About Jennifer
Southwestern Ohio Mom Blogger, Child of God, Wife to my High School Sweetheart, Mom of 4, Frugal Shopper, Registered Dietitian, Crafter, Letterboxer, Organic Gardener, Avid Cook and Baker... yep that about sums it up!Connect with A Heart Full of Love
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Category Archives: Crafts
Free Snowman Crochet Pattern – Gift Card Pouch
I frequently give gift cards as Christmas presents to teachers and family members who live far away. However, I don’t want to just stick them in a card. Since the gift card is a gift, I figure it deserves a better presentation than just an envelope. So I came up with this free snowman crochet pattern for a gift card pouch. You can make one up in no time at all. From start to finish it should take you less than an hour. Materials needed for this free snowman crochet pattern: Size F Crochet Hook (I am partial to padded crochet hooks!) Worsted Weight Yarn in white and one other color of your choice (for scarf and hat – referred to in the pattern as Color B) Mini pony beads in black and orange Yarn Needle Scissors Free Snowman Crochet Pattern – Gift Card Pouch: Note: After you do the … Continue reading
4 Handcrafted Gifts That Your Daughter Will Cherish Forever
Some of my favorite possessions are things my loved ones made me when I was little – a rag doll made by my grandmother, a crocheted Nativity set made by my great-grandmother, a teddy bear made by my mother, a Cabbage Patch rag doll made by my aunt. I have carried these things long into my adult life and still treasure them because they were made with love by someone very near to my heart. (The above pictured rag doll was made for me over 30 years ago! You can’t tell from the photo but it is quite large. It wears size 2T clothes!) As the holidays draw ever nearer, you may be thinking of making gifts for your loved ones. Here are a few ideas for handcrafted gifts that have the potential to become treasured family heirlooms. Plastic Canvas Dollhouse This craft truly is a labor of love! While … Continue reading
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AG Doll Socks Tutorial
In the interest of getting all my American Girl Doll crafts together in one place, I have moved this post over to its new home at AGDollCrafts.com. I figured it would be helpful to have them all the craft tutorials in one place without having to wade through all the reviews and giveaways here. You can check out the post by clicking on the link below. AG Doll Socks Tutorial
Hot Air Balloon Graduation Card Box
I hope you can stand a few more graduation posts. Only a couple more, I promise More than anything, I want to preserve the ideas here so when my son graduates in 4 years, I don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to his grad party. Anyway, today I want to share with you the centerpiece of our gift table. I fell in love with these hot air balloons at our local party store when I first saw them a year ago. I knew immediately that I wanted a hot air balloon graduation card box for my daughter’s grad party. The party store makes a lot of them for graduations, but they are also popular for weddings. While the party store provides the large balloon and assembles everything, it is up to the customer to decorate the card box to their heart’s content. I knew immediately I … Continue reading
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Tagged Graduation, Graduation Crafts, Graduation Decorations, Graduation Party Ideas
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Quick and Easy $2 DIY Cake Stand
So even though I made a lot of the decorations and foods for my daughter’s graduation party, I still spent way more than I would have liked. The day before the party, as I was making a ton of cupcakes, I realized I needed a way to display them on the food table. I have a three-tiered stand that I usually use for birthday parties, but that was only going to hold about half the cupcakes. I would need a couple more cake stands to display the rest. However, I didn’t want to spend $30-$40 on 2 more cake stands that would rarely be used. So I hit Pinterest for some inspiration. (Are you all as addicted to Pinterest as I am?) I came across this DIY Cake Stand Tutorial from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. It truly couldn’t have been any easier! I didn’t paint mine though like … Continue reading
Posted in Crafts
Tagged Cupcakes, Dollar Store Crafts, Graduation, Graduation Party Ideas, Party Decor
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Graduation Teddy Bear
My daughter received her main graduation present early so she could take it to school on the senior’s last day. (We got her a nice Nikon camera.) However, I still wanted her to have a little something from us at her graduation party. So I found a free crochet pattern for a cute little amigurumi graduation teddy bear. I just love making amigurumi, don’t you? Here is a link to the free crochet pattern I used: Crochet Graduation Teddy Bear Pattern I pretty much followed the pattern as is, using tan for the bear. The only modification I made to the actual crochet pattern was that I made two of the square boards. I sewed them together with some plastic canvas in between to make it stiff. I also cut a strip of plastic canvas and formed it into a circle for the inside of the skull cup to give … Continue reading
Grad Party Pleated Paper Medallions ~ Graduation Crafts
With just a couple of weeks until my daughter’s Grad Party, I have been busy, busy, busy. So much to do and so little time to do it! This week I have been focusing on graduation crafts that I can use for decorations. I love the look of paper medallions and they are so easy to make. So I thought I would share how I made some graduation themed paper medallions, using scrapbooking paper and my Cricut cutter. There are a ton of tutorials out there to make paper medallions, but I especially like this tutorial over at Handmade by Anne Potter. Many of the tutorials I came across called for using a glue gun to hold the medallion together. The one I linked uses string and a hole punch. I have made them both ways and I think Anne’s method is simpler and less messy. The original tutorial used … Continue reading
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Tagged Graduation, Graduation Crafts, Graduation Decorations, Graduation Party Ideas
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Graduation Cap Candy Favors ~ Tutorial
My oldest daughter will be graduating from high school in a little over 3 weeks! Yikes, I feel old I have kicked into full party planning mode to get ready for her grad party. When I saw these cute Graduation Cap Candy Favors on Etsy, I knew I wanted to make them for the party. (If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own, be sure to check out that listing on Etsy.) However, if you are crafty like me, it is so easy to make your own. Materials Needed for the Graduation Cap Candy Favors a bag of Hershey’s Nuggets Candy Black Cardstock Transparent Tape 1/8″ Ribbon in the color of your choice (you could also use small beads or sequins) Scissors, Paper Cutter Glue or Glue Gun Instructions for making Graduation Cap Candy Favors Start by cutting your black cardstock. You will need a 1″ x … Continue reading
Make a Cute Doll Mailbox | American Girl Doll Crafts
Valentine’s Day is in just 2 weeks, so I have been busy making some Valentine-themed American Girl Doll crafts for my daughters. Today I want to share with you an adorable doll mailbox that you can fill with printable Valentines. You can easily find tin mailboxes this time of year at your local discount or dollar store in with their Valentine displays. Target has the tin mailboxes in their dollar section, but the lids remove completely. I found one with a hinge at my local Michaels for $4. Regardless of where you find yours, these mailboxes are so easy to convert into a free standing mailbox with a few things from your local craft store! Sitting on a base, these tin mailboxes are the perfect size for doll play. Here is how I made ours. Materials: novelty Tin Mailbox approx. 3 3/4 inches tall x 5 1/4 inches long 4 … Continue reading
Posted in Crafts
Tagged American Girl Doll Crafts, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Crafts
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Winter Gear and Sled for American Girl Dolls
One of the gifts for my youngest daughter this year is a sled for her American Girl Dolls. I got busy crafting and also made her some winter gear to go with it. The sled was a find at Crafts 2000. I got it for $9.97, which was quite a bargain in my opinion. My other purchase for the ensemble was the boots which I found at my local Michaels. The hat and scarf are crocheted, both of which were done without a pattern. After you have been crocheting for awhile and know how to do some basic shaping, it’s not all too hard coming up with your own patterns. I put the 18 inch doll hat free crochet pattern online. You can access the hat pattern, as well as the pattern for the flower embellishment, by clicking on the link. I hope to get the twirly scarf pattern up … Continue reading
