Holiday S'mores Kit with 'HOME' Wood Block

Christmas is less than a week away now and I'm scrambling to finish some small gifts for neighbors and friends. Today I'm sharing with you a new variation of a gift that I put together a couple of years ago--remember the S'mores Kit's?  We live in a new town now so I guess one of the perks of moving is that I can recycle old ideas and use them again on new friends and neighbors--saves me some thinking time! ;)

I purchased the cute snowman gift sacks at Wal-mart for .75 each.  It turned out that the colors were exactly the same as the colors that I used for the s'mores tags--lucky!  I glued the kit contents tag to the side of the bag (and added one staple at the top for good measure), cut out the circle tag, and tied it to the bamboo skewers with red satin ribbon.

Download the free printable tags here.

Kit Contents:

• 1 package of graham crackers 
• 20 marshmallows in a clear cello sack (check your local dollar stores) 
• 9 snack size Hershey's chocolate bars
• 4 bamboo skewers for roasting the marshmallows over a stove plate (with an adults permission and supervision of course).
• 'HOME' Wood Block

I thought it would be fun if the chocolate bars looked like little "brown paper packages tied up with string" so I placed them on a piece of the cardboard packaging that they came on and tied them together with some string (from Lowe's).

Last month I saw the cutest little wood block that simply said 'HOME' on it at Lovely Little Snippets and thought it would be a nice addition to the kits.  I was able to make 16 six inch blocks with one 2x3x8 that only cost $2 (that's .13 each for the wood).  I used black paint ($3 Valspar paint sample from Lowe's), contact paper for a stencil, and added a piece of burlap and string from my stash.  If you would like more detailed directions on how to make the HOME block, directions can be printed here.

I added a 'HOME' block to each kit, cut 1 sheet of tissue paper into four smaller squares (so it fit better), and they were done.  You could add another small item instead of the stenciled wood block to save time or just throw in the s'mores ingredients and leave it at that.

Do you make small gifts for your neighbors and friends for the Holidays?  Are they done or are you scrambling to finish them too???

Today's Fabulous Find...S'mores Kit with 'HOME' Block

Check out these places for more fun ideas!

Six Sister's Stuff  Link Party Palooza at Lil' Luna

Antiqued Subway Art (Scout) Sign with Hooks

For the last few months I've had the privilege of working with a group of really great boys in the Cub Scout program as a Webelos Den Leader.  I wanted to give them a little gift for Christmas so when I saw that the Scout slogan is 'Do A Good Turn Daily' I knew right away that I wanted to put it on a sign for them.

Now, I realize that most 10 year old boys would prefer a small bag of candy over a sign for their room (and it would have been a whole lot easier and cheaper too) but I went ahead with the project anyway.  I figure that even if they only look at it a few times, if it reminds them to do something nice for someone else and they follow through with their thought, then the time put into making the signs would be worth it.

Before I get into telling you all about how I made the signs I want to first tell you about the hooks.  Originally I wanted to put wood knobs on the signs, but I was making 12 of them and it would have cost more than I wanted to spend.   Then I thought that wood pegs might work, but I couldn't find the right size.  I was at Lowe's and decided to just walk around the store and see if I might be able to find some kind of hook that maybe wasn't even meant to be a hook, but was strong enough, cheap enough, and would work well enough.  After about 15 minutes of wandering around I found the answer to my dilemma on the electrical isle--cable clips!

Large EZ-Cable Clips

Sorry for the terrible picture--gotta love Winter lighting!

The cable clips come in a package of 15 and cost just over $3.  They are meant to attach cable cords to walls so they aren't as heavy duty as a knob would have been, but they are strong enough to hold a hat or a tie which is all I needed them to do.  I painted the clips with two coats of oil rubbed bronze spray paint and then sanded them a bit to make them look old.  I was happy to discover that the white paint looked silver when they were distressed which only added to the look I was going for!

How to Make An Antiqued Subway Art Sign

(Size: 5 1/2" x 12")

Supplies Needed

• 1"x 6"x 12" board (really only measures just over 5")
• Electric Sander and/or Sandpaper (A medium grit sandpaper is needed for distressing.)
• Black Paint (I like to use the sample size paint from Lowe's, it goes on so well!)
• Contact Paper Stencil (Use a vinyl cutting machine or an x-acto knife)
• Dark Walnut Stain and a Rag
• Off White Spray Paint
• 3 Hooks
• Flathead Screwdriver
• Drill
• 2 Command Strips for Hanging
• Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray

'Do A Good Turn Daily' Stencil Template

The gray border on the image should be sized to 6" x 12" (or any size with the same proportions). 

