39 Valentine gifts to make and give.

I’m a bit in two minds about Valentine’s Day. Some of me sits on the “It’s a created day that is all about retailers and spending money” and the other side of me feels it’s great to be reminded to tell the people we love….that we love them in a more intentional way.

This year I feel more of the second…. hence the post….. but have tried to make it a little more creative (rather than spendy) because self created things almost always* help communicate the love better.

Ideas For Creative Dates

1. Ice skating date in a Jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

2. Hot Chocolate in a Jar (stay in) Date. Image from the Wintrop Chronicles.

3. Spar in a Jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

Super Lovey- Dovey

4. 52 things I love about you in a jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

5. Love Potion No. 9. Image from Shaken Together Life.

6. A little envelope of notes for your loved one. Image from Oh hello friend.

7. Sharpie Mug. Image Sister’s Suitcase.

For the Kids

8. Love Lead pencils. Image from The Gunny Sack.

9. Robot Valentine’s. Image from Lisa Storms.

10. Monster Pencils. Image by the 36th Avenue.

11. Don’t ever change…. Image from Jac & Lyn Murphy.

12. Burst My Bubble Valentine’s. Image from The Gunny Sack.

13. I’m Bananas for you and You’re Grrrrrreat. Image from Lisa Storm.

14. Arrow pencils and printables. Image from Design. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

15. Origami Heart Wrapped lolly Pop. Image A Kiss Of Colour.

Ideas to Bake

16. Nutella Love Letter Pancakes. Image by Kitchen Simplicity.

17. Sparkly Cookies. Image from The Gunny Sack.

18. Valentine snack mix. Image by Glorious Treats.

19. The Nutella/Espresso cup cake.Image from mandy Ash Craft.

20. Valentine’s cookies. Image Wedding Chicks.

21. Heart shaped pies. Image Babble.

22. Red Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar. Image My Baking Addiction.

23. Strawberry and Cream scones. Image Sanae Ishida.

Countdowns to Valentine’s Day (or count on….) 

24. The Valentine tree. Image from Simple as that blog.

25. Cute countdown. Image by Dear lizzy.

26. Bit late for this year….. A countdown to the day. Image from THe House Of Smiths.

27. 14 acts of love. Image from Make and takes.

28. Countdown to kisses. Image from the Olds family

29. DIY printable calendar. Image from Paige of Style.

30. Just one of the activities in the 14 days of love. Image from Pink Pistachio.

Cards

31. I love you this much. Image from Day in my life.

32. Sewn hearts card. Image from The creative Place.

33. Birthday candle card. Image from Real Simple.

Everything else.

34. Mini polaroid Magnets. Image from Ambrosia Girl.

35. Valentines “fortune’ cookies”. Image from Design. Wash.Rinse. Repeat.

36. Message in a bottle. Image from Oh hello friend.

37. Wall heart. Image Oleander and Palm.

38. Washi banner. Image: Fancy Little Things.

39. Printable PDF. Image from The girl creative.

* Yes if you have asked for something specifically ….or have been promised something and you receive a sweet handmade gift, you won’t feel the love!

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Half a GIANT list of fete and fair tutorials and printables.. (Part 1)

Often we are keen to help with school or church fetes but are not sure where to start.

So, I have put together a giant list of fete and fair tutorials from around the blogging world.

So many clever people out there!

For me…. what makes a great craft to make for a fete or fair, is one that is inexpensive to make and buy , fun, quick to make, fairly easy to put together, and something people would want to hand there money over for.

All the images below are by the original tutorial writers. If you want to try one… just click on the creators name and it will take you straight there.

Stay tuned for the next instalment.

Let me know what you think.

