Tutorial: Using a Silhouette Cameo with a Sharpie pen to address cards

Last year for my birthday, B gave me a Silhouette Cameo. While I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog, this machine is amazing! I used it last June to make a "Classroom Jobs" board for Ryan's first grade teacher. We went with a board that looks like an iPhone, with each app being a pocket that holds the student's weekly job.

In order we have Line Leader, Door Holder, Calendar Reporter, Boys bathroom monitor, Teacher's assistant, line monitor, weatherman, girls bathroom monitor, substitute, caboose, classroom helper and the last "app" pocket holds the names of students who do not have jobs this week.

 I made every single app, cut every square, using the silhouette. This entire board, from idea in my head to laminated finished project, took less than two days to make, working when the kids were busy or after they went to bed.

I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo. And no, I'm not being paid to blog this. I seriously just love it.

My Cameo also came with some sketch pens. But I think they're less than stellar. They don't always write smoothly and I'm not a huge fan of the metallic choices. But I did realize that pretty much any pen would work, if the machine would just hold it. (The sketch pens are chubby!). So after brainstorming, I realized a small strip of electrical tape would make a regular fine point Sharpie or Sharpie pen, chubby enough. After successfully addressing over 50 Christmas cards, I took a quick iPhone video tutorial.

 

The video: It's not fancy, I'm pretty sure you can hear my dogs and kids in the background but I think it could really help others who are looking for a personalized yet quick way to address envelopes. The result is more thought out than just feeding an envelope through the printer. You can tell it was done with a pen/marker but people aren't going to know how your handwriting looks so neat!

DIY: Looped Ribbon Holiday Wreath

While we're still living amongst a few boxes in our bedroom, for the most part the house is put together so I decided to use naptime today to good use making a Holiday craft.

Tatertots and Jello shared their version of a Looped Ribbon wreath back in October. I was slightly busy having a baby in October and never had the chance to make a wreath but I bookmarked the tutorial because I seriously *love* how these look! My only problem today was that I had the craft itch but have yet to find/unpack my sewing machine. Their tutorial uses a sewing machine, my adapted DIY below uses a hot glue gun instead. Total project time was just under four hours but that's including prep, clean up, sipping Starbucks and listening to Christmas music while gluing and oh yeah, two hours of that was multi-tasked with watching the kids. Easily a project that can be completed in one evening and I'm thinking they would make really great gifts for teachers, neighbors, etc!

For a 14in wreath, you will need:

• 1 craft wreath (floral foam, straw, Styrofoam...whatever you can find, is fine)
• Glue gun and glue sticks (i went through at least 10 sticks using a mini-melt, high temp gun)
• Scissors and a piece of cardboard/cardstock
•  9 yds of a base ribbon
• a few pins
• 10-12 assorted ribbons, 3ish yds each *i highly recommend using ribbon that is 1/2" width or larger...it will be very time consuming and you'll go through a lot more ribbon if you use smaller than that*
• optional: a lighter

Step 1: Wrap and adhere your base ribbon to your wreath form. I used a small dab of glue, used a pin to hold it in place and wrapped the ribbon all around the form.

-Finished Result after step 1-

Step 2: Cut all of the ribbon that will be your loops to approximately 4.5inches. 

Quickest way to cut this much ribbon: take a piece of cardboard and cut to 4.5inches, then wrap your ribbon around the cardboard. Then take your scissors and cut the ends. Viola, perfectly measured and cut ribbon without a lot of hassle. Do this for all your ribbon. (note: I did not cut the entire spool of each ribbon; only about 2/3 of it; the rest I left just in case I didn't need it for this project, it wouldn't be cut into strips. I plan on making hairbows for Sweetcheeks using it later on!)

Step 3: Take a piece of ribbon, fold in half, place a small dot of hot glue about 1/4in from the end and press sides together.

Step 4: Now take your ribbon loop, open up the tales a bit, apply another gob of hot glue and press this flat onto your wreath form. Keep doing this, in sections, using all your ribbons evenly.

At first it looks kinda funny and you're sure that you're doing it wrong and that you screwed it up. You didn't. Just keep going using even amounts of each ribbon. I found it easiest to glue a bunch of loops, then place and glue them to the form all at once.

