Circles & Letters

A simple idea for creating personalized gift tags & polka dotted packaging using a 1-inch punch, a 2-inch punch, a mini hole punch, a glue stick, twine, scraps of paper & gobs of alphabet stickers.

A photo tutorial...



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TUTORIAL: Mini Tag Banner

I originally saw a banner made with small tags hung from a chain in a home decor magazine about 5 years ago. Home Companion, I think?? It was a patriotic banner. I took the idea & ran, attacking it with all sorts of crafty supplies & embellishments. I'm so happy to share with you the "How-To" for making my Mini Tag Banners.

Each tag is made from those round circular tags, with the metal edges, found at office supply stores, or Walmart. You can purchase them with strings attached, or metal keyrings. I prefer the keyrings, as it gives me more options. You'll see what I mean later on.

After you've decided what you want your banner to say, choose the appropriate number of tags & then remove the string or rings that came attached. And then comes the part I love: choosing papers & letters. I love this part! Did I say that already? I have {unintentionally} collected all sorts of alphabet stickers over the years. It's quite fun to mix & match! And don't forget about plastic letter beads (like in the picture below) or even scrabble tiles.

You'll notice that the round tags have a wider metal edge on one side--which I call the "front side", & a thin metal edge on the "back side". A 1-inch circle punch creates the PERFECT size circle for the front side. However, the back side is a wonky size. You could just simply trace around the tag & cut a circle with scissors & be done with it. But I like the metal edge to show...

...so I found this handy trick, which might not even be that handy at all, but it's how I do it. I place my piece of paper on top of the tag, back side of tag face-up. And then I use one of those embossing tools & push hard around the edge of the metal circle. It creates the correct-sized circle.

I cut around the embossed circle shape & there it is!

At this point you can adhere the letter stickers to your circles. If you have any rub-on letters, apply those now too. Then, it's time to glue your paper circles onto the tags. I use Mod-Podge. Once the papers are attached, spread another coat of Mod-Podge over the front & back of the newly-papered tags, & over the stickers & rub-ons too.

When the tags are dry, you can punch a small hole near the top of each tag & attach them to your rings. If you purchased tags with rings already attached, & you like the look of those, you can RE-attach those. I often opt for using split rings found in the jewelry dept. of craft stores, or Walmart. I think I use the 9mm ones. Split rings are exactly like keychains, only teeny tiny.

Now it's time to embellish! Pull it all out: glitter, buttons, gems, sequins, flowers, punches, etc. When everything is attached (with a glue gun or E6000), I seal over things like glitter, paper punches & flat sequins with Mod-Podge. It all dries clear, so no worries.

When your tags are all pretty-like, you can loop them onto the chain. I usually use chain that is also found in the jewelry dept. of craft stores, or Walmart. I don't know what it's called. But, if you prefer a more industrial look, I have also purchsed chain from Home Depot. They'll cut whatever length you want. That industrial look goes quite well with the split rings that come already attached to the round office tags.

As far as the length of the chain, I like to have about 3-4" hang off each end. But you can do it how you want.

The final step in completing your Mini Tag Banner is finishing off each end of the chain. I'm not a jewelry maker. Though I have a few tools & supplies, I have no idea what I'm doing with them. I just slap some beads onto some wire, or better yet: some head pins or eye pins, & then I loop-de-loop the wire & twist it all up in a little messy bunch until I know those beads won't budge! And you know what? It works. So, don't be intimidated by that part.

The banner shown throughout the tutorial is for a customer who requested a holiday design that read "WAITING"....a reminder that we are waiting for Christmas, but also for Jesus to come again.

Here are some other designs I've created in the past, to give you some ideas & inspiration...

"Joy"



"Happy Birthday"

Custom for etsy shop 'B-Dazzled!'

"Happy St. Patrick's Day"

"Relax"

"Nerd"

"Dork"

"Celebrate"

"Boo!"

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Pencil Sweaters!!

