DIY Gift Tags

Lately I have been obsessed with cute packaging. The paper, the tape, the tags! I also have been caught up in the Washi Tape trend. It's amazing how a little piece of washi tape can make a card, envelope or tag look so darn cute!

My creative materials:

Gift tags - you can make your own or buy them

Washi Tape - purchased from Willow & Washi 

Bakers Twine - from Michaels

Rubber Letter stamp - similar one can be found at Wonderland Room on Etsy

Handmade Stamp and Ink - learn more about the stamp here

 

And then I just got creative! Oh, and I also pulled out some feathers I had in the craft box.

A little aztec

I love the floral washi tape, so cute!

I can't take all the credit for these tags I had a couple crafty creative friends helping me out.

Now all I need is a reason to use them... who has the next birthday coming up?? Comment and you might get a little something in the mail with one of these tags on it!

 

p.s. The quality on these is horrible. Only the first picture worked. Does anyone else use blogger and have troubles selecting the size of the picture?

Cardboard Box Playhouse

We have been moving every few months for the last year and a half (totally crazy). We always have boxes EVERYWHERE! So, today I decided to reuse, recycle and recreate!!

I stumbled upon a blog a while ago called Ambrosia Girl. She gives a tutorial for a playhouse made out of a cardboard box. Adorable! She will give detailed instructions on how you fold the boxes. You will need two boxes. I ended up stacking them to make it tall enough to stand in. You could also just use a really BIG box!

Of course I couldn't just leave it as a plain old brown house. Isn't it adorable!

I decided to add a door using parts of the extra box.

I sectioned off the door with painters tape and used white craft paint I had on hand.

I wanted it to look like an old fence so I roughly spread the paint so the brown would show through.

 Peal off the tape, cut the edges and voila!

A beautiful picket fence door!

You might notice that you end up with a hole on the back of the house. You can leave it as is or trace and cut more cardboard to close it up. OR ...make curtains! (it's a good thing I dont have any girls, or I would be going over board like this ALL the time)

I used a bit of twine and scrap fabric to make the curtains. Just poke a hole on either side of the cardboard and cut little holes through the fabric. Weave the twine through each piece and then tie on each end.

I also decided to add a little detailing to the roof of the house.

White printer paper and kid scissors... it works right?!

And of course I had to make one for the little guy too! They LOVED them!

Alley Treasures

One of my favourite past times is hunting for treasures in the alley! I remember as a little girl my parents would load all us kids into the van and we would drive up and down the alley's looking for something to reuse. It must have made a lasting impression because I do it with my own kids now.

Last year I found this gem under a bush in the alley. It had been there for so long it was molded into the dirt. I think at one point it might have been filled with a mirror. Maybe for a dresser. The wood had rotted in places and it was full of dirt.

BEFORE

(horrible picture  I know)

AFTER

I gave it a good cleaning and used whatever paint I had on hand. I think I must have painted it three or four times to get it right. I painted it once more after this picture was taken. It was a little too yellow and I wanted it to be more cream.

I added these adorable fabric brooches. You can change the color of brooch for each season. You can find similar broaches in my Flower Yourself etsy shop

Who knew alley shopping could be this beautiful! I also painted the floor rug. It started out as a bamboo style rug from JYSK. I was inspired by a wall stencil found at Jones Design Company. She stenciled her whole wall!... can you imagine? The rug too me long enough, but I totally LOVE it!