Alternative Baby Mobile Hanger DIY

Nursery preparation is one of the most fun things during pregnancy . It can be a little stressful if you are constrained with time but, if you happen to have the time and the energy, it can be really enjoyable. I had a relatively easy pregnancy with almost no vomiting, little sleep issues and moderate feet swelling. So, I got to do some handmade projects for my daughter's nursery including a dresser change over, putting a wall paper, and a making a mobile hanger. When I think about those days now, I recognize that all my creative juices were flowing with the pregnancy hormones. It is funny how the women body works...

When I first started looking at the baby mobiles, I was overwhelmed like all the other baby products, there is a ton to choose from. While shopping at a mall, I finally found a beautiful musical sheep mobile at Pottery Barn baby store on the sale section that I absolutely loved and bought. I then needed something to hang the mobile from. I  searched online and found mobile hangers that attaches to the crib. I thought that these were not safe and the colors were also not a good match for my daughter's gray colored crib. They usually come in white or brown. So, I came up with an alternative colorful solution to this by hanging the mobile from the ceiling. I bought some pastel felt balls to match the wall paper and crib colors from  Craftywoolfelt on Etsy. This store has lots of color options to choose from. I used the string that came with my order and a transparent fishing line to line the felt balls to make it sturdy enough to carry the weight of the mobile. I spaced the balls half an inch apart from each other .

You can even make these felt balls yourself which I have done before for a necklace (tutorial is here). However, I decided to buy this time to save money and time.

I used a metal hook to hang it from the ceiling and tied the string to a strong knot. The one suggestion I have for you is to keep the height not too long. When my daughter started to stand up to pull, I had to adjust the length so she wasn't able to pull it. This crib mobile turned out to be one of the favorites of my daughter while she was little and she loved watching the sheep turn and play for a long time before she fell asleep.

Baby Girl First Birthday Party

Although I celebrated my daughter's first birthday couple months ago, I wanted to share some of the photos from the birthday party with you.

Few events in life are as precious and well treasured as your first born's first birthday. It is such a big milestone! I have started planning my daughter's birthday about 2 months before the day. Even though she is a fall baby, I wanted to go with a spring theme which is one of my favorite seasons. I also thought it will be fun to use some bright colors. I and my husband hosted the party at our home so all the decorations were made for the space and for an indoor party. We have actually celebrated not only my daughter's but also her friend's birthday together whom we are very close with as a family.

Being a crafty and a busy working mom, I tried to find easy handmade decoration ideas. I however wanted to make it personalized and special so, I tried to find kits that I can put together and customize. For the backdrop, I used giant issue flowers for my flower wall display. The Martha Stewart pom pom kit worked perfect for this. The kit came with 5 flowers in salmon pink, fuchsia and sunny yellow. I assembled all the flowers one night after my daughter went to bed. You can watch a video on how to make these flowers form this link.

 

Next, I made a happy birthday manner. For the banner, I got really lucky and found a very cute colorful kit in a craft store. I glued letters onto pre-cut flags and assembled a banner using a white ribbon. The colors worked out perfect! I should advise you to look at Etsy for banners if you are planning a party, where you can find so many creative banners in any color you want at a very reasonable price...

 

When I hung the banner, I made two rows in order to fill the large wall. I have also used some birds and butterflies on the decors to make it lively. I found these cute bugs in the dollar store...

 

 Another center piece I prepared was a photo display with photos of my daughter from her birth to her first birthday. This took me the most time to prepare just because I have so many beautiful photos of her and it was really hard to choose which ones to use. I recycled a hard poster board that had styrofoam back for this project. Using a razor, I cut a number one and then glued photos to the board. Here is an example where I was inspired from. I accented the photo display wit a pink pineapple polka dot tassel garland I bought from Studio Mucci at Etsy.

Now comes the baby accessorizing... I made two baby cone hats using scrapbook paper, felt, wool ball, and a fun flower ribbon. I simply made a funnel cone from paper and decorated it. I loved how the hats turned out. 

