day 360: teds in bed dipper spoons

the cutest hot cocoa dippers, so sweet :)

day 360 and the weather outside is frightful, oh how could winter come and spoil my lazy days sipping coffee and watching the world go by sitting on the deck? sigh.  today i am trialling another craft for the weekend, hot cocoa teddy bear dippers ... i have little people in mind for this one :)  the great minds of jellyfish jelly have come up with this fabulous gifting project.  as such, i pinned this idea to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board on pinterest.

jellyfish jelly actually have all different kinds of things in chocolate beds, i keep looking and wanted to try each one but decided to try the teddies for the spoons today.  i am really keen for these to work as i think the peeps coming on sunday will love to make these.  below is a pictorial illustration of the process.

melt both white chocolate and milk chocolate

fill the well of the teaspoon with white chocolate and lay a teddy on top

you will need to lift the spoons up so your teddies don't slip backwards down the handle .. even a mushroom will do ;)

once the white chocolate is set, put a blanket over the teddy with the milk chocolate

while the milk chocolate is still runny sprinkle on some colour :)

once they are set, they are ready for a dip in some hot cocoa! YUM!

outcome: aren't they just so cute .. it's actually really fun making these as they take on personalities of their own with the different faces and depending how much blanketing you give them.  then i started to play with the sprinkles and could have got totally carried away but i only heated a little bit of chocolate ... i did have enough to make a double bed one though ;)

many thanks to jellyfish jelly, its great ideas like this that have made the last year so enjoyable and out of the ordinary ... i urge you to do the same, it has been one of the happiest years of my life!

day 358: cosmo cricket gift box

the finished gift box

day 358 and i am counting down and starting to get excited about the impending 365th day that is only a week away now!  it was a stunning winters day here and i spent most of it drinking coffee and hanging out with the family.

so it wasn't until this evening for pinterest 365, i made gift boxes from the cosmo cricket blog.  they are so cute and this tutorial comes with a video to help you out with the folds.  the tutorial is also pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board on pinterest.

the complete bag is made from a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock.  i made mine with a patterned piece that was double sided so it would look good inside and out.  the actual bag doesn't require any adhesive but it does make it sturdier.  as these are going to be one of the 20ish crafts i am providing at a certain party in seven days time, i decided to go without the little topper and just use ribbon to bring the top together.  i love how the box becomes like the shape of a house once the ribbon is secured!

there are four score lines to make this box

once i had done all the folds, i did use tape in these places to secure it together a little better

hopefully the pocky gives you an idea of how big these are inside ;)

the finished gift box

love how it makes the shape of a house when it's all secured together!

outcome:  definitely a great gift box, nice and sturdy for heavier items as well. at the party the makers of these sweet little gift boxes are going to put cookies in them to take home.  this little box could be filled with all sorts of lovely things and image how cool they would be for halloween or christmas goodies!

my thanks to cosmo cricket for the awesome tutorial, never would have got the folds without the video, but that made it so easy thankfully!

day 354: treat bags for the pinterest party

thank you treat bags :)

day 354 and i am in preparation mode for the pinterest party that is now only 11 days away!  people will be taking home lots of handmade goodies from the party that they will be doing themselves but i also wanted to give everyone a little packet of thanks for their journey home.

i saw these cute little "french fry" gift packets and thought they would be the perfect little home made thank you to all the people who are coming to help me celebrate.  the tutorial is by gudrun of embrace life and she has used hers as little christmas treat bags filled with chocolate hearts, they are adorable.  

the best thing about these little gift bags is they require nothing but paper ... they hold themselves together!  gundrun has used double sided paper, i have used single sided paper as i wanted red and white to go with the 'pinterest' logo colours.  once you have cut your paper to 8" x 8", in FOUR folds you are done!

fold one

fold two

fold three

fold four

done, in multiples, ready for my party goers!

outcome:  TOTALLY underrated how easy and cool these were going to be ... i am guessing as long as you have a square, these could work in a variety of sizes!  i love these and will always be using them as treat bags for parties, the options are only limited by the paper you find and the goodies you find to put in them!  am i the only one who didn't know about these cute little bags and how easy and painless they are to make?

