Signature Creations

Award Ribbons

2012-02-21T19:56:00.001-08:00

I have to admit that this seemed like it was going to be one of the easiest crafts ever. After 3 extra trips to Hobby Lobby I knew I was dead wrong. So I just have to blog about it to share my tips to save you time and a few trips to the craft store.

So the concept itself is pretty simple. Acetate ribbon is perfect for making the award ribbons and it's not that expensive to get a huge roll of it, especially if it's on sale. So start by folding the ends of the ribbon diagonally so that it forms a triangle in the back. We also added a slip of paper that had the award name on the back so we could write down who was getting the ribbon once the scoring was completed if we wanted to.

We (I roped one of my friend into helping me with this little adventure) then used a little tombo on the back just to secure the ribbon a little better and then we added the brad.

Next I put the lettering on, which was the easiest part of this project.

Lastly I used embroidery floss to make the tassel part that you can hang the ribbon with. I would have liked to used some corded ribbon and frayed the end, but I could not find a big enough brad. Originally I bought a little bigger brad, but it was to "thick" for the ribbon, I think it was made to go through leather. I'm sure there is a place online to buy these or even a specialty scrapbook store, but I just didn't have the time to research that out.

In the end they turned out really nice, but I'm not sure that the savings is that great over ones that you actually buy if you consider the time that it takes.

Feather Boa Wreath

2012-02-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

One of my friends made a white wreathe like this and I just had to make one for Valentine's Day. Thank you for the idea R. So all you need for this project is a foam wreath, 2 feather boas, a little ribbon and hot glue.

Start by hot gluing the feather boa to the back of the wreath by the rope.

Next wrap it around the wreath.
When you get to the end you should have half of the wreath filled and then hot glue it on the back

Repeat the process with the 2nd boa and that's it! In order to hang the wreathe I then glued a small piece of ribbon on the back of the boa to the actual foam.

I put a 3M hook on the mirror to hang it and that's it! This is one of the easiest crafts ever!

I'll be honest I really wanted to do it in red and hang it on my front door, but I thought the red boas had too much orange in them for me. So I settled on pink and I love it. I think it would be adorable in a little girl's room as well.

Tips on doing it a little cheaper: I used a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby on the wreathe and the Boa's were in the Valentine's section on a 30% off sale!

Conversation Hearts for the Wall

2012-02-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

I'm super excited about these "conversation" hearts that I put up on the wall tonight for the family. I printed a heart for each member of the family and put them up on the wall. They are about 13". I also wrote everyone's name on their own heart.

Now everyone can be on the look out for nice things that they want to say to each other. A thank you, a sweet message, anything to promote gratitude, love and appreciation goes!

I decided against using chalk for this venture even though I know it could be easily erased and then you could write on the heart over and over again. I don't like the feel of writing with chalk so that's the biggest reason I didn't go that route. I printed the heart a little bigger so that we could write multiple messages without erasing.

We are trying out washable markers to see how it works out. I think a Sharpie would show up the best, but I'm trying to be realistic about what's best for the walls with a 5 year old in the mix!

Preschool Zone

2012-01-20T14:41:00.001-08:00

I love using vinyl to transform and ordinary looking space into a truly unique place. The back area of my girls' dance studio is dedicated to their preschool classes. Much of the wall was bare and she wanted to liven it up for the kids. We put up a 22 foot "Preschool Zone" sticker on the back wall to offset the space.

The room is divided down the wall by pillars so we couldn't place the sticker in the middle. We put the "Preschool Zone" sticker on the left side and then to balance out the wall we put up an 8 foot tree.

To add more color we added butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs and a few caterpillars.

I love using vinyl wording and images to transform a space!

Hang Your Stockings

2011-11-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a how to if you want to make your own Stocking Hanger. The board that I used is 8" tall and 36" wide. I routed it and painted it a cranberry red color.

Next I stained it. This photo was taken after the 1st coat of stain. As you can see it needed another application. I let the stain set for 24 hours after each application. After I stained the sign I put two backs in the back. I think that it is important to use two backs on this sign so when kids are touching their stockings your sign will be stable.

After I put the backs on I applied the sticker.

