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Personalized Travel Bags for Your Kids

May 6, 2013 by 5 Comments

reusable kids travel bagAre you as in love with these personalized travel bags as I am?  I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, but I’m really excited with how they turned out.  My crafts have a 50/50 chance of coming out great or failing miserably.  And I embrace it.  But I really like these.  And I am super happy to announce that I am doing a little blogging over at King’s Hawaiian Bread.  Head on over there to see my travel tips for keeping kids entertained and what to pack in these personalized bags for that long car ride.

personalized travel bags for kidsI’m sure you are looking at these and thinking, “where are the names?  You said this was personalized.”  Great observation.  But I have been on long car trips before and I know that some sketchy humans can be found in rest stops and tiny coffee shops in the middle of nowhere.  I’d prefer that they don’t know my kid’s names.  Instead, I chose to personalize them with images that go along with words that we associate with each kid.  My oldest son said the word “bicycle” very early in his talking life and has remained a fact that the family talks about.  My youngest son said “banana” a lot.  Maybe not quite as advanced as “bicycle” but still super cute.

DIY bags for kids travel itemsAll you need is a blank canvas tote from your local craft store.  I bought a 3-pack for about $10 and I’m sure you can find a coupon to use to get them even cheaper.

polka dotted painted bagFirst start out by painting a pattern on the bag.  For the polka dots I simply used a pencil eraser and paint.

paint around the tapeFor the other bag I decided to tape off a geometric pattern and color each area a different color.

print and cut iron on transfersOnce the paint is dry, you will need to prepare your iron on transfers.  Just follow the directions on the iron on transfer package.  But remember, if you are using any words, print the reverse image so that the words come out correctly.  I always print out two in case something happens to the first one.  And I really hate having to stop in the middle of a project to go print another one.  I know my skills and weaknesses, you may not have to print two.  And for that I am super jealous.  Cut out around the image.

iron on shapesAnd then iron them on.  Again, follow the directions on the transfer paper.  If you iron on the paint, it may melt a bit and then smear on the canvas bag.  Not that that happened (do NOT look closely at the polka dot bag…).  Let it cool and then peel off the backing.

personalized travel bags for kids diyThere you have it.  Personalized travel bags for your kids.

inside travel bag for kidsHead over to the King’s Hawaiian blog to see what I packed in the bags and tips for making your road trip enjoyable.

diy kids personalized travel bagsIf you had to pick an image to represent your kids, what would it be?

*This post was not sponsored by Kings Hawaiian Bread.  The sponsored content that I am doing for them will only be found on their blog.  The DIY portion of the post was created for my readers.  Isn’t getting a DIY post so much better than me just putting up a link to go read my blog post over there though?

 

 

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Family Life, Kid's Fashion, Travel, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , , ,

Coolest Calligraphy by A Fabulous Fete

July 3, 2012 by 2 Comments

How awesome is this calligraphy by A Fabulous Fete?!  She continually blows my mind with how talented she is.  Right now my favorite thing she does is this casually cool calligraphy that is perfect for weddings, parties, gifts, labeling, just about anything really.  The image above is from a platter she created for a wedding candy buffet she designed.

I had Lauren do this “enjoy” cake plate for Jenny several months ago.  I may have her do a series for me too.  Just because.   I wanted to make sure that you all know about this crazy cool skill Lauren has.  Message her via her Etsy shop for all your calligraphy needs.

Or you can purchase some treat bags from her Etsy shop.  I’m going to go finish my coffee and figure out what I need to have her write on for me.  I’m sure there is something…

First and last image via A Fabulous Fete and middle image via Hank and Hunt

 

 

Filed Under: Gift Guides, Oh you fancy huh, Orange County Resources, Party Inspiration, Party Planning, Table Tops, Things I Love Tagged With: , , ,

Ziggy Stardust Inspired Space 5th Birthday Party – Part 3

June 8, 2011 by 2 Comments
This post is picture heavy.  Be warned.  So the premise of the party was that O was inviting his friends over to be part of his space exploration team.  And since the first question I always ask when starting a new activity is “do I get a new outfit,” I decided that I should make “uniforms” for each kid.  I created a store to be where they could get their new shirts, as well as accessorize it.  It would be another activity to engage the kids and also act as a favor “bar.”

photo by me
I created wallets out of black card stock and designed space money.  The front features a well-known look of Ziggy Stardust and the back I created with a hand-made stamp that Lauren made for O. I had the wallets at the front door with the instruction to head right to the store to pick out their uniform.

