T-Shirt Fabric Flowers

I was inspired by this in making these fabric roses out of an old t-shirt. Check out the link for a great tutorial. They were easy to make even for me - just a little hand-sewing is all you need!

8 Steps to make your own Origami Treat Box

Remember these yummy little things? And the box that they were wrapped in? With permission from Liz I am posting her fabulous tutorial on making a little paper treat box.

What you will need:

One square piece of paper. This is a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper (recommended).

Step 1: Find the center of the paper and fold all corners into the center. (If you fold the paper in half each direction and make a small crease in the center you will find the center pretty easily, as pictured).

Step 2: Fold two opposite sides into the center.

Step 3: Unfold the folds you make in step 2 and repeat with the two remaining sides.

Step 4: Unfold recent folds and unfold two opposite corners.

(and just to make it easier, refold the sides in)

Step 5: Fold corner (arrow #1) to center (arrow #2). Then repeat with other corner on the same side.

Step 6: Bring flap inside to create box side.

Step 7: Repeat with other side of the box.

Step 8: Fill up with goodies and share!

Cake Balls For Me?

I am the proud recipient of these delicious cake balls (or was - they are long gone by now). And what a great gift it was. My friend showed up on my porch unexpectedly with these little balls of joy a few days ago and it made my day. She even made the box. Do you like it? It's made with scrapbook paper.

She made three different kinds. There are red velvet cake balls with cream cheese frosting dipped in white chocolate and milk chocolate. And there are devils food cake balls and milk chocolate frosting flavored with 1 Tbsp. orange extract and then dipped in milk chocolate. And I can't tell you which was my favorite because they were all so good.

Sack Lunch

Inspired by this I decided to make my own version of a felt lunch sack set for a little girl's birthday party last weekend. I made a bologna sandwich with tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce along with a bag of ruffle chips and a chocolate chip cookie. This was my first "on my own" sewing project ever. I borrowed my friend's sewing machine (after she showed me how to thread it and wind the bobbin - sad, but true), crossed my fingers and went to work making templates and putting it all together. And it turned out to being a lot of fun. Felt food is a great way to begin sewing I think. So if you are looking for a fun little sewing project there are tons of tutorials out there for all kinds of food.

Shower Notes

Crayola Bathtub Markers sound fun for a children's birthday gift. But I would never think to give this to a spouse for Valentine's Day so that you can leave love notes in the shower. Kind of a fun idea don't you think? You can check it out here or order them here. Apparently they are hard to find in stores. But I haven't checked myself.

This would also be a very cute gift for a wedding shower.

XOXO Letters

My grandma made this cute Valentine set for her mantle. She bought the wood letters (aren't they cute with the hearts in the O's) at the craft store and painted them pink. Then she traced each wood piece onto some scrapbook paper and cut it out slightly inside the traced line (so that the paper didn't totally cover the painted wood. She used mod podge to seal the paper on the wood. Then used embellishments like buttons, flowers, and ribbons to dress up each letter. I love her paper choices and embellishments. So cute.

Don't know how to mod podge? Go here.

Valentine Paint Sample Cards

photo credit

Have you seen these cards made out of paint swatch samples yet? So you can get those free paint sample cards from Home Depot or Lowes and turn them into beautiful Valentine cards. And these samples would be great for any holiday card. We're talking lots of possibilities here. Check it out here and here.

Free Giveaway

Do you want to enter a free sewing machine or embroidery machine giveaway? Click here.

And check out this video:

Valentine Pillow Notes

Cute little Valentine pillows. Made from dish towels (simple sewing so even I could handle this one). With little pockets for "Why I love you" notes to your kids (or anyone special to you) for the 14 days leading up to Valentine's Day. I'll be starting this tradition next year for sure.

So click here for the details and the tutorial. And watch for the after holiday sales for those Valentine dish towels (these were 50 cents each). Aren't they cute?

A "Snappy" Valentine

You can print this cute little alligator out and put him together in a 'snap'! Then you can fill him with a fun Valentine treat. Just go here for the free download. And to think I grew up handing out boxed valentine cards. What was I thinking? These are so cool.

Love You Banner

How could you not love this banner? Banners are another one of my new loves these days and I would be so happy to get one as a gift. If you have the storybook cricut cartridge then you are set. The black background shape was made using this cartridge (set at 5.5"). The patterned paper is cut to 4x6 and the letters were made from the same cartridge (set at 4"). Add a little ribbon and stuff here and there to add to each letter. I also like that she used eyelets to thread the ribbon through the top of the paper to prevent it from tearing.

If you love banners too then you should check out more: simple magazine Valentine Garland, a glittery Thankful Banner, Holiday Bunting made with Christmas paper and recycled Christmas cards, Trick or Treat banner using freezer paper, mini Easter bunting...

Don't you think it would be fun to show up on someone's doorstep with a happy little banner for any occasion? I know it would cheer me up!

Send a link of your banner or one that you love. I would love to see it!

Felt Fortune Cookies

I like this idea for packaging a little treat found here. You can make fortune cookies out of felt and put little treats and notes inside.

Here are the easy peasy instructions (slightly modified from website)...

1. Cut a 4 1/2" diameter circle out of felt

2. Cut a piece of matching ribbon slightly shorter than 4 1/2" and cut a piece of wire slightly shorter than 4 1/2" with wire cutters

3. With a hot glue gun, glue the wire across the diameter of the circle and then glue the ribbon over the top of the wire (as pictured in the second picture above).

note: you can also use matching pipe cleaner in place of the ribbon and wire and glue it down with hot glue

4. Fold the circle in half with the wire/ribbon going along the inside of the fold.

5. Take the two ends of the fold and pull them back towards eachother (but not touching), bending the wire in half, to form a fortune cookie shape

6. Carefully fold up the top flap of the fortune cookie and insert small treats and fortunes.

Variations: For Valentine's Day include a scripture reference about love or a quote about love instead of a fortune. But, this isn't just a Valentine idea. You could make the fortune cookies any color for any holiday or theme. Even a Christmas neighbor gift idea: "We are 'fortunate' to have you as a neighbor!" could be inserted into red and green fortune cookies.

Cream Soda Bottle Valentines

These empty cream soda bottles created a sweet valentine jack pot. Check it out here if you want the how-to. This was made as a gift for a husband but it could easily work for anybody on your list (minus the lovey tags on the bottles, of course). I love how the cardboard case has been recovered and used as packaging.

Valentine Wreath

A little piece of holiday decor is always a nice gift. At least I think so. I think it's fun to have something new and exciting to brighten up my house. I found this valentine wreath here with a tutorial. It's made out of cupcake liners along with a little hot glue, a wreath form, and some ribbon. I loved the idea and hope you will too.

For Kids: A Unique and Personal Candy Valentine

If you are looking for a unique valentine candy and card combo for your children's school classmates look no further! This idea was found here. A picture was taken of her child holding her fist out. A "Happy Valentine's Day" was added to the picture in Photoshop. Then once the picture was printed out (4x6") she cut a slit just above and below the child's fist and inserted the sucker. She added a little glue to the back of the picture where the stick came through to keep it from falling out.

This is a fast and easy Valentine idea, but still so cool! I absolutely love it.

Don't have Photoshop? Download Gimp for free here.