Archive for D.I.Y.
October 26, 2009
· Filed under Crafty!, D.I.Y., Holidays, Kids, Molly · Tagged Cardstore, easy halloween costumes, no sew Halloween costumes, sushi costume
This sushi costume (all Elena’s idea) is the easiest Halloween costume I’ve ever made, and it’s probably also the one I’ve gotten the most compliments on, too. No sewing necessary.
Here’s what you need (feel free to experiment with colors!):
Enough of each to wrap around your kid’s body (like maybe a yard and a half):
- Black or dark green fleece
- White fleece (the kind that has some texture, like a sheep, to resemble rice)
- Salmon colored fleece
Some large safety pins
A couple of strips of the black fleece for tying the roll around the body
Put the layers of fleece on top of each other (black on bottom, then white, then salmon), pin them together at the ends (not totally necessary, but just in case), roll them around your kid’s body, then tie with a couple of strips of the black fleece (which is stretchy and makes an excellent tie).
Add some chopsticks and a wasabi colored t-shirt and you’re good to go!
With my permission, the Cardstore entered this costume (and Rosa’s Super Mario costume) into their Silliest Costume Contest. If you like it, vote for it on their Facebook fan page (see the link in their blog post – and you have become a fan of Cardstore on Facebook to vote). The costume with the most “likes” wins a $100 Barnes & Noble gift card. That would be a nice thing to have, but you have to vote today (and you have to vote a bunch, because so far it’s only got a couple of votes!)
Happy Monday!
October 9, 2009
· Filed under Crafty!, D.I.Y., Kids, Molly · Tagged crafty kids, creativity, do it yourself
Here’s an extra post for this Family Friday. I was cleaning up the girls’ room yesterday, and I found this little bookmark holder that Elena (who’s 8 years old) made.
I hadn’t seen it before. Don’t know when she made it. But I thought, “Well, heck, this is pretty darn clever.” She and her sister have lots of bookmarks – why not make a bookmark holder to keep them all in one place?
One of the things I admire most about Elena is that when she doesn’t have what she wants/needs, she tries to make her own. I’ve seen her do this time and again with magic wands, notebooks, fishing poles – you name it.
Here’s hoping that she will always be this crafty and creative.
October 9, 2009
· Filed under Crafty!, D.I.Y., Family Fun, Karin, Kids Crafts · Tagged crafts, rainy day crafts
Karin’s got a fun rainy day project/recipe and links for us on this Family Friday:
Chasing Cheerios is a blog about homeschooling from a Montessori approach. My daughter loves Silly Putty, so this craft idea I found there is something that we definitely plan to try. Seems especially perfect for some rainy day this winter when we are climbing the walls wondering what to do with ourselves.
The ingredients are pretty simple:
- two parts multi-purpose white glue
- one part liquid starch
- food coloring
You can also check out the Silly Putty tutorial on YouTube.
September 21, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, D.I.Y., Etsy Finds, Molly, Pretty Things, Projects · Tagged cheap party decoration ideas, diy wedding and party decorations, how to make paper flowers
My brother-in-law is getting married in 5 weeks, so I’ve been thinking about weddings and such. Plus, you guys really seem to like the wedding and party favor posts (here and here) on this blog, which consistently get a lot of views each week.
So you know what? I like you. Here are some more wedding party ideas, of the flower variety, for you.
I saw this tiny paper flower idea from Zakka Life on iDIY. Pretty and cheap. Score! You can find the tutorial here. And check out the tutorial for the centerpiece (below). Gorgeous.
Have I mentioned that I think “I DO- it yourself” is a pretty clever name for a wedding site? Thumbs up.
The tiny flower idea reminded me that I bookmarked these paper flowers by truLuxe on Etsy awhile back. I love this photo, don’t you? I love the combination of the flowers with the silver vases.
Turns out that there are dozens of Etsy shops selling flowers like these in a huge array of colors (search for “party poms” and enjoy the insanely cheerful results). I am definitely buying some for the girls’ birthday parties this year.
While I was looking at the party poms, I couldn’t help but notice these sweet cupcake toppers (which you could also use as table decorations) by Millalove, who has a whole shop full of really terrific paper flowers and cupcake toppers.
I also found this beautifully simple paper roses tutorial by Dozi Design, (which Creature Comforts laid out in this easy to follow grid for you).
And lastly, this is another really pretty (and double-sided) flower garland by Panda with Cookie (check out her hilarious logo) that you could buy or try to make yourself.
Garlands are a good, easy and cheap way to decorate for a party. All you need is a ton of ribbon, some pretty paper (or cardstock or fabric), scissors and a hole punch.
Flowers make me cheerful. I had fun finding all of these pictures.
July 13, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, D.I.Y., Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged baby shower gifts, baby shower ideas
Hooray! At last I get to talk about Rebecca and Chiara’s baby shower, which we hosted yesterday, and which I’ve been dying to talk about for weeks now. The baby shower gods were smiling on us; the sunny, breezy weather could not have been more perfect. We had a lovely time.
Are you ready? I have a lot of photos for you.
