felt shamrock button covers

Today on the Babiekins blog I'm sharing a quick way to make a shirt you already have in your closet festive for St. Patrick's Day.

See how to do it right here!

xoxo

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diy: gumball bracelets for st. patrick's day

I'm sharing one of my favorite projects on the Lolly Jane blog...gumball bracelets!

Click here to see it!

xoxo

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diy: valentine memory game

I made this simple little memory game for my 3 year old the other day.

She sees her older brothers playing and always wants in on the action, but they play with so many cards it's still a little tricky for her patience and ability.

So with just six pairs, this is a good starter game for her, and it's cute, too!

To make a game, you'll need:

small wooden discs {I found mine in the dollhouse section of Michael's}
craft paint and brushes
stencils or craft punch {optional if you have a steady hand!!}
sealant
drawstring storage pouch {optional}

Then all you need to do to is paint hearts on pairs of the discs.  I wasn't crazy about how my free handed hearts looked, so I used a heart punch to make a stencil to trace and then fill in.

After the paint has dried, paint a thin coat of glossy sealant on the wooden discs, and you're done!

xoxo

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diy: paper hearts

Today on the Babiekins blog I'm sharing how to make these simple hearts, perfect for all kinds of different valentine decorations!

Click here for all the details!

xoxo

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diy: watercolor valentine treat pouches

I'm happy to announce that I'm a new contributor to the Lolly Jane blog!

Today I'm sharing simple watercolor treat pouches...just perfect for valentiney treats or party favors and SO easy to make. Click here for the details!

xoxo

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diy: gold love bug magnets

Today on the Babiekins blog, I'm sharing these gold love bug magnets.

See the full details here!

xoxo

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diy: easy cloth napkins from ikea dish towels

I've had this project in the back of my mind forever.

So in hopes of going a little greener in 2015 {and let's be honest...being completely aggravated over throwing away too many paper napkins every meal}, we're switching to cloth napkins.

Each pack of 4 towels costs about $5 will yield 8 napkins.  Lay each towel out, cut along the crease {I took a picture of scissors but ended up using a rotary cutter to save time}, and then iron and hem each unfinished edge...I made 24 napkins in a little under an hour last night.  These really are cheap and easy.

I've made and sold my fair share of cloth napkins before...but {sorry former customers} vintage linens are super pretty but not all that absorbent and I think that's why I've always saved them for special occasions.  These dishtowels are everyday workhorses and durable!

xoxo


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diy: christmas gumball bracelets

Today on the Babiekins blog I'm sharing how to make these Christmasy gumball bracelets.

See the full how to here!

xoxo

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diy: pom pom and glitter rudolph gift toppers

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet?
Ready to wrap??

I'm so not even close.

But I do love a pretty package.  So the gifts that I do have are going to be cute.

These little rudolph gift toppers are really simple to make.

All you'll need is:

clothespins
glitter
tacky glue
tiny red pom poms
miniature deer {I purchased mine at Michael's}

Start by glittering your clothespins.
Spread a thin layer of glue over the top and then douse in glitter.  Gently shake off any excess.

Then glue a tiny pom to the deer's nose.  If you have man hands like me, tweezers help!

Then attach the tiny rudolph to the glittered clothespin with a bit more glue and clip it on your gift.

It's perfect for holding a little message or name tag or just as a festive Christmas decoration!

xoxo

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diy: cinnamon applesauce heart ornaments

Today on the Babiekins blog I'm sharing how to make these 3 ingredient Christmas ornaments.

See the full how to here!

xoxo

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gifting: pretty pom pom loaves of pumpkin bread

I think we all know by now that I love making pretty packages.  No holiday's too small for gifting!

So with Thanksgiving this week, here comes another perfect chance to give beautiful gifts to friends, the neighbors, and even as a special take home to accompany turkey leftovers.

I like to bake it directly in disposable mini loaf pans {available here} and then wrap it in wax paper secured with washi tape.

From there I like to doll up the packaging with yarn pom poms.

If you're not familiar with making poms, this is how I do it:

I wrap yarn around a large serving fork about 75 times.  {I usually get distracted by one of my littles, so some are 60...some are 90...the beauty of handmade is that imperfect is all good, right?}

Then I slide a long piece of yarn through the middle tines of the fork.

I then carefully slide the bundle off the fork and tie it tightly.

Gripping the bundle near the knot, I slide my scissors through the loops and cut them all.'

Then I give the pom a little haircut to even it out. :)

I love a good fluffy pom.  Three of them together is even better.

Then wrap your loaf in thick, fluffy yarn and tie a cluster of poms to it.  Slip in a tag with a sweet message! :)

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! gave me the opportunity to try their newly formulated spread, made from real, simple ingredients you can recognize, like a delicious blend of plant-based oils, purified water and a pinch of salt.  I thought I'd put it to the test baking up these loaves of pumpkin bread.  

If you'd like to try it too, here you go!

you'll need {makes 3 of the 6 inch mini loaves I linked to above}:

1.5 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup canned pumpkin {not pie filling!}
.5 cups butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! spread
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping down the sides often, until well mixed {but not overmixed...it gets tough!} 

Pour batter into pans. 

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool completely before wrapping in paper. 

Happy baking!  Happy pom pom making!  Happy gifting!

ps.  If you try this or another recipe using the new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, leave a review here!

xoxo

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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diy: gumball christmas ornaments

I know lots of people are hardcore about no Christmas before Thanksgiving.

I'm not one of them.

So my first Christmas project of the year...a rainbow of glass ornaments...that my three old informed me look just like gumballs.   

They're so easy.  All you need is clear glass ornaments from the craft store and craft paint.  

Then to color each ornament, just unscrew the top and squirt a generous amount of paint inside.  Swirl it around until the entire ornament is colored.

Replace the tops and you're all done!

And if anyone's interested in the colors I used {l to r}:

Martha Stewart poodle skirt
Martha Stewart party streamer
Apple Barrel apricot
Martha Stewart meadowlark
Martha Stewart pea shoot
Martha Stewart blue sky
Apple Barrel Dutch blue
Apple Barrel purple iris

and the Kelly green color that I forgot to include in the picture:

Craft Smart {I think from JoAnn} holiday green

xoxo

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diy: no sew thanksgiving banner

Thanksgiving isn't really a holiday I decorate for.  Usually it's hard enough for me to get rid of pumpkins and spiderwebs from Halloween before it's time to pull out the Christmas lights...no need to complicate things with a bunch of turkey and pilgrim stuff.

But one little decoration never hurt anyone, so here we are.  A simple, no-sew banner for Thanksgiving.  

You'll need:

about a quarter yard of neutral background fabric

a small bit of felt

tacky glue

straw or dowel

twine

sharp scissors

tassels and trims

Start by cutting out your phrase from the felt.  I printed mine from the computer in size 200 font first for reference.

Ever since I started with the tassel making I've felt the need to TASSEL ALL THE THINGS.

Trim your fabric into a banner shape and glue the ends over to give it a finished edge.  If you're not me and your craft room isn't so messy you can barely see your sewing machine, you could just hem the whole thing.  But my craft room is one phone call away from Hoarders, so I glued.

Glue the felt letters to the banner.

Slide the twine through the straw.  

Place it at the top of the banner and fold the fabric over, making a pocket for it to hang.

Secure the pocket with glue.

Then deck out your banner with plenty of trims and tassels and hang it up.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

xoxo

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