InspireMe Crafts

Giraffe Print Wall Letters

2009-10-30T14:19:54-04:00

New giraffe print design available for monogram letters or the all-in-one wall letters. This design was done to match a giraffe print baby bedding with baby blue accents, however, any accent color can be used!

PRICING:

1 Monogram Letter - $14.95
2 Monogram Letters - $27.90
3 + Monogram Letters - $38.85
All-in-one: Name on Initial - $22.00

ORDERING:

To purchase you can either go to:

1) My Etsy Shop: Checkout with PayPal credit/debit.

2) Custom Order Form: Fill out form and I'll email you an invoice to pay with debit/credit through PayPal.

After the payment is received, it takes about 7-10 days before the decorated wall letters are ready to be shipped. If you would like to see more photos of my hanging letters please visit my Wall Art – Photo Album on the right of side of the website.

Want your own custom hanging letter, but not giraffe print? No problem! Contact me via email at inspiremecrafts [!at] yahoo.com or via Etsy conversations and I can email you samples based on your color scheme.

The letters typically measure around 9.5 in in height (not including ribbon) and about 6.25 inches in width. Each letter varies a little.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Frankenstein Takeout Box

2009-10-22T14:22:41-04:00

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title". ~From Scooby-Doo

Our happy Frankenstein Takeout Box is easy, inexpensive, cute, and quick to make! We are going to fill them with some yummy and fun Halloween treats and give to Lil Man's pre-school teacher. Here's what you need to get started:

MATERIALS:

Green Chinese takeout boxes (found at Michaels or another craft store in the gift packaging area)
Black & White Felt
Black Permanent Marker
Wiggly Eyes
Brads
Glue & Scissors

HOW-TO:

Cut out black felt so that the top edge is flat and the bottom edge is in a zig-zag. Glue the black felt on the top portion of the sides for his hairline.
Glue two wiggly eyes on.
Push the brad through the takeout box to make a nose. On the inside secure the brad in place by separating the metal parts.
Draw a smiling face (or mean one if don't want a silly Frankenstein) and a scar above his eye with a black marker.
Cut out little teeth with the white felt and glue to the drawn in mouth.
Fill with Halloween surprises.
Give to someone special.

Enjoy!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Silly Monster Halloween Treat Boxes

2009-10-11T22:30:24-04:00

Lil Man and I had lots of fun making these Silly Monster Treat Boxes for Halloween. Plus, every time he starts to show a hint of being afraid of monsters we just say "it's one of those silly monsters" and it seems to calm those fears before they jump out of the closet. All you need are some craft supplies you probably have laying around your house. Here is what you need for your next Halloween Craft….

MATERIALS:

Small Boxes with lids ($1 at Michaels)
Craft Paint
Craft Supplies (Wiggly eyes, felt, small pom-poms, pipe cleaners, straw, yarn, buttons, feathers, etc)
Markers, Glue, Glue Gun, Scissors

HOW-TO:

1. Paint your treat boxes your favorite colors
2. Start cutting, gluing, coloring, and get creative!
3. Fill with yummy treats
4. Give to your family and friends

Button Billy Monster

Triple Eye Timmy Monster

Pink Paulina Monster
(Lil Man's Creation)

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Ballerina Tutu Message Board

2009-09-30T11:10:54-04:00

"Dancing can reveal all the mystery music reveals."

I just can't get enough pink lately and combine it with my love for black and white damask and you have a super cute craft project for this weekend J. This time the finished DIY project is a Ballerina Tutu Message Board. It takes a little time, however, I did finish it in one evening so it is definitely a realistic project to put on your to-do list.

MATERIALS:

1 piece of foam board
1 yard of fabric (you'll have leftovers)
3 yards of tulle
2 yards of thick ribbon (I used pink with black polka dots)
2-4 yards of thin ribbon (I used pink and black)
1 yard of 7/8 thick ribbon or elastic
Glue gun
Scissors

How-To:

Cut out your foam board in the shape of a leotard. I just eye-balled it with a pencil and then used an X-Acto knife. It takes a little persistence and makes a mess, but if you have a 3 year old they will enjoy it!
Lay your fabric upside down on a flat surface. Place your cut foam board onto the fabric. Cut the fabric around the foam board leaving a few inches all the way around.
Get your glue gun ready and start glueing away! Place some glue on the foam board and secure the fabric around on the back side. You may have to cut slits in the fabric going all the way to the foam board. Doing it in 1-2 inch sections will help.
After you have secured all the fabric, turn it over and look at the beginning of your masterpiece.
Next is the TuTu. This was my first time making a tutu so I referred to this YouTube video. It is very helpful and she can explain it way better than I can at the link below:

How to Make A No Sew Tutu

I did not follow her directions exactly. I used a thinner ribbon (7/8 inch) to tie my tulle to. Also I only used 3 yards worth since I was not going all the way around. I also tied ribbons around the 7/8 inch ribbon when I was done with the tulle to add some color and to provide a place to hang more things.
Once the tutu is made, tie the two ends in the back to secure it in place. I did it around the 'waist' of the foam board so there is a little foam board underneath the tutu.
Take your 3-4 yards of thin ribbon (I used bright pink) and wrap around the body part of your foam board. This provides some more color and places to hold pictures and notes. You can do any design you like!
Then take your thick ribbon and cut two pieces to the desired length for hanging. I did about 1 yard on each side. I secured one end of each piece to the back with the glue gun. Then brought the other two ends together to tie a bow. Now you can hang it!
Make one more bow with your thick ribbon and safety pin it to the front of your tutu.
Add some pictures (if you want)….it would be awfully cute just as decoration in a ballerina room or dance studio.