my thanks to gudrun of embrace life ... gudrun is from oslo and i can honestly say without pinterest i would never have found her blog and i am so pleased i have because it's gorgeous :)

day 338: felt tea bags

and just because tea comes in various types, i figured isla should have a couple of choices too ;)

day 338 and today i am making some felt play food for my little niece isla.  she is three and FULL of beans, loves spending time in her room drawing on things she shouldn't, and also loves spending time whipping up all sorts of goodies in her play kitchen.  i figured she needed some extra things for her kitchen and found heaps of different felt "foods" on pinterest to make.  the tea bags had me though as her mum is a great drinker of tea and they came with an awesome tutorial from lil blue boo.  the tutorial is also pinned to my gift wrapping and ideas board on pinterest.

the tutorial from ashley at lil blue boo is fantastic and she even uses wild rice to fill her felt tea bags to give them a tea look.  unfortunately for me i didn't have any wild rice but as they were quite small they puffed up a bit with the sewing and actually didn't need filling.  i had mo (my sister) show me on skype the size of isla's tea cups and they needed to be quite a lot smaller than the ones ashley made so i did away with getting the sewing machine out and hand sewed them.  the only other change i made to these ones was to use sticky back felt for the tabs.  the tabs are tiny for these little tea bags so the sticky felt made more sense to use rather than a couple of stitches ... oh who am i kidding, the sticky felt made life easier on a busy day and meant i didn't need to do anymore sewing than i had to!

the bits and bobs to make felt tea bags

the tea bags sewn together with their strings awaiting tabs 

the sticky back felt i used to make the tabs, one for each side :)

the finished tea bag ready for a cuppa!

outcome:  so incredibly cute, polly wanted me to make some for her barbie ... i said SHE could make some for her barbie as barbie ones were WAY too small for mum to make without throwing things!  she is going with the sticky back felt for her barbies ... wise decision ;)  i hope isla will love these as much as polly and i do :)

oh to be small and have fun felt shaped food ... or daughters small enough to want LARGE felt foods ... thank heavens for nieces who are small enough!  great thanks to ashley for the teabag tutorial, it made me want to venture into felt foods, who wouldn't with something as cute as felt teabags :)

day 336: gift bags

party bags ready to go ... and be filled!

day 336 and one of my favourite seven year olds is turning eight very soon and her mum was finding it hard to source the right gift bags for her birthday party.  i told her very sweet mum i could help out thanks to my friend pinterest!  yes, of course, i found a solution to make your own on pinterest so i volunteered for the job :)

the instructions are available from many different blogs but the ones i liked the most (because they were the easiest) were on lines across by rachel.  it was a super clear tutorial and was matched with perfect photos so you knew exactly what you were supposed to be doing :)  the instructions link is also pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board on pinterest.

tracy gave me the girls favourite colours in gift wrap to make the bags with and i used some ribbon as the handles.  i did double the gift wrap so they were beautifully coloured inside and out and use a combination of double sided tape and glue to hold all the folds together.  i punched the handle holes with a hole punch and then double knotted the ribbon on the inside.

the materials

chose a box that is about the same size as the gift bag you want to create, then wrap the box around its middle and secure

then wrap the bottom of the box as if you were for a present

take the box out and whala ... a gift bag is taking shape :)

add handles and any decorations you want ... the girls are going to decorate the bags themselves at the party so these are being left plain :)

outcome:  the thing i loved about these little gift bags was, if you could wrap a present half decently you could definitely make these bags!!  i love the thought of making heaps of these little beauties in the future for gifts out of scrapbook paper so you can match the bag to the person you are gifting too! well i think they turned out pretty cool for my first attempt, hopefully tracy and miss hayley will think so too :)

my thanks go to rachel at lines across for the awesome instructions she provides for gift bags.  it made me look at all the other cool ideas on her boards and i will definitely be back to try more of her tutorials :)

day 312: gift wrapping with book pages

the completed gift wrap

day 312 and i need to get some gift wrapping done today, with no car and no wrapping paper i needed something creative to happen if i was going to get any gifts wrapped!  lucky for me, i can venture to pinterest and find inspiration ... today's comes from julia at vintage with laces.  she was in a craft swap and used vintage book pages as her wrapping ... how cool is that, actually ALL the vintage things she makes look AMAZING, just gorgeous :)  julia's inspirational packaging is also pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board on pinterest.