Keep going and going until the front of your wreath is completely covered. (There is no need to cover the back, which is why you used your base ribbon). For this wreath, I covered all but a 2 inch section at the bottom center; I had this tiny little stocking (from a gift card) that I wanted on my wreath so I hot glued it there, affixing ribbon around it.

Tada! Doesn't that look festive?

and a close up.

These are pretty inexpensive too! The wreath form cost $2.15 at Hobby Lobby but according to Tatertots & Jello, you can buy these for $1 at the dollar store. {I wasn't going 2 different places with 4 kids so save a buck). All the ribbon was 50% at Hobby Lobby making it $1 a roll for most. (I also used 3 spools of ribbon that I already owned as well). Total spent was around $17 but I have plenty of leftover ribbon. And the possibilities are endless! You could make one to celebrate a Holiday, you could use the colors of your favorite football team or just colors that you like or that match your house. So simple, so festive and even the hubs liked it...totally worth the tiny burns accumulated from the glue gun!

Coolest, Easiest, and Funnest Project Ever

I stumbled across a tutorial while blog hopping a long time ago using Freezer Paper to make "Screen Printed'' T-Shirt designs.

I know...say what?

I can't even remember where I originally read about it but I know it was last year around this time because I was working on I-Spy bags when it happened. I mentally filed it away for later use but then never had a need to use it.

Until now :)


I knew I wanted to make/get each of the Little Dudes a ''Big Brother'' shirt to wear up to the hospital when they meet their little sister for the first time. I even proposed the idea to them and they loved it! Problem is I have 3 Little Dudes all whom wear a size 4T or smaller and it's not easy finding 3 shirts in the right sizes and styles. Not to mention they each cost around $12 (or higher) so we're looking at dropping almost $40 on 3 tshirts.

Um, I think not.

So I did what I do best and thought ''Oh it wouldn't be hard to make those". The problem was I knew that those Iron-On shirt transfers don't hold up very well to washings. I knew that I didn't have a steady enough hand to hand-paint each shirt with Puff paint and seriously, it's 2010 not 1993...I think we've moved past puff paint. Then I remembered the Freezer Paper shirt idea. So I headed over to one of my favorite blogs: Made and searched through her tutorials. Ah-ha, Freezer Paper Stenciling tutorial.

I won't get into all the details but basically freezer paper works wonderfully as a stencil for creating a screen-printed effect on tshirts. You simply trace/draw your design on the dull size of the freezer paper; cut it out with an exacto knife. Iron the freezer paper 'stencil' (shiny side down) to the shirt. Apply fabric paint, let it dry and then remove the paper...it just peels right off! Then you have a super cute shirt that is 100% original, cute, holds up well in the wash and, most appealing to a mom of soon to be four kids....CHEAP. And did I mention cute? {please excuse the crappy cell phone pic; it's 1am folks and this is the best you're gonna get for now}

Seriously how adorable did those turn out? I used a fun playful font and added a number to the boys just for cuteness. Best of all, the breakdown:

3 Long Sleeve Shirts (size 5t, 4t, and 2t if you're curious) @  $3.50/each = $10.50
4 pack of fabric paint (in the colors the boys had chosen) = $4.00
Newborn white onesie: Free (we already had that)
Grand Total Spent for 3 Customized Shirts = $14.50
Each kiddo having a special shirt to wear on a very special day: Priceless

Overall it took about 3.5 hours to do all 4 shirts. Most of that time was spent cutting out all the letters with an Exacto knife; not exactly a quick task. It may have gone fast if I hadn't been eating Oreos and watching 'How I Met Your Mother'' at the same time. The best part is now that I know how easy it is, I plan on making them cute personalized shirts for their Birthday's and instead of buying Holiday tee's at Old Navy I can just whip up something at home. Woohoo!

Tutorial: How to make a Diaper Cake

Okay so for about 2 years I made and sold diaper cakes. While they are fun to make and not very expensive, I decided to 'close up shop' so to speak. Mostly because I no longer have the room in this house to keep everything out and the overhead (when not having consistent orders) was really limiting the income that I was making. Most cakes I just broke even on because I'm too nice of  a person I didn't like charging too much for something that is so simple to make. So, better late than never, I'm sharing a "How to" here and on the diaper cake blog.

