Crafting: Holiday Card Placemats DIY

Have you found a use for that beautiful stack of Christmas cards? It seems such a shame to throw them away...  When I was a little girl my grandmother gifted our family a stack of placemats she'd made from holiday cards she's collected. On the reverse side you can see handwritten notes from the senders. They were from the old days when greeting cards were purchased in boxed sets and each addressed and signed by hand. I remember my mother struggling to find just the right Christmas card to send. I confess I miss those days a bit but, it's pretty great that we can now design our own perfect greeting cards and send and receive updated family photos. 

In any event, you may have a stack of holiday cards you can't part with. Or you may just enjoy the look of these kitchy placemats and want some of your own. In either case, I've got a quick how-to for you.

These placemats could be really cute, and entirely different looking made with pictures of your family and friends, but I wanted to duplicate the old school Christmas card look. So I ran out after Christmas and purchased some boxed cards on clearance. In addition I searched for vintage Christmas card images online and printed some of those on cardstock. 

The first step is to gather those cards and images and punch them out in circle shapes. I used a Martha Stewart Crafts Simple Circle Cutter tool and some Uchida circle punches in 2.5" and 3" sizes. I found that bigger is better so the circle cutting tool was really handy.

Once you have all your images cut out, the fun part begins! This is a great project to do with your kids! Have them sign and back the reverse side.

You'll need a 12"x18" sheet of paper as the background for this project. I used a finger painting paper pad, which was the perfect size.

I found it easiest to start with the bigger images, glue them down (glue sticks are perfect!) and then fill in with the smaller circles, but it's a good idea to try a layout first to plan your design.

You'll want to cover all the white space with your holiday card images but leave a scalloped oval shape overall.

The next step is to trim the background paper around the scalloped border.

Then laminate the placemats to protect them and make them easy to wipe off. I used a local school supply store but office supply stores also provide lamination. Or maybe you have your own laminator at home.

After laminating you'll need to trim the excess plastic close to the scalloped edges of each placemat. Be sure to leave about a 1/4" border to ensure the lamination stays sealed.

Now you're all set for next Christmas with some cute and slightly kitchy placemats!

Craft: Spray Dye Swim Towels (Kids' Craft)

I love taking advantage of summer to get creative with my kids. I especially love an activity that is easy for them to do, and not a giant mess for me to cleanup. Though the idea "dye" might cause concern, this dying project can be done on your lawn where there's little chance of permanent staining. 

Because my girls love swimming, and they love playing with color I thought this would be the perfect craft to keep them busy for an afternoon. Adding a monogram acts like a signature on their art and is handy for keeping track of which belongs to whom. And now they have colorful towels to take to the pool and beach to show off their creative work!

Click through for the how-to.

Craft: Rainbow Boho Tassel Necklace DIY (Tutorial)

I've been loving the Boho tassel necklace trend and thought making a rainbow version would be the perfect way to celebrate my friend, Katy Dill, on her birthday. Katy is a compulsive rainbow-tizer. Just one of the many ways she creates art and beauty in her life. No doubt you are a fan of hers too.

Skirt Fixation organized this virtual birthday party for Katy and I am so happy to be among the other creative women wishing Katy the best. Katy certainly brings joy to those around her as well as farflung virtual friends lucky enough to get a glimpse into her world. I especially enjoy her photographic eye and her appreciation for the teaching moments and beauty we should cherish in our lives.

This tassel necklace is so simple to make! It's seriously a fifteen minute project (assuming you start with a simple beaded necklace). It would be great for a kids craft too! Maybe as a party favor at a Rainbow Birthday Party.

I'm going to love wearing it with a simple black and white outfit (coincidentally, another favorite palette of Katy's) and Scarlett has already asked if she can wear it with the Rainbow Wrap Skirt I made a few years ago.

Want to make one? I've got the tutorial after the jump.

