Mother's Day Gift :: Wine Charms

For my mom's birthday last summer, I took this idea from Oh Happy Day for Father's Day & whipped it into something more Mom-like. Wine charms!

Super easy! Follow the directions on OHD for making Skrinky Dink key chains, but insert a wine charm ring instead of the key ring. This thoughtful gift really couldn't be easier or more fun to make. My brother & my mom's best friend helped me pool photos. We all had a load of fun going through the finished charms, checking to see how they came out.

A few tips - photos with a lot of black or dark colors get really dark when you bake the material. Lighter photos or photos where your subject is wearing light colored clothing work best. Also! Words are super easy & shrink down well! Maybe think about writing Mom a little letter on her charm. Or draw or print out her monogram! Ooooh...Note to my mother: pretend you didn't read that. You might be getting another round of these!

Don't forget: Mother's Day is May 11! Best of luck! If you do this project, share your photos with me on Instagram or Twitter!

Resources: Shrinky Dink paper on Amazon. Wine charm rings from I Like Pie on Etsy

Paper is Wearable

Halloween isn't really my thing, but I could get into with a DIY project idea like this. It's a paper wig!! Choose your paper carefully & you could have any color or theme you can think up. This gem comes from Whimseybox, a subscription service that sends DIY projects to your home each month. Their blog is FULL of great ideas as well!

Get the full tutorial here.

Doodles :: Coffee Mug Morning Fun

It's been a while since I posted any of my coffee mug doodles. That is because it's been a while since I did any! These days, when the alarm goes off, our feet hit the floor & it's go-go-go in the Batty house. Until we drop.

I have purposefully taken a deep breath a few mornings in the last few weeks to make a few doodles on our coffee mugs. I love the mental exercise of coming up with something on the spot. Also, using a marker instead of computer mouse to create something is refreshing. 

From Memorial Day weekend! In honor of the official start of summer & the real meaning of Memorial Day, past BBQs & beer drinking.

I made my first jam in June!! Strawberry, 'cause it's my favorite, so now you know why I drew a strawberry on this one.

I tried to recreate my popular monogram design on my mug. I need to practice! Scrolly letters are hard on the slick rounded surface!

**If you try this at home, make sure you remove you doodle before putting your mug in the dishwasher. Remove it COMPLETELY! The heat from the dishwasher will permanently set any of the marker left on the mug. Learn from my mistake!**

As I have said on previous coffee mug posts, I generally take these pictures before I drink the coffee in the mug. Please forgive any blur, bad framing or lighting, etc. I am not properly caffeinated!!

What do you think? Fun, right?!

Best Father's Day DIYs

Father's Day is coming! A week from Sunday as a matter of fact. Did you get anything yet for Dear Ol' Dad?

If my previous post about manly stationery didn't inspire anyone, how about making him something? Here's a small round up of ideas I think are worthy of anyone's old man.

{photo from Oh Happy Day}

This is quite possibly the coolest Father's Day gift I've seen. Shrinky Dinks Tie Pin or Keychain on Oh Happy Day. Full tutorial here. You could really do this for any holiday or gift-giving opportunity & expand the craft to loads of things. For instance, I think I'll make some wine charms for my mom with pictures of her dogs for her birthday in July (Mom, pretend you didn't just read that).

Also amazing? How about Make Your Own Dad? Like a paper doll, but with manly pieces. Welcome to Man Making from Kirsty Neale. She has a great blog called Ginger & George. Lots of fun paper crafts!

I both of those ideas if it wasn't for the blog Henry Happened. There is a great round up there of 100 Handmade Gifts for Dad.

This one is all me. Custom cuff links for Dad. You could put anything in these, but pictures would be great. How about cut-outs from a story book that Dad used to read to you? Or pieces of baseball tickets from a game you guys have seen. Pieces of your score card from your last round of golf. OH! Or I have programs from shows that my dad & I have seen! I could go on, so if anyone is stuck for an idea, let me know. There are some cool kits on Etsy. The picture above is from Annie Howes. There's another great shop on Etsy with personalized pieces - White Truffle.

So?! Any ideas sparked here?? I know there isn't any stationery in here, but I like to make things other than cards. Especially gifts! My dad & my brother...and my husband...are hard to buy for. They don't wait for a holiday to get what they need. They just go buy it. So, it's a challenge to get them something meaningful & fun. Sometimes, you just have to take matters into your own hands. Literally!

Want more? Take to Pinterest. There are some super cool ideas!!

More Mug Magic

{from Simply Jess}

My girlfriend {and blog reader!!}, Aynsley, sent me this great mug idea today. See picture above...Chalkboard Mugs! Another fun way to make your morning...or afternoon...more interesting. I like the chalk marker...regular chalk sounds messy. I can imagine the mess you'd make of your message and/or your hand. It's the same with the dry erase markers, though I suppose. Gotta use the handle!

A quick internet search came up with a few places to buy them...like Amazon or Etsy. And of course, you could make one. I love the way both Wit & Whistle & The DIY Club have both used the chalkboard paint. Not your average paint job.

