DIY Flip Book

This is a project I made to help me with anxiety and panic attacks. Some of you may be familiar with that bag of worms but most probably not. Its something I deal with from time to time and so much of it is rooted in negative thinking. When things get rough for me I like to put positive affirmations up all over my house to remind me to hang in there and to reprogram my negative thoughts with positive ones. Sounds silly but it works for me. However, when things get better I throw them all away. The next time I need them, I find myself having to look them all up again online. This got me thinking of a more permanent solution so that I could have all of my favorite quotes and affirmations where I see them often and easily accessible.


I came up with the idea of making a flip book. This now sits on my nightstand where its the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. The cool thing with this concept is you can replace what I have used it for with your own favorite quotes, scriptures, calendars, recipes, family pictures, Halloween or Christmas mini albums or whatever you want.

Here is an example of one of my favorite positive affirmations.

A lot of my anxiety stems from me worrying about my anxiety flaring up in public and how that will effect what others think of me. I have to remind myself that it doesn't matter if people think I am weird because I get panic attacks. It only matters what I think of me and I have to remind myself that I love and respect myself the way I am even with my anxiety no matter what anyone else thinks.


This particular page has a little bit of symbolism on it. The handwriting (ok traced handwriting hehe) and the crackled paper are to remind me that I don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. The number one in the corner is to remind me to put myself and my happiness first.

This was REALLY easy to make for anyone interested in doing their own. I'm keeping mine simple because I don't want it to get too big. My supplies for just the flipbook all came from my local Hobby Lobby or home and were:

2, 8X8 pieces of thick cardboard from the back of a sketchbook
1, 12X12 and 1, 8.5 X 11 piece of cream cardstock paper
1 8X8 piece of patterned scrapbook paper
Tim Holtz grungeboard book (This will be for the different sections) I will use a thinner grungeboard paper for the individual affirmations so the book isn't so thick.
Photo splitz and a gluestick

I used the tutorial found here to make my blank flip book. It took me maybe an hour and cost less than $15.00 (Can be cheaper using coupons).

The stand looks like this from the side:

I'm really excited about this because its so easy and customizable to whatever you want.

Here are a couple other similar ideas using rolodexes:

Enjoy!

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Where has the time gone?

Wow, the time has flown by. The 6 of us sisters have been through a whirl wind this last year and unfortunately One of Kind suffered. Chalyse was busy pushing her oldest baby bird out of the nest and off to college. Krista and Lisa were busy moving and trying to get settled. Tara changed jobs and was going to school full time. Aimee had a baby and well, I had two babies. I want to start posting again and I hope to more regularly.

Krista and I have had some fun this last year with a booth at Signs and Wonders Home Decor. We sell all sorts of handmade crafts. For Halloween I have been busy crocheting baby witch hats and candy corn hats.

I also make striped leg warmers to go with them. If you are interested in these items or any other custom made crochet please contact me.

Happy Halloween!

Tamara

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Halloween costumes!

Halloween costumes aren't necessarily a gift, but they are a gift for your children when you hand make them with love. They are the kind of gift that will not be appreciated until they grow up, but that is ninety percent of being a parent I think.  Anyway, my kids go to a school where they have abysmal rules for their "fall festival". This is a party where you aren't allowed to call it Halloween, they serve vegetables, and the activity is a story read by parent, which was picked by the teacher. The kids have to be able to put their costumes on by themselves, in minimal time. So I started making them costumes out of a hoodie, that they could slip on easily over their clothes. Turns out