Step 1: Gather your materials. Basic items you will need are:

-diapers (I highly recommend Pampers Swaddler size 1 or 2...they are all white, they are soft and even if the newborn is 8+lbs at birth, they'll still fit!)
-rubber bands
-cardboard or cake board, tissue paper
-ribbon (fabric ribbon, not gift wrap ribbon)
-scissors, hot glue gun, tape/double stick tape
-any accessories that you want in the cake (in this instance a hooded towel, washcloths, a travel soap/lotion set, a small pkg of wipes)

Alright, let's get started. First things first, we need to cover the cake board/cardboard. Pretty self-explanatory, place the board on the paper. Fold or cut it around the board, taping the excess to the bottom. It'll start out like this:

Finished like this:

So, take your diaper and face it towards you with the size/design facing up.

Starting at the top, roll it toward you. Tight enough that it makes a roll but not so tight that it's super skinny.

 

Once it's all rolled up, wrap it with a rubber band. Again tight enough that the diaper doesn't unravel but not so tight that it leaves a huge indention.

Now repeat that step...a lot. For a 2 tier cake you'll need about 25 diapers, for a 3 tier you'll need about 50. Once you roll a bunch, it's time to assemble the tiers. You'll need 8 diapers to make the center/core of each tier and also for the top tier. Start with one diaper, surround it by 6-7 to form a circle.

Once you have your circle, wrap it with a rubber band. Again, not to tightly..use a bigger band if needed. It needs to look like this:

Now if you're making a 2 tier cake, add another circle of diaper around the outside of your core. If you're making a 3 tier cake (like I am) then you'll need to add 2 more circles of diapers around the core. Bascially if you're making a 3 tier, you need a center diaper with 3 rows around. If making a 2 tier, you need a center diaper then 2 rows around it, etc.

Here is my bottom tier, for a 3 tier cake. I labeled it to show what I mean. There is one diaper in the middle labeled "center". Then 3 circles of diapers surround it.

Repeat this step until you have all your tiers assembled. Next stack them together. If you are going to be using something big in your cake, you can omit diapers to fit it in to your desired tier. If it's a stuffed animal, it can go on top. In this instance I was using a hooded towel...definitely too big to go on top, so I subbed it in to the second tier. You can see where I removed some diapers from the second tier to make it fit, inside of my outer rubberband.

Now stack your top tier.

 Now if you have any washcloths, burp rags, onesies, etc that you are wanting to include, roll those up to approximate diaper size and substitute them in. 

Now it's time to decorate or add little things. I always include a travel set of soaps/lotions with each cake. Sometimes I attach them to the outer ribbon, sometimes inside of the ribbon...just depends on what looks best. On this cake, I opted to place them inside of the ribbon, against the diapers. It's helpful if you have a little double stick tape, to make sure they stay up and against the diapers but it's not required.

Now we have the cake constructed. Let's add the ribbon and pretty it up. I must say that for me, it's an absolute necessity to use fabric ribbon and not that plasticy gift-wrap ribbon. It's so much prettier, the mom-to-be can reuse it if she wants (bow holder anyone?) and it's usually cheaper. Hobby Lobby *always* has this on ''sale'' for 50% off, usually less than $2 a roll. I typically choose 2 ribbons, one wider than the other and stack them.

The trick to using ''real'' ribbon is you must heat-seal the ends so it doesn't unravel. It's really easy to do...once you've measure how much ribbon you need (add an inch for overlap), take a lighter and (without actually touching the flame!) get the ribbon close enough to the flame that the ends melt together. Please use common sense when using fire..don't do this while it's on the diaper cake, etc. Once it's heat-sealed, wrap it around your cake and hot glue the top ribbon to the bottom ribbon. Never put hot glue on the diapers, just the ribbon.

If using an accent ribbon, attach it in the same manner, on top of the wider ribbon. Repeat for all tiers. So now you have all 3 tiers prettied up, but we need to ''stick'' them together.

My method? Bamboo skewers. They're inexpensive, they aren't intrusive, they don't reduce the amount of diapers that you use, and it's simple. So, stack your cake up again...bottom 2 tiers only. Then slowly push 2 bamboo skewers down through the layers, between diapers, until you reach the cardboard.

It'll look kinda funny with the skewers sticking up; go ahead and break/cut those off so they are even with the top tier.Take a 3rd skewer and insert it in into the center of the cake but DON'T cut/break it. Use this as a stabilizer to attach the 3rd tier. Carefully slide the 3rd layer over the skewer (careful not to rip any diapers). Now your diaper cake won't be so wobbly!

(I circled where the hidden skewers are..)

 Tada! Your cake is now finished :)

 Now if you want to wrap it up in tulle, you can do that now. You'll need about a 1.25yd of tulle (again, it's like $1/yd at Hobby Lobby) and you just place the cake in the center of the tulle yardage. Pull the tulle up and rubberband it just about the top tier. Cut the excess off, attach a ribbon to cover the rubberband and you're ready for gift giving. (I made this cake just before taking it to the shower, so I did not wrap this cake in tulle.)

DIY Carseat Cover

Last weekend I washed Peanut's old infant carseat cover. After washing it, and letting it air dry it was looking pretty sharp. All the spit up stains and random carseat crud came out just fine on the actual cover, as well as the infant cushiony insert. Then I remembered that I gave the winter carseat cover that we used with Peanut, to an expectant mom last year. Well here we are having a baby in Sept/Oct. Obviously by Nov/Dec, we'll need a cover for the carseat. Especially when carrying her into and out of the boy's school each morning at 8:45am. Yes, I could just cover her seat with a blanket, I know that. But while carrying her, I'll be holding Peanut's hand while Bubba and Pooks walk in front of me. One gust of wind and the blanket flies up (or off) and I'm in the middle of a parking lot with 4 kids, one of whom is about to get super cold. I need the cover/blanket to stay put. So I decided to make one...are we really surprised? That's the theme this pregnancy.

Here is what it looks like finished:

I promise it is super super easy, took about an hour start to finish and I watched Burn Notice while doing it.

You will need:

- 1 yard each of two coordinating fabrics (I used a cotton print and an anti-pill fleece)
- wide grosgrain ribbon (I used 1.5inch)
- coordinating thread

Instructions: 
**It's important that if you are using a cotton fabric, to pre-wash and dry your fabric first. It will shrink when you eventually wash it and then it may not fit correctly. Fleece will not shrink so it's not necessary to pre-wash**

1. Cut the 2 main fabric pieces to be about 36″ x 33″. Round the corners if you'd like. (I actually used one of the boy's old blankets as a template because it was the perfect size.)
2. Pin the fabrics together, with the RIGHT sides facing in/together, sew with a basic straight stitch, leaving a 6-8" space for turning. Trim corners. If using 2 cotton fabrics, press seams open. If using fleece, it really won't matter.
3. Turn right side out, using the 8 inch hole that you made on one side. Be sure to poke out the corners so they are nice and pointy.
4. Fold the 8inch opening to the inside, pin your opening shut.
5. Topstitch around the entire thing, taking care to sew the opening (that you used to the turn the blanket  right side out) shut. I sewed about 1/4" from the edge but 1/2" is okay too.

Now you have a blanket. Tada, you're all most done! Now we're going to attach the ties.

-Measure out 2 pieces of ribbon that are about 24-26 inches long each. Toss the blanket/cover over your carseat, adjust the blanket as needed and decide where you want the ties to go. Pin the middle of the ribbon piece, where you will want the ties.

Where you pinned the ribbon, sew across the width of the ribbon, several times to secure the them tightly. You'll end up with about an inch of stitches. I recommend using a zig-zag stitch or a small X-box to really secure it. 

Now, tie your cover on and viola, you're done!

And when you baby is the car or store, simply push the carseat handle back and push the blanket over the the handle. You don't need to un-tie it everytime. (The carseat handle should always be down/behind the carrier when in the car...never over the baby.)

Oh and did you notice the matching strap covers I made? Yeah well when I washed the cover and the infant insert that came with the seat, they came out spotless. However, the strap covers didn't fair so well. They came with the seat and were the same material/cover as the insert but for some reason, I just couldn't get the stains out. And it was obvious they were dirty, especially next to the nice clean cover. I know that your are not suppose to use aftermarket strap covers {often times they are too big and it's impossible to get the chest clip to where it needs to be. Also, in the event of a crash, they can compress down and leave the harness straps too loose} so I wanted to clean/replace the ones that the seat was safety-tested with. I washed them by hand and in the washing machine, to no avail they do not look clean. And in my pregnant state, it's really bothering me that they look dirty.

