Little Birdie Secrets

Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

muppets party hats {tutorial}

This post is written as part of a sponsored campaign with The Blueprint Social and Disney.

My boys love the Muppets and have anxiously been awaiting the release of the Muppets Most Wanted movie. I decided it would be fun to throw a little movie party and have the kids help make some crafts to celebrate!

These party hats were really easy to make and the kids love them! You just need to get some party hats, construction paper and embellishments.

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

winnie the pooh character party hats {and some movie treats}

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This post is written as part of a sponsored campaign with Disney and The Blueprint Social. All opinions are 100% my own.

Winnie The Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. I can't hear those words without singing the little song in my head! Did you know The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is being released on Blu-ray Combo Pack and HD Digital August 27th? In honor of the release, my kids and I had a Winnie the Pooh viewing party for a fun Summer activity!

I wanted my boys to get into the adventure and imagination of the movie, so we made some Winnie the Pooh character hats to have a fun craft and to wear them while watching the movie.

I found this pack of party hats and the dollar store and brought them home to make into fun characters. All you need is some card stock or construction paper (colors of pink, black, darker pink, a golden color and orange), tape and if you want you can either make your own drawings of the characters or you can find some free templates online.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

easy kids bookmarks {michaels unplugged summer challenge}

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Every Summer one of my big goals is to have my kids reading every day! They love reading but sometimes they need an extra push to stay consistent with it and I try to find little ways to get them excited about it. After taking the Michaels Unplugged Summer Pact, I am especially focused on reading and learning activities for my kids.

I decided to make some easy, fun bookmarks with my kids so they would be excited to put them in their books and get reading!

We got a bunch of paper supplies at Michaels and then got to work!

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Saturday, March 9, 2013

spring table centerpiece idea {and a silhouette double-sided adhesive banner}

I am still relatively furniture-less (why am I so indecisive?), so I have been relying on my kitchen table to satisfy my need to decorate with seasonal tablescapes. (Love that word, by the way, if it really is a word. Sometimes I make things up.) Anyway, here are a few ideas to get your creative "tablescaping" juices flowing (now I know I made that word up).

Instead of a tablecloth, which might have fought with the display, I used a long piece of kraft wrapping paper as a table runner. This is one of my favorite ways to dress up a tablescape because it doesn't matter if it gets dirty, and it's waaay cheaper than a good tablecloth!

Next, pull out all those apothecary jars you have left over from that candy centerpiece you did for your last birthday party or shower. I love using these for every season--just fill it with something colorful or symbolic of the time of year. Depending on how many you have, that could be your centerpiece right there. I filled this one with Robin Eggs candy. Dangerous, I know, but so colorful and cute!

I "filled" this apothecary jar with a decorative bird's nest with the sweetest blue robins eggs in it (non-candy variety). I stacked it on a few books to give it some height.

I loved this darling tin tub with burlap and "No. 4" stenciled on it. I found it at Taipan Trading in Utah, but you could easily reproduce it with a tub of your own, a small piece of burlap, a stencil, and a black Sharpe marker! I filled it with faux potted tulips (I added a few more after this photo because it was looking a bit bare, but you get the idea).

I also added a couple of other fresh-looking spring pieces (more silk flowers, a ceramic bird, and a moss-covered bunny), then anchored it with a green wreath in the center. After I had it all put together, I thought the wreath looked a little bare, and I also wanted to make it more of an Easter display rather than simply Spring, so I added an Easter bunting featuring the words "He Is Risen". Here's how to make one:

Cut the pennants out of book pages either by hand or with a die cut machine (I used my Silhouette SD). Next cut the letters out of double-sided adhesive paper (mine is from Silhouette). See this tutorial for more into on this great stuff! Then add silver German glitter glass to the adhesive letters and hang the pennants on some baker's twine.

And, since I"m completely incapable of simplicity, I added a few embellishments, like yellow pom-pom trim. . .

. . .and little paper flowers from Bazzill. But that is entirely up to you and how crazy you personally are.

Ta-da!

Then I hung it on my wreath.

My poor family is getting used to eating at the table but not being able to see each other over the various vases and floral arrangements I've been covering the kitchen table with. I'm just too lazy to move it. Plus it just makes me so happy to look at my little piece of Spring while this winter drags on!

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Friday, June 1, 2012

easy washi tape gift tags {favorite things}

I've got a lot on my plate, (you can probably tell by my lack of crafty posts lately), but somehow I managed to find a few days to hit Chicago this month with some of the most amazing women I know.

The seven of us have been friends since high school (some of us even longer!), and I love that when we see each other it's as if no time has passed. We live all over the country, and we've tried to have a girls trip every 2-3 years, but this is the first time all seven us (plus one cute baby boy) could actually make it. And I so needed it. We shopped, we ate, we saw the sights, but mostly we talked. And talked. And talked. It was a weekend of much-needed therapy on so many levels.

Jazz hands! Yes, we're dorks, but I LOVE US!

This year we started a new tradition. We had a "favorite things" party, exchanging small gifts of something we are loving at the moment. So, so fun!

I've been loving washi tape for a while (remember how I hunted it down in Japan before it showed up everywhere here?), but most of my collection is in storage back in Seattle. My friend Kalli gave me this assortment of paper tape from Target recently, and I've been using it a lot lately for quick and easy gift tags (they literally take under a minute to make), and I knew my friends would love it.

