Our 2013 Valentines

Last year we made our Valentines for the first time and had so much fun that we did it again!  Here's the round-up...

(Please pardon the picture quality.  It was late and low-light when I was shooting them and no amount of post-processing is making them any sharper, hahaha!)

Hope your day is Starburst-ing with happiness!

These are tiny treat bags with eight little Starburst candies, stapled closed with the note.

Inspiration

You're such a Cutie!

Son #2 is an orange-a-holic, so naturally he chose these.  He's getting a little sophisticated about the whole process, though...he wanted to know if I was violating copywrite since I downloaded the logos for these and the Starburst cards!  Geeze...he's not even ten yet.  I assured him that we were fine, but that's why you all don't get them as free downloads!

Inspiration

You are so sweet! / You make my heart melt!

Banana came up with these all by her lonesome!  She desperately wanted these bags to be filled with chocolate hearts, but we couldn't make that work in the budget (more on that later).  So, Little Debby saved the day with her seasonal heart-shaped cakes!  Banana also insisted on two sentiments: one for the girls and a different one for the boys.

You've got all the write stuff!

Pup's valentines were drama this year.  He originally planned to give out party poppers (the kind that shoot out tiny streamers) with notes that said "You make my heart POP!"  But at the last minute (read: February 13 at 6 p.m. after they were already stuffed and stapled), the big boys got him all freaked out about taking "explosives" to school.  So, Hubs and I decided not to tempt the ripped-from-the-headlines possibility of a kindergartener getting suspended on Valentine's Day and did a emergency regroup.  So, pencils went to school instead!

Inspiration

The Budget.  Ummm.  It turns out that spending even $.25 per kid adds up kinda quickly when there are 25-28 kids per class and you're doing it times four!  Let's just say that I've already told the offspring that we'll be returning to simple suckers and the like for Valentines 2014, hahahaha!  Oh, well...

Tweet

DIY Father's Day Photo Gifts

I'm a happy girl when DIY translates to photos-and-computer-skillz.  So, these projects were wonderful for me...and, with any luck, will be wonderfully received by the daddy's in my life! Click to enlarge...

First, for the Grandpas, I made these composite photos of all the offspring.  They had a riot with this!  I bought the MDF letters at Hobby Lobby for less than $2 each...and I only needed one P, A, O, and Y, since all the pictures are taken separately.  Honestly, that's the beauty of this project: only one child to coax a good expression out of for each photo!

I work in Photoshop Elements, but you can use any editing software to compile your photos.  You can just line-'em-up like I did for the PAPA project, or be fancy and use scrapbook products like the POPPY project.  I did one of each, because fitting five photos across made them too narrow to read properly.

The frames came from Walmart for $3 a piece (they're designed for two matted 4x6s, so the full opening is roughly 5x12).  Costco did my printing, as usual...$1.50 each.  Cut, frame, wrap, done.  Brilliant.

For Hubs, I downloaded this subway art that I found on Pinterest.  I covered over a section in the middle with square photos of him with each of the babies in the hospital on the day of their birth.  It's really a sweet personalization, and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

The download is sized for 11x14 (amazing!), but I chose to print at 8x10 so it can go on his desk if he wants.  Plus, that size frame is less expensive, right?  So, $4 for the frame and another buck-and-a-half to print.  Because, he almost never wears ties...

I can't wait to give these out tomorrow (or later in the week when I see my Dad).  I hope you have a fantastic Father's Day...love all you Dads!

Tweet

The Angry Birds Party

Birthday parties are kind of a big deal at our house.  Not big as in lots of people come over...but big as in each kids gets to plan their own theme and menu and decorations.  With five kids on board now, birthdays are one way we try to make sure that they each get something special, just for them.

Son #2 had his big friend party this year (see "Fiesta!"), so we decided to combine his family party with Pup's.  Fortunately, Pup was totally in favor of it...because they both wanted Angry Birds.  Easy enough!