{I need more colors! Dry erase markers at Amazon}

For now I'm sticking to dry erase markers, but maybe for the holidays I'll expand to chalkboard paint. Chalkboard mugs would make great gifts with my homemade hot chocolate! Somehow I just know that the second I start painting anything with chalkboard paint, I'm going to cover everything in it.

Arts & Crafts :: Tshirt Necklace

We have season tickets to the NY Rangers. I don't think I've mentioned that. We are big hockey fans around here. Occasionally, we get free tee shirts on the way in to the game. Freebies are great, but the tshirts are ALWAYS HUGE.  What's a girl to do with it?

Thanks to Melissa Esplin of I Still Love You, now I know. Make a necklace! Pictures of mine below. For the how-to, visit I Still Love You here. Do not be intimidated by this project. It is super easy & quick. If you can braid, this necklace can be yours!

{I can wear it long...}

{...or twisted in half!}

Thanks to Mr. B who took these pictures. Check out my aloof model look...ha! I'm too cool for school.

Dry Erase the World!

Recently I discovered a new use for dry erase markers that I'd never thought of. I had cleaned off all the clutter on my refrigerator, cleaned it's shiny surface & thought - I bet I can draw on this with a dry erase maker!

Guess what else you can do with them...

Cards of the Week - Thanksgiving, Take 1

 {Thanksgiving Kid's Printable Party Pack - DIY Printable by Frog Prince Paperie}

Just 3 short weeks until we are all stuffing our faces with turkey, stuffing & cranberry sauce. YEAH!!!! I, for one, can't. Freakin. Wait.

The initial idea for this post was to highlight some Turkey Day invitations. What would be interesting, cute ways to invite your friends/family over to break bread on this fabulous holiday? And then I saw these...(gasp, placecards!)...I had to switch gears! But wait, I thought, people still need to get to the dinner! Ah, the voices in my head...

So, welcome to Cards of the Week Thanksgiving, A Post in 2 Parts.

Martha Stewart Crushes Escort Cards

Talk about shaking things up! When you walk in to your friend's wedding reception & see these to tell you where to sit for dinner you know you are in for one Hell of a good time.

What's more, you are only limited by your imagination with these escort balloons. You can use any combination of colors with whatever color paint pen you want. Whatever matches your decor. You can weigh them down with all sorts of fun stuff, as well. Ideas anyone? How about vintage paper weights?

Article from Martha Stewart Weddings, Darcy's Idea of the Day

Thing-A-Day

Feb 1 - 28, people from all over have stepped up to the "Thing-A-Day" challenge. First started by a professor at NYU, this month of creative thinking is open to anyone and is exactly what it's title says it is. You make something...anything...each day. Could be dinner. Could be a pillow. Someone on the NewNew Team made miniature vegetables last year.

Registration to participate is closed now that it's started but you can follow the creating on the Thing-A-Day Posterous site.

All participants are posting to the Thing-A-Day feed & I also have my own page for Thing-A-Day fun. Check it out! Let me know if you stop by :)

I thought, "this would be the perfect way to do a creative deep dive & jump start my goals for this year! Heck yeah!!" Then, my husband said, "why don't we get out of this snow bank that is Brooklyn & spend a few days in Barbados?"

Gotta finish packing...stay tuned for more!

Last Minute Gifts - Easy Peasy!

Let's face it. Everyone needs them...last minute gift ideas. At this point, you are shopped out. Totally tapped for ideas. Personally, if I have to brave the masses one more time, I'm going to lose my proverbial marbles.

So I decided to stay at home & finish up my Christmas shopping in my kitchen. Ta-daaaaaa!!!


That is a tin of Hot Chocolate complete with mini-marshmallows. See the recipe here. It makes WAY more than 12 servings, fyi. Just mix the ingredients together, put a few servings in a container & BOOM. Done.

In the past I have used Ziploc bags and put them in nice paper or cardboard boxes that I found at the Dollar Store, Target or any place that carries wrapping supplies. This year I happened to find these cute tins at a local cooking supply store, as well as the cellophane bags. The tags I made quickly on the computer. You could also put instructions inside the tin.The mini marshmallows are in fold-over sandwich bags. However, in a pinch, you can use a nice paper bag with tissue paper in it. Whatever you can do to make it's presentation nice & present-like.

Also, I made truffles. They looked a lot like this:

(from The Chocolate Life)

Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, has two great recipes, here and here. I made her Chocolate Truffles, minus the Grand Marnier, & rolled them in confectioner's sugar or coco powder, per the recipe suggestions, or pecan pieces per a commenter's suggestion. It took me a little over an hour! Now I have bags all tied with ribbon & ready to go.

I made similar truffles last year & delivered them to folks in a chinese take out container, but you could also put them in a Glad or Rubbermaid container from your local grocery store & dress it up with a nice ribbon.

More great food ideas on the web on Better Homes & Gardens.com. They put out a great supplement called Food Gifts that includes all kinds of ideas such as this Snack Mix.

Also a great non-food idea, and something we do often in our family, is give pictures. Target had lots of great frames on super sale today! It's a nice gift, a reminder of a family get together from earlier in the year.

The most important thing, as we all know & hear each year, is: It is the thought that counts. So, don't stress! Happy Holidays!