Christmas Wrapping Tips

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday- so I thought I would share with you some of the favorite things I do in preparation for the holiday. One of my favorite parts of the holiday is wrapping presents. (Yes so much so that I volunteer to wrap other peoples- honestly, I love it- want me to wrap yours??? I am not kidding, drop them off, I'll do it, serious!) We aren't doing many gifts this year, we are trying to give less stuff and give more of ourselves relationally with our time and our talents, but the few things we are giving should look pretty darn cute and festive right??? Here are some holiday gift wrap tips, simple and inexpensive.

1. When buying wrapping paper, try to buy in coordinating rolls so that you can mix and match and create stripes on the packages. This especially comes in hand when you cut the paper too short or need to add a patch on extra large boxes, make it look like you did it on purpose! (In the photo above you can see that I wrapped a box in one sheet and then added a complimentary strip of paper in a coordinating color, and a ribbon on top of that. My husband refers to this as the "racing stripe".)

2. Get creative with your bows! Use left over bows (yes, I recycle ribbon!) and think out of the box- use twine, string (like old fashion packages), non- Christmas colors work as long as they match the paper and don't be afraid to add chatter- you can see a package wrapped in plaid and tied with a polka dot ribbon.

3. If you want to spice up your gift tags but already have the "sticker" kind, simply apply them to a piece of colored card stock and cut out a shape, hole punch, and tie with a cute ribbon. (I cut corners this year and didn't do it- kinda wishing I had- oh well!)

4. And last but not least, have fun! Make yourself some coco and turn on a Christmas flick and get all your supplies out so you don't have to keep getting up. Enjoy it or bring it on over and I'll help you out!

Framed Fabric...

So here's an easy way to dress up some walls with fabric and frames! And the best part about it is you don't have to hunt around for that perfect print you won't get sick of. All I did was buy some large black frame that had matting inside, cut a piece of the fabric an inch large than the whole and then taped it on the back- you could use masking tape or blue painters tape. I also added some fake flowers (that I pulled apart and laid flat) and glued a rhinestone in the center of each flower for some added sparkle. These were for a teenage girl and all three were hung right above her bed. And if you get board with them, an inexpensive fix- change out the fabric! Think out of the box- could you use these anywhere you have a bare wall??? use fabric or dishtowels or an old sentimental piece of clothing??? Have fun with it!

Shower Favors...

Here's a inexpensive favor for a shower, these were used for a baby shower and the tag on them says "Thanks for coming to celebrate this little peanut!" I just had friends save their glass baby food jars, I ran them threw the dishwasher and then cut paper to cover the jars. I just used sticky tape to adhere it to the jar and a dot of glue on top for the button. Then, I filled them with "peanut" m & m's! Easy peasy!

Critters in the Tree...

Here's another canvas for my sweet friend Annah, she is having a little boy, Will, due around Christmas! This canvas has so many different creatures; owls, birds and their nest, a worm, a badger, squirrels, and even a snail!

Rollin' In....

Here's the latest canvases that have rolled in, a set of 3 tractors that match the Christopher Construction Bedding from Pottery Barn for Kelee who is due in December. Her little boy is going to have sweet dreams of digging, mixing, and plowing with these hanging over head!

Completed Nursery...

So, my sister just sent me this picture of Joshua Jude's completed nursery with the tree canvas all hung in place, so I thought it would be a fun post to show you all the final product! Didn't it turn out cute??? I love it!!! Thanks for sharing, it's always fun to see the canvases in their element!

Car Seat Blanket...

I just had to post this, I know a lot of people make these, but I LOVED these fabrics from Strawberry Patches, I loved the colors, the prints, the fat ric-rac and the texture of the gray velour- it's so incredibly soft! (I have one for sale if you know of a little boy who is in need of a bold and bright snuggley blanket- for you or a gift- just leave me a comment.)

This was a very special blanket, given to my newest nephew whom I met and feel in love with today, Mr. Joshua Jude Stokes.... covered him in kisses and this blanket!

Flowers in your Hair Part 2....

So, a cute idea for a flower girl... here's two flowers I made for my sister-in-law's sister who is getting married in 2 weeks. Her flower girls are going to wear these, pinned back on one side of their hair.

Super easy to make, I took apart 2 white flowers and then cut out flower shapes from white toile. Then I alternated, one toile and one petal, stuck a pin through it, and then hand-stitched them together. I finished it off with a covered button and attached an alligator clip to the back!

Put up your Party Banner!!!

So, here's another idea I borrowed off of someone else's blog, and thought I would post the idea for parties, shower, and the likes! It's super simple to make, it would be a great beginners sewing project because not much sewing is needed. I simplified the idea so that it would take less time (my overall theme when crafting because I don't have a ton of time!)