The uniforms.  I found cheap packs of Hanes white t’s at Target and they came out to less than $2.00 a piece (way cheaper than the local craft stores…)  Then I used black spray paint or black fabric paints and home-made stencils to create different looks.  My intention had been to add trims to the shoulders but well, even I am not THAT crazy.  
I did add some to O’s shirt (which was also gray so he would stand out a little more) and it turned out really cute. 

photo by me
photo by me
My kids wear the leftover shirts all the time.  They wash well and are kind of cool to boot. 
Since some of the designs were on the backs of the shirts, I wanted to make sure that each kid had a name tag on the front.  I used large foam craft letters and embellished with star shaped brads.

I asked my niece, P, to run the store.  I thought she would enjoy it and it would add a nice touch to the store atmosphere.  She took it super seriously.  My intention was to tell her that although each kid was given 7 space dollars, they could take as many things as they wanted as long as each kid got an accessory.  But in the craziness of party day I forgot to mention that to her…It wasn’t until much later that I learned that she respects policy and procedure and held every kid firm at $7.  Which meant that a lot of the hand-made jewelry was left over…as well as tons of cheap loud or flying space toys…my bad. 

As Ziggy sported bright orange hair, I wanted the kids to get glam rock’d out if they chose.  I had these clip in hair braids for the girls and also gold and orange spray hair color for the boys.  

I made several types of headbands, bracelets, cuffs, barrettes, and pins for the kids to choose from.  This severely stretched my craft skill limits.  I may have turned to vices. 

photo by me

photo by me
I tried to incorporate things in the party straight from song lyrics.  I’m not going to lie, there were only a few kid friendly lines.  I loved that I could work in coloring pages from everybody’s favorite ‘cat from Japan’.  I chose to use only that portion of the line as I couldn’t figure out how to make ‘well hung and snow white tan’ appropriate for a children’s party…

photo by me
And of course we had to have ‘spiders from mars’.  {note – I use a lot of punctuation and grammatical errors in my posts.  On purpose.  I feel it sets me apart from those nerdy, good-at-school-and-other-important-stuff types}.*/~it”s

I used the same image of O from the invite on the favor bags provided by the store clerk.  How cute is that ‘Oliver’ stamp (also hand-made by Lauren).  

I made this sign for P to put up when she was done playing shop girl.  While I saw her run off a few brief times (and I was sent on Push Cake runs for her) she relished her role running that store.  At one point of the party, she ran up to me and handed me one of the favor bags.  I had no idea what it was so I opened it and peered in.  It was full of space money.  I looked back to her for explanation.  CASH DROP.  The girl took it upon herself to do a cash drop.  She’s 8.  I am going to go ahead and write her a letter of recommendation now.  But I won’t expect any freebies.  
Sharon
All photos, unless otherwise noted, are by Dez and Tam.  They are freaking radical people and seriously turned this mother out.  
And super huge shout out to my homegirl, Taryn.  She pawned her spawn off on a sitter to come over and help me package up some of these favors for the party.  She is awesome.  And a ridiculously big shout out to my mommy.  She helped me cut an Earth-crippling amount of space money (this is huge because an elementary school teacher commented on her sub-par cutting skills and she’s never been able to shake it and I only slightly jest.)
Filed Under: Real Parties Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fabric Fringe Straw Flags with Glue Dots