Now the only thing that was left to do was to decide where to put the knobs. My favorite place to buy knobs is Home Depot because you can find some for under $2.00. Knobs can get really pricey, so if you're looking to do this for a reasonable price go to Home Depot. I like using knobs because they are very secure. I laid them on the board so I could make sure I liked how they looked and then measured from there. I placed the knobs 1 1/2 up from the bottom. Then the next step is to drill the holes where you have marked and screw the knobs on.

I made this sign for a boutique so it doesn't have personalized names. If you'd like to order one I'd love to personalize the names for your family above the knobs. You're always welcome to order the stickers and do it yourself too:).

Thoughtful and Affordable Gifts

2011-11-12T13:58:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year where we are thinking about how we can give a thoughtful gift and come in under budget! 6x6 tiles are a great way to go!

You can personalize the saying depending on who you are giving to.

It's also a nice addition if you're just looking for a little something more to go in a gift basket.

If you're looking for a great easel I like to get mine at Pier One or Hobby Lobby or Michael's are great if you have a coupon or they're on sale! If you'd like to order a tile they are $5.99, if you want to do it yourself and just order the vinyl the vinyl is $2.75. Lowe's is my favorite place to buy this particular size of tile, but Home Depot carries this as well.

Message me with any questions: kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com

Halloween Dinner Fun

2011-10-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Halloween. Today I went grocery shopping for items for a Halloween dinner and I got a little carried away. I ended up with enough stuff for two dinners. So we had a fun Halloween themed dinner tonight and then on Halloween we will have another dinner.

While I was at Fry's though I picked up some nice plastic orange plates for $1.00 each. When I got home I had each of my kids pick out a pumpkin face and we put a vinyl face on to make a jack-o-lantern. And yes I did wash them after I put the vinyl on before we used them. So easy, so fun, and we can use them again.

For our cups I just used paper cups and put black vinyl on for ghost eyes and served milk. I was originally planning on using our glass cups which are much bigger so the eyes on these are a little big... I first saw this idea on pinterest. http://www.tastespotting.com/detail/4596 It would also be cute to do a pumpkin face and serve orange soda, but I wanted to go a little healthier than soda so we did the ghosts.

For the food we just did kid friendly familiar foods. We had everyone make their own "Monster Pizza". Everyone made their own face on a whole wheat English muffin.

We also had "monster chompers", apples that are cut in quarters with a sliver cut out of the middle with almond slices. I've never seen apple slices disappear so quickly at my house before. I guess I need to spruce up our afternoon snacks.

And of course for dessert tonight we went with the classic graveyard pudding.

While I don't know that we had one brand new idea at our dinner it sure is fun to mix and match ideas and make your own fun Halloween for your family.

Family Is...

2011-10-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love what one of my good friend's ordered and we put up at her house today!
I think this is such an adorable idea to accent your family pictures.

This is a fun way to describe and personalize your home.

How would you describe your family?

Spice Up Your Witch Hat

2011-10-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Dressing up as a witch is absolutely one of my favorite costumes! You can be scary, you can be cute and you can be funky. Every witch costume definitely needs a hat though! And after today I also think that my Halloween decor will not seem complete without a fun witch hat!

I see so many possibilities for ways to spruce up your witch hat, but I will share what I did with you today.

So this is what I started with... just your basic black hat.

I think that it would be adorable to add a boa to this and some beading, but today I went a different route... tulle. I used a spool of tulle that I got from Hobby Lobby and I made a loop with it and hand sewed it to the hat. I did 2 or 3 loops about every inch all the way around the hat.

Next I added two feathery clips and a flower which I made into a clip. I also purchased these items at Hobby Lobby.

I thought about just gluing these to the hat, but I decided to just clip them to the tulle so that when Halloween is over they would be removable and available to wear year round.

I love all of the possibilities that Halloween brings! Have a great weekend everyone:).

Halloween Craft

2011-10-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you this super fun, easy and cheap craft that a very good friend of mine shared with me. These jars are my kids favorite Halloween decoration and even the 10 year old boys that come over to carpool can't get enough of these either. They are always rearranging them and admiring them:).

So this is what you need for this craft:

An empty glass jar. Any size jar is great and having different shapes is super fun
Tissue Paper
Mod Podge
Paint Brush
Faces
Ribbon

The 1st step is to cut your tissue paper in strips. We did about 1" strips. Next paint the Mod Podge on your jar in strips and glue the paper on. After that has dried apply your faces. I of course used vinyl, but you could cut faces out of tissue paper if you'd like. The last step was to add a thin black ribbon to the top of the jar to "finish" off the look. We did that with a dob of hot glue. You can put in the battery operated lights, or small candles to light up at night. The kids love how they glow. They are super cute. Thanks T for sharing this idea with me. I had to pass it along so you and your gremlins can enjoy them as much as we are:).

My Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I saw in Better Homes and Garden that they decorated the carve-able pumpkins that you can buy at craft stores. This quickly became one of my all time favorite things to do for fall! (I can't wait to show you my Thanksgiving pumpkin also).

I love this Off With Your Head pumpkin. I started by placing the vinyl on the pumpkin first. Then I took ribbon, and I used the kind that's 50 cents a spool for this one and corsage pins to adhere the ribbon down the ridges. I did every other ridge roughly and finished off each ribbon with a dab of hot glue underneath. It's fun for Halloween and let's be honest, some days I wish I could get away with saying "Off with your head" when something isn't going so smoothly. This is a fast, easy craft. If you can find a pumpkin on clearance then it is very affordable too!

I love this beaded pumpkin. First a friend of mine helped me sketch the design on the pumpkin and then I started gluing different sized beads with hot glue on the design. this pumpkins was very time consuming and got a little pricey with all of the beads, but it is such a fun addition.

I think the eek! is adorable. I found the spider at Michael's last year and I think that it totally makes the pumpkin!

I hope everyone has had a great start to fall! Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays! Please message me if you'd like to order vinyl for a your carve-able pumpkin kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com It usually runs about $1.50 for this kind of decal. Happy Monday everyone!

Football Fever

2011-08-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

With fall approaching it's definitely time for football again! I love this idea that one of my customers did for her son's room. It is amazing! After she painted the wall she actually used tape to mark the yard lines and the end zones. The numbers and the team name are done in vinyl. She ordered two colors for the names and created a shadow with them! So creative and super fun!

Back To School

2011-08-09T16:33:00.001-07:00

It wouldn't feel like back to school time without blinging out our folders... just a little bit. Okay so maybe it would, but we just love to do it anyway. A little paper, a little ribbon and a little vinyl can make looking at your homework folder a little more fun, right?

When we are getting ready to go back to school it seems like you have to label EVERYTHING! So why not make it a little fun?

I love how these water bottles turned out.

So if you are making stickers at home on your Cricket I think the most important tip for vinyl on a water bottle is use a chunky font if you want to be able to run it through the dishwasher and have it last. Even with a very durable vinyl if your lettering is too thin over time you will loose a letter or two to the dishwasher. You could always hand wash, but I prefer not to if my dishwasher can do the work for me. I also try to avoid using the matte vinyl for water bottles and go with the vinyl that is thicker and a little more durable for water and heat. Or you can always email me and I would love to print out names for you.

I had a little fun with this water bottle. I thought it would be fun to do polka-dots to go with her lunch box.

A couple of years ago my kids made these pencil boxes. I let them decorate it how they wanted to and they are still using them! So cute and they had a ton of fun doing it.

I hope that everyone has a great first day at school! We have had such a fun summer. I have loved being with my kids and I will miss them, but I'm so grateful that they can get a good education!

Placemat Purses

2011-07-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

These purses are so fun and easy to make. You can use them for a purse, scripture holder, or even a little lunch bag. You can find cute placemats anywhere, the $1 store, Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, etc. The blue one shown in this post I got at the dollar store and the others pictured I picked up at Target.

1st measure about 2 1/2 inches in from the side and pin ribbon on the front side of the placemat. Start with the ribbon a few inches down on the left side and then pin to the end.

Once you come to the end of the placemat do not cut the end of the ribbon, measure about 13" for the straps and then start pinning 2 1/2 inches down the other side. Once you reach that end measure another 13" and then pin the ribbon until it meets up where you started. I like to turn the ribbon under so the ends do not show to reduce fraying.

