Vintage Button Gift Tag Tutorial

I have another craft supply stash bust gift tag tutorial for you. Today we’re making gift tags with fabric ribbon and vintage buttons! Oh heck, let’s throw caution to the wind and use some scrapbook paper too.

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Many of the buttons I have in my grandmother’s button box are plain old shirt buttons. Great for replacing a lost one and better for crafting because there are so many of them. I also have odd lengths of ribbon from sewing projects that are too long to throw away and too small for my recent sewing projects. Inspired by finding  a box of business cards from my old company (may it rest in peace) I figured I could get these kids together and let them make quick, easy, and beautiful recycled gift tags together.

I’m sure you can figure out how I made the gift tags by looking at the picture so I almost don’t have to write a tutorial but since this is the holiday season is all about giving I will.

How to Make Evergreen Window Swags for Free!

We’re bumping up our outdoor Christmas decorations this year. We have a house full of energy efficient disco projector Christmas lights to replace our dead strings of LED Christmas lights.

I saved some Amazon Subscribe and Save boxes and wrapped them as Christmas presents and put them in the barren flower beds. We’ll recycle them after the holiday because storage space for holiday decorations is at a premium.


The front yard still needed a little something and when I saw a pair of dachshund Christmas decorations (learn more about them here.) in a neighbor's yard I had to have them too as a tribute to Lacey. What can I say? We are dog suckers through and through.
 

 The dachshund lights come apart for storage after the holiday. They make make me insanely happy.

Make Peek a Boo Window Gift Tags

After a two day craft room excavation I had a couple of boxes of old business cards and nice little pile of random paper, ribbon, buttons, and punches on my worktable. The following day and fueled by probably more hot chocolate than one person should drink in an afternoon I started to play.

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Once I got on a creative roll, I upcycled a bunch of old business cards into gift tags I’m not ashamed to tie onto our Christmas gifts this year. I have so many handmade stash buster gift tags, that I’m going to turn this craft project into a blog series. Come craft with me!

 

How to Make Embossed Gift Tags for Hanukkah or Christmas

Star Wars Crafts: Princess Leia Ear Muffs

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is about to open (can’t wait!) winter is coming, and so the Christmas gift season. I can’t think of a better excuse make something that has been on my idea list since the  first time I saw Spaceballs, (affiliate link)  the Star Wars parody movie – Princess Leia Hair Bun Ear Muffs!

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How to Make Princess Leia Ear Muffs

How to Make a Christmas Countdown Calendar Candle

When it comes to Advent calendars, I am more about the Christmas Countdown than the extra treats and trinkets that fill the calendar. I’m not knocking anyone who likes the prizes. It’s hard to find one that isn’t filled with milk chocolate. With a milk allergy, I don’t need the daily reminder that I’m stuck with a relish tray at the Christmas party while everyone else is wolfing down yummy milk chocolate desserts and treats.

But Christmas is the time of year I like to honor my Danish heritage and Danes love their Advent Calendars. Danes also love burning candles. That means Christmas countdown candles are very popular in Denmark.

Instead of opening a little door or pocket, you countdown the days until Christmas by burning the candle to each marked day until Christmas Day.  Unfortunately, Advent calendar candles are hard to find and when I did find some on line they were $30 for a decorated taper candle.

30 bucks a pop? I can make it for less!

So I did.

How to Make an Advent Calendar Candle

Bottle Cap Wreath

Husband and I have have a huge bottle cap collection just waiting for me to reuse them to make awesome bottle cap crafts and DIY projects. Last year Create. Craft. Love. gave me a blank wreath form and challenged me to make a wreath for her blog. The first thing that popped into my mind was - make a bottlecap wreath!

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If you do not have five years worth of bottle caps in coordinating colors you can still do this project if you spray paint your mismatched bottle caps in coordinating colors before you start making this wreath.

Washi Tape Headphones

I decorated the headphones I keep on my desk with washi tape. By using paper washi tape I have a plastic free craft and the option to easily change the design in the future.

