Blog a la Cart

Fabric Gift Wrap

I’ve always been enamored of fabric gift wrapping and the art of furoshiki. Thanks to a supply of fabric spray paint by Spray Paint 4 Fabric and some simple flour cloths, I decided to give it a go this season. I didn’t get too fancy – just did some Jackson Pollack like spray painting over the cloth, let it dry, and then got to folding and tying and wrapping!

This site provided much inspiration. I decided to wrap up this little package using the Apple Wrap. (And I made my first animated gif. WATCH OUT! It’s not nearly as hilarious as this Cookie Monster gif. But, ya know, it gives you a sense of the process).

It’s particularly lovely that the wrapping then doubles as a gift itself, no?

Paper Garlands

I have my brilliant friend Justine to thank for this project. She made these lovely paper garlands from old maps and sheet music. They can be strung around the tree. Hung by the window. Made into a mobile. Piled in a bowl. Wrapped around a present. Let your imagination run wild!

MATERIALS:
Old paper
2-3″ circle punch
Sewing machine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Create circles from the old paper using a circle punch.

2. Pair up the circles. Layering the two circles directly on top of one another.

3. Thread the circles through the sewing machine, right down the center. Run a few inches of thread between each pair. Thread circles until the garland is the length of your choosing.

4. Separate the circle pairs by folding the paper away from the center. This will open up the circles giving them another dimension.

Ice Skate Ornament

Oh how I love these little retro ice skate ornaments. I based this pattern on an ornament from my childhood that my Grammy must have made.  They’re perfect for child-friendly tree decorating and make a lovely present topper!

MATERIALS:
Yarn in colors of your choice
Jumbo paper clips
Scissors
Crochet hook (I used an H hook)
Tapestry needle

DIRECTIONS:

1. Double crochet 8 stitches onto the paper clip. Chain 2, turn.

2. Double crochet 8 stitches. Chain 2, turn.

3. Double crochet 5 stitches, Chain 2, turn.

4. Double crochet 5 stitches, fasten off BUT do not cut yarn. Leave attached.

5. With second color, at the opposite end of the row from where you just fastened off, single crochet 5 stitches.

6. Using both color strands, chain 15 stitches. Fasten off, leaving a 6-12″ tail to tie the skates together.

7. Make a second skate. Tie the two strands together in a bow. Tie in all ends. And there you have it! An adorable ice skate pair to dangle from the tree.

Wooden Gift Tags

Thank goodness I have a very handy partner that humors all of my strange DIY demands. Thanks to James I’m now equipped with a stack of wooden gift tags to bestow upon all of our friends and family. What’s nice about this particular tag is that it doubles as a lovely, all natural ornament for the tree. If you’ve got a Miter saw and drill press on hand, this project is a snap!

Find a log or branch in the diameter that you’d like your tags. Load it up on the saw and slice as thinly as you can. After slicing, drill a hole large enough to thread a ribbon through, and TA DA! You’ve got yourself some lovely wooden gift tags or ornaments. I gussied mine up with a variety of ribbons and some gold ink pen!

Having a partner who is willing to support your creative DIY endeavors is truly a blessing. By finding the perfect log or branch, carefully slicing it into thin pieces, and drilling a hole for ribbon threading, you can create unique wooden gift tags or ornaments that will impress your friends and family. Add a touch of personalization with various ribbons and even embellishments using a gold ink pen, and your creations will be cherished keepsakes for years to come.

In the spirit of personalized accessories, another delightful gift option to consider is mood rings. With an array of mood ring colors to choose from, each shade reflects a different emotional state, adding a touch of whimsy to one’s ensemble. Whether given as a token of friendship or a special gift to a loved one, mood rings offer a unique and meaningful way to express emotions and create a connection. Embrace the joy of gift-giving by exploring the realm of personalized jewelry, where both wooden tags and mood rings can captivate hearts and leave a lasting impression.

Button Garland

I have an appallingly large stash of buttons in my crafting arsenal. I thought it’d be fun to crochet up a simple button garland to use as decor for the tree, or an accent on the mantle, or even as “ribbon” on presents.

All that’s needed is the chain stitch. I slid all of my buttons onto a ball of yarn before starting. I then chained 20 stitches, slid a button into the chain, chained 5 stitches, slid a button into the chain, chained 5 stitches, and so on, until I’d chained the last button into the garland. I chained a final 20 stitches and finished it off. Easy peasy.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Magazine Christmas Tree

Given that this DIY project has far and away been my most popular tutorial, I decided to update the post with a video of the magazine tree making process to help clear up a few questions that we’ve received from readers. To date, it’s one of my favorite DIYs. Fold away, friends!

