Happy Birthday to YOU!

Today was my mother-in-laws birthday, so I made her a set of cards. She's always saying how much she loves my cards....I think she trying to kiss up to me, so she can have more time with my son Jacob (so far hes her only grandson). So well see if she puts them to use. I used really simple layouts, I liked the paper and wanted that to be the focus. Also I was trying to make 6 cards within a short time period.....So I hope you enjoy!



On a side note.... I know I said I'd post my new shelf, it is done and up on the wall...but I'm waiting to post pics, because now I have to decorate it. I was thinking jars with ribbon and buttons. And maybe some pictures....I don't know, I don't know, you'll see what I come up with..... Hope you're enjoying your day! Check back soon.....

MDF boards are the best!

A few weeks ago we (Matt and I) made these...And hung them above our desk, where I do all my crafts.




So heres the story..

We got the MDF at home depot, and they even cut them down for us. Awesome right?!? Well the guy must of measured wrong because instead of 12x12's we got 12x12 1/4. You would think no big deal right but it was kind of a pain having to cut the paper down. Also did I mention you have to buy the whole board! I was hoping we could buy it by the foot but nope. So I was kinda annoyed. BUT! we had him cut the whole thing down, so I ended up with about 15 extra boards to do whatever with!

Heres a couple of the other things I made...

This one was a Birthday present.


And this now has a home in my living room. I just love this saying, and I need to be reminded of it everyday!

Now you might be wondering how do you make these!! Well it took some trial and error, but in the end I got them to work just how I wanted.

So here we go. First go to home depot and the get the boards. You could do this project with couple friends, and then split the cost of the huge MDF board. I bought the thinnest one just an FYI. And get some spray paint, and begin by spray painting the edges.


Once they are done drying, get your paper ready. I wanted a little border, so I trimmed mine down.

WARNING! Don't use spray adhesive!! Or at least don't use "Elmers." The paper started pealing off. It could of been the MDF or the paper? I don't know so after we got them all hung up and a few days pasted it really started to bug me. You could see all the little corners peeling up and it was so annoying! So I eventually peeled them off and used Mod podge as my adhesive (thanks to Jennifer for that little tip! You should check out her blog, "Just for Rachael") They look so much better now.

After I stuck the paper on I Mod Podged them and sanded over the top, just to distress them a little. Hope you enjoy!

I made a shelf to go up next to it, you'll see that in my next post!

Have a great day!

New Find

I made this for my sister in-law who is getting married in a couple months. And she wanted to do a scrapbook/guest sign in book. My mother-in-law and I were out shopping for supplies for the and found a scrapbook that was covered in card stock! (and they had a ton of colors to chose from!) So it was made like a normal scrapbook, but instead of that leathery, fabric, or plastic material it was card stock. Okay I know I'm a dork to even blog about this but it's very exciting. The inside of scrapbooks are so unique, so shouldn't the cover be as well??? Anyways here is a picture of the cover. And in case your wondering the the brand of the book is Bazzill. I'm sure this has been done before, but this was new to me!

P.S. The big old white square has photo corners, that way they can pop an engagement or wedding picture in!

For those of you that are in Mesa/Arizona area, we got it at "Scrapbooks Etc."

Paper Clip Bookmarks

You know from my last post how much I love to make cheap things, well I have another cheap project for you. The main items (giant paper clips) for this project were in a pack of 4 for a dollar. Oh and I got them at Wall-mart, in the office supply section. So I Hope you enjoy.

The first thing I did was punch out all the scalloped circles. You want to make sure you do two of each, so you have a front and back. I'm not sure what size my punch is, but it's pretty big, so I'm guessing it's the biggest fiskars makes of that punch?? And the paper clips I'd say are 3 inches.


Next I cut out the circles. I cut them at 1 1/2 inches using the "George and Basic Shapes" cartridge. You don't have to have a cricut, just measure and cut them out, or trace something that looks like its the right size.... but I have one so it makes it easier.
Now just decorate how ever you want. I used a button and added some faux stitching with a white gel pen. I think these would make such a great little gift to give with a book, and maybe use the person's initial instead of the button?? I don't know just a thought.........

I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the assembly, but it was a little tricky....I put the paper clip right on top of the foam square...that way when I placed the top on, the paper clip wouldn't slide around. Make sense??? I hope so...If you make one you'll see why it's important the get the paper clip stable. You could tape the paper clip down first......I just thought of that. I'll try that next time. But tie some ribbon on it and your done!

HALLOWEEN!