Balloon Angry Birds bombed balloon King Pigs in a cardboard fort in the entryway, and flew on black streamer garlands above the dining table!  They were made using the fabulous printables here.  I used 9" balloons for my characters, so I shrunk the templates by half; they're definitely made for larger sized balloons.  The pieces are stuck on with double-sided tape.  These were a *huge* hit with the boys...in fact, they want to make another batch for a craft day later this summer!

We ended up with a morning party, so we had breakfast casseroles (golden eggs, anyone?), pancake-dipped apple slices, blackberries and raspberries, and blueberry butterscotch coffee"cup"cakes for dessert.  I made the toppers by printing out two sets of these, and hot-gluing them back-to-back with a toothpick in the middle.  Mild warning: these toppers aren't super high resolution and printed fairly blurry.  By this point in the party prep, though, I decided not to care... ;)  There are several different versions of toppers on Pinterest that you could investigate, though.

I still haven't found the magic camera settings to make indoor shots in our new house look good, so I don't have any pictures of the present-madness to share...but I did use this invitation template to make a gift certificate for Son #2 to go to soccer camp this summer.  The original has the red Angry Bird in flight, but I changed it to the soccer ball...'cause I'm theme-y like that!  That blog has a link to the Angry Birds typeface, or you can get to it from here.

Since this was just our family party, we didn't need games or favors...but we had a pretty great time, anyway!

Tweet

DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 4

Yesterday was the last day of school, and Son #1 brought his gift to his teacher.  She loves jewelry, especially chunky pieces...#1 observed both of these things about her, and immediately decided on this bracelet when browsing my DIY Pinterest board.

#1 further observed that her favorite color is purple, so we chose this violet, blue and pink batik.  The smallest length I could buy was 1/8 yard, so it cost something like fifty cents...and I only used a quarter of the piece before I decided the flower was big enough.  I used the same rolling-and-gluing technique the tutorial describes, and it's super easy.

To attach the bracelet (which I found for $2 at Meijer), I glued three beads to the underside of the flower.  Then I sewed some tiny stitches between the outside beads to secure really secure it.  It's hard to see clearly, but that's why I've so thoughtfully added the arrow to the picture... ;)

The finished product is pretty cute.  #1 clearly enjoys it (hahaha!), and he said his teacher was very happy with it.  She asked him how he knew that purple was her favorite, and he said, "I've seen you wear it more than once."

Some girl is gonna luck out with this one as a husband someday!

Tweet

DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 3 (and a freebie!)

Son #2 and his third grade teacher kinda bonded over their mutual love of coffee with French Vanilla creamer. It started the morning that I made new inserts for the kids' travel mugs so they could take coffee or cocoa on their chilly walk to school.  (His is the Dog Whisperer one...)

It was natural, then, that he wanted to give her something coffee-related as her appreciation gift.  So, when he spotted this on Pinterest, the search was over.  Click pictures to enlarge...

This packaging is a riot.  Just ask for a cup, lid and straw from the barista when you buy your gift card.  Easy peasy!  I had it all put together last night and was printing the tag when Hubs came home from a meeting and asked when I had gone out for coffee...it looks that *awesome*!

The inspiration instructions say to stuff the bottom with brown tissue paper.  Well, I didn't have any of that; but I have stacks of scrapbooking paper, including this *awesome* (that's #2's favorite word, after all) brown sheet with sort of a subtle mottled print.  Looks exactly like iced coffee!  I tinkered around a bit and finally came up with a template to cut out and insert into the cup.

I used a piece of scotch tape to keep it rolled just right.  Then, just pop in your gift card and top off with some white tissue paper and the lid.  This is a perfect chance to use some leftover tissue, because it looks *awesome* no matter how wrinkled it is.  Full disclosure: I think I used a piece that was packaging from #2's brand new tennis shoes!

