felt envelopes for santa claus!

November 17, 2015 by mama lola

oh my goodness! look at what i found!

i was researching other christmas crafts when i saw these lovely, adorable felt envelopes to santa claus! of course i pinned the ideas and decided to make a round-up post for inspiration.

first i’ll share what i made.

i used felt, thread, hot glue gun and my sewing machine just a little.

i used a blanket stitch to sew the edges of the envelope together. i wasn’t too concerned about the evenness of the stitches, creating a childlike quality to the project. then i used my scrap felt to cut out the letters, stamp and holly embellishments.

i have lots of scraps of felt that i save for detailing for all sorts of projects. here i used the small pieces for holly, the reindeer’s face and antlers and the stamps. i just hot glue gunned them on.

then i embroidered some simple wintery stars on the back of one of the envelopes.

TA-DAA!!!

i just love them!

below i have included ideas that vary from quite intricate to very simple. school aged kids could even make one of the easier versions of the envelopes.

writing to santa : diy felt envelopes from city girl gone coastal

letter to santa claus felt envelope from not on the high street

(this one is not a tutorial, but a envelope for sale)

felt envelope by michale ann via paper + stitch

personalised felt christmas letter to santa envelope from cut out and keep

christmas wish-list felt envelope from jumbbleberries

if you’re not feeling crafty, check etsy for these felt envelopes. there are many creative people there making fantastic envelopes; go check them out by just putting “santa felt envelopes”into the search and enjoy!

these sweet things would be perfect for kids or even for gift cards!

birthday cake toppers!

July 2, 2015 by mama lola

we are hosting a birthday party for my lion on saturday. we will be making an awesome ice cream cake as the weather is going to be hot and sunny (recipe for that coming soon).

i cannot believe he is going to be 5 years old! that’s one whole hand, people! i only have two days to prepare for his party, so i thought making a FUN cake topper would be a great way to get some impact and FUN onto his yummy ice cream cake. i checked out pinterest (of course) and chose some of the cutest and simplest ideas i could find. there are lots of tutorials for cake toppers that are very complicated, but also stunning! go for it if you have time!

DIY pompom cake topper from momtastic

DIY fringe mylar cake toppers from diy studio

DIY animal candle cake toppers from kara’s party ideas

DIY animal cake toppers from visual heart

playful puppet cake toppers for birthday cake and cupcakes from mer mag

DIY cake topper from art bar blog

i love looking at what other creative people have been up to. their ideas give me great inspiration and get my own creative juices flowing. i’m not exactly sure what kind of a cake topper lion will end up for saturday, but i do love the pom poms, animals and bunting flags… hey, wait! that’s all of the ideas! hahaha! i may take a little from all of ideas above and make something of my own!

happy summer crafting friends!

DIY macrame plant hangers

June 9, 2015 by mama lola

with the warmer weather has come the urge to plant and grow things. we have a lovely little covered porch where i hang a big basket of petunia’s each season. there are other hooks that need plants hung from them and i’ve been trying to think of ways to HANG plants without actually spending money.

and, that’s when it hit me… MACRAME! yes, many think it’s tacky or too old school, but i actually really love macrame hanging planters. they can be so simple, neutral, colourful, or complex. the possibilities are endless.

so, for my firts attempt at macrame i wanted to start simple, and i found this fantastic tutorial from brit & co. below is the plant holder from them… BOOM, love that pink!

here’s the one i made from an ancient, stretched out t-shirt.

and, yes of course it’s turquoise! haha!

i wanted to include some macrame inspiration i found.

mini macrame hangers from free people

5 hangers from modern macrame

macrame plant hangers from erin made this

here’s another great tutorial from pigment using cotton rope and beads instead of fabric. aren’t they lovely?

macrame plant hanger from space craft studios

good luck with your own macrame project.

have a lovely week friends!

mother’s day flower crafts.

April 16, 2015 by mama lola

mother’s day is less than a month away, so it’s time to get crafty!

all mother’s LOVE flowers of any kind, especially something made with love and heart.

my kids love to make gifts for their grandma and mummo, for mother’s day. look at these lovely flower crafts i found. some are harder than other’s, but all a great sourse of inspiration. the hanging wisteria are so gorgeous, right? i’d have those hanging all year if i could!

paper and button flowers from kiwi crate

flower card from hands on as we grow

paper flower bouquet from oh happy day

accordion folded spring flower collage from make and takes

try this tissue wisteria from the land of nod

my tulips and crocuses are quickly coming up now in my garden and i keep buying cut flowers on sale at the grocery store, because i eager for flowers, flowers and more flowers!!!

happy crafting lovelies!

washi tape FUN!

March 2, 2015 by mama lola

it’s my turn to share a washi tape round-up!

if you don’t have any washi tape, you best run out to a craft supply store and load up. this stuff is fun and addictive! there is so much you can do with it, and the best art is that it’s easy n’ fast to work with. as i was looking for fun projects to include in my round-up i realized that anything and everything can be made cuter, prettier and more personalized with some washi tap! gotta love that!

so, here we go… drum roll puh-lease…

washi bike from schoolactie.hema.nl

washi picture wall from 100 layer cake

washi tape clothespins from make life lovely

washi craft stick dolls from mollymoo

washi paper clips with flags from paper & pin

diy washi chopsticks from by wilma

washi your work space from brit & co.

washi your table from enjoy it

so, which project is your favourite?

i love the bike, but am not sure i would actually do that. will definitely make some cute paper clips, personalize my journal and do some wall art type thing in the boys room!

if you have a fun washi tape craft or project you want to share, please include it in the comments section!

reindeer cookies!

December 18, 2014 by mama lola

we made these super cute. super yummy, super easy reindeer cookies after school one day. it was great way to get some christmas cheer into dull monday afternoon, as we also had our CHFI holiday music cranked!

the recipe is from pillsbury, CLICK HERE for deatils. there’s no mess, it’s fast, easy and the kids LOVE the whole process so much!

just a few tips :

remember to buy the small pretzels as the cookies expand A LOT as they bake, so you need to be generous with the spacing or the “antlers” can fall off when you’re removing from the cookie sheet.
get your christmas helpers to decorate fast, because at the cookies set the candy eyes and noses just wont stick!
we used swedish berries and M&M’s for the eyes and noses. more colourful!
this is the only time i buy cookie dough in a tube, and i just let it go! haha! you should too!

we actually baked these gems a few christmas’ ago when bear and lion were three years younger than they are today… man, have those kids grown up a lot in that time! so amazing! check out the adorable pictures HERE!

ENJOY!

DIY gift tags!

December 7, 2014 by mama lola

i loooooooooooooooove a good gift tag!

i ~~always~~ often make my own, especially at x-mas time. the fun thing about gift tags is you can personalize them if you want, make them in any shape or colour, use a myriad of materials… or not… i prefer to keep them simple, but that’s just me!

i made these adorable wee tags out of cereal boxes.

i cut up the cardboard, used a hole punch , lettered, painted and doodled the cards… and VOILA! if the back of your cardboard has some brand name or ingredients list on it (like mine) just trace your name tag card onto some pretty paper, cut it out and glue on!

this is just the first batch!

the next set may have some interesting embellishments on them like felt or sparkles or….

… stay tuned!

white christmas ideas!

December 2, 2014 by mama lola

white is one of my favourite colours for the home. white holiday decorations are fresh, bright and work well with all other colours! at christmas time white is festive with all the connections to snow and ice, and looks so great with the traditional colours like all the deep reds and rich greens.

here are some of my favourite ideas after looking online and on pinterest for inspiration.

sarah louise matthews

a beautiful mess

the house that lars built

wit & whistle

bear & lion

i hope these beautiful projects inspired you as much they did me!

may your day be merry and bright!

homemade stocking stuffers!

