{tutorial & free printable} Sweets for the Sweet Valentines Pillow Box

Today you'll find me guest posting over at Whatever DeeDee Wants with this fun printable.  Head on over for this FREE printable and assembling tutorial.
Valentines is  dangerous holiday for me!  I have no will-power when it comes to the sugary goodness found on isle after isle at the grocery store.  So this pillow box printable is going to help me get some of this candy out of my house and into someone else's.

 

 Uh oh... this little sweetie-pie has inherited the love of candy from his mother!  What's a mom to do?

 To download the Valentines pillow box printable go HERE.

Also, don't forget to head on over to Whatever DeeDee Wants for the full tutorial and other fun Valentines projects she has in store.

{free printable} Valentines Day Tags

Before I got married I referred to Valentines Day as "Single Awareness Day", but even those that are single can still get on the V-Day fun with these cute tags.  We've decided to mix it up this year and give out popcorn in brown paper bags to the little ones.  Heaven knows they'll get enough sweets from everyone else. :)

My little one LOVES popcorn and can smell it from a mile away!

 These tags could be used for your kidlet's friends, classmates or your co-workers.  Who doesn't love receiving a little sweet treat?

Download your tags HERE

{tutorial} Upholstered Headboard Squares

First I have to apologize...as I was knee-deep into my project I realized I had not taken any photographs with my camera so I pulled out my iphone and snapped a few blurry shots.  I wish the quality was better, but it is what it is.

After seeing this headboard on DIY Network webpage I immediately went into action to create my own little version.  Once I had collected everything I needed in order to finish this project it came together relatively quick.  Needed for this headboard project is:  Styrofoam Mattress Pad, Scissors, Upholstery Batting, Staple Gun, Wood Squares, Fabric, Wood Particle Board, Hammer, and Screw Gun.

 Please keep in mind this headboard is for a full-size bed so all dimensions stated are for such size.  I bought the wood at Lowes and since we moved to NM we don't have access to my father-in-law's tools so I had the man at Lowes cut the board into twelve 13.5" squares.  Did you know Lowes doesn't charge for such cuts? I was certain it was going to cost an arm and a leg, but nope it was free and fast!

First I cut the mattress pad into twelve 13.5" squares.  As for the batting I just eye-balled it.  When cutting the batting I made sure to leave a 4" over hanging border so it could wrap around easily for stapling.  I also cut my fabric using the same dimensions I used for the batting.  Next, I just stapled around the edges making sure to pull tightly.  If you don't pull tight on the fabric and batting it will pucker and look sloppy.  And nobody likes a sloppy headboard, right?

 The corners were a bit tricky because of the batting thickness.  I found that folding the left side in and then the top over that made the cleanest fold.
Tip:  If your staples don't go all the way in take a hammer and pound them down into the wood.

After all boards are upholstered I screwed them tightly into a board from the back.  This is were a friend or significant other comes in handy.  Four hands really are better than two sometimes.  I wanted the boards to be butted up against each other as tight as they could go, so my hubby screwed from behind while I pushed the boards together from the front.  Once all boards are screwed in place just lean against the wall behind the bed-- this helps keep the headboard in place.

Just FYI-- we tried a couple of wall mounting methods.  Our first fail was double sided sticky pads, but let's be honest they held for maybe 5 minutes.  Our second fail was hanging each individual board with saw tooth metal picture hangers, but we couldn't get the boards close enough together.  Also, with the hanging method the boards could easily fall off on the guests when they were leaned against, so this was a BIG FAIL!

Perfect for my guest bedroom and the many holiday guests we had joining us.

{free printable} Merry Christmas Tags

Merry Christmas! We're going on a road trip to visit family in Utah so I won't be posting anything new until after Christmas, but I hope you all have a wonderful holiday full of family and friends.

To download these 2.5" square tags go HERE

{free printable} Snowflake Circles

So simple, but it adds a bit of color to those plain white holiday card envelopes.  You could also use these circles as cupcake toppers, gift tags (just add a little note on the backside), or put them on your gifts.  Just print, punch and attach.  I used my sticker maker, but a glue stick or double sided tape would work great too!

 These holiday circles measure at 1.75" and I used a 1.5" hole puncher for the above picture.  Happy Holidays!  Hope it's snowing where you're at, because in NM it's a rarity (although I can't complain too much, we do have snow on the ground right now).  Enjoy!
To download your own snowflake circles go HERE

{tutorial & free printable pattern} Felt Nativity Hand Puppets

I in no way came up with this project on my own.  My church provided these kits to make felt nativity hand puppets and I just thought I would share it with everyone because they were quick and super cute!

 Felt Requirements:  these are just suggested body colors to make all 8 puppets using 9" x 12" felt pieces.

- 2 pieces each (light blue, tan, green, dark tan, purple, and red)

- 4 pieces each (white)

- Scrap pieces (flesh, black, yellow, dark brown, gold, dark blue, brown, pink, and gray)

Also Needed:

-Sharp fabric scissors

-Tacky craft glue

-Sewing Machine (optional)

 Other Doo-Dads Needed:

-2 brown pipe cleaners

-Ric-rac, braid, and trim

-Jewels, wooden bead, and gold button

-Small pink pom pom (for lamb's nose)

-Small bell & cord (for lamb's neck)

Download the nativity puppet outline and pattern HERE.

 It's as easy as printing the PDF pattern, cutting out the pieces and gluing them together. The instructions on the PDF file are fairly clear and concise.  My mother in law was in town last week and got a kit for herself, but she she's going to sew the hand pieces so that they last longer.  However, I did mine with craft tacky glue and they seem to be holding up just fine, thus far.

{The Three Wise Men}

{Baby Jesus, Mary & Joseph}

{Lamb, Shepherd & Angel}

The puppets came together relatively quickly and I just know the kidlets will enjoy playing with them through the holidays.  Again, download your pattern HERE.

{tutorial} Jingle Bell Wreaths

What's Christmas without some jingle bells?  I found discounted tubes of bells last year after Christmas and just remembered I had them while decorating my house for the holidays.  This project took me all of 15 minutes.  I love quick and easy-- nothing better!

All that is needed:  wire coat hanger, ribbon, and jingle bells.

I feel like the hardest part was unwinding the wire coat hanger.  I thought my finger tips were going to get slashed open.  I highly recommend wearing heavy gardening gloves or better yet, use wire clippers if you have them.  I, on the other hand, did it the hard way!

After you've formed your wire into a circle you thread your bells onto the hanger, making sure to push them as close together as they will go.  Once you've completed threading the bells and have determined it is the size you want twist your wire back together and attach some ribbon for hanging.

 I had some left over bells, but not enough to make another wreath so I made this fun little hangy thing.  Instead of wire, I used some ribbon to thread and tied knots on both ends so the bells stay close together.

I'm loving the dark bronze bells, but they're a bit larger than the silver ones so they are unable to get snug and the wire is showing through a bit on these.  Oh well... can't win them all.