On to plan 2: make new ones that were the same size and thickness as the old ones. Maybe not the best choice but I do not feel like the new ones compromise Sweetcheeks safety at all. They are the exact same size as the ones I removed, the difference is they are clean (yay!) and these velcro on and off so I don't have to un-thread the straps each time they get dirty. Plus they are pretty stinking cute ;) I did not provide instructions or a tutorial for strap covers because unless your seat came with them, they really can be unsafe.

DIY Stroller Handle for "Big" Siblings

 If you have come to this post by Google or Make It and Love It, thank you for visiting! Due to the success/interest in our Stroller Buddy, I have now created an Etsy shop where {new and improved} straps are available for sale :)  If you are interested in making them on your own, here are basic instructions. 

Please check out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tictacbaby
Thank you for visiting!

************************
Now that peanut is bigger and I'm pregnant again, we aren't baby-wearing very often. When the straps tighten across your lower abdomen/hips and you already feel the need to pee 500 times a day--well, let's just say it's not pleasant. So as a result, we usually end up using the stroller on walks, at zoos, the mall, etc. Peanut rides in the stroller and his not so big brothers walk along side. Usually this works really well. The older boys know better than to walk too far ahead and most of the time, they hold on to the side of the stroller. Which in theory sounds great. But in reality it means that about every 10 feet, a little shoe gets in front of one of the stroller wheels and someone gets their foot ran over, or pulls the stroller in their direction, or peanut get's flung forwards a bit, etc.

I needed something that could attach to the stroller for them to hold onto. So, this is what I came up with at 10pm on the night before I needed it. (We're going to "the city" tomorrow and probably the zoo where if crowded, I'll make them hold on to the stroller).

**HOW TO MAKE A TODDLER HANDLE FOR YOUR STROLLER**

Step 1:
First, I took two links and taped the opening shut with some tape. I used electrical because it's all I could find; duct tape would probably work great too. You'll need one link for each handle (Hence why I have 2)

Step 2:
Then take a piece of elastic and sew it into a circle, a bit smaller than the link. Again, one for each handle.

Now because I'm anal and a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to making things, I chose to join the two using some leftover, super cute fabric. To cut to the chase and make things easier, I'm sure you could use 1-inch wide grosgrain ribbon. If you go the ribbon route, skip to Step 8.
Step 3:
Measure a piece of fabric approximately 4inches wide by 22 inches in length. (if only making one handle, 4x11 is okay) Iron it flat.

Step 4:
Cut out your piece, then fold in half, wrong side up. Press flat. (I have 2 because I was making 2 handles)

Step 5:
Sew the long open side, shut. Make sure to leave both ends open!

Step 6:
Now pull the fabric through itself so it's right-side out.

Step 7:
Press flat, again. You should now have one long piece, about 22 inches long.

Step 8:
Decide how long you want each handle then add about 2.5 inches to that number. I wanted my handles to stick about 8 inches out from the stroller (to avoid running over little feet), so I cut at 11 inches. (this is when I realized that I wouldn't need that second piece of fabric after all. I could simply make 2 handles from the 22 inch length)

*If using ribbon, measure and cut, then follow the rest of the directions.*

Step 9:
Place the link at one end, folding over one side of the fabric until it completely covers the link with little room to sew.

Step 10:
Sew fabric, securing the link inside. I used a few straight stitches as well as several zig-zag stitches, reversing to secure. (I did this...a lot. I don't want pooks pulling the link off of the fabric).

Step 11:
Now take your elastic loop and do the same, securing it to the other end of the fabric in the exact same manner.

and then....tada, you are finished:

Step 11:
Now it doesn't look like much but just wait. Attach to stroller, looping the elastic to a secure spot and pulling snugly.

TADA!

The boys now have a safe, secure and best part TOTALLY FREE handle. From start to finish, from finding elastic to folding the up stroller, took an hour and a half.  And it even matches. ;)