December - Dejá Vu a Month in Review

Wham! This year has flown by so fast, it feels like I've been shot out of a cannon. December was a quick flash of light. As a courtesy to those of us that rarely have enough time to read all the fabulous blogs on a regular basis, I have for you a review of all the posts at Pretty Handy Girl in December.

1. Using Shutters for Displaying Christmas Cards

2. Painting Brick Fireplaces  - Reader's Spotlights

3. Presto Chango - Christmas Wreath Tutorial

4. Winter Wonderland Photo Gallery

5. Mini Gift Pouches from Napkins Tutorial

6. Glass Jar Votive Holder Tutorial

7. Installing Anti-Tip Bracket on Your Oven

8. Why I Love My Cordless Drill

9. El Cheapo Laundry Room Makeover

10. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #1

11. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #2

12. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #3

13. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #4

14. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #5

15. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #6 

16. Repairing a Pop Up Sink Drain

17. Fixing Common Gift Wrap Problems - Pretty Handsome Guy Guest Posting

18. Creating Magical Silhouette Gifts from Santa

19. The Best of Pretty Handy Girl 2010

And that finishes up December of 2010! I hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year.
I look forward to sharing some more DIY empowerment with you in 2011!

The Best of Pretty Handy Girl 2010

The end of 2010 is near and several bloggers are parading out their best of 2010 projects over at Southern Hospitality. So, in the spirit of parades and looking back, I thought you might like to go back with me to the very beginning of Pretty Handy Girl. We are going way back to June of 2010. Not too long ago, but it has been a project filled 7 months.

So, won't you pull up a comfy seat and travel back in time with me?

The Best Before & Afters of 2010

Closet turned Reading Nook

Moldy Trashed Table to Beachy Beauty

Presto Chango Christmas Wreath

El Cheapo Laundry Room Makeover

 Building a Built-in Hallway Storage Unit

Creating Pendant Lights from a Minnow Trap

Frugal Master Bathroom Makeover

Ballard Design Inspired Pear and Gourd

Dressing Up a Dormer Window

Curbside Trash Chair Rebuilt

Installing Heart Pine Flooring

 Craig's List Bed Frame turned Garden Bench

Wow, what a year! I can't wait to share some brand spankin' new projects with you in 2011!

Creating Silhouetted Gifts

Now that the Christmas hype has died down and my cold has lost its grip on my sinuses, I'm back with a quick little tutorial on creating a special silhouetted gift for your child.

Thank you to my dear Pretty Handsome Guy for his guest post. I'm glad you all enjoyed a good laugh at his expense.

 

Christmas morning my boys were greeted by magical North Pole snow footprints (baking soda) leading up to the tree.

In an effort to keep the Santa myth alive, the two presents from Santa were constructed in a different style from the other presents under the tree.

My six year old exclaimed Christmas morning, "MOM! Santa knows what we look like!" So, I think I fooled them again this year.

Materials:
Scissors
X-acto knife (optional) and cutting surface
Profile picture of your child
Spraymount
White sheet of letter size paper
White cardstock paper
Black cardstock paper or construction paper
Chalk, Bistro marker, or White paint pen
Pencil
Glitter spray
Glitter glue

Start by creating your child's silhouette. (My silhouettes took many steps in Adobe Photoshop, but I'll give you instructions for the easy way.) Simply take a photo of your child turned sidewards (preferably in front of a blank wall.) Then enlarge the photo on a copier to the size you want to use. Lay the paper on top of the black cardstock and cut them both at the same time. I prefer to use an X-acto knife for the cutting, but you can use scissors if you like.

Unless you have a graphic program or a template to draw perfect ovals, you will need to draw one freehand. Wait, wait, don't freak out. You can do this!

First, fold a letter sized paper into fourths.

Draw a curve on the paper with the fold sides inside the curve.

Cut along the line.

Open up your paper to reveal your oval. If you don't like it, try it again.

Once you are happy with your oval, trace the folded oval onto white cardstock paper and cut it out.

Wrap your present (be sure to use wrapping paper that your child has never seen in your home!)

Spray the back of your cardstock oval with spray mount and adhere it to the present.

I added some glitter spray to the wrapped package to give it a little extra sparkle! (I know, it doesn't really show up in the photo.)

So, here is a close up of the glittery goodness:

Spray the back of your silhouette head with the spray mount and lay it inside the oval.

Next, add a bead of glitter glue around the edge of the oval. Note of caution: Allow the glue to dry before setting your package upright or it WILL run. Of course I learned the hard way and had to unglue my package from the shelf it was sitting on. Drat!

Here are the presents before I added the "To & From" on them.

You can write your child's name on the silhouette using chalk, bistro marker or white paint pen. Or leave it blank if you wish, your choice.

That's it, not too hard, but the results are stunning. You could use this gift wrapping technique for any special present.

I have to share with you a little something that warmed my heart Christmas morning. My oldest carefully cut off the fronts of all the presents that I gave him to preserve the creative gift wrap designs.

He saved them all including his silhouette from Santa.

In stark contrast, my youngest tore into the packages as any other eager four year old boy would.