I tied on the tag by running some embroidery floss right through the tag and straw with a needle. It seemed nicer than just taping it on somewhere...I'm a little silly like that.

He pretty much loved it ("That's *awesome*, Mom!").  And, to make it *awesome-r* yet, I've made printable templates for both the cup insert and the tag!  WOOT!

(That's *my* favorite word!)

        

 Just click the image to download!  Enjoy!

You may also like: DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 1 and Part 2!

Tweet

DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 2

Banana decided, predictably, to give her Kindergarten teacher flowers as an end-of-the-year gift.  And she wanted her to have them early so she can set them on her desk for a while...so, she's taking them in tomorrow, a week before school actually closes.

Like Pup (DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 1), she chose her gift from this fantastic, comprehensive list we found on Pinterest.  This blog has dozens of great ideas, and she chose the colored pencil flower vase (number 13 on the list).  You can click the photos to enlarge...

This project is wonderfully simple.  I used a small coffee can and hot glued colored pencils to it.  I expected to get the pencils from the dollar store, but ended up with regular #2 pencils that had colored barrels from Walmart, instead.  I needed two 24-count boxes of the colored variety at $1.12 each and one smaller package of the standard yellow pencils at less than fifty cents.

The inspiration project had the pencils arranged on a diagonal, but it worked better for us to go vertical because the pencils were unsharpened.  Frankly, I like it better this way...I like not having the pointy tops!  I had originally bought yellow ruler-print ribbon for this, but Banana fell in love with this pre-tied red grosgrain from my ribbon stash.  And, since it is *her* gift...I obliged, and used the ruler stuff on Pup's projects instead.

The bloom tag comes from the same pin, farther down the list at #29.  As usual, I couldn't leave well enough alone and ended up altering it slightly to include Banana's name.  The download comes in three colors, too, so it will match any flowers you choose!  We just cut it out and stuck it to the ribbon with a pop-dot so it will come off later for her teacher.

A recycled salsa jar was a perfect snug fit to hold the flowers, and she's good to go!

Tweet

DIY Teacher Gifts, Part 1

This article has moved to our new website.  Please visit

Hobnail House

for the full content.  Thank you!

Tweet

Fiesta!

Nine years ago, almost exactly to this minute, Son #2 came into the world.  Quickly, like a jet plane, which was ironic because the clock read 7:47 when he made his entrance.

Yesterday, at this exact time, he celebrated with eight of his best friends (and, reluctantly, his siblings) by throwing an epic fiesta!  Happy Birthday, son...we love you!

The Invitations, inspired by this pin.

The Grand Entrance.

Festive Decorations, inspired here (pom pom garland) and here (ruffled streamers).

The Salsa Bar.

Churro Cupcakes (recipe here) and Thank You bags of Jarritos sodas, Hot Tamales candies and party poppers.

The posse.

Tweet

Our 2012 Valentines

I'm gonna blame the pregnancy for this craft-kick I've been on.  It's prolly the best explanation for why I've lost my mind.  Because I really have.  Why else would I have suggested to the kids that we *make* their valentines this year?!

In all honesty, though, these were pretty fun and easy.  No hot glue was involved, I got to take some pictures, and most of my parts of the projects were done on the computer.  Each kiddo picked their own valentine to make, and I really love how each reflects their personalities: rocker for the eldest, something perfect for maze-crazed #2, butterflies for the girl, and *that smirk* from pup.  I just grin at all four of them!

I found the ideas for these on Pinterest (gasp!).  It was neat to let the kids flip through the pins and make their decisions.  Credit where credit is due, though:

Photo Cards.

We came up with the Rocker theme on our own, but it was obviously inspired here. 

A-Maze-Ing.

Butterflies.

Make sure you download the template.  I thought I'd do my own, and hers is sooo much easier. 