Four ways to use the template:

1. Use the tracing feature in the Silhouette program and cut it out on contact paper to use as a stencil or use an X-acto knife to cut a stencil if you don't have a cutting machine.
2. Print the template onto white paper.  Trace around the outside edges of the letters onto the board using carbon copy paper.  Paint inside the lines.
3. Print or Copy it onto scrapbook paper and Mod Podge it onto a board.  You can follow the directions here.
4. Use the tracing feature on the Silhouette Machine and cut it out in vinyl.

(I left enough room to trim/crop the words off at the bottom of the image before you use it.)

Directions

• Paint the board black, let dry, and then sand down the corners and edges with an electric sander. Dust wood with a damp cloth or paper towel.
• Cut out the stencil and center it on the board leaving enough space at the bottom for the hooks (if desired). (Holding the board and contact paper in front of a sunny window helps when centering it.)
• Spray paint over the stencil (in light even coats) and let dry slightly.  Carefully pull the contact paper off of the board, you might want to use tweezers.

Tip:  Take a straight pin and carefully slip it under the contact paper and then simply lift up on the pin to remove the inside parts of the stencils.

• Allow the paint to fully dry and then lightly sand over the top of the board with a wood block and sandpaper.  Sand away the black paint in some areas to expose the raw wood.  (The block helps to keep the sandpaper flat so it doesn't sand too heavily in one area.)  Clean with a damp cloth or paper towel.

• Dip a rag in dark walnut stain and then lightly wipe it over the top and edges of the board.  Quickly wipe off any excess or dark spots with a clean rag.  Stain the back of the sign. (Old white undershirts make great staining rags.) The stain will give it an antiqued look by darkening the words and staining any areas of bare wood dark brown.  After the stain dries, lightly sand over the edges in a few areas to lighten them up a bit more.
• Spray the sign with 2-3 light coats of acrylic sealer (this brings out the color and also seals the stain that is over the paint, otherwise it might rub off).  

 In the picture below the top board has not been distressed or stained, the bottom board has.  Distressing makes any paint that bled from stenciling less noticeable.  If you don't like the distressed look though go ahead and skip that step. 

• Because I had twelve of these to make, I made a guide to show me where to drill the holes for the hooks.  I measured it out, poked a hole through the paper, and then used a pencil to mark the spot.

Tip:  The holes should not be drilled all of the way through the wood.  Measure the length of the screw next to the drill bit and put a piece of masking tape around the bit.  This will show you how deep to drill the hole.

• Drill the holes and then attach the hooks. 

Hanging the Sign

I've been a mom long enough to know that if this sign came home with my son without a way to hang it, most likely it would never get hung.  Sad, but true.  If it came into the house with a hook on the back and I had to get the level, stud finder, and find a nail to hang it, I'm pretty sure it would sit around for a few months until I "found the time to hang it".  Now, let's say that the sign came with command strips on the back of it (with directions) and simply needed to be stuck to the wall, (with no need to find a stud, level, or nail) the chance of it actually making it onto the wall would dramatically increase, so that's what I did and I hope the signs made it onto the boys walls. :) 

All twelve signs.

Even if you don't have a need to make a dozen signs with the scout slogan on them, this tutorial can be used for any name or quote that you'd like to use.  Stenciling a child's name on the sign would be so fun, don't you think!?

Now go and do a good turn today! :)

Today's Fabulous Find...Cable Clips

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Kids Boredom Buster: 'Ping Pong Pan' Game with Free Printable

This is a simple and fun (last minute) game that I put together for our end of the year party at Cub Scouts--I'm calling it Ping Pong Pan (I know, pretty creative right?).  There were children there from ages 5 to 10 who played and they all did really well!  In fact, one of the youngest players earned the highest score in one round. This game would be fun to play at a classroom party (could use multiple muffin pans for a large group) or at home over the Winter break as a boredom buster.

Ping Pong Pan

Fun for all ages

Supplies Needed:

• Muffin Pan (Really doesn't matter if it's old and stained or brand spankin' new, the kids won't care.)
• 6 Ping Pong Balls (Draw targets with a Sharpie marker on two of them.)
• Printable Sign and Point Circles (Printed on card stock and taped to the bottom of the muffin cups.)
• 2 Popsicle Sticks (Tape them to the sign and then to the edge of the muffin pan)

Download the Ping Pong Pan Printable

For Personal Use Only

The Rules:

• Stand behind a piece of tape on the floor (placed approx. 5 to 6 ft. back).  Throw all 6 ping pong balls, one at a time, however you like (they can bounce on the ground or off of the sign first) and try to get them to land in the muffin cups.