After awhile I wanted to step up my washi tape craft game from covering an object with the same washi tape design to projects that mix and match different tape patterns and colors. But here’s a little secret you don’t know about me: I choke when it comes to mixing and matching patterns in my décor projects. Also I only have two rolls of washi tape and they don’t coordinate.

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Luckily, I received a review copy of  Washi Tape Crafts: 110 Ways to Decorate Just About Anything by Amy Anderson, the author of the book Mod Podge Rocks! I knew Amy was writing a washi tape craft book but what I didn’t know is her book comes with 10 rolls of custom design washi tape.

10 Natural, Reycled, and Upcycled Acorn Crafts

Fall is one of the best times of the year to decorate with nature. A simple walk in the park or, if you are lucky, a few steps from your front door is a whole host of Mother Nature’s splendor just waiting for a little green Fall decorating and craft magic.

 

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Autumn leaves, pumpkins, and cornstalks (I almost bought some from a farmer’s market on a whim last weekend,) are what I normally think of when it comes to Fall décor.

It wasn’t until I saw Dandelion Patina ‘s  recycled sweater and coconut shell acorns that I thought about decorating with acorns and acorn crafts. I pinned her post to my Fall decorating Pinterest board (follow me @condoblues on Pinterest pretty please?) and fell head first into real, recycled, and upcycled acorn crafts and decorations.

Renaissance Festival Handmade Craft Shopping Haul

Through vendor friends and fellow performers, the renaissance festival is where I started learning about essential oils, creating herbal tea blends for both medicinal and yummy purposes, and fell head over heels with handmade health and beauty products.

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It is also where we got the idea of starting our Christmas gift shopping early and somewhat year round. Years ago a fellow performer proudly declared that he finished all of his Christmas shopping at the faire and was chuffed he was finished in September. Naturally being the good friends that we are, we kidded him about it.

Homemade Fairy Wing Dog Halloween Costume

Costuming is my favorite part of Halloween, but Lacey? Not so much.  Lacey’s favorite part is earning treats at Halloween pet charity events. I can’t blame her for that.

Husband and I use dog charity events as fun socialization training to help Lacey work on her fear and anxiety issues (Read more about that on this dog training post on Condo Blues.) Unlike her humans, Lacey isn’t into wearing dog Halloween costumes or clothes (unless it is freezing outside.) We don’t push it because the costume thing is really for the humans, not the dogs.

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Carve a Life Size Snake Pumpkin for Halloween!

You may not know this but I have something in common with the archaeological adventurer Indiana Jones.

I hate snakes.

I think snakes are creepy, ugly, slimy, and icky! Icky! Icky!

Spiders I can handle, but snakes? Not unless they are incredibly and undoubtably fake.

 

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 Or they light up. Like this guy!

Decorating with Real Pumpkin Topiaries and Mosaics

I appreciate carving and decorating with real pumpkins for fall and Halloween.

Doing it is another story.

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Carving pumpkins is messy, goopy, and if you do it too early, moldy by the time Halloween rolls around. Besides, if don't carve the pumpkins, we can make fresh pumpkin puree (learn how on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef) and use it to make fantastic food after Halloween. Lacey likes this idea very much.

16 Easy Halloween Tutorials

100 Homemade Halloween Costumes!

 
My absolute favorite, favorite thing about Halloween is costumes! It is the only day of the year you can dress up as weird as you like and no one will think you are a weirdo.

Unless your costume is a Weirdo.

Husband and I as Raving Rabbid Weirdos. Bwaaaaaaaaaaa!

Recycled Fall Leaf Lantern Decor

Fall leaves are Mother Nature’s fireworks.  It is such a shame to dump all of those golden yellow, red, and orange leaves that eventually litter my yard into the compost bin. We should show at least some of them off!

Red Ted Art did just that. She and her children gathered pretty fall leaves and forced themselves to eat a lovely cheese so they can upcycle the cheese box into a quick and easy leaf lantern.