The other neat thing about this approach was how we could use more "boy-friendly" colors.  Trust me when I say they were each very involved in picking out the supplies for their projects.  I know these look like mommy took over, but I *promise* you...my sons are quite used to scrapper-me asking them to make design and color decisions, and they've developed strong tastes and styles of their own.  Loooove these kids!

And I *did* make them work on the projects, too.  I cut the hand-holes in the photos and cut out the butterflies, but they did any sticker-ing, sucker-ing and adhering themselves.  Except the youngest.  His contribution was to sit still long enough for the photo, which was actually a tremendous feat!

I saw someone's comment on Pinterest that these look expensive to make.  I got the suckers, glittery heart stickers, and plastic mazes all at the dollar store...something in the $10 range.  I printed the butterflies onto cardstock that I already had, and the other cards are 4x6 photos that I printed at Costco for $.13 each.  So, that was another $6 or $7.  Round it up to $20 total for four kids?  Do-able.

Admittedly, that's more than I usually spend on valentines.  But, look, I'm *really cheap* thrifty, and we typically buy a box of premade ones (dollar store if possible, or $3 each at Meijer) and don't do candy.  The kids were thrilled that I was buying candy, and we had sooo much more fun designing these together than our usual roles (me harping on their handwriting while they sign the store versions.  Side note: they adored that I scanned their signatures onto these cards!).  For that, I'll gladly pay the couple extra bucks!

Maybe I'll even do it again next year!  Oh, who's kidding?  I'm pinning 2013 ideas already...

Tweet

Decorating for Valentine's Day

I don't usually decorate for holidays other than Halloween and Christmas.  But our new house has this fantastic little landing as you come up the half-flight of stairs from the front entrance into the living room, and it seemed like the perfect spot to put just a couple seasonal things.  And then there's this Pinterest thing where I get too many ideas and have to try them out... Long story short: this year, we have Valentine decorations!

It all started with the Heart Felt Garland, inspired by this pin.  This was soooo easy (even a caveman could do it).  I chose four shades of felt (maroon, bright pink, light pink and white) and bought two 9x12 sheets of each.  Cost: like $2.50.  I cut the sheets into strips, then cut them into 2-inch hearts using a little pattern I did on the computer and printed on cardstock.  Then I just ran them through the sewing machine, one right after another.  It turned out that *one* sheet of each color made a garland long enough for my banister, so I also have these hearts strung all over my mantel, and a few over the dining room chandelier. The kids love it.  It's certainly a project that will show up again in different shapes and colors for parties!

At that point, I was feeling very crafty, so I decided to make these Conversation Hearts as a riff on this pin.  I didn't use the free printable offered on that blog, because I wanted to match the colors to my garland and fit them in this dollar store frame.  I did copy her sentiments and mimicked the shadows to give the hearts a bit of a 3-D effect.  Printed out on white cardstock, this project took about 15 minutes and cost a buck!

Then I was totally on a roll.  Next: the Cupcake Liner Pom Poms, inspired by this pin.  Here's where my quick progress ground to a halt.  It's not that I don't get along with my glue gun...but these things took for-evah.  And I remember cupcake liners being cheaper.  Even with my dollar store stryofoam balls as a base, I probably spent upwards of $5 on this project...more than I had expected.

The pink one is made with regular-sized liners using the pin-and-glue method described in the blog. A word to the wise: use pins with ball-heads on them.  I tried the flat ones that I had on hand, and it was awful.  They pulled through the liner, exposing my fingers to the hot glue, and were just generally awkward to use.  The little white pom I made with mini-liners, and I junked the pins altogether.  I wrapped the liner around the tip of the pencil and just pressed it into the stryofoam, holding a couple seconds so it could set.  It was insanely easier, faster, and my fingers were much better protected.  Ultimately, I'm not sure I'd try this project again...but they look cute for now.  My six-year-old daughter adores them.