Is it horrible that I'm already thinking about Halloween???I got this "Happy Halloween" stamp at Michael's from the 1.00 section. And I've really been wanting to try it. Now I'm not a stamper, It just seems like ink and my stamps don't want to be friends. And then when I try to introduced card stock, the whole relationship goes out the window. And not to mention my card. So anyways here's my card. I used "Stretch your imagination" circut cartridge for the spider. He's so cute, I can't wait for Halloween!


I wasn't planing on sharing this card, so I don't really have any instructions. Sorry it's such a short post. I do have something else in he works though! Hope you have a great day!

Cute, Simple and CHEAP!

Take advantage of the back to school sales! Crayons, markers, pens, pencils it's all on sale! And I forgot to mention "composition" notebooks! I love these little note books, they are so easy to cover with paper and make them one of a kind. For example this project cost me about a dollar to make. Now I already had the pink ribbon, and sewing machine....but the things I did buy were cheap! The note book was on sale for .50 cents, box of 10 pencils 2.44 and the paper was .35 cents. I made these before but came across one that had a pencil holder, and thought "I have to make one!" So here we go.....

These are the most basic supplies, you could make a toned down version using just these. I later added a button (because I messed up) and a paper clip..


These are the measurements I used, don't feel like you need to stick to them. Part of the fun is making it your own!

First thing you wanna do is cut a 12x12 sheet of printed paper in half. So it will give you 2 12x6's, you'll need both one for the front and back.

The paper you'll be using on the left side cut at 12x4...this leaves you with enough to rap around the front and back (I've found that the note books very in size, so when it comes time you'll need to trace and cut it down even more).

Your little accent piece should be cut down to 3 3/4 x 5 1/2....

Now the fun part, sew your paper together. Thats right sew on your paper! I used the zigzag stitch.I only sewed the front part, I did not sew the back.

Once you have that part done, go ahead and lay your note book down and trace where you need to cut it down. It's hard to see in the picture what I'm showing, so I'll explain... After I traced and saw where I'd be cutting, I was afraid my ribbon was going to come undone. I just put a piece of tape down, at the top and bottom....And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays forever....

Now glue your accent paper down where you want it. And get ready to start stitching your ribbon. My original plan was to have enough ribbon to go all the way around and tie in a bow.....but I messed up..oops....I thought I had left enough at the front but I didn't.... I'll show later what I did to fix it. And Make sure your loop is big enough to fit your pen or pencil. I did three....


Cover the whole front with glue and I mean all of it! just to be sure. (please make sure you note book is right side up....) I'd suggest a glue stick, not a really wet glue, that way your paper doesn't bubble up. And then take your other piece of 12x6 and cut it down to size and glue down as well. I don't know where I got that blue thing but it sure is handy! Then cut off any excess paper, or sand it off. (best method ever!)

Pull your ribbon around the back and tack it down in some places using a double stick tape. Since mine wasn't long enough, I just cut it short and tucked it under my purple square. I attached a button using twine, and then rapped the ribbon from the back around the button to close it.

I added a paper clip at the top, just because I had it and it matched...so TADA! all done....

Hope you enjoy!

DIY Photo blocks

I've been wanting to make these for a while, and they turned out just how I pictured them! I think I spent maybe seven dollars, for the blocks and paint. The paper I had was scraps, (don't throw away your scraps! I have mine organized by stripes, poka-dots, flowers, etc...and it makes it so much easier to use them up) Okay back to the blocks.....

There are some other things I used that are not pictured.... But you'll see as you scroll down...


The first thing I did was carefully pop the letters off the blocks. I just used a butter knife, nothing fancy... Then I sanded down the edges just to soften the blocks up.

Then I painted the blocks green. When they were done drying I distressed the edges. it's hard to tell in the pics but I promise I'm not lying. I also painted the edges of the letters blue, that way they'd pop! against the green.....

The glare is horrible I know, I apologize... The next step is finishing the letters. I traced them, cut them out, and the sanded the edges. Using this technique helps people like me who aren't good with scissors, and can't follow the line they traced....

Now drill a hole for the craft wire. You can measure to find the middle, but I just guessed... I used the smallest drill bit we had, and it was still a little to big. So when I put the craft wire in I just used some hot glue to help it stay in place.

Sometimes I forget to take pictures along the way, so lets jump ahead... The craft wire was really easy to use. I just pinched the end with my wire cutters and started slowly spinning. If you try to make these you'll see what I'm talking about, but I can't think of any other way to explain it. I would of taken a picture but its tricky when you only have two hands....

And no that is not "Ben" thats my son Jacob. I thought about making them for my husbands desk at work, but 5 letters just seemed like two many. So I made them for his co-worker...Hope you like them!

I got the blocks and paint at Hobby Lobby. They were 1.99 each, but the "unfinished wood" always goes on sale 50% off. But for some reason it's never on sale when I need it..weird how that works...