So, I made a template out of a piece of thin card board and cut out 15 triangles with the "right-side" of the fabric facing out on each one. *** I cut out 14 because I was going to use it as a congratulations banner = 14 letters.

Then I measured and pinned each triangle inside of a piece of "bias tape" (purchased in any craft department). Each triangle was 2 inches apart.

Then I ran a stitch down the bias tape with a complimentary color.

And finally, this part is optional (you could leave yours plain) I cut out felt letters and glued them on with fabric glue to each flag.

(Bad picture I know- it was dark, too far away, about to take it down after the party... but hey, you get the idea!!!)

And wha-la!!!! You have yourself a homemade party banner---- let the celebration begin!!!

Flowers in your Hair....

Try stacking your flowers in a different order a few times before landing on your final choice. Also, try alternating 2 colors like this one: red and pink. Then hand stitch an X in the center to keep them from moving.

On this one, I covered a button in some complimentary fabric and hand-stitched it onto the center of the flower, you can also use a plain button or two buttons stacked on top of each other.

Here's a sample of some other colors, the yellow one has a piece of complimentary ribbon in the center (click on image to enlarge) and the purple one has a fuzzy center that came as a center to one of the flowers.

And of course, my model, Emery girl.

So, here's an easy and fun way to spice up a plain head band or clip... buy some fake flowers, layer them, handstitch the center together, add a button (regular or fabric-covered) and then hot glue it to a an alligator clip. (I cover my alligator clips in grossgrain ribbon first). This way you can change it up- move the flowers to different headbands depending on the outfit! (Target sells some great colors of kid sized headbands right now for pretty cheap- 6 for under $4!)

Spicin' Up An Old Skirt

So, I have had this skirt in my closet for a really long time, it was a hand me down from a friend of mine, and I was thinking, maybe it needed a little pick me up... so here's what I did...

I followed this tutorial on how to make fabric flowers. I printed out their template for flower shapes, but then I added some of my own, a few larger and a few smaller than they suggested, and I folded the circles in half to get the fullness and fluff I was going for.
I held them together with a pin until I stitched them together and added a button in the center.
Then I tacked them to the skirt by hand, stitching the flower in place and making sure the back flower had some stitches as well, so that it wouldn't flop over once the skirt was on.
Here's how they turned out, they will fray a little when washed because of the raw edges, but I like that look!
Give your hand at it, find something in the closet that's been sitting there too long- a t-shirt, skirt, knit dress, hat, hnadbag or tote, a tank top, a baby onesie- that could use a new and updated look to bring it back to life!

Hair Clip Tin

A quick and easy solution for anything that is cluttering up your coutertops- for me it was my daughter's hair bows and clips that were all over her dresser as well as the rest of the house! They needed a permenant home, and a cute one at that!

I found this cheap little tin bucket at the dollar store, never mind the design because it will quickly be covered up! Then I got out some fabric, trimming, and extra buttons just in case!
I measured the tin, cut the fabric, ironed it and then ran a bead of fabric glue around the top and bottom of the tin and pressed my fabric on to it firmly, ironning out any bumps with my finger tips.
Then I attached some pom poms, ribbon and well, some more ribbon- and wha-la! In 15 minutes I had myself a cute little storage container for her bows and clips!

Hoo Hoo Hooray!!!!

More owl canvases, and these ones are a girlie girl set!!!

(The colors are a little overexposed and the detail of the button eyes didn't get captured, but you get the jist!!!!)

Say goodbye to these birdies, they are being shipped off!

All you need is LOVE...

Here's another canvas to match the previous ones, a complementary one for above the crib! I love it, it's bright, classy, and bold all at the same time, hope you like it Brittney!

Here is Baby June modeling with the canvas! I don't know which one is cuter!!!

Classy Lime Canvases

Here's another set of canvases I just finished for a sweet girl I just met who's almost ready to give birth to another sweet little girl that will have the classiest bedding in all of Bakersfield!!! Honestly, the bedding she chose for this nursery is gorgeous, I would put it in my room if it came in a queen! Here's the bedding and a glimpse of the canvases, I hope you enjoy them Brittney! (That is definitely a perk of making all these fun canvases, I get to meet all these fun girls along the way!!)

Dr. Seuss Canvases...

(Double Click on Pictures to Enlarge & See Detail)

Here's another order of canvases I just finished for someone whose nursery theme is Dr. Seuss. I made it to compliment the bedding set from Pottery Barn, and went with a fun color pallet of turquiose, yellow, red, and black--- perfect for a boy or a girl!