Celebrating Creative Gifting!

I was recently inspired to create a honeymoon package for my sister and brother-in-law (congrats newlyweds!). And there are so many wonderful ideas out in the world.  I happened upon a few of these this past year and have been dying to try them! In addition, I have SO many patterns from stocking up during sales that I was motivated to make a first-aid kit with one. So here is the gift run-down!:

• Cord organizer
• His and Her’s eye masks
• Personalized luggage tags (Shutterfly)
• Traveling Tic-Tac-Toe for the flight
• First-aid kit
• A Tic-Tac-Toe board for the house patio (just because)
• A waterproof bag (bought)

 

So let’s start with the CORD ORGANIZER!

The original instructions are from: http://blog.namebubbles.com/diy-travel-cord-organizer-a-great-1-hour-project/#.VzT4_cdcVSU

But here are some tips for things I changed and areas I liked having more pictures. The first change I made was adding a velcro pocket for small things like headphones and USB ports. Velcro because I loathe zippers.

Your organizer can be any size depending on your needs. But I cut my pieces 13 inches by 20 inches. (the pocket was 4 inches by 9 inches finished).

Also, I wanted to have the same fabric on the front and back but needed it to have enough thickness. So I sewed the front side (where the pocket and elastic would be) onto a piece of felt. From there I sewed the pocket on and attached the velcro (measuring where the other piece of velcro would need to be with a fabric pen).

Pin the velcro to the front side and sew everything but the top portion that faces away from the pocket. You’ll want to ensure that the elastic slides underneath the velcro before you completely sew it down. I cut my two elastic pieces about 11 inches long. Yours will vary depending on how long you decide to make your carrying case.

I positioned the elastic strips 3 inches apart along the velcro. Then sewed the strips to the width I chose to make the gaps to hold the cords in place. I made them about 1.5 inches apart (again I’m an estimator 😉 )

After everything is sewn in place you lay your front and back pieces of the cord organizer together with right sides facing each other and pin it. Slide in some coordinating ribbon and make sure that you keep it away from the pins so you don’t accidentally sew it.

Make sure you leave a place to turn it. And after you get it all turn iron around the edges and topstitch. (I didn’t know what topstitching was forever when I first started sewing). So in case you don’t… it’s just sewing on top of the fabric, after you flip it, near the edge. It adds extra durability, close turning gaps, and it looks pretty too! Just use a coordinating thread.

 

ONTO THE HIS AND HER’S EYE MASKS:

The original instructions are from this site: https://makingthingsisawesome.com/super-cute-sleepy-eye-mask/

I liked that she used the Babyville Boutique Fold Over Elastic. It’s nice and wide but really soft.

I used this site to get a basic pattern for the mask and then adjusted it on my own depending on who I was making it for. (I love saving paper bags for this!) http://www.the-red-kitchen.com/2012/01/eye-mask-free-pattern-tutorial.html?m=1

To adjust a pattern just use two pens. Hold them next to each other and trace along the edge of the pattern and you will end up with an even enlargement. I added a 1/2 inch to each side of the red kitchen pattern because I thought it needed more coverage to block out the light. To make my brother-in-laws I just made the mask slightly longer using the pen method.

I tried a variety of different fabrics and colors to try to achieve something that felt lightweight but also blocked out the light. In the end I went with a dark middle fabric (navy blue fleece) and two darker colored coordinating fabrics. The first tutorial used light fabrics but I felt like the lighter ones let in a bunch of sunlight (which would drive me bonkers).

You can get your pint size helpers to figure out the best placement of the pattern and which fabrics look best!

Same idea as the cord organizer, lay your right sides facing each other and slide your elastic straps in avoiding any of the pins. (The tutorial I mentioned has good step by step photos).

Make sure you leave your spot to turn it.  Afterwards trim away some of the fabric especially around the nose part. Flip it, iron it and topstitch. Tada!

 

TRAVELING TIC-TAC-TOE:

The tutorial is here: https://crazylittleprojects.com/2017/04/tictactoesewingpattern.html

She did a great job explaining it and I only changed one thing. Where she used ribbon and glued it on it chose to cut strips of felt and sew it on. I tried and ribbon and couldn’t quite get it to look like I wanted. So the felt worked better for me.

