My Favorite Candy-Free Kids' Valentines

Get creative this Valentine's Day by giving these adorably cute and super FUN conversation heart crayons. The perfect answer to any child's candy-free Valentine's Day.  Each heart is handmade from broken crayon bits and pieces and features cute sayings, such as "I LOVE YOU," "BE MINE" and "XOXO."  Available at Ivy Lane Designs.  

Sold in five-packs with a free gift box.  Order two boxes for 10 different colors.  All super duper crayons in tons of different shapes can be found here.

Conversation heart crayons have been featured regularly in Etsy's gift guides.  Who's a happy girl?

Kids Toys:

Valentine's Day For Kids & Baby:

Kids Eco-Friendly:

Gift Ideas Kids & Baby:

Happy Valentine's Day!

 ~Merrill ♥

A Giraffe Themed First Birthday

Today I worked on creating giraffe-themed party favors to help Kendall (and 40 of her closest friends) celebrate her first birthday.  Kendall's mom wanted giraffe crayon favors in purple and yellow, and the end result was super cute!  By the way, a herd of giraffes is called a tower.  I did not know that.

Nifty giraffe crayons are available HERE in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop.  All of my super duper crayons can be found HERE.

Color on!

 ~Merrill ♥

Eco-Friendly Heart Crayon Necklaces

I will look for almost any excuse to use a power tool!  This morning I've been busy making eco-friendly heart crayon necklaces for a Valentine's Day classroom party.  Heart-shaped crayon necklaces are available in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop.

Each heart crayon necklace is handcrafted from 100% recycled materials.  I travel around to elementary schools collecting their broken bits and pieces of crayons.    

Everything is repurposed, even the strings which are made from t-shirts.

Heart crayons are the perfect size (appx. 1.25" x 1.5" - or 3.175cm x 3.81cm) for little hands.  Each necklace comes individually packaged, six to a set, available in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop HERE.

Lola (she was a showgirl) owns seven crayon heart necklaces, one for each day of the week.

Check out all of the super cool recycled crayons available at my Ivy Lane Designs shop HERE.

And, Happy Valentine's Day!

~Merrill ♥

Crayon Cars :: Vroom Vroom Vroom!

Start your engines!  I am having the best time making these awesome crayon cars for my Ivy Lane Designs shop on Etsy.  The bright colors and cool car shape encourage children's creativity, and they're just downright FUN!  Vroom vroom vroom!  I wish I had these when I was a kid.

Available in gift boxed sets of six HERE:

 Or party packs of twenty HERE:

Happy coloring, and vroom vroom vroom!

~Merrill ♥

My Favorite Glue

Once in a awhile I fall so in love with a craft product that I can't keep it to myelf.  My current love affair is with the ZIG 2-way glue pen.  My favorite glue for paper crafting, hands down.  It's wet adhesive that goes down blue and is permanent.  If allowed to dry, it becomes temporary (like a Post-It).  It's not runny and it doesn't make your fingers sticky.  Perfect for card making and scrapbooking. It's available at craft stores.  I bought mine at a Joann store using a coupon, natch.  You can also find it on amazon.com.  {I'm not a paid spokesperson ... just really like this stuff}

They come in different sizes.  For my barnyard crayon boxes, that I fill with paper hay and farm crayons, I use the jumbo tip and the fine tip.  I was able to finish 25 boxes, that will be heading to Mississippi, with one bottle of each and I still have glue left over.

Here's a finished crayon farm box, available at my Etsy shop, Ivy Lane Designs.  It's sure to spark any child's imagination!  Super cute barn, tractor, pig, horse, cow and rooster crayons are tucked inside a hand-decorated farm slider box. Each farm box includes paper hay, and measures appx. 4.75" x 2.6" x 1.25". Each box is a labor of love; a collage created from 16 little pieces of individually cut colored paper. Just the barn alone is comprised of seven separate bits. Read about them HERE. 

Here's a video that tells a little more about my favorite glue. 

Happy crafting!

~Merrill ♥   

100th Day of School Celebration

One of my favorite Ivy Lane Designs customers, and all around nice person and Supermom, Donna, requested individually wrapped 1, 0 and 0 crayons to be given as party favors at her son Max's 100th Day of School Celebration.  She let me know what she wanted the toppers to say, and shared with me Max's school colors; blue and yellow/gold.  

I immediately went to work and could not be happier with the end result!  Donna's reaction?  "They look fantastic!!!!!!!!  YOU ROCK!"    

~Merrill ♥    

A Wig Spin of a Week

When I was a flight attendant for Pan Am, we would call short somewhat harried trips "wig spins."  JFK to Mexico City, for instance, would be a wig spin ... just long and a bit nutty enough to spin your [figurative] wig around.  Now, whenever I have a week filled to the gills with projects and deadlines, I immediately think "wig spin."

Here is my wig spin of a week in review:  This week I ate chocolate for breakfast, sailed past 5,000 sales in my Ivy Lane Designs shop on Etsy (yippee!), was featured in House Beautiful Magazine's 10 Cool Kids' Gifts Under $10 (dinosaur crayons) and Young House Love's Kids' Holiday Gift Guide (people crayons), celebrated 12/12/12, mourned the loss of our microwave, shipped over 100 orders and sang loudly to AC/DC's Back in Black.  My work here is [almost] done.

A big thanks to my beloved for understanding why every waking moment has been spent filling orders, and why our house isn't tidy ... and why the Christmas ornaments remain in their boxes. <big hug!> ♥ 

Yay, 5,000!