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1.  Bunting Cards (tiny party invite) by The Pleated Poppy.
2.  Tissue Paper Pom Poms by diy Wedding 
3.  DIY sugar body scrub by Craftiness is not an option.
4.  Waterproof shower caps by Smashed Peas and Carrots.
5.  Felt Tissue Pouches by My Growing Home
6.  Simple Shopping Bags by The Purl Bee
7.  House pillows by Craft and Creativity.
8.  Beaded Heart Wand by First Palette.
9.  3D Owl printables by Craft and Creativity.
10.  Any colour chalk board paint by Salt Tree.
11.  Angel placecard by Allsorts.
12.  Covered Mouse pads by Coming Home To Roost.
13.  Fairies in a Jar by Organised Chaos.
14.  Paper Decoration Star by Craft and Creativity.
15.  Button Thumbtacks by FellowFellow 
16. Reindeer Gift Tag Printable by Eatdrinkchic.
17. Knitted Mini Stockings by Little Cotton Rabbits.
18.  Edible Teabag Cookie (Gluten Dairy and Sugar free)  by Whatever’s left 
19.  Wooden Fork Dolls by Craft and Creativity.
20.  Spray Painted Animals on lids by Pysselbolaget
21.  Fabric Covered Lights by Rebeccasdiy.
22.  Time for tea Soap by Cumbersome. 
23.  Owl iphone case by handmade. 
24.  Tea bag gift Tag by the studio of Mae 
25.  Monogram bags by zszywka
26.  Plush Monsters by Blueberry Moon.
27.  Plush Penguin by Purl Bee.
28.  Felt ball garland by The SoHo
29. Lavender Satchels by Purl Bee 
30. Chalk Paint Cheese Tray by Wit & Whistle

Inspire Me : Guy Laramee

Image and artwork by Guy Laramee.

This guy Guy is amazing!

Sculptured Landscapes made from old books.

A beautiful upcycle.

You can see more here.

REPOST: Mini Picassos

On the blog Art projects for kids, Kathy Barbro shares a project she does with 9 year olds.

I mentioned it on my giant list of holiday fun things. Cubism like Picasso’s.

I thought given my girls were on both sides of this age group I would give it a go.

We made a few modifications:

1. Size of paper. We used A7 black paper. Why? I find it’s good to try a new technique small. That way, it gets finished and they learn a new technique. We are all different, so one child might like the new art form, and another may not. Going small allows everyone to finish one, and for the keen beans to do more!
2. Good quality coloured pencils not oil pastels. Why? Oil pastels are messy, pencils aren’t. We love these ones. Doing a smaller artwork meant the areas to colour were smaller, and this is easier with a pencil. 10 year old liked the technique and so made another A5 size drawings and used pastels for it.
3. Metallic pencil for the outline. Why? We had them in the house, and metallic pencil on black paper makes even a simple drawing look fantastic.
4. Made them into cards. Why? We are in a cardy kind of mood at our house and it’s a great way to use mini picassos.

From top left clockwise: 10 year olds, 7 year olds, 11 year olds and mine.

REPOST: I love one-on-on time…. and so does she.

Wednesday was lovely in so many ways!

Whilst the 10 and 11 year old were off having a few days with the grandparents (thanks guys!) 7 year old and I had some rare one-on-one crafty sewy girlie time.

We used the sewn heart card project I mentioned and linked to in the giant list of things to do.

I cut the shapes from the box of paper scraps, selecting only the pink and white papers.

After making a pile of hearts in different sizes, I also made a pile of square and rectangle shapes, and a pile of the heart outlines.

I then found some pink and white buttons and thread to add to the mix.

Here is what my clever little sausage made…. She has even sold 3 cards so far to friends and given one away!

A few things I learnt or was reminded of:

1. Third children rarely get time with mum alone, especially to do something fun and learn a new skill.
2. Learning to sew through paper/card is an excellent starting point because the paper is firm and doesn’t get ‘bunched up’ when you sew over it. It stays where you put it.
3. There are lots of little steps to sewing even straight lines…. I only realised when I tried to show someone else how to do it.
4. In design, it is sometimes helpful to reduce the possibilities. This is especially true with kids because every element you add requires more skills from them but actually decreases the creativity. In this project, I opened up one new possibility at a time, as she mastered the previous one.
5. She’s a really fun kid who’s skill at learning new things surprised me.

Fete feedback

The school fete is fast approaching, so I have been raking my brain and the internet for some inspiration. As usual….lots of ideas….not a lot of time/money to create some craft stall winners.

