Wordless Wednesday: Featuring Something to do with All Those Gift Cards You're Likely to Receive

Weekend Wrap Up for the Traveler in your Life

If you have someone in your life who loves to travel, you can't resist this gift wrap idea made from an old map, t-shirt and a soda can!

Here's what you'll need; an old map, aluminum from a soda can, scissors, a hole punch, a marker, crazy glue and strips cut from an old t-shirt

Once you've wrapped your gift in an old map, tie a curled piece of the t-shirt around the box.  Instructions for prepping the t-shirt strips can be found on my YouTube channel and you can always pick them up in my Etsy shop! Back to it, here's where we left off before the shameless plug:

Now for the name tag.  I've used an old soda can to fashion a gift tag that resembles a luggage tag.  Cut two rectangular shapes of the same size.  On one of them, draw a 1/4" margin on all four sides of the back side of the can. 

Then fold the can over and pinch in the center as shown below, make and X shaped cut where you pinched it.  This will give you the room you need to insert your scissors and cut out the center of the "frame."

Once you've cut your frame apply a thin layer of super glue (I love this super glue that you apply with a brush) and adhere it to the other rectangular piece of aluminum, trim the edges and punch a whole.

Now simply use a sharpie to name your recipient and tie it to the package.  You can even add a really big loopy bow made from extra strips of t-shirt that would resemble the shoelace bows that people make to identify their luggage among the sea of bags on the carousel.

A Upcycled Tabletop Christmas Tree

Need a few tabletop decorations for the holidays...or something to keep the kids busy (with a little adult help)?  This is a pretty inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to accomplish both of those things. The only thing I needed to purchase was a dowel.

Here's what you'll need to assemble this tabletop tree

1.  Magazine pages in Christmas colors or black and white or anything that works for you.  I was gifted a Paula Deen Christmas edition magazine that had several pages that looked like wrapping paper so I used those along with a couple of sheets that had pictures of Christmas trees
2.  A drill with a 1/4" drill bit
3.  A 1/4" dowel, cut to the height you'd like your tree (I bought mine pre-cut)
4.  A larger plastic lid, I'm using one from a 20 pound jug of cat litter.
5.  And a few basics; scissors, hole punch and a glue gun

To get started, you'll need to assemble the base.  To make sure that your drill doesn't slip off center in the next step, use a hammer and nail to punch a starter hole in your plastic lid.  Now, use that hole as a guide to drill your hole.

Insert your dowel into the lid, set it on a flat surface and make sure your lid and the dowel all touch the surface.  Now add a bunch of hot glue all around the dowel, on the under side of the lid, to keep it in place.  Quickly place the base back on a flat surface and be sure the dowel is straight before the glue dries. 

 

Now you can start building your tree.  Cut your magazines pages along the longest length of the page into 2" strips, bring the two ends of one strip together and punch a hole.

Slide it - gently, it will be a snug fit - onto the dowel to the point were the "bough" just touches your work surface.

Continue to add strips to the dowel and space them out until you have the fullness that appeals to you and then add a bead of glue around the dowel both on top of and beneath the boughs

Now start on the second row.  You'll want to snip off about 3/4" from both ends of the strips that you use in this row, so bring the ends together as you did above and snip at 3/4".  Then punch a hole and slide it on to the dowel just the place where the bough touches the first row.

You'll add another layer that is the same length as the second row.  Then for rows 4-5 you'll snip about 1 1/4" off the ends and for the sixth row, slightly more that an inch and a half.  Of course, you can adjust these as you like.  Once you get to the top of the dowel, you can finish the top off with a holiday decoration or a vintage wooden button as I did below.
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Make a few in different sizes and deck those halls!

The Weekend Wrapup that Includes a Little Extra Gift

I'm really getting a lot of use from packing material this holiday season and we'll utilize more of it today along with a few other things from around the house to make this beautifully wrapped holiday gift!