i figured i had some old book pages from a couple of books that are beyond rescue (half the pages are missing) that could be totally up-cycled into some gift wrap bags!

so for today's craft you need some vintage book pages, a sewing machine, and stamp pads.  i made one side 2" larger allow for a tab to be folded down to close the pocket.  i clipped the corners of the large side with a decorative corner punch to make it a little prettier!  then i used some distress inks to give the book pages a more vintage feel.  i didn't stamp an imagine on the front because i don't have any beautiful stamps and i am a total novice at stamping so it wasn't a good idea ;)  i did have some vintage looking lace so added that instead.

the book pages cut to size

my prettying of the gift wrappping!

the distress ink i used on all the edges to soften all the fresh cuts

added the lace, and a split pin to close the flap

outcome:  i really liked making this, it's such a nice change up from my normally crisp, clean lines!  i absolutely love the feel of this and plan to use book pages in heaps of projects coming up because its so rewarding!  great reason to visit the second hand bookshops over the next couple of weeks!

julia's blog vintage with laces is truly inspiring if you love anything old worldy with a touch of feminine ... her trinket finds are SO cool!  i have to thank her so much for providing me with such a great alternative to your standard gift wrapping :)

day 267: chick flick survival gift

click flick goody bag for a little peep :)

day 267 and we have had a terrible start to this weekend :( pollyanna's best friend ended up in hospital last night with a really serious medical situation ... it was terrifying for polly and for us as we adore her, so i can't imagine what it was like for her parents.  a lot of things happened and in the end thanks to some awesome advice she has come out the other side and is recovering thank goodness.

we know she will be spending a lot of the next few days lying down getting back to full health so this chick flick goodies gift basket from heartland paper seemed like the ideal thing to give her!  the idea is pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board.  polly went shopping with gusto collecting lots of her little friends favourites, chocolate, toys, favourite movie type, popcorn, a magazine, and some other little bits and pieces.

what we put in hayley's chick flick bag

the finished gift bag lined with tissue paper :)

outcome:  we will deliver it tomorrow but i know she will love it.  polly put so much thought into all that went inside so i am sure this little gift of polly's love will make her feel a little happier and help with the recovery


outcome from  day 266:  nicky loved the nuts and she left a note saying they had made her day :) AWESOME!

big thanks to  heartland paper  for their cool gift ideas, this one is perfect for so many occasions and for all age types making it a definite do again :)  ok, go to go, mum is off to singapore today to visit my sister :)

day 266: 'we're nuts about you'

a really cute, versatile gift :)

day 266 and i need a quirky little gift to give our real estate agent tomorrow ... i am sure she thinks we are nuts, but to be honest she is the best real estate agent we have ever dealt with and i am sure at some stage will sell our house for us, especially with all the effort she puts in.  i am VERY aware it's not often you can say this about a real estate agent, we have had some real duds in the past!  anyway, she did some special things for us over the last week so this gift idea from debbie at the happy scraps seems like the perfect little gift for acknowledging her hard work :)  the idea is also pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board on pinterest.

i decided on layering a selection of nuts, made a funky tag, added an angel charm my sweet friend dee made, some ribbon ... and we were good as done :)

the bits and bobs

the filled jar .. i love nuts, i hope she doesn't have any nut allergies  : 0

done, complete with ribbons, tag, and angel :)

outcome:  i'll let you know tomorrow, but i already have four other people who are all happy nuts i plan to gift these jars to also!

my sincere thanks to debbie at the happy scraps for this cool idea that has whimsy and gratitude written all over it, love it and so versatile for so many different occasions :)

day 213: perfect present for a teacher starting the new school year and a WINNER :)

WE HAVE A WINNER

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: 

Result:

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 Jenny said...

