Sarah Nielsen » gifts

new gift card holder design

sarah — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:09:58 +0000

Hi. Remember how I used to blog? Well, I’m ready to do that again.

At the last minute, I decided to be a vendor at the July Jubilee in College Station so I’m working around the clock getting ready. This is my first official craft fair – I’m excited to give it a try. I think the part I’m most excited for is decorating my booth. I’ll share details about that coming up.

But for now… here is a sneak peek at a new product I’m making. It’s a gift card holder that fits in a regular envelope (unlike my accordion style gift card holders). The idea came to me when my mom ordered a handful of gift card holders for upcoming weddings this summer but I knew at least one of the weddings she wasn’t going to attend. So how would she mail the accordion gift card holder? So I made a flat one.

The idea is still new and I’m working out the kinks, but I’m close. I hope to have some at July Jubilee in a couple of weeks. Here’s what I have so far:

This gift card holder is 4″ by 6″ and fits in a standard size envelope for easy mailing.

Inside, there are a handful of papers with different words on them.

Then there is the pocket to hold the gift card (or check or cash or whatever).

After the pocket, is a page to write a note to the recipient.

Doesn’t it make you want to give a gift card? I thought so.

Now it’s back to work for me. Come and visit the craft fair if you are in the area. You can find details on their website as well as in my sidebar. See you at the fair!

tutorial tuesday: ruffle bottom onesie

sarah — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:59:10 +0000

As you know, I have a baby on the way so I thought it’d be fun to have a few weeks of baby-related tutorials (at least for me, haha!).

Katie Kortman of Blue-Eyed Freckle is the genius behind this ruffle bottom onesie tutorial. She has so many great ideas and is such an artistic and fashionable girl! We first met in college on a study abroad to New Zealand. You are going to love her.

(do you think baby boys can have ruffle bottoms? haha. kidding)

HOW TO MAKE A RUFFLE BOTTOM ONESIE

Materials needed:
-( 1 yard-ish) nylon chiffon or tule, or other non-fraying translucent material
-thread/ sewingmachine
-onesie/bloomers

1. cut 3 strips of the chiffon the lengths you want the ruffles to end up. make the strips about 3/4 to 1 inch wide.

2. next, cut out approx 9-12 circles per strip (depending on how long your strips are. mine were 5 1/2 in. long and I used 9 circles that were 2-3 in. in diameter).

3. Then you take the circles and sew them on. I am going to demonstrate this step-by-step so you can see how to scrunch the circles up. (first, fold the circle in half.)

do you just love my chipped gray nail polish?? J/K!!

(then fold it in half again)

4. Then you put the strip under the foot with one of the scrunched circles. Bring the needle down and sew a few stitches (and backstitch) over the point of the circle. To put the next one in, keep the needle down in the fabric, but lift up the foot. Insert another scrunched circle with the tip of the circle (the part in the photo above that is in between my thumb and index finger) about 1/2 in apart from the tip of the other one. Sew some more. Continue to do this until you have circles covering all the strips.

5.Last: place the strips on the bum of the onesie and sew it down (over the same line that you sewed the first time) Then FLUFF!!! and put it on your sweet baby girl! If you want to know how I did the front, here is a peek:

I cut out an oval of felt, and then sewed the circle onto it the same way I did on the strips. Then I sewed on 2 more pinked-edged felt ovals on top of that! easy peasy!

*********************

All pics in this post are by Katie Kortman. You can find the original ruffle bottom onesie tutorial on her blog.

And, you can find more of Katie here:

blog: blueeyedfreckle.blogspot.com

shop: blueeyedfreckle.etsy.com

things on my mind

sarah — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:00:38 +0000

Just a few things I think you should know…

…One of my journals is included in an Etsy treasury until Friday. Check it out!

…An online auction starts tomorrow over at Bloom to benefit Benson and Claire Skinner. Take a minute to read Benson and Claire’s story on their blog. All the proceeds will go directly to the Skinner family. Book Bound Bindery has donated 3 sets of products for the auction and I know there will be lots of other items up for bidding. What a great way to buy some Christmas presents this year – you get what you need to give as a gift at the same time you give a gift to the Skinners. Spread the word!

…Also over at Bloom, you can sneak a peek at my Christmas mantle in their Christmas Show and Tell (great idea, right?!). I love all the decorating ideas they posted.