About halfway through the glue-gun fiasco, I needed a break to buy more pink liners and let my fingerprints grow back in, so I went surfing and found the Valentine Subway Printable, pinned here.  This was really cute, downloaded in a nice high quality file and printed perfectly.  My Costco 5x7 print was $1.50 and I hit up the dollar store again for the gold frame.  Cheap.  Easy.  Done.

My kids have enjoyed this little foray into crafting...probably more than me.  There is a reason, after all, that I became a *digital* scrapbooker...I hate the fuss and muss of glue and scissors and scraps.  But all in all, the projects came out well and I'm totally glad I decided to go for it!

Tweet

Pillow DIY

I'm not even gonna say the P-word.  Fortunately, this project began several months ago...before I knew about the P-word.  Although, I'm sure someone, somewhere has pinned this tutorial.

I found the instructions for this pillow here, at Running with Scissors.  I was getting ready for an annual craft day that hubs' cousin holds for friends and family, and looking for some free sewing tutorials.  So, since I have a total obsession with bird silhouettes, this one "spoke" to me.  Practically screamed, is more like it, really...

To make it even more enticing, she has incredibly detailed step-by-steps on the blog, and...wait for it...a download of the silhouette!  So simple!

Hers:

And mine:

I'm pretty happy with the results, considering that (1) I'm not a great seamstress and (2) I had to spitball some of the directions.  For instance, she painted the body of the tree onto her cover.  I wasn't about to do that, so I used my mad Photoshop skills on some iron transfer paper.  Never used the stuff before, and mucked it up once; nailed it the second time around. Fortunately, I had enough fabric to start over!

Also, she actually appliqued the little leaves, which is way (way) too advanced for me.  So, I chose some nice stiff fabric to cut the leaves from and just ran a double stitch down the center of each.  Worked well enough for me!  I added the little buttons for pretties, and called it done.  I can also assure you that it is perfectly square, despite this photo's knack for making it look all lopsided.

The pillow is for the nursery.  And don't worry, I won't keep it in the crib once she starts chewing on things...I know the tiny buttons are choking hazards!  In the meantime, though, it's one more little project done before she arrives!

Tweet

Baby Stats Prints

This little blog of mine is quickly turning into a Pinterest love-fest!

You know I've been designing from it (stay tuned for Sketch 3 later in the week).  And my Facebook friends know I've been cooking from it (spoiler alert: this sketch isn't released yet from Scrapbook Challenges!).  Click to enlarge:

Cooking with Pinterest digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Paper: Rise and Shine Papers by Raspberry Road Designs; Silverware: Domestic Goddess Add-On by Raspberry Road Designs; Vegetable Stamps, Baker's Twine: Gunhild Storeide; Sketch: 280 by Scrapbook Challenges; Fonts: Grants Ghosts, Underwood Champion; Other: photos and logo from Pinterest.com

And now, I've finally decided to tap into my I Can Do That! board and let the DIYing commence!  First up, these adorable prints with all the babies' birth stats (pinned here):

Now, I pinned it from someone, who pinned it from this blog...but she's not the original genius, either.  I don't know who did this the first time, so I just have to send out virtual kudos.  Because she's brilliant.  Special thanks, though, to the blogger for suggesting the font to use.  I thought I'd be clever and original and do something different...and still ended up following her lead!  Gill Sans MT, by the way... Oh, and I totally stole her color schemes for a couple of them.

With the new baby at T minus eight weeks and counting, our other kids want to know all about their own births and such.  So this is a timely project.  For my version, I added newborn pictures.  I liked the personal twist, and it kept the series looking more interesting.  'Cause, well, there's a lot of them.

                 

                 

And there'll be one more in a few short weeks!  I'll probably mock up the print with her name and all the colors ahead of time, so it will be easy to pop in the particulars and be done.  I printed these today at Costco, and they turned out just adorable.  And cheap.  Like $1.50 each.  Score.

Hm.  Costco and Pinterest.  That relationship bears further exploration, I think!

Tweet