Christmas Handprint Crafts

I’ve mentioned before that I love crafts that involve kiddo handprints.
It’s so much fun to look back and see how they’ve grown.

Last Mother’s Day, we made THIS.

Today, Hannah and I got the paints out again and made some Christmas art.
I wish I could say that I came up with all of these ideas myself.
The truth is that I’ve been pinning them on Pinterest for months now.

All you need is construction paper, paint, a few brushes and stickers.
Oh, and some little hands and feet, of course.
We started out by painting hers green.

Then we stamped them onto a piece of construction paper and made a Christmas tree.

I painted a trunk and she added stickers and details.

Next we painted her foot brown and I added the details to make baby Jesus in the manger.

Then we got silly. 
Both of our fingerprints make this string of lights.
I kept thinking about that line from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation:
”The little lights aren’t twinkling.”
”I know that, Art, and thanks for noticing.”
That movie never gets old.

And finally, Rudy and two of his buddies.
Hannah’s precious thumbprints with my poor attempts at reindeer faces.

What a fun way to spend a cold morning.
We added four new decorations to our Christmas stash.
Our paintings aren’t perfect, but the memories we created sure come close.

You Say Faux, I Say Fox

When I see the word “faux” in print, in my mind, I pronounce it “fox.”  Here’s the back story:
As newlyweds, Shawn and I bought an el cheapo faux leather ottoman for our living room.  After a few days, I mentioned that I thought that the smell of the new “leather” ottoman had an odd quality about it.

“Well, that’s what we get for buying fox leather.”
”Fox leather?” 
“Yea, that means fake leather.  Faux, fox, whatever.  It’s mostly plastic, ya know.”

Right.

I love the faux (fox) necklace shirts that I’ve been seeing around lately.
So I made one.
And I’ll show you how to make one too.

 

You’ll need:
Shirt in any style and color
Fabric paint in Velveteen finish
Fabric paint with sparkles
Anything you can find around your house that will make a round stamp (I used the end of a foam paint brush, the cap to a tube of chap stick, and the eraser end of a pencil.)
 

Start by finding the center of your shirt so that your necklace is symmetrical.  To do this, I folded mine in half and pressed a seam down the center.

You’ll want to place a piece of cardboard between the two layers of the shirt so that the paint does not bleed through.  I used the front of a cereal box.

Start painting your “beads” from the center of your shirt.  Work your way up to the shoulder on one side and then the other. 

I used the eraser end of a pencil to make small silver beads and the cap of a tube of chap stick to make a silver chain. 

You can make as few or as many necklaces as you like.
Let the paint dry for about 4 hours.
Then comes the fun part!  Turn your iron on and let it get hot and steamy.  Hold the iron about 1/2 inch over the paint and blast it with steam.  The steam will cause the velveteen paint to raise up, giving it the look of velvet. 

 

After the steaming, I added a fabric flower with some scraps left from curtains that my grandma made for my aunt a while back.  You can find the tutorial here.  My friend Julie also has some great tutorials for fabric flowers that you can find here. 
Totally adorbs.

This will be a wardrobe staple this summer and in the fall, I think it will look cute with a long sleeved shirt underneath.  
I may even make one for myself!                                          

Mama Likes It

When Hannah was six weeks old, I imprinted her little hand into a piece of clay and made a Christmas tree ornament out of it.

Every couple of months, we put on old clothes, get the paint out and stamp her hands onto cardstock paper
that I file away in her baby album.

I love that I have these little treasures to help
me remember just how tiny she was. 
It’s also fun for her to see how much she has grown.

For Mother’s Day this year, I thought that Hannah’s grandmas would like something with her little hand stamped onto it as well.

You’ll only need a couple of things:
Photo frame
Paint
Paint brush or sponge
Cardstock paper

Paint your child’s hand.  This is Hannah’s favorite part!

Stamp it onto the cardstock. 
We made two – one for each grandma.

Then I painted a stem, a few leaves and wrote
Hannah’s name and the year.

We put it into a frame and now we have the perfect
Mother’s Day gift for two of Hannah’s favorite ladies.

I love this flower as much as I love the little girl who
stamped her paint covered hand on to it. 
And that, my friends, is a whole, whole lot.

Fabric Flower Greeting Cards

I’m kind of a pack rat when it comes to fabric. 
I never throw any scraps away.  Ever.
Which is kind of funny if you know me in real life because I don’t like clutter and I regularly toss stuff that is not
in use or has no sentimental value.
Here’s a way to use up those very last pieces of fabric and turn them into something pretty.