…I’m planning out my Tutorial Tuesdays for 2010. If you have any special requests of things you’d like to learn from me, leave a comment or send me an email.

photo gift tags

sarah — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:03 +0000

Photo gift tags are back in the shop! Just in time for the holidays. These were inspired by my toddler last year – he couldn’t read at the time, but wanted to help pass out presents. So I created these photo gift tags. Cute, right? I’ve listed 3 designs in my shop (red, blue, and green) with 3 more designs on their way (next week, hopefully). Each template is 4″ by 6″ with 4-2″ by 3″ gift card designs on it.

Here’s how it works:

You purchase a design and email me the photos you want to use on the gift tags (up to 4 photos). I customize the gift tags for you within 48 hours of your purchase and email you a proof. Once everything looks ok, I will send you the hi-res digital photo file (.jpeg) and you can print it at your convenience.

Easy.

What you need:

+ A color printer or acces to a photofinsher online (Wal-Mart, Photoworks, Snapfish, Walgreens, etc)
+ Scissors or paper cutter
+ a gift to attach the tag to

tutorial tuesday: a crafty round-up

sarah — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:19 +0000

Last week I found Sew, Mama, Sew!’s blog where they have been posting a whole series on Handmade Holidays. Awesome! I’m so behind the times. I wish I had been following along all month. There are so many projects I want to try. So, for tutorials today, I’m listing a few projects I want to make and give away this year that I found via Sew, Mama, Sew!

[images via Sew, Mama, Sew!]

1. This Take-Away Love Frame at Nini Makes fits inside a little pouch for safe (& happy) travels
2. These Chalkboard Place Mats with this tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets
3. This Tea Towel to Full Apron Tutorial from Alli at One Pearl Button
3. This amazing Craft Station at Craftynest (I’m planning to keep this for myself…)

Go visit this blog and let me know what you decide to make.

Happy Crafting & Happy December!

birthday tutu

sarah — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:00:01 +0000

Our little neighbor friend turned 4 and we decided to make her a tutu. I should have done a tutorial for this one because it’s super easy (no sewing!) but I didn’t. However, I did stumble upon Design Mom’s tutu tutorial from a while back and it is very similar to what I did. Or you can look at this very detailed tutu tutorial.

I used 1″ elastic for the waist band, 2 spools of tulle (get the sparkly kind!), 2 spools of sparkly ribbon, and 2 purple ribbon scraps for the ties.

animal baby shower

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:38:11 +0000

Like I’ve mentioned before, I am so excited to have a new nephew on his way to earth. It is great cause for celebrating. So, our family decided to celebrate together over a delicious dinner in mom’s fabulous yellow dining room. My sister, mom and I all worked together to make this meal from scratch. So tasty! I love dinner parties.

Menu:

Broccoli and Cheese soup (not the velveta kind – real cheese)
BBQ Brisquet
Spinach Salad
Crescent Rolls
Homemade Raspberry Icecream
Chocolate Cupcakes with yummy frosting

Decorations:

Red and orange pom poms
Name tags out of craft paper with an animal silhouette on each one
Coordinating cupcake toppers from the craft paper
Crowns for mom-to-be and dad-to-be to wear during the meal (of course the kiddo cousins each needed a crown after they saw them…)

Game:

Opening presents (that’s a game, right?)

quilted bibs for baby

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:06:05 +0000

The bottom line is that most bibs are ugly. And too small for toddlers. And say silly things on them. And are ugly.

So I tried out making my own. Except they are not for my family but my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting their first baby! Hooray!

I traced a bib I have to get the right shape and then I started sewing. I know, I know. It was crazy. I used a waterproof pad from Target in between the front and back layers of the bib. My original plan was to top stitch the binding on, but it was much easier to do a double binding and handstitch the back.

For a first try they turned out pretty good. I didn’t even have to unpick any of my seams!

towel wraps

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:00:32 +0000

… for the whole family! I made these spa wraps for my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting their first baby. Matching towels! They are very simple to make and totally satisfying.

I followed Skip to my Lou‘s hooded towel tutorial except I appliqued those cute strips of fabric on instead of sewing on ribbon (I couldn’t find any boy-ish enough that wasn’t also brown).

My mother-in-law showed me how to do the spa wraps. She usually attaches a silk flower to the girls’ wrap, but I decided to make a fabric flower instead. Wise Craft has a great tutorial for this little fabric flower pin. Super easy.

Is this a great baby shower present or what?! (Can you tell I’m feeling proud of myself?)

baby’s first journal

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:36:56 +0000

New idea here. By the end of the summer they will be in the shop.

Just like my other products, the baby journal that is listed in etsy is the very same one that will arrive at your house in the mail. This time, though, you can add a single initial to the front cover in a coordinating print.

It’s the perfect baby shower gift.