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Metal Gift Luggage Tags

creative-gift-wrapping

I have so much to tell and show you, I can hardly contain myself! If you follow me on Twitter (PrettyHandyGirl), you may have seen this photo of the light fixtures I scored from our Habitat ReStore last week! (Yes, I also have a Facebook Fan page.)

I was ecstatic to find another light that I turned into a Pottery Barn inspired lantern. And it is identical to the one I showed you here!

In addition, I finally found a foyer light fixture that I love (after a little spray paint magic). And I also grabbed a three arm chandelier that looked like it could have been in Ballard Design’s catalog! This treasure was promptly installed in my girlfriend’s mudroom (which I can’t wait to show you!) She and I worked for several days on a storage and shoe solution for her narrow hallway. My goal is to get the final pictures of the project to share with you shortly.

In other news, I’m very excited to have been mentioned in November’s Family Handyman magazine.

Definitely not me on the front cover.

My son’s closet turned reading nook is pictured on page 94. If you don’t subscribe to this magazine, it is a great DIY and repair resource. But, if you don’t want to subscribe, you can still access most of the tutorials on their website.

Running out of breath here…

Finally, By Your Hands has a Q&A feature post on me today.

Check it out here if you are curious to learn how I got my start at being handy.

Anyway, let’s just say I’ve been a busy Pretty Handy Girl the past two weeks.

One of the reasons I’ve been busy is because both my sons had birthday parties to attend this week. I decided to make a few special gift tags that would double as luggage tags for the lucky birthday munchkins. They were very easy to make and really looked fab on the gifts.

Without anymore blah, blah, blah, here is the tutorial:

Supplies:
Metal Tag Maker Rims (bought at Michael’s)
Scrapbook paper (cardstock weight)
Mod Podge
Wax Paper (did you know you can use your recycled cereal bags for this?)
Paint brush
Paper cutter or Scissors
Decorative scissors (optional)
Ribbon
Regular pliers – I used glass nibbling or grozing pliers but any kind should work (DO NOT BUY the special tag crimper tool that the store wants to sell you for $25!)

1. Measure your metal tags (the set I bought came with a template).

2. Print out your gift recipient’s name on cardstock paper. Skip a few lines and print out their address and phone number on the same sheet. (In fact, I ganged up several names including my son’s so I could make many tags at once.) Be sure the names and addresses will fit inside your tag dimensions.

3. Using the tag template, cut two coordinating papers for the background of your tags.

4. Trim the name and addresses smaller than your tag dimensions. (I used deckled edge scissors.)

5. Line up all your cut paper and supplies on top of wax paper (cereal bag). Poor a small amount of Mod Podge into a bowl and dip your brush in it.

6. Coat the back side of one of your coordinating background papers. Place the other sheet of decorative background paper on top of the first one (backs together.)

7. Next coat the back of the name sheet with Modge Podge and adhere it to one side of the background label. Be careful to leave space for your hole punch on one end. Brush Mod Podge over the top of the name and the background paper to seal it.

8. After the front side has dried, flip it over and repeat step 7 for your address label. It is very important that you position your address on the same edge of the tag as the name on the opposite side. Otherwise you will end up punching a hole through one or the other.

9. Once the tag has dried, use your template to trim the corners off your tag and punch a hole through the middle.

10. Gently insert your tag into a metal tag frame (some trimming may be necessary). When you tag fits snuggly inside the frame, pull out your pliers and start squeezing around the edge of the metal frame. Work your way all the way around.

11. Thread your ribbon through the hole and tie it to your gift! Your tag can be re-used on a lunch bag, backpack or luggage!

I also cut an extra piece of scrapbook paper the same size as the metal tag;
put my son’s name on it;
and threaded it on with the gift tag
so the birthday child would know who gave the gift.
Who wouldn’t want one of these cute tags on their lunch bag?
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Yikes! Someone Call Pest Control – Creepy Wall Silhouettes

Dear fellow mouse loving bloggers who have adorned your homes with these adorable mice silhouettes,

I admit it, I’ve been envious of your vermin. But, I knew I didn’t want to look all over town for those Martha Stewart mice silhouettes. So I thought I could buy them online. Low and behold, I stumbled across the tutorial to make your own! Thank you Martha. So, I downloaded the template here.

And, we set about cutting our own out of construction paper. I remembered that I had saved the excess chalkboard vinyl material from this Wallies set.

So, we used the excess to cut the mice and some other creepy critters I drew.

I’m sharing the template with you so you can make your own out of construction paper or if you happen to keep everything have some black vinyl laying around. (Simply click on the image below to view a larger size template.)

The boys had fun decorating.

And they just love trying to pet the spiders.

I just adore how my boys are fearless of creepy crawlies (both wall art and the real deal.)

Anyone else not afraid of spiders? I don’t like them in my house (and I’ve been known to kill a black widow), but I recognize that they are necessary in my yard (NOT IN MY HOUSE!)

