “paper crafts” stems from a scrapbooking background. Although many of the techniques are the same, I can’t say that I spend much time making cards. Basically, I haven’t dabbled in card making enough for the task to be quick and easy for me.  I make a card when I need one and will often just give purchased cards or make a little gift tag in lieu of a homemade card. It is for this reason that I have a set of steps that I subconsciously follow when planning the layout for a card ~ this just helps to give me some direction when starting a project.

Card Making Tips

  1. I  start by picking the paper I want to use. I usually include a solid colour along with one or two coordinating printed papers.
  2. I then go through my “stock” to see what kind of embellishments I have on hand that would work with the palette and papers I have chosen (brads, eyelets, beads, glitter, ribbon, buttons, stickers, etc.)
  3. I often include something linear like ribbon, washi tape or even long narrow strands of paper. Although I don’t always include an element like this, I find it is my “go to” card embellishment.
  4. I then consider what my focal point is going to be ~ a sticker, a layered paper image (made with my Cricut), buttons, flowers, felt shapes, etc. For the actual layout, you need to keep in mind where you want the eye to be drawn.
  5. Finally, I think about the greeting or message I want on the card and how I am going to achieve it ~ computer, stamps or letters cut from my Cricut.

Homemade Snowflake Card:

  1. I chose the paper colours based on the colours I was using for the theme of the party. I am mostly using “butcher paper brown” and white, but have also included a hint of blue to tie in the colours I used in her birthday invitations.
  2. I have many embellishments on hand, so I simply went through what I had. I obviously was looking for items that specifically fit into either the winter/snowflake theme or my colour scheme.  For this card, I chose a roller stamp that was kind of swirly and whimsical like falling snow. I also found a white snowflake brad, a few snowflake stamps, a foam “SNOW” word that I cut out from a border that was in the paper package I used for the invitations and some Cricut cut snowflakes and lettering.
  3. For this card, I used the same ribbon that I used on the invitations as well as some pre-cut white borders I had on hand.
  4. I wanted the focal point to be the words on the card, so I made sure that this stood out and that nothing else on the card competed with the message.
  5. Again, for this particular card, my greeting and the focal point were one and the same.  The other embellishments added a bit of dimension and appeal to the card, but were not meant to be the centre of attention.

When pulling a card together, I am always trying to think in layers. When making a card I feel that the paper is my base and from that base I build the look of the card, one layer at a time. I often find that what takes a card from “blah” to “bling” is those little subtleties that are hardly noticeable and yet make a world of difference. For me, the three things I use that I believe pack the most punch are:

  • inked edges ~ I find that a bit of ink on the edges of the paper help distinguish one layer from an other and make an element stand-out and not get lost in the layout.
  • pop dots ~ 3D adhesive dots help to lift an image or letter off a page and thus give the project some dimension.
  • opalescence glitter glue ~ by this I mean glitter glue that is more clear than any specific colour, but just adds a bit of shimmer to the edge of an image, centre of a flower or tips of a snowflake. The glitter is not “tacky looking” or over powering, but more just a hint of shimmer when the light hits it just right.

Here is a look at how I used these principles to create Eden’s birthday card.

Choose your paper.
Create your first layer. This was done with a few stamps.
Add something linear (if you wish). This was created with ribbon and a white paper border.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Add additional embellishments to create a completed look.

In addition to decorating the outside, I was looking for something for the inside as well. In this case, I found a poem that works perfectly. I will mount the poem inside the card and then write her a personal message. My kids love these homemade cards and often keep them by their bed and read the personal messages we write inside. A birthday is the perfect opportunity to tell your loved ones how special they are and how much they are truly loved. Shay has even been known to keep special cards under his pillow and sleep with them. It really is worth the extra effort to let them know how important they are.

Here is the poem that I found. Credit for this lovely poem goes to Mandy Wilams.

homemade snowflake card

 

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Winter Party Decorations: 3D Snowflakes

As I try to find a few minutes here and there in the midst of a very busy weekend, I recruited the birthday girl to make some 3 dimensional snowflakes. They are quite stunning and will really help to create the wintry look I am going for.  Eden’s birthday is now just a few days away and as the weekend draws to an end, I know I will be busy baking cakes and pulling together the final plans for her “Snowflake” theme every evening this week. I decided to go with the “winter” theme not so much because it is a “theme” party, but more so because we were taking the girls “snow tubing” at a local park. As it turns out, I am not sure if we will be able to spend the evening outdoors or not, as the forecast does not look great for the coming weekend. If not, I know the girls will be fine hanging-out at home. Regardless, we will continue to decorate around a winter theme.

Eden did an awesome job of making this 3D snowflake for the party. Although these snowflakes take more time than a typical one, they are not difficult to make and it is fun to include the birthday girl in the party preparations. Here is a complete step by step picture tutorial, but for a complete video tutorial check-out this link.

Take 6 sheets of regular 8 1/2″ X 11″ paper.
Fold over one corner to create a triangle.
Cut off the extra paper at the end.
Fold the triangle in half.
Make slits across the triangle.
Open up the triangle.
Open up to reveal the cut square.
Roll the centre by taking the edges and overlapping them. Tape in place.
Flip the square over and pull the corners of the next biggest square towards the centre, roll them and tape them.
Flip the square over. Pick-up the corners of the next square, roll towards the centre and secure.
Continue to flip, roll and secure until the entire section is complete.
Completed section.
Repeat the process with all six sheets of paper and then join all six sections together.
Completed 3D snowflake.

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