Today I popped by my friend Anne’s to drop off gifts for five-year-old son, Gavin, and her newborn son, Graham. I recycled and altered my chalkboard gift tags idea to wrap Gavin’s birthday treat. Supplies: Red and yellow tissue paper Chalkboard cloth fabric (I used scraps from making chalkboard pillows) Tape Scissors Chalk Wrap your …
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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 …
The first time I saw a sewn appliqué tie onesie bodysuit was about a year ago in an Uncommon Goods catalog. I thought it was really cute and looked super simple to make. Well, my friends Anne and Darren just had a baby boy so I decided to put my money where my mouth is. …
My favorite Chicago mommy blogger Janna Devylder, sons Gus and Eli, and husband John are moving to Savannah to teach at SCAD. So I decided to make them a goodbye gift. These handmade, bright, urban notecards and coordinating lined envelopes that depict the iconic Chicago skyline are the perfect size for keeping in touch old …
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 …
My downstairs neighbor Susan gave us a beautifully wrapped wedding gift in thick, shiny silver and pearl-like white wrapping paper. Channeling my mom, I decided to fold up the shiny white and silver paper and store it until I found some use for it. Today I recycled the wrapping paper into a wedding card sewn …
Want to learn the best way how to make s’mores inside the house? I’ll show you how to replicate that ooey gooey campfire goodness indoors at home. So it’s pouring outside right now and I’m craving a s’more. Luckily, living in a locale with nine long months of winter has allowed me to perfect the …
I came up with the idea of this chalkboard gift tag to add a wink to Chad and Shayda’s engagement party gift. But I think these tags would be great on children’s birthday gifts and teacher’s gifts too. Supplies: Chalkboard fabric (swoon) Colored chalk Box Ribbon (I think this one is cute) Colored thick paper …
Here’s a simple and clever party invitation concept for a high school themed engagement party, and it’s even folded into the classic secret square shape. Heather Crosby’s beloved brother Chad and his lovely bride-to-be Shayda met way back in high school. A chance meet up a decade later while Chad was home visiting family led …
So my friend Jeff and I were talking at Mac’s about Merriment and he asked if I could make a unique baby gift to help him welcome Isabella, a friend’s newborn daughter. These handmade, sweet, graphic appliqué baby onesies should do the trick. Supplies: Kathy’s free onesie applique shape template (PDF; dog, butterfly, bottle shapes …
So today is my adorable niece Madison’s second birthday. I made her a super cool gift that I’ll post in a few days with instructions once she’s unwrapped her gift. In the meantime here are instructions for her cookie jar wrapping paper. Supplies: Kathy’s cookie jar template (page 1, page 2, page 3) Avery White …
AT&T delivered piles of telephone books to my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. Not needing ours but cringing at tossing the stack into the trash I decided to find some crafty uses for them. So I wrapped my sister Karin’s birthday gifts with birthday-themed yellow pages. Supplies: Telephone book (preferably yellow pages) Tape Scissors …
I made these three kitschy CD mixes to thank my friend Amy for letting me stay at her place for the first few days of my week in NYC. Back when I was a kid, my dad handmade wonderful miniature farmland model worlds. I can still remember him individually painting figurines and gluing on grass …
New mom and fashion maven Rachel Pluto made these adorable animals for her newborn daughter Maya. Taking a cue from Dwell’s baby animals that retail $105 for three, Rachel handcrafted these adorable reversible giraffe and elephant stuffed animals out of fabric that complemented her Chicago loft nursery. Humble Rachel says, “I kind of just winged …