Friday, March 6, 2009

personalized kids art set

During the school year my kids get a lot of invitations to birthday parties. Not that we don’t love going to them, but they start to add up. This year I wanted to find an inexpensive and personal gift for the birthday girl or boy. Of course, this gift also had to be something that my kids could help make since it was really their gift to their friend.

Here is what I came up with. A simple art set from the craft store, dressed up and personalized for the birthday kid. Here's what you'll need:

*Kids art kit (we found ours at Michael's for $1.99--it would be less with a 40% off coupon!)
*Sandpaper
*Mod Podge or other decoupage medium
*Paper, ribbon, stickers, etc. to decorate the cover



1. Scratch all over the outer surface of the art set with sandpaper. I did this so that my Mod Podge would stick better.

2. Create a simple or very ornate cover in the dimensions of the art set. I left an extra ¼ all around.

3. With a foam brush, cover the art set with a thin layer of Mod Podge. Put your paper in place and smooth out the wrinkles with the side of your hand, a brayer, or a credit card. We covered both front and back.

4. Using a nail file, sand the edges. This makes the paper "become one" with the cover. Click here to see this technique demonstrated on another project (scroll down to #5 for pictures).

5. Add ribbon, letter stickers, buttons, etc. to finish your cover. We love the idea of putting the child's name on the cover so it feels really special to them.

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18 Comments

18 Responses to “personalized kids art set”

PaisleyJade said...

What a great idea!

Monica said...

I LOVE this idea!!

Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I just found you blog last night and I'm so amazed at all of the creative ideas you have. I was up until almost 1:00 reading about everything I want to make. Thank you for such an awesome blog....

Annette said...

Love it!!

Renee said...

Because this project is so inexpensive it would also work well as as party favor for guests at a children's birthday party. Thanks for the great idea.

Sarah said...

This is a great idea. I can't believe the art-set can be found for such an affordable price!

Melanie@Crafty Cupboard said...

I kind of giggled when I saw the pic of the art set, considering it is all in French! C'est magnifique! Quelle bonne idee.

Tracey said...

What a great idea!! And the price is right too!

Sooo inspired...going to check out the baby hanger tuto now!!

Hugs!
Tracey

MammaDucky said...

Cute idea. Must stow that one away for when my kids (and their friends) are older.

Screwed Up Texan said...

Love this! I think I am going to try it just for fun. If it works out, I'll give away too!

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea. Love it!

Heidi Boos said...

LOVE THIS! How do you come up with this stuff? It's amazing!

Tara said...

Oh, I just am in love with your blog my lucky day for finding you! Thank you so much!

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

This looks great. Lovely idea!

Kelly Hutcheson said...

WOW! I just found your blog from tutu!! My daughter's first bday is coming up so I'm up at 5am thinking of ideas for her party and so inspired by your blog!! You've got my creative juices really flowing now!

Any 1st bday idea posts? You can email me (if u have time) at Kelster5@aol.com.

I'm kinda creative challenged, but getting better with practice.

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

What a great idea! I love those sets, but they do end up looking cheap and uninspiring. With the added decorations it looks MARVELOUS!! Kids sure do love having things with their names on them. I think this would be perfect for the grandkids this year :)

Jorgelina said...

What a great idea!!

YayaOrchid said...

Jessica, did you get my email with the question about the starter? I know I sometimes go for days without checkine my email. TIA

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