Recycled Baby Food Cups

I have frequently admired other crafter's ability to use recycled materials and the ingenuity they show in some of the projects they make.  While this little project is not extremely unique, it is a cute little use for those small plastic baby food containers.  They are the ones that have replaced the old-fashioned baby food jars we used when our children were small.  I had washed out a few from when my grandson was visiting and hung on to them for one of these type of projects.

I wanted to include some sweet treats in the Christmas packages I was mailing and these turned out to be the perfect size.  I also was able to use up some scraps of Christmas papers I had laying around.  Love it when I can upcycle and use up scraps from other projects.  I found enough matching scraps to create a band to go around the base of the container and the cut a smaller piece to go on the top of the lid.  I cut it to size and then rounded the corners to fit the lid perfectly.

I added the holiday M&M's to each and tucked them in with my other gifts and off they went. Another project checked off my list!

Once again, Imagine Create, Enjoy!!

Christmas Journal

I have a Christmas Journal that I either bought or received many years ago when my children were small.  The idea behind them...to write down your favorite family Christmas memories each year. Then you can look back each year and read the history of your family and see how things have progressed and changed. I wish I could say that I was one of those moms who religiously filled it out year after year; unfortunately, I never started the book.  I don't know why, the busyness of the holiday season, etc., etc., I really have no excuse! I thought though in my motherly wisdom that I might give one as a gift to my new daughter-in-law in hopes that as they start their new family, they will start writing in the journal each year to log how the years go by...the traditions they establish, the memories, the changes they go through, and that they are able to enjoy each year the journey back through the years to see where they've come from and look forward to where they are headed.  Maybe this year I'll start mine finally.

See you around!  Continue to Imagine, Create, and Enjoy!

Christmas Covered Clothes Pins

I have previously done this project and decided to do some more upcycling with standard clothes pins. My mom hung her wash on the clothesline in our back yard for her entire life.  It wasn't until she moved in with my sister that she started using a modern washer and dryer.  She still had the old-fashioned wringer washing machine and rinse tubs when she sold her home, so I grew with these clothes pins in the house. Granted as an adult I have always had the convenience of a washer and dryer, but I have continued to rely on these little gems for other household chores. Holding card stock I am embossing is one of my favorite uses.  Keeps my hands free from the direct heat generated by the embossing gun when I am adding an embossed look to my projects. They also save my fingers from hot glue burns when using the hot glue gun. In the kitchen we use these for chip clips for the bags of chips, crackers, and nuts.

I utilized scraps of Christmas papers left from some of my other holiday projects and decided to do up a few sets of these covered clothes pins.  I used round magnets you can pick up at any craft store and glued those to the back.  They are a nice little addition to your holiday decor in the kitchen on the refrigerator.  I had some leftover snow flake buttons and stickers from some other projects so added these as accents to the clothes pins.









To give them a finished look, I took white card stock and embossed it with a holiday words embossing folder, I added about a two (2) inch wide scrap of Christmas paper, folded it around the edges of the embossed white card stock and used this to anchor the clips on.  I then slid them into a clear 5 x 7 bag, took another piece of Christmas paper scraps and trimmed it down to use as a bag topper, folded it in half and stapled it to the the bag.  I added a seasonal dimensional sticker to finish it off.

These are a sweet little item to tuck in and complete any gift sets and can be made for any occasion and with any papers.  Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

One Sheet Flat Storage Gift Boxes

I was looking for an easy to make small gift box for my small mirror baubles.  It is that jewelry box size that used to be a standard item you could buy at the stores but when I went looking this last Christmas season, none were to be found.  I really didn't want to use the standard take out box size...which was a little too big for my items.  So, I went in search on You Tube and found a short little video here for a small gift box that uses one sheet of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper.  Perfect.  Once you learn the folds in the box it is easy to replicate and because of the versatility of paper these days you can make one for virtually any occasion.  It is also a good idea to use double sided 12 x 12 paper, that way it gives you a nice pattern on the inside of the box as well as the outside.


Here are a couple of the ones I did.







As the video explained, to keep the box closed you will create a belly band to go around the box.  I also like the alternative of wrapping it with a piece of ribbon or bakers twine with some other little tag or trinket tied on the top.  The feature I like best is that the box will fold flat for storage so you could make these up in advance to have on hand and pull them out when you need them.  They would also be a great gift idea...put a half dozen of these and some birthday cards or other greeting cards together for that special friend or co-worker.

