Father’s Day Present: DIY Personalised Plate and Mug

For whatever reason, in Australia we celebrate Father’s Day on the first Sunday in September.  So in the last few weeks, my  thoughts have turned to what the kids and I will give the fathers in our lives.  In addition to a gift, the kids usually create something for their father and grandfathers.  This year for my father, we decided on a personalised plate and mug for him to use in the office.

To create this project I picked up a plain white plate and mug from Target.  After giving it a good wash and dry, I used a Sharpie to label the plate and mug, ‘Grandy’s Biscuit Plate’ and ‘Grandy’s Coffee Mug’.

Initially the plan was to let the kids go crazy on the crockery with coloured Sharpies, but they wanted to use paint.

Using acrylic paint, the boys painted on some biscuits/cookies and finished them off with some choc chip dots.

They did a pretty good job of these, so I didn’t need to fix anything.  I did have some rubbing alcohol on hand, just in case I wanted to remove anything.

To fire the crockery and allow the print and painting to remain, I placed the crockery in my cold oven, turned the oven on to 350 degrees farenheit/180 degrees celsius and baked it for 30 minutes once it reached temperature.

And viola! Here is the finished product.

The plan is to bake a batch of his favourite biscuits, melting moments, and bundle these up inside the mug.

You could use this technique to create all sorts of fantastic pieces for yourself, or those you love. How about beautiful monogram plate to place on the mantel, or use a stencil to give your crockery some flair? The options are infinite. I am already itching to have a go at something else.

What would you do?

Birthday Idea: Photo Cufflinks

My husband is notoriously hard to buy for when it comes to birthdays and Christmas.  It doesn’t help when he says, “I don’t want anything.” And it is just plain frustrating when you push for ideas and the response is, “I really haven’t any suggestions.”

So it was just by chance that the boys and I stumbled upon this gift, standing in line at the photo centre, photo cufflinks. Sorry about the dodgy photos.  I took these last night in very low light.

It was decided then and there that it was the perfect gift for the boys to give hubby for his birthday.

For the last  couple of years, my husband has only worn French cuffs.  In the past I had nearly bought him these cufflinks, engraved with the boys’ names.

They are made by Koolaman Designs, the same company that made my engraved necklace, like the one below.

I love them. They are beautifully made, but are quite expensive at $200 a pair. Maybe one day he will own a set.  Without giving away the price of my photo cufflinks, they were much more economical.

It was so simple to complete.  I picked a photo of each of the boys, reduced their size and printed them on photo paper.  The cufflinks easily came apart and I used the example photo as a template to cut out my photos.  The whole thing popped back together and was ready for giving.

The boys gave Dad the cufflinks this morning and he proudly wore them to work.  He was very impressed, especially when he found out I  ‘made them’.

The boys also, with a little help from Mum, made the birthday cake, which we will cut tonight.  I am sure  he won’t mind (much) that his cake reminds him of his age and that it is displayed here for all to see.

Happy birthday John!

 

A Bedroom for a Dinosaur Loving Boy

It occurred to me the other day, as I was giving Master O’s room a quick tidy, that I hadn’t shown you all the changes we made in his room.

Towards the end of last year, as Master O’s 4th birthday loomed, we struggled to find him a present.  We really didn’t want to buy him toys as we knew he would receive more than enough as gifts from the family.  I really had no inspiration until I found myself staring absent-mindedly into a store window while waiting for my sister.  As she arrived and I turned to leave, I realised what I had been staring at…..the cutest range of dinosaur linen and accessories on a fantastic sale.  There and then I decided his present would have to be a dinosaur room makeover.

The day before his birthday party, while he was a daycare, I set about transforming his room.  Previously it had sported a nautical/pirate theme which I shared in these posts here and here, but this is what it looked like on the morning I started the transformation.

After a good clean up and rearrange, followed by the addition of  the new duvet cover, matching cushions and bunting, the room looked a lot fresher.

I added a few other nick nacks that suited the theme, like these cute bookends.

I had already added a padded cushion to the Trofast toy storage units to make a reading seat, but now I could see how well my colour choice matched with the linen. You can read about how I made the seat  here.  A little rearranging of the Trofast tubs I already owned enabled me to bring the colour green into this area of the room as well.