I added another strip of ribbon on the left-hand side about an inch in from the other ribbon. Then I sewed a fabric flower over where the two ribbons met together.

Next fold the placemat with the right sides together and stitch the edges closed.

For the last step take the bottom corners and fold them out into a triangle.

Then measure 1 1/2 inches from the tip of the triangle and stitch across.

Turn the bag right side out and you're done! If you want you can add a small piece of Velcro at the top to close the bag.

My girls have loved these purses and they have so much fun coming up with combinations of ribbons and flowers, as well as reasons to use them!

Family

2011-07-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is one of my all time favorite family sayings. I love adding vinyl in a room to personalize it. I love this saying as it is, but one of the best things about this saying is that you could personalize it to really describe your own family. If there's something that you want to remind your kids about every time they walk into the kitchen or family room, add that in. If your family has a favorite thing or something that really defines you switch out one of the lines. That's what I love most about vinyl is that you can truly express who you are!

Monkey Business

2011-06-20T07:10:00.001-07:00

Adding an image to a sign or a saying really dresses it up!

I love these two sayings especially with the addition of the monkeys. These would be perfect for a jungle themed room. If you wanted to just do the vinyl right on the wall it would turn out adorable as well. When I was little I really loved singing the song, "No More Monkeys Jumping On The Bed."

As a parent now I realize how true the saying "Monkey See Monkey Do" is. For better or worse our kids imitate a lot of the things we say and do.

Summer Giveaway Winner

2011-06-10T16:12:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to S. Greiner for winning our Flip Flops make your toes feel like they're on vacation blocks! Please message your shipping information to: kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com

Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer Giveaway

2011-06-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to kick off summer with a giveaway. I love summer. There is no homework, an ease in the same hectic schedule that goes on day to day during the school year, and of course vacation! Sadly not every day of summer can be a vacation day. So when I heard this saying I fell in love with it, "Flip Flops make your toes feel like they're on vacation." I thought to myself that seems about right, if I can't be on vacation, at least my toes can pretend:). I will be drawing a winner on Friday June 10th. Here is how you can get entered to win: For each comment that you leave telling me your favorite thing about summer you will receive one entry. If you follow the blog you will receive 2 entries. In the past I have combined the entries from facebook and the blog to draw out the winner. This time I will randomly select one winner from the blog and one winner from facebook! If you enter to win on the blog you will be entering to win the blocks that are featured at the top of the page (yellow, purple and orange. The bluish green and red ones will be the prize on facebook.) Good luck and happy summer!

Want to make your own set of blocks? Here's how:

First I cut the wood. The two longer blocks are cut from a 2"x4". I cut them 12" in length. The block with the sandals on it is cut from a 2"x 6" and I cut it 7" in length. Next sand the wood.

The next step is painting the blocks. I painted these blocks white.

After the paint was dry I cut the paper I chose slightly bigger than the blocks and the used Mod Podge to glue them on. May I just say if you're new to using Mod Podge less is actually more in this case. I like to "paint" it on the wood and then apply my paper.

Once the Mod Podge is dry then I sand off the excess paper and the edges of the wood. Next I applied some stain so it wouldn't be so stark white.

Sometimes when I apply stain I get some on the edges of the paper which I love, but this time I basically just stuck to the wood and so I got out my ink pad and rubbed it on the edges of the paper.

After I inked the edges of the paper I applied Mod Podge over the top of the paper. Once the Mod Podge is dry then you are ready to apply the vinyl. After the vinyl is on then it is time to bling it up. I layered flowers to dress up the sandals.

I love buttons and ribbons and so I added those to the long blocks.

For the bluish green and red blocks I couldn't find any buttons that I loved and so I went with some 3D stickers.

This was my first time designing and making these particular blocks. Next time I make them I'll shift the sticker on the bottom block slightly to the left to make a little more room for the ribbons. I hope that everyone is off to a great start to their summer. Check us out on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Signature-Creations-LLC/51743324786) for a chance to win the blocks over there as well!

It's The Little Things That Matter

2011-05-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite "traditions" that David and I have. A few years ago I made this little Love Notes book with a 6"x8"photo book. It has the nice thick pages that you can write and keep love notes in long term. David and I take turns from time to time writing each other Love Notes. I tied a little piece of ribbon to mark the page for easy access to the latest love note:).