Husband is so on board with this project. He selflessly volunteered to eat as much cheese as needed so I can recycle the wood cheese boxes all in the name of green fall home décor. What a trooper!

Learn how to make Red Ted Art's Fall Leaf Lanterns here. Check out the comment section for suggestions on what you use to make the lanterns if you don’t have access to cheese boxes.

This is a very kid friendly craft and decoration because she uses electric tea lights to light the lanterns.

Do you think I can use a small solar light to power her leaf light like I did when I made my solar Halloween Milk Jug Ghost lights?

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How to Make a Lucky Buckeye Zipper Pull

Ohio President William Henry Harrison introduced the United State to our state tree, the buckeye, and Ohioans have been nuts ever since. Not only is the buckeye the state tree and state nut but they are also the Ohio State University mascot. Many people carry a buckeye in their pocket or purse for luck, especially during football season.

Other people craft with buckeyes to show state or school pride or, in more practical terms, do something with all of the nuts falling from a buckeye tree in their yard!

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I figure why not put the two together and craft an Ohio State Buckeye zipper pull you can wear on your coat to the game or use as a key chain. That way you have your lucky buckeye with you 24/7.

I’m using mine as a backpack charm so Husband and I can tell which one of our identical backpacks is mine.

Quick and Easy Ohio State Buckeye Key Chain, Zipper Pull, or Backpack Charm

Fabulous Fall Craft Roundup

Stop.

Did you smell that?

The hint of cinnamon?

The whiff of drying leaves?

The just about ripe pumpkin on the vine?

Fall is almost here!

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Project Me: Fight Stress with Coloring. Have You Tried It?

One of my friends has a tote bag that says, “I knit so I don’t kill people.” I can relate.

To part about relaxing or recharging through a creative project, not the part about knitting.  I don’t know how.

I suppose that’s one of the reasons adult coloring books are so popular.  You don’t need a garage full of fancy tools or lessons to de-stress by coloring. All you need is a couple of bucks for a coloring book and some crayons (Environmental Working Group has a a list of safe non toxic crayons here) or colored pencils and you’re good to go.

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I haven’t colored since I don’t know when. One evening when I was looking for something to do, I spied the coloring page Zulily.com put on the back of the Thank You card that came with my last order in the To Recycle pile by the back door.

I decided to give it a go.

Quick Craft: Make a Portable Phone Charger Case

I  love photography. My phone has a good camera and I’m not shy about whipping it out to document the beautiful, fun, or surprising things that cross my path in any given monument. Unfortunately, using the camera so often kills my phone battery. I started carrying a portable phone charger or two in my bag or backpack when Husband and I go on one of our adventures.

My quick phone charger holder makes a great gift. 

You should pin this post for gift giving season!

I quickly realized I need some sort of phone charger holder or case to store the charger and the cord together.  Why are the things you need to grab quickly always in the deepest darkest corners of your bag or purse and take ages of rooting around to find? It’s some sort of purse conspiracy I tell ya.

How to Make Color Guard Swing Flags

This year, one of my band association’s members choreographed an epic swing flag routine to Pompeii (a song I like to begin with) for a group exhibition performance at the Drum Corps International World Championships. DCI asked our community band association to perform to let the corps kids know they don't have to give up music once they age out of drum corps at 21. Bucket List moment!

Our color guard choreographer put an instructional video up on YouTube so the guard members can rehearse on our own in our respective states before we meet for the performance later this year.

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I feel stronger and more graceful than I really am when I spin. It is good exercise too.

This way we won't have much work to clean when we meet two days before the show to rehearse together. Yes, it is as crazy and insane as it sounds to put together a pep band show of  5 routines with only 8 hours of rehearsal but luckily we’re all disciplined adults so it works when the umbrella organization has a country wide group performance made from performers from our member bands.

Rehearsing at home is no big deal except the group with the practice swing flags are using theirs this season and lives in New York. The group with the performance swing flags are using theirs and lives in Florida.

I better get a pair of swing flags for me in Ohio then, huh?

What is a Swing Flag?