Handmade Gift Exchange ~ For Bethany

I participated in another Handmade Gift Exchange hosted by Craftaholics Anonymous this summer and even though I am a little late posting this I wanted to share the gifts I made for my partner Bethany. She is a high school English teacher so appropriately she loves book pages and said pink is one of her favorite colors. 

I decided to make her a button bracelet using bubble gum buttons (with a little bee charm tucked in) and matching earrings. I also made her a cute little card using some book text cardstock and a few more buttons and a decorated gift bag for them to go in. I also included a set of recycled paper flowers for her to use on her own crafting projects. 

Bethany was a great partner for this exchange. She sent me an adorable owl art piece, an owl necklace and beautiful dragonfly earrings. You can check out her gift exchange post on her fabulous blog here. She has photos of my gifts and a tutorial for making the earrings there as well.

 If you participated in the handmade gift exchange I hope you had as much fun as I did!!

Thanks Bethany for my wonderful gifts!!

for my Valentine...

Sometimes, not very often, a project comes out just the way I had envisioned it! I made this heart shadow box for my husband using some of the shells, glass & rocks that we have collected over the years. I also added a couple of additional embellishments. I found the frame and the background paper at Jo-Ann's. I just love it...and I love him too!! 

Hope you had a happy and crafty Valentine's Day! 

~ Julie D.

My 2013 Memory Jar

I love this idea so much!! My niece made one and posted a photo of it to Facebook. It totally inspired me to make one of my own. The idea is this: throughout the year, you write down your special memories on little strips of paper and add them to your jar. At the end of the year, read your strips and you will be reminded of all the wonderful memories you made over the year. Awesome!! Go ahead and make one for yourself....

Happy New Year!!!! 

Thanks for stopping by ~ Julie D

Flower Fairy Ornaments

Erica, my partner in the Handmade Gift Exchange, said that her daughters really like the little fairy ornament that I sent her and she would like to make some. So, I decided to post a tutorial to share how these little cuties are made. My sister-in-law and I made a bunch as favors for my daughter's fairy birthday party one year. We sort of just made them up as we went along based on one I had seen in a magazine. I think they came out perfect! They're super simple to make and I have made a lot of them!!

First you will need to gather some supplies: a white or ivory pipe cleaner, an artificial flower, a small acorn cap, a wooden bead, silver or gold cording, ribbon and some tulle....you will also need a glue gun.

Begin by bending the pipe cleaner in half. About 3/4 of an inch from the center fold, bend out about an inch and then back in on each side to form the arms. You will end up with a three pointed star shape like this... 

Twist at the neck, arms and waist to form a little body. Don't twist too much though or the pipe cleaner will look matted...

Next, disassemble your flower. When you are choosing your flowers, look for ones that have petals that go all the way around and have a natural bell shape to them, like roses. 

 Dress your fairy by slipping her legs through the hole in the center of the petals. This fairy is wearing a simple rose petal dress but you can also add leaves or other flower parts to her outfit. Depending on the type of petals you are using, you may need more or less layers. Alternate the petals to fill out the skirt, adding a little hot glue to hold the petals in place. You can play around with different "outfits" first and then add the hot glue when you are happy. Be careful not to snag the petals with the pipe cleaner ends! Add the bead for her head using hot glue.

Wrap a strip of tulle around her body and knot in the back to form her wings. My tulle is on a spool and is 6 inches wide. I use about 12 inches in length and then trim the ends of the wings shorter if needed to suit the overall size of each fairy. You can also use tulle sold by the yard, just cut it to size...

Wrap about a 12 inch piece of ribbon around the back of her neck and cross in front to form bodice.... 

Wrap ribbon to the back and cross under her wings...

Wrap ribbon back around to front and tie ends into a bow at her waist... 

 Add acorn cap to the top of her head with a hot glue. If you do not have an acorn cap, you can use anything for a hat like a smaller bell shaped flower. Or, use yarn or other material to make hair. You could also glue a smaller bead to the top of her head as a bun, be sure to cover the hole, and paint hair with craft paint. Trim the ribbon ends...

I also like to gently bend the ends of the pipe cleaner up about 1/4 of an inch on each leg to form little feet...and it helps hide the pokey ends! Add a hanging loop with a small piece of cording and she is ready to hang or tie onto a special gift....adorable!!!

Here are a few other variations that I have made...

If you have any questions about how to make these little fairies just send me an email! 

Thanks for visiting!!

~ Julie D.

