Baptism Gift

Have you ever made a gift for someone and wished you had made it for yourself?  Be honest...  This is truly a gift I wish I had made for my littlest one, but I didn't.  I couldn't even make it because I only found one of the most important items (the Cross,) which I found by chance!  I am really proud of how this baptism gift turned out and surprisingly the finished product is actually like I imagined it would look!  That never happens for me!

So, I have seen tons of stamped hoops with sewn bunting all over blog land, but I didn't need a gift like that, especially for such a solemn occasion.  I did want a hoop gift though, so I spent a lot of time trolling searching for the applique, charm and perfect font/wording for this gift.  I am so glad I did (cough, cough, though the gift was late...)

This was super easy and if you have to make one, will be super quick for you!  :)  That's what I am here for friends!  I have included a tute, though you all are smart cookies and would hardly need one! 



Materials:
Scrap of Fabric for Hoop
Paint
Wood Hoop - mine is 6 inches across
Applique Cross
Iron on Transfer Paper
Thread/Needle
Ribbon (optional)
Charm (optional) Mine said 'the Lord be with you,' but you could easily do a dove, angel, I saw so many options at the store
Font/Printer/Computer
Embroidery Scissors (optional)

Instructions:

1. Paint outside of wood hoop your desired color.  Try two coats and let dry.
2. Find the perfect font/wording, then print out on regular printer paper.  
3. Cut the wording out and put to the side for now.
4. Place fabric in the hoop.  Place wording in desired area to determine if font size is appropriate.  Place applique in desired spot too.  Rearrange if needed...  In my example, I could have easily put the wording over the cross.  See what looks best to your eye. 
5. If wording looks good, print mirror image on transfer paper according to package directions.
6. Iron wording first, then iron Cross applique.  Ok, my applique wouldn't stick, so I ended up hand sewing a couple of stitches on the top and bottom of the cross.  If you don't have any ribbon/charm, then do the sides, too.  Never remove the fabric from the hoop at this point.  Trust me!  :)
7. Cut a couple of inches of desired ribbon and put the charm on the ribbon.  Fold the ends under the sides of the cross and do your hand stitching.  This is a two-fer because the ribbon stitching also holds the applique, too.
8. Cut excess fabric away from the hoop.  I used my embroidery scissors because they cut real close to the hoop.  I tried using my standard fabric scissors and they didn't do as clean of a job.

I found all of the items (hoop, cross, and charm) at the same store, while I had all of the other items from leftover projects.  When I got to it, this didn't take long and like I said, I wish I had one (or three, actually) of these for my boys.  Yes, I am that person who when I find an awesome gift for you, I buy one for myself, too!  At least people know I do buy other people things I would want...  :)   I am working on it...  Ok, I am not, but I felt like I needed to say that!  :)

What do you like to make for baptism gifts?

Take Care,
Morgan

Linking up to:
Made by you Monday - Skip to my Lou 
Trendy Treehouse 
Craft-O-Maniac 
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/link-party-palooza-22/ 

Easy Summer Crafting Project with Boys

Ok, so I constantly have to remind myself that I have boys, especially when it comes to crafting.  This time, I got it totally right!  My boys LOVED this project and want to do more of them...  It couldn't have been easier.  I bought some fabric markers for a buck (with a three dollar off coupon from a couple of weeks ago) and a two pack of pillow cases...

I will include a tute, but this is easy, peasy and can be done however you want...   So, for less than $5 bucks, my boys had a fun project they can enjoy for weeks to come.

Materials:
Cereal Box - cut open to lay flat
Pillow Cases or T-Shirts
Fabric Markers
Print outs
Ribbon, fringe, embellishments (for girls, perhaps?)

Instructions:

1. Look for images online and print out in black and white.
2. Place the cereal box in between the layers of the pillowcase, then place the printed image on top of the box, still under the first layer of fabric.  
3. Now, I had to help with this part:  hold the layer of pillowcase taut, so that your kiddo can trace the image with the markers.  My son chose black for the outlines and I did the tracing for my younger boy's image.
4. Color at random, while moving the cereal box to be under the spot being colored.
5. Set the colors according to the package directions.

My boys really enjoyed this project and want to color more things.  They constantly ask for the coloring pillowcases, so it may be a good idea to do two for each kiddo (one for the wash and one for use?)

Anywho, hope your boys enjoy this craft, too!

Take Care,
Morgan

Linking up to:
Made by you Monday - Skip to my Lou 
Trendy Treehouse  
Craft-O-Maniac 
I Heart Naptime 
Time to Sparkle Link Party  
Cheerios and Lattes Saturday Show and Tell 

Easy Teacher Appreciation Gift

So, these were easy, peasy.  All I did was print, cut and stick.  I found the gumballs at my warehouse store on clearance and I put them together for Teacher Appreciate Week.  Yes, I do know we are in the middle of summer, but I am a bit behind...  I had the sticker labels from eons ago and that's it.  The gumballs came with the elastic ribbon, it couldn't have been better!  A five minute teacher appreciation gift.

Take Care,
Morgan