I had tried to purchase some artwork for the walls in time for his birthday but I couldn’t find anything that matched the colour scheme. Master O didn’t mind, he was chuffed with the transformation.  The walls remained blank until about 3 months ago when I returned to the linen store and found a matching dinosaur canvas in stock.

So with one wall decorated,  I thought I might have to make something for the other wall – but what?  On holidays last month I came across a stall that sold all manner of dinosaur cutouts,  2D and 3D.  The were amazing and so well priced that I had to be restrained.  I purchased 2 x 2D cutouts and after a bit of spray paint, attached them each to a canvas.  It was a such a simple art solution and they really do pop with their shiny bright orange paint.

The other purchase I made was 3D pterodactyl.  After a couple of coats, also in the bright orange paint, I attached him to the ceiling.  I was concerned that he might be a bit scary for a 4-year-old, woken in the middle of the night, but Master O has entrusted the pterodactyl with the task of keeping him safe.

So after stalling for nearly 4 months with the artwork, the room is pretty much complete now.  Master O received a couple a big dinosaur figurines for his birthday and Christmas that fit in perfectly with the colour scheme so they now reside on top of his Trofast unit and look very much at home.  We also picked up a hat stand shaped like a tree on sale at Target.  It is the perfect place to hang his Kindergarten and library bags when it is not some how involved in some imaginative dinosaur play.

This really has evolved into the perfect room for our dinosaur loving boy.  What are you favourite themes for little boy’s rooms?

Birthday and Anniversary Calendar

Last week I received a member’s $10 birthday voucher to spend at Kikki K – a truly divine stationery store with some amazing organising products.  So today I popped in, excited with the prospect of finding a little project to do. I know….. I am crazy.

I ended up buying a birthday and anniversary calendar.  Absolutely perfect.

There are always dates that I struggle to remember or fail to transfer into my new diary or calendar.  There is a constant stream of new additions to the family and friend’s families that I don’t want to forget. This will hopefully be my saviour.

I love that I now will never ‘lose’ an important date, it will just remain on the calendar for future years.  I also plan to include anniversaries of special, yet different, events I don’t want to forget.  I love recalling and putting favourite events in context like,  “It was 6 years ago we took off to Italy” or “It was 7 years ago today we bought our house”.

After a little session of filling in dates I did know and writing a list of dates I needed to find out,  I hung the calendar in the office on my noticeboard.

I know I will see it everyday here and hopefully I will always be on top of special events.

Easter Gifts

A few weeks back I found these great Easter cupcake boxes and wrappers at Big W. I thought that they were so cute that I had to buy a stash to use for neighbour’s and friend’s Easter gifts.

I made a batch of  vanilla cupcakes ( I thought it might be a nice change from chocolate at Easter) and decorated the tops with the cutest mini candy-shelled eggs.

Very simple but I think they look gorgeous.  I just love how they look snuggled in their special carry box.

I hope everyone enjoys them.  I am off to deliver them now so they can be gobbled up for morning tea.

 

Easter Craft: Thumbprint Easter Egg Gift Cards

I came up with this cute card design to accompany my kid’s teachers’ Easter gifts.

The kids were able to get involved and we had a lot of fun completing them.  Give them a go yourself.

What we used:

Blanks cards – we purchased ours or you could make these from card stock

A variety of acrylic paints

Paintbrush

Coloured textas

Green paper

scissors

How we did it:

Taking the first colour, I painted each child’s thumb and got them stamping.  I directed the kids to stamp away from the very bottom of the card – you will see why later.

Before we used the other chosen colours, we washed and dried our hands.  This helped to keep the colours crisp.

Once the thumbprints had dried, we used textas to decorate the eggs and to add a greeting to the card.

Taking a strip of green paper, I cut out a zig-zaggy section of grass.

Using some glue, we secured the grass to the bottom of the card.  As we had positioned the thumbprint eggs further up the card, they appeared to be hiding in the grass.

And that is it.  Relatively quick and easy to make and they look gorgeous.

We have attached these cards to a bundle of mini eggs for each of the kids’ teachers.

