Yarn Block Print Cards for Mother's Day

Here's a sweet and simple craft that you can do with your kids to give as Mother's Day gifts (or birthday, or Christmas, or anytime gifts)...

Inspiration for this craft came from this post here - and I adapted it to be ultra kid friendly.

Start by making cards out of white cardstock.  I had some leftover colored envelopes and I matched the size of those when making the cards.  

I found some scrap wood approximately the same size as the cards.  Then, I let the kids wrap yarn around them.  The more haphazard the better!  We taped the ends to the back of the wood to keep it all secure.  

We went ahead and used water colors to paint the yarn -- since my 4 year old daughter and her friend were doing this project -- I didn't want to be responsible for stained clothes!  We used just a little bit of water to keep the colors as dark as possible.  Acrylic paint, or tempura paint would also be great for this project.

While the yarn was still wet, we pressed the wood blocks down to the front of the card - and voila!  Look at these fun designs in all those pretty colors.  (We re-wrapped and painted the yarn for each different card).

I took my little $1 alphabet stamps and stamped "Made by [name]" on the back.  I think it's sweet to know who made it when you get a hand made card.

And here they are, stacked together and finished off with colored envelopes and wrapped in baker's twine.  SO simple, but sweet and personal.  It was fun to send my daughter's little friend home with some for her mom, and keep a few for myself :)

So - if you need a Mother's day gift, try making these block print cards!  They are quick and easy, and are sure to be loved!

Personalized Clip Boards

Working at a religious school, I've made quite a few Teacher Appreciation gifts in the past - and it has been fun to do different things.  I've made pencil bouquets, magnets, clocks, and more - you can check out my "Teacher Appreciation" section on my "Tutorials" page for pictures of all of those!

This year, I made Personalized Clip Boards - over 50 of them! - and they turned out great.

To personalize them, we had the students do an acrostic with the teacher's name.  We always love getting the students involved!  So, for each letter of the teacher's name, the students came up with a word or phrase describing their teacher, that started with that letter.

I then took the wording and created a different configuration for each name on the computer.  This made it easy to print the names right onto scrapbook paper.
I have a tutorial on how I made the clipboards if you scroll farther down...

My favorite are the ones in the pictures above and below.  The name is horizontal, and the acrostic phrases are in blocks below each letter.

I also made some with the name vertical...

I got some great honeycomb paper in the package of scrapbook paper I picked.  I love these honey bee inspired ones below!

And lest you think you can't make a clipboard for a boy, here are a couple of the more masculine designs.  I think they rock!

For short names, I liked making the words swirl around the letters.  You can do this in Word with word art, or I did it in my Silhouette software.  

Need something for a music teacher?  Print up some musical notes to make it even more personalized!

Aren't they great?

Want to make your own?  

Here's the How To:

Supplies: 

clip board

Mod Podge (paper or matte kind)

scrapbook paper

foam paint brush

scissors

distress ink (optional)

string (optional)

You can get these clipboards very inexpensively at an office supply store.  I picked some up for less than $2 each.
First, to make life easier for myself, I opened the clip as wide as I could, and tied a piece of string really tightly through the holes, to hold the clip open while I worked.  This is easier to do with two people ;)

The clip board is covered in different pieces of scrapbook paper.  To get the correct shape I made a template out of cardstock.  First, trace around your clipboard.  Then measure different points on the clip mechanism.  Use those measurements to mark on your template, and make small adjustments as you cut it to fit.

I used anywhere from 2-4 different patterns of paper on each board.  Since the clipboard was 1/2" taller than my scrapbook paper, I always had to have a strip of different paper running horizontally to make it tall enough.  Some I tore, some I cut evenly.
For each teacher, I designed the wording on the computer and printed the design right onto a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper.  I cut the paper first to 8.5" x 11" to run through my printer, and then cut it down to the size I wanted.

Next came the Mod Podge part.  I got the Mod Podge made for paper - and it worked fine.  You can also use regular matte.

1) With a foam brush, cover the clip board with a THIN layer of Mod Podge.
2) Then, starting with the paper on the lowest layer, brush the back of the paper with a THIN layer of Mod Podge and then affix it to the board.
3) Press the paper down well, so there are no wrinkles or bubbles.
4) Brush Mod Podge over the edges, particularly covering any area you will lay another piece of paper, and continue until all the paper is down
5) Optional: Run distress ink along the edges
6) Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge over the whole board.  Brush back and forth in one direction.

