Category Archives: GIfts

Feb13

Cake Mix Gift Tutorial

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Trust me, there are a million cute cake mix gift ideas out there.  Comparatively, I think my version is plain, next time i make this, I will jazz it up a little!  I got caught in the trap of trying to match the box of cake mix- red, which is unnecessary since the cake mix doesn’t even show that much.  When I do this again, I’ll do whatever colors I want!  I got the sprinkles and cupcake holders at Joann’s with my coupon, the total cost for everything was about $5 including the cake mix since I had the ribbon and paper on hand.

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Here’s the back:

11And here’s the tutorial, good luck!

Here’s all the items you need: three pieces of 8.5×11 card stock, another half piece of another color (not pictured), two colors of ribbon, a cake mix, a three pack of sprinkles, clothes pin, cupcake holders, clear bag sandwich bag (not pictured) and glue gun.  I don’t have measurements, just based everything off the size of the box and sprinkle containers.

1Take two of the card stock pieces, cut to width of cake box and glue to each to the bottom and top:2Fold red strips to fit around the sprinkles:3Attach your last piece of card stock to the bottom of the cake mix and make a fold the same size as the sprinkle container:4Glue on paper for sprinkles, insert sprinkles into their holders:5Trim and fold card stock as pictured:6Glue to sprinkle paper and flap down (the flap is just for added strength):7Attach the ribbon.  Here’s the front…8 And here’s the back.9Glue on the clothes pin and add the cupcake liners to the back:11Decorate the front, all finished!IMG_2358

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Oct28

Soccer Gifts

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With soccer season coming to an end, its time to acknowledge the efforts of our players and say thank you to our coaches… BUT I think trophies and plaques are super lame.  They sit on a shelf and are usually made of super cheap plastic.  I like useful gifts!  For my daughter’s team, we decided to do water bottles for the girls.  All the returning players will have them for next year.  SInce we are the Bumble Bees, I got yellow stainless steel bottles and used black outdoor vinyl.  The stainless steel water bottles I got at Discount Mugs.  Out the door with shipping and tax, the bottles were $5.50 each (be sure to google for coupons).

 IMG_8337 IMG_8338Check out the backs:

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For my son’s team, I made these dry erase clipboards for the coaches.  I got the clipboards off Amazon and then personalized with indoor vinyl.  Its not pictured, but the other side of the clipboard also has a full soccer field printed on it and dry erase marker.

IMG_8335Done!

Oct13

My Fence Fell Down, So I Made Stuff

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The morning after a wind storm we awoke to our fence laying flat on the ground.  Not the best news, but at least I had a whole bunch of distressed wood to make a few things.  I wish I had patterns to tell you for these, but really I just got out the skill saw and drill and went to town with no real plan.  Here’s what I did:

US flag: Wood split in half longways to make smaller pieces.  I used barn red, navy, and off-white paint and made the vinyl wording and star stencil with my Silhouette.

flagGarden Table: I made this garden table as a gift for my cousin.  I love how it matches her door!  I did have to get some 2x4s for the base, only the top is wood from my fence.

table“Be the Good”: This sign hangs in my kitchen.  I love the message!  Again, I made a stencil with vinyl, then painted it colors to match my decor.

be the goodFront Entry Sign: This hangs on my front porch.  I love how it compliments the color of my house.  I use the little knob to hang seasonal signs.

front signFrame: I tried something new with this, still deciding if I like it.  I had a green distressed frame, so I made a pallet background for it to help it to stand out and make it look bigger.  I covered it in Mod Podge (after washing with water) to give it a shiny look.  I like how all the grain shows through, but not sure if I like the overall look.  This is just a stock photo added in.

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May12

Quiet Activites

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I made these little pouches for my niece and nephew so they have a quiet activity to do during church.  I didn’t follow a pattern, just went for it.  One thing the pictures don’t show is I used interfacing between the inside and outside panels.  Other than that, hopefully the pictures are self explanatory.

