Special DIY Baby Shower Blocks

Earlier this year, I helped host a baby shower for a sweet lady from our church. Jessica and her husband had been hoping for a baby for a while and everyone was thrilled to learn a new baby was on its way. They chose to be surprised as to the gender, so we wanted a gender neutral hostess gift for the baby. I also wanted to do something special that they would be able to keep and enjoy for a long time, so inspired by a shower that Jana recently gave, we decided to make baby blocks at the shower.

I gathered all of the supplies for the craft and tried to make things as easy as possible for those attending.  Here are the materials you will need:

• Unfinished blocks
• Patterned or solid scrapbook paper
• Old children's books that you can cut pages from
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue
• Fine-tip permanent pens
• Mod-Podge
• Small Foam brushes

I ordered 2" wooden blocks from Glitz Star from Amazon as the base for our design.

These blocks were perfect! It might have okay to use a slightly smaller block, but I really liked this size. In addition, the blocks came in a drawstring bag that was perfect for gift-giving!

Since her nursery colors were gray and yellow, I spray-painted the blocks light gray. They required two coats for even coverage since they were unfinished to begin with. (I set them inside the Amazon box to spray them so I didn't get the paint all over my carport.)

Each person at the shower was to make a block by adhering colored paper to each side, and signing their name on one piece of paper. I chose some simple dotted scrapbook paper that coordinated with the invitations I'd made. While it would be very easy to cut squares with scissors, I used my Silhouette to cut squares (with rounded corners) from the paper.

For the signatures, I used the print & cut feature of my Silhouette to make a signature square. I just printed it onto the same patterned paper (similar shown here) and then fed it into my machine to be cut into rounded squares, as well.  You could also just let each person sign one of the squares of scrapbook paper, if you'd rather.

Last, but not least, was my favorite part. I purchased some classic Golden Books, The Poky Little Puppy and The Little Red Hen and cut small squares from them as well. Because I wanted to be sure I included the faces, etc., I fussy-cut these by hand rather than using the die-cutter.

On a table, covered with a plastic tablecloth, I had set out all of the painted blocks, plastic plates with Mod Podge in them and a cup to hold pens and paintbrushes. I divided the blocks into patterns pieces and book pieces and had directions posted on the table, but I also supervised the table to be sure everyone understood how to do the activity.  (As another part of our hostess gift, we gave a set of melamine dishes that matched the books, so I used these in the setup of this table.)

Directions for the blocks that were posted on the signs were:

• Pick 4 pictures from one of the books.
• Pick 1 patterned piece of paper
• Pick 1 piece of paper with "Made by"
• Sign your name on the "Made by" paper and glue to one side of the block with the Mod Podge.
• Glue the other pieces to the other sides of the block.

I took all of the blocks home and gave them another coat of Mod Podge before delivering them. That was it! Super simple, but they turned out really cute and made such a sweet, memorable gift for the new baby--who turned out to be a baby girl!! 

Key Holder for the Camper

Our camper is in the shop right now getting some minor adjustments, but that hasn't stopped me from preparing for our first camping trip. Ron has a couple of days off (we hope) next weekend, so we are planning on a short get-away--close enough that he can get in to work if necessary, but far enough that we'll be out of the city.

Since our purchase, I've been working on getting things together that we will need for camping. We like to keep it ready to go, so that when the opportunity arises, we can simply load our clothes and food and take off. I am trying to be sure that everything has a designated spot to make organization easier, and one of those things is a place to hang our keys.

I purchased a wooden board at Michael's for just $4.99 (plus a 40% off coupon) and everything else was found around my house.

After trying out a couple of different colors, I finally settled on red and used some chalk paint that I purchased at Joann's a while back.

I used Mod Podge to adhere some map wrapping paper to the board. I fell in love with Mod Podge back in the 70's when I used it to decoupage any available surface. Did anyone else out there have a decoupaged purse with Holly Hobby on it or was it just me?!?!  Once everything dried, I hand-lettered a phrase on it, leaving room at the bottom for hooks.

Now it was time to add the hooks. I had planned to use cup hooks of some sort, but the only ones I had in my tool box were too big.  Since I really didn't want to go buy anything else, I came up with the idea of using keys to make the hooks! When cleaning out one of my kitchen drawers recently, I found a ziplock bag with old keys in it. With Ron's help, we managed to break far more keys than we bent, but eventually, I ended up with 4 keys bent into the shape of hooks.