• If a ball with a bulls-eye lands in a cup with a bulls-eye, double the score (40 points).  If both bulls-eyes land in the center bulls-eye cups in one turn, double your entire score for that round. 

• Add up the points at the end of your turn and add your score to your previous points (very good for sneaking in some math skills!)

• Play for a predetermined number of rounds or set a time limit.

Have fun!

Today's Fabulous Find...

Kids Boredom Buster: Ping Pong Pan Game with Free Printable

Free Printable Gift Tags and PrintRunner Winner

We have a PrintRunner winner, scroll down to the bottom of the post to see if it's you! 

You're welcome to print these gift tags for your personal use if you'd like.  You'll need to save them to your computer and then print them as an image using the picture manager program on your computer, or you can insert them into a document to size them, edit and add names, and then print.

The image below can be printed as a borderless 4x6.

Our PrintRunner winner is Denise, congratulations!

*Please e-mail me by Sunday night to claim your prize.  Looks like you'll have those birthday party labels! :)

A Favorite Quote

...and a nice reminder.

Hope you have a wonderful and memorable Mother's Day! 

Personalized Teacher Subway Art

Teacher Appreciation Week this year is May 7th-11th. 

Last year I made up a subway art print that can be personalized for each individual teacher, I thought I'd share it again this year.  The prints have a blank space where you can add the teacher's name and several have a blank square in the center to add an image of your choice-- it could be the school mascot, a character that the teacher loves, a picture, whatever you like. 

What to Do With It

You can print the subway art and frame it, use it as a card or tag, attach it to a square box of Kleenex's for their desk, put it inside a bottle of anti-bacterial soap, use it as the cover of a keepsake book....

Before I gave the subway art to my kid's teachers last year, I cut out pictures of all of the kids in the class in a circle about the size of a quarter (I scanned and enlarged their class picture and then printed it on photo paper.), and added the pictures around the outside edge of the print between the glass.  

Several Prints to Choose From

How to Personalize the Subway Art with a Teacher's Name

I think the easiest way to add the names would be to first save the print to your computer and then upload it into Picnik (while it's available), PicMonkey, or another online photo editing program.  Once it's uploaded select to add text, choose the font you like, type in the teachers name.  Drag the name to the blank box and size it to fit the space.  Save it to your computer and then select to continue editing the photo.  Now you can select the name, type in a new teachers name if you'd like, and resave it. 

If you want to cover the apple, select 'shapes' and then add a white square over the apple.

 Click Here to download the Teacher Subway Art Prints 

and for more information on the framed print pictured above.

 

Two Printable Christmas Countdowns--One Block {Neighbor Gift Idea}

I'm finally ready to show you what I'll be giving as one of my 'neighbor' gifts this year.  Are you ready for this? ...It's not just one Christmas Countdown, it's two Christmas Countdowns...but all in one!  

While one side is counting down to Santa's arrival...

...the other side of the block is counting up to celebrate Christ's birth. 

  

So as the snowflake falls...the star rises...and as the star rises...the snowflake falls, pretty exciting stuff! :)  Of course it doesn't need to be two-sided you could just use one of the prints and paint the back.  I just couldn't choose and thought why not just use both!

I'm also sharing 8x10 versions that you can easily print and put in a frame.  This countdown starts on December 15th so it's not too late to make one.  Plus it's a good excuse to deliver the gifts early before things get even busier as it gets closer to Christmas.

The marker will end on #1 on Christmas Eve.

(The actual print has a bit more space between the words and the frame, I didn't realize it would be so close when I printed this one.)

All the details...


Paint Color:  Apple 4-sample size from Valspar (Lowes).  It darkens A LOT with the stain over the top of it.  It will take two coats.  I like the uneven aged look, so I just rub it on with a rag.

Stain Color:  Minwax Dark Walnut

Star and Snowflake:  From a local craft store.  You could use anything for the marker really.  There are a lot of very cute miniature ornaments available.  You can even buy them at the dollar store.

Ribbon:  I used 1/8" white.  I tried to use jute and small ric-rac, but they don't move freely enough and tend to catch on the wood.

Eyelets:  Look for them in the scrapbooking section at the craft store.  You can buy gold and silver refill eyelets at JoAnn's in the notion section.

Distress Ink Pad:  Dark Walnut

Photo Paper:  Sometimes you can find it at the dollar store.  I prefer to print onto photo paper because the color is so much more vibrant.  I spray it with a matte clear acrylic sealer as a precaution so the ink doesn't smear when I Mod Podge over it.  I'm not sure if this is always necessary, but I haven't wanted to chance it. 