As we had such a fun time doing this, I have dreamt up other uses for fingerprint Easter eggs. Tune in tomorrow to see them elsewhere.

Kid’s Valentine Art & Craft: Toilet Roll Heart Stamp

There is less than 2 weeks until Valentine’s Day, so the boys and I have been making the most of our days at home, crafting up a storm.  Last weekend I completed this Valentine’s present artwork for my hubby.  It records all the important locations in our relationship.  You can read that post here.

Yesterday, I pulled a Valentine’s craft idea out of the recesses of my brain.  Somehow I recalled that last year, Rust and Sunshine had posted a tutorial on how to make a heart stamp out of a toilet roll.  You can check out their tutorial here. Such a fun idea for the kiddies.

All it involved was squashing a toilet roll until it made a heart shape.  The tutorial recommended taping this shape in place, but I found my roll stayed in a nice heart shape all by itself.  A little red paint to dip into, some craft paper and we were away.

We completed some wrapping paper before sleep time beckoned.  Later today I thought we would make some matching gift and greeting cards.

At times I struggle to come up with interesting and do-able craft ideas to do with my 14-month-old, but this was a winner.  Both my boys had a lot of fun and it all looked so cute.

Linking up with some of these fun parties
Monday: Singing Three Little Birdies, I should be Mopping the Floor, Polly Want a Crafter?, Cherished Bliss, The Gunny Sack, Skip to my Lou, Craftomaniac, It’s so Very Cheri, Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Alderberry Hill, Its A Blog Party, A Pinch of Joy, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts,  Sew Can Do, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, New Nostalgia, Ladybug Blessings,  How to Nest for Less, Watch Out Martha, Clairjustinexoxo,

Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Today’s Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons , DIY by Design, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, Hope Studios, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Organising Homelife,  Carolyn’s Homework, The Blackberry Vine, The Kurtz Corner,  A Little Tipsy, Gingersnap crafts, Time Warp Wife, These Creative Juices, The Thrifty Home, Its a Very Cherry World,  Cornerstone Confessions,   Rae Gun Ramblings, Northern Cottage, Clean and Scentsible, Creatively Living , Kathe with an E, Ivy and Elephants, Romance on a Dime,   The Real Housewives of Riverton, DIY Dreamer,  Primp, JAQS Studio, 

Wednesday: Oopsey Daisy, My Girlish Whims, Uncommonly Yours, Creations by Kara, Raising Homemakers, The Thrifty Home, Twin Dragonfly Designs, A Creative Princess, Sugar and Dots, Seven Thirty Three, Fabric Bows and More, Someday Crafts, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Trendy Treehouse, Women Living Well, We are that Family, The Mommy Club , Raising Homemakers, Sew Much Ado,t Simple,  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Free Pretty Things for You, DIY by Design, Bloom Designs, Mom on Timeout, We Like to learn as we Go,  Family Home and Life, Savvy Southern Style, Fine Craft Guild, Embracing Change, HandyMan, Crafty Woman, Polkadots on Parade, No Minimalist Here

Thursday: House of Hepworths Delightful Order, Its a Keeper,  The Frugal Girls, The 36th Avenue,  Thrifty 101, A Glimpse Inside, Brambleberry Cottage, Bear Rabbit Bear, Michelle’s Tasty Creations and Crafty Ideas, Shabby Creek Cottage, Goings on in Texas, Happy Go Lucky,  Raising Oranges,  The Answer is Chocolate, The Taylor House, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Imparting Grace, Made in a Day, 52 Mantels, Loving This Crazy Life, Days of Chalk and Chocolate, Confessions of an ADD Housewife

Friday: The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, At the Picket Fence, Whipperberry, French Country Cottage, Thirty Handmade Days, Creation Corner, Finding Fabulous, Stuff and Nonsense, Fingerprints on the Fridge Naptime Crafters, While He Was Napping, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hippo, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Remodelaholic, Happy Hour Projects, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom,  Young and Crafty, Serenity Now , Life as Mom, At the Picket Fence, Tatertots and Jello, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, Blissful and Domestic, Maiden D’Shade, Petites Passions, Bubbly Nature Creations, Here Comes the Sun, Liz Marie Blog, THe Grant Life, Craftionary, Redoux Interior, Common Ground, Just Us Four, Delicate Construction, AKA Designs, Family Ever After,

Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, The Girl Creative , Funky Junk Interiors , A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid , Its Overflowing, Natasha in Oz, Shaken Together, Homemaker in Heels, Addicted to Decorating

Sunday: A Rosie Sweet Home, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table Dreaming, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrift Things, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Homemaker on a Dime, DIY Home Sweet Home,  Cherished Treasures, My 1929 Charmer

Valentine’s Day Art Gift

Our part of the world here in Brisbane, Australia has been hit in the last few days by the wildest weather.  Luckily we escaped any major issues.  For some they have lost everything with the resulting floods, and my heart goes out to them.

Thankfully the weather fell over a long weekend to celebrate Australia Day.  It meant people could cancel non-urgent travel and spend it out of the path of the cyclonic weather.  We stayed indoors, watched movies  and thankfully completed some long-standing projects.

I was able to get very organised and complete my Valentine’s Day present for the hubby.  Today, I thought I would share it with you as it such a simple and effective Valentine’s Day project, that you too might want to make one for your other half for V-Day.

So firstly, I thought I would show you the inspiration for my artwork:

Nine Heart Vintage Map by Not on the High Street

I fell in love with this bespoke artwork by Not on the High Street.  It so beautifully records those places of significance in your relationship.  I really wanted one but because the concept was so simple, I thought I would save myself the $400 price tag and make my own.

I already had a great large square frame and hanging spot that was yet to fulfill its true destiny.  I had bought the frame from Ikea to help lighten our entrance (you can read about that post here), but I hadn’t found the right artwork to frame inside it.  

Really, could this project have got any easier to start?!

After some googling and some cropping, I printed 9 maps on photo paper.  Some of the places I chose for my artwork included: where we met, got married, honeymooned, traveled, bought our first home and where our children were born.

I cut these out using a heart template I printed off the net.

I stuck the hearts using double-sided tape to a piece of blue scrapbooking paper.  I chose this colour as it ties in nicely with the colour of the feature wall in our hallway.

I mounted this in the frame and voila it was ready to hang.

It looks great and I really don’t want to take it down until Valentine’s Day.  I think it might just have to be an early present.

 

Linking up with some of these fun parties
Monday: Singing Three Little Birdies, I should be Mopping the Floor, Polly Want a Crafter?, Cherished Bliss, The Gunny Sack, Skip to my Lou, Craftomaniac, It’s so Very Cheri, Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Alderberry Hill, Its A Blog Party, A Pinch of Joy, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts,  Sew Can Do, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, New Nostalgia, Ladybug Blessings,  How to Nest for Less, Watch Out Martha, Clairjustinexoxo,

Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Today’s Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons , DIY by Design, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, Hope Studios, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Organising Homelife,  Carolyn’s Homework, The Blackberry Vine, The Kurtz Corner,  A Little Tipsy, Gingersnap crafts, Time Warp Wife, These Creative Juices, The Thrifty Home, Its a Very Cherry World,  Cornerstone Confessions,   Rae Gun Ramblings, Northern Cottage, Clean and Scentsible, Creatively Living , Kathe with an E, Ivy and Elephants, Romance on a Dime,   The Real Housewives of Riverton, DIY Dreamer,  Primp, JAQS Studio, 

Wednesday: Oopsey Daisy, My Girlish Whims, Uncommonly Yours, Creations by Kara, Raising Homemakers, The Thrifty Home, Twin Dragonfly Designs, A Creative Princess, Sugar and Dots, Seven Thirty Three, Fabric Bows and More, Someday Crafts, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Trendy Treehouse, Women Living Well, We are that Family, The Mommy Club , Raising Homemakers, Sew Much Ado,t Simple,  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Free Pretty Things for You, DIY by Design, Bloom Designs, Mom on Timeout, We Like to learn as we Go,  Family Home and Life, Savvy Southern Style, Fine Craft Guild, Embracing Change, HandyMan, Crafty Woman, Polkadots on Parade, No Minimalist Here