Sewing: Foxy Pink and Red Game Day Jersey Dresses for Valentine's

Since we're nearly to Valentine's I thought I'd share some lovey colored Game Day Jersey Dresses in one of my favorite combinations: pink and red. I have loved these two colors together since I was a little girl so I immediately fell for this cute Swafing "Freddi" organic knit. (This shop has it in stock.)

I found the bubblegum pink knit at Jo-Ann for a perfect match.

I decided on a Game Day Dress for Scarlett and a skirt and Game Day Tee for Tess. This skirt is the same I sewed for Scarlett in the launch post for this pattern. I think I'll turn it into an official pattern because it's so quick and easy and I love the options afforded by the panels.

Craft: Ribbon and Flower Crowns (Tutorial)

We celebrated Tess's birthday a couple weeks ago with a lot of pinks and golden yellows and flowers. I'll share all the details soon but wanted to share what was for me the creative apogee: ribbon and flower crowns. A flower crown for the birthday girl and ribbon crowns for her guests. So fun!

I had been thinking about making some crowns such as these for some time. What else could make a little girl feel so special? And when else would she have the excuse to wear one? And her mom take pictures of her wearing one?! 

I wasn't quite sure how to make them until late one night I came up with the perfect supplies! The crowns had to be flexible enough to be comfortable but stiff enough to hold a nice round shape, and I wanted to sew flowers on them, besides.

These took less time than I thought and I love the way they turned out. I share all the details below.  Though I made these myself prior to the party, this would be a great craft for girls five and up to make at a party!

Please click through for the tutorial.

Craft: Papered Clipboard (Tutorial and Template)

Who doesn't love a mini clipboard? I remember loving the chance to use clipboards as a child--made me feel so "official"--and the mini size is perfectly child-sized. (Actually it's great for adults too. I can just imagine an organization strategy leveraging a suite of these....) These make a great party favor (I used them for Scarlett's Woodland Picnic Party a couple years ago), but they are also a great party activity.

For a Back-to-School Party I hosted with a friend recently, we gathered supplies for these clipboards and had girls ages 7 through 11 make some to use for a friendship game we played.  We set out templates, patterned papers, scissors, glue and the clipboards. They loved this craft! It was great fun for them to select papers that suited their own personalities and further customize these with colored ribbons and different mechanical pencils. And then they had a great tool to play our "Fast Friends" game. (See this post for some party photos and the free game template.)

Do you have a papered clipboard in your future? This would be great for a baby shower game or even a game night! It's pretty simple to make, but a bit of a pain to trace the shape around the clip to create a template, so I've got a tutorial and template here for you (click for the details).

Craft: Yarn Pom Pom Bouquets (Tutorial)

I've been thinking about different tabletop ideas for Tess's birthday party. I was going to make a felt polka dot bunting to run down the middle of the tables (as I did for the "boy" version of this Chevron Dot party theme) but then I thought of three dimensional dots instead: pom-poms. So I've been making yarn pom poms for party bouquets. I was so happy to find yarn in colors that coordinate with the invitation!

These bouquets are a bit of a nod to the tissue variety I made for my Fiesta party a couple years ago. Pretty simple, and fun, and inexpensive.

Audrey and Scarlett wanted in on this action an they made a couple pom poms too. I was impressed! They did a great job. Audrey now wants a pom pom making party! I will have to make them with the girls again. It's a great way to keep them busy.

If you'd like a bit of a how-to click for more details.

Crafting: White Button Frame (Tutorial)

The girls and I were at the fabric store and saw all these white buttons, and I thought it would be fun to make something with them--the buttons and the girls. So in a few minutes we made a white button picture frame.

This quick project required a simple picture frame (flat face), which spray paint, a hot glue gun and a bunch of buttons. We used white but this would be fun in multi-colors or monochromatic. Maybe we'll have to make some more.

First I took the glass out and spray painted the frame. When it was dry I spread out some paper on a table and plugged in the glue gun.

And then I let the girls help me place the buttons. They picked them and I dabbed the blue and then they placed them.

I might have massaged the spacing a bit....

And there it is. Our button frame. This would be really cute for Father's Day or Mother's Day, or any day really.