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Free Valentine’s Day Printables

by H. Camille Smith February 6, 2013 6 Comments

With just one week till V-Day, it’s time for some quick-and-easy printables to put the finishing touches on your celebrations. From valentines you can print then embellish, to lettered tags perfect for topping gifts or treats, we’ve got you covered.

These charming printable tags can be cut into any shape to top their favorite sweets:

If an old-school valentine is more your speed, print one of our cute valentines onto card stock then embellish them with self-adhesive rhinestones and ribbon:

Valentine’s Day Kids’ Craft: Chocolate-Covered Fortune Cookies and (Cute!) Takeout Box

by H. Camille Smith January 30, 2013 7 Comments

Just 2 more weeks till Valentine’s Day, can you believe it?

The stores are stocked full of tasty little bon-bons packed into pretty packages — which are all very tempting but so…well, mass-produced. If you’re looking for an easy way to surprise your valentine with an equally pretty box filled with homemade tasty bon-bons, then I’ve got you covered! This heart-and-arrow takeout box is a snap to craft and dipping fortune cookies into chocolate couldn’t be easier — even for a certified non-cook like me.

Kids will love making these to give to classmates, family friends or grandparents, and your wallet will appreciate that the materials can be picked up, inexpensively, at your local market and craft store.

Ready to get started? Get the complete step-by-step instructions.

As a variation to the heart-and-arrow box, I added square corners cut from paper doilies to each side, then surrounded the lace with self-adhesive rhinestones.

Weekday Crafternoon: How to Make Pinecone Fire Starters

by Marianne Canada January 15, 2013 9 Comments

I have a confession to make: mid-January is not my finest time. The days are grey, cold, and dreary, and without the distraction of the holidays, my mood goes down the tube. My prescription? Lots of cozy evenings by the fire. I’m no girl scout and end up using way too much paper when building a fire, so when I saw this great winter party favor idea I thought, why stop at a favor? Why not make a jar of full-sized fire starters to fuel my own flames?

One or two of these pinecones will leave you with a roaring fire of your own in no time. Don’t have a fireplace to call your own? They are also handy on camping trips!

Pinecone Fire Starters

How are you staying warm this winter?

Weekday Crafternoon: DIY Bird Feeder Craft

by Marianne Canada January 8, 2013 18 Comments

The holiday season is over and I don’t know about you, but I’m already starting to feel cabin fever setting in. As the mother of a small child, these winter months stretch before us as a period where we are cooped up inside without the respite of the park or zoo to channel toddler energies. With this in mind, this week’s episode of Weekday Crafternoon features a kid-friendly craft that also benefits our feathered friends. To prove it’s kid-approved, I enlisted my own daughter, 3.5-year-old Lulu, to help. Check it out:

Making these DIY homemade bird feeders is a great way to spend an afternoon indoors, and with February being National Bird-Feeding Month, we’re ahead of the game. We hung these feeders on the branches of a rhododendron bush outside our house and the birds went crazy for them. As fun to watch as they are to make!

DIY Bird Feeder Kid Craft

Also worth noting? This is a peanut-free bird feeder craft, so it’s safe for kids (and adults!) with nut allergies.

Want more ideas that are for the birds? Check out this DIY bird bath project from our archives. And as always, you can find all of our episodes of Weekday Crafternoon right here. See you next week!

Weekday Crafternoon: Last Minute DIY Gifts

by Marianne Canada December 18, 2012 5 Comments

I don’t know how to break this to you, but…Christmas is officially less than one week away. I KNOW. Are you ready yet? Because I am not. Suddenly my free time is booked solid and the remaining handmade gifts I was hoping to tackle? Not happening, people. But it’s not too late to give something handmade from the heart, thanks to A Hip Handmade Holiday. Check out these excellent last minute gifts using the most adorable printables:

Cute, am I right? A Hip Handmade Holiday is a sweet ebook from the ladies at The Craft Pack, and it’s chock full of adorable handmade gifts for anyone on your list, all ringing in at under $10. Pretty great stuff.

Last Minute DIY Gift Ideas

Don’t forget, you can always find even more handmade gift ideas right here on HGTV.com. Are you guys giving handmade gifts this year? Are you all finished or elbow deep in glitter, glue and spray paint?

Missed a past episode of Weekday Crafternoon? Check them all out HERE.

Menswear-Inspired Gift Wrap + How to Make a Ribbon Rose

by H. Camille Smith December 12, 2012 13 Comments

The holidays are sneaking up on us fast! Hanukkah began this weekend and Christmas will be here in less than 2 weeks. If you’re like me, you’re in gift wrapping crunch mode.

Honestly, wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things about the holidays but wrapping guys’ gifts can be tough — the trick is to keep them seasonal and masculine. For my mens’ gifts this year, that means this awesome blue plaid ribbon (love!) and handy-dandy, works-with-anything Kraft paper.

Another Kraft paper bonus: Thanks to its thickness, you can paint it without rippling the paper. So for Grant’s gift, I painted on a chalkboard gift tag then topped it with a blue plaid ribbon rose (in honor of his bowtie obsession) and a sparkly snowflake ornament. Chalkboard Gift Wrap With Handmade Ribbon Rose

Step 1: I planned to add the ribbon rose on one side and have the chalkboard tag take up most of the remaining space so I first taped on a band of ribbon to determine the tag’s placement. Next I used a ruler to mark out a rectangle, leaving the corners unmarked. To round the tag’s corners, I sketched around a small tin then erased any pencil marks that wouldn’t be covered by the chalkboard paint. chalkboard gift wrap

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Weekday Crafternoon: Handmade Felt Ombre Trees

by Marianne Canada December 11, 2012 5 Comments

Today’s craft comes straight from the ever-inspiring Handmade section right here on HGTV.com. I couldn’t resist these Ombre Tabletop Christmas Trees and decided to recreate them in neutral colors. I love how they look a little bit like snow-capped mountains!

These make a great centerpiece, but I paired them with some oversized ornaments and created a charming tableau for my mantel. I can’t wait to use these year after year!

Handmade Ombre Felt Trees

Missed any episodes of Weekday Crafternoon? You can find them all here!

Weekday Crafternoon: DIY Holiday Pompom Wreath + GIVEAWAY!

by Marianne Canada December 4, 2012 25 Comments

Congratulations, Saly!

Good afternoon, Design Happens readers! Or should that be good crafternoon? Hmmm. Anyway, I digress. You guys made some excellent suggestions in last week’s episode, and several of you wanted holiday wreath ideas. Well, today is your lucky day! Also, since the ornament giveaway was such a hit (Were you the winner? Check your email!), I’m giving away this wreath as well! Scroll down for details.

I love how inexpensive and easy to customize this project is. In fact, I went home and made a big version for my own front door!

DIY Pompom Wreath

Want to win the wreath featured in today’s episode? You are in luck! To win? All you need to do is leave a comment below answering this question: are you finished decorating for the holidays? Or are you just getting started?

You may only comment once to be considered, and you don’t have to purchase anything to win; a purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Odds depend on total number of entries. Void where prohibited by law. Only open to legal residents of 50 U.S., D.C. or Puerto Rico, and you must be at least 18 years of age to win. All entries (comments) must be entered between 12:00 p.m. ET on December 4, 2012 and 12:00 p.m. ET on December 10, 2012. Subject to full official rules. By leaving a comment on the blog, you acknowledge your acceptance to the Official Rules. ARV of prize: $30. Sponsor: Scripps Networks, LLC, d/b/a HGTV, 9721 Sherrill Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37932.

Weekday Crafternoon + Giveaway: Two Handmade Holiday Ornaments

by Marianne Canada November 27, 2012 69 Comments

Congrats, Donna C.!

Oh yeah, it’s Christmas tree time; at least it is at my house. We have a yearly tradition of buying our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and it instantly puts me in a holiday mood. And so, inspired by the tree trimming going on in my abode, I decided to make some new ornaments for this week’s installment of Weekday Crafternoon.

Those glittery polka dot ornaments are seriously easy to make, and don’t you want to PlastiDip everything now? I know I do.

Handmade Ornaments

Not up for the challenge of making these festive ornaments? How about winning a set of them for free? That’s right, I’m giving away four handmade ornaments from this week’s episode of Weekday Crafternoon, just because it’s the holidays and I’m in a giving mood. To win? All you need to do is leave a comment below answering this question: what kind of craft would you like to see me tackle next?

You may only comment once to be considered, and you don’t have to purchase anything to win; a purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Odds depend on total number of entries. Void where prohibited by law. Only open to legal residents of 50 U.S., D.C. or Puerto Rico, and you must be at least 18 years of age to win. All entries (comments) must be entered between 12:00 p.m. ET on November 27, 2012 and 12:00 p.m. ET on December 3, 2012. Subject to full official rules. By leaving a comment on the blog, you acknowledge your acceptance to the Official Rules. ARV of prize: $20. Sponsor: Scripps Networks, LLC, d/b/a HGTV, 9721 Sherrill Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37932.

Weekday Crafternoon: More Furoshiki Wrapping Ideas

by Marianne Canada November 20, 2012 8 Comments

I had so much fun showing you guys this furoshiki-style beer bottle wrap that I thought I’d dig into the Weekday Crafternoon archives to bring you more of this Japanese fabric wrapping technique. We shot this episode over the summer (hence my long hair!), but it’s definitely appropriate for this time of year.

Not only is furoshiki a unique wrapping idea, it’s eco-friendly! No need for wrapping paper or ribbons, and you can reuse the wrap over and over again. What do you think? Would you ditch rolls of paper in favor of pretty fabric this year?

Small Furoshiki Wrap