November 22, 2014 by mama lola

stocking stuffers… stocking stuffers, sometimes these little gifts get such a bad rep. well if you’re buying something generic that may be the case, but if you put some of your back into it and create a homemade stocking stuffer then that can be a very personal gift!

tis the season for getting crafty and creative! making little stocking stuffers for the people you adore is a wonderful way to share some homemade goodness in a time of intense spending! i’ve brought together 10 ideas for you to try and all of these can be made with simple crafting supplies and home deco items! if there’s an item you don’t have or need some more supplies for your project why not check Raise to see if they have a deal for craft and decor supplies. you may often find craft deals around this time of year as so many people are making their own gifts!

here we go! my top 10 stocking stuffer ideas (in no particular order) for this holiday season! (not all these ideas are “christmassy” themed, but perfect none-the-less as stocking stuffers… there’s something for everyone on your lists here! promise!)

ahem! drum roll please….

i made these felted soaps last year for people. they were very well received and enjoyed! and, i had my then three year old help me, which was totally fun and adorable!

bear & lion

look at these colourful homemade crayons from it’s gravy baby! this is a great gift idea you can get the kids to help with, even the little ones can do their part! and who wouldn’t love to get creative with these awesome multi-coloured tokens of love?!

it’s gravy baby

don’t these sugar scrub cubes look good enough to eat? well, they look delicious and i’m sure your skin would enjoy a nice scrub in the tub with these! lovely idea for any tired, hard working body… hey, so that could be anyone! thanks for the idea hello natural!

hello natural

i used to collect keychains as a kid! i love these sewn keychains from living with punks, and i especially adore the little buttons embellishments, how cute are they?! you could use fabric from old torn clothes like your favourite pair of jeans of concert t-shirt… i love using old things for new projects!

living with punks

anything jersey and i love it! this grey jersey bowls with the neon stitching is amazing! excellent tutorial from the red thread on how to make your own! you could easily fold a bowl to fir your stocking… haha! these wee things are perfect for odds n’ ends that need a place.

the red thread

this memory game from dear lizzy is so wonderful! i think that hardest part for me would be picking and choosing the photograph’s i’d like to use! this is a great idea for little people who might live far away from extended family or friends. so sweet!

dear lizzy

these little hand warmers are a great idea from holly dolly! quick and easy to make, but something practical to share with those you love during the freezing winter months! LOVE!

holly dolly

this sewing kit in a jar is a delightful stocking stuffer for any novice sewer you know. the paper mama has included lovely photo’s and a complete list of what to include in your jar. i actually have a very specific person in mind for this gift, someone who was born less than 10 years ago!

the paper mama

aren’t these dancing family cut-outs from sweet paul hilarious?! what a wonderful stocking stuffer idea for your grumpy grandpa or your mischievous little nephew! i know my boys would have such fun with these!

sweet paul

how lovely are these monogrammed mugs from pine gate road? what a great way to personalize a gift. i especially love the gold sharpie here, makes the mug look fancier, so fantastic! if you wanted to go the extra mile with this gift idea, why not order a Custom Mug With Name and Dogs on. i love receving personalized gifts so i think these mugs are an amazing present!

pine gate road

i’ve definitely been busy pinning these ideas and more on pinterest! there are so many unique and beautiful ideas out there to be made!

if you don’t already, come and follow me on pinterest!

let me know which stocking stuffer idea you’re going to give a whirl!

dried orange slices for christmas.

November 12, 2014 by mama lola

are you looking for a easy christmas project? these dried orange and lime slices are easy, although theu do take a while to bake.but, once they are done they make for lovely decorations, gifts, wreath accents, or whatever!

first i sliced my oranges and limes. then i placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them for about 5 hours at 170F. some people suggest using a cooking rack to bake them on, but mine is packed away because of the reno. i did flip the citrus slices every so often ensuring even drying and sprinkled some clover into them. my house smelled AMAZING!

here are some beautiful ideas from other’s to show how use the dried slices creatively.

i love the look of the oranges with the greens here in a garland by buckets of burlap. this garland could be hung outside on railingor around a window. simple, but gorgeous!

this jar of simmering spices is a wonderful gift idea! sheryl of the lady behind the curtain suggest offering it as a hostess gift, which i think is a great idea!

i just love the look of this lovely wreath using dried fruits and other natural pieces from crafts 2 cherish. the textures and colours are beautiful!

if you do decide to make dried citrus slices, just make sure you give yourself plenty of time!

enjoy!