HINT: My paper ALWAYS bubbled when it got saturated with Mod Podge.  It was flat for a few seconds, right after I put it on and pressed it down, but as I put on more layers, it bubbled.  When this happened the first time, I was so bummed, and it was late, and I went to bed thinking I had ruined my clipboards.  By the time I woke up, all the bubbles were gone!!  They had all dried and settled!
So, my advice is: press it down firmly right when you set the paper down, and that's it.  Don't touch it again until it is dry!  If you do, you will make creases where the bubbles are.  Let it dry and settle on it's own.

In case you are wondering what Distress Ink will do for you, I have a before and after picture (before is above, after is below).  I really like the depth that the dark edges add to the boards.

Here is one batch, all lined up and ready to be Mod Podged! 

While many had the acrostics, some were given to parents and tutors, simply to say "thank you."
Don't want to use a printer - or don't have one?
Below, I used tiny alphabet stamps to stamp parents' names and a little thank you note.  You could also hand write something - or have your child write something!

Below are more ideas for a general "thank you" - without the acrostic.  Still personalized and fun!

I love the chance to show a teacher, tutor or friend how thankful you are for them.  These clipboards are personal and versatile - and certainly have lots of uses in the classroom.  Make a few teachers you know happy with one of their own!

Old Drawer Ottoman

Remember those drawers I picked up from the side of the road the other day??
I posted about making one of them into a wall shelf for my daughter.
With the other one, I made this great storage ottoman for my front room!

Inspiration for this project came from a great blog - Beyond the Picket Fence - where you can see another drawer ottoman.  

To make mine, I had the hardware store cut MDF board into 2 pieces the exact size of the top and bottom of my drawer.  Below you can see the top piece set on the drawer.

I purchased this thick foam from the fabric store for a cushion, and cut it to the same size as the board.

Using my staple gun (my newest tool - hurray!) I stretched the fabric around the board and foam, and stapled it down, just as if I was upholstering a chair seat.

I stapled down another square piece of fabric, with the edges folded under, to hide the raw edges.

These boards that I nailed on (below) are needed so that the top does not slide around when it sits on the drawer.  I measured very carefully the distance from  the edge of the board to the opening of the drawer, on all 4 sides.  I cut my boards to the exact length I needed, and nailed them into the MDF - according to the measurements I had taken.  I made mine fit very tight against the inside of the drawer, so my measurements were very precise.

And now I have a great bit of extra storage, and a cute ottoman in the living room!  My kids use it as a seat, or we set our feet on it.  I love it.  

I also got some legs that someone was giving away, and attached those to the bottom.  This is where that 2nd piece of MDF came in.  Because the bottom of the drawer was relatively thin wood, I nailed the MDF into the thicker edges, and then was able to screw the legs into that MDF on the bottom.  

Repurposing things is so darn fun!  I love giving new life to these discarded drawers.  What kinds of repurposing projects have you been doing lately??

Velcro Earphone Pouches

I made a couple more earphone pouches for my husband and I. 

I LOVE these things. 

I absolutely swear by these - they are small, and keep your earphones safe, clean, untangled, and easy to find!

Want your own?  Need a small gift for a friend?

You can purchase earphone pouches in my ETSY shop, or

my original tutorial post can be seen here.

 

P.S. Go Ducks!

Fabric and Washi Tape Spring Wreath

I made a quick and inexpensive spring wreath yesterday - to add some color to the front door.  It's definitely colorful!

I've had a small wreath form that I got form the dollar section at Target.  I tore strips of fabric, wrapped and hot glued them.

I made some flowers with cardstock and washi tape -- first time I have EVER used washi tape - can you believe it?  I finally jumped on the band wagon and bought some the other day.  Pretty fun :)
You can find a tutorial for the flowers here.

I also made a banner for the middle out of washi tape...

Now come on spring!  We're ready for you!

Service Auction

Recently, we had an evening get together with the ladies of a women's organization I'm a part of called the Relief Society.  We decided that, in honor of the Relief Society's 171st birthday, we would have a Service Auction.  It was a HUGE hit!  I worked with a small group of women to organize the event, and I wanted to document some of the specifics of the night...

A couple weeks in advance, we handed out invitations.  Pictured above, they were auction paddles made out of large popsicle sticks and cardstock.  There was a number on one side, and the invitation specifics were on the other side (date, time, etc.).

We asked people to bring their paddle with them on the night of the auction, but had extras the night of for anyone who forgot.  Everyone got to use their paddle to bid - real live auction style!

We found this idea, and many others for our event, on a blog called Mishmash Mom.  Be sure to check out her post too!