My favorite DIY projects are always those that involve minimal expense and materials. The best of the best DIY projects require recycled (read: FREE) materials, and little else but some time and crafty gumption. Enter the DIY Magazine Christmas Tree. For a gal like me who has stacks of magazines piling up around the house (I am SO my mother’s daughter), this project inspired me to clear out my magazine rack and bring a little (more) Christmas cheer to our abode. This is a particularly wonderful craft to do with children, no sharp tools necessary. Merry merry folding!

Materials:
Magazine(s)
Seriously, that’s it.
No, really. All you need is a magazine, or magazines plural.
And two hands.
Ok, a paperclip could help.
And glitter or metallic spray paint if you want to get all fancy pants.

Directions:
1. Dive into a pile of old magazines and chose those which you don’t mind being turned into mini-trees. Then, pull the cover off the front and back of the magazine and break the spine.

2. Lay the magazine out, and you’ll fold each page in the following way:

3. Now settle in, and fold fold fold! Slowly, you’ll begin to see the tree take shape.

4. Depending on the girth of the magazine, you may need only 1 magazine to complete 1 tree (in which case, just use 1 paperclip to attach the front and back page). If you feel that the tree could use more density, then just fold up another magazine and attach the two back to back with paperclips. And if you want some glitz and glam, you can spray paint the tree and sprinkle on some glitter.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Sweater Soap

Last December we fell in love with Biggs & Featherbelle after test-driving some of their amazing all-natural soaps and bath products. This year. they sent us three bars of their specialty holiday edition soaps, and, not surprisingly we adored the festive, seasonal scents coupled with the all-natural ingredients. The perfect stocking stuffer? We say YES! You can find the holiday soaps here.

To jazz up these delicious bars, I wanted to swaddle them in felt much like last year’s Coal Soap Tutorial. Unfortunately, due to the square shape of the bars, I could not master even felt-coverage of the soap. Discouraged, but still intent on giving the bars a snuggly cover, I turned to my knitting needles. Using 100% wool yarn, I knit these little sweater covers. A washcloth and yummy holiday soap all in one! Be sure to use 100% wool fibers as the wool will shrink and felt around the soap much like it does in the wet-felting process. Also, wool is naturally anti-bacterial, so these soaps won’t get funky hanging out in your bathroom.

Pattern:
* Cast on as many stitches as needed to accommodate the width of your soap (even number of stitches). I used 20 stitches, using two strands of yarn and US 9 needles.

* Knit 1 row

* Knit the length of the soap as follows: Knit 1, *Yarn In Front, Slip 1, Yarn in Back, Knit 1,* repeat until last stitch, Knit 1 (that means there will be two knit stitches at the end of each row). Repeat row until the project is long enough for your soap.

* Once the yarn is long enough to accommodate the soap, use two other needles and transfer the stitches over onto the two needles – opening the hole that has been created in the middle of the pattern, like so:

* Slide the soap inside and transfer the stitches back to one needle. Cast off the final row.

Now get to gifting and scrubbing.

I couldn’t resist keeping a bar for our household, so Sunny enjoyed giving it a test-drive during last night’s bath time. She selected the Bay Rum & Lime scent. She must know how much Mommy and Daddy love a dash of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum in our egg nog (or cider or ginger beer).

Designer Duct Tape

Santa’s workshop is set up chez Cart, and now it’s time to dive in and get to wrapping. One of my favorite materials to use as wrapping paper is brown paper grocery bags. And this year, I have stacks of my daughter’s artwork from preschool that I can also repurpose as wrapping paper.

Now, in terms of trimmings for said wrappings, I usually opt for ribbon and twine, but this year I was sent a pack of Designer Duct Tape and I’ve become a junkie for the stuff. We all know duct tape is the standard fix-it-all. My husband swears by the stuff. The fact that I can now use it as decorative accents is just pure awesome.

Here’s how I adorned an array of gifts, including some shipping boxes, for this year’s holiday.

I even tackled an enormous box that arrived for me and James that we were instructed to not open until Xmas. Rather than stare at a brown box under the tree for the next two weeks, I decided to gussy it up with some duct tape.

You can nab the tape in 14 different patterns here.

I’m also scheming of ways to make ornaments, garlands, even duct-tape wrapped pencils for stocking stuffers with the leftover rolls. Here’s a video to really kick start your creations!

LINK: PLATYPUS DESIGNER DUCT TAPE

Paper Towel Stars

Talk about simple upcycling! Slice up a paper towel or toilet paper roll and you’ve got yourself a glittery, star ornament!

Crochet Candy Cane

Sunny is absolutely obsessed with candy canes. Problem is, she would rather eat them than look at them hanging on our tree and I can only handle so much sticky toddler in my life.

To solve the problem, I whipped up this crochet candy cane last night while watching marathon episodes of Gossip Girl. I’m only mildly ashamed to admit that this is how I spent my Friday evening.

Use the video tutorial below to make some for your tree!