Since my hubby is returning home for good tonight from his out of town job (and it's my turn to write in it) I figured it would be a great time to break it out again!

This is another fun thing that I found this week at Ikea. They had these cute little ice cube trays for $1.99. It'll be a fun finish touch to our date tonight.

I also got a fish tray for the kids for summer. I'm thinking it'll be great for mini Popsicles too.

Most of the time it's just the small simple things that mean the most.

Thank You Teachers

2011-05-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

I love doing a cute little something to express thanks to my kids' teachers. They work so hard and don't get paid nearly enough! This cute little jar is fun to fill with their favorite candy. I got this little jar at Ikea. Add a little sticker and some ribbon and it's adorable. It's fun to do by itself if you're on a tight budget or with a gift card.

These personalized signs are super fun. This is a 6"x18" piece of MDF. And then the background sticker says the teacher's name and then the overlay sticker has the school name and mascot. So in this case: Boulder Creek Bulldogs. I made this kit up for a customer and she'll do all the work of painting and so that is a great way to save money too! Just order a kit to make your bucks stretch a little farther.

I love this little tile. The quote from Helen Keller is priceless. Pier One is a great place to buy an easel. Also if you want to make the tile yourself I love to buy these tiny ones at Lowe's. Home Depot is a great place too. This is a very affordable gift though. $4 if you order from me and $2.50 for just the sticker.

What is it about wrapping something up and sticking a ribbon on it that make it just so much cuter? I had movie gift cards for my kid's teachers and a card which is great, but it just seemed like it needed something... a little movie candy from Wal-Mart for $1 a box and then I wrapped it up... so much cuter!

Okay and this last idea is my favorite for the year! It's from a friend of mine who is a teacher, so you KNOW it's a good one. I said to her what am I going to do for the music teacher who goes early every week so my kids can be in the choir. Not to mention my daughter rotated teachers this year and want to do something for each of them. Now I would love to give each of them a gift card to the movies, but let's face it I still have to fill my tank up with gas... so she suggested chips and salsa from Chilli's. It's only $3.00 and they wrap it up. So we just wrapped up the salsa and stuck a note on it that said Thank You for "chippin" in this year to make it extra spicy! Love love the idea. Thanks Stacey!

It's crazy that another year has zipped by. I am so grateful for great teachers and especially the ones that we have had this year. They have been amazing!

Bulldog Pride

2011-05-13T12:35:00.001-07:00

The staff at Boulder Creek had this cute phrase in the office which I was excited to be able to put vinyl up there for them to make it a little more permanent. I so appreciate all of the hard work that the teachers and staff in school do for my kids!

I love the idea of paw prints. They would be adorable in a jungle themed room. One huge paw print with Wild Things as an overlay or small paw prints leading up to a lion... the possibilities are really endless!

Mother's Day

2011-04-25T14:38:00.001-07:00

Time for our next giveaway and promotion! This cute little saying is perfect for Mother's Day. This tile is 5.75"x5x75". I will be giving away this tile to one lucky winner on Friday! Receive one entry for every comment that you leave about why you love being a mom or what you love about your own mom. Receive another entry for joining us on facebook and liking our status and get entered to win again when you share this with your friends! If you'd like to order the tile they are normally $5.00 but I will be discounting this particular saying from now until May 1st to $4.00. Order just the vinyl for $1.50 and make your own. Message me at kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com if you're interested in ordering. I bought this particular tile at Lowe's, but Home Depot is a great place to pick up a tile as well.

I'll go ahead and start with what I love about my mom... one of the things I love about her is that she is a good listener. She's always willing to let me talk out things that I'm concerned about. One of the things I love about being a mom is watching my kids learn something new. It is amazing to watch someone master a new skill whether it's riding a bike by themselves or learning something new at school.

Easter Ideas

2011-04-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

I love decorating for Easter! This is my favorite Easter sign because I love chocolate.
It's easy to make too. It's a 12"x12" board that I routed and then painted blue.

Next I applied the vinyl. I love adding handles to signs! So the next step is to drill holes in and then tie the ribbon around the sign and the handle. I like using wired ribbon in situations like these because it is easy to manipulate the bow.