Love the digi card, they're a lot easier to send so definitely have a place in crafting:)
Great new blog header too.
Jenny x

Jenny if you could email me at kahoonz@clear.net.nz, i will email you out the details so you can download the software for FREE :)  

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVELY COMMENTS OVER THE LAST WEEK! I HAVE LOVED READING THEM AND REALLY APPRECIATED ALL YOU HAVE HAD TO SAY ...

WATCH OUT FOR A NEW ZEALAND GOODIES THEMED GIVE AWAY IN TWO WEEKS

lots of fun goodies for a very deserving teacher

 
day 213 and as i start the process of organising the peeps curriculum for the coming school year (starting february) i have teachers and the amazing job they do at the forefront of my thoughts.  i know lots of teachers, some i love, some terrify me, some are amazing, some are born to do the job, some are willing learners, some are misunderstood often, some are sweethearts, some make me cry, some are hilarious, but only one is all of the above ... and she is also an amazing friend.

the peeps and i are going to spend some time with her this week being her classroom slaves!  all teachers work SO very hard and all need more hours in the day ... so we are off to help her turn her new classroom into her dream vision.  i wanted to make sure she knew what a special teacher she is (we know personally as she was ben's last school teacher) so we are putting together a teachers survival kit for her ... something EVERY teacher should have a the start of a new school year don't you think!

i saw the idea on pinterest ages ago and waited until the right time to make it for her  ... what better time than her first day back at school for 2012.  this idea comes from lucia at ink me baby one more time and is pinned to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board.

you start with a basket or some form of carry-all and add the following:

• animal cookies for when your class seems like a zoo
• band-aids for when things get a little rough
• chewing gum to help you stick at it
• crayons to make your day bright and rosy
• a candle for all the late nights you put in marking and planning
• an eraser to remind you everyone makes mistakes
• lifesavers for when you've had one of those days
• marbles to replace the ones you'll lose
• paper clips to hold it all together
• pencil to "write the wrongs"
• rubber bands to remind you to be flexible
• a shiny coin to remind you that each will shine in their own special way
• starbursts to give you energy when you need it
• tissues to wipe away the tears ... yours and theirs
• toothpicks to help you pick out the good qualities in them ... and you
• a time out bar for when you need to sit a while
• smarties because that's what you will create
• a prayer/poem for you at the start of each new day

(god) please help me to

strengthen their voices, bodies, and minds

to express their feelings and control them sometimes

to explore what's near and venture afar

but most important to love who they are

a close up of some of the goodies!

some more of the goodies in situ :)

outcome:  i LOVE this, it has such incredibly wonderful meaning ... especially when you are giving it to someone so special who you know will appreciate it.  we give it to her in a couple of days so the outcome is still pending but i love the sentiments and for me that makes it an instant winner :)

my sincere thanks to lucia from ink me baby one more time, she makes the most beautiful things and clearly puts huge effort into making the people in her life feel super special.

day 193: gift wrapping

sweet, right ... these gifts are for my mum :)

day 193 and i DESPERATELY need to do some gift wrapping ... desperately!  so off to pinterest i went in search of ideas to make my presents look pretty :)  these gift wrapping ideas from design aglow were so gorgeous i pinned them to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board, found the brown paper and my ribbon box then set to work.

the collection of bits and bobs

the first one done ... love the brown paper :)

so pleased ... all are going to be wrapped in brown paper
next year!

outcome: i am still going ... hence this short post.  however, the progress is great and i am loving the brown paper, especially with the lace, so cute and who knew!  this is why i love my life so much, pinterest makes me do things SO much better than i used to :)

thanks so much to design aglow for all the inspiration and if you want to take it a step further, the website has wonderful instructions on how to use gift tags in photoshop :)

these are the presents that need sending tomorrow ... not as pretty as the brown paper ones, i am now a brown paper convert ;)