Double Duty Centerpieces

Since I'm helping to plan another baby shower, I thought I'd better get the pictures and ideas up from the last one I planned with Briana. It had a tea party theme, so we bought mugs at the dollar store and put a piece of foam in them topped with moss. Then we took silk flowers and poked them into a styrofoam ball. To conserve flowers, we glued some leaves to the bottom to fill in the space. Next we took wooden dowels that we had painted and stuck one end into the leafy part of the ball and other end into the mossy base. Finally we used ribbon to tie a bow on each "stem". They went together faster than we thought since we didn't have to glue the flowers onto the ball - they just stuck into it. At the shower, after the mommy-to-be picked one out to remember the special day, we gave the rest out as prizes for the games before the guests left.

Wooden Pumpkins

I got this idea off of another crafting blog. They were really easy to complete. These pumpkins were made using a 2X4 - I just cut them to 4 different heights ... mine are 6, 8, 10 and 12 inches tall. Then I took a 1X2 and cut it down to make the stems. Then I painted everything and glued the stems to the top of the pumpkins. I took a Dremel tool and added some lines for more dimension and then I sanded everything... then tied some ribbon on and that’s it!!! I planned on adding some light stain to them, to give them even more dimension, however, I did not have any on hand last night. So I will have to do that a little later, but for now they turned out fun I think. I will add rafia to the odd ball pumpkin with the ribbon in this photo, I was just trying to decide which I liked better, rafia won. :)

Happy Crafting!!

Welcome Sign

I actually made 6 of these for Christmas gifts, ( last year..so behind!!) each in different colors and coordinating ribbon. I thought they turned out really cute. Don't you just LOVE the Cricut!!

I cut 6x6 boards, pre-drilled the holes for the tied ribbon ends. There is 6x6 paper in fun bright colors that I placed onto the board first, then added the Cricut cut flowers, fun brads, my stems, and ribbon, which completed the bouquet. Shadowed the "Welcome" letters and added my cute little fluttering friends.

Ravishing in Ribbon

We were invited to a bridal shower for one of Brandon's cousins, Cami, and we were assigned the laundry room. We put together a laundry basket full of the necessities needed along with a cute poem that tied it all together. Then I made this hanging sign for her to put in her new laundry room. I created the word art on the computer and the frame is a matte wrapped in fun colored ribbon. It took me only 1/2 hour to create this, and she loved it!!

Little Gift Boxes

These were some little boxes that I made with my Cricut using Tags, Bags, and Boxes. I love this cartridge and the cute things it can make. I made about 30 of these gift boxes and we used them in YW to give the girls value bracelets.

Giraffe Graduation

From top to bottom: Envelope, Card, Gift. The envelope and card are both just decorated with stickers. The gift base is an old Christmas container that I covered with paper, stickers, and cricut cutouts. Then I put in a piece of foam and covered it with white crinkle paper. Using the cricut, I cut out the giraffe (New Arrival), phrases with backgrounds (Gypsy font and Base Camp), a tree with leaves (Stretch Your Imagination), and a box (Tags, Bags, and Boxes). The cap on the giraffe is a sticker. All the pieces are mounted on bamboo skewers and stuck into the foam base. Inside the box with flowery top, I placed a little gift for the grad.

Mother's Day "Card"board

I used the Walk in my Garden cricut cartridge for the daisies. Some of cut from white cardstock and some are cut from vellum. The words are white sticker letters. The "card" is a piece of cardboard covered with paper. Inside is a coupon for an at home spa day, with a coordinating piece of vellum overlaying the details. Gold cord is tied to a button, wrapped around the folded "card", and slipped over the button to secure the "card" closed.

Gift Bag Closure

You can keep a gift bag closed by putting a silk flower stem through two holes in the top of the gift bag. This idea was received, not created by me.

Fabric Scrap Card

For a quick card, I sewed a scrap piece of fabric onto a card and added a saying. This is also a fun way to coordinate your card with a homemade gift, or to give a hint of the homemade gift you aren't quite done with.

Lunch Sack Gift Bag

Transform a white lunch sack into a gift bag with cardstock, ribbon, and a velcro. First I chopped off the top of the sack with decorative scissors to the height I wanted. Then I glued a piece of cardstock, as wide as the sack and taller than the sack, to the back and folded it over the top of the sack. I attached another piece of cardstock to the front of the sack, this time as wide and as tall as the sack. Next add the velcro closure and some ribbon for the final touches. In this case, I left a large white area to write the receiver's name with a coordinating marker.

Gift in a Cup

I keep a box in the garage of things I no longer need. Not all of these items make it to the second-hand store. Some become useful parts of gifts. When St. Patrick's day was approaching, I realized I had these bright lime green cups in said box. They became perfect little gift containers filled with green candies and green frosted sugar cookies. I added a festive ribbon around the cup, as well as a green peep on a stick with a tag tied on with another ribbon. This is an easy way to give new life to an old container. This could be done up in any color(s) for any occasion, although using a single color creates a big impact from this little gift.

Double Door Card

I made this card from the blue piece of cardstock that was already scored to fold like that. I used a punch for the large scalloped circle, with mounting tape on one side and velcro on the other so both sides were adhered at an even height. Now one side releases to open up to the inside of the card. I did have to make my own envelope for this card since the piece of blue cardstock was larger than a normal card.

The Hardware Store Gift Container

Striped fun comes from two paint color cards trimmed and adhered to a paint can. I added a ribbon around the top of the can and lots and lots of stickers. I didn't want to have to cut paper to cover the lid, so I just added stickers there too. Then I put in mini versions for a pampering good time. Unfortunately, you probably won't find the manicure items at the hardware store.

The Hardware Store Card

Looking for just the right shades of paper for your card? Visit the paint section of your local hardware store for an array of colors. The fun names of the different colors add character to the card. A few alpha and flower stickers and you're all done.

Valentine Cards

I used the Cricut Cartridge "Home Accents" to create these cards (the word "love"). The tag is stamped and punched.

Birthday Card

White card with letter stickers spelling out the phrase. Chalked all four edges in peach. Used terrifically tacky tape to adhere the ribbon stem, ribbon leaf, flower and button. Added some coordinating stickers around the flower and also on the inside of the card.

Flower Pot Card

I used the Cricut cartridge Walk in My Garden to make this card. For the back flower pot, I cut it out using the mirrored image. I made a blue/purple version and a red/orange version. There are four layers on flower. Two are cut out on solid paper. Two are cut out on paper with a print design. I saved the cut file if you are interested.

Great Gift Idea

This tile is a great gift. I especially love the color of the tile. I made three of these for wedding gifts and have decided to make one for myself. This is extra easy with the Cricut Expressions but I actually had it spaced and ready to cut with my smaller circut before Brad decided to buy me the bigger one. Doing a tile like this is definately much easier with the designstudio software - I made one similar to this without the software a year ago and it was a lot more work. One of the best things about this gift turned out to be the wrapping. I bought an easel to go with the tile and then I just wrapped the tile and attached the easel to the outside with a ribbon. Then I used the easel to hold the card in place. It made for an adorable gift.

Chore Charts

These are the chore charts I made for the girls. I found pictures on the internet to go with each job that I wanted. I put everything on with velcro so their jobs change each day. Gracie has been so motivated to do her chores. I am really happy with it so far. I had all the extra pieces in a baggie on the back of the chart. It works okay but I am putting the extra pieces on the back with velcro. I think this will make it more user friendly.

Mother's Day Card