See you next time!  Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

Hanging Mirror Baubles

I don't recall exactly where I saw or heard of this idea and I certainly can't find a pin on my Pinterest boards that is representative of it but likely I've seen it somewhere online.  I thought it was a cute idea so decided to make some for Christmas gifts. I bought small  mirror pieces that you can find at any craft store.  I chose small rounds, probably an inch in diameter.  I cut approximately 6 inch lengths of thin craft ribbon in holiday colors doubling them over to make a loop and hot glued them between two of the mirror rounds.

The idea for these little baubles is that you hang them between the branches of the Christmas tree and they reflect the sparkle of the Christmas lights and add more twinkle to your holiday decor. I packaged them in groups of six and they were a lovely little stocking stuffer and a little something to give to those individuals whom you want to remember in some small way at the holidays.


They were a quick, easy gift and one I would do again!  Great for your child's teacher, the mail deliverer, the paper boy or girl, babysitter, whomever.



 Keep on crafting!  Until next, Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

Shadow Jingle Boxes

I found the post for these Jingle boxes on Pinterest and when I clicked through it came from here.  I wanted to replicate the idea for Christmas gifts for family and friends.  I pretty much followed the picture as it appeared in the original post.  I made almost a dozen for various friends and family members.  They are a cute addition to Christmas decorations and can be specialized in color, background and the colors of the bells to coordinate with any decor.  When the original one was done the crafter utilized a smaller frame from IKEA.  Truth be told, I didn't really look at her directions until I started writing this.  I just took the picture and ran with it but on a larger scale. My frames were the 8x8 frames you can pick up at craft stores.  I picked these up at Joann's with a 70% off sale.  Around $4 to $5 I believe.  The original design just used a patterned piece of scrapbook paper and a pre-cut sentiment from Stampin Up!  I utilized my Cricut and ran the letters through my mini Xyron to apply adhesive to the back. I started with the same sentiment but after a couple decided I needed to change things up.  I used patterned paper with Christmas trees in the background and added snowflakes next to the words on this first one.  I also wanted to utilize the various colors of jingle bells available during the holidays, so opted for red and silver in the first box and some green gold and red in the second box.

Because the frames came in white, I left them that color.  My biggest challenge was finding ribbon the right width to go around the frame.  Well, there wasn't any.  I believe the frame is 1 1/4 inch wide, all of the ribbon I could find during the holidays was 1 1/2 inch wide, so I went with it.  It means there is a little bit of over hang around the edges but it looks good.  I also chose wire-edged ribbon as I wanted the bows to stand up and be able to be shaped and formed.

Once I got the first couple of boxes done I decided to go with some different sentiments, thus the boxes that follow.  I had some paper with sleighs on it so highlighted that image in the lower corner and tucked in some red, white and silver bells along with glittery red letters.

For this one the background paper is of candy canes and gingerbread men, sugarplums and all the associated words and images that go with that thought...thus the Visions of Sugarplums title for this box.  Once they were completed, I added a light spray of glitter to them to punch them up just a bit.  These pictures don't do them justice and it is difficult to see the bling...but it is there.

There are still a couple sitting in my closet to be delivered to some friends.  I hope they like them.

Until the next time, Imagine, Create, Enjoy!

Back in the Saddle!

Or on the blog in this particular case.  It's been awhile.  I didn't realize quite how long until I started updating with some new things I've been working on!  Clearly a long time!  Lots of things have happened in the last eight months!  A much awaited vacation to Hawaii in the fall, our first visit back in 31 years, the holidays, a move again (I'm thinking about just keeping the moving boxes at this point!), a new grand baby on the the way, a granddaughter, a new job for my spouse and more crafting.  So I'm going to be doing a bit of catching up... I always seem to be behind whatever the current holiday just a bit...but ideas are always relevant in the crafting world and hopefully good for inspiration!  Be patient as I catch-up with some holiday posts and then on to some of what I've been doing for the upcoming baby shower this weekend!

Hope you've all been well!  Keep on Crafting!

Imagine, Create, Enjoy!