tea stained gift tags.

i'm a little obsessed with antiquing paper. i've done it for ornaments, framed art, a cowboy wanted poster,

 and now gift tags for christmas.

i love it because it's easy, cheap, and has such a stunning effect.

in the past i've always used coffee, but i'm not a coffee drinker. i'm a tea girl. i was always under the impression that  tea wouldn't work as well - not the case.

first, i typed up the label in word, changing up fonts and text size for fun. i printed them on card stock and punched them out with my mom's "stampin' up" gift tag punch. 

then i laid them out on my super gross cookie sheet (we switched to stoneware cookie sheets awhile ago, so i pretty much only use this for staining paper. incase you were worried i actually cooked on that greasy thing.)

i boiled about 3 cups of water with a tea bag (the darkest tea i had was a chai. something like sleepytime might not work as well.) for about 15 minutes to get it concentrated. i attempted the same method i used when antiquing with coffee (pouring it all over the paper on the cookie sheet), but the stain was so dark i couldn't read the tag.

i tried to water down the tea, thinking i had boiled it to long, but it still came out too dark.  3rd time's a charm - i dipped the tags in the tea and laid them out on the cookie sheet. perfecto.

you know they're done when the tags start to pull away from the cookie sheet. click here for a visual.

sorry this is a little blurry.

i absolutely love adding personal touches to homemade gifts! i also contemplated gluing the paper to fabric after i stained it to add a layer of texture, but didn't have any fabric on hand that looked right. these would also look neat with torn edges! the possibilities are endless!

love and personalized presents,
amber.

fridge magnet christmas tree.

i'm back in the land of the living! first trimester is over and i'm pretty much functioning like a normal person again :-) SUCH a good feeling! for anyone interested, the accupuncture and magnesium pills saved me - for anyone that deals with Hyperemesis Gravidarum {aka extreme, extreme "morning" sickness}, i beg you to try these 2 things out! i was better several weeks sooner this time than last time!

ok, now onto my reason for posting!

i'm having a blast making emery a part of christmas this year - she's been having so much fun with all the decorating and DiY projects going on at our house right now! this fridge magnet christmas tree is right up her toddler alley...

if you missed it, the tutorial is pretty much the same as the fall magnet tree. 

• i taped green paper on the fridge, free-handed the tree shape, and cut it out. 
• printed off ornament and star clipart on cardstock and cut them out.
• and laminated it all for 25 cents a foot at Mardel. easy peasy.

{while i was sick on the couch,
emery developed an obsession with being naked.
i hear this is normal, but i don't how she
isn't freezing!}

this is perfect for her to play with while i'm cooking dinner or cleaning the kitchen, especially because the ornaments on our real tree are no-nos :-)

what are some fun ways you make christmas decor kid-friendly??


love and happy toddlers,
amber.