Your ballerina will love this Tutu Message Board!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Hanging Pink Chalkboard

2009-09-22T14:53:43-04:00

"There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them". ~Vicki Baum

Now that my son is in Pre-School and I've discovered how difficult it can be trying to get a 3 year old to tell you what he did at school, I'm trying to open the communication between my ballet students' parents a little more. Often times I have kids leaving the studio and new ones coming in so it doesn't leave much time to discuss with the parents our theme for the class. I have been holding on to some pink chalkboard paint for a few weeks and I finally put it to good use when I made this Hanging Pink Chalkboard – just right to hang from the classroom door.

You can pretty much use chalkboard paint on anything, but in this case I used it on some MDF that was already cut in this shape and had holes for the ribbon. It made my life very easy J. Add the chalkboard paint according to the manufacturer's directions, add ribbon, write a note and you are set!

I used this for my ballet classes, but if you are a teacher looking to leave notes for parents or students this is a great way to spruce up the classroom and get your message across. You could even use it at home. Hang it on the inside of your front door and leave inspirational messages or reminders for your kids and hubbies ! Or if you think your pre-teen or teen has some message for you they could hang it on their door or above their desk. The ideas with chalkboard paint are endless. Stay tuned for them to be in MY ETSY SHOP!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It….With the Kids: Handmade Gift Wrap & Gift Bag

2009-09-20T22:39:45-04:00

"The manner of giving is worth more than the gift". ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

Ever get tired of going to wrap a present and having the wrapping paper at the end of its roll….just short of what you need to succesfully wrap your gift? Or how about this…you go to wrap a Birthday gift and you have 3 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper, but no birthday paper. Ahhh!!! Have no worries because after we did this handmade gift wrap for a friend, I'm not sure we'll go back to store bought wrapping paper anytime soon. This was a nice creative twist to traditional wrapping…and thoughtful J. Lil Man had a birthday party to attend and in true fashion, we devoted plenty of time to picking out just the right presents, but not enough on how we were going to wrap or bag it.

My "Ah-ha" moment came when I looked up and saw a painting by Lil Man on his painting easel that had been there for a little while. I had him add some final touches to it and voila, we had creative DIY wrapping paper. If you don't have a painting easel with a roll of white paper, but do have that leftover Christmas paper, just use the white side of the wrapping paper to paint.

Then came the next challenge. We had this large flying disc thing-a-majig and did not have a bag big enough for it and wrapping it seemed too daunting for an 8:00a.m. project. We needed a handmade gift bag…

To make our handmade gift bag, we took some white paper from a roll of paper, cut a piece about 6 feet long, layed it on the kitchen floor, and started coloring with markers. Lil Man drew a humpback whale (see it J), some squigles, and his favorite –circles. We folded it in half and then used a hole punch to punch holes along the sides. We grabbed some scrap ribbon and tied knots thru each hole to secure the bag. Add a couple holes at the top and a ribbon to make the gift bag handles. And once again, a creative and handmade gift bag for that special someone.

Look at Lil Man! He is so proud of his creation and ready to give it to his lil buddy. Can someone talk this kid into a haircut?!?

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Zebra Print Wall Letter – New Design!!

2009-09-16T11:08:10-04:00

Add some pizzazz to an office or bedroom with this Black and White Zebra print wall letter accented with red polka dot ribbon! The decorated hanging letter looks great above a door, above a childs bed, even in the office or dorm room of an adult! ****Ribbon color can be changed*****

PRICING:

Monogram Letter - $14.95
This design with full name on letter - $22.00

ORDERING:

To purchase you can either go to:

1) My Etsy Shop: Checkout with PayPal credit/debit.

2) Custom Order Form: Fill out form and I'll email you an invoice to pay with debit/credit through PayPal.

After the payment is received, it takes about 7 days before they are ready to be shipped. If you would like to see more photos of my hanging letters please visit my Wall Art – Photo Album on the right of side of the website.

Want your own custom hanging letter, but not black and white zebra print? No problem! Contact me via email at inspiremecrafts [!at] yahoo.com or via Etsy conversations and I can email you samples based on your color scheme.

The letters typically measure around 9.5 in in height (not including ribbon) and about 6.25 inches in width. Each letter varies a little.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Photo Magnet Bookmarks

2009-09-09T20:53:27-04:00

When I posted my Magnet Bookmarks previously it only took a few moments for my biggest fan (my mom of course) to call and ask for one. Instead of using some pretty paper, I decided to use a photo of her favorite grandson (and only grandson). A simple request turned into a great gift for Grandparent's Day. I followed the same instructions outlined on the Magnet Bookmark post. However, I took it a step further to package the gift in a creative way. I went to the DollarTree and found a book. I then ripped out a page, displayed the magnet on the page, and just in case they didn't get it….added "A bookmark!". I then put it in a clear plastic sleeve to keep the photo safe. Of course I made a handful for all the grandparents and great grandparents…

You can do this very quickly so if you are scrambling for some Grandparent's Day gifts…you still have plenty of time!