A couple of years ago when I saw this idea for Easter baskets I knew I had to make them.

These are just the metal buckets that you buy from Home Depot or Lowe's in their paint department. You need 3-4 coats of spray paint and then a little vinyl sticker. But why stop there? We added a little bling to girls' buckets, a few flowers and ribbon.

I realize there are limits to what you can do with ribbon, and so I used the twine around my son's bucket.

By the time that I bought 3 different colors of spray paint I felt like the cost of the project was adding up a little bit, but my sister had a great idea to check at Wal-Mart and Target in their garden departments for color buckets. They are a little smaller, but come already in cute spring colors! I hope you have a happy Easter.

Cute Vinyl Saying For The Bathroom

2011-04-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about vinyl lettering is putting up messages I want my kids to see and get ingrained in their minds. I love this vinyl for the bathroom!

Winner of the Spring has Sprung blocks!

2011-04-04T16:10:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to April Corey who is the winner of our Spring has Sprung block giveaway! I loved hearing all of your favorite things about spring. It is one of my favorite seasons! If you'd like to order the vinyl and make it yourself the cost is $6.00 plus shipping. Send me a message at kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com if you're interested.

Spring Has Sprung Blocks

2011-03-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE spring! The weather is amazing, there are beautiful flowers out, the leaves are growing on the trees... So what better way to celebrate than a giveaway? I'll randomly select one lucky person for these cute blocks! So here is how to get entered to win the drawing: You can receive 2 entries for becoming a follower of the blog. Receive another two entries if you go to our facebook page (Signature CreationsLLC) and click Like. (If you've already done this consider yourself to have 2 entries!) Leave a comment on this post or on our facebook post about your favorite thing about spring! Each comment receives 1 entry. I will post the winner on Monday.

Want to make the blocks yourself? Here's how:

I used 2"x4"s for all of the blocks. The "has sprung" block measures about 13.75" long. The "S" and the "G" blocks are 6.8" long and the other blocks are 3.4" long. After cutting the wood I sanded the blocks and then painted the back and the sides white.

Next I measured the paper. I like to measure my paper just a tad bigger than the block. I then modge podged the paper onto the blocks. I like to "paint" the modge podge onto the blocks. After the modge podge dried I sanded the edge of the blocks and the excess paper off.

Next I used the minwax stain on the wood and the edge of the paper.

After the stain dried I modge podged over the paper. I always say less is more when it comes to modge podge. When the modge podge dried I applied the vinyl.

And then I tied ribbons around two of the blocks and added a little bling for fun!

Laundry Room Sticker

2011-03-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Time for a giveaway! I randomly selected from my facebook and blog followers. (yes literally pulled a name out of a hat... so if you follow both you got entered twice:)). Congratulations to Betina Powers who won this cute Laundry Room sticker. If you are on facebook and want to follow there go to the Signature Creations LLC page and click like at the top of the page. I hope everyone is having a fabulous spring break. I know I'm having a lot of fun with my kids. I'll be doing a super cute spring block giveaway next week and the step by step tutorial here!

Home Blocks

2011-03-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

I love Modge Podging paper onto blocks. I think it gives is such a fun look and depending on the paper you pick you can give it a different little twist. The HOME where your story begins blocks are some of my favorites. I love the saying!

So Many Ways To Say Be My Valentine

2011-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

I love making Valentines. There are so many good ideas. Here is one of my favorites... chocolate covered strawberries. This arrangement is something that I made a couple of years ago for my husband's birthday. First I started dipping strawberries in chocolate (I like using almond bark). I covered some with sliced almonds and others with coconut. I had a red container that I put a piece of floral foam in the bottom. I covered it with kale. After the strawberries were set up I put then on a kabob skewer with a piece of kale right under the strawberry and then stuck it in the foam. I will say if you're going to deliver this you will need someone to hold it while you drive. I also love putting a variety of dipped strawberries on a plate for something a little simpler, yet just as yummy!

This year since my husband will be on a business trip I had to go with something that isn't quite so perishable. Chocolate covered pretzels! I dipped the pretzels and then drizzled a little pink chocolate across the top in the spirit of Valentine's day!

