vixenMade: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Free Printable Friday: Ringing In The New Year

Happy New Year to you all! This is officially the last post of the year for me!! See you all in 2012!
In the meantime, here are some fantastic free New Year's printables for your own celebrations and get togethers! Enjoy!

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And for the new year, you'll need a new calendar for 2012!Check out this lovely free printable calender:
2012 Doodle calendar

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Now it's off to make my New Year's resolutions... Anyone else making theirs?
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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Personalized Cork Keychain

I know I just made some lovely keychains for Christmas gifts, but it inspired me to make some more 'manly' keychains. Since gift ideas for men are so minimal, I decided to come up with something for my husband that he might actually use.Here's what I came up with:

A personalized cork keychain. I chose cork because it's a type of wood (and my husband builds houses and works with wood, so it seemed appropriate) in the shape of his first initial. I wasn't sure how cork would stand up to the wear and tear of being in a pocket and dangling next to sets of keys, but it passed!Let me show you how I made it.
Get yourself some cork (I used leftover cork tiles that were 1/4 inch thickness), key rings, a stencil, utility knife and mod podge. I also used a clear polyurethane spray paint (if you don't have it, you can use a clear coat spray paint or skip it altogether).

For a stencil, I used chipboard letters (for scrapbooking).

Trace your letter with a dark pen or thin marker (so you can see it).

Next, get your utility knife. I would recommend using a small one like I have shown, it makes it easier to cut the little spaces. Also, be sure you are VERY careful with this step. Don't be overzealous or you might seriously hurt yourself. The cork can be a little tough and difficult to cut through, but take your time and BE CAREFUL!

Once you've cut out your shape, take an exacto knife or a toothpick and poke out where your want your key ring to go. Don't make the hole too close to the edge or your it may split your cork.

Then, get your mod podge and apply a thick layer over your letter.

To save time, I applied the mod podge to both sides, then stuck the toothpick in halfway and propped it up to dry.

Once dry, add another heavy coat to both sides. (You could do 3 or 4 coats if you aren't planning on applying a clear coat).

I then sprayed both sides with a polyurethane spray paint to give it extra durability.

Once it's dry, you can place it on your key ring and you can gift away!

Enjoy your new keychain! Have a great day!!
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Baby Taggy Blanket

Hey everyone! I'm back from my little blogging holiday. How was everyone's Christmas? I'm sure a lot of you are still on holidays and celebrating. But since the hubs is back to work, so am I.I had such a wonderful Christmas. I was able to see all the family and enjoy their company. (Although I did come down with one nasty cold on Christmas eve.. still a little under the weather, but at least I'm drug free!)Other than that, I feel so blessed!
Anyways, today I have an oldie but a goodie project I decided to share with you. You know those taggy blankets babies love so much? I'm sure there's about a million other tutorials to make your own out there, or else you've already figured out how to make one on your own years ago. But.. just for kicks, I'll show you how I made mine anyway. I made this one for my adorable little 4 month old niece. She's growing so fast, I can hardly keep up. But I hope she enjoys her own taggy blanket.

All you need is... scraps!Kind of.I made mine fairly small, using 2 8x8 inch fabric pieces and lots of ribbon scraps. I cut each piece to be about 3-4 inches long.

Lay one fabric piece, right side up and arrange your ribbon pieces around the fabric however you like.

Having your ribbon facing in, fold each ribbon piece and pin to the edges of the fabric.

Lay your other fabric piece on top, right side facing in.

Pin together and sew around the edges using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Be sure to leave a 4-5 inch gap on one side for flipping right side out.

Next, trim your ribbon pieces (not too much, only if they are over 1/2 inch long).

And clip your corners.

Flip the blanket right side out, poking out your corners.

Whoops! This is why I am still a beginner.. Ha! Luckily, babies don't care about crooked ribbon tags.

Press the edges with an iron (if you used minky like I did, try a lower setting).

Be sure to press the open side under and flat as well. Then pin the opening shut.

Sew a top stitch all around the perimeter of the blanket so everything lays flat.

That's all there is to it.

A bright and cheery new toy!

Thanks for stopping by!
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Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas To All!

I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I truly hope you all are blessed with a wonderful weekend full of family, friendship and love! I hope we can all remember the reason for the season and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!I'm so thankful for how much He loves us and am so grateful for what He does for us. May He bring you all happiness no matter your circumstance this Christmas!
I also wanted to share with you all my family Christmas card that I made. We did a little photo shoot with our camera on a timer and got some cute shots of the family that I was able to use. Fun!

See you next week!
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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Gift Ideas (a la vixenMade)

Today I figured I'd put together a little gift giving idea list for you all out my own projects/tutorials. I've organized them for you too! So get your gift on for your last minute giving..

For Women: