Handmade 2014

Here is a little preview of the handmade Christmas gifts this year.  Both my parents and my in laws received a basket full of goodies.  It included a small lavender sachet, hand embroidered towel, honey vanilla peach jam, wood burned spoons, beeswax wood polish, and fire starters (made by me and my boys).  But my most favorite inclusion was the warming pepper salve, made by Holy from Nature First.  She makes high quality natural health products, take a look at her shop!

Recycle Your Kid's Art: A Quick and Easy Tutorial

Every now and then I like to pull out a nice new piece of watercolor paper and let my son create an original work of art. His watercolors are so pretty and I like to hang at least one on the refrigerator, but they tend to pile up and I don't have a clue what to do with them. This is a quick and easy craft project that will help you recycle your kid's art!

Materials:child's original watercolor on watercolor paper
ink pad
ribbon or string

Tools:scissors
paper cutter (optional)
stamps
hole punch

Step 1: Select one of your child's original watercolors, preferably one with a lot of blank areas. Cut into squares or rectangles. I cut mine into 2" by 2 1/2" rectangles. You could also use some decorative punches to create your tags, but I wanted to keep things simple.


Step 2: Choose stamp with desired message. I created these tags for birthday gifts and chose my birthday wishes stamp. Stamp each piece. As you can see, the stamp shows up best on areas with mostly a white background.


Step 3: Punch each card with hole punch and thread a string or ribbon through the holes. Decorate your gifts with your child's mini originals!

If you enjoyed my tutorial, feel free to leave a donation!