Here's looking at me kid

CARD CRAFT : Gender Reveal Announcements+ Free Template Download to Make Your Own!

Since this little girl growing inside of me is going to be our first child, we wanted to milk the excitement for all its worth! Initially, I had planned on throwing an intimate party for close family and a few friends to announce our baby's gender, since everyone else seemed as excited as we were to find out. After being sick for almost a month, and still having lots of work to catch up on in our lawn maintenance, Phil and I decided it would still be special and fun to just send out cards, in lieu of a party.

I got a few phone calls last week from family and friends letting us know how excited they were to get the card, and how fun it was discovering our baby's gender from an interactive card. Since I took the time to hand illustrate and create these cards for just one baby, I thought I would share the digital template and instructions with you, in case you have special baby news to share with your family too! (P.S. If you didn't catch our "gender reveal" video, you can see it here!)

First, I chose cardstock for the front of the card, and a coordinating cardstock for the inside. Since the cardstock was not already 8.5 by 11 inches, I had to trim the sheets down to print out the digital image for the cover and inside. After they were all printed, I trimmed the front and inside down with a paper cutter, I cut out the arrows with scissors, and then using a utility blade (my Xacto wasn't handy), I cut out skinny little slits for the arrows to slide into.

Next, I slipped the arrows into the inside portion of the card, flipped it over, and used a glue stick everywhere except where the arrow sat. Then, I stuck down the inside to the inside of the folded cover, making sure the arrow stayed straight and out of the glued area.

That's all there is to it! I sized my cards to fit inside small envelopes that I had left over from our wedding Thank You cards. (The cards are around 3.5 x 5 inches in size.) If you want to print your own, I thought I would offer the digital download to you for both girl and boy announcement options!

click to download: girl card outside and arrow inserts
click to download: boy card outside and arrow inserts
click to download: card inside

DIY | Colorful Cigarette Pants

In accordance with my plans for a pretty pregnancy on the cheap, I didn't succumb to shopper envy when I saw these cute pink pants at ASOS. Would it be possible to DIY something similar? I wasn't sure, but I had a plan to try it out. Well, of course, these trousers aren't the exact same as the ASOS ones, but they certainly answer my craving for colorful legs!

These pants ended up costing a whopping total of $6, if you divvy out only the cost of the portion of dye that I used. I found a pair of horrid flared short kahkis (maternity style) at the thrift store for $3, and purchased some pink & fuschia Rit dye, as well as Rit color-stay potion (as I call it).

First, I layed out the pants and overtop, I layed a pair of stretchy cigarette pants that have a fit I already know I love. Using a water-soluable fabric pen, I traced around the inside of the legs, and used that line as a guide to stitch the inside of the kahki trousers. I stitched two lines of thread, so that the seams won't bust when I wiggle around. Then I trimmed the excess fabric.

Next I filled the washing machine with hot water, poured in some pink dye and a splash of fuschia. I let the washer agitate for 60 minutes, and then let the cycle rinse and spin. After that, I filled the washer again with hot water, this time using the Rit color-stay agent. After that cycle was through, I tossed the pants into the dryer, and they were ready to wear!

This was such a fun project, I can definitely see myself making more pants- in all of the colors of the technicolor rainbow!

SIMPLE CRAFT | Thank You Card

We've had plenty of friends popping in and out of our house helping with moving heavy furniture, painting, doing yardwork, and even dropping off some fresh fruit! Moving house was the hard part- making thank you cards for everyone who has blessed us? That's the fun part! Here's a simple card I whipped up today to send out to Phil's grandparents.

S U P P L I E S :

• Kraft cardstock
• Neon cardstock
• Greeting card envelope
• Pencil
• Black gel pen
• Sharp blade
• Sewing machine (or sewing needle)
• Black thread

S T E P   O N E :  Using the size of your envelope as a guide, cut out a piece of kraft cardstock to be slightly smaller than the envelope (when cardstock is folded).

S T E P   T W O :  With a pencil, draw the shape you want to hold the card's main message. Shapes like circles, hearts, triangles, and flowers work well. Then, use a sharp blade to cut around the pencil lines to remove the shape.

S T E P   T H R E E :  Cut your neon cardstock tp be slightly smaller than the kraft portion of the card. Fold it in the inside of the kraft cardstock, then stitch along the fold to keep the two pieces together.

S T E P   F O U R :  With a pencil, mark the beginning and end of where you want your message to go. Short sentiments like "thank you," "get well," "thinking of you," and "congratulations," easily fit into the shape, without getting crowded. Flip up the cover of the card, and write you message, beginning outside of your shape, and ending outside of the shape.

S T E P   F I V E :  Stitch the front piece of kraft cardstock to the front piece of neon carstock. I kept mine simple with just one line of stitching. Pull the threads through to the inside, knot them, and trim. At this point, your binding threads should also be knotted and trimmed.

Now all you have to do is write your message on the inside of the card, and send with love! Off to the mailbox I go.

DIY | Conversation Heart Magnets

Are you a note maker? I love to make lists, but Phil appreciates a mushy note much more than a honey-do list. I know Valentine's Day was last month, but seeing as how all of my craft supplies were hiding in unknown boxes somewhere in our new house, I didn't get around to completing this project until this week. If you're a sappy kid like me and Phil, maybe you'll want to try this project too- even though there's not another romantic holiday in sight for quite some time.

• small wooden hearts (found at craft store)
• coordinating sized magnets (with sticky back)
• black rub-on letters (or small letter stamps
• stylus to apply rub-ons (I used a crochet hook)
• black craft paint
• paint brush
• black ink pad (if you use stamps instead of rub-ons)

 

To begin, start at the beginning of your rub-on sheet, and apply each letter on a separate heart. I used every capital letter included in my rub-on sheet, to give more variety to the conversations on my fridge. You'll want to buy the rub-ons first, and then match the number of hearts you buy to the number of letters on your sheet. If you can't find decent rub-ons, you might want to purchase a small alphabet stamp set from a craft store and stamp the letters instead.

Next, I carefully painted the edges and back sides of each heart, laying on paper to dry. After the paint had dried, I stuck on the little circular magnets to the back. If you don't want to buy a bunch of little magnets, you might try buying a thin magnetic sheet and cutting out small triangle with a blade and steel ruler.

Once the magnets have been applied- your conversation hearts are ready to be used! Mount them to you refrigerator, or put them in a pretty tin and gift them to a friend.