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Adding Decorative Stencil to Dresser

The other day I shared with you my french provincial dresser makeover. I dubbed her the Diva Dresser because of all the changes she pushed me to make. But, in the end I really liked what she wanted.

One of the tutorials that I promised you was how to add the decorative stencil on the top of the dresser.

I used the wrapping paper decoupaged on the side to help me create the design.

 

I scanned a section of the leftover wrapping paper and enlarged the scan 500% of the original size.

I opened the scan in Photoshop (but you could probably use any editing software.)

And cropped in on one quarter of the medallion.

In Photoshop, under Mode, I chose Image Size.

 

Then I changed the size of my image to the size that I wanted the stencil to be. In my case, I wanted it to be about 6 inches x 6 inches.
Then I printed out the design onto paper and added a few flourishes to the edges.
Using a soft pencil (#2 will work fine), I rubbed the edge of the pencil on the back of my printout until all of the back side of my stencil was covered.
 
Then I cut around my stencil and laid it onto the top of the dresser. Pressing firmly, I traced around all the edges of my design.
 
When you remove the printout, you should be left with your design in pencil transferred to the surface. (I use this technique all the time to transfer type and other designs onto an object.)

I chose to work with a sharpie pen and traced the design.

Then filled in my design with the marker.

Because I knew I was going to glaze over my stencil, I didn’t mind that you could see the pen marks. If I wasn’t going to glaze over my design, I probably would have use flat black acrylic paint instead.

Then I proceeded to glaze many colors of blue/gray over my dresser.

Until I was left with this!

I put one stencil in each back corner. And love how easy it was to do. And of course how beautiful it looks!

Do you have anything you want to add a sharpie stencil too? Maybe something you can monogram? I encourage you to try it!

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Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath

I promised you that I’m embracing Autumn now that the weather is cooling off. In fact, I’ve been switching out the summer decor for some more seasonally appropriate reds, oranges, brown and greens. I even spent time Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath. What? You don’t know what Mag-nolia-fying means? Well stick around and see how I made this Magnolia Leaf Wreath on the cheap.

Dried Magnolia Wreath | Pretty Handy Girl
Here is a little sneak peek from my mantle:

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath

My Ballard Design Knockoff Pear has already found a spot to sit.

In an effort to spend less and store less, I’ve been trying to buy just 2-3 wreaths that I can switch up and tailor to meet the season. A few months ago, I bought this little white bud wreath from Target:

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath
It will be my springboard or base wreath for many seasons to come. The neutral white color works well with any color and I can add other natural elements and ribbons to change the color palette.

When I saw how Centsational Girl, made a beautiful wreath with magnolia leaves, the light bulb went on for me.

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath
 Centsational Girl’s Wreath

My neighbor has a beautiful magnolia tree, so I asked if I could steal some of its fallen leaves. I filled a grocery bag with the ones that looked most interesting to me. Then brought them home, rinsed the dirt off of them and laid them out to dry.

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath

After they dried, I started playing with them and found that I they would easily work to mag-nolia-fy the bud wreath. Here’s how to do it:

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions:

Tuck magnolia wreaths into the grapevine base frame. I fully intended to hot glue them in place, but they held tight and stayed on their own! The leaves must have been so happy to be offered a second life, so they cooperated.

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath

Tie a cotton ribbon onto the wreath. You can thread it through the loop that came with the wreath. Or tie around the wreath.

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath
Here are the results for that super easy mag-nolia-fied fall wreath:

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath
Hang it on your door and enjoy it until December.

Then you can quickly turn the berry wreath into a Christmas wreath by removing the leaves and adding greenery! Bam!

Mag-nolia-fying a Fall Wreath 24 Fabulous Creative Fall Wreaths
Want more Fall Wreath inspiration? Enjoy these 24 more Fall wreath ideas:

24 Creative Fall Wreaths | Pretty Handy Girl

Happy Fall Y’all!

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Sea Shell Matching Game

Oh so sad that summer is over. If you were fortunate to get some time at the beach, you may have come home with a few dozen of these:

Especially if you have little children who insist on keeping every shell that they find! So, what to do with all those shells? Gather up your little ones and make a sea shell matching game!

This craft couldn’t be easier. You will need an even number of shells that are approximately the same size and color. Plus, stickers that you have at least two of.

Be sure your shells are clean, dry and free of sand. Then peel and stick your stickers inside the shells. Try not to pick shells that look identical or it will make it too easy for your players to make a match. Let’s not make it too easy on the kids. The true goal of this game is to keep your kids occupied for 15 minutes!

You may have to trim a few stickers to help them fit better. See how I trimmed the Buzz sticker:

Then set out your shells sticker side down and let the game begin!

Make sure they play fair and only turn over two shells at a time. If a match is made then they can keep those two shells.

At the end, let them count their pairs. The person with the most matches wins!

Be sure to encourage re-matches! If you want the stickers to hold up to many games and sticky fingers, you may choose to coat the sticker side with Mod Podge.

 

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