So I put together these washi tape gift tag kits as my favorite thing gift, including assorted sizes of gift tags, 2 rolls of washi tape, a pack of alphabet stickers, and a length of coordinating ribbon, and made a sample tag with each girl's initial to tie on the bag.

Washi Tape Gift Tags Tutorial

*Assorted, coordinating washi tapes
*Blank shipping tags or card stock cut into tags (I found packs at Hobby Lobby)
*Alphabet letter stickers (I used Thickers, but I found $1 letter sticker packs at Walmart for the favorite things gifts)
*Ribbon (I wrapped lengths of ribbon around clothes pins to keep it tidy in the bags)

1. Place strips of washi tape on bottom 1/2 of a gift tag, wrapping the ends around the back.

2. Place monogram letter sticker on tag, slightly overlapping the tape.

3. Tie to gift with a piece of coordinating ribbon.

I used one of the tiny tags and a single strip of paper tape for this sugar scrub gift (tutorial coming soon!).

These are even great for boys' and guys' gifts!

Lots of scrapbooking companies are now making washi tape (you can even find it at Target in the desk organization aisle), or you can try my favorite brand, mt, that I got in Japan and here at Ginko Papers. It really is one of my favorite things!

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

custom hand soap labels {how to}

Just got unpacked from a quick trip to the Twin Cities to visit my sweet friend Kalli and her seriously fun family for Mother's Day. We had so much fun tramping around Minneapolis and ignoring real life (Kalli, how is it that with all the pictures we took, this is the closest thing to a group shot that I got? We didn't even get one of us together! Grrr. . .).

But with laundry and homework and workouts and grocery shopping and getting ready for a trip to Chicago later this week, I haven't had a chance to edit/upload/blog pictures of some of my recent projects, including my teacher appreciation gifts. Sorry about that. Does anyone else feel like the days are getting shorter the older we get? Who can I talk to about that?

It was nice to have a little girl time to chat and help Kalli & Lori with a crafty gift for Mother's Day. Kalli had an ingenious idea. She had Lori create custom labels for these yummy hand soaps she found for only a buck at Bed, Bath & Beyond, including the name of the scent and a Happy Mother's Day message.

Lori used some of the same art she used for these beautiful Mother's Day printable cards to create the labels. Lori and Kalli are both pros on the digital scene. They often use graphics found at Graphics Fairy (one of my favorite free vintage graphic sites--see my image transfer tea towels using her graphics here), or purchased from designers like Rhonna Farrer.

Here's where the brilliant part comes in. How do you keep a custom label on a soap bottle from bleeding when it gets wet (and it will get wet)? Packing tape! First remove the label from the soap bottle. (If it leaves a sticky residue, use a little CitriSolv and a paper towel to remove it.) Place the printed and cut label (printed on plain type paper) print-side down on the sticky side of a piece of clear packing tape, then place it on the front of the soap bottle. Now it's protected from water damage and looks totally professional. And crazy easy--why didn't I think of that? Kalli--such a smarty pants.

Aren't they beautiful?

Top it all off with a little tulle and ribbon and you have a quick, easy, and inexpensive gift for hostesses, teachers, moms, thank yous, etc. that will really be appreciated. Just my kind of gift.

Okay, now back to laundry and re-packing and all that fun. . . more to come soon.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

framed dresses centerpiece {tutorial}

Last month I was put in charge of centerpieces and other decor for a celebration of our church's women's organization's (Relief Society) 170th birthday. We used a popular theme that has been passed around during the last couple of years. It was based on the children's book The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, which teaches love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

We also set a goal to collect 100 dresses to donate to the local women's shelter for women entering the workforce. You can find some great ideas here if you want to plan a similar activity for your group. And here are some fun centerpiece ideas that would work for this theme or for a bridal shower, tea party, or little girl's birthday party! These would even be cute in a little girl's room (something I would know nothing about).

I cut this dress out of several patterned papers using my Silhouette machine, then mounted them on a book page (to go with the literary theme). Then I framed them in various frames to use on the tables (this one was on the buffet table).

I made about 30 frames, and I had to do it on the cheap. Enter the $1 Walmart frame.

I had originally planned on having several people loan me frames to use, but I later decided I wanted them to match. In addition to a couple of thrift store finds, I found a couple of sizes of plain black wood frames at Walmart for a buck. But they looked like they cost a buck. Bring on the sand paper and spray paint!

I left some frames plain black and just sanded the edges for a distressed look. I was surprised at how much cuter they looked with just a little distressing!

My colors were aqua, pink, and black. So I sprayed some of the frames aqua and let them dry. Then I took my sandpaper to them as well. I loved how the black showed through a little.

I didn't have a chance to take pictures at the dinner, so use your imagination. We had white tablecloths and each table had a vase of my coffee filter flowers surrounded by 3 of the framed dresses.

In the area where we were collecting dress donations, we hung this cute dress bunting (which I also used as part of my Easter mantel display.

I just hung the leftover dresses from the framing project on a piece of jute with cute mini clothes pins.

And in between dresses I folded a paper doily in half and glued it together. Probably the quickest bunting/banner I've ever put together!

This was such a sweet activity, reminding us of our responsibility as daughters of God to reach out and include others in our circle of friends, not to judge others by appearance or circumstance, to forgive others when they do not show the same kindness, and to show God's love through service. I love that I got to help my sisters in the gospel enjoy a wonderful night together with a few $1 frames and some doilies! Hopefully these simple decorations will inspire you for your next girly get-together!