I hope you had a wonderful 2009 and are gearing up for an even better 2010! I know we are super excited to see what 2010 brings to our household (and no, that in no way implies a baby smurf) 
Also I just realized that my little crafty home on the internet is nearing its 10,000th visitor which may seem small to some of you super bloggers out there, but to part-time me it’s a big surprise. So, I wanted to take a quick moment to THANK YOU for dropping by!! You’ve made this little part-time crafty gal wear a full-time smile today
In other exciting news we received our photo disk yesterday from our wedding…which means I finally have finished product photos for many of our DIY wedding projects! I’ll be working on putting those posts together in the upcoming few weeks, and finishing up several other projects that are awaiting finishing touches and photos.
So, Thank You for visiting my little internet home and Happy 2010!!
Today I spent a few moments wandering through the Christmas sales at a few local stores looking for nothing in particular…but last year it was a different story. You see we were planning a wedding and what better time to pick up things than when they are on clearance. Nope, we weren’t planning a Christmas wedding but you’d be surprised the things you can pick up this time of year. So I thought I’d quickly post a few of the ones we used or popped into my head while looking through the leftovers.
Solid Color, Metallic, or non-holiday specific wrapping paper - I always buy clearance wrapping paper after Christmas and use it through-out the year for birthday presents, etc. Target has a wonderful selection of stripes, solids, plaids, and even pastel non-holiday specific wrapping paper in their holiday selection. But if you have a wedding coming up in the next 11 months think about it for…
- use to wrap wedding party gifts and then spice it up with clearance ribbon!
- thinking of doing DIY envelope liners…wrapping paper works great and you can get almost 100 from some larger rolls of wrapping paper. I especially love the thicker metallic wrapping paper from Hallmark as envelope liners!
Solid Color, Metallic, or non-holiday specific ribbon, raffia, and beaded garland - Because I like to dress up packages with grosgrain and other nice ribbons, I always buy clearance ribbon after Christmas & other holidays. I typically wait until it is 75% off and even through really picked over, I always find several rolls to use through-out the year for birthday presents, etc. This stash came in super handy last year when I was able to use raffia I had on hand for our rehearsal dinner centerpieces, and when wrapping groomsman gifts. Here again think solid colors, stripes, or metallic.
- use to spice up wedding party gifts
- use to hang various wedding signs (chair signs, etc)
- raffia works great with mason jars for a rustic theme and can be picked up for as low as a quarter right now!
- will your favors have tags attached? Now is a great time to pick up ribbon for that project as well
- what about your programs, will they be bound together with string or ribbon? Yep, thinking ahead can save you a few $$
Candles & LED Tea Lights- many stores have solid candles they mark down as part of their holiday clearance! You can find these really cheap at places that don’t typically carry them…like Home Depot.
- Solid colors like ivory, white and red (if it’s part of your theme) are often pennies in the clearance section. I picked up a large bag of tea lights last Christmas for $1.00 and we used them with our Ikea votive holders and mason jars come June.
- Need LED tea lights for votives or to light paper lanterns? Check out Home Depot, they have packages of 6 for $3
Decor & Various other items from Online Sources – You can often pick up other items like vases, votive, frames for table numbers etc. You just have to think outside the box. Here are a few links from various places to get you thinking
- Centerpiece photo boxes - Black or Walnut – $7.48 each – Use to hold photos and the table number and then drop a random container (even a tin can would work, since you won’t see it) in the middle to hold your DIY flows to tie it all together. Gift them to family members as fun pencil caddy for the office or sell them afterward and cut your costs even lower!
- Red Cupcake Stand – Great for a shower or cupcake display. Anyone having a red & turquoise wedding…this would be adorable on a turquoise table cloth or with turquoise cupcake wrappers. (edit: sold out online, but still in my local store)
- Envelope Liners – Don’t want to worry with making your own? Paper-Source has some really fun ones on Clearance!
- Martha Stewart Glittered Chandelier Cutouts – $19-24 – Gold and Sparkly and fun to hang from trees, rafters, etc. There is even a table top version
- Cocktail napkin holder $12.00 – This could be a fun addition to a signature drink bar setup, and then something you could actually use in your home afterwards!
- Monogrammed Lunch Tote – $9.00 – This would make a fun and useful bridesmaid or hostess gift and for this price you could also include a gift certificate to your favorite lunch hangout (for those days when you just need to go out to lunch)
- Envelopes, Paper, Etc. – Check out Paper Source’s sale section for some fun deals on envelopes, craft kits, program kits, labels, etc. I picked up our Save the Date envelopes this way last year, also if you live near a store they typically have a sale section in the store!
