DIY shirts in ANY theme

Oh my goodness, I am just SO excited about this!!

For my daughter's birthday, she choose a very unusual theme so finding a personalized shirt was basically impossible. So in the midnight hour of planning the party, I had an eureka moment! I can MAKE them myself.

Let me preface this by saying I do NOT sew and I am actually not that good at being crafty. (Just PAPER! haha!)

I bought this at walmart:

Avery printable iron ons.

Here are the super simple steps involved:

1. google images from your theme
2. save and import into microsoft word
3. print on your ink jet
4. cut out the image as close to the actual image as possible.
5. placing the shirt on a table on top of a pillow case, iron on at the cotton setting. (Also need the waxy paper provided)
6. allow to cool
7. wash in the washing machine inside out
8. dry on low in the dryer.

*** Step 7 and 8 I did not anticipate so I was lucky I did it with a few hours to go before her party.


I then decorated the back as well! I put a cutting board in between the layers of the shirt (once the front of the shirt had dried) and it worked really well!!!

Here are the final products!

 

Personalized with name and age!

 



 

One for little Gavin too!

 

 

And the front!

 

I'm sooooooooooooooo excited and addicted to this!! :) It was SO easy and I just love that the possibilities are endless!!

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How to clean your circut mats

Here is one for our fellow crafters!

 

How to clean your cricut mats!!!!!

 

 

If you have a cricut, you know how important the mat is. The problem is...... these things are SO expensive and they simply don't last long enough! After just a few uses, it seems the stickiness has worn off and paper is sliding everywhere.

 

Well, in order to keep the costs down for our customers, we've had to become resourceful. One thing we do is scotch tape the paper to mat so that it stays put. But sometimes, even THAT starts to not work..... and here is why:

 

DUST! The mats are meant to be sticky for a long time, but over time, the fibers from the papers you use to cut and other dust, fur, lint, whatever is flying around the house gets stuck to it too.

 

 

Take a close look at your mat......... I bet it looks a lot like this:

 

Luckily I have a great solution! WASH YOUR MATS!

 

It's simple! make sure to clear off as much of the paper and particles as you can off of your mat and then add some dish soap to it.

 

Get your hands nice and wet and start to rub in a circular motion, starting in the middle and work your way out.

 

Be sure to really put some elbow grease into it! Then simply rinse with water and allow to air dry. (usually overnight)

 

And you will have a sticky mat again!! It won't be like BRAND new, but it will definitely work much better! You can keep doing this over and over again!!! Eventually it will stop working, but by then you've extended the life of your mat so far that you should be proud!! (and you've saved yourself a bundle!)

 

With as much as we use our mats, this has been a life saver!!

 

Enjoy! <3

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sesame street party!

A mama in New Jersey held an adorable party for her son, Pricey who is turning 1!

She wanted a SUPER rush order of a name banner with Elmo and Cookie and also some "1"s for mini centerpieces she was putting together herself!

We love helping DIYers especially in today's Pinterest world where ideas are boundless! Speaking of which, be sure to follow us on pintrest!

This is one of my favorites  visually. I just love all of the different patterns, ribbons and bold colors! SUCH a fun one for a one year old's birthday! And what one year old doesn't LOVE sesame street!

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Happy Easter! DIY bunny paw prints

Happy Easter to our readers!!

 

This year for Easter, I wanted to do something extra special for my little munchkin.

 

So while she was napping, I made bunny paw prints that would lead from her room to the "hidden" Easter basket! :)

 

Here is the template that you can use to make your own!!

 

 

 

 I cut the shadow of the paw out in light pink, light purple and teal. Then I cut the pads out in white.

 

 

 

 

The finished paw prints!

 

 

leading to the basket!

 

And then I cut a bunny at 11" off of the create a critter cricut cartridge. :) This was the Easter bunny's helper as I told Natalie. He was supposed to help her find the basket! She LOVED this bunny! She carried it around all night and even requested that it be put to bed with her tonight. <3

 

Her Easter basket! A new dress, stickers, a new DVD, sidewalk chalk and two eggs filled with a few M&Ms which worked as a shaker egg until she figured out there was candy in there! haha!

 

Great success! :)

 

 

 

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Holiday Crafts with Toddlers!

Even though christmas has come and gone, we want to keep sharing the joy and fun of this festive season! Here is an activity we did with the kids before christmas!

 

You could obviously do this with any shape, not just a christmas tree. :)

 

Step 1:

Cover the table with paper or table cloth as you WILL get glue on your table! :)

 

Step 2: provide some kind of shape cut out of cardstock or construction paper. (we can always cut a shape for you if you need our help!)

 

 

Step 3: Spread some elmers glue on the shape and give the kids a paint brush so that they can spread the glue. You may need to help them a little bit so that there is glue all over the whole thing.

 

Step 4: put out a pile of puffs! We got these at Micheals. There was a ton of different sizes and colors in one pack so that was great! One bag could easily work for four kids. Another more economical option would be to use plain white cotton balls. We are going to be doing a snowman craft in our play group at our next playdate and we will use the cotton balls. :)

 

 

Step 5: let the kids go crazy placing the puffs on the glue!

 

 

All done!! :)

 



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DIY ornaments part II

So now it has been a week and it is time to paint the ornaments!! :)  (See the original recipe here)

We used washable paint, because we were expecting a huge a mess..... but if you are painting yourself the acrylic paint is much better and pops more.

I purchased a big set of brushes so the kids had LOTS of options. Whatever inspired the artist in them!!

Here is Natalie's first painting....... as sweet as it is..... I would recommend a handprint ornament be painted by mommy or daddy..... and leave the ornament painting for toddlers to cookie cut out ornaments. haha!