Of course, sparkles are a must in any party or "thing" I do or make. So, I bought a giant gold foil balloon from Urban outfitters. I used the inflated balloon as a fun space filler in a corner of the room. This matched really nicely with the tassel garland and also the birthday hats.

 

 

The spring party was in full bloom, fun and cheerful. Most importantly, it was very memorable for us. The party started at 2pm. We served mostly finger food (cupcakes, fruit salad, vegetables with dip and also had a croissant sandwich bar).  The one tier birthday cake was delicious and just enough for everyone. As party favors, I had an assortment of small turkish hand towels. Those were also a big hit!  

Definitely one of the best parties I have hosted and got prepared for! Hope you enjoyed my post...

Thank You Card for Baby Shower DYI

Hello! I am back, after a long break to share a new handmade baby thank you card project with you. I apologize for not writing for such a long time my dear followers. My husband and I have recently welcomed a new member to our family, a sweet baby girl called Daphne Mina. She is almost two months old now. I have been enjoying my maternity leave while I watch her grow and get cuter every single day. I have lots and lots of new and original projects to share with you that is mostly mother oriented including Daphne's nursery. To begin with, here is the handmade thank you card I made for my baby shower. 

Thank you card for bay shower

The baby bump silhouette shaped card in pink tones is perfect for a baby girl shower but you can also modify with a blue background for a baby boy. I started with cutting the pregnant mom figure using a template I drew. You can use one large and one small circle sized objects to create a bump silhouette as shown in the picture above. Then, I cut pink rectangle shaped cardstock paper to fit into A4 size envelopes. I decorated the bump with a tiny crystal heart shaped sticker to symbolize the baby and red ribbon which I glued to the left side of the card. On the right top corner of the card, I used a "thanks so much" stamp to finish off this handmade baby shower card. I used a black ink.

I really believe that handmade cards makes saying thank you's so much more fun and special. I am glad I was able to send a special thank you note to all my friends who were able to shower with me. This handmade cards were also a great project to spend my time as I was anxiously waiting for the little one to born. Hope you like this idea and will use it in the future.

Custom Number Sting Art Tutorial

I try to learn new, different techniques once in a while and this is my recent project that I am so excited to share with you. If you search "sting art" on Pinterest (Click here) you will be amazed what people have created using this simple technique. It is impressive what one can do with nails and string.

I made this fun string art for my hubby for the Valentine's Day. It is the number 6. The number six is related to the research he does in his laboratory at University of Washington. So, it has a lot of meaning for him.  It will be a great addition to his office. You can also try to use number string art to make house numbers. It will certainly get lots of attention. Have fun and make sure to watch your fingers while putting those nails in!

Gold Birthstone Necklace

I have made this gold birthstone necklace for a customer in Canada and shipped it today. It is going to be a birthday gift for a special mother. The customized birthstones are sapphire blue, garnet red, and ruby red. I had to go to couple bead stores to find the perfect size and colored pearls but, I finally succeeded...The multicolored freshwater pearls sits beautifully inside the gold birds nest. It is a unique combination of colors I have not put together before so, I thought I would share this handmade beauty with you. Doesn't it look so elegant?

Gold birthstone necklace

To inquire about or set up a custom order please email acupofsparkle@gmail.com.

Handmade Race Bib and Medal Holder Tutorial

One of my new year resolutions is to exercise and get back to my running this year. In order to motivate myself and to get a bit organized, I made a handmade race bib and medal holder for myself. Today I would like to share with you how to make this simple holder.

Materials: A wooden plaque, acrylic paint color of your choice (I used violet and gold glitter), foam brush, sharpie, c-shaped hooks, pencil

Step 1: Paint the wood plaque (I got mine from Joann's) with your choice of paint. I repeated this step 3 times.