A couple weeks in advance, we invited everyone to donate a service item. We setup an online "google doc" for people to sign up on.  There was a space for their name, and what they were donating.  We also included a list of possible donation items to give people ideas.  We had a great response!  We emailed a link to the list a couple of times, and allowed people to sign up last minute as they came to the event.  We ended up with over 50 items!  Many people gave more than one thing.  Here is a list of some of the things that people donated:

Ride to/from the airport (after bedtime/before dawn)

2 hours of housecleaning

Family Photo Session (or just your kids, or just you!)

Haircut and style

Babysitting- an evening or Saturday daytime

Made-to-order red crocheted scarf

45 min Aroma Touch Massage

Amber & turquoise necklace

16oz of our own local honey- harvested in June

Four quarts of soup

French Lesson

Photography Class

Personalized wood sign

Clean out your fridge!

Shellac Pedicure/Manicure

Special Occasion Cake

Custom Birthday Invitations & Decorations

Authentic Mexican Enchiladas

Your entire family's haircuts in your home

Homemade pie: lemon meringue or pumpkin

Homemade strawberry ice cream

Homemade Boston Cream Pie

Mint brownies

Homemade Bread (bread-making class optional)

6 crocheted flowers, hearts, and/or butterflies

3 Handmade Hair Ribbons

Resume review or job interview prep session

2 crocheted cotton washcloths

Frozen cookie dough

Some people brought items the night of (frozen cookie dough, bread, hair bows), but most was for delivery on a later date.

Before the event, we organized the list to put a few "hot ticket" items at the beginning, so that people were not saving all their points for items at the end.  We wanted a lot of bidding, and figured that if people were "holding out" for big items, we wouldn't get as much action throughout.

The donation list was printed and brought to the event and people continued to sign up as they arrived.

Right before the auctioning started we made a bunch of copies of the list to hand out so that people knew what had been donated, and the order that things would be auctioned off in.  

We had some festive colored plates, balloons and tissue paper banners as decorations on the night of.  We had dinner before the auction, and offered a baked potato/salad bar.  It was delicious!

When people arrived and got their food, we had them fill out the Service Auction Questionnaire, which was available at each place setting, along with a pen.  The results of the questionnaire gave each person the points they would bid with.  Here's how it worked:

There were about 100 questions, on both sides of one piece of paper.  Each question had a "yes" or "no" answer, and each "yes" answer was worth 10 points.  This made it easy for everyone to add up.
People had point totals ranging from 400-700 points, and they kept track of their own points.  We made a rule that people could not combine points.

As they bid for items and won, they would subtract those points from their total.  It was all on the honor system.    Some people did win more than one item, which was fine because we had more items than people in attendance.  And typically, for a big ticket item, someone had to use all of their points anyway.  So, people generally got one "big" item for all their points, or split up their points for a couple of "smaller" items.  It worked out really well.  It kept the bidding lively and fun.
To see a copy of the questionnaire, click here.  

A big part of the night was having an amazing auctioneer!  

We had the husband of one of the ladies in the group act as the auctioneer.  He had a real gavel, a fast pace, and some great jokes.  We seriously won the jackpot with this guy :)  I would definitely suggest getting a good auctioneer!!  

First of all, with over 50 items, we were a little worried about the time it would take.  Our auctioneer could talk fast, and kept the auction moving very quickly.  Bidding was never allowed to lull before the item was pronounced "sold!"  As soon as one item was finished he went right into the next item, no pause.  This worked well for time, but also worked well because it never felt like any item wasn't being bid on.  Even if only 2 people bid, it all happened so fast, that it felt really lively.  All together, the bidding went for just about an hour, which was perfect!

For early items, we started the bidding at about 80-100 points.  As we got further down the list, we lowered the starting bid to about 40, because most people had used a large portion of their points, and it was natural to lower the starting bid price.  

We had one person keeping a master list of items won.  Using one of the copies of the items available, she wrote down the name of each person who won, and also handed them a card that had info on the item they won, and how to contact the person who donated the item.  After the event, we emailed the master list of winners out to everyone.  

There were a lot of logistics, but we had such a great time - and our event was a huge success!!  We were so happy to give people the opportunity to serve others, and share their talents.  We hope that new friendships are formed, and new acquaintances made through these acts of service.  We were very happy that all the items were bid on, and appreciated.  We were impressed with the items donated, and how kind and energetic everyone was at the event.  

Hopefully this will give you a few good ideas if you are planning your own service auction!  Personally, I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to serve someone else by sharing my talents, and have such a fun time doing it!