June 2012Occasionally Crafty: June 2012

Thursday, June 28

Ribbon Heaven

One of the things I will miss about Korea is the ability to go to the fabric market and buy things at wholesale prices. I won't miss how difficult it is to traverse there and drag your kid through aisles and aisles and booths and booths of vendors just to find the right thing (and communicate...). BUT, since school is ending and so is our time in Korea, I made a special ribbon shopping trip with just one kid instead of two.

I LOVE their selections of ribbon, and may have gone a little crazy.


Each strip is one yard long, it all cost me about $12 and I don't end up with tons of left overs on the spools. These will be great for cards, gifts, maybe even hairbows! C'mon, who can resist these patterns?


Now I just need your suggestions for ribbon storage, especially since these are all off the spool. What do you do?



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Monday, June 25

Burlap Star Banner


My mom came to town for the weekend to watch my daughter's dance recital.  We had some down time on Sunday afternoon, so it was the perfect opportunity for the original Mrs. Occasionally Crafty and myself to make something fun.

We decided to make our version of this Burlap Star Banner.  The original picture is from West Elm, but it's no longer available.  I'm not sure you need a tutorial to recreate it, but just in case, I've got a quick one for you.

Supplies needed:
Burlap- 1/2 yard or less
Freezer Paper or other star stencil
White craft paint and brush
Sewing machine or needle and thread
Jute, twine, ribbon, etc. for hanging

1.  Cut your burlap into rectangles.  Add an extra inch to the length you want, since you will be folding over the edge for hanging.  We wanted ours to be 6x8 finished, so we added an extra inch and cut them 6x9 inches.
Note- burlap is messy and hard to cut evenly.  It's part of the rustic charm, so don't worry if it is fraying a lot or not quite even.


2.  Iron your rectangles flat, if necessary.  Fold over one inch at the top and press in place.



3.  Cut a star out of freezer paper to use as a stencil.  I used my Cameo but you could easily use an xacto knife.  You can't re-use the freezer paper once you paint on it, so you'll need one stencil for each rectangle.
If you don't have freezer paper, you could use cardstock and tape it in place- you just have to be more careful.


4.  Iron your stencil onto your burlap rectangle as desired.  


5.  Make sure you cover your painting surface well, as paint will seep through the burlap.  Use a brush to paint your star.  Use a lot of paint if you want it fairly solid, as burlap sucks up paint.  A lighter coat of paint will make an even more rustic look.


6.  Peel off your stencil and let the paint dry.  


When dry to the touch. hang your pieces onto a length of jute or twine by folding your pressed edges over the twine, then sewing into place.  I sewed 1/2 inch seam along the top of each piece.


I used my sewing machine.  My mom used embroidery floss and hand stitched hers for an even more rustic look.

7.  Hang and enjoy!  Here's my patriotic mantel for the 4th- what do you think?  


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Click here to see where we link up, and come "party" along with us!

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Thursday, June 21

Scrapbook Paper Covered Star




Wow- the 4th of July is coming up fast, isn't it?

Just in case I forgot, all the blogs and Pinterest serve to remind me.  I actually have a bunch of patriotic crafts  that are sitting either half-finished or completely undone.... from last year!  This year, I vow to get them all done in time to enjoy them for a week or so!

Yesterday I sat down and pulled out my unfinished wooden star.  I made this one for Christmas a few years ago:

That one was a plastic star from the dollar store.  I found a wooden one for a few dollars at Michael's.  I've seen tin ones, too.  Point is, you can find them at lots of places.  

Again, I used the tutorial from Ashley at Make It and Love It (found here).  I bought some patriotic paper instead of fabric, and paired it with some red, white, and blue ribbon I have had FOREVER.  Here's the final product:



I love how it turned out!  I've got a few more patriotic crafts coming your way soon, so I hope you'll check back.  Also- not to beg, but I'm getting close to the big 700 followers.  If you're a lurker or a 1st-timer, I'd love to have you follow me!  (There just MIGHT be a fun giveaway involved!)

Have a great weekend, all!  My mom is coming in to town and I get to see my daughter's dance recital.  She makes the perfect ballerina, don't you think?



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Tuesday, June 19

iPad Decal- Make yours stand out!

My husband won a sweepstakes and used the money to buy me my own iPad! These will become lifesavers on our long flight back to the US. Unfortunately when I purchased my cover I couldn't tell my iPad apart from my husbands. Time to craft it up!

I browsed the Silhouette image library for awhile, and since I like patterns and free flowing things more than a set picture, i fell in love with this abstract flourish. I picked a grey glossy vinyl.

First step after cutting my image out was to pick out all the little inside pieces. I love my tweezers for this type of job!


Now that all of the little pieces have been picked out you can place transfer tape on top of your image to remove it from the backing....


