Maybe the rest of you already know about this project, but when I found it, I was ready to make hundreds. I LOVE this! It is a culmination of all the elements that I love in my life...Family, pictures, crafts, organization, paper, doodads, recycling, trash to treasure, low cost gifts, you name it. All wrapped up in a thing called a CD PHOTO CUBE. I got the idea from a blog called "Paper Jewels".
On her blog, she has a video tutorial that explains exactly how to make these little pieces of happiness. She also has a gallery of ones that others have made. I have been saving CD cases forever and now have a great way to use, display and give them as nice gifts. If you decide to make one, please post it for all of us to see.
My daughter is dating a rich guy. I know, I should be happy right? He is only rich because his parents are rich and this is the problem! My daughter wanted to give her boyfriend's mom a Christmas gift that was something she couldn't just go out and buy. Of course it had to be perfect and nice enough for someone who thinks money is no object. No pressure right. She wanted me to make a set of handmade note cards just for her. My heart dropped. Yes I can make some beautiful cards for friends and family that love me and I will never know if they hate them and are just humoring me. I did not want to be the one to disappoint my daughter and embarrass her for the rest of her teenage years. Who was I to ruin her for life because I was so full of myself to think someone I did not know would like a gift I made. (And she really scares me!) So, I let my daughter pick out the papers and had her help me each step of the way by her approvals. In the end, I figured that if she was willing to give the gift, she was willing to take the heat. Her boyfriend's mom loved the gift and wants me to find a way to sell my cards so she can purchase more. I guess you never really know unless you take that scary first step.
So I am thinking about collecting all of my Hobby Lobby and Walmart bags filled with craft stuff and finally organizing them in an unfinished room in my basement. I did some reasearch and found some really awesome craft organization ideas! Since I dabble in a lot of different kinds of crafts, (scrapbooking, sewing, painting, kids craft supplies, etc) I am looking for a way to store it all effectively. I don't have $1,000 to drop on a hutch or big shelving system so here are some of my favorite ideas that are realistic for me that I have found so far:
From Better Homes and Gardens, these jars would be great for storing buttons, small embellishments like eyelets or charms, etc. A great deal: IKEA sells similar jars like these, 3 for $4.00! You could also use old baby food jars.
From One Little Word- I LOVE the idea of hanging your extra fabric scraps on clothes pins. Ronda says: "Above that hangs a clothes line of fabric pieces. I got this little idea from Better Homes & Garden. Totally love it hanging up there, again in RAINBOW order. It is like functional art. I used some picture hanging hooks and picture frame wiring to make the clothes line. The fabric hangs from clothes pins but you could use Binder clips as well."
How clever to use a peg board to hang all of your tools, ribbons, necklaces, etc. The picture above is from Craft Addict, and the pictures below are from Better Homes and Gardens:
If I ever put anything together I will post an update picture. Do any of you have a craft room? If so I would love to hear how you have organized your craft items.
I am in charge of doing the craft project for my daughters 4th grade class this week. (Go figure!) I had them make this cute turkey. It was soooooo easy! All the pieces were cut out with punches and I used glue dots to attach the pieces to the peppermint patty. These could be used as place settings, hostess gifts or something small to give to friends at Thanksgiving.
Can you tell what punches were used for each piece of the Turkey?
The black board is covered in scrapbook paper with a cutout of a chef. (Stamp can be found at STAMPIN' UP) The recipe holder is a big wooden clothes pin also covered in scrapbook paper. This would be a great gift to give with a family recipe cookbook or with some yummy recipes you have found that you would be willing to share. (Keep some secret of course!) Here are a few more that I found...
A good friend of mine made these cute little tins for all of her friends for Christmas this year. They fit perfectly in your purse and keep the pad of paper from getting destroyed. She bought the pads of paper, the pens, and magnets all from the dollar store and covered them with scrapbook paper. The tin and small envelopes were bought from Michael's. She covered the top of the tin with scrapbook paper and added the persons name in chipboard. I think they turned out really cute! Here are a few more tin ideas...
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I found some cute Thanksgiving gifts that you can hand out to friends or family that come for dinner or show up unexpectedly at your door.
These cute Turkey Truffles are from The Swiss Colony. I thought they would be easy to make yourself with some store bought truffles, candy corn, and tube frosting.
When I think of stenciling, kitchens filled with bright borders of watermellons and baskets filled with flowers comes to mind.
I was doing some research on tablerunners (since I hate my kitchen table and it is in need of a serious makeover) and came across one that I loved.
I decided it was too expensive to purchase so I would try to make it myself. I couldn't figure out how to get that image on the end, so I started out with fabric thinking I could applique it on. Woe is my sewing skills. It was a nightmare. So I did more research about the designer, Lotta Jansdotter, and found that she stencils, alot!
