Midwestern Girl

Valentine's Day | Handmade by Heidi

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Hello, hello, everyone!

If you're anything like me, you struggle with what to give your older kids for smaller holidays, like Valentine's Day. Items from the Target Dollar Spot just don't seem to cut it anymore, and you (read, I...) don't want to buy expensive gifts, just for the sake of having something to give them.

So, gift cards it is!

And truthfully, it's all they really want anyway, sooooo...

But tossing them a naked little square of plastic really isn't my thang, so this year's Valentine's Day gift cards are getting a little fancy packaging.

Heidi's new Handmade by Heidi Kits (available now on Joann.com) include some of the most wonderful stationery and embellishments...especially perfect for creating my gift-card holders.

To start, I grabbed some of my favorite things from the collection...

Next, using my 1" hole punch, I notched out a little semi-circle from each of the front pages of my cards.

Then I stitched along the bottom and up the right-hand side of each card, creating a pocket.

NOTE: If you don't have a sewing machine, or would prefer not to use it, you can always use a tape runner to seal your edges together.

I typed up little notes for each of the kids on some white cardstock, then I attached a mix of tags and acrylic embellishments to the top using some of the string included in each Tag Kit.

I slipped each card into the pocket I created, letting the tags hang over the front...

...and added each gift card to the pocket.

Then I decorated each envelope a bit with pieces from the Embellish Kits.

Finally, I tucked each card/pocket/giftcard/tag bundle into its respective envelope, sealed them up and set them out...to be opened on February 14.

I hope they love them...

You can find everything I used for this project right now at Joann.com...

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Supplies | Handmade by Heidi Stationery - available now at Joann.com

January 2019 | Heidi Swapp Memory Planner

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Here we are...already a month into 2019...can you even believe it?

The older I get, the faster time flies...and it's gotten to the point where I find myself saying, "That was (blank) many years ago???" on a regular basis.

Ugh.

And, although, I can't slow the passage of time (I've been working on it, believe me...), I can do my best to try to remember the lives we're living...to try to "stop the blur" a bit.

That's where my Heidi Swapp Memory Planner comes in.

Here's where I take just a few minutes every day (or every few days) to jot down a few things that happened...big & small things...important & seemingly mundane things. Things I want to remember.

My process is pretty simple.

I keep our everyday lives scheduled on a large monthly calendar in my kitchen. All of our appointments, practices, obligations & excursions are listed here.

And, I occasionally add things I want to make sure I remember on post it notes stuck to individual days.

When I have a few spare moments, I take the calendar off the wall & bring it to my craft area where I'll transfer any important information into my Memory Planner.

This is how my pages will look at the end of the week.

Nothing too crazy...just words on the page.

Larger stories get documented in scrapbook pages or traveler's notebooks...this book is simply used for recording our every day lives.

Next, I'll go back, Mildliners & Gel Pens in hand, and add accents to certain words to make them stand out.

I love how doing this adds color to our memories...and I think it makes the pages look so full & fun.

Finally, I will print out photos from the week & add them into my planner.

I don't usually have a ton of pictures if we've just been living our ordinary lives...so I'll make sure to fill in the empty gaps with stickers, stamps & other embellishments.

Random photos & stories from the month are documented in the month-at-a-glance section of my planner.

There's no rhyme or reason to how I lay these pages out...I just sort of find room & add the pics & words.

Now here's a look at how January came together...week by week.

And that's it!

January is now recorded.

And, not only does working in my planner give me a chance to slow down and create, it also provides a way for me to see how far we've come...how much we've accomplished...and how full our lives really are.

Just seeing these completed weeks gives me a sense of peace and happiness.

Thank you so much for stopping by...I hope I've inspired you to take some time to document the things that are important to you.

Supplies | Color Fresh Memory Planner - Spiral Box Kit, Clear Stamps, Icon Sticker Book, Alpha Sticker Book, Washi, Neon Gel Pens

Pom Poms! With the new Heidi Swapp Pom Pom Maker

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

If you've been on any social media platforms lately, then you know that yarn crafts are SO ON-TREND right now...and pom pom projects are a HUGE part of that trend!

Heidi Swapp recently released a Pom Pom Kit as a part of her latest collection, Handmade by Heidi - available now on joann.com, and I've been doing my part in making sure that trend keeps going strong...

