InspireMe Crafts

Hope, Faith, Love Magnets

"Everyone needs a little hope, faith, and love"

I'm always looking for some inspiration and little simple reminders I can put here and there to give me a little pick me up when I need it.  These Hope, Faith, Love magnets are the size of a business card so they are large enough to make a statement, yet small enough to squeeze in just about anywhere. 

They have been popular for wedding showers, baby showers, party favors etc as I mentioned in a previous post about the business card magnets.  Previously I was just taking large orders, but now I have started to place orders of 3 in MY ETSY SHOP.  Go check them out!  Custom requests are always available...just ask!

 

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Brassy Apple's Summer Craft Series Challenge #2 : Something for the Car

Welcome!  If you came here to see my ideas for  Brassy Apple's Summer Craft Series check out the links below and have fun! 

Here are my ideas:

"I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail

Travel Magnetic Checkerboard.... out of a Baking Pan.

If you are a regular reader of InspireMe Crafts and am wondering what I am talking about go to Brassy Appleand check out all the other results of her challenge.  The 2nd challenge was to create something to make those road trips a car full of fun or just a little easier on everyone.  I'm sure we could all use some fresh ideas :)

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: "I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail

 "Be yourself, and you will rarely be bored." - Zack Aaronson

Summer is here and for many of us that means the kids won't be getting on the bus to go to school for 8 hours.  Instead, they will be home.  Of course, we all love more time with our kids, but we will inevitably hear "Mom, I'm bored" more than a handful of times even if they are signed up for every camp in town (and the surrounding areas).  So take an afternoon this week to get your pre-emptive strike ready so when you hear that pathetic "Mom, I'm bored", you go to the closet and hand them their "I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail and let the creativity begin. 

All you need is a pail that you can find at your local craft store and some household items to fill it up. Of course you could use a box, jar, beach paill, etc.  I started by raiding the closets and pantry in the house.  I found and included plastic cups, popsicle sticks, buttons, scrap paper, yarn, excess fabric, feathers, ribbon, wiggly eyes, straws, and styrofoam balls.  At the DollarTree I found some pipe cleaners and colored cotton balls and at Michaels I found some $1 craft projects.  Include whatever you think would work well for that age.  Mine was made for a pre-schooler.  Then I made a list with possible ideas to see if they could make the item with the materials in the pail such as a duck, a house, a flower, a cat, etc. 

Take a peek of what is in the Lil Man's pail....

 And a peek from the top...

Another twist on this "I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail is to put different ideas on pieces of paper, fold them up, and throw them in.  When they come to you saying they're bored let the 'boredster' pull a slip of paper from that pail for an idea of what to do.  You could make this a fun mix of things and even include a few chores that they could do around the house :).  Then we will all be happy (or at least us)! 

Add their names to the outside to personalize the pails and you'll be set.  You could even take them on road trips.  Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear or see pics of your "I'm bored" Craft Kit in a Pail variations.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

New Wall Letter Design - Pink & Brown Stripes with Glitter :)

 

This dark pink and chocolate brown striped wall letter is sure to be a favorite for any girl with a little "Diva" in her!  The "Brianna" design has glitter accents along with a chocolate brown and pink polka dots ribbon.  This Custom Wall Letter design is available in any letter and name. 

Check out these links for more pics:

Wall Letters   -  A sampling of some of the favorite letters availalbe
Custom Wall Letters -    A photo album of all the custom letters I have done for customers

To Buy:

Etsy Shop - a website featuring handmade creations, including my hanging wall letters

or if you are not familiar with Etsy (once you try it you'll be addicted!), you fill out the following:

Order Form  - Fill out the form, I'll email you an invoice to pay with Credit/Debit Card and we'll get started

Thanks for stopping buy and have a fabulous day!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Magnet Bookmark

"Why pay a dollar for a bookmark?  Why not use the dollar as a bookmark?"  - Steven Spielberg

 If I can make an everyday object pretty, well gosh darnet I will!  My random bookmarks of receipts, scratch pieces of paper or the book-cover flap were just not flying anymore.  The solution?  Magnet bookmarks out of some of my favorite paper. The magnets hold your bookmark in place and you can even place it to remember what sentence you are on if you couldn't finish the page. But the possibilities  don't stop with pretty paper.  Use a favorite greeting card that was given to you, a ticket from a concert, game or play, a photo, etc.  This project takes 5 minutes, so squeeze a little time in and whip-up some eye candy for your summer reads.

What You Will Need:

Paper (photo, card, ticket, postcard, etc)
Adhesive Magnets (I had business card magnets that I cut in 1/3)
Scissors

To Get Started:

1.  Fold your paper in 1/2.  You can use any size you want. 
2.  Cut your magnets to size if needed. Remove the adhesive protector from your magnets. Place one magnet on each end of your paper so that when you fold it they attract.
3.  Start using the magnet bookmark in your book

Magnet bookmarks are great little gifts for stocking stuffers, Book Club gifts, hostess gifts, or you could make one for Father's Day using a photo or some artwork from the kids.  I'd love to see some pictures if you decide to make some magnet bookmarks of your own.  :)

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun! 

Gotta Make It: T-shirt Pillow

"I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal"

 

I'm definitely a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, but there are only so many t-shirts you can hold on to.  I recently decided to go through my t-shirts to dwindle the mile-high pile of t-shirts accumulating in my closet.  You'd think it would be pretty easy if you just ask yourself these questions about each shirt:

1. When did I wear it last?
2.  Are there holes or stains?
3.  Does it fit?

I didn't find it that easy because even if I haven't worn that t-shirt for 2 years it still provided a memory of a camp, team, or event I took part in. So when Brassy Apple informed me of her summer craft series and saw the first challenge I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do something with at least one t-shirt! I've always loved the idea of the t-shirt quilts, but the amount of time I had and my novice sewing skills just didn't seem like the right match.  So instead, I took a University of Virginia Athletics T-shirt to make my son a pillow. The key was that his favorite basketball player signed the shirt on the back top, so I couldn't leave that part out :).  So instead of making  a normal square or rectangle pillow, I went with a 'real' t-shirt pillow...arms and everything!

Here's what you need to gather up:

1.  T-Shirt
2.  Sewing machine, thread, scissors, pins
3.  Pillow Stuffing

To get started:

1.  Turn your t-shirt inside out.  Place the pins as needed to get you started on the bottom of the shirt.  I folded the bottom of my t-shirt up so that it wouldn't be too long.

 

2.  Start sewing.  :)  Straight stitch along the bottom. 

 

3.  Turn the shirt right-side out.  You'll now have the bottom of the shirt sewn together with no stitches showing. 

 

4.  Sew each arm sleeve shut with a straight stitch along the seams of the shirt.

  

5.  Stuff that shirt full of pillow stuffing.  Then place pins along the neck line.  Sew a straight stitch along with current seams of the neckline.

6.  Voila!  All done. 

 

7.  Give to your Lil Man and let him enjoy! 

 

I'm always excited when Lil Man is truly ecstatic about one of my projects for him.  He loves this pillow and immediately put it to use.  And I must say, that this pillow might get used by me when the hubby is out of town.  I gave it a nice hug and it was almost like I was getting a hug back.  Not quite as good as the real thing, but definitely better than an empty bed. 

You can go to Brassy Apple on Wednesday, June 3rd  to check out all the other ideas from the T-Shirt Challenge.  I can't wait to see what people come up with! 

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!