You'll need packing paper, an old T-shirt, an aluminum can, a hole punch, an alligator style hair clip (the only thing you'll need to buy) and something to cut your can with.

There are a few handmade components to this gift wrap, so first we'll make a gift tag out of a beverage can.  After you've cut and cleaned your can you can either use your favorite die cut machine to cut the gift tag of your choice or cut one out with a pair scissors.  Then just use a hole punch make a hole near the top of your tag and add a tiny scrap of t-shirt ribbon.  You can use a sharpie to mark the back side of your gift tag.

Once you've wrapped your gift, you'll need to cut a few strips of your t-shirt to make a ribbon long enough to tie around your gift.  If you need a little help making the ribbon, I put together a YouTube video to show you how or you can just pick some up in my Etsy shop.   Okay, wrap your ribbon around the gift.

Now for the final touch, the reusable embellishment - the little extra gift.  Cut another strip of t-shirt that's about 2" wide and a circle that is about 2" in diameter (you can adjust this to other sizes depending on the size of your gift).  Follow the instructions in this tutorial that I found online to make a fabric rosette out of your t-shirt material:

Use a little hot glue to attach an alligator clip to the back side of the rosette.  You'll want to pinch your alligator clip open while you press it into place, otherwise you'll end up glueing the whole thing shut...learn from MY experiences people!

Tie the gift tag to your gift and then clip on to the t-shirt rosette.

Once your gift recipient has unwrapped their gift they still have a beautiful rosette that they can use in the their hair clipped to a headband, clipped to a handbag or even on a jacket lapel. And yes, you can just pick up these fabric flowers in my Etsy shop as well.

Happy Wrapping!

Weekend Wrap Up with a Little Comic Relief

Have an odd shaped package to wrap?  Here's a fun little solution that won't cost a cent.

Gather up a few supplies; the comics section of the newspaper, a pair of scissors and a couple old t-shirts

Take one of your t-shirts and fold it in half lengthwise twice.  Cut 1/2" strips along the bottom and open up the strips so that you're left with a loops of tshirt material.

Take each loop and pull it through your hand to make the edges curl inward.  Then you you can cut that to the lengths that you need for wrapping.  Need a visual?  Check out my video tutorial here.

Now just take a handful of your curled up strips and wrap them around the neck of your package.  Don't make it a habit of keeping old t-shirts laying around?  That's okay, you can get them from my Etsy shop.

Upcycled Napkin Rings for the Holiday Table

I have found a great many uses for those pesky non-recyclable little plastic rings that are left behind when you open a plastic lid for the first time (like around your water/soda bottle).  For my holiday table, I'll be using them to make napkin rings and I'm going to show you how you can to.


The basic supplies that you'll need - a bunch of plastic rings, a glue gun and a coordinating fabric that will match your table setting.  I'll be using my mom's quilting scraps in just a plain color since my dishes and napkins have plenty of pattern all on their own.  When selecting your rings, be sure to check that they fit nicely on your napkins.  I'm using rings from gallon milk jugs as they are a bit bigger than those from a water bottle.


You'll need some embellishments for your napkin rings.  If you want to make it a quick day of crafting you can simply use some leftover buttons or you can make your own embellishments.  I use a method very similar to this video tutorial to make rosettes out of scrap material.  So, to get started, cut a strip of your fabric that is about 3/4" wide and about twelve inches long.  You may need to adjust the length depending on the circumference of your ring and how closely you wrap your fabric around the ring.  Now add a dab of glue to the end of the fabric and attach it to the inside of the ring.

Wrap the fabric 'round and 'round your ring.  When the ring is completely covered used another dab of glue to hold down the other end of the fabric.  Then trim all the little threads from your napkin ring.  Now you're ready to attach your embellishment (with one last dab of glue).

 And viola!  Now you have a beautiful addition to your holiday (or anytime) table.

Wordless Wednesday Featuring More Shutter Displays