 House Beautiful Magazine featured my dinosaur crayons.

Young House Love featured my people crayons.

We celebrated 12/12/12.

 

Over 100 orders are off to their destinations.

 

Wishing you and yours many happy weeks of wig spins,

~Merrill ♥

5,000 Etsy Sales at Ivy Lane Designs

I am proud and delighted to report that today I made my 5,000th sale in my eco-friendly Etsy shop, Ivy Lane Designs.  Pinch me!    

It seemed like not long ago that I was voicing to my beloved how much I was looking forward to reaching 100 sales.  One thousand sounds like a lot, but 5,000 ... WOW!  As a happy-as-a-lark Etsy shop owner, I thank you.  

Be sure to check out all of the eco-friendly goodies, including matchbox party favors (as featured in BRIDES magazine), food journals, drink journals, miscellaneous fun journals, record album journals, the ever-popular recycled crayons and mini jot-and-go journals. 

~Merrill ♥
 

What's in a Name? Creativity, of Course!

When a child's name is spelled out in letter crayons, creativity abounds!  I have been working fast and furiously creating kids' chunky handcrafted letter crayons for a teacher in Virginia who ordered them for her entire class! <BIG HUG for teachers!> They are the perfect size for little hands.  

A cellophane bag, shredded recycled (natch) paper, personalized tag and ribbon are included at no additional charge.  Ready for giving.  Colors are representative.  Big letter crayons make the perfect party favor or stocking stuffer!  Brought to you by Ivy Lane Designs on Etsy. 

Size varies by letter. The dimensions of the letter M, for example, are appx.: 1.75" x 1.6" x .7". CHOKING HAZARD-Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

All eco-friendly crayons from Ivy Lane Designs are handcrafted from repurposed, non-toxic crayons.  It is never too early to teach our children about helping the environment.

Available:  

3 letter names,

4 letter names,

5 letter names,

6 letter names,

7, 8 and 9 letter names on request, so don't be shy! <winkie face>

Happy Holidays!

~Merrill ♥ 

Handmade Dinosaur Crayons: As Featured in Etsy's Eco-Friendly Kids' Gift Guide

Say hello to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Gift boxes of six (6) handmade dinosaur-shaped crayons are available at Ivy Lane Designs.  These handmade crayon gift sets were featured on the front page of Etsy's kids' eco-friendly gift guide, and have been selling like hotcakes ever since!  They are definitely the #1 nifty giftie this holiday season.  

Each dinosaur crayon is the perfect size (T-Rex is appx. 1.4" x 1.5" - or 3.5cm x 3.8cm) for little hands. Purchase two sets and get 12 different colors.  Great holiday gifts and/or party favors! 

Check out all of the eco-friendly holiday gift boxed crayon sets offered at Ivy Lane Designs HERE.

Happy Holidays!

~Merrill ♥
 

Dora the Explorer-Inspired Chunky Crayons

I love the way these Dora the Explorer-inspired chunky crayons turned out.  Because they stand, little ones can play dolls when not coloring.  Best idea ever:  Cover a table with butcher block paper and let kids' (and adults') imaginations flow!  Sold in sets of six (6) at Ivy Lane Designs on Etsy HERE.

Check out all of the recycled nifty gifties at Ivy Lane Designs on Etsy.

~Merrill ♥

Not So Scary Halloween Pumpkin Party Crayon Favors

We harvested the pumpkins from our garden so it must be time for Halloween!  I love the way these Jack-O'-Lantern pumpkin crayons turned out, available in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop on Etsy.  They are colorful and not at all scary.

Each party pack set comes with 24 smiling pumpkin crayons in a variety of colors.  A super fun addition to any trick-or-treat bag, or cover a table with butcher block paper and let your Halloween party guests' imaginations fly!

Check out all of the nifty eco-friendly recycled crayons at Ivy Lane Designs HERE.

Happy Halloween!

~Merrill ♥

Recycled Letter Crayon Party Favors

Kids L-O-V-E letter crayons!  Since I have had so many special requests lately, I decided to make my recycled letter crayon party favors available to everyone at my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop HERE.  

Letter crayons come in gender neutral colors, although requests for specific colors are welcome.

They're chunky and fit nicely in children's hands.

See all of the recycled crayons available in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop HERE.

~Merrill ♥

Dogs: Recycled Crayons

Creating cool stuff from recyclables makes my heart sing!  At the end of each school year, I contact local elementary schools and travel around picking up their broken crayon bits and pieces (while singing the wrong words to songs on the radio).  Eco-conscious teachers rock! 

Today I recycled my stash to make super duper chunky dog crayons, available in my Etsy shop HERE.  I love that they stand up.  

 

I thought about making little capes so they would be super hero dog crayons.  You'll have to use your imagination.

 

It was a nice day today so I sat outside and doodled a bit.  I drew a house for my dog crayon.  He (boy dog ... he told me) seemed very happy with his new home and asked that next time I consider drawing some food in his bowl.  Roger that.

~Merrill ♥ 

It's a Giveaway!

Everybody loves free stuff!  Here is your chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Ivy Lane Designs.  To be eligible, all you have to do is follow my blog by email.  It's that easy!  -------------------------------------------------------->

★★★ Enter your email address in the "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" box (in the right-hand column, above the photo of me) and click enter.

If you are already a subscriber, do nothing as you are already entered to win!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random and announced on this blog.  The $25 gift certificate may be used for any merchandise at Ivy Lane Designs, as well as for shipping.  

Update!  Thanks to everyone who entered.

 

~Merrill ♥