Be inspired, get creative and have fun!

The Diaper Pirates: Creative Potty and Poopy Training

2009-09-07T19:26:00-04:00

Lil Man is officially a pre-schooler, but before he could throw on his backpack and participate in show and tell, we had to overcome one obstacle standing in the way - Poopy in the Potty. Lil Man had been potty-trained for a long time (even sleeping through the night in his underwear), but poopy in the potty was absolutely frightening to him. So for way too long he'd say, "Mommy, I need a pull-up". We'd slide one on, he'd go to the living room rug and the "poopy face" showing just how much he was working would takeover. When he was done, he'd lay down and get his bottom cleaned, put on some underwear and be off on his merry way. He was happy. Me? Not so much.

We tried everything...bribery, sugar, talking about it FOREVER, rewards, and at one point did not give him the pull-up when he needed it hoping he would go poopy in the potty. But instead he decided to hold it for days until we decided to give in afraid he would hurt himself. Needless to say, I'm sure we did several things completely wrong so this next time we were going to get it right.

Lil Man was very interested in Pirates and we painted the pirate ship birdhouse one day as a project. About a week later he was having a daddy-son day. While they were out is when the magic took place. The pirates had come to our house :).

Here was the story the hubby and I were sticking with.....the Pirates came to the house and stole all his pull-ups for Poopy time. In place of Lil Man's pull-ups in the closet, the Pirates left a note and a treasure map. The note would say that after he went poopy in the potty he could go look for the treasure chest.

Lil Man came home and told us he needed to go poopy. I told him to go get his pull-up out of his room. He went to get it and instead of finding his pull-ups there he found the ship with the note and treasure map. I stayed in the other room until I heard , "Mommy! Mommy! Come here.....look!". We pulled out the pirate note:

I started with a cream piece of construction paper, ripped off the edges and used brown and tan ink pads to give it a worn, distressed and old look. I added a few Pirate stickers just to make sure my 3 year old knew exactly who it was from :).

The note said:

*************

Ahoy, Matey!

Are you ready for a swashbuckling pirate adventure? The Cap'n tells us its time for me hearty, Lil Man, to go Poopy in the Potty. The shipmates have stolen your pull-ups and taken them out to sea. Yarrr! But, Matey....a Pirate's treasure awaits you after you go Poopy in the Potty. Cap'n says ye can open the treasure map after you go poopy in the potty. Follow the map to "X" marks the spot for ye treasure!!

Farewell chump,

The Pirates and Cap'n Scallywag

*************

Needless to say he was super curious about where that treasure map would take him and what would await him in that treasure chest.

The inside of the treasure map....

I rolled up the treasure map and used a Jolly Roger glued to a paper ring to keep the map rolled up. Then Lil Man just slid it off to open the treasure after the big "Poopy in the Potty" event.

It took a hot second for Lil Man to start his treasure hunt after the big deed. We followed the map until he came upon his mini treasure chest. I found a paper mache treasure chest at Michaels, painted it tan and added some gold glitter and pirate themed stickers.

He opened it up to find a Pirate necklace, gum, killer whale stickers, and gold coins that the Pirate's had left him. However, my killer whale obsessed son said "Look Mom! Tickets to the Killer Whale Show (a.k.a. Sea World)". As my son is jumping up in joy I had to break it to him that I was pretty sure they were just Killer Whale stickers...not tickets to the "Killer Whale Show". Luckily, 3 year olds get excited over stickers as well and he seemed just as excited. Phew!

And as expected we celebrated in style. In our family we celebrate the little victories along with the large ones with a little song, a little dance, and a little silliness. Lil Man is seen here singing his "Poopy in the Potty" song and groovin' away on our living room rug....proudly wearing his pirate necklace:).

Transferring the blame of the disappearing pull-ups to the Pirates instead of the sweet and innocent parents was key for us:). We were on his side and helping him through something we couldn't control. We went with the story and improvised. Lil Man asked at one point why the Pirates needed his Pull-ups. We told him that they tied them all together and threw it overboard to use it as an anchor and that all the killer whales in the ocean were swimming by and looking at them. He thought that was cool. Yay!

If you are getting ready to do the potty training thing or overcome an obstacle in the potty training process...good luck and make it fun!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

New Wall Letter Design: Pink Cowgirl

2009-09-03T20:32:48-04:00

Take a look at one of my new wall letter designs.....

The "Taylor Cowgirl" design was custom made to match this Wild West Cowgirl Baby Bedding by JoJo Designs.

To purchase you can go to:

1) My Etsy Shop: Checkout with PayPal credit/debit.

2) Custom Order Form: Fill out form and I'll email you an invoice to pay with debit/credit through PayPal.

And, as always, thank you so much for stopping by!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!