Heaven Sent Invitations

I thought I'd give you guys a peek into my creative process today.

I made three inspiration boards for Brooke to choose from back in February. She chose our "Heaven Sent/Angelic Theme" which I loved too =)

From there I started thinking about how I wanted to do the invites. I found this image on Pinterest:

Isn't it adorable? I can't find a photo credit for it ANYWHERE so I can't give any credit for it, but I wish I could.

I wanted to use baby feet as a "v" in my invite. So I decided to make the invites saying "Heaven Sent" with the "v" being baby feet. I went to Joann and TOTALLY lucked out. They had these stamps there, calling my name:

The cardstock was gorgeous, you can't tell in this picture, but check it out here I also used some of this because the store ran out of the gemstone.

The hardest part was the computer part--I printed the actual invitation on the opposite side of the cardstock. Making the size right proved difficult for my computer to comprehend. Eventually I tricked it by using skinnier paper but not telling it.

How would you use baby feet?

The shower is this weekend! Next week I'll share the decor, food and games. It'll be a monster post! 

Don't forget about this week's giveaway!

We've got the craft organizer up for grabs,

1. Be a follower of the blog AND
2. Comment on any new post this week (before the end of Sunday).

Every comment is another entry, and every post this week is eligible! The winner, to be drawn at random, will be announced next Monday!

Mother's Day fabric flowers (and a GIVEAWAY!)

A couple years ago, a friend at church had her second grade class make flowers for the women in the congregation for Mother's Day. They weren't too difficult: make wire "petal" shapes, glue some fabric on the wire for the petals, wind four or five together with fabric tape and voila! I can do that, I thought. I don't need to look for directions.

Hoo-boy, was this a fiasco! It was supposed to be a twenty minute craft. Two hours later, I finally gave up in disgust. Clear school glue didn't work. We were out of the right size hot glue sticks.

I'm not sure how my friend did it, but nothing was going my way when I sat down to make these. The two larger flowers are pansies—and I had to get darn creative to make them worth. (There is no glue involved, but the white one is satin ribbon + masking tape and the purple one is fabric + thread. If they look good, thank you, but it's really just blurry photography!)

Ironically, the other flower—the little purple one—is my favorite of the three, and not just because it was the easiest and fastest!

Truth be told, I was so disgusted with my lack of working materials that I finally gave up and Googled . . . with the words "martha stewart" in the query. (A true cry for help! At least I did my own illustrations ;) .) (Okay, so I thought I'd just seen a similar project from her, but I didn't find it.)

Her ribbon flowers instructions inspired me to try one (well, two) last time(s). (The very last one didn't work out.) I cut a strip of fabric about 1" x 6" and folded it in half, then basted the halves together along the fold:

 Once I sewed along that edge, I pulled the thread tight. The fabric gathers and naturally wants to curl around into a flower.

I sewed the ends together, stuck a piece of wire through at the seam and called it cute!

In other news, I think I'm going to be going for cut flowers from my yard instead ;) .

Are you craftier than a second grader? Have you ever made wire and fabric flowers? What did you do differently?

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This week we have a giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

It's this lovely crafty organizer:

It's great for all the little loose odds and ends that get lost so easily—buttons, beads, stickers, etc. It has eight compartments, and a flip-top spout for easy access. (I doubt you can tell from the picture, so it's six inches tall and four and a half inches wide.)

To win, you must:

1. Be a follower of the blog AND
2. Comment on any new post this week (before the end of Sunday).

Every comment is another entry, and every post this week is eligible! The winner, to be drawn at random, will be announced next Monday!

A little perspective

Newsflash: We haven't heard from PREACHER'S WIFE, the winner of the vintage charm squares. If you are out there, email us at waywardgirlscrafts@ gmail.com. If we don't hear from you this week, we will pick another winner!

Raising 4 crafty (and truly NOT wayward) girls was and is an adventure. We dedicated a closet as the craft closet. There were craft kits and supplies under the Christmas tree. The girls moved from play-do shaped to sculpy art. Two of them went to an arts high school, and the other 2 took art and music classes in school and outside.