You’ll need:
Scraps of fabric
Blank greeting cards
Metal brads (for scrapbooking)

Cut a lot of circles.
In a variety of sizes.
Cut a lot. A lot. A lot.
Don’t worry if they’re not perfect.

Stack them up in unassuming pattern combinations.  Fray the edges a little if you want.

Fold in half and snip a tiny hole with your scissors.

Place a brad through the center and attach to a card.
If you’re feeling fancy, you can use a jeweled brad.
I wasn’t, so I used a plain one.

Then make a few more because I know you’ve got lots of scraps.  And if you don’t?  Cut up some old flannel pajamas.  Because really, who wouldn’t want to get a card in the mail made from old flannel pajamas?

Write a sweet note on the inside, sign, seal and send it off to a lovely friend who appreciates pretty fabric. 
Or flannel pajamas. 
Whatever the case may be.

Tutorial: Kids Belt

We have a teeny tiny little problem. 
It’s Hannah’s waist. 
She’s tall and slender so pants that fit in the waist are too short and pants that fit in length fall down.  Even pants with the adjustable elastic sometimes don’t cinch tight enough
for her lean little bod.

So we fixed that with my latest project –
The Belt It Out Toddler Belt!

All you need is some scrap fabric, fusible interfacing,
two 1” D-rings, a sewing machine and thread.

I started out by measuring Hannah’s waist. 
I added about 6 inches to the measurement and
cut out a 23”x3” piece of scrap fabric.

Then I ironed a piece of fusible interfacing to the back.

I folded right sides together lengthwise and began sewing.  I sewed all the way down the length and across the bottom,   leaving the top open.

Then I turned it out,

and gave it a good press.

Next I pressed the unfinished edge over about 1/2 inch.

Then I slipped the D-rings on and tucked the unfinished end under.

Finally, I stitched across to hold the D-rings in place.

It was so simple that I finished in less than 20 minutes. 
Hannah looks darling in her new belt, but would agree to a photo shoot only if I took a pic of the belt and
not her sweet little face. 

Well, that and animal crackers. 
I’m not above it.

No Fuss Fabric Flower Tutorial

As promised, here’s my tutorial for no fuss fabric flowers.
Quick, easy and virtually no sewing skills required.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

And that’s it!
You might be thinking:

Can I fray the edges to make it look more shabby?
Can I add more layers?
Can my fabric strips be cut shorter or longer
to make smaller or bigger flowers?

Yes, yes and yes!

That’s the beauty of the no fuss fabric flower. 
You can’t mess it up, really.

And, did I mention that it has many possibilities?  

Attach it to a bag.

Wear it on a sweater.

 
Find a cute three year old and pin her curls up with it.

Now go make one.
All the cool kids are doing it.

I’m partying with these gals!

Tutorial: Super Kid Cape

A few weeks ago, Hannah started asking me if I would make her a cape.  Off to JoAnn Fabrics we went, 40% coupon in hand, to choose our fabric.  I was pretty impressed with Hannah’s selection: silver and teal with sparkles.

This was so easy to make. 
I had it finished in less than one hour.
Since it is not a garment, per se, there’s no need to worry about perfection.

You’ll need:
1 yard of fabric for top, 1 yard of fabric for bottom
Coordinating thread

Start by laying one piece of fabric out, folded so that the selvedge edges meet up.

I used one of Hannah’s t-shirts as a guide for the neckline. Using a fabric pencil, I traced the shape of the neckline from the center to about the shoulder.

 
From there, I drew a triangular shape and cut it out. 
You can see the fold in the center.

Then I used this as a pattern to cut out my other piece.
 

Using scraps from the blue fabric, I cut two strips that were each 2 inches x 22 inches. 
I folded each in half lengthwise (right side together) and sewed down the length and closed at one end. 

I turned each right side out to make the ties.

Then I sewed the two main pieces of the cape together, right sides facing each other, and stopped when I got to the neck.  I placed the tie pieces where I wanted them and tucked them into the cape so that they would be in place when turned right side out.  That sounds more complicated than it is. 
Maybe the pictures will help.

Finally, I continued to sew the pieces together, leaving a small opening to turn it right side out. 
Once I turned it right side out, I sewed that opening closed. 

Then I turned my little super hero loose!