Wooden Joy Banner

Wow! I know it's Christmas and everyone is busy, but I really need to learn to say "no." I had gotten myself into a few too many things this last week, so I've been a little remiss in posting. I'll try to catch up here in the next couple of days.

On Saturday, I made 20 of these simple wooden joy banners for a party favor and I thought I would share with you how to make them.


First, I needed some wood. I went the inexpensive route and purchased a 1x3 from the lumber store and cut it into the sizes I needed. It was great wood so I needed to sand it very little, just around the edges so they didn't poke anyone.


I needed 3 pieces in varying heights. Mine were about 4 1/4", 3 3/8" and 2 1/2", but there isn't a need to match mine exactly. Depending upon where/how you get your wood, if yours isn't smooth, you'll probably want to sand it a bit.

Next, I cut some papers to match the sizes of the blocks. I made mine just a little smaller so you could see the edge of the wood. I used 3 different coordinating papers.

Next, I glued the papers to the blocks. I used spray adhesive because I had lots to do and it was quicker, but any glue will work.

Next, I prepared my letters. I embroidered mine onto muslin. I thought it would also look nice to stencil the letters onto burlap, to use vinyl lettering, or even have your child write out the letters in crayon -- whatever option is available to you.

I finished the edges of the letters by fraying out the fabric just a bit.

I made the letters slightly smaller than the paper on the block.

Next, I set up the "hinge" for the first set of blocks, which is really the last two -- "o" and "y." I began by flipping over the two smaller blocks. For my first set, I used some small strips of ribbon to match the front. But it isn't really seen when it's finished and didn't seem to be as stable, so I used a single larger piece of felt ribbon for the rest instead. You can use fabric, ribbon, or even a real hinge if you have one on hand. Be sure of your block placement -- you're doing the back, so the sizes need to be arranged backward too.

When I flipped it over, it looked like this.

Next, I took a ruler and drew a line all the way across the bottom. This was my a guideline for where to place the glue and ribbon.

I applied the glue and ribbon onto the first two blocks in one long strip. I used hot glue because I didn't have time to let white glue dry. This ribbon is part of the hinge for the front. When you do this, be careful not to get glue down into the crack between the boards or your blocks will be glued together too (although this project can be done without hinges and turns out very cute too.)

Then I added another separate piece of ribbon to the third block so the ribbon just blended in with the hinge ribbon. If you happen to have a sharp razor blade on hand, you can do all 3 blocks at once, then cut the ribbon between the 2nd and 3rd block with the razor blade.

Next, I applied the letters. I used spray adhesive for this step too. (I have a real love/hate relationship with spray glue.) It didn't matter if I overlapped the ribbons.

Next, I applied a short strip of ribbon near the top of the middle block for the upper hinge.

I added a button to the end of the upper hinge, as well as a couple others into the corners for decoration.

And last, I tied a piece of raffia into a bow and glued it to the top corner of the first block.

And there you have it!

Now you just have to find a place to put it....

... or wrap it up to give to someone for Christmas. They'll love it! Especially since you made it yourself.

Let me know what you think! Check back tomorrow for another wood project that I think you'll like too.

And don't forget to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.

The Wedding Supply Department -- NOT!

I've been asked to feature at DollarStoreCrafts.com and I'm flattered! But at least this is an area that I feel like I can contribute. Check it out!

For many years now, (I think 13?) I've been working with my church to put together our annual Family Christmas Workshop. This is a make-n-take outreach event in which we provide the prepared materials for 300-500 each of 28-30 different crafts. Kids of all ages come and spend 3 hours making crafts of their choice and working at their own pace(though that's usually warp speed because they want to do as many as possible.) It's a blast! And they leave with a boxful of treasures! The dollar stores have been an invaluable asset for this event, my favorite being Dollar Tree. As long as you can think outside the box, there are treasures galore! And for us, with a budget of less than 75 cents per craft, it's essential!

Dollar Tree carries packages of pyramid favor boxes, though they're easier to find in the spring. It comes in a package of 5 for $1, mixed gold and silver. We were going to make a Christmas snack, but decided the box was too pretty to use for food packaging that would be thrown away afterwards. So we made it into a Christmas tree instead...

Check out the tutorial for complete instructions.

I think one of my favorite areas in the store is the wedding section. Ironically, I've never purchased anything from there for an actual wedding. I thought I'd share a few examples of things we've done the past couple of years using items you can find amongst the wedding supplies.

Next year, we have plans to do an angel with the same favor box ....

I'll be doing tutorial for this soon. Watch my upcoming posts.

