DIY Archives - Growing Up Gabel

How To Make A Notebook

June 3, 2013 by Jenn Leave a Comment

Learning how to make a notebook is easy! My daughter loves to color and especially likes the "girlies" I draw for her. While I appreciate sharing creative time with her, it becomes taxing to draw them as quickly as she can color them. This easy DIY coloring book solved my artistic limitations, and I bet it could be used for many other ideas - party favors, personalized grocery list, or even a gift memo pad. I'm Jenn from A Jennuine Life, here to share this quick and fun handmade notebook project. I made this in preparation for family air travel we had planned, and it worked like a charm! All you need is your subject drawing or printout, a printer/copier, a scrap of cardboard, and access to a sewing machine. I used a box from a snack package cut to size to use as the rigid backing for my notebook. I drew four different versions of the "girlies" onto two pages and scanned them into our home printer and printed five copies of each. Don't worry, I have no illusions ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Kid Crafts Tagged With: coloring book, handmade, notebook, slider

Fathers Day Craft: DIY “Pop” Beverage Holder

May 14, 2013 by Jenn 9 Comments

Looking for a unique Fathers Day craft? With this easy sewing tutorial you can make dad his very own personalized beverage holder! Grab dad's favorite drink and our fun Fathers Day printable for the perfect Fathers Day craft for your dad. Hey there, Growing Up Gabel readers! I'm Jenn from A Jennuine Life. Camille recently asked for volunteers to join her as a "crafty" contributor, and I jumped at the chance. That's me with my hubby Dave and my two adorable little girls Arden and Hadley. I'm an accountant by day (part time) and a wannabe artisan - sew, knit, stitch, fabricate, paint - I try it all! I do definitely lean towards sewing so that's likely where most of my projects will begin, but I promise to keep things interesting! Father's Day will be upon us in no time flat, so I'm going to share an easy sewing project to create a DIY beverage holster. Perfect for your favorite father to keep his drink at the ready while tending a backyard barbecue or hanging out ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Father's Day Tagged With: Crafts, Father's Day, sewing tutorial, slider

Craft Supplies for Christmas Crafts: Discover Tophatter!

November 28, 2012 by Camille 5 Comments

Bakers Twine and Scrabble Tiles from Tophatter

I am smack dab in the middle of holiday crafting. Of course, I keep adding crafts to my list, which means I am forever on the hunt for crafting supplies at a good price. I was recently introduced to a new auction website called Tophatter and I was excited to discover that Tophatter has auctions for crafters! Tophatter is not your normal auction type of website. There are actual auctions that you attend virtually and bid on lots against other bidders live. The auctions are run during a set time and you do have to be on-line to bid, but you can have the site send you a text message when an item you are interested in comes up for auction. There are many different types of auctions on Tophatter. You can buy jewelry, homegoods, handmade items, and, best of all, craft supplies. It was really hard for me narrow down what I wanted to bid on. During the auctions the seller is sometimes present and you can ask questions in a chat box about the items. The seller will also ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Homemaking, Uncategorized Tagged With: #ShopTophatter, auction site, craft supplies, Tophatter

How To Make An Envelope

August 17, 2012 by Camille 6 Comments

Making your own envelopes is super easy and fun! You can choose any paper, any pattern and make them any size appropriate for your event. This is also a fun craft for kids to make and send "mail" to each other. Next month I am co-hosting a baby shower for a friend. I ordered some invitations from an Etsy shop and didn't think about how I was going to find envelopes for 5x7 invitations. I checked around and most A7 envelopes, the size I needed, were either super expensive or came in boxes of 100. My friend, Rebecca, suggested that I make envelopes. Huh. Turns out that making envelopes is super fun, easy and creative! You can use any paper you want and really personalize your invitations. I chose to use some baby boy scrapbook paper and it worked perfectly! I also tried a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and that worked, too. Lay your invitation in the middle of your paper and fold the paper in on all four ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY Tagged With: DIY envelopes, homemade envelopes, paper, Paper crafts

Homemade Neckties: A Sewing Success

January 16, 2012 by Camille Leave a Comment

After a 20-some year sewing hiatus, I am in love with sewing again. I can't seem to get enough of it and am spending most of my evenings at my machine, gleefully creating. My husband loves to have matching outfits with our son and I wanted to make them matching ties to wear for Christmas. I was a bit hesitant, but a friend of mine promised me that the patterns were easy. And they were. I'm delighted at the results and I can't wait to make more. I made the ties using patterns from You Can Make This. I am in love with this site! It's like Etsy for patterns and directions for all kinds of crafty cuteness. My husband is 6' 2" and I made him the regular length tie, but it was just a tad too short. Nevertheless, he actually wore the tie to work and received a ton of compliments on it. He must really love me to wear a too short, homemade tie to work! This is Miles' first tie and he wasn't so keen on wearing it around his neck, but he put up with it for a few ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Sewing Tagged With: Crafts, DIY, Sewing