Here is an example of how one of the mamas in our playgroup started to paint her daughter's ornament.

 Action shot!

So like I said, for something that is a keepsake, I would recommend letting mommy or daddy do it so that it is preserved more properly, but all in all, this was a fun activity for the kiddos. Also we only had three colors, so it was also a lesson for the kids on what colors mixed together make others! :) (or a reminder for us mamas who it has been a little bit of time since we last painted. *wink*)

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DIY Christmas hand print ornaments!

We have recently decided to start incorporating a "lesson" or craft at our weekly playgroup play dates now that the little ones are all approaching the two year mark.

 

For our first craft, we did a two part series....... DIY Hand print ornaments!!!

 

You will need:

 

1 cup of Flour

1/2 cup of salt

2 Tbsp oil

1/2 cup of water

 

We added all of the ingredients into the stand mixer, but you could certainly do this by hand.

 

 

The dough is ready to go!

 

Put flour down on the mat and roll out to small balls to about a 1/4 inch. We didn't have a rolling pin so we had to improvise with one that came from a play dough set! haha!!

 



 

Then we cut each one into a circle. We measured the child with the biggest hands and then found a bowl that would accommodate that.

 

 

Since we had four toddlers and a 2 month old joining in on the festivities, we did five different plates to minimize fighting. Be sure to put flour down before putting down the salt dough. We also sprinkled some flour on top to make sure the little hands wouldn't stick.





A shot of the group in action!

 

Close up on Wes Man, mama Rachel and baby girl! <3

 



Nicely done, little man!

 



Natalie's turn!

 



 

 

The finished hand prints! We then took two straws to punch holes for threading ribbon. The two holes help keep the ornament from breaking since it helps spread the pressure of the weight/

 

We carved their names and the year into the front, but next time I think we will just write it on the back.

 



 

 

You can then bake at 250 for an hour, but they puff up so we decided to air dry for the week and we will paint at our next play date! :)

 

We also cut some extras with cookie cutters so the kids that couldn't make it this week would have something to paint. Those we did bake in the oven and they did indeed puff up. Not a big deal for a shape, but would have been sad if the hand print disappeared because of puffing.

 

You can also just add a few drops of food coloring and some glitter to the dough in the first place if you want to skip the painting part. 

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Halloween Craft!

I really enjoy doing crafts with my son, but at his age, we are limited in what he can do. I wanted to do something for Halloween and eventually thought this up!

 

 

He didn't do much but let me trace his hand, but the rest was pretty simple. He did sit and watch me finish it up though! All I did was get construction paper, and a fun halloween paper (The black spider web paper) I traced and cut his hand a few times and then cut a large circle of the web paper. I simply glued the hands around the outside of the web paper and wrote his name and the date inside with a silver sharpie! Ta da!

 

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DIY with your toddler!

For Mother's day this year I wanted to do something special for my mother and Nana. I was also thinking it is getting to be time that I wanted to introduce Natalie to the wonderful world of crafting! :)

I knew it was going to be messy so down to a diaper she went! I sat her in her new pink desk and gave her a couple of toddler markers and let her go to town!

And with a little encouragement and direction for mommy, she was on her way to being a little artist! :)

Very proud of her work! I'm not sure if she got more on the paper or on herself!!

Once the art was done, I used that as my design paper for the wings of a butterfly! I cut using the "Create a critter" cartridge and cut at 3 inches.

Adding on the rest of the layers.... we have a finished butterfly!

 I made a few of these so I made one bigger one for a future scrapbook page for Natalie! :) I'm really excited about getting to that page! But it will be awhile considering I'm only at 4 months now...... hahah!

Anyway, back to the task at hand! So I added some cute designed paper and some rinestones and also popped the butterfly (of course!) with 3D foam blocks.

Then on the inside I welded a "Happy Mother's Day"

This was SUCH a fun project and we will definiately be doing more in the future! I am just so glad we were able to preserve Natalie's first drawing for the three most important ladies in Natalie's life! :)

We would love to hear your ideas of what creative things you have done with your child's artwork! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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Sunday Link of Support & a bonus DIY

Something that all moms struggle with is loosing the baby weight. Rachel & I are no exception to that! Luckily we have both managed to get it all off now and then some! :) yay!!!

My friend Andy is an awesome guy. A truly genuine person who just really makes you feel like you are taking a deep breath of fresh air when you are around him. I love filling my life people like him. :)

And guess what else is awesome about Andy? He has lost 90 pounds so far through diet and exercise! What an inspiration he is!! No gimmicks, just hard work and dedication!

He and I have been cheering each other on by using the app 'My Fitness Pal' as we both work to get in the healthiest condition we can for our families! And I couldn't be prouder of him!

Follow Andy on his quest for health here:
http://bigandysrunning.wordpress.com


For our craft- hungry readers, Andy is also a father to an adorable little girl, Tessa who just turned one! Here is a quick DIY card for your viewing pleasure:

Andy and his wife Jenn decided to have a "you are my sunshine" theme for Tessa's 1st birthday! So I cut out a sun out of the Create a Critter cardridge at 3 inches and then welded the Tessa and shadowed it in Making the Cut using the Ravie font at 4 inches wide.
  

I then popped the sun off the page with the 3D pops (of course! can't use enough pops!!) and then stamped the inside in pink with "Happy Birthday"

 The card is a 6.5 inch X 5 inch card so I cut the cute pink striped paper at 6.25 X 4.74 and then attached it with my Scotch Advanced tape glider.  SO CUTE! and I love giving personalized cards rather than store bought ones now!!

I know having a toddler at home can sure make it difficult to eat right and exercise, but it CAN be done and it's always great to be reminded of that! :) So let's get moving, friends! :) Pin It Now!