- Monogrammed Crystal ornament – $3.99 – You could use these as gift tags for bridesmaid’s gifts or even to hang on manzilla branches with table numbers on them.
- Red Square Vases – Great for someone with a red theme and come in various sizes!
- French Wire Cake Pedestal – $9.95 – I LOVE this and wish we had it back in June for our rehearsal dinner. I’m trying to convince myself I still need it for Thanksgiving, etc. It would be fun for a cake/pie buffet or to display cupcakes, etc.
Do you have any after-holiday shopping tips to help save money through-out the year…wedding planning or not?
And now time for the “tree edition” of the napkin wraps. Again, these work the same as my previous wraps, refer to this post for complete instructions. Merry Christmas from our Smurfy house to yours!
The first is a Set of Multi-Colored Trees
Click to download: csmurf_treenapkins
Or how about my favorite with green & blue trees
click to download template: csmurf_greenbluetreenapkins
and finally a winter wonderland with pale blue trees
click to download template: csmurf_palebluetreesnapkins
Check back tomorrow for my final Christmas project for this year: My version of these
Ever had that moment when you know you’ve already created something and just can’t find it. That was me with the Holiday Napkin wraps…I created and tested them weeks ago and then promptly lost the files. Thankfully today I found them, and not a moment too soon! These work the same as my previous wraps, refer to this post for complete instructions. Merry Christmas!!
The first is a sepia toned winter cottage.
Click to download: csmurf_rustichousenapkins
Or how about some pastel ornaments
click to download template: csmurf_pastelornamentnapkins
Check back tomorrow for the “tree” edition of Holiday Napkin wraps & hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!
I’ve dubbed this Christmas season in our home as the “Die-Cut Christmas” because I plan to make several projects using both my Cuttlebug for die-cuts and paper punches. First there was the Christmas Card Addresses, then the place cards and I liked how they turned out so I moved onto today’s project: Buffet Labels.
Editor’s Note: These will actually get quite a bit of use during the holidays with not one but Christmas potluck lunches, and I’m so excited to see them in all their glory!
Materials Needed:
- White or Ivory Text Weight Paper
- Small pieces of Heavy weight card stock or even recycled cardboard
- Green Cardstock or Construction paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Red Paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Glue Stick or pen
Tools Needed:
- Top Note Die from Stampin Up
- Die Cutting Machine (I use a Cuttlebug)
- Sizzix Festive Christmas Set (purchased 50% off at Joann’s)
- Standard Hole Punch
- Scissors or Paper Cutter
- Computer with Word Processing Software of your choice
- Home Printer
Getting the pieces punched out:
- Cut your paper. I cut my paper ahead of time so it is easier to center it on the die cut. Since I am using regular 8.5 x 11 paper, I simply cut my paper into fourths. For this project I used my paper-cutter because it has the outlines for this size paper on the board so I just line it up and cut. Each piece of paper should end up 4.25 x 5.5 inches.
- Setup your document in your word processing software. I use MS Word, so I just create a new document and then set the page size to be the 4.25 x 5.5 inches of my pre-cut paper. Then I center the document and choose my font/size of choice. For this project I used Monterey BT which you can download for free (see my templates page for a link). This is where you could get really fancy and use the mail merge feature of MS Word to fill in from a spreadsheet, it’s a great timesaver but is a bit tricky to setup…or you could just cut and paste in each one like I did.
- Print out your individual buffet labels.
- Start die cutting. Using the Top Note Die face up in your machine, carefully center the printed page in the center of the surface. Run through the machine. Repeat for each printed page.
- Continue die cutting. Now take out your green paper and the holly die and start working on cutting out your leaves. A large holly shaped paper punch would also work well for this if you have one! You’ll need 2 holly leaves per buffet label. Note that I didn’t use whole pieces of paper when I cut out my leaves…I had some scrap paper from the edges of some green top notes I cut out earlier so I just used the scrap paper to line up over my leaves. This is a great usage for scraps or even perhaps those envelopes from the Christmas cards you’ve already received!
- Punch out your berries. Now the Holly Die comes with a berry if you’d like a single red berry…but I liked the smaller berries so I went with a standard hole punch. You’ll need 3 to 4 berries per buffet label. Again this is a great place to reuse paper…you can see I used the cover of an old PaperSource catalog that was in my recycle bin.
Putting it all together:
-
Start with the Leaves. Using a piece of plastic or paper, take the glue stick and cover the back of 2 of the holly leaves so the portions of the leaves that will attach to the buffet label are covered.