This fantastic kit comes with 4 pom pom makers...each creating a different sized pom pom...as well as a needle and string (to help you create banners & garland with your finished pom poms!).

Here's a quick run-down on how the poms are made...

1. Each little pom pom maker has 2 sets of two “arms” that pull away from the center plastic circles. You begin your pom pom by winding your yarn around each of these sets…over and over again…making sure to completely cover the arms.

2. This is how 1 set of arms looks completely wound with yarn. Fold this set of arms into the pom pom maker.

3. Now, go ahead and wrap the other set of arms the same way. Here’s how your little pom pom maker will look once you’ve folded both sets of arms in.

4. Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut through the yarn in the space between the arms in each set.

5. Here’s how your pom pom maker will look once you’ve cut through the yarn on one side.

6. Wrap a length of yarn around the middle of your pom pom maker and pull tight…then, tie a knot.

7. Pull back each set of arms from your pom pom.

8. Now pull your pom pom maker apart in the middle and there you have it! A perfect little pom pom!

And here are a couple of projects I've created using my kit!

This first one is probably my favorite...

This door hanger was so fun to make...and it can be customized any way you like it!

Create different-sized/colored pom poms and tassels & arrange them in any order you like!

I love the way this little hanging garland looks draped over my daughter's door knob...it adds just the perfect touch of color & texture to her mainly white room.

A garland like this would also look fantastic hung over a closet door knob...that's what I'm going to work on next...one for our entryway closet door.

Find the tutorial I followed HERE.

This pom-pom fringed throw was something I created in earlier this month, and blogged about on Heidi's site.

Isn't it just the most adorable blanket?!

Read all about how it came together HERE.

And, because I had a few extra little white pom poms left over after creating my throw, I decided to tie one to my keys...just for fun...

I think it's the perfect little addition.

Pom poms are the perfect little easy to make craft...just take a look at all of the pom pom ideas Pinterest has!

Grab your Pom Pom Kit now (and ON SALE!) on joann.com...and tag me @maggiemassey with all of your fantastic pom pom crafts!

Supplies | Handmade by Heidi Pom Pom Kit - available online at joann.com

It's a Heidi Holiday! | Lightbox Insert Printables

Monday, December 17, 2018

8 days! 8 days!

With Christmas a mere 8 days away, I've started the final sprint to get everything done.

Last minute decorating, gift-wrapping, memory-album creating, baking, cooking & not-enough-sleeping.

And I love every minute of it.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas documenting this year is all of the free printables Heidi Swapp is offering as part of her Heidi Swapp Holiday Event.

Last week Heidi gave away a whole mess of Lightbox printables - perfect for both the original Lightbox and the Lightbox Mini!

Here's how I'm using them this season...

This darling "Days Until Christmas" printable comes ready for both Lightbox sizes.

NOTE: Numbers are not provided on this printable. Use your own Lightbox numbers (or create your own!) to help you count down the days.

I printed out the Lightbox Mini size onto a sheet of transparency film and then grabbed some Lightbox numbers...

This darling little countdown stays on our breakfast table, ready to be updated each morning.

ACK! It's so so darling!

The next design, also available in both original & mini Lightbox sizes is this one...

I decided I wanted to use this graphic in my Christmas Countdown album, the fantastic Photobook Kit (available at select Joann stores & on joann.com)...but first I needed to edit it just a bit.

Using my photo editing software (I use Photoshop CC), I erased the cut guidelines from the original graphic & moved the individual sections closer to each other to create one single image.

Then I printed out my finished graphic onto cardstock (4.5"x6.5"), matted it onto some of my favorite Buffalo Check paper from DCWV's Farmhouse Christmas Paper Stack (5"x7"), and then adhered that onto another piece of paper from the same stack (10"x7").

I folded the 10"x7" piece in half and added it to my album in the same way you add additional photos into a traveler's notebook...with a large rubber band.

Now I can add more photos/stories/embellishments to the inside of this new folded insert.

So, not only do I have this fun "Deck the Halls" graphic in my album, now I have added pages, too!

Don't you just love it?!

Next up is this fun image created for the original Lightbox.

I thought this adorable sentiment would look fantastic on gift tags, so I manipulated it a little in PS, printed it out and matted it onto some more awesome plaid paper from the Farmhouse Christmas Stack.