Easy end-of-year teacher thank you gifts: Decoupaged clipboards

With the school year wrapping up, it was time to make more thank you gifts for Elise's preschool teachers. I truly believe that gift cards are sometimes the most appreciated, but it doesn't hurt to pair them with a little something handmade.

Decoupaged clipboards are easy to make, and they're the perfect companion to a gift card. I found plain mini clipboards at my favorite well stocked Dollar Tree, but I've gotten similar half-size clipboards at office supply stores in the past.

This is a quick craft you can whip out in under half an hour. A coat of Mod Podge to stick down the card stock and another to seal it. Super easy.

It's also cheap! A dollar for the clipboard and even less for the card stock -- you're all in for under $2 each!

• See more decoupaged clipboards >>
• Also check out my coin purse gift card packaging >>

Quick and easy detail: Adding fabric to end tables

I've always wanted to dress up our family room end tables with something under the glass tops. I lived with the plain wood for quite a while, but ultimately this room needs more pattern and more detail. This was a quick, easy, non-permanent and cheap way add some interest. No risk and nothing to lose!

I took a trip to a local art store and perused the selection of oversize decorative paper. (You know, the $5+/sheet stuff that's supposed to be "gift wrap.") I spent what must have been half an hour being indecisive, not finding anything I really loved. And then I left empty handed. Hate it when that happens.

Then I remembered this piece of houndstooth fabric I picked up on clearance a few years ago (for $3/yard!). Apparently, I couldn't pass it up even though I didn't have any real purpose in mind. Such is the root of my fabric hoarding problem.

Very simply, I cut the fabric to size and then just sandwiched it under the glass. One yard of home decorator width fabric was enough to do my two large-ish end tables.

Apologies for the glassy glare. Next to impossible to take photos of flat glass without some type of reflection. (Well, next to impossible for me anyway.)

p.s. I've got a photo assistant working for me now. (She takes excellent closeups!)

2 Quick and easy semi-handmade tiny gifts for kids

I was going to use the phrase "stocking stuffers" in the title, but that just seems kind of weird on February 1. Anyhoo, I'm tying up the last of these handmade gifts and didn't want to forget these two.

Not everything I make takes a thousand hours or requires a clever idea. Sometimes superfast and semi-handmade is the way to go. Semi-handmade meaning store-bought items simply assembled together.

Disney bottle cap magnets

These "bottle caps" were actually stickers found in the scrapbooking section at Jo-Ann. I removed the sticker backs and added magnets. Yeah, that's all I did, and my daughter thinks they're awesome.

I know not everyone's into Mickey Mouse, but I'm sure there are other three-dimensional stickers or like items just waiting to be transformed into magnets or something else. Keep your eyes open!

Simple ribbon hair bow clips

Some of the bows in Elise's massive collection were stained or otherwise damaged, so I decided to give them new life. I stripped the old ribbon off so I could reuse the clips. (You can find new "blank" hair clips at the craft store.) The ribbon I used was a clearance find from the dollar section at Target. I think I paid 50 cents. To make one of these tiny bows, I probably used 14" of ribbon or so. (Yes, the length required is deceiving.)

I used hot glue and slowly adhered the ribbon around the clip, patterning them after the simple bows Elise already owns. She's not a huge girly girl, so we're not yet into giant head-engulfing bows.

I know hot glue is messy, but there really is no replacement for it here. I've found fabric and craft glues don't hold up long-term for toddler bows.

So that's the last of my handmade Christmas gifts from 2011 (and all by the first of February). I'll have a round up on Friday of all the gifts because I'm thorough like that.

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This is part of my 2011 Handmade Gift Challenge.

No-cost paint tray liner: Use a plastic shopping bag

When I posted my newly painted porch, did you spot this easy paint cleanup tip in the (seemingly endless) post?

I am too cheap to buy those disposable plastic paint tray liners at the hardware store. I know they are only a couple of bucks, but I have problems spending money on things that are just going to be thrown away hours later.

I used to pour the paint straight into the tray, but that leads to a lot of cleanup. And then one day it hit me that I could put the paint tray inside of a plastic grocery bag so the paint never actually touches the tray. You could also use a trash bag, but a plastic shopping bag is the ultra-thrifty option.

Just make sure you turn the bag inside-out if it has any printing on it. I've found if the paint sits on top of the printed logos, the ink starts to run and mix with your paint.

The bag does cling to the roller sometimes, but for me it's a minor annoyance that is far outweighed by the fact that I don't have to wash out a messy paint tray. When I'm done, I pour any unused paint back into the can, then take off the bag and toss it. Super quick cleanup!

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Linked to: In My Own Style's Trick or Tip Party

Paint splotches on the ceiling? Hide them with a border.

No, no not one of those wallpaper borders. Just paint!

We painted our family room when we moved in about three years ago. I had intentions of painting the ceiling; it had a few dings and spots, so we weren't too careful about keeping the wall color off the ceiling.

But then I discovered something -- I hate painting ceilings! It's a pretty horrible task, and this is coming from someone who generally loves painting almost anything else.

So three years have gone by and there were still splotches of blue paint on the ceiling. Clearly, it was time that I did something.

I thought maybe I could match the existing ceiling color and just do some touch ups. But that probably would have ended up looking a little trashy. That's when I got the idea to paint a border around the perimeter of the ceiling.

Nothing fancy, just a simple design that would cover up my mistakes (and those of previous painters who did a bad/thin edging job on the ceiling).