First, the decorations.
My friend Cathy hosted the shower. We set up lunch in her screened in porch. Here’s what the table looked like:
The yellow gingham with green rick rack trim tablecloth and napkin rings were made especially for this shower. Who can resist rick rack?
The placecards (the little white decorative boxes) were a Martha Stewart kit from Michael’s, which we embellished with these sweet daisy flower stickers (also Martha). Inside were two yummy pieces of chocolate from the local chocolate store.
We also put up a flag garland to decorate.
The other side of the porch, with the food and gifts, looked like this:
Take a closer look:
A chicken and goat cheese salad, fruit salad, homemade bread and an eggplant and tomato tartine.
Do you love this detail on the gerbera daisies? It’s adorable, right?
And the delicious cheese platter. Daryl is quite the food stylist!
Here we are, pouring a glass of wine and getting ready for lunch.
(Apologies to my friends Cathy, Daryl, Michelle, Rebecca and Chiara, but I can’t show everyone the baby shower pictures without showing them my fabulous friends, can I?)
The guests of honor: Rebecca on the left (having a girl), Chiara on the right (having a boy).
Michelle and Cathy.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 15, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, D.I.Y., Etsy Finds, Freebies, Molly · Tagged DIY party favors, wedding favors
With a little digging, and for a very small price tag (or even for free), you can find lots of printable patterns for favor boxes, labels, and other fun party and wedding favor ideas.
Here’s a thank you party favor box (which comes in several colors) from Twig & Thistle; for $4, you can download the pattern and print as many as you want:
Twig & Thistle has also designed similar boxes (2 other styles) you can download for free, from Style Me Pretty right here and here.
Also from Style Me Pretty (and also free), I like these “Eat, Drink and Be Married” napkins wraps:
How about these colorful cones ($3.50 for the pattern) from Chichiboulie on Etsy, which can be filled with candy or anything you want:
A couple more, both from A Little Hut (both $5 each for the downloadable pattern):
The airmail envelope could be filled with something really interesting – maybe a nod to where you’re taking your honeymoon?
And LOVE blocks, which would make really nice table decorations for a wedding:
The iDIY (“design goodies for ‘I Do’ it yourself weddings”) website has lots of good DIY wedding ideas.
May 4, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, D.I.Y., Home, Molly · Tagged papel picado craft
I wanted to scream like a little girl in a candy store when I saw this do-it-yourself papel picado banner on Style Me Pretty.
Pure. Genius.
We gringos see elaborate ones in Mexican restaurants, or for Day of the Dead celebrations, but you can make them yourself with a few easy-to-find craft supplies. You will still be a gringo, though.
Just think: pretty decorations for a party, a unique way to brighten your kid’s bedroom, or even tiny ones for a dollhouse.
Click here for the full instructions (though it’s pretty easy to figure out on your own, I think).
On an unrelated note: Karin is taking a break for awhile, so you chumps guys are stuck with just me for awhile. But hopefully I can keep you entertained, interested and coming back.
Happy Monday!
April 13, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, D.I.Y., Gift Ideas, Molly · Tagged do it yourself party favors, wedding favors
Crafty Mondays!
My brother-in-law is getting married this fall, so I’ve been thinking about wedding favors, and scouring all the crafty blogs. I ran across three colorful, fun and easy ideas that adapt to gifts/favors for any kind of party. All are from Martha Stewart.
The first are stamped sugar cookies, and what’s cool about this is that the stamps are just any rubber stamp you like, and the ink is liquid food coloring. Aren’t they pretty?
The second is really about the pretty packaging. There’s no tutorial on her website for making the flowers, so you’re on your own there:
And the third idea is something I almost did for Elena’s birthday party this year: putting colorful candy in cellophane bags and pinning the treats to a peg board or french bulletin board. I like this idea, but it can easily get expensive, if you’re obsessive about picking just the right candy:
I saw this same idea executed at Amy Atlas’ website too. Trust me, it’s worth a look through her portfolio.
If you’re in need of some favor ideas, check out Martha’s “50 Great Favors” feature on her website. And if you have any great diy favor ideas, please leave a comment or send an email!
March 23, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, D.I.Y., Gift Ideas, Molly · Tagged party favors, party ideas
This idea rocks! A bottle carrier that you decorate any way you like, fill with milk and cookies, or perhaps soda and snacks, and give as party favors. Awesome. I love it, and I hope you do too, because if you’re related to me or count me as a friend, you are probably going to get one of these from me.
You can find the bottle carriers and labels at My Own Labels.
Spotted on Hostess with the Mostess.
If you make your own version of this, email me a picture!
March 9, 2009
· Filed under D.I.Y., Home, Molly, Projects · Tagged creative painting ideas, Design*Sponge
How cool is this matching wall stripe and runner? What a great idea that you can adapt for your own home. I think it would look great even if you don’t have a runner on your stairs – heck, you could paint a runner on your stairs! Talk about a great idea that costs virtually nothing.
Karin, I was thinking of your house when I saw this photo.
Spotted on Design*Sponge. Photo by Dan Duchars.
