Wrapping up with Felt

Well hello there.  It's been awhile :)    I've been busy but sadly not with fun stuff here.  I did manage to wrap up a small piece for Jennifer Carroll's Celebrating Everyday Life November/December Issue.  I just grabbed my mess of supplies from our dingy rental basement and threw together a little tutorial on taking fabric, yarn and felt scraps and making them into something you could be proud to give.

Here is a little detail from one of the toppers.

You can check out all the great ideas and stories here.  I really love this cover ... I am tagging it for next year's holiday.

One of my favorites is the cocoa party!!!  I dream of setting up something like this on my new stone porch.  There is something so welcoming about a cup of hot chocolate.  For now it is a dream, as we continue to finish up all the little and big details at the new house.

One of my favorite cocoa gift ideas is busy getting pinned over on pinterest.  You can find it here and here.

I hope to be back before the holidays to share a couple of wrapping and gift ideas.

Until then ...

Keep Warm!

From my hot cocoa recipe (see above)

Felt Feather Topper

Wow.  It's been awhile.  I've realized that when I am under stress, I find it hard to be very creative.  Yes my knitting of leg warmers or socks actually helps to alleviate a bit of stress - or pass the time at coffee shops when we have house showing.  I even found the time to knit up a couple of monkeys for the shop.  But the creation of projects for the blog or anything else.  Forget about it.  And to make matters worse - I can't make a mess ... it's hard to be creative if you can't make a mess.  At least for me.

So... this project is my attempt at alleviating my creative frustration, and hopefully a little bit of stress as well.

I took a watercolour class in the spring and realized - You know what?... it's not as easy as you think.  That's why I love watercolour pencils.  They let you create a painterly effect, with some sketchy colours here and there, that is much more difficult to achieve with standard watercolours and brushes.

Ali had some watercolour pencils and during the house purge I came across one of my old pocket sketchbooks.

Just like I did for my spring project for Amy, I wrapped up a pencil, in this case a watercolour pencil, with yarn.  A dab of glue at the pencil tip and another at the base is all you need to hold it in place.  (1) With my pile of felt bits I decided a feather was a great shape to go with.  I just cut the feather shapes free hand and about 3/4 's of an inch wide and 2 inches high. (3)  Another dab of glue for each feather and you have a topper for your pencil. (2)   Two feathers each pencil seemed to work well.

Now, based on my feather theme, I continued with a label.  Just a watercolour pencil feather sketch ... add water to your scratches and it is pretty effective.  I actually really loved how my feathers turned out.  I think I will play around with this style of watercolour painting again.

This is an example of an inexpensive little gift you can put together for teachers, babysitters... friends of your kids.  I loved how I could use up my stash of little bits and pieces and create something new (I'm not allowed to bring anything new into the house when we are trying to sell it ... house rules :)   )

It all came together, wrapped up with a bit of yarn.  It doesn't scream holiday but sometimes that's good.

Stayed tuned later this week I will show a more fallish version of this gift topper.  But for now,  my gift giving is bright and cheery ... and quick and easy!

Wrap it up Thursday - Father's Day

With Father's Day coming up this weekend, I thought I would do a mini round-up of some cute ideas for the dad, grandpa, uncle, friend or mentor in your life.  Don't you find these guys are the hardest to shop for.  Nothing ever seems quite right but I thought no matter what I do for a gift this weekend, these little add-ons and doable kid crafts would make anything I come up with more special.

I think the Super Dad printables for special treats (top) is absolutely adorable, from L'il Luna.     My husband loves certain treats and this would be great to take to the office for a mid-afternoon pick me up.

Scott also loves to get new socks.  I know - weird right?  But how cute would it be to find some black and white socks (the only kind he wears) and wrap them up in these adorable downloadable labels, from Hello Lucky.  Danyelle from Dandee put together this basket with a yummy sandwich for teachers this year but I think it would be great for Dad - you could take him to his favourite park and play ball, frisbee or just rest on a blanket in the shade.  And finally every dad wants to think they are the best.  How sweet is this downloadable Father's Day card from Funkytime.

My own dad is a different story.  I always struggle to find him something he doesn't have - not easy.  I think this year I am going to put together an easy care terrarium  The one pictured left from Making it Lovely was featured by Nicole Balch on the West Elm Blog.  I went to West Elm and they have alot of products (including no fuss air plants) to help put together a simple self contained garden.  My dad is a huge cyclist (both mountain and road) and he loves a really good dark chocolate for a treat so this cute downloadable treat sleeve from Anything but Perfect will definitely be part of his gift.  I picked up the band aids from urban outfitters a couple of months ago, when I saw them.  These are perfect.  My dad always has a slash, cut, sore etc. from all his sporting events.  This will be a fun thing to show off when the bikers meet for coffee after their ride.