Girl Version:

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IMG_7339And the boy version:

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The white road dividers are heat transfer vinyl with my Silhouette.

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Apr10

Flower Pot Candy Bowl: Easter Version

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I’ve been eying those darling DIY gumball machines for awhile now.  Needing a little gift, I made a spring version.

easter candyMy first choice would have been to paint the pot a pastel color to match the knob, but bright pink was what I have on hand.  I got the glass bowl at Walmart and the knob at Lowes, each for a dollar.  The “Happy Easter” was made with my Silhouette vinyl cutter.  The candy was the most expensive part!

Apr5

Sunshine Art Gift

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In search of a homemade gift from my kiddos, I saw a few variations on Pinterest of this idea, mostly using footprints.  They were super cute, but I didn’t want to invest in a large canvas big enough for feet.  Instead I used an 8×10 canvas panel that I purchased on Amazon in a 12 pack (around a dollar a piece).  I outlined the circle for my oldest kiddo and he painted the sun.  Then I helped each munchkin make three or four fingerprints on the canvas.  Using my trusty Silhouette I cut out the letters in vinyl and applied to the canvas.  I love how it turned out!  On the back (not pictured) I put “Made with Love and Little Fingers” and had all my kids sign their names.

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Feb9

CTR Towels

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I”m lucky enough to teach the seven turning eight-year-olds at church.  Its a big year for these kids because they are getting baptized.  I’m also lucky because my friend has a FAN-CY embroidery machine.  Check out these cute baptism towels she made for ALL TEN of the kids in my class.

As each child gets baptized, I’ll give them these towels with the Baptism Towel Poem attached.

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IMG_6990Interested in buying one of these? 

My friend sells them for $15 plus shipping. 

You can email me at

synthesizer14@yahoo.com for contact details.

Jan14

Easy Disney T-shirt

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We took a special trip to Disneyland to celebrate a special birthday girl turning six.  She needed a cute shirt to wear on her big day!

shirt 1

shirt 2I used heat transfer vinyl in black and glitter pink, cut on my Silhouette Craft Cutter.  I designed the shapes myself in Silhouette Studio with the shape drawing tool and the welding tool.

Want to see other Disney shirts I made?  Here’s our Halloween costumes from last year, just a phone picture, sorry:

incredible shirtsThese were made the same way, just a little trickier, since each color has to be done separately.  At three dollars a shirt, this was a way cheaper option than purchasing them from the Disney Store.

 

Jan13

Paper CTR boxes

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“CTR” stands for “Choose the Right”.  At church, I teach seven year old boys and girls.  They get a ring that has the CTR symbol on them, reminding them to Choose the Right.  I made these little boxes to put the rings inside.

I got the template of this A-MAZING site that designs templates for any size box you want.  I just put in my dimensions and printed out how many I needed.  I made the white CTR logo on my Silhouette Craft Cutter.

ctr 1

ctr 2This would also be a great, inexpensive way to package a gift for baptism.

Jan12

Hair Bow Holder

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It seems like everyone I know is having a baby girl.. which is fabulous!  I made these hair bow holders out of items I already had at home.

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You’ll need:

  • A 12×12 canvas (or whatever size you want)
  • Felt (doesn’t matter what color, just used for “softness” or filling behind fabric, about 16×16 inches
  • Cute material, 16×16 inches
  • Ribbon
  • Staple gun
  • Hair bow making supplies

Basically, make a mini quilt, without finishing the edges, then staple it around the canvas.  Like this:

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bows3Need more instructions?  Here’s step-by-step:

1.  Layer felt and material, sew three equally spaced lines down the center of the fabric (this will be where you place the ribbons).

2.  Line up the ribbon along the sewed lines (I taped them on with painter’s tape) and then secure them by sewing along the edge of the fabric.  You want the actual ribbon loose so that hair clips can be attached.  The ribbon is only attached at the bottom and top.

3.  Place “quilt” material face down and fold over edges.  Secure with staple gun.

4.  Make some cute bows, attach to ribbons, all done!