I searched through the paint in my stash and came across this mistinted sample in a nice "greige." It was too dark as it was, so I mixed it with some white paint to lighten it. It's pretty much a lighter version of the color of our couch.

I don't want anyone to immediately notice the ceiling upon entering the room, so I kept the design and the color very simple and inconspicuous.

I taped off a four inch band around the entire perimeter of the room and painted. After that was done, I pulled off the tape and traced a small round dish to make the curves in the corners and painted those out.

The taping took less than an hour and the painting itself took about two, but I didn't spend anything. And the ceiling definitely looks "finished" now.

All that's left to do in the room is hang more artwork. Let's wrap this thing up!

Enlarge and elevate tiny artwork with a shadowbox

Sometimes tiny art is hard to display. I'm a firm believer that the scale of artwork should match the scale of the space where it's hung, so unless you have tiny strips of wall, tiny pieces can get lost. A great way to give them a little more bulk is to put them inside a shadowbox.

This small 4.5" x 5.5" piece was painted by my great grandfather. I don't know much about him or his art hobby, but this painting didn't have any glass to protect it. The least I could do was take care of it properly.

I took a small scrap of gold fabric (leftover from a pillow) to use as a background.

I stapled it directly to the backing of the frame. This is an inexpensive shadowbox and the backing is just thin cardboard, so it wasn't difficult.

Then I took a T-shaped pin and put it through the fabric so I could hang the painting on it, just like I might put a nail in the wall to hang a picture. The pins are strong and this painting is very light, so it worked fine.

I love how the gold fabric and gold frame look together. Dare I say, kind of fancy? Kind of like a museum display.

But really, I think having the whole painting and frame behind glass elevates it in a way that just hanging it on the wall does not. The shadowbox is only 8" x 10"; not huge, but it's a little more substantial on a wall than the painting alone.

Kid hand print art

This was a simple kid craft that Elise and I did to commemorate her second birthday this week.

Last year, we stamped Elise's footprints around her first birthday and I thought I would start a mini tradition of making a piece each year.

I used acrylic craft paint rather than a stamp pad because I knew it wouldn't stain her hands. They probably have washable stamp pads, but I was trying to this only with what I had in the house. I didn't take any progress photos, but you can find the process in last year's post.

I started with this nine-inch square frame I bought on clearance last year for about $2. It came with a not cute die-cut mat, but the frame itself is basic black. Small tip: know your dimensions before you start so you won't spend forever looking for a frame to fit what you create.

After a few practice rounds...

we had the perfectly imperfect final version.

After the paint dried, I stamped a tag labeling her name and age and attached it to the paper with some adhesive. Simple and quick! The whole thing took approximately 15 minutes, which is about the time limit on craft time for a two-year-old.

Swapping artwork

The solution couldn't have been simpler, even if it had been staring me in the face for six months.

I bought this poster from an antique mall last fall, but it never really looked right on that wall. Too much orangey brown, I think. I swapped it with the photo on the adjacent wall. No hammer, no new holes, and now everything looks better.

Ugly craft makeover: Birdie cutout

One of my new favorite things to do is to take an outdated piece of craft and give it an update. I'm calling them my ugly craft makeovers. You can find more tagged as such.

I found this wooden bird cutout sign at a thrift store for 80 cents. Cute, maybe, in like 1986. But the wood was solid, his silhouette was nice and the price was right, so I decided to rescue him.

I detatched the "welcome" sign from the bottom and set that aside for a future project. I gave it a quick sand, then spray painted him in in Real Red by Valspar. (I should note that I could have used normal paint, but I had the spray paint on hand and two coats of spray paint vs. a bunch of regular paint just sounded appealing.)

I paired him with this 11 x 14 inch natural wood frame that I found in a closet at my grandma's house. It had never been stained or painted, had no glass or backing, so what you see is how I found it.

Clean and modern. Quick and easy. Nice that sometimes projects work out that way.

Click here to see the finished playroom!

Upcycled gift topper tags

These cute little tags are pure recycling, folks. And you'll never guess what they were made from.

Old counter top samples! (And wrapping paper and ribbon scraps.)

I ran across the business card-sized samples in a box full of junk. My parents built a couple of houses when I was a kid, and my younger self found that type of thing irresistible.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the formica. When that was dry, I coated the whole thing with Mod Podge to seal it and tied on a scrap of ribbon. Easy and quick!

For the first three (in the very top photo), I used "new" wrapping paper scraps. For the second three, I covered them with a used piece of vintage wrapping paper I had been hoarding. I love that snowy log cabin.

I plan on using these as gift tie-ons, so I tied slips of red cardstock to the backs to write to/from info, but they can be torn off if the recipient wants to re-use the tag.

Simple drawstring bags

I needed a couple of bags to contain some tiny toys Elise will be getting for Christmas. If the toys have a home, there's hope they might get put away. I had never made these before and just sort of winged it with fabric and twill tape scraps I had on hand.

This pink one was made from the leftover side from the pillow I made and then disassembled. It's a long and skinny 9" x 16" when flat. Bigger than it needs to be, but I just used the entire piece of fabric.

The yellow ginham bag is smaller at approximately 9" x 9" inches (again, made from a scrap and the scrap determined the size). I made it to house the matching game I made earlier this year.

Pay no mind that Elise is playing with the farm animals she is getting for Christmas in the above photo.