The lightbulb went off and I was inspired! So I tried to make my own stencil and here is how it turned out:
My stencil is smaller because I had only an 8.5X11 page to work with. But I am still happy with how it turned out. I liked it so much and I had some extra fabric left over I decided to make a matching pillow for my couch which is just several feet away from the table:
Since I had my stencil designed already, this pillow took me about two hours from start to finish. Not bad! So I started looking around for other things to stencil. I tried stenciling a plate and a bar stool but the design I used was a little too detailed and they didn't turn out very well. I think since I am a beginner I need a simpler design. But there are so many things you can stencil and use as gifts.
Tote bags, journals, cards, purses, bookbags, shirts, you name it, you can probably stencil on it.
These are all designs by Lotta Jansdotter. For a tutorial on how to stencil, you can use this one that I used here. But there are many out there.
If you do try this out I would love to see how your projects turned out. Happy stenciling!
Count down to Christmas with everyday reminders of classic holiday moments. Decoupage photocopied letters and postcards to the front of a wooden plaque. From cardstock, cut twenty-five 2-inch squares and adhere a photo to the back of each square. Add a mini eyelet to the top of each square. Stamp a number (1 through 25) on the cardstock side of each square. Hammer five rows of five nails 2-1/8 inches apart; hang the squares on the nails. Add words to the top of the display using stickers or rub-on transfers.
Handmade Happy Christmas Advent Calendar
This handmade Advent calendar helps kids anticipate Christmas by having them get creative with glitter, ribbon, paper, letters, and other scrapbooking supplies.
What You'll Need:
Cookie sheet (not nonstick coating variety)
Spray primer
Acrylic paint in desired color
Card stock
Patterned scrapbook papers
Markers
Embossed papers
Decoupage medium
Stickers (we used KI Memories)
Chipboard letters
Chipboard shapes
Buttons
Gel shapes
Glitter
Ribbon
Metal numbers (we used Making Memories)
Die-cut numbers (we used QuiKutz)
Scrapbooking ink (we used Tim Holtz)
Distressing Ink by Ranger
Magnetic tape
How to Make It:
For the cookie sheet background: Be sure the cookie sheet is clean and dry. Prime the cookie sheet using spray primer.
Paint cookie sheet using acrylic paint.
Select a 12x12-inch sheet of card stock for the calendar grid. Trim the card stock width to fit within the edges of the cookie sheet. Draw a calendar grid in pencil and then use a marker to go over the grid.
Arrange patterned papers and calendar as shown, trimming as needed to fit the cookie sheet. Use decoupage medium to adhere papers to the cookie sheet; let dry. Add 2 or 3 additional coats of decoupage medium over entire cookie sheet to seal.
After decoupage medium is dry, glue the letters for "Christmas" to the top part of the cookie sheet.
For the day-of-the-month pieces: The 25 pieces for the 25 days until Christmas should be all different and backed with a small piece of magnetic tape so they cling to the cookie sheet. Use pieces of chipboard as a base to create many of the days. Add gel shapes, glitter, additional small pieces of chipboard, and buttons to the main pieces of chipboard to create the individual magnets. See the photo for ideas. Also look for purchased dice or game pieces, premade chipboard shapes, small toys, and small cookie cutters to use as day-of-the-month pieces.
Scrapbook Paper Advent Box for Christmas
A clever shadow box is transformed into an Advent calendar using a variety of scrapbooking supplies. Each day holds a small gift for a sweet surprise.
What You'll Need:
Wooden shadow box with 24 boxes*
2 wooden candlesticks
Wooden dowel (with diameter smaller than candlestick)
Wooden finial
Christmas-motif two-sided scrapbook card stock, 6 sheets totaling at least 4 patterns
Number stickers
Semi-gloss white spray paint
Paper glaze (we used Aleene's Paper Glaze)
24 red buttons
Strong crafts glue (we used Quick Grip all-purpose permanent adhesive)
Drill; handsaw
Paintbrush, 1-inch wide
Scissors; hot-glue gun and hotmelt adhesive
Hook-and-loop tape (optional)
How to Make It:
Attach wooden candlesticks to the bottom of the shadow box by drilling a hole (the size of the wooden dowel) partially into the candlesticks and partially into the bottom of the shadow box. Saw a short piece of dowel to connect each candlestick to the shadow box. Glue the dowel, candlesticks, and shadow box in place using strong crafts glue. Glue the finial in the center of the top of the shadow box; let dry. *If the shadow box you are using contains fewer than 24 boxes, create additional sections with wooden paint stir sticks. Cut them to size and glue them in.
On a protected surface, spray-paint the shadow box white. Let dry and repeat until fully covered. Apply paper glaze with a brush to one side of the card stock at a time; let dry. Apply a second coat. Press number stickers onto buttons (covering the holes). Apply two coats of paper glaze to the number surfaces as well.
Cut and fit a door for each box out of card stock. Allow extra card stock at the left side of the door and fold over to form the door hinge. Cut and fit the remaining 23 doors. Number each door with a temporary sticky note if desired.
Hot-glue the door hinge to the inside of the box. Hot-glue the corresponding numbered button to the door.
If desired, add small pieces of hook-and-loop tape to each box and the back of each button.
For these ideas and more advent calendars, go to www.BGH.com
