DIY Birthday Cards

When I have the time, I really enjoy making cards to mail to people. I am not the craftiest, so my cards tend to be pretty simple. With just a few basic craft supplies, you can make some bright and cheerful birthday cards. I made these cards to send to our nieces and nephews (nine currently, with three on the way!) throughout the year. It's easier for me to know I have a good supply of birthday cards on hand, so that when the time comes I'm not stuck sending a card out late!

What you'll need:

What you'll do:

Using fun patterned or brightly colored paper, cut out shapes for the ice cream cone, balloon, party hat, and popsicle layers.

Glue the shapes to the front of the cards. Add baker's twine to the ballon for string and colorful poms to make the ice cream and the party hat topper. Cut through both sides of the card for the popsicle, making sure that there's still enough of an edge to keep the card intact. Glue a craft stick to the back of the popsicle card.

And there you have it! Very simple, colorful birthday cards that even kids can make!

DIY Chan Luu Wrap Bracelet

A while back I posted about a wrap bracelet I made very similar to the Chan Luu wrap bracelets.

my wrap bracelet

I had some requests for a tutorial, but since I am terrible with giving instructions for crafts, I found some tutorials elsewhere on the web that were good.  So, if you want your own Chan Luu bracelet without the price tag, here are some links to get you started!  I chose several tutorials because they vary in length and detail of instruction, so hopefully at least one of these suits your style of learning.

Simple instructions and close-up pictures of how your bracelet should look each step:  here

photo via craftaytaylor

A YouTube video with clear instructions and a close-up of how to thread the beads:  here

A video with a close-up of threading the beads with written instructions:  here

photo via sewpetitegal

A video with very detailed instructions, but not as close-up on how to thread the beads:  here

photo via makebraceletsblog

I actually think checking out each of these would be the most beneficial, because they are all a little different and choose to use different beads and string.  Let me know if you make one and how it turns out!  Happy Bracelet Making!

Wrap Bracelets

Have you seen the Chan Luu wrap bracelets?  They've gotten quite a bit of press coverage in different magazines over the past few years.  Celebrities are seen wearing them:  Lady Gaga wears it (here), Rihanna is wearing one (here), and Julia Roberts wears one in Eat, Pray, Love shown (here).  My very creative sister-in-law figured how to make similar wrap bracelets, and last week at the beach she brought the supplies and taught us how to make our own!  I really enjoyed making this and am so happy with how it turned out!

my own version of Chan Luu

chan luu, $215

chan luu, $295

chan luu, $215

check out all of the Chan Luu wrap bracelets (here).