...and place it where you want!


The best thing about vinyl is when you get sick of it you can peel it off and put something else on!


I'm linking up to some parties this week- join in with us!


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Thursday, June 14

Baby Girl Onesies

I love love love making little onesies for all my friends. They're easy, personal, and great for baby shower gifts. All you need is a onesie and some heat transfer.  I use my Cameo to cut the designs.

The first one is a design I made myself to resemble a name tag. Then depending on the gender I do a pink or blue name inside.


Next is just a simple saying, to which I added a flower and sewed on some cute buttons for a nice 3D look.


Then I just love to roll them up and tie off with cute ribbon and include in a basket of essential baby items!


What do you like to give for baby shower gifts?



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Monday, June 11

Doorknob Chore Charts


Quite awhile ago, I found this great idea for a chore chart on Pinterest. 

Pinned Image
It's "uploaded by user", so I can't give any credit for the idea.  If you know who it belongs to, please let me know!
**UPDATE!  I found this chore chart at this link, though I'm not 100 percent sure it is the original.  Check it out.**

Anyway, I knew I had to make these for my kids.  This summer, to start off our day right, I have given my two older kids "morning jobs" to do.  They are pretty simple, but it makes sure we start off the day with a {mostly}clean house.

I designed these doorknob hanger chore charts using a template from Microsoft Publisher.  They have tons of free online templates, which makes it easy to create all sorts of projects!


For the background and embellishments, I simply imported pictures from my digital scrapboking files.  I chose one digital paper for the background, then imported elements that coordinated.



I used a cute font for the names and "to do" area, but left the rest blank.  Then I printed them and broke out my handy-dandy laminator so they'd last awhile.


In the original idea, the creator wrote the jobs on clothespins.  I decided to use a dry erase marker instead so I can change the jobs as needed.  We use the clothespins to check off the jobs.  They simply switch them to the "done" side when finished.


My kids think these are awesome, and hurry to get their "jobs" done each morning.  I'm kind of loving it!


I'm linking this up to some of these parties.  Come join in!

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Thursday, June 7

Teacher Gifts {aka Mom's homework!}

I don't know about you craftily inclined folk out there, but when the holidays and other major events roll around, I almost feel obligated to do something cute. I think I do a good job at not going overboard and always try to involve the kids. The end of the school year was different this time because it was our first! But, we also packed up 85% of our belongings last week and I just couldn't do a lot. So with some 'pin'spiration I was was able to do a little crafting with a lot of cuteness!

Check out these cute treat bags for the bus monitor and bus driver! You can find the printable here, and it calls for use of Hershey nuggets, but I couldn't find any. 


Next I needed something for his teacher's aid and another team teacher who my son has absolutely loved. These re-usable cups with single serve lemon{aid}s couldn't be simpler or cuter, and something they will use! Check out the printable here.


Lastly, the truly very important teacher gift. I mean, how do you properly thank the single person who has planned every single lesson, activity, snack, and field trip? I wanted to make something for her, but something that she could use more than once. Then I figured it out. What is one thing that kept her going through the year? Coffee! She always had a mug of coffee in her hand, and who could blame her? I put my new found knitting skills to use and made her a hand made coffee sleeve and put it around an eco cup and included a gift card. I hope she remembers us as she drinks her coffee for her next kindergarten class.


Comment if you are interested in the knit pattern-- it was my first cable knit! So easy and turned out great!

What did you do for your teachers this year?




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Monday, June 4

Decorating for Summer


Since Memorial Day is over and school is out (yay! boo!), I decided I should probably take down my spring decor.  Now, I have to figure out what to put up for summer.

I do have these pinwheels from last year, but I need more.  I turned to the internet for inspiration, and thought I'd share some of my idea with you.

I absolutely love these red geraniums in burlap covered mason jars.  These are actually from the cutest strawberry party I've ever seen, featured at Catch My Party.  But these would be gorgeous on the table or lining a window.



I also like the idea of a basket of lowers in lieu of a wreath, found in the Baltimore Sun..  Too bad I kill flowers.  But maybe some fake ones?  :)

May Day Annapolis

Of course, you can't go wrong with some patriotic decor.  I love these firecrackers and sign from Poppies at Play.  


I love this simple but so sweet garland from West Elm.  It's no longer available, but, c'mon.  How easy would this be to DIY?

Outdoor summer decor

Okay, this last one isn't home decor but I had to share because it's just SO. DARN. CUTE.  Check out this 


I love the watermelon pops.  How clever.  And those burgers up on the grill?  Those are cupcakes, my friends.  /there are so many great party ideas here.  I want a bbq party now.  Except, it's too hot and I am a heat wimp.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some inspiration for your summer decorating!  Have a great week!

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