Thursday: House of Hepworths Delightful Order, Its a Keeper,  The Frugal Girls, The 36th Avenue,  Thrifty 101, A Glimpse Inside, Brambleberry Cottage, Bear Rabbit Bear, Michelle’s Tasty Creations and Crafty Ideas, Shabby Creek Cottage, Goings on in Texas, Happy Go Lucky,  Raising Oranges,  The Answer is Chocolate, The Taylor House, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Imparting Grace, Made in a Day, 52 Mantels, Loving This Crazy Life, Days of Chalk and Chocolate, Confessions of an ADD Housewife

Friday: The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, At the Picket Fence, Whipperberry, French Country Cottage, Thirty Handmade Days, Creation Corner, Finding Fabulous, Stuff and Nonsense, Fingerprints on the Fridge Naptime Crafters, While He Was Napping, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hippo, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Remodelaholic, Happy Hour Projects, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom,  Young and Crafty, Serenity Now , Life as Mom, At the Picket Fence, Tatertots and Jello, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, Blissful and Domestic, Maiden D’Shade, Petites Passions, Bubbly Nature Creations, Here Comes the Sun, Liz Marie Blog, THe Grant Life, Craftionary, Redoux Interior, Common Ground, Just Us Four, Delicate Construction, AKA Designs, Family Ever After,

Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, The Girl Creative , Funky Junk Interiors , A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid , Its Overflowing, Natasha in Oz, Shaken Together, Homemaker in Heels, Addicted to Decorating

Sunday: A Rosie Sweet Home, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table Dreaming, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrift Things, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Homemaker on a Dime, DIY Home Sweet Home,  Cherished Treasures, My 1929 Charmer

Christmas Giving: Gifts in a Jar

I love the idea of giving people homemade gifts in a jar for Christmas.  I think they are more thoughtful and a lot nicer than the often given box of chocolates or tin of biscuits.  Over the years I have made bath salts, soaps, preserves, flavoured nuts and baking mixes like brownies and biscuits.

Recently, I saw this recipe for Christmas Cookies in a Jar on The Larson Lingo and The Organised Housewife.  They looked gorgeous with their festive MM layer.  I had to make some for myself.

I picked up the jars at Kmart, the Christmas MMs at Coles and printed my own labels on sticker sheets.

If you want to have a go yourself, The Larson Lingo has free printable labels for your jars or you can buy labels from The Organised Housewife.

If cookies aren’t your thing, you will find heaps of other sites out there with ideas and printable labels.  Here are some of my favourites …….

Cul-de-sac Cool has 5 different ideas with labels including pumpkin cranberry bread and toffee blondie bars

Squawkfox has heaps of ideas including soups in a jar.

Organized Christmas lots of ideas, and not just for food

Skip to My Lou has a few gift jar recipes.  I am loving the sound of injecting more candy canes into the Christmas season with peppermint brownies

I hope you enjoy the crazy last days before Christmas.

My First Go at a Nappy Cake

Recently, for a friend’s baby shower, I thought I would make a nappy cake.  I wasn’t too sure how the whole thing would go so I didn’t opt for a huge, multi-layered affair.  I thought one layer would look great with the classic Pooh Bear and rattle I had bought, sitting on the top.

After reading a few methods on how to go about a nappy cake, I found the instructions on this site quite easy to follow.

I grabbed a cake pan the size I wanted the layer to be.  I then placed the nappies one by one into the pan, fanning them out around the outside.  The instructions said there would be a hole in the middle which could be stuffed with more nappies or presents, but I found I could use more nappies and fan them in a way that there was no gap.

Before removing the round of nappies from the pan, I first secured them with an elastic band.  I suggest if you give this a go yourself, you go out and get yourself some extra-large bands as I snapped a fair few and had to resort to string to secure the ‘cake’.

I did worry about being able to take the layer of nappies out of the pan but it came out easily with a little tap.

I prettied up the layer by covering the string with a satin bow.  On top, I sat the Pooh toy and rattle.

When it came to wrapping the present, I placed it on a round of cardboard to sturdy the base, and to make it easier to carry.  If you are making a multi-layered nappy cake, I would definitely go for something sturdier like a cake board for your base.  A bit of clear cellophane and some ribbon later, the present was complete.

Not too bad for my first attempt at a nappy cake.  Very cute.