Step 2: Decide on what you would like to write on your plaque and print the words on a paper using the font you like. My plaque says "My Races". Some other sayings I thought about doing was Melike's Races, Run like a Girl, Finisher, Ready-Set-Go or just Races. Use your imagination!!!

Step 3: To transfer the printed words onto the board, I used the old pencil method. Just shade the back of the printed letters with a pencil, place the word down on the wood and trace around/inside the imprinted letters with my pencil. Then, fill in the word using a sharpie as shown below. I also painted the letters with the sparkle paint to make it shiny.

Step 4: Now it is time to place your c-shaped hooks. The bibs come in two different sizes usually so, I used 4 hooks to hang both the narrow and wide sized bibs. I simply placed the bibs on the wood board and screw them in following the holes instead of measuring it with a tape.
























Step 5: For the medals, I have used the same sized hooks. Although you can put the hooks directly to the wood, I used stars to make it more shiny and special. First I got some star shaped buttons from the store and painted them with the sparkle paint. Once the buttons are dried, I screwed in the hooks from one hole of the button to the wood. I didn't need to glue the stars onto the wood since the hooks kept them stable. I hided the second hole of the button by filling it in with the sparkle paint.

Step 6: Using a sharpie, paint a border around the wood board. This is optional. I did this step to put an extra dimension.

Step 7: VOILA!! Now, you can hand your race bibs and race bling. I have 11 bibs and 5 medals including my medal from the Vancouver Marathon hanging right now and cannot wait to add more to my collection in 2014...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you, my dear A Cup of Sparkle readers. I wish you a wonderful, a better year with lots of love and happiness....

Handmade Snowman New Year Cards Tutorial

I have a fabulous tutorial for you today! This year I was ambitious enough that I handmade new years cards for the family. I decided to go with a snowman winter scene card design and used multicolor backgrounds for the base of the snowman.

This interactive snowman card rolls out into a 3 section snowman once you pull the hat upwards. Then, the family photos appear on the two sections of the snowman.. Woila!! There is also a new years note if you turn the back of the cards. It is super adorable, don't you agree?

It took some time to make these cards but, it was totally worth it! If you are thinking about making this handmade snowman cards, here is a step-by-step photo instructions. I bought all my supplies from the Joann's store close to my house. I used a circle cutting tool for the three circles. For the photo of my dog, I used a punch. I cut the family photo by hand as well as the hands of the snowman, the carrot nose and the hat.  The largest circle is attached to the base with foamy adhesives to create an extra dimension. I also used a punch for the snowflakes which I borrowed from a friend.

Hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and having a memorable, fun holiday!!!

Mother of 3 Daughters Jewelry Set

Happy Holidays! I am very excited about the upcoming holidays and the new year. I have completed and shipped all of the A Cup of Sparkle orders couple days ago and hoping that they will there on time for the Christmas time. This is one of the personalized jewelry sets I made for a customer. It is from the husband to his wife and they have three daughters. So, I personalized the mamma nests with three pink freshwater pearls. Isn't this beautiful?

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay tuned for an exciting new tutorial I will be sharing with you soon... Lots of love!

Simple Transformation of iPhone/iPad Chargers

Apple Charger Duck Tape Transformation

It is a beautiful Sunday in Seattle and today is the day that I have ended the iPhone and iPad charger craziness at home. My hubby will no longer be able to claim my chargers as his, or neither will I... Does that happen at your house, too? If so, there is a super easy solution to this problem. Buy a piece of duck tape (mine is from Joann's Fabric store) or a washi tape, and cover all parts of the chargers.
I picked the color hot pink for two reasons; 1- I love pink! It matches to my devices well as you can see and 2- My husband doesn't like pink so, he is less likely want to take my chargers. All the great reasons to go with pink!! Don't you agree?

