Birthday Card from Wooden Spools $0

I don't know why I have things like this in my stash. Actually, yes I do. I have them because I love anything that resembles a sewing notion. I always make a motion for notions. These are available at any craft store. Unfinished wooden spools. Get some.

Stain them. I used spray-on ink. Easy. Just squirt, let sit, and rub off the residue with a paper towel. If you don't have spray ink you could use paint, an ink pad, or probably even a cup of tea. Or you could always just use it as-is.

Type the birthday message. You will have to make sure that the message is just under the width of the spool and about 1/4" less than the circumference around the spool. My messages were 1.75" wide and 4.25" long.

Glue to spool with a glue stick. Glue the bottom of the message first, where you signed your name, so that when you wrap the note around the spool the header will lay on top and look nice and neat.

Punch circles from neat paper to paste to the end of the spools for fake spool labels. I used a map of Paris. Glue circles to ends of spool with a glue stick.

Find some neat ribbon. Ooh, I have a stash of antiqued bias tape that would make your head spin. And if you're wondering about my adorable square pincushion...Jaime made it for me. You'll have to talk to Jaime.

Cleverly conceal your words of love by wrapping the ribbon around the spool.

Pin it with a pretty pin. Like one with a pearl head. This is your friend, after all. They deserve better than a silver straight pin. Drop the finished spool in a sack and maybe add some salted chocolate. Again, don't you love your friend? Give them the square you've been hoarding in your stash!

Mirror Enhanced by Pages of French Text $0

I got this mirror from Santa in 1998. Santa was Greg's mom. I realized, after staring at it for a week on bedrest in April, that the purple mat was killing my chi and fenging my shui and causing me to hate my bedroom. So I glued pages from this little French book on it and now I love it again. Don't worry, I saved the old key and metal French hotel tag and tied them on a candlestick in another room. I don't waste minutia, especially French minutia!

All I did: trim pages, glue on with gluestick, let dry, paint a thin layer of matte Mod Podge over the top, glue on gold bird a.k.a. "the cherry on top". Voila! It doesn't get any easier than this!

*the French book was a gift but the giver told me they got it on Etsy; gold bird gifted by Emily Southerland, my friend in Missouri who I'm certain has glitter in her soul

Lace Cake Cards $0

 

 

My sister sent me a surprise package in December that she ordered off of Etsy. It came from Malaysia, which means I got bonus foreign stamps to craft with.

Materials Used:

• Scraps of Lace (the longest cut being 2.5")
• Elmer's Glue (for attaching the lace to the card as well as the glitter)
• Pearls & Sequins (to embellish the wedding cake)
• Waxy Flax/Waxed Linen Thread (for the stem of the birthday flag)
• Washi Tape (for the birthday flag)
• Glitter (for the frosting of the cake layers)
• Martha Stewart Scalloped Lace Punch (for the bottom of the wedding card)
• Paper Doilies (for the "platter" below the birthday cake)

*The pearls are actually leftover from my wedding veil being made!

Florentine Easter Eggs $0

Gather up some plastic Easter eggs. (I used all of our cheap eggs that never stayed shut, because eggs that don't stay shut aren't worth owning, especially if you have a dog that eats the chocolate that falls out of them.) Find some paper you like. I had a huge stash of Florentine paper my aunt brought me back from Italy, but you could also use scrapbook paper, tissue paper (plain or patterned), etc. Rip or cut your paper into tiny pieces (I prefer the look of the ripped paper). Paint the pieces right on the eggs with Mod Podge (or watered down glue) in a single layer, not overlapping your pieces. Let dry. Repeat. Continue until you don't see any plastic. My eggs only required two layers. I made 30 eggs in less than two hours.

(If your paper is thick, just let the glue really soak into it and it will form to the egg eventually. If you are using tissue paper it will form quickly.)

Store in egg cartons. Display in glass hurricanes, on trays, on the tops of candlesticks, under a cloche, wherever!

Beautiful, safe for kids to play with/drop, and your non-closing eggs are sealed for life. Win-win-win.

Coaster Wreath From Old Christmas Cards $0

 

Remember my affinity for coasters? I still had a stash of square Texas Roadhouse ones. I was looking through my THINGS TO MAKE folder and found this ripped out page from a Williams-Sonoma catalog:

 I realized that I could make this in a Christmas motif with stuff I already had.

    Materials needed:

    Coasters, square or circular (I used 36)

    Old Christmas cards, especially ones with 3-D objects or embossing or foiling

    Stapler, Scissors, Adhesive

    Acrylic Paint, Paintbrush AND/OR Spray Paint

    Cute Twine

1. Cut shapes out of the cards. I went for anything with textured, 3D, embellished, embossed, or foiled areas.

 2. Arrange the coasters in a loose circle to figure out the size of wreath you can make. Staple the coasters together any way you want.

3. Spray paint the back of the wreath (in case you hang it in a window or something).

4. Paint the front of the wreath if you need to. Only the edges will end up showing, but I had the paint and used it.

5. Punch holes around the wreath and lace with twine. (Like a giant lacing card!)

6. Adhere the pieces of Christmas cards in layers. I used Terrifically Tacky Tape for the flat layer and some foamy raised tape for the pieces that stick out.

  

I think Anthropologie should hire me to make these for them and that they should retail for $268. Except that this took me two days to make. If a card you sent me is on the wreath: thank you!