Category Archives: Stuff to make

Valentine Lunch Box Surprise

Posted in Stuff to make by

Sweets for my sweeties! These valentine boxes are a snap to make. If you’re worried about pushing too much candy on your loved ones, don’t be. You can only fit about 15 M&Ms in a matchbox, a completely reasonable lunch box surprise for Valentine’s Day!

What you need:

red paper
glue stick
heart stamp (I cut mine from a pink eraser with an X-acto knife)
white ink pad

Here’s how:

Measure and cut red paper to cover matchbox. Glue one side at a time and press on paper. Trim excess paper. Stamp white hearts in whatever pattern you choose. Fill with (15) M&Ms!

 

 

 

Easy and Fun Valentine to Make with Kids

Posted in Free Tutorials, Holiday, Kids, Paper by

Arrow through the heart? Make that, Number 2 pencil through the heart! Our valentine project this year is totally old school: super simple, low cost, and homemade from stuff we have around the house.

What you need:
Pencils
Washi tape or masking tape in different colors (we used Scotch masking tape from Michael’s)
Construction paper
Scissors
X-acto

Optional: Stamps and stamp pad

Step 1: Cut out hearts from construction paper (about 5 x 5″). Let the kids do this step. Lopsided? Looking more like a liver than a heart? Remember: it’s part of the charm!

Step 2: This is a step for a grown-up. Cut two 1.5″ slits with your X-acto, one in the upper left quadrant of the heart shape, one in the bottom right quadrant.

Step 3: Decorate with stamps, stickers. Go crazy, kids! Bedazzle!

Step 4: Wrap pencils in strips of washi tape. Don’t worry, your valentines will be able to sharpen their washi-covered pencils.

Step 5: Insert pencil through your valentine heart. Now repeat 24 times–fewer, if you’re lucky enough to have lower class sizes at your school. . .

Follow homemade city on Instagram

Posted in Paper, Stuff to make by

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What’s the appeal of Instagram? The squares? The fun with filters? I love it unconditionally, and now you can follow homemade city on Instagram! (I’m not being paid for this promotion–sadly).  I promise you won’t see pix of my undeniably cute kids and I swear I’ll limit the cat photos: just homemade projects & objects. And yeah, maybe some roadside oddities like this Tin Man who lives in Goshen, Mass.

Ho Ho Ho, and all that

Posted in Holiday, Kids, Stuff to make by

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The advent calendar was a big success! It was really fun to see the little village come together–so I thought I’d take a picture in all its elfin glory. Cheers!

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Stamped Gift Tags

Posted in Holiday, Paper, Stuff to make by

Scrooge or Santa’s helper? My pre-Christmas mood swings between bah-humbug and happy industry. Buying stuff can send me into ethical, financial quandries, but wrapping stuff? I can handle that. The complicated origami of neatly packaging a basketball? Bring it on.

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Stamping gift tags is another merry, mindless task for me. I made these stamps (cut out of foam) years ago, and I love digging them out every year. This year, I found a date stamp (the most recent year on it is 2007)–and put that to work, too.

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. . . Merry Christmas, everyone!