All Crafts Archives - Simply Kierste

{burlap flag pillow}

May
20

With Memorial Day the end of May, then Flag Day on June 14th, and the 4th of July, flag & patriotic decor can be up for awhile, which I LOVE. Independence Day has long been my favorite holiday (next to Christmas ☺), and I get so excited when I can start decorating. I made this darling burlap flag pillow for my front entry bench, and it's perfect! It's really easy to make, and I used the same method as my burlap flag bunting. I already had a burlap pillow cover that's been sitting in my closet, but I would have made one otherwise. I actually need to make a couple for my boys' beds, so hopefully I'll be able to post a tutorial on those soon. In addition to the pillow cover, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 4th of July, All Crafts, Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Holiday Projects, Silhouette | 13 Comments

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{design your own business cards} an easy tutorial

May
15

Want to see my new business cards? I {LOVE} how they turned out, and they were so easy to make. I used PicMonkey--one of my favorite places to edit pictures and fancy them up a little for posts. If you don't have access to Photoshop or something similar, and want an easy option to make your own cards, you'll definitely want to try this. {1} Go to www.picmonkey.com, and select "edit a photo. You'll need to upload a high resolution white paper, and I've shared one HERE. {2} Re-size to a business card size, 1062 x 615 pixels. {3} Click the "overlays" icon (the group of three--with the heart) on the far left hand side of your page. It will open … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, Organization | 3 Comments

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{chipboard key chain}

May
09

Y'all know how much I love personalizing anything and everything, and what could be better than a darling key chain? (I sound so Texan with that "y'all", don't I? ☺ ) As soon as I saw the new chipboard by Silhouette, I knew it would be the perfect way to make one! Seriously people, isn't that SO cute??!!! I just want to carry around my keys all day! The front has darling scrapbook paper embellished with my stamped initial, and the back features a picture of my kids, which I LOVE. (It's missing baby Caroline...time for an update!!!) These are super easy to make, and make the best gifts. Think Mother's Day, Father's Day (not as cute-sy, of course), birthdays, teachers, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Birthdays, Crafts, Father's Day, Gift Ideas, Mother's Day, Silhouette | 2 Comments

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{footprint rug}

May
02

I am in love with capturing my children's footprints and hand prints. Seriously {LOVE}. For Mother's Day this year, I made my mom a footprint rug for her kitchen, and it is ADORABLE. That tiny little footprint, next to all of her siblings? Darling. I can't stand it, it's so cute. ☺ It's perfect. And...it's super easy! I was SO excited when I came across this rug in the kitchen aisle at Target (only $8) last week, because I knew was going to save me a lot of time not adding the border myself. It was exactly what I was looking for! The border frames the footprints perfectly, and the red makes the white lettering pop! {supplies} -kitchen rug (a plain color) -fabric … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, DIY Decor, Gift Ideas, Mother's Day, Silhouette, Teachers | 11 Comments

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{striped straw birthday candles}

Apr
30

It was my girls' birthday this weekend, and we had such a blast celebrating! They wanted a pink cake, which was a pretty easy request considering what they've asked for in past years. I made a simple pink cake, and when it was time for the birthday candles, it just seemed like it needed something more. I was getting out some striped straws for our hot chocolate, when I had an idea... The hole in the straw looked to be just a tad bigger than the plain birthday candles I had (just the regular white striped ones), and I decided to see if they would fit inside, and they did! It was a tight fit, but I was able to slide them in just far enough that they were secure. SO CUTE!!! It made … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Birthdays, Crafts, Entertaining, For the Home, Gift Ideas, Home & Family | 1 Comment

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{chalkboard & fence post family home evening board}

Apr
17

Family Home Evening Board | simplykierste.com

Every Monday night is a special one at our house...it's Family Night, or Family Home Evening as we like to call it. We put everything on hold, and don't put anything else on the schedule. Everyone stays home, and we enjoy some really fun and quality time together as a family. We do have a structure, not only to stay organized, but to also give each member of the family an opportunity to contribute. We sing songs, have a simple gospel lesson from the scriptures, pray, eat treats, play games, have a talent show (you should see some of the crazy talents my kids have, lol!), and do some kind of activity--whether it's playing games, going on a walk, bike ride, or to the park, bowling, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, For the Home, Home & Family, Organization, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette | 7 Comments

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{over the rainbow} st. patrick’s day fun & free printable!

Feb
20

Skittles are perfect for St. Patrick's Day...all those rainbow colors! I paired them with one of my personal favorites, gold-wrapped Rolos for a super fun gift...for friends, neighbors, teachers, and more! I also created a fun tag, and free printable, just for you!!! I save all of my Crystal Light containers, which I LOVE to re-use for all sorts of gifting and organizational purposes. I love the lids, how easy the wrappers are to take off, their size & shape, and that they are see-through! If you don't have any, or want something smaller, try a jelly jar, other small mason jar, or a baby food jar/container. I layered the candy starting with the Skittles first--in rainbow … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, Gift Ideas, Holiday Projects, Printables, St. Patrick's Day, Teachers, Thinking of You | 8 Comments

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{shamrock glitter block} st. patrick’s day decor!

Feb
13

With the current Silhouette promo going on right now, I was sent some double-sided adhesive to try. I haven't worked a lot with glitter, and I'd never used the double-side adhesive, so I was excited to use it. With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, and Valentine's Day decor coming down soon, I decided something with a shamrock would be fun. :) I've seen quite a few projects using the adhesive with paper, and other decor, such as candles, but since I love working with wood so much, I was curious to see how it would work. I LOVE the end result! It was really easy to do, and FAST! (which I always love...) {supplies} -2x8 wood block (mine was 12 inches wide) -spray … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, DIY Decor, Holiday Projects, Silhouette, St. Patrick's Day | 1 Comment

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{Valentine’s Day Pallet Board} with Chalkboard Blue

Feb
08

Valentine's Day Pallet Board | tutorial at simplykierste.com

Hello Again! Michelle from Chalkboardblue! I wanted to share with you an item I made to decorate with for Valentine's Day... a pallet-style board accented with wooden decorated hearts! I found some wood shapes cut into hearts at Hobby Lobby. I painted some of them red and pink. I traced and cut some music sheet paper and used old book paper and glued them to cover the remaining hearts. I cut some vinyl with sayings that I wanted to be on the different hearts and placed them... I did various words... and numbers... I made my pallet board out of a plank of cedar fencing I purchased at Lowes. I cut 3 boards from this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts | 1 Comment

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{you’re special…birthday jar}

Jan
25

One of my best friends in all the world had a birthday this week. And not just any birthday...the big 30!!!! I left her 6 months ago when we moved to Texas, and I was SO sad that I was going to miss this milestone. I knew I wanted to send her something to really celebrate this particular birthday, and let her know how special she is to me. So...I made her a birthday jar! It's just a simple pint-size mason jar, but it's what's inside that really counts. Tucked away inside the jar are 30 things (one for each year) about her that I love---special memories, characteristics, qualities, talents, and all those things that make a friendship what they are. I thought it was the perfect … [Read more...]