Father's Day Tie

Here's a fun project for Father's Day that Dad is sure to enjoy. 

Supplies:

Felt

Scissors

Glue

Yarn

Hole punch or something to make a hole

Paper

First you want to make a template of a tie on a piece of paper. Pin the template onto the felt as shown here. 

Next cut out the tie and decorate with other felt pieces.

Punch two holes into the top part of the tie on both sides. Thread the yarn through and tie it up like a necklace.

Happy Father's Day!

(BTW - I made my ties in the car.)

Candy Birthday Card

This past weekend we celebrated my nephew's 18th birthday. I had no idea what to get him and I had a very limited budget. I wanted to do something fun and he would enjoy.

I had seen plenty of candy cards in my lifetime but I had never done one. I decided this would be an easy gift and fun to do. I took a trip to the Dollar Tree to see what they had to offer. I stood in the candy aisle for what seemed like hours trying to figure out what candy would work for a great card. I had my notebook out writing down different sentences with each candy title. I'm sure the people around me were wondering what I was doing.

I had a lot of fun putting it together and my nephew seemed to like it as well and my family members thought it was a cute idea.

If you have a birthday party coming up this is not very expensive to make and it just takes a little writing and rewriting to come up with your own version.

Here is what you need:

Poster Board
Pencil
Marker
Packing Tape
Candy
Construction paper

Instructions:

Take your poster board and write out your note on it with pencil first. This will make it easier to place your candy and know how much room you will need.

Next take your marker and start going over your pencil marks. When it's time to add the candy use the packing tape to tape it on. Just take a piece and create a circle and stick it on the back of the candy.

You now have a great birthday card. You can also make this for other occasions too.

If you are using candy that you don't want letters to show or name use construction paper to cover up the unwanted letters. (See runts in the picture)

Crafts: Journal

I love making journals, it's one of my favorite things to make for family and friends. I make journals or baby books for occasions such as new baby, birthdays or Christmas. I've been making them for several years now and I think everyone in my family has at least one. They are super easy to make and well worth the effort. Plus they are cheap too. You can find the books at the Dollar Tree or Walmart. 

Supplies: 

Composition book

4 sheets of 8x11 scrapbook paper

Glue stick

Double sided sticky tape or mounting tape

Stickers

Scissors

Instructions:

1. First take the front of the book and put mounting tape on it. I put mine around the edges and some in the middle. Just do the front for now. Then you remove the paper to expose the tape. 

2. Use the glue stick and put it all over the front of the book.

3. Take the paper you want to use on the front and make sure you put the paper on so that the book is towards the middle of the paper. You want to line it up against the black bind with paper hanging over the top, bottom and side. NOTE: Make sure you put the paper on the right direction when you are applying it to the book. You won't be able to remove it.

4. Press down paper using your hand to smooth it out. 

5. Do the back of the book. The same way.

6. Take the front cover and use your scissors to cut along the edges of the book. (I have a friend who uses an exacto knife to cut it just right, I prefer scissors.) Remember to cut the back too.

7. Take the inside front cover and repeat steps 1-6 and then repeat to do the back inside cover too.

8. When you are done cutting the pages your books should look like this.

 

9. Now that you got the paper on your book the way you want it, it's time to decorate it. You can put the person's name on the front, add stickers and embellishments as you want.

You now have a finished book. Wrap it up and give it to someone special.

Extra Tips:  

Use rubber stamps and stamp the first 20 or so pages in the upper right hand corner or use stickers.

Add a bookmark. When you put the back paper on you can stick a piece of yarn under the paper with extra tape or tacky glue. Then put the paper over it and you got a bookmark.

The sky is the limit. Use your imagination and create whatever you like. Have fun and enjoy!