May 9, 2011 by 2 Comments
A few months ago I was asked to work on a special project for the new Glue Dots website.  I immediately asked Lauren of A Fabulous Fete to partner with me and we were off and running.  While the project is still in the works (and we can’t wait to share it with you when it’s ready!) we thought we would give you all a sneak peak (above) and provide some tutorials for several of the elements that we used. 
First up is this adorable fabric fringe straw flag.  I adore using fabric in my party decor.  It adds a great textural element and there seems to be an endless supply of colors and patterns to choose from at a very low cost.  I never expected the Glue Dots to work on fabric.  Lauren taught me otherwise.  And because I have a very heavy hand with the glue gun, I prefer to work with Glue Dots now, for many of my fabric projects.  Once in a while, the Glue Dot might not readily stick to the fabric.  With just a little extra pressure from your nail, it usually does the trick.  These straws, because of the personalization quality of the paper embellishment, can be modified to fit any occasion.  Let’s do this.
Supplies:
Straw
Fabric (only a small piece is needed for each flag so total amount depends on how many flags you expect to make)
Paper
Paper Cutter
Scissors
Glue Dots Mini
Glue Dots Glue Lines
Begin by cutting a rectangle of fabric approximately 2″ x 4″.
Set the rectangle in front of you with the longer sides at the top and bottom.  Use a Glue Dots Glue Line in the centers of the long sides along the top and bottom edges of the rectangles.  Place your straw in the center of the Glue Lines leaving about an 1 1/2″ of the straw sticking out above the fabric.  Place a third Glue Line to one side of the straw.
Fold the fabric around the straw and secure it to the Glue Line.
Trim the edge of the fabric to be even and then create the fringe by cutting the fabric at random intervals, fairly close together, perpendicular to the straw.  You can cut very short fringe, or longer fringe just try to keep the cuts consistent in length. 
Next you will add your paper embellishment.  Here we just used a solid colored paper.  But this is your opportunity to really add some personalization.  Print out a sentiment on normal printer paper (no cardstock needed) and then cut it as we’ve done here.  Cut the strip approximately 1/4″ x 2 1/2″.  Cut the ends into points.  Next, center the strip on top of your flag and fold the ends towards the bag.  Use Glue Dots Mini Dots (one on the back of each pointed end) and a Glue Line on the back of the strip. 
Adhere to the fabric straw flag. 

And there you have it.  Super simple, but a great statement maker at your next party. 
Check out Lauren’s blog tomorrow and Thursday for more tutorials and I’ll have another one up on Wednesday.  
*We received Glue Dots products for participating in the project.  And I love them. 
Sharon
All photos are mine. 
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Tiny Prints – Review

May 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I was contacted recently by Tiny Prints to see if I would be interested in reviewing their cards.  I’ve known about them for years, but never had the right opportunity to use them before.  Until now.  My mother-in-law asked me to help her with a 90th birthday party for my husband’s grandmother.  While I knew that Tiny Prints made adorable children’s party invites and cool, modern Christmas cards, I wasn’t sure what I would find in the way of adult invitations. 
I left the final decision making up to my mother-in-law (see the above) but found that they have a bunch of great options for adult invitations.  
Image via Tiny Prints – Painted Trunks in Cabernet

Although they have this sampled as a holiday party, it was easily found under a heading for birthday party invitations for adults.

Image via Tiny Prints – Festive Fanfare Bright Green

Love how modern the green and grey is and love the offset detail box.

Image via Tiny Prints – Inspired Garden: Begonia

And how fantastical is this chic floral invite?! I love everything about it.

Image via Tiny Prints – Allergy Alert Cards, Bright Boxes: Sky

But I was pleasantly surprised when I came across these Allergy Alert cards.  As some of you may know, my oldest son has multiple food allergies.  And with him about to start kindergarten and us contemplating taking him on a trip back east this summer, these cards could really come in handy.  And there are 4 different styles to choose from.  RAD.IC.LE.  

And I had no idea that they also had greeting cards.  I can’t tell you how many times I have fretted over having to run out to buy a greeting card to get it in the mail on time.  Sometimes you just don’t want to drag two kids over to Target, where there is a Lego section and where you could quite literally have two separate tantrums happening at once causing you to shed tears and sweat like a fat man.  Not saying that has happened…There are several ways they can help with the cards.  They can send them out for you and allow the card to arrive to the recipient faster and possibly on time for once in your life.  Or they can send the card to you, so you can personally sign it and then send it out from home.  Awesome.  And they also have business products, wedding invites and photo gifts.  Sheesh.  If Tiny Prints ran for prom queen she would probably win.  She’s got it all. 
I had a little hiccup with my ordering.  I had saved a draft in a folder but then couldn’t access it to put in my cart when I was ready to order.  I used the instant chat capability and within a minute I was chatting with a customer service rep and figured out the problem without having to grab the phone or wait to get an email back which may or may not have had the right answer.  I LOVE this option.  And once the order was placed, I received an email from a customer service rep.  She said that she had personally checked my order and sent it on to the printers.  There was a name and a phone number with an extension in case I had any questions or concerns.  What the what?!  That’s customer service, people! 
I had an awesome experience with Tiny Prints and would certainly use them again.  I’m not sure why I continually fret over my novice graphic design capabilities and try to design all my own invites when there are professionals and designers who do it so much better and can be obtained with the click of the mouse.  
If you haven’t used them yet, you should try them.  Don’t get me started about the envelope options…
Sharon
top 2 photos are mine

Filed Under: Food Allergies, Party Planning Tagged With: , , , ,
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