Using upholstery tacks, I fastened the keys to the board (which is very thin). The points stuck through the back a little bit, so I clipped them off with wire cutters and put a strip of duck tape across the back so that it wouldn't scratch the wall.

I plan to hang the key holder just over our main entry door in the camper. Can't wait for our next adventure!

A Quick DIY

Like most of the Pinterest world, it seems, I love the chalkboard style.  I have a chalkboard on my front porch where I enjoy posting seasonal quotes and artwork.

While I have several small chalkboards I use in my home decor as well I would love to be brave enough to have a chalkboard wall or cabinet face like these:

(source: Almost Makes Perfect)

 (unknown source)

(source: Junk Chick Cottage)

But, I am also a little bit leery of having chalk dust all over the kitchen. Instead, I opted to create a quick little chalkboard on the inside of one my cupboard doors.  Big enough to write some stuff in a handy location, but can be hidden by closing the door. How's that for commitment?

Since I was too lazy to walk out to the storage building to find painter's tape, I used a piece of the pretty washi tape that Jana gave me to create a straight edge at the top.

Armed with popcorn and some Zipfizz, I gave the surface 3 coats of paint, then pulled off the tape.

I prepped the surface by covering it with chalk and then wiping it off.

Just for fun, I drew a fun little arrow border with a white chalk pen--chalk pens are more permanent, so I won't be erasing that. (You can see here that a bit of the paint peeled off with the tape, so I had to touch that up)

Now it's ready to keep up with shopping needs or recipes or even a fun message.

Knowing that the paint peeled off really easily with the tape makes me wonder if it is going to stick on the rest of the surface.  The cabinets were originally painted with oil-based paint and the chalkboard paint is acrylic.  But, that's the nice part about being a somewhat small surface inside a cabinet---it is not big deal if it doesn't last and in the meantime, I'll have fun with it!

Succulent Centerpiece

With my holiday decor packed away, it was time to come up with a new centerpiece for our dining table.  As you know, I generally use one end of the table for my painting, but am trying to be more intentional about not spreading out quite so much so that we can actually eat meals at the table instead of on the couch.  My table is small, however, so it calls for a small centerpiece as well and succulents fit that requirement.

My history with succulents has been less than successful. Most people believe them to be fool-proof, but I am evidence that it just isn't true.  They start off well, but in most cases, I am able to kill them fairly quickly despite my best attempts to keep them alive.  My friend, Pam gave me the cutest little pot of succulents that I placed in my kitchen window.  Within a couple of months all of them had died except one particularly hardy variety. I replaced the dead ones with fake ones from Dollar Tree and the lone survivor continues to live on with its single leaf.

Of course, I knew that my best bet would again be fake succulents. I browsed the aisles at Michael's last week, and found a great selection of plants in all different sizes. All plants were 40% off, so that made them even more affordable.  I bought a small wooden box as well.

I knew that my centerpiece needed to be raised up a little bit, but Valine is the one that gave me the idea of how to do it!  Corks! I have a small jar of corks that was my mom's so I picked out four that sort of matched and set to work.

Remembering a small roll of brass tape that I used for a project a few years ago, I added strips around the top and bottom of the box.

Then, I glued the corks to the bottom.

After they dried, I filled the sections with potting soil and planted the succulents.

I think I will go back and add some rocks around each one of the plants, and I love the size and the beginning of a new tablescape.

Magnolia Leaf Wreath

I have really been loving the wreaths I've been seeing on Instagram and Pinterest that are made of magnolia leaves.  Several of my neighbors have large magnolia trees and I'm sure they would let me have some of the branches, but I wanted something a little bit more permanent.

I browsed the flower aisles at Michael's today. Their florals are 40% right now, so I picked out a two stems of large silk magnolia leaves.

I knew wasn't enough to cover an entire wreath, but being a bit of a tightwad, I searched for a more affordable option.  I found these smaller leaves (not Magnolia, but a decent filler) for just $1.99 a branch, plus a discount.

My splurge was on this stem of white Japanese magnolia blossoms.  The actual magnolia blossoms looked too fake for me and these were a nice creamy shade.

After cutting off the magnolia leaves, I glued them to a green styrofoam ring and filled in the blank spaces with the ficus leaves.