So….. what I would love from you is some feedback.

What should I (and my band of crafting mumma’s) be spending our hours making? Please let me know in the comments below what you would buy at a school fete and a rough price.  Also if you have kids….ask them. Lots of kids bought things from the craft stall last year. I would love their feedback too.

'Make It Modern' boxy pencil case tutorial. Image from blog.

Cupcake bath bombs.... aren't they adorable. Image and tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets.

Fabric Headbands. Tutorial and Image from Foofanagle.

Last year we made these and these inspired by my friend Kat. This year maybe these windmill drinking straws. The tutorial and image source is at 'Ginger and George'.s

Galactic Sparkly Playdough from Neatorama. Image theirs.

More girlie Sparkly Playdough by One Crafty Mumma. Image from her blog.

Very cute library bag. Image from Sew Mama Sew

Aprons for little ones. This one from Sew Much Ado. Image theirs

Sleep masks. This panda one is too cute. I think I could maybe try some other animals as well. Idea and image from Craftster.

Fabric boxes at 'The Sometimes Crafter'. Tutorial and photo from her blog.

Cute baby shoes...... Image via Jennifer Ladd for Sew Mama Sew.

Fabric wall hangings. Image from Sew Much Ado.

Egg-cup pincushions by 'The Sometimes Crafter'. Image hers.

Tea Cup Pincushion by Punk Projects. Image and tutorial hers.

Kit ideas….so the kids can do it themselves.

Cookies in a jar from Bakerella.....thanks Cath for the tip off. Image from Bakeralla

Seed bombs.....either made or as kits. Image from Gardening Australia.

If you have never heard of these….and the picture isn’t helping at all. Have a look at how to make Seed bombs. This could also fit into the next category…. things for kids to make and do.

Things for kids to buy…. and do…

Hair braiding ..... from 'Method of hair braiding'

Friendship bracelet. Image from Honestly WTF

'I could make that' corner bookmarks. Image and tutorial from that blog.

Other ideas :

• cards
• lavender bags
• door stops
• origami brooches
• oilskin lunchbags
• felted stuffed animals
• berets or hats
• homemade heating pads
• pet rocks
• summer snowballs (for water fighting)

If you want to make any of the crafts yourself, all the images have a click through to a tutorial. The fast approaching holidays is a good time to try some of them out.

For an idea of what we made for the craft stall at last years fete, look here and here and here.

Folded book Tutorial

A3 size paper.... (A4 works too but gives you a very small book)

Fold paper in half lengthways....

Open the fold back out.

Fold paper in half the other way....

Fold it in half again the same way...ie last 2 folds parallel to each other.

Open it all back out flat again. Your page will be divided into 8 even rectangles.

Fold the paper in half again....(the long side halved by the fold).

Cut along the crease line from folded side to where the creases meet.

Open the page out again then fold it in half lengthways again until you get this shape.

Push the ends together until the paper forms a + shape.... then fold the paper onto itself to form the book.

After you have done that... lay the book out flat again. The page sequence is shown in the picture.

Write and Illustrate your book ...closed...

....or open. 5 year old looking back at a finished book to check her mermaid drawing.

This one is so easy you could do it today ….I love craft activities like that!

P.S. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. The light in our lougeroom is a shocker.

Favourite Things (3)

How fabulous is this bookmark!? The Wicked Witch of the East by Oops, I Craft My Pants. Image from her blog.

Wrapping and cards to make and give.

The folded fabric wrapping trend known as furoshiki. Image from II-NE-KORE

Furochic has video how-to's for many different shaped gifts. You can even buy the book on it. Image from Furochic.

Make the perfect snowflake... with the help of kerliand animals. Image hers.

 

Martha Stewarts tutorial for dying doilies for using in gift wrapping. Image hers.

Yes Martha does it again! Muffin papers topping homemade jam. Image from martha stewart.

 

Beautiful and simple 'paperpoms'. Tutorial and download. Image from Nice package.

Lino print Christmas cards to make. Tutorial and photo from Apartment Therapy.

 

4 year olds gets creative

…. here are her presents for the grandparents.

Angels by 4 year old.