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DIY

Handmade Christmas Card

I’m not a fan of the rush into “holiday season” right after Halloween. Like, let me enjoy Thanksgiving for a sec before we start singing ‘All I want for Christmas is You’, yes? But also I like to be what I call ‘seasonally prepared’ so I understand why people get started so early. So for the first time ever I’m doing my first Christmas DIY in November!!

I’m trying to switch things up by sending out more thoughtful cards/notes for Christmas to my friends and family, so what better way to do this than by hand making my cards. It’s a very nice personal touch. I’ll be making a variety of cards so I’ll be sure to share the how-to for each one! Read to the end to find out how much this project cost me.

What you need:

Blank greeting card
Green cardstock in 3 shades
Brown cardstock
Scissors
Glue
Marker/calligraphy pen (not pictured)

Cut 3 different sized triangles out of the green cardstock. Cut 3 different sized rectangles out of the cardstock.

Stick the brown cardstock on your blank greeting card first, then the triangle – so that they look like teeny christmas trees. The tree in the center should be the most prominent.

This is optional but you can also cut out a star (or a circle like I did) from gold cardstock and place it at the top of the middle tree.

Write ‘Merry Christmas’ – or your message of choice – on the front of the card. Letter your card in a style that’s easy for you.

And that’s it! It’s super easy and the tutorial gives room for your own personal style.

How much this project cost:

I had glue and scissors lying around (and this is assuming you do too!) so the real cost came down to the cardstocks.

-Green cardstocks = 60 cents each ( I bought them in a pack at Michaels)

-Brown cardstock = free, yes FREE. There was brown paper in a package I’d recently received so I used it for the project. Look around your home for pasta boxes, brown envelopes etc.

-Blank card = $1.00 from a paper shop in New York

-TOTAL: $2.80

Are you making personal gifts this season? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

November 14, 2015 by equakyi

DIY

Gold Chevron Wall Art

Man I’m on a roll with these DIYs, huh? Haha well not really because I’m not posting them as frequently as y’all would like but hey perfection takes time!

It’s been a wonderful past couple of days in New York City and I can hardly believe that it’s fall. With this fab weather and my Continue Reading

November 3, 2015 by equakyi

DIY

Anthropologie Inspired Globe

Howdy peeps! So this is a project and not just a 2-step DIY. Like seriously – it’s taken me 3 days to finish it, but mainly because I’ve been super lazy about it and it also involves lots of paint drying. But let me tell you the story Continue Reading

October 17, 2015 by equakyi

DIY

DIY Cutout Greeting Cards

There’s nothing like a handmade greeting card to make someone feel special. When I have nothing else to do I (let’s face it, I mean procrastination) I make cards and wait for an occasion to pop up where I can send one to somebody. Speaking of pop-up, these cards were inspired by a sweet little card I saw in a bookstore near Columbia University.

This is an easy DIY and it’s pretty much zero effort if you additionally have an electronic cutter. I recently got myself a Cricut machine and I’ve been going crazy with it. I’ve cut out about everything from all colors of paper – sue me.

Anywhoo, in this tutorial I’ve included some FREE printables that will help guide you if you do not have an electronic cutting machine. I’ll be showing you how to make a whopping TWO cards so Go on and get to creating!

What you need:

-Cardstock (preferably something with much more weight that ordinary paper)

-Exacto knife – you won’t be needing this if you have a cutting machine

-Glue

-Colorful gift tissue

-Large hole paper punch

-Gold paint

-Small paint brush

Step 1:

For card one (left in the image of the two cards), click here to download and print your free cutout file. This card is the pop-up card.

For card two (on the right), click here to download and print your free cutout file. This is the confetti filled-card.

Step 2:

If you have an electronic cutter, go ahead and use to downloaded files to make cuts, no need to print.

If you don’t have a cutter, this is where your elbow grease will be required. With card 1, cut the entire ‘YAY’ shape out of your yardstick by following the outline. With card 2, cut ONLY the black lines printed on your cardstock. This is so that you have a foldable side on the bottom of the letters.

Step 3:

Get rid of unwanted pieces. Fold card 2 at the bottom of the letters (the area you left uncut) so that they pop out of the card

~~~

The next few steps will be specific to only one of the cards so make sure you’re working on the write one – although there are pictures to guide you so you know.

Card 1:

Put a small amount of gold paint on your brush and paint your pop-out letters in faint strokes. You want to leave some of the white areas showing for that “paintbrush effect”.
Allow to dry for 10 mins and voila, you’re done!

Card 2:

Punch out holes in your gift tissue with the hole punch.
Write whatever message you want inside the card.
Paint glue on the inside of the card as close to the edges as possible. Don’t use too much glue or you’ll create a mess when you seal the card!
Place the confetti inside the card, avoiding the glue on the edges.
Seal the card. You want the card recipient to have to rip the card open – this is what makes the confetti jump out at them!

Whether it’s for a birthday, to say congratulations or just because these cards make an excellent and thoughtful gift. I can’t wait to make more variations and send them to everyone I know! I might be listing these in my Etsy store also, depending on response so watch out for them.

Spread the confetti.

xoxo,

Essie

September 30, 2015 by equakyi

DIY

DIY: mini yarn pom-poms

I’ve been trying to get back on a regular schedule of making DIY tutorials and set a goal for myself, but this thing is HARD yo! School always takes priority for me so I find that the times I am most unproductive on my website are often the times I’m most stressed at school. I’ll try to do better y’all – I know how much you guys love the DIYs.

September 16, 2015 by equakyi

DIY

Gold Confetti Champagne Glasses

I once told someone that gold was my favorite color and they responded that gold is a finish and not a color, apparently. Long story short, gold is still my favorite color. I got bored with my regular champagne glasses and decided to jazz them up a bit – and what better way to do this but to add some gold.

This is a really really easy and budget-smart DIY! You only need one other supply apart from your glasses and this cost me $2.99 at Michael’s (there’s a 20% of sale going on this week!). Read on for the scoop.

What you need:

-Champagne glass(es)

-Metallic gold dimensional fabric paint

Steps:

1. Make sure your glasses are clean and dry, then dot the gold paint all over it. The best technique is to squeeze the bottle till a little bit comes out, then touch it to the glass and then lift it straight off. This will ensure your dots are nicely rounded and have a 3D effect.

side note: For an ombre effect I concentrated my dots at the bottom and thinned them out towards the rim of the glass. Feel free to try other designs though!

2. Let stand for about 1 hour to dry completely.

I was so excited with how these turned out guys! You can throw them in a dishwasher or hand wash these still as long as you’re not scrubbing. BRB gonna enjoy my new bubbly glasses!

xoxo,

Essie

January 28, 2015 by equakyi

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