 

FIRST-AID KIT:

The pattern came from Simplicity so I can’t give you step by step on that one. But I used pattern 1153 Bag F, omitting the pocket. I also used velcro again instead of a zipper and adjusted the top as needed to fit it. Because again, I LOATHE zippers!

But the basics are you’ll make something like this with square corners:

My creative piece with this one was adding a felt cross to show that it was a first-aid kit. I used a super fancy pattern too.. A rubber block from my kids and clip art. 😉 Then fill it up with all sorts of goodies from the store (band-aids, ointment, chapstick, pain killer, eye drops etc…)

 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! Some creative gift ideas for the travelers in your life (or yourself!)

HAPPY CREATING!!

We Totally Rock!

Yep that was a nod to Bubble Guppies. If you haven’t seen it you should definitely check it out! We all have those cartoons as parents that we oddly adore. This is our family’s. 🙂 http://www.nickjr.com/bubble-guppies/videos/bubble-guppies-we-totally-rock/

So back to the actual crafting! This one is all about repurposing ROCKS! Rocks for kids, rocks for you, rocks for gifts, rocks for everyone! But seriously; it’s two part:

1. Tic-Tac-Toe board
2. Rocks artfully designed by children 😉

Onto the Tic-Tac-Toe board. You’ll need:

• cleaned small rocks (I’ve had these sitting in my garage for almost a decade!)
• square wooden plaque (the size depends on your rock size- this is 6×6)
• paint
• mason jar (or another container to hold your rocks)

First you are going to sand your plaque unless you get a magically pre-sanded plaque. Which would be amazing! Then you’ll want to measure out evenly spaced squares. So here I put notches every 2 inches. If you are a messy painter like me you’ll want to tape off the edge of your plaque so your lines don’t flow over.

Next you are going to pick out your paint for the board as well as the rocks (to make your x’s and o’s). Now paint away! 3 seemed to be the magic number for me on this project. 3 coats of rock paint, 3 coats of board paint and 3 coats of sealer. Also for the black rocks, a lighter color paint seemed to work best. I tried a medium blue and it didn’t pop enough.

After the rocks and boards are dry, proceed to sealing them.

I ended up liking a mix of the Mod Podge and Krylon clear gloss sealer. But you could also just try the gloss version of Mod Podge. The combo I used was just what I had on hand. If you are doing a combo I would suggest 1 coat of Mod Podge and 2 coats Krylon. Or just 3 coasts gloss Mod Podge. Either way I think 3 is a good minimum. You can always add more just follow the drying instructions between coats.

I also sprayed the rocks with the same combination. Let it all dry overnight before you package it up and then have fun! It make a great gift too! (Bonus- the kids got their first tic-tac-toe lesson and loved it.)

*Make sure you spray the adhesive in a well-ventilated area and don’t do it with kids and pets around. It’s a good idea to wear a mask yourself and be aware of windy conditions to avoid spray back*

The original inspiration for the tic-tac-toe board (with a few changes) was from: https://tatertotsandjello.com/2015/04/diy-tic-tac-toe-game.html 

WE TOTALLY ROCK ROUND TWO!

Most likely we’ve all seen these adorable painted rocks on Pinterest. My neighbor even sat down with my daughter to paint a ladybug and she loved it. So if your kids are patient and artistic go for it in the creativity department! There are so many beautiful ones out there.

But if you happen to have toddlers who love glitter and getting messy maybe try this instead.

We found some good size rocks and after cleaning them laid them out to dry. Then during nap time I spray painted them with a paint and primer in one. Two coats on the top side and one coat on the bottom. Let them dry and now you have an afternoon project! Luckily the day we painted was a beautiful day to sit outside under the tree.

*Make sure you spray paint in a well-ventilated area and don’t do it with kids and pets around. It’s a good idea to wear a mask yourself and be aware of windy conditions to avoid spray back*

You’ll need:

• rocks
• something to spray paint on (I use an old towel for this)
• washable paint (for toddlers) or acrylic if you’re older and/or feeling brave
• spray adhesive
• decorative elements such as glitter

Grab a blanket for your kids to paint on. We keep several painting blankets around since we always seem to need fresh ones. Then take out all the fun colors and decorative elements. Glitter is always a must in our house, hence the outdoor painting. And my son’s love of painting himself (and other objects)…

After the paint is dried spray the rocks with Mod Podge or a similar adhesive. Then decorate your yard, house etc…

Happy Creating!