DIY Handwriting Necklace

This week has been a long one and I can't believe I actually got a craft done (on top of business orders!).  In the spring, my husband is always gone coaching, in meetings or just getting ready for the end of the school year. That makes for some long nights with the kiddos.  The benefit is that I get a lot more 1 on 1 time with my babies and it makes me appreciate all their sweet qualities even more (you know.. and also some more moments of mama going crazy because the kids are crazy. But it all evens out).

For mother's day, my son gave me a card and of course, wrote "MOMMY" on the envelope.  I've seen this a hundred times but I just remember looking at it, feeling like someday he won't call me that anymore, someday his letters will be a little more organized & grown up looking. I want to keep this sweet handwritten "mommy" forever.  So I created this...

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the low-quality photos.  Pictures in my house are never great, especially on selfie-mode at 10 pm!  But you get the idea. The others are better!



[Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to the products you can use to make this project.  Purchasing through these links earns me a small commission at no extra charge to you.  Thank you for supporting my blog!]



If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen in my stories that I am *obsessed* with Shrinky Dinks right now.  Especially for jewelry.  I can't stop myself!  First I made these amazing motherhood earrings (pictured below) and then I had my kids each draw me pictures which I turned into more earrings for myself. I think I've got enough Shrinky Dink earrings for now...

But back to the necklace.  Here's what you'll need to make this easy DIY:

[Materials]

- Crystal Clear Shrinky Dink Paper
- Black Sharpie Marker
- Open Jump Rings
- Necklace Chain of your choice


[How to Make It]
Simply follow the directions on the packaging.  As for the design, since the shrink paper is clear you can place it directly on top of their sweet handwriting and trace!  Remember that it will shrink to about 1/3 of it's original size so if you need to enlarge your child's drawing before tracing it, don't forget!  I copied his lettering exactly but moved over the shrink paper in between letters so that they were almost touching on my necklace trace. (just the look I wanted). You can see how large it was before and after baking in the photo below:

After it's traced, carefully cut around your letters as best as you can, leaving a small amount around the edge.  If you did not put the letters against each other like I did, make sure you leave some clear shrink paper in between them so it all stays once piece. Don't forget to punch holes on the top edges for the jump rings. Remember they shrink too! (I had to re-do mine)

^^^There's how it looked before...


...and after

Attach the jump rings and hang on your necklace chain!

We love Mouse and he would totally make a necklace like this too- don't you think?


I am feeling all the emotions over this necklace and I think I'll be wearing this for many years to come. I mean, look at that sweet little "Y".  #ohmyheart

What would you put on yours?  Your name, their name or maybe a sweet drawing?  Share yours below or tag me @cutcraftcreate on Instagram and I'd love to share it in my stories!

Free "I promise to" Printables (Blank copy included!)

How was everyone's weekend?  I was lucky enough to have Saturday night off of work so me and my husband went on a date.  Then Sunday we spent the day cleaning the house and enjoying each others company.  It sounds funny, but it is beautiful weekends like this that make me fall more in love with him.  I got to thinking about our wedding vows, which led me to thinking about all the little promises that most of us don't actually recite at our wedding ceremony but do in fact practice in the day to day.  That is why I created a short set of "I promise to" printables for you all to have.  Some are funny, some are sweet and I bet at least some of them apply to you!

 

All of these printables will have the same background image, so that if you choose, several can be placed together as a set.  I will also include a BLANK copy so that you can write whatever you want inside!

I got the background paper from designhousedigital.com (it's in the "Celeste Knight" bundle in the freebies section) and did the rest myself.  Feel free to print or share any images but please link back to this website if you do!  All images should print 5x7.

{Funny Ones}

 

{okay ladies, we all know men looooove to have the remote for some reason}

{get it here}

 {this one is a promise made by the guys.  luckily my husband has always been good about this}

 {get it here}

 {keep your loved ones warm!}

{get it here}

{my husband loves to drive and I love to be driven.  we're a perfect match}

{get it here}

{Sweet Ones}

 {it's the little things}

{get it here}

 {...and never go to sleep without saying "I love you"}

 {get it here}

{this one is easy because my husband is hilarious!}
{get it here}

{Some More...}

 {doing this with a brownie is maybe the highest proof of my love}

{get it here}

 {actually, my husband is a chocolate milk guy- he does this for me though!}

{get it here}

{tyler does this for me every single day.  chivalry at it's finest}

{get it here}

{this one is sort of in our vows... this is just more laid back wording}

{get it here}

{Make Your Own!}

{what special thing do you and yours share?  make your own with this blank template!}

 {get it here}

I love these little reminders on how special the "little things" are.  I am feeling really blessed to have a husband whom I get to experience all of these things with and who sticks with me... even though I occasionally steal the covers in my sleep.

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann 

LINK LOVE!  Linked up to: Every Day is an Occasion

Decorative Clothes Pins (Not Just For Clothes!)

What is small, handy and totally cute?  Did you guess clothes pins?  Well the truth is... they are!  There are so many ways they can be put to use.  We made these adorable clothes pins for our wedding "guest book" .  They held up the small cards where friends and family wrote messages for us.  It was a clothes drying out on the line sort of sweetness.

{Above Wedding Photographs taken by jhendonphotography}

Want to see them close up?
We made over 150 of them, but here are some of my favorites, separated into a few groups.  Each one was made using scrapbooking rub-ons; either pre-bought or made at home:


PERSONALIZED

{These were made at home (really!).  All you need are the printable sheets of rub-on paper and an ink-jet printer!  This is a great option if you don't want to be limited to the rub-on packages at the store}

WEDDING THEMED WORDING

{These are so perfect for a wedding.  I especially love the brackets around "Marriage Vows"}

"THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE"

{These are some of my favorites.  How darling are these tiny word definitions?}

FULL DESIGN

{Many store-bought sets of rub-ons have a row or two of long designs.  For these pins I just cut that line into 3 or 4 pieces and voila!  Beautiful, decorative clothes pins that can be used for anything!}

BEAUTIFUL LETTERING

{These just make my heart melt.  The lettering looks so vintage (and a little circus-ey) while the coloring makes it really fun!}

INSPIRATIONAL WORDS FOR ANY TIME

{These are all marriage words too, but could also be used for hanging pictures of family, friends, or just for a little inspiration in your day}

THIS ONE MAKES ME CHUCKLE...{It was supposed to say "Committed"... you know, like a husband and wife should be.  However, after I put it together all I could see was "Commit Ted".  I don't know who Ted is, but I didn't figure that it fit our wedding theme!}

I love these clothes pins!
I plan on turning some of these into magnets so that I can hang notes, the grocery list or whatever on the refrigerator.  I think I will also keep a few to hang pictures in my craft room, and maybe keep a few to use for gift wrapping.  Who knows?!

How would you use clothes pins?
What would you do with them?  Hang pictures, notes, or (let's get crazy here), clothes on the laundry line?

It seems that there are hundreds of ways to use clothes pins and when they can so easily be made this cute, why wouldn't you?

With Love,
Kelsie Ann

LINK LOVE!  This post is linked up to Every Day is an Occasion, go over there & check them out as well!