A freind of mine JUST opened up an Etsy shop. Like, JUST yesterday. I saw some adorable Pencil Sweaters she had knitted & asked her to send me some ASAP!!! They are like leg warmers. Only tinier. And for your pencil. Don't you just want some? I love them. Like, seriously LOVE them.

Well, hop on over to Tiffany's shop She's In The House & grab yours quick!

They fit nice-n-snug over a pencil, they're totally unique & BONUS: the sale of these pencil sweaters helps Tiffany's daughter to raise money for a school trip to Washington D.C. next year.

A set of 3 for $13 is a dealio!!

( shesinthehouse.etsy.com will also be stocking other fun knit items & PDF's soon!!)

Stocking stuffers anyone??

Support Handmade.
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My Newest Addiction.

EEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'm so excited to share with you my first attempt at stop motion. I did a really quick job of this one 'cause I was SO excited to try it out AND so excited to share my new handmade creation, inspired by "Where the Wild Things Are". So, here it is. Enjoy the next 37 seconds. (I still need to learn how to add music to a video.)

After sewing it up, this is what it looks like:

"Where the Wild Things Are" is Mr. WhiMSy love's favorite childhood book. In fact, on our honeymoon in San Francisco, we passed by a toy shoppe, I spied a copy of the book in the window & purchased it as a gift for him. We're TOTALLY psyched to see the movie, which comes out October 16th.

I'm in love with how the puppet turned out. (Originally inspired by a Monster Glove Puppet seen in the book entitled The Felt Book by Clare Beaton.) I'm also in love with Stop Motion. It was a fun adventure to follow a new creative path! I'm working on a couple more Wild Thing "monsters" & a Max finger puppet too. (I think I know what my nephew is getting for Christmas this year!)
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Silly Sandwich Toothpicks

Last night I decided to fix some BLT's for din-din. (Ok, they were BLAT's. I added avocado.) While the bacon was sizzling I had a fun idea! I love getting those fancy fringed sandwich toothpicks when I order up a tasty sammie at a restaurant or deli. (It's the simple things that make me giddy.) So, I decided to make up my own version of them.
My old-school Dymo label maker was all I needed! Make 2 labels & stick 'em back-to-back, with the toothpick in-between. If you don't have a label maker in your crafty stash, you can create a similar look by simply stamping letters/words onto circle dot stickers. Again, adhere 2 stickers back-to-back.
Here are a couple other versions I came up with:
Garage sale stickers.


Tiny stars made from a mini punch. A little dab of glue is all you need.
My girls loved these on their sandwiches!
You can totally personalize these for baby showers, weddings, birthdays, etc.

I really could have gone crazy making silly sandwich toothpicks. But I found out that doing this during the prime hours of tummy grumbling is not such a good idea.

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Stacked Dishes Tutorial

These little dishes on pedestals are great for any number of things: use them to hold soap in the bathroom, candies on the coffee table, cupcakes for a sweet party, or organize your crafty supplies!

I've even used mine at craft bazaars to display some of my handmade things.

They are so super easy to make. You need two things: a random assortment of dishes &/or glassware AND E-6000 adhesive.

Most of my dishes & glassware were thrifted.

The fun part is playing around with your pieces until you get an arrangement that's "just right"! You can make large cake pedestals or small candy dishes or whatever your little crafty heart desires!

TIP: Don't forget to turn your vases or other glassware upside down for a possibly more pleasing look.

Once you get your combo exactly how you'd like it, grab your E-6000 & squeeze some onto your base piece.

Smoosh it together & let it sit to dry overnight.

For my smaller pieces, I turn them upside down to dry. The larger pieces are fine standing as they are.

Once they're dry, you can use them as you would your regular dishes. I usually hand wash mine.

I even took a dinged up tea cup-n-saucer & attached it to a vintage spool.

Now it can serve as a bird feeder in the garden. Or, with a candle placed inside, it can provide a sweet outdoor glow in the evening.

Just start stackin' & gluin' & see what fun pieces YOU come up with!