Finally, I tucked in the blossoms, securing them with hot glue.  Voila! I want to get some ivory satin ribbon to hang it, but until then, this lace ribbon will do.

Silhouette - One Color Vinyl Cutting and Application

When I first bought my Silhouette, I was a little bit overwhelmed with the software and the capabilities of the machine, so I decided to go to a local class to become acclimated with it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the software interacts very similarly to Photoshop in design aspects, so I became much more comfortable with it.  The class helped me to figure out the general process for cutting and I wanted to share some basic info with you today, just in case you are new to the machine or need a little refresher course.

The following information is how I cut and apply vinyl to a project, but the general cutting information would hold true for any cutting project.  Two important things I learned about using my Silhouette with vinyl:

**  Glossy Vinyl = Permanent (use on most projects such as cups, etc. that will receive hard use)
     Matte Vinyl = Removeable (use on walls or other short-term projects that you will want to easily change)
**You do not have to use a full sheet of vinyl when cutting.  This may seem self-explanatory to you, but, it was quite freeing for me to know that I could just cut a small piece and save the rest.  Of course, it also means that I can save every scrap because it could be used at a later time. This is especially important when you are doing a design with different colors or several designs at one time, which I often do.

This particular tutorial is for basic, one-color vinyl cutting and application.
Let's get started.

1.         I always move my image to the upper left corner, to conserve as much space as possible.  Looking at the measurements, I can tell that I will need a piece of vinyl approx. 4"w x 5" tall.

2.     I don’t have a picture of this part, but . . .If you are using a brand new cutting mat, it will be too sticky.  This sounds weird, but turn it face down on a rug or other fabric surface and press down and remove a couple of times to make it a little bit less sticky.  If you don’t do this, you may not be able to get your pieces off after cutting.

3.     Position the piece of vinyl on your cutting mat, in the same spot as your design is located.  

4.     Click on the “Cut Settings” icon in the top right of your Silhouette software.   Here you will see all the settings appropriate for your cut.  Be sure that you have selected “vinyl” as your material type.


5.     Now, take your blade out of your machine by turning the handle to the left so that it will pop up.  Check what number it is set on.  (Mine was set on #3).

6.     Looking back at my “Cut Settings”, I can see that the recommended blade setting is for #1.  Personally, I have found that it does not always cut through at #1, so I prefer a #2 setting. 

7.     To change my blade, I set it in the hole in the front of my machine.

8.     Turn the blade handle until you see the 2.

9.     Drop the blade back in its holder.

10. Turn the handle to the right to secure the blade.  Now you are ready to cut.

11. Load your machine by lining up the left edge of your mat with the raised line on the Silhouette bed.  I keep one hand on the mat while I press the ENTER key.   Occasionally, it will grab the mat and pull it in crooked.  If this happens, press the ENTER key again to unload and try again.  It is important that it load straight.

12. This is what it looks like when it is loaded and ready to go.

13. Be sure that you have clicked “out” of the design boundary, so that the design boundary is no longer showing.  I learned the hard way that if not, it will just cut the portion of the design that is outlined and in some cases, that is not the entire design that you are trying to cut. (this picture shows the design boundary—Click out of this so it is not showing)
           

14. Press the “Send to Silhouette” button at the bottom of your screen.

15. Once cut, you will press the "ENTER" button to unload the cut.  It is sometimes hard to even tell unless you have really good lighting.

16. Carefully peel away the unwanted vinyl from around your design.


17. Use a pick to get the small inner pieces.

18. Cover your design with transfer tape.  I try to always be sure that I have a straight line at the top and bottom to make positioning easier.
(I have some Main Tape Transfer Tape left from other projects, so that is what you will see me using.  The process would be the same for Cricut brand, Expressions brand or whatever, but they might sheet style, rather than a roll.)



19. Use the side of your fingernail or the handle of your pick to burnish the vinyl to the tape by rubbing all over the design.

20. Carefully lift the tape from the design, making sure that the vinyl adheres in all areas.

21. Place the design on your surface and burnish again with your fingernail or handle of the pick.  Pay special attention to any thin, curly areas of your design.



22. Lift one corner of the tape to be sure that the vinyl is adhering to the surface.

23. Slowly remove all of the transfer tape.


24. If you find an area where the vinyl is not sticking to your surface, place the tape back down and burnish that area again.


25. Remove the tape and Voila’! 

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   
4.