So my niece Madison’s 3rd birthday is in April. What a big girl! I work near Madison Street in Chicago and couldn’t resist taking a photo of a street sign to top her package. The sign perfectly fit with the theme of the handmade present I made her (I’ll be posting her gift soon). Madison …
DIY Tutorials
Za Vas! Heather Crosby and I continued the Upper Crust Social Club event series by co-hosting a Russian-inspired vodka infusion party. Guests brought their own homemade vodka infusions …such a range of tasty concoctions from Watermelon Rosewater Vodka Infusion to Skittles Vodka to Cucumber Mint Vodka Infusion to Bacon Maple Vodka Infusion to Apple Cinnamon Vodka …
I’m posting the free tutorial for how to make sewn fabric teabags for loose tea by request. Jessica Mullen wrote: “I saw your beautiful photos from the tea party and I have a quick question. I was wondering how you made the tea bags for the make your own tea take home favors. I would …
This is one of those craft projects that I just love. A little throwback, a little whimsical …and totally original. The idea for Shrinky Dink rabbit’s foot napkin rings that double as keychain favors sprung from a creative volley between me and Heather Crosby. I was hell bent on wanting to use Shrinky Dinks for …
I really like this thoughtful detail from Cristin and Adam Siegel’s Chicago nuptials. Cristin tied handmade name tags around the tops of water-filled glass Ball mason jars to hold the bridal party’s bouquets during the reception. And aren’t the bridesmaid bouquets that feature orchids and fiddlehead ferns lovely? Supplies: Thick paper in two colors (Cristin …
Today we’re going to learn how to make marshmallows using a really easy marshmallow recipe – it’s a yummy DIY gift and you can always make some extras for yourself. Lately I’ve developed a bit of a hot chocolate habit during the mid-afternoon workday at the day job. After spotting a box of “homemade” marshmallows …
Make DIY plate cupcake stands from vintage plates and vases from thrift stores or the dollar store. It’s quick and easy to make several of these cheap cupcake plate stands for birthdays, baby showers, and graduation parties. It’s fun to thrift unique china plates, vases and candlesticks to turn into cupcake stands and cake stands. …
My friend Heather Crosby and I have creative chemistry. Whenever we get together we build on each other’s ideas until it becomes something totally original. Heather came over for dinner last week toting stacks of Polaroid pictures that she’d snapped that weekend – bright yellow mums, pumpkin patches, rows of individual pies, Indian corn, orange …
Make a DIY passport cover for your summer travels. It’s an easy beginner sewing project that you can make in an evening. You can use fabric or felt, and you can decorate the front how you wish. I decorated mine with a Chicago flag to give as a DIY gift for my friend, and I …
UPDATE: Dinosaur and Birdie Chalkboard Pillows are now for sale at UncommonGoods! Great gift for kids. So when I first invented chalkboard pillows I handmade the chalkboards out of plastic, a knife, drill and chalkboard spray paint. Yeah, it took a long time. But now I’ve discovered the joys of chalkboard cloth fabric which has …
I went with my friend Liz to the local tattoo parlor to watch her get a tattoo of two baby birds to represent her boys. Graphic designer Liz had drawn the tattoo in Adobe Illustrator and brought a printout to scan. Unfortunately, the tattoo artist told Liz that while the design looked great on paper …
Download this free printable save the date wedding announcement inspired by The Giving Tree. How sweetly romantic is this save the date wedding announcement for Cristin Witcher and her fiance Adam Siegel’s fall Chicago nuptials? Adam designed the whimsically simple letterpressed save-the-date announcement and matching tree branch mailing labels using The Giving Tree as his …
Growing up in upstate New York, Shane loved his grandmother Myrtle’s rhubarb and berry pies in the summertime. So this year for his birthday I decided to make a pie instead of a cake. I made personalized pot pies for St. Patrick’s Day so I had the idea to break out my mini alphabet and …
More decor for our upcoming Fourth of July – slash – Shane’s birthday BBQ. I took Martha’s Fourth of July parasols and turned them into a neat matching Fourth of July waterproof coasters. Supplies: Fourth of July waterproof coaster template (PDF) lovingly adapted from Martha Stewart’s drink parasol pattern White paper Clear contact paper (get …
Shane’s birthday is the Fourth of July so today I started to make some fun decorations for him. Martha Stewart has a super cute Fourth of July paper napkin ring template on her website. I printed her template, cut out the rings and …well, I had a few issues with her template. So I decided …