Frida Kahlo Halloween Costume DIY

Frida Kahlo Outfit DIY

I had a fantastic Halloween this year and dressed up like the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. I based my fun homemade costume on one of her self portraits with her colorful flower crown. Here is what I wore:

1- Handmade flower crown with mixed artificial flowers. I used this tutorial.

2- Lots of statement jewelry in gold, turquoise, green and red coral

3- Red lipstick

4- Red nail polish

5- Red shawl

5- A traditional Mexican embroidered top I bought during my last visit to Mexico

6- A colorful fabric belt

7- A black ruffled skirt that I sew a short yellow pom pom at hem

8- Black eyeliner for drawing the uni-brow and lots of eye make-up

9- Heavy red blush for my cheeks

10- Black suede boots

For the hair, I made two simple braids and wrapped the braids high on my head, just like Frida does. The large flower crown covered most of the braids, which got the most attention of all the costume. I picked a short skirt for a dance party but, you might consider a full length skirt in order to resemble Frida. The costume was easy, inexpensive, and so much fun to make and wear. Cheers and happy (belated) Halloween to you all!

Personalized Mother/Grandmother Necklace

I would like to share my recent personalized jewelry order with you. I created this personalized necklace as a birthday gift for a mother/grandmother with 2 kids and 3 grandchildren. Isn't it adorable? 

Per my customers request, I combined large and small size eggs in ivory and white colored freshwater pearls. The gold nest is embellished with a hummingbird charm hanging on top Since it is a birthday gift, I packaged it in a heart shaped gift box to send a little more love inside the envelope...

To inquire about or set up a custom order please email acupofsparkle@gmail.com.

Family Keychains with Hummingbirds

Labor day marks the change in seasons. Yet, I do think there are more summery days ahead of us, earlier sunsets suggest that autumn is on its way. And then, comes the winter. For some of you, it might be too far ahead but, for early planners it is never too early. I just finished making these personalized family keychains for a customer as Christmas gifts. 

These hummingbird keychains are customized with the number of children of each family member; grandchildren, sons and daughters. Pink for girls and blue for boys... I customized 5 different keychains for the family using heart shaped key rings.

I packaged all of the keychains in A Cup of Sparkle handmade green and red Christmas jewelry bags as well. It will be perfect for the season and ready to be presented. I hope that these keychains will make all the moms happy....

Hello August.

Hello and happy August! It is my favorite month of the year - the sunniest and summeriest one. There is so much to love about August; fresh berries, red tomatoes, juicy watermelon, sunshine, singing birds, colorful flowers, lots of long days to go camping, to play on the beach and the water, outdoor theaters and concerts... The thought of all of these makes me super excited and happy. Hope you will have a wonderful month and enjoy every day of the month! Lots of love.

Personalized Handmade Bridal Bouquet Jewelry

I have recently shipped one of these bridal bouquet pin for a bride. It is a handmade pin shaped as a silver birds nest accented with ivory pearls. Bridal bouquet jewelry adds a unique glam to bridal bouquets, giving them a personal touch. This bridal bouquet pin is perfect for a nature themed wedding that will contrast beautifully with the bouquet flowers, all inspired by nature. 

Bridal Bouquet Pin by A Cup of Sparkle

You can also use this bird nest as a hair accessory or as a brooch pin.  It can be made to any size and any color. It can be personalized with different colors to match your outfit or wedding colors. Almost any color of pearls are available to choose from... The pearls/eggs can represent the number of children, family members or pets.

I always enjoy making personalized jewelry to A Cup of Sparkle customers. It is especially a great honor for me to design bridal jewelry and be a part of your special day with a small piece from my shop. You can click here to read more about this bridal birds nest jewelry pin.

Family Photo ( Husband, Wife and Canine Child)

I wanted to show off one of my favorite family photos with you today. Me, my hubby and my canine type child; Aslan in this photo.  It was much simpler to take this photo than some other family photos with pets as you can imagine... Our four-legged friend is definitely a big part of my family who always provides us unconditional love. It is not really possible not to include him in anything we do, including our family photos.  Is your pet included in the family photos?