Our house is decorated with their handiworks. Their lives are chronicled in their scrapbooks. (Not always up-to-date or even lovely!) We still have remnants of many projects (half finished) though none of them live at home now.

None of this is to say that we are experts at the crafts we try. We have successes and failures. We just like to try to create things.

Why do people like to create? I heard a talk once by Dieter F. Uchtdorf that really struck home. He said, "The desire is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, background, education, or abilities, we all have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.... Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment."

So, for your enjoyment now, take a look back at some of the things the girls created when they were younger.

Recently I was cleaning out some storage under the eaves. I found that I had saved every paper Jordan completed in second grade. Here are two of my favorites.

I didn't find lots of Jaime's paper in the great cleaning (they are in another area, but I did find this that she made in elementary school.)

Scrapbooking diva today, but checkout the early years:

Brooke took the most art classes in high school. Some of the girls think our house is the Brooke Museum. Here is one we love.



These shelves contain works by both Brooke and Jasmine. (I just wish I had taken pictures of taco fish works that all 4 girls made! Alas, they are stored away!)



Finally, a print that Jasmine made in elementary school.

You can decide if we have progressed!

Two Quick and Easy Mother's Day Cards for Kids

Looking for Mother's Day crafts? Be sure to check out our DIY pop-up cards and our peanut butter Oreo truffles (or, really, all our chocolate recipes!)

Mother's (or is it Mothers' Day? both work!) is just 11 days away. Here are the first of 4 easy cards or booklets you can help your children create. Of course they don't just work for Mother's Day. I used these two in my classroom as a 7th grade teacher. The students enjoyed making these and using them to review or present facts.

Number 1: Flap book

Cut 4 strips of paper the same size. (You can use colored paper or white.)  (4" x 8" would work, but you can vary the size.)

Lay the paper in a stack, but stagger it as shown below. You can measure the intervals carefully or just eyeball it.

Fold the stack in half, staggering the middle intervals the same as the ones you have already folded.

You are going to need to staple the paper to attach all the pages together. After you have creased the fold you just made, open the book. If your paper is short enough, or you have a long neck stapler, you may be able to open the booklet and staple it directly on the fold (like a magazine). If not, staple it on top very close to the fold.

Decide what you want each flap to say. Write the words and then illustrate each page. You could use stickers of photographs, too.

This book can also make a great coupon book for Mother's Day (or Father's Day)!

Number 2: "Squeeze" Book.
Fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise. (Hot dog style as we say!)
Fold lengthwise again, and fold one more time.

 

Open the paper. You should have 8 small rectangles.

Fold the paper in half again, this time widthwise (?) or hamburger style.

 From the folded edge, cut on the center creased line to the first fold. Spot marked with a dot in the picture on the left. Open the paper.   You have a slit in the middle of the paper.

Now, fold the paper in half, hot dog style. This is where the squeeze comes in. Grasp the two edges of the paper and squeeze toward the center.

Since I was holding the camera, I couldn't grasp both sides of the paper.

Now fold the paper into a book shape. Crease it well and then create your book!

Next week I will show how to make 2 easy pop-up cards that children can create. Enjoy!

Looking for Mother's Day crafts? Be sure to check out our DIY pop-up cards and our peanut butter Oreo truffles (or, really, all our chocolate recipes!)

Countdown

On Christmas Eve, our extended family on my mom's side gets together for dinner, carols and a gift exchange called Gift From the Heart. About a month or two before, we draw names for GFtH. It's kind of like Secret Santa. After you draw a name, you keep it a secret and make or buy them a present. The present isn't just any present, it's a thoughtful gift that has meaning behind it. This past Christmas I drew Brooke's name. I decided to make her a countdown to her due date. Paper chains and electronic countdowns are sometimes boring and not personal so I had to be more creative than that. Brooke LOVES Skittles so what better way to countdown to your due date than eating a skittle a day? With the help of my mom, I found a small jar (a baby jar would've been even better but we couldn't find any empty ones anywhere!) Then I counted out the days until her due date. Just like that, you have a fun and simple countdown!

For an update of last week's craft, I wore my dress for Easter Sunday and got many complements on it!