Finally I plan to wrap it all up in this adorable printable from Hermes.  When you go to the site, highlight the Travel the world with Hermes Icon and it will take you to half a dozen beautiful downloads, for a paper bag to cut out.  I think he will love this one.


I wish I could show more but with school finishing up, my on-line blogging class and a trip to plan, I am running out of time.  I'm hoping that with a couple of these ideas no one will know I ran out of Father's Day planning time ...

Wrap it up Thursday - The Key to Great Wrapping

1- oh hello friend      2- helana and ali  3- making it yourself - Craftberry Bush

4- better homes and gardens      5- united with love

I finally came up with a great teacher gift - all ready to go.  However, now of course, instead of making all the little elements of the gift, I feel the need to wrap it up nicely.  I have to make sure that I don't go too crazy on the wrapping - I mean come on - 

but still I plan...

I've been thinking about adding a little key - you know - "you are the key to a great year" ... I can see the girls rolling their eyes now.  It might not pass the sniff test but it is an idea nonetheless.

I got a deal on these little babies.  Actually they aren't that little but I showed them to my niece, a teacher, and she thought she would appreciate it if she got it as a gift so that was good enough for me.

The box itself is great (don't have a picture but trust me it is cute) and I don't want to cover it up.

So a key with tag may be my answer.  

tag water carafe

Key or no key, whatever I come up with, I will share next week.  And maybe show a few other teacher gift ideas - I know - I can't help myself.

Wrap it up Thursday - Neon Packages

After I wrapped up a coffee cup a couple of weeks ago,  I decided maybe neon could hang around for awhile.  I mean, I see it everywhere from interiors to all these cute wrapping ideas.

I found a few of these from pinterest.  The polka dot packages are simply neon stickers on kraft paper.  How cute and how easy - (Project Wedding, photo Chelsea Fuss). 

I really love this look of simply painting the inside of a kraft box a bright color like this.  This would be cute for a small kraft box as well.  Found via pinterest Jeanette Lunde

The tags are from etsy Knit & Bow  found via Oh Happy Day.

How sweet to simply pack up in bright pink tissues - great in a grouping- Frolic (Project Wedding Photos Lisa Warninger) found via Jeanette Lunde    

And finally, the neon tape and paper tags from the House &Hold blog

And if you can't find neon bits and bobs for packaging, you can always hop over to funkytime and download this adorable neon wrap - all ready to go.

How easy is that?

For a spring gift, teacher gifts or mother's day - who wouldn't appreciate something bright and cheerful.

Okay Neon ... you are winning me over.  But I am definitely not going to wear a neon pink crop top with ripped shoulders and tease my hair... I have to draw the line somewhere.

Springy Desktop

The new edition of amy power's inspired ideas is out.  You can read all about it here.  And you can order up a digital copy here.  

I was lucky enough to have a project in this season's issue.  I decided to add some spring to my desktop. The old fashioned kind of desktop - pencils for my desk "top".

There you go, yarn-wrapped and topped up - add some spring to your desk top -for your journal writing, to-do lists, tax filing or just to look cute.

Stay tuned for a give-away in the next day or so.

Wrap it up Thursday - Covering Books

 We like to cover our books around here.  It's a great way to have your textbooks stand out in the classroom - you always know which ones are yours.

When we've wrapped school books, we always stamp the cover and sides so you know what it is when you grab it off a locker shelf.  Look how pretty stamping can look- top from here (the sweetest occasion), bottom from here (martha stewart).

At home, I covered some of my design books with semi-opaque tissue.  These books sit on bookshelves and I love how the colour unifies the shelving.  It is the first thing you see when you walk into our family room so I didn't want it to look busy.  The great thing is you can still see what the books are through the paper.  Sometimes this isn't necessary but sometimes you need to know what's underneath.

I love the look of these pretty paper covered books from Twig and Thistle.  It is actually from a how-to on using bookmarks as a place setting for a wedding.

It got me thinking.  I have a very plain journal, that I have been scratching ideas in, that needs a little t.l.c..

Based on tutorials like this, I took some pretty spring-like paper to beautify my journal.