For Erica ~ Handmade Gift Exchange

Wow! This has taken me a little longer than I thought to get up here! I wanted to be sure my gift partner had received my package before I posted pics, and then, well, time just got away from me. Anyway, here are the little gifts that I sent to Erica, my partner for the Handmade Gift Exchange. She told me that some of her favorite colors were red and green, how perfect for the holidays!!! I sent her a little fairy ornament, a felt flower clip and, of course, some button jewelry...

...a little candy cane...

...a post-it holder, mini notebook & pen...

...and a set of stamped cards!

I hope she enjoyed receiving them as much as I did making them!

Thanks for visiting!!

~ Julie D.

another gift in the mail!

I mailed my gift to Erica, my Handmade Gift Exchange partner, today. I already received my gift from her and was eager to get mine in the mail. She sent me a box filled with some fabulous crafty things...a banner, a desk calendar, a key fob, a set of cards and some really neat candles, all handmade by her. I loved them all! Thank you Erica!! 

I hope she likes the goodies I sent to her. Check back in a few days to see what's inside the box!

~ Julie D.

some more button jewelry...

I just love making these button charm bracelets, I have made lots of them! They are a great way to use my A Muse Studio buttons, which come in some yummy colors, like this pretty pink... 

and the matching earrings....

Love em! I sold some of these at my craft fair over the weekend. I still have a few colors left, if you would like one just email me. They would make a great gift too! (bracelets $8/earrings $4)

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Julie D.

For Lisa ~ Handmade Gift Exchange

Here are the gifts that I made Lisa for the Handmade Gift Exchange. 

I am so happy that she received them and likes them all!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Julie 

my little crafter...

Ok, so I just had to share this!

My daughter (5), who loves to craft too, decided she was going to have a craft workshop for me! She was the "craft teacher" and I was going to come to her workshop. She set everything up on her little table...just like mommy does!!! 

As you can see she has her own gladware container full of glitter and a spoon...

my fave way to store and use glitter! 

Here are our finished projects... 

I cannot wait for her next workshop!!!

Thanks for visiting!

~ Julie

Valentine Tree...

My daughter was so excited for Christmas this year and especially loved helping to decorate the house, inside and out. She was not so happy about having to pack all the decorations away again for a whole year. So we decided to keep up a small tree and decorate it for Valentine's Day!

We made a big batch of salt dough heart ornaments last year. They were super easy to make and I just love how they came out. See the original post with the recipe here. I also made the mini cupcake ornaments last year and liked them so much I made more this year. They were a big seller at the craft fairs. I saw them on the Bake it Pretty blog...you can find a great tutorial for them here.

We even made a Valentine angel for the top of the tree. She is made from a toilet paper tube, cardstock and scrapbook paper. She is the perfect finishing touch!



Who says trees are just for Christmas?

Thanks for visiting!

~ Julie

Handmade Gift Exchange

It's time for another Handmade Gift Exchange over at Craftaholics Anonymous!!! Yay!!!! I had sooooo much fun participating in the last gift exchange that I could not wait to sign-up again, you should too. You only have until November 7th to register! Tell all your crafty friends too!!
Click the photo below for all the details!

Happy Crafting!

~ Julie D.

Happy Anniversary...

...to my wonderful husband! 

I cannot believe this photo was taken almost 20 years ago!!!

We were so young. I love him just as much today as I did waaaaaaay back then...
in fact, even more!

Here is a mini album in a box that I made for him a several anniversaries ago. I used an empty cigar box covered with decorative paper as the base and used scrapbook paper to make the inside pages then added photos and embellishments. It is a treasure to me now.

I drew the monogram, had it made into a rubber stamp and used it for our wedding invitations and programs. Yes...I was a crazy woman once and handmade 75 elaborate wedding invitations. If you were one of the 75 to get one I hope you saved it!!! Just kidding!

 Ahhh...so in love!

Thanks for visiting!

~ Julie D.

ps: ONLY 7 Days until On the Road in Nashua!!

Kelye's Diaper Cake

I was recently invited to a baby shower for my neighbor who is expecting a baby girl this month. Since she and her husband are already well prepared for little Danika's arrival it was requested that gifts be kept to basic neccessities like diapers, onesies and toiletries. I knew right away that I wanted to make her a diaper cake. I had so much fun making one for my sister-in-law and was thrilled to have a reason to make another.

This adorable "cake" is made up of a jumbo pack of diapers, a pack of onesies and some sweet little rattles. I made pink tissue paper flowers and used pink ribbon to decorate it. A chipboard monogram and a few paper punched butterflies complete it. I hope she enjoyed it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Only 8 Days to go until On the Road in Nashua!!!

~ Julie D.