Updated to add:  I'm making 10 more of these and am having problems with the ink bleeding even with the clear acrylic spray.  The first block I made I used my favorite heavy weight premium photo paper (from Dollar Tree) and didn't have any problems at all.  The prints I'm working with now were printed on regular weight Kodak paper and I haven't been very impressed with the outcome.  (I had to redo them all with the Dollar Tree paper.)  The Kodak paper was thinner so every little bump in the wood showed up and the red ink smeared quite badly because it wasn't a high quality paper that I used.  (If you use a lazor jet printer or have the prints printed professionally at a photo center you won't have any problems with the ink smearing while applying the Mod Podge.)  I would highly recommend using a heavy premium weight photo paper or card stock if you are printing it at home, and spraying it with 3 light coats of Mod Podge's Clear Acrylic Sealer to prevent frustration.  

Block Size:  7 1/4 x 9"  I like to choose 2x8's in the 8' length (Lowe's are 7 1/4" wide, Home Depot's are only 7" wide.) because that length of board generally seems to be straighter.  If you get a really long board, from my experience, it tends to bow and twist.

Painting Directions:  I painted the countdown block using the same technique that I used to  paint my faux window.  It takes some time to layer it, but it's worth it to me because I really like the finished look.  Keep reading for the painting directions.

These prints are to be used

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY

If you would like to share the countdown prints with your readers, I ask that you use one of the photos above and then link back here for the prints.

Please don't post the prints on your blog. Thank you! :)

Prints for a 7 1/4" X 9" Block: 

Print as an 8x10 and then trim to the blue background to fit the block.

Prints for an 8x10 Frame

Download PDF versions here. 

Edited to Add: At the last minute I decided I needed a poem to go with the countdown to explain what it was all about, so the day that they needed to be delivered, I wrote one. I didn't have a lot of time to think about it so keep that in mind as you read it. :) You are welcome to use it for your personal use if you'd like.

Download/Print the Poem in Google Docs here.

To download: You must first right click on the image and open it in a new window in it's highest resolution. Right click on the image, click on save image as to save it to your computer.  Open the image in your computers picture program.  Select to print it.  Choose letter size paper and then select to print it as an 8x10.  Unselect fit picture to frame if necessary.

Print them onto photo paper for the best quality prints.  (Check your dollar store for photo paper, I buy packages of 8- 8 1/2 x 11 sheets for only $1 at Dollar Tree.)

Assembling the Wood Block Countdown:  This is made in the same way as my Halloween Countdown except that there is a countdown (print and marker) on both sides.  

• Cut a block that measures 7 1/4 x 9"x 2".
• Sand it with an electric sander, rounding the corners so they aren't sharp.
• Wipe the dust off with a damp paper towel and let it dry.
• With a foam brush, apply stain over the entire block.  Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and then rub off any excess stain.  Let it dry.
• With a rag, rub the paint (whatever color you choose) onto the block everywhere that won't be covered up by the print.  You don't need to get the corners and edges much because you will be sanding it back off anyway so keep it light in those areas.
• Paint two coats and let dry.
• Sand the corners and edges to distress then wipe the block down with a damp paper towel.  Let dry.
• With a rag, LIGHTLY rub some stain over the paint.  QUICKLY rub it right back off again with a clean part of the rag, rubbing it in some as you do so.  Let is dry some.  It doesn't need to be completely dry for the next step and can still be slightly tacky.
• Take a cloth over the tip of your finger and dab it lightly in some white paint.  Don't use too much, just enough that it will leave a small streak when you rub your finger over the block.  Add a few random white accents over the block, rubbing them in a bit as you go.  Let it dry slightly.
• Once more, lightly rub some stain over the white areas that you painted.  This makes the white look kind of silvery.
• Spray the block with a matte clear acrylic sealer.

Drilling:  Mod Podge the top print on first and let dry.  When you drill the holes make sure the drill is exactly vertical so the prints will line up on both sides.   Use scissors to punch through the holes of the back print, match up the holes and Mod Podge it on to the back.  

 

*Please click over to the Halloween Countdown posts for the rest of the tutorial on how to add the print, the eyelets, and the marker.

8x10 Tutorial 

Wood Block Tutorial

Note:  If you choose to use a metal marker (the star), it takes a lot of hot glue to get it to stay on.  You may want to use a stronger glue that is intended for metal instead.

I'll be the first to admit that this countdown is a bit quirky, but I think it's fun, I hope you do to. :)

Today's Fabulous Find...Two Printable Christmas Countdowns--One Block.

I'm entering the CSI Projects' Neighbor Gift Challenge.

Linking up here:

Home Stories A to Z

Centsational Girl's Holiday Craft Party  House of Hepworths Under The Table and Dreaming

Skip to My Lou  Funky Junk Interiors  Tator Tots and Jello  Pocket Full of Pink