simply sublime

Dippity Doo Dah

I've been fixated lately on anything that's dip dyed -- especially Ombré fabric, paper, etc!  (Ombré, the French word for "to shade", is often used to describe the dip-dye effect in which colors graduate from light to dark.)  Here are a few of the cool dipped projects and objects I've come across recently:

Fun dipped gift tag idea.  Click here for the complete tutorial. (Photo from Momtastic via Say Yes To Hoboken).

Dipped bag from Teddyfish via Oh Joy!:

Here's a DIY version from Freshly-Picked:

And....check out these ombre cookies! LOVE THEM!

 
You can find out how to make these at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle -- a yummy new blog I just stumbled across.  Dip Dip Hooray! 

 

DIY Heart Pincushions

I'm so excited to share my latest Country Living project with you:  Heart shaped pincushions made from vintage cookie cutters.  

(photo via Country Living/Seth Smoot)

These are really easy to whip up and make great Valentine's Day gifts.  Hunting for the cookie cutters is half the fun -- (I found the ones above this summer when I was in South Carolina, but I've also spotted several on eBay listed for just a few dollars.)  You can find all the instructions to make these and lots of other gifts from the heart on Country Living's website.  XOXO!

 

Really Last Minute Gifts!

Happy Holidays everyone!  Going to a Christmas party tonight or have a New Year's gathering coming up? Just wanted to share two really easy last minute gift ideas I made for Country Living -- both would make great hostess gifts. The crafts were in the December issue, and the instructions for how to make them are on Country Living's website.  Check 'em out: 

Transform ordinary glass votives into something special by covering them with humble upholstery webbing.  I got the votives for about a dollar a piece at Pier One.  The webbing was only 80-cents a yard!  For more details on how to cover them, check out the online instructions.

(Both photos via Country Living/Seth Smoot)

These sweet little photo pillows make a great personalized gift.  I just scanned the photos onto printable fabric sheets, then turned them into pillows.  Visit Country Living's website for complete instructions.

P.S.  I love the vintagey photo of the two girls.  The picture is of my next door neighbor and dear friend, Beth, and her sister Cheryl.

 

Cupcake Liner Bows

When it comes to last-minute gift wrap ideas, look no further than your kitchen cupboard!  I love these SUPER EASY cupcake liner flowers that can be used for all sorts of decorations, and look especially cute on top of holiday packages. You probably have everything you need to make these right at your fingertips, and they take only a FEW MINUTES to whip up!  

Here's what you'll need:

-Cupcake liners (you can use all sorts of colors and sizes...)

-Pipe cleaners

-Scissors

-Tape (I used some pretty Japanese masking tape I got from Happy Tape, but any tape will do, including ordinary Scotch tape)

1.  Make your flowers using 6 cupcake liners flattened out (You can use a combination of small and large liners, and varied colors if you'd like).  Cut a hole in the middle of them.

2.  Fold the stack of liners in half, then in half again.  Trim or fringe the edges to make "petals".  You can trim the edges in a variety of ways:

3.  Poke a pipe cleaner through a couple of the liners.  Make a little "knot" or "button" to stop the pipe cleaner from pulling all the way through.  

4. Layer the liners onto the pipe cleaner, pinching the papers into flowery shapes as you go.

5.  Turn the flower over and wrap the base of the flower with tape to hold everything in place:

Now, just puff out your flower, and add it to your package.  You can easily attach it by wrapping the pipe cleaner around the ribbon on your gift.  Trim extra pipe cleaner if desired.

Hope you have a DELICIOUS holiday. 

Last Minute Gift Idea

I've been working with HP and Walmart over the last few months on some really fun photo projects.  (You can see a little bit more of what I've been up to over at the Walmart Photo website.)  One of the cool new products they've introduced this holiday season are Faux Canvas Prints.  You're going to love these things! They are great last minute gifts, and you won't believe how EASY they are to make. You can design them at home or in the store, then pick them up the same day!  

You can use photos or jpegs of art or anything else you want, and turn them into professional looking "gallery wrapped" images.  The thick "canvas" looks great and comes ready to hang. 

As a special holiday bonus, HP and Walmart have provided readers of my blog a $10 off coupon to use this holiday season.  That means you can whip up a personalized gift (in either the 12 x12" or 11 x 14" size) for under $10!

Happy Holidays, and let me know how your designs turn out!

 

Wishful Thinking Onesie

The perfect gift for any new parent -- a WISHFUL THINKING ONESIE!  Just set the clock for the time you HOPE your child will wake up, then pass out on your bed and keep your fingers crossed that tonight, he or she will sleep for longer than 3 hours at a stretch!  A little subliminal messaging can't hurt, right?  

    

This was such a fun project to make and the supply list is pretty limited:

- Blank onesie

- Iron-on transfers for dark T-shirts

- “WILL RETURN” sign (I got mine at Staples for under $2)

- 5/32” eyelet and eyelet tool or pliers

Here’s what I did:

First, I used a screwdriver to pry the red clock hands off of the clock.  Then I scanned the blank clock into my computer, and doctored up the image in iPhoto (I straightened it, and took out some of the small writing on the bottom of the sign.)  I dummied up the new clock with the “WILL WAKE UP AT” header in a word document using this font:  Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold.

Next, I transferred the new image to a T-shirt transfer (right side up), then cut out the image and ironed it on the onesie.  To add the finishing touch,  I attached the plastic clock hands using a 5/32" eyelet.  That’s it!  Sweet dreams little ones, and maybe a little shut eye for mom and dad too.

School Days Stationery

My kids won't be happy that I'm uttering the "S" word -- since thankfully, school doesn't start for another month! But this is something I've been meaning to share ever since I first mentioned it on The Motherhood a few weeks back.  We were talking about teacher's gifts, and I offered this handmade take on some Kate Spade thank you notes I once had.  I  worked up these cards in Word on my computer, then printed them out on flat correspondence cards (You can also print them on white tag board, then trim them to size.)  I used a free handwriting font  from Fontspace.com, and made some personalized cards as well as some generic thank you notes.  A fun project before the crush of school begins!

Ribbon Alternatives

The other day I was asked to participate in a virtual holiday party for one of my favorite sites: Momprenuers Online.  It was a blast, and whole new experience for me (It was a Twitter Party--and I hadn't done a whole lot of tweeting up to that point!) Anyway, one of the things I talked about at the party was last minute gift (and gift wrapping) ideas, including some of my favorite ribbon alternatives:

1.  CANDY:  

Gifts wrapped with licorice laces or extra long candy necklaces are too yummy to refuse.  And so are packages topped with these beautiful handmade candy canes from Hammond's Candies (a 90-year old candy company in Denver, Colorado...my home town!)

2.  SEAM BINDING:

This is not a new idea...Martha's  been doing it for years, and Remodelista mentioned it on their site the other day.  I love using seam binding and other sewing notions, like rick-rack, lace trim, even bias tape, to wrap presents.

3.  BAKER'S TWINE:

 Nice Package has a great assortment of wrapping goodies, including several colors of baker's twine.

4.  JAPANESE MASKING TAPE:

How cool is this stuff???  You can find these tapes and lots of other beauties at Happytape.

5.  GIANT RUBBER BANDS:

You'll find a ton of uses for these extra-large rubber bands which I got at Staples.   These things are addictive, and can be turned into fun "ribbons" and "bows".

 

6.  ZIPPERS!

My favorite idea of all!  I saw these cute packages in Amelia Versaci's etsy shop.  Her fabulous zipper jewelry  comes wrapped in boxes tied with zipper tape from vintage nylon zippers.  HOW CUTE!