Earthy Jewelry and Accessories

If you love nature themed jewelry, you may want to check out a large selection of handmade earthy jewelry from A Cup of Sparkle Etsy shop. All of the pieces are handmade with natural gemstones and finest materials.

Earthy jewelry necklace by A Cup of Sparkle

This rustic teardrop pendant necklace with a teardrop shaped Ryholidate natural gemstone features tones of warm earthy brown and green organic colors in antiqued brass.  I love the organic, textured look of this stone in a perfect nature color palette, it looks so natural in every way. Don't you agree?

Leaf shaped unisex keychains, modern necklaces, and warm brown colored earrings are some other selection of earthy handmade jewelry you can find in my shop. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

PS. You can still take advantage of the 25% SPRING SALE on most of the necklaces, earrings and keychains.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.

Woohoo, it's finally Friday! I am taking time off from work today for a long weekend to camp at Olympic National Park in Washington. Hope you all enjoy the last day of the week and have a great weekend.

Tutorial for Handmade Cardmaking: Personalized Lab Coat Card for Doctors

I enjoyed my first attempt to card making (here it is), I thought I will try to make an another. This card is for my twin sister who always sends me beautiful cards from Turkey. Mehpare, my sister, is a doctor and currently doing her residency at a hospital southeast of Turkey as a physical therapy and rehabilitation specialist. I saw this card on the web and thought it will be perfect for her: shaped as a white lab coat.

Whether you already make your own cards or just a beginner like me, this personalized lab coat card is doable. It took me two tries to get it right since all I had a photo of it but, I have all the instructions for you with detailed measurements in case you would like to try to make one as well.

Materials: Scissors, A4 size white paper, one white button, adhesive, colored paper of your choice, pencil, ruler, eraser, printer for name tag printing (optional)

Step 1: Fold the A4 sized white paper from both sides in a way that the width is a total of 5" and the two front closures overlap by 1" as shown in the photo #1.

Step 2: Cut the paper vertically to 6". You can make it longer if you are using a large envelope.

Step 3 and 4: Mark 1" from the top and 2 inches from the bottom of the rectangular on each of the two closures, using a pencil.

Step 5: Fold the corner so that the corner will meet on the pencil marks at the top and the bottom. This will be the collar of the lab coat.

Step 6: Apply the same folding technique on the other side. Your card should look like the photo #6.

Step 7: Mark 1" from each corner of the collar with a pencil.

Step 8: Draw a horizontal line from the left corner of the collar to the right as shown in dotted lines below.

Step 9: Cut the squares. Then, draw another line from the bottom end of the collar to where the line in step #8 touches.

 Step 10: Cut the small triangle that is left on the right of the dotted line you draw in step #9.

Step 11: Embellish your card by adding a pocket, putting the button, name tag and the stethoscope.

Step 12: Fill the inside of the card with your warmest wishes and mail/give it to that special person...

I have used materials and papers I already had home. I even re-purposed a paint chip for the red pen and a thick brand tag from a jean for the gray paper for the stethoscope. The black paper is cut from a folder I also had at home.

Tip: You can use this tutorial to make a card for anyone that wears uniform at work: scientists, nurses, chefs,  or doctors.
I have already filled my card and will mail it on Monday. I cannot wait to have it delivered to my sister. Hope you enjoyed this DIY. Please let me know if you decide to make it or have any questions.  

Spring Jewelry Sale at A Cup of Sparkle!

It is spring time, and I wanted to give something back to fans and friends by having a 25% OFF on my shop: acupofsparkle.etsy.com! Browse a selection of jewelry and accessories with one-of-a-kind and colorful designs on annual spring sale by clicking here. The spring sale offers gemstone necklaces, earrings, beaded bracelets and unisex keychains.

The online sale event goes through July 15th by 5pm PST. Enjoy big savings from A Cup of Sparkle!