When I was a little girl, I thought it was the most magical thing. You can draw with an invisible (white!) crayon, and when you paint over it, your secret message appears! What fun for a little kiddo, and still fun for adults. Here’s a holiday greeting card that utilizes that same watercolor resist technique. It might not be as mysterious, but it’s now a great on-trend card to give to friends this season!

• watercolors
• paint brush
• watercolor paper
• blank white card (I used 4.25″ x 5.5″)
• sentiment template (download mine here)
• waxy white pencil, or white crayon
• spray mount
• steel ruler
• Xacto blade
• optional- tape

1 – Hold the printed sentiment (download mine here) onto a window or tracing table and lay the watercolor paper overtop. It’s nice to use tape here so that neither paper moves while you work. Now using your white crayon or waxy pencil, trace the outlines of the letters you’ve printed.

2 – Mix together two colors (pink and red or blue and green work great for a holiday card) of watercolor paint together, and paint over the sentiment. You will see your message begin to appear. I varied the color mixture as I went across the words. I didn’t need to blot my message after painting, since the paint really resisted that whole area. But you might want to blot yours to remove extra paint that sits on the words- just make sure the paper is just about dry before you do it.

3 – Lay your white card overtop the dried watercolor paper you just worked on, trying to center it with your sentiment. Now trim around it, leaving about a half inch around the edges.

4 – Now spray the back of your watercolor paper with spray mount and lay the card over top of it, being careful to keep the card center and the right sides up. Smooth out the two joined pieces with your thumb.

5 – Lastly, trim around the card so the watercolor paper’s edge is the same as the card’s edge. Since you are laying the ruler on a sticky surface (the sprayed watercolor paper), you should back the ruler with scraps from the time you trimmed before.

That’s all, folks! It’s a super simple crafts adults and kids alike can enjoy. You can also use this same technique to make your own framable art for your walls. You can stick with the typography theme here, or create a fun pattern with your white crayon. So many possibilities!

Have you ever felt put on the spot at a Thanksgiving dinner when the host asks you to share with everyone what you’re thankful for? Uhhh… my health? Family! Is that the right answer? Obviously we all have a lot to be thankful for, so why not encourage your guests to share their blessings in an unconventional, interactive way?

This table setting idea is super simple to throw together, and even includes an easy craft you can make with your family or friends before the day of the feast. Click here to download the leaf placemat template, and read the instructions below to get started on your own crafty table arrangement!

• roll of kraft paper
• twine
• felt-tipped pens (not a sharpie- they’re too stinky for the dinner table!)
• twine
• fabric scissors
• leaf template (print out this 11×17 template)
• felt
• sharpie

1- Trace the leaf template with a sharpie marker. Make sure you leave room to flip over the template and complete both sides of the leaf!

2 – After you cut out the leaf, use your sharpie to draw vein lines across the leaf.

3 & 4 – Pinch one of the veins you just drew, and cut a thin cut on the fold you just pinched to get your cutting started. After you have a starting point, you can insert your scissors and cut along the line like normal. Be careful you don’t cut into two layers of felt on accident!

5 – Using small pieces of the kraft paper, cut out smaller leaves to write a message to your dinner guests, letting them know what the kraft paper table cloth is there for. Tuck it into the twine-wrapped napkin bundle that also holds a felt-tipped pen for each guest.

So simple, right? A nice after-dinner idea would be to have guests switch seats for dessert, that way everybody has a chance to read all of the blessings that have been written on the table. And if you still want to put people on the spot, you can your guests them read them all aloud. :)

This year our family is keeping it low key for Christmas gifts, dialing down the number of gifts, and planning on making and finding unique and personal presents. Since we all love playing games as a family, I thought it would be fun to put together travel dice games for each couple. They’re special, useful, and can add a lot of fun to waiting rooms, half-times, and road trips.

My family’s dice game of choice is 10 Thousand, but we’re always arguing about points, and can never remember the rules! So, I thought, why not include the rules in the set? I’ve included the printable rules for download here, so you can make your very own travel 10 Thousand dice game!

• scrap fabric in 2 coordinating prints
• leather or vinyl in coordinating color to scrap fabric above
• velcro
• sewing machine
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• ribbon or twine
• card stock
• stack of construction paper
• book clips
• xacto blade or utility paper cutter
• mod podge
• paint brush
• pencils or pens
• scissors
• 6 dice (I found my colorful dice at a teacher/school supply specialty store)
• piece of chipboard
• steel ruler

You’ll need two pouches for your travel game- one for the dice, and one for your writing utensils.

1. Fold Fabric in half, and cut to size- one cut to the size of your writing utensil (plus about two inches extra length), and one big enough to fit your dice. The exact size is your preference. Just be sure to leave the fold on the bottom!
2. Fold in the edges of the top of both layers of fabric, and iron them so that they will stay put.
3. Now fold down the top of both layers twice, and hem along the very edge, so that you have created a pocket for your ribbon or twine.
4. Thread the twine or ribbon through the pocket you’ve just made. I used a safety pin to make it easier to get the twine through.
5. Leave enough ribbon or twine to pull through and knot to close bag. Cut the ends and tie them together in a tight knot.

Now it’s time to create your score sheet! This can be any size you want, but it should be at least 5.5″ x 8.5″ (this is the size of your printable rule sheet). You certainly don’t have to make your own, but why not? It doesn’t take long, and it’s kind of fun.

1. Using book clips, clamp together your piece of chipboard to your stack of construction paper. Line them up on the grid of a cutting mat, and using a steel ruler and a sharp xacto blade, make a few passes with the blade to cut your stack to size. Make sure you keep your blade straight vertically.
2. Keep the book clips on the stack of paper and chipboard, and paint one edge with mod podge. Make sure it’s thick enough that the edge is completely covered, but don’t let any of the mod podge drip! Allow it to dry 24 hours, and now you have a tearable pad of paper!

To neatly carry your dice game, you’ll need a case! This is where your vinyl, velcro, and embroidery supplies come in.

1. Lay out your piece of vinyl or leather, and arrange the pad of paper and pouches you’ve made on top. Leave 3/4″ along the left and right side of the vinyl and fold the fabric over the pouches content to determine how much material you need to contain everything. Leave an additional 2 inches at the top for the flap.
2. Cut out the vinyl/leather material, and round the edges of the top flap. I did this freehand, but you can certainly use a round object as a template!
3. I used adhesive velcro and cut two piece (4 pieces once pulled apart) to the same size, and attached to the top and flap of the vinyl material, making sure the case could comfortably fit over the contents when closed. Then I pulled apart the velcro to sew each of the 4 pieces.
4. Carefully machine stitch around the edges of each piece of velcro. The neater you make your stitchers, the prettier your case will be. You will need to stitch over the adhesive vinyl, because the adhesive itself is not enough to make the velcro stick to you material.
5. Now, use a book clamp to keep your pouch secure while stitching the edges together with your embroidery floss. I used some extra chipboard as a barrier between the clamp and the vinyl, so it there would be no imprints.

Now all you need to do is print our your directions onto a sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock (in the color of your choice and fill the pouches with writing utensils and dice. I found some pretty colorful dice at a local teacher/classroom supply specialty shop called The Wise Owl.

Once you’ve neatly arranged everything inside the case, your dice game is ready for gifting! And if you’re extra ambitious, find the rules for your own favorite dice games (like Yahtzee) and include those too. So many possibilities!