-
Carefully lift them from the backing and place onto label (I found it easier to start with the lower leaf in the bottom left corner and then add the upper one afterwards). To remove the leaf from the backing I was able to use my fingernail, however tweezers would also work well for this.
- Add the berries. Using a glue stick repeat the step above for the berries, this is the most tedious step. I think a glue pen or even school glue might have worked more quickly for this step.
- Cut a small piece of heavy cardstock or recycled cardboard (think cereal boxes) approx 1 inch by 3.5 inches per buffet label.
- Fold the first third of the cardboard strip forwards and align on the back of the label, holding in place with a glue stick or even tape.
- Stand it in front of your tasty dishes and let them tell the world that your cobbler is made of blackberries
If you like these, you might also like the other entries in my Die-Cut Christmas Series:
- Die-Cut Christmas Card Addresses
- Die-Cut Seating Cards
- Die-Cut Food Buffet Labels
I’ve dubbed this Christmas season in our home as the “Die-Cut Christmas” because I plan to make several projects using both my Cuttlebug for die-cuts and paper punches. First there was the Christmas Card Addresses, and I liked how they turned out so I moved onto today’s project: Seating Cards
Editor’s Note: Here is where I should be totally honest and fess up that my family will in no shape or form use this for our Christmas lunch or dinner…but I can dream right?
Materials Needed:
- White or Ivory Text Weight Paper
- Green Cardstock or Construction paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Red Paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Glue Stick or pen
Tools Needed:
- Top Note Die from Stampin Up
- Die Cutting Machine (I use a Cuttlebug)
- Sizzix Festive Christmas Set (purchased 50% off at Joann’s)
- Standard Hole Punch
- Scissors or Paper Cutter
- Computer with Word Processing Software of your choice
- Home Printer
Getting the pieces punched out:
- Cut your paper. I cut my paper ahead of time so it is easier to center it on the die cut. Since I am using regular 8.5 x 11 paper, I simply cut my paper into fourths. For this project I used my paper-cutter because it has the outlines for this size paper on the board so I just line it up and cut. Each piece of paper should end up 4.25 x 5.5 inches.
- Setup your document in your word processing software. I use MS Word, so I just create a new document and then set the page size to be the 4.25 x 5.5 inches of my pre-cut paper. Then I center the document and choose my font/size of choice. For this project I used Monterey BT which you can download for free (see my templates page for a link). This is where you could get really fancy and use the mail merge feature of MS Word to fill in from a spreadsheet, it’s a great timesaver but is a bit tricky to setup…or you could just cut and paste in each one like I did.
- Print out your individual name plates.
- Start die cutting. Using the Top Note Die face up in your machine, carefully center the printed page in the center of the surface. Run through the machine. Repeat for each printed page.
- Continue die cutting. Now take out your green paper and the holly die and start working on cutting out your leaves. A large holly shaped paper punch would also work well for this if you have one! You’ll need 2 holly leaves per name plate. Note that I didn’t use whole pieces of paper when I cut out my leaves…I had some scrap paper from the edges of some green top notes I cut out earlier so I just used the scrap paper to line up over my leaves. This is a great usage for scraps or even perhaps those envelopes from the Christmas cards you’ve already received!
- Punch out your berries. Now the Holly Die comes with a berry if you’d like a single red berry…but I liked the smaller berries so I went with a standard hole punch. You’ll need 3 to 4 berries per name plate. Again this is a great place to reuse paper…you can see I used the cover of an old PaperSource catalog that was in my recycle bin.
Putting it all together:
-
Start with the Leaves. Using a piece of plastic or paper, take the glue stick and cover the back of 2 of the holly leaves so the portions of the leaves that will attach to the name plate are covered. Carefully lift them from the backing and place onto name plate (I found it easier to start with the lower leaf in the bottom left corner and then add the upper one afterwards). To remove the leaf from the backing I was able to use my fingernail, however tweezers would also work well for this.
- Add the berries. Using a glue stick repeat the step above for the berries, this is the most tedious step. I think a glue pen or even school glue might have worked more quickly for this step.
- Admire your work and set that table!
If you like these, you might also like the other entries in my Die-Cut Christmas Series:
- Die-Cut Christmas Card Addresses
- Die-Cut Seating Cards
- Die-Cut Food Buffet Labels
I’ve dubbed this Christmas season in our home as the “Die-Cut Christmas” because I plan to make several projects using both my Cuttlebug for die-cuts and paper punches. And….it all started with this project: Christmas Card Addresses!