Measure around your book with a couple of extra inches from the top and the bottom, and the sides when open (2nd photo).  Once you fold the top and bottom to fit, you create channels to slide your cover in (bottom photo on left).  Repeat the process for the other cover - it will take some fiddling (bottom photo on right).  You can anchor the folds with tape, if necessary.

Now I want to wrap all my books!

A Valentine Treat Box

Here is a quick little repackage of red hot lips into some boxes I had from Helana's previous etsy business.  I threw the red hot lips inside a coffee filter into the box.  Coffee filters are one of my favourites.  With a little chalkboard paint you can customize your little treat for each recipient.

Now I just have to stop myself from eating the example!

Wrap it up Thursday - Starting Fresh

 You've probably seen all the magazines at the grocery check out on organization, the commercials for detox and the flyers for gyms.  It's a new year and everyone wants to start fresh.  

I think it would be neat to start the new year with a signature wrap.  Gather all the supplies you need and you have a go-to look no matter what you are wrapping up.

I found this yellow combination from etsy shops and bakery supplies.  Inspire Lovely on etsy is about to open again after a new baby.  Look at the lovely choices of bakery twine.  The yellow fringe is from Bake it Pretty.  They also have novelty cupcake toppers that you can customize for other crafting you might like to do. Parcel and Paper on etsy has packaging supplies including this sweet lace doilie.  And ... finish it up with a cute yellow tag from LCBpaper on etsy.

I can only imagine that a special package, put together with these pieces, would be greatly appreciated.  I love the idea of a little signature butterfly and this blue reminds me of a fresh new year.  The Gilded Bee (butterflies,  ribbons, twine and pom pom fringe) also on etsy has an inspiring range of ribbons, millinery, toppings, twines ... you name it.  Inspire Lovely has great glassine bags (I can never find these) and cute little clothespins. 

Okay, I have to confess.  I love this idea, I dream of this idea but I hate to get rid of what I have and I find that I want to customize each gift I give- but hey a girl can aspire to a fresh new year ... Now I'm off to buy detox tea.

(I'm not kidding!)

Wrap it up Thursday - Nest of Yarn - Gift Topper

You may remember my tutorial on making felt flower rings.  Well I have been busy crafting a whole group of them to give to friends as gifts.  My friend Shelley appreciates thoughtful wrapping so I decided to get creative.

I found some gorgeous turquoise velvet ribbon and thick cream wool, on spools at Anthropologie.  I knew I wanted to use them for something special.

I took a circle of card stock and began adding a strand of cream and a strand of taupe yarn, anchored with a glue gun.  I build the nest up with circles of yarn, continuing to glue,  and finally added a few strands in the center for my eggs.  The eggs are from a collection including store bought and hand felted.  Once I added the eggs I finished up the nest by building up yarn around the eggs.

I took three of the felt rings that I thought Shelley would like and added them to some thick kraft paper to fit in the box.  I made an x-acto knife cut, to fit them into the paper.  I used that same paper to make a tag and added a grommet to finish off the tag.

 Okay ... one present finished.  I better get cracking :)

Wrap it up Thursday - Newsprint

Happy Thursday!  Each Thursday I'm going to focus on gift giving, wrapping, packaging and in general the unique way people wrap up their goods.  And Thursday is kind of leading into wrapping up the week ... sort of ... give or take 24 hours.

My best friend's little guy had his fifth birthday on Monday.  He is a huge super hero fan.  When they are driving in the car he always says to his dad, "Tell me another story about Batman, Daddy." How cute is that!  Now with a small family of mostly girls I must admit the super hero thing is a little out of my  "league"  but I decided to just go for it.

I found one retro looking hardcover book and then found some early reader comics.  I thought it might encourage him to start to read on his own (and that maybe they wouldn't be too violent!)

Then I found some extras that fit the theme. Striped straws, striped twine, lego superheroes, comic strips and best of all - a pdf of comic pows and zaps from one charming party.

I wrapped it up with parchment paper so he could see inside.  I thought that would make it more exciting.  The phrases I printed out looked so cute peeking through the paper.  And his mom told me that was his favorite part of the gift.  So I'm glad I went to all the trouble.

Here are some other newsprint/comic strip wrappings.

My friend Tiffany, of Glitter Pie, wraps a mean package.  Newsprint looks great with the right topper.

You can even top your newsprint, comic strip etc with another newsprint bow.  There is a tutorial at How About Orange for this.

I guess that wraps it up (sorry)

Look for another wrap up next Thursday!