One last idea for this year was inspired by one of my friends. She told me she was going to take a deck of cards and cover them with cute scrapbook paper and then write things she loves about her husband. It's a brilliant idea, and perfect for sneaking into someone's luggage! (Which is what I was looking for). I started thinking though... if I cover all the cards in paper it's not going to fit back into the box, which would be fine at home, but I needed these babies to fit back in the box and be nice and compact. We found these Valentine cards at Michael's for $1! Amazing deal... saying I love you doesn't have to be expensive, just thoughtful!

So here's what I did... I sanded the face cards so that I could write across the top! It worked like a charm.

Light sand paper is perfect for this and I found that paper worked even easier than the block. I used a red and black Sharpie to write the love notes and then I inked the edges just to finish it off.

I stacked them back in the case and the top seemed a tad plain so I added the stickers to the top for a little added flair.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kristin

Happy Birthday Sign

2011-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Want a great way to say Happy Birthday? This yard sign is just the thing then. This sign is made for a group of girls so that explains the pink... this could be done in any color.

So to get started I used a 15"x10" piece of routed MDF. I painted it chocolate brown.

After the paint dried I applied the vinyl. This is currently my favorite Happy Birthday layout.

Okay now the easy part is done. Want to use it inside? Just put a back or a handle on it and you're good to go. For a cute yard sign though, this is what you need. You need a stake, wood screws (I used 1") and I also used liquid nail. (I bought all of these at Lowe's). While I was there buying the screws one of the workers told me about liquid nail... it is sold in a little tube in the paint section. He said it would just make it extra secure.

Okay so make sure your stake is sanded really well so that you don't get any splinters. I tried to skip this next step and I ended up having to go back and re-do, so do not skip this step! The next thing you need to do is find a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw you're going to use. Measure and mark where you want to attach the stake to your sign and where you want the screws to go. After you have this marked drill all the way through the stake and drill partially into the back of the sign. (This will allow you drill the screw in without cracking the wood or having the screw go in crooked.) Okay so now that the holes are in it's time to squirt the liquid nail on the sign and line up the holes so you can put the screws in. I'm more creative than scientific... I used toothpicks to line up the holes, (I'm sure my husband is getting a chuckle out of this if he's reading it.) But it worked. I took out the toothpick and drilled my first screw in, then moved on to screw number 2 and I was done! I wiped off any excess glue and left it to dry.

You may have noticed in the picture that I put the sign down a little so you can see the stake on top. I did this on the advice from my husband and the worker at Lowe's who said it would last longer if there wasn't so much hammering behind the sign when it was put into the yard each time. If you were just using this for your family that would probably be fine, but this is going to see quite a bit of use so I followed their advice and put a little ribbon on top. If you know me you know I love to add ribbon to anything I can so that worked out great. I also sprayed a light coat of lacquer over the sign and melted the ends of the ribbon to avoid fraying.

Hope you have a fun time crafting.

Kristin

As always, if you don't want to do it yourself send me an email: customerservice@signaturecreationsllc.com

Valentine's Day

2011-02-02T11:30:00.001-08:00

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I'm sure it has something to do with yummy chocolate and a built-in date night! This year I made some cute red lips for a customer and put them up at my house as well. I love vinyl right on the wall. Another cute saying that I made for another customer was "The Love Shack". The lips would be a cute addition to KISS me blocks, or a plate as well.

Here are a few ideas for some valentine blocks...

They have super cute mailboxes at the Target $1 section that I just added a little sticker and a ribbon to. Really fun and cheap to put cute notes in for your kids or your sweetie!

Okay and one more idea for today is adding vinyl to plates for a fun decoration.

Target, Wal-Mart, Pier-One and the Dollar Store are all great places to shop for plates. If you're interested in any of the plates pictured they are $5.00 each. If you don't live locally the shipping would be an additional $4.95. Contact me by email if you're interested.
kristin@signaturecreationsllc.com

Tiles

2011-02-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

I think tiles are an amazing gift. They're adorable, affordable and can be done in various sizes. They're also perfect for that empty niche. Here is a peek of some I made last week...

I love to buy my tiles at the Home Depot. Applying the vinyl only takes a minute.