Editor’s Note: Here is where I should be totally honest and fess up that it really all started because my spreadsheet was wrong and I addressed quite a few cards with the wrong zip code. We didn’t have any extra red envelopes and after writing personalized messages in our cards I needed to find a “cover up”! Then I liked the cover up better and set out to snazz-up the remainder!
Materials Needed:
- White or Ivory Text Weight Paper
- Green Cardstock or Construction paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Red Paper (it’s ok to reuse envelopes, etc.)
- Glue Stick (or you could use a Xyron)
Tools Needed:
- Top Note Die from Stampin Up
- Die Cutting Machine (I use a Cuttlebug)
- Sizzix Festive Christmas Set (purchased 50% off at Joann’s)
- Standard Hole Punch
- Scissors or Paper Cutter
- Computer with Word Processing Software of your choice
- Home Printer
Getting the pieces punched out:
- Cut your paper. I cut my paper ahead of time so it is easier to center it on the die cut. Since I am using regular 8.5 x 11 paper, I simply cut my paper into fourths. For this project I used my paper-cutter because it has the outlines for this size paper on the board so I just line it up and cut. Each piece of paper should end up 4.25 x 5.5 inches.
- Setup your document in your word processing software. I use MS Word, so I just create a new document and then set the page size to be the 4.25 x 5.5 inches of my pre-cut paper. Then I center the document and choose my font/size of choice. For this project I used Monterey BT which you can download for free (see my templates page for a link). This is where you could get really fancy and use the mail merge feature of MS Word to fill in from a spreadsheet, it’s a great timesaver but is a bit tricky to setup…or you could just cut and paste in each one like I did.
- Print out your address pages.
- Start die cutting. Using the Top Note Die face up in your machine, carefully center the printed page in the center of the surface. Run through the machine. Repeat for each printed page. I won’t lie…this can get old if you have a lot of addresses to cut out. I did mine in 2 batches while watching Christmas movies so it made it go much faster!
- Continue die cutting. Now take out your green paper and the holly die and start working on cutting out your leaves. A large holly shaped paper punch would also work well for this if you have one! You’ll need 2 holly leaves per envelope. Note that I didn’t use whole pieces of paper when I cut out my leaves…I had some scrap paper from the edges of some green top notes I cut out earlier so I just used the scrap paper to line up over my leaves. This is a great usage for scraps or even perhaps those envelopes from the Christmas cards you’ve already received!
- Punch out your berries. Now the Holly Die comes with a berry if you’d like a single red berry…but I liked the smaller berries so I went with a standard hole punch. You’ll need 3 to 4 berries per envelope. Again this is a great place to reuse paper…you can see I used the cover of an old PaperSource catalog that was in my recycle bin.
Putting it all together:
- Start with the addresses. Flip each of the addresses face side down and apply your glue stick to the back, making sure to cover all the edges and the center of the shape. This is also where you could use your Xyron to speed up the process but wouldn’t you just know it mine needs a refill, so I stuck with the readily available glue stick.
- Quickly and carefully apply the address to the center of your envelope and press around all the edges and center to ensure it is firmly in place!
- Add the Leaves. Using a piece of plastic or paper, take the glue stick and cover the back of 2 of the holly leaves so that all edges are covered. Carefully lift them from the backing and place onto envelope (I found it easier to start with the lower leaf in the bottom left corner and then add the upper one afterwards). To remove the leaf from the backing I was able to use my fingernail, however tweezers would also work well for this.
- Add the berries. Using a glue stick repeat the step above for the berries, this is the most tedious step. I think a glue pen or even school glue might have worked more quickly for this step.
- Admire your work and send!
If you like these, you might also like the other entries in my Die-Cut Christmas Series:
- Die-Cut Christmas Card Addresses
- Die-Cut Seating Cards
- Die-Cut Food Buffet Labels
…and I’m so sorry I was away so long! I could recount the tale of technical woe that left me unable to login to my precious little blog for 5 whole days. Or perhaps the one about the sadness that came with the realization that all my scheduled posts were missing. Instead I’ll just get back to blogging because I’ve missed sharing my crafts!
So, a while back I revealed the first of my vendor thank you gifts…the frilley functional apron for our florist/DOC. Today, I’ll walk you through a quick tutorial on the top portion to help get you started making your own. The trick to making this a quick project was to once again go the semi-DIY route.
Supplies Needed:
-
PreMade apron, I used a plain white one from the re-do line at Target.
-
1 Package of 1/2 in quilt binding
-
1.5 yards of 4 inch eyelet
-
.5 yard of fabric for ruffles (mine was 44 inches wide)
-
matching machine thread to make and attach ruffles
-
embroidery thread for monogram
-
Felt for flowers or flower leaves (1 piece per 2 flower and 6 leaves)
-
1 snap set for each flower to attach (only if you want to be able to switch them out)
Tools Needed:
-
Sewing Machine
-
Embroidery Needle
-
Hand Sewing Needle
-
Heat transfer pencil
-
iron & ironing board
-
straight pins
-
rotary cutting blade & cutting mat
Instructions:
Before I started doing anything to the apron my first step was to wash & dry it. This took out the sizing and made it a bit softer and easier to work with. It also made it all wrinkly, which made it a bit more shabby chic since that was the look I was going for. Then I started work on the monogram on the bib of the apron, since I knew this hand sewing piece would take the longest.
Hand Embroidery Setup & Directions:
-
Setup your text in the word processor of your choosing and print them out on standard printer paper.
-
Flip the paper over and using your iron-on transfer pencil trace over the text. To make this process easier I used a light box, if you don’t have one visit Weddingbee’s Mrs. Stiletto to learn how to make your own. (hint before I owned a real light box I have been known to place a clip lamp under an old glass-topped coffee table).
-
Cut out around your text for easier placement on your apron (or other fabric item).
-
Carefully pre-iron your apron top and leaving the apron on the ironing board, place your template, printer side up on your fabric.
-
Iron over the paper, careful not to move or wrinkle it. I use a high heat seating with no steam.
-
Let cool for a few minutes, and then carefully remove the paper revealing your text template on your apron. Now you are ready to start sewing!
-
Using embroidery thread stitch over your letters to complete your monogram or phrase. I used a simple outline stitch but a chain stitch would also work well (use the links to view tutorial videos). I did this while watching NFL football games with the hubs.
Making Ruffles:
Since the eyelet was purchased pre-ruffled that meant I would only need two more rows of complimenting ruffles. For this project I used leftover fabric from our wedding cake table, but provided your fabric is wide enough you can easily get 3 ruffles per each 1/2 yard.
-
First measure the width of your apron bottom and multiply by 1.5 (or 2 if you want really ruffly ruffles) and cut the fabric section into that width.
-
To make cutting easier I first ironed my fabric, folded it in half lengthwise and pressed it again.
-
Using the rotary cutter and cutting mat I cut 2 strips of fabric that was 4 inches in height.
-
Take out your quilt binding and cut it into strips the same width as your fabric. Cut one piece of binding per each fabric strip and sew to bottom edge of what will become ruffle.
-
Using either your sewing machine to run a long loose stitch down the top of the ruffle, or do like I did and hand sew a long straight row of loose stitches to the top of the ruffle. Make sure to leave threads on both ends so you can pull to form the ruffle.
-
Pull threads to make fabric ruffle, and spread out to be the width of your apron
-
Pin in place
-
Using sewing machine, sew ruffle into place
-
repeat with remaining eyelet and ruffles
Yesterday I left you with a bit of a teaser for today’s project which also uses leftover food box cardboard. Each year my office has a Thanksgiving lunch, and each year there is always a bit of question as to what each dish on the line is. So, today we’ll use the scraps leftover from the banner project to make buffet labels or you could use them for seating cards as well.
Today we’ll turn those leftover cardboard box scraps into this:
Materials:
- card board scraps leftover from banner project
- marker (for lettering)
- scotch tape, school glue, or hot glue
Tools:
- Cuttlebug (or edge punch, or scrapbooking scissors)
- Cuttlebug Leaves Dies (or edge punch, or scrapbooking scissors)
- Scissors
- Shape punches (optional)
Instructions:
- Carefully stack the leaves dies and the card board and run through the die cutting machine (careful to use acrylic plates as indicated by each machine’s instructions). Repeat as many times as necessary to cut enough leaves for each of your dishes or place settings.
Note: Don’t worry if you don’t have a Cuttlebug, or the leaves dies. You can get an equally fun look by marking off rectangular pieces and cutting out with scrapbook scissors OR also from cutting out with regular scissors and then using an edge punch. - Using your black marker write on the dish names or person’s name for place cards.
- For leaf dies cut a small 1.5 x .25 inch piece of leftover cardboard for each leaf.
- Fold each of these pieces in half vertically.
- Use your scotch tape (school glue & hot glue would work well also) to attach the folded piece to the back of each of the leaves.
- Place & Enjoy!!
