Belated Christmas Gift

My mom is a great person. She goes above and beyond to take care of everyone, but she doesn't really have anyone to take care of her. I wanted to get her something really special this Christmas: an Eden bracelet.

You might know them as "Cape Cod" bracelets...they're pretty widespread across the Cape, where we've lived for 20 years. The original ones, however, are handmade at a local jeweler's shop called Eden Hand Arts. I could have bought her one of the copycats but my mom is a very special person, and she deserves the best.


The only downside was that I didn't have enough money this Christmas as I originally planned. I was heartbroken because I've wanted to get her one for years...I REALLY thought this was the Christmas I'd be able to do it since I've been working my bum off with two jobs. Then I got an idea. I decided I would get her one as soon as I could after Christmas. I wrote her a letter from "Santa" and, well...I'll just let you read it :)

*Names omitted for privacy

I got so choked up writing that! I wanted to include a picture of the bracelet too, so here it is with the letter. She should be back from lunch any minute...I'm waiting on my sister, Courtney, to call or text me so I can find out her reaction!

This gift was my very favorite thing to give this Christmas, even though it was late. My mom deserves it more than anyone. I can't wait to hear from Courtney!

The main reason I wanted to post this was because it was a really fun surprise. For the record, I did get my mom a Christmas gift, so the best part is, she has NO IDEA what's coming!! Feel free to use this idea and any wording in my letter, I don't mind. I just want people to be happy, so if you could use something like this, USE IT! Happy Holidays! Don't forget to Follow me on Pinterest

xo Christie

UPDATE: Mom loved it :)

Make Up Magnet Board: Tutorial with Pictures!

Hello Friends! I haven't posted in almost a year :( But I'm really going to try to post more of my crafting adventures now that the holidays are over.

This year for Christmas, I made my sister, Courtney, a magnetic make up board. I couldn't post it until now because I didn't want the surprise to be ruined! Now that I'm sitting here with my feet soaking in my new foot massager, I feel it's a perfect time to write this tutorial. This one's for you, Jo!

First, here are the materials you'll need. A frame, fabric, a sheet of magnetic sheet metal (I got mine for $5 at Home Depot), some spray adhesive (make sure it works on metal!),  and magnets. Not pictured are scissors, an iron (optional), and your make up, of course!

I noticed my fabric had creases EVERY WHERE when I started, so I went back to my craft closet and dug out my iron. I'm really glad I didn't skip this step, wait till you see how smooth it turned out! ;) 

Next comes the glue! Just follow the directions on whatever glue you get. I highly recommend the spray adhesive because it doesn't get all gloopy and thick. It sprays a nice, even coat which is really important if you want any magnets to stick right. What I did was lay the fabric over the sheet metal and then fold it back (I hope you can see from the picture) so all I had to do was lift the fabric back up and over onto the sprayed metal.

Working quickly and still trying to hold my phone to take pictures (;-P) I smoothed out any wrinkles in the fabric over the metal. This was pretty easy and I attribute that to my method of "Up and Over" before gluing. 

See?? All glued :)

Next, I trimmed off the excess fabric. You should have seen it before...I had a whole YARD for this 12x18 piece of metal. Silly. As you can tell, the edges don't have to be pretty. No one will see them.

Fold and glue the sides over...

And again...

TA-DA! Pretty, clean, smooth Metal-Wrapped-in-Fabric.

If you're like me and get cheap frames to save a little cash, you might want to touch up yours. I left the glass on because, guess what, Genius? We're not using it! After you TAKE THE GLASS OUT, put your Metal-Wrapped-in-Fabric in the frame, and put the backing on, you end up with....

A BEAUTIFUL magnetic make-up (or whatever you want it to be) board! Yippee! It was super easy and probably only took a half an hour from start to finish.

I even went a little fancy and added my own picture hanging hardware. I'd always been really intimidated by it but trust me, it's SO easy! and it's easier to hang with a wire than with those stupid metal teeth things or the puny, dinky triangles that always smoosh back into the frame...ahhh yes. Definitely take the extra time and $5 to put the hardware on. If you're not sure which one to get, just ask the person in the frame shop at your local craft store.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my tutorial! I definitely had fun making this and Courtney loved it! Please feel free to add any comments or questions about this. I will do my best to reply ASAP! I hope you and yours have a very Happy New Year!

xo Christie