Another favorite for the last several years is the little white pails. They come in a package of 3 for $1. This year we did a snowman hot tub, with snowmen made from glove fingers. I've already posted this tutorial.
In previous years, we've also done a snowman treat pail, and the tutorial is here ...

... and a doggie treat pail, complete with dog biscuits (or you could use Scooby snack graham cookies too). Check out the tutorial ...

They also carried some fabric favor bags that were very lovely with jewel trim on the bottom, in a package of 4 for $1. Stuffed with a little gift packaging shreds, these ultimately became a sachet angel ornament, and here's the tutorial ...The little folded gift bags seem to have endless uses for us, especially at a package of 12 for $1! We've made them into little gift bags to hold the earring craft they made. Here's the tutorial for this craft ...


This year, we decorated them up and made a "real" doggie bag, complete with yummy dog treats...But really, they seem to be an endless blank canvas...


These ideas listed come from just one small area of the store. But when we're preparing for our event, there isn't an area of the store that we don't check for possibilities. The chip clips are another of my favorite at 3 for $1. But there's also socks and gloves and doilies and clothes pins and ... well, a whole store of potential.

I hope you try a few of these yourself. You can find the material lists and instructions at childmade.com or at my blog.

Mini Light Bulb MOUSE

And here it is again. The light bulb.


Is it an idea? Is it a light bulb? Is it a light bulb idea??! YES!

Okay, so if you read my last post, you'll recall that at this point in the post, I told you about a tangent I went on, creating another design for the light bulb project. So we'll pick up from there.

I decided to try some other hats, since I was also considering doing a caroler, or a group of them (apparently, a group of 300.) So I grabbed some fleece to make a mini sock hat to experiment with.

These are super easy to do and you can see how to make them in my mini fleece hat tutorial.

I was liking the hat on the flesh-color painted bulb, but I had something else in mind. So I grabbed another bulb.

I grabbed a piece of scrap paper from my recycle pile, cut a couple of circles, and set them on the hat.

Then I set a black pom on the tip of the bulb.

I am definitely seeing a mouse!

So I painted a bulb white and started putting together my prototype.

I used the paper circles as a template and cut two circles from white felt. To form the ears, I added a dot of glue to one edge, then pinched the felt.

I glued the ears to the top of the fleece hat.

I needed eyes, and remembered these that I got on clearance sometime back. They're called wiggle eyes, except they don't "wiggle." They're flat on one side -- and perfect for my design.

I pencil marked a couple of dots for eyes.

White glue is more forgiving, so I went with that for the eyes. You might recall from my last project that the paint comes off with the glue, if you try to make a change later.

I thought these looked VERY much like mouse eyes.


I used a brush and some blush to pink the inside of the ears.


I thought the ears were set too far back on the hat, so I took them off and moved them up just a bit.

Next, I needed a nose. I could have used black...

... but white mice have pink noses. (They also have red eyes, but that creeps me out a bit.)

So I went with pink.

I liked it so far, but it was just a little ho-hum. So I tried adding some chenille stems for arms.

I cut them to length. Now, what to do with the arms?

I tried having him hold a present.

Something wasn't right. Maybe it was the size of the present, the color, maybe the position, but it just didn't work for me.

So I opted to tuck a scarf into the side of his hat. I liked it! Almost looked like it was blowing in a chilly winter wind.

He needed a mouth, so I penciled on the shape and outlined it with a black permanent marker. I also added a touch of blush to his cheeks.

I added a string to the top, using a needle. I might have been able to come up with an alternative method, but it just wasn't needed for this project.

Okay, I was still thinking about his arms. I tried it with the scarf. Not bad, but still not doing it for me.

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out a tiny Christmas wish list.

I used a pencil to roll it and shape it so it wasn't just flat.

I held it up for size. A little too big, so I trimmed it down.

Next, I took a toothpick and cut it in half.

On one end, I used black marker to add a pencil tip.

On the other end, I used a pink marker to add an eraser.

I wrapped the chenille stem around the pencil, to make a hand.

Then I mounted the wish list on the other chenille stem.


And that's it! I think he turned out great! I like things that are cheerful and whimsical, and this one fits my bill perfectly.

Thoughts? Ideas? Let me know what you think.

** NOTE: Please vote for me at Michael's handmade holidays contest!!.

If you liked this version of the tutorial, please leave a comment. These posts are quite a bit more work, but I'm willing to do it if it's "what the people want." And while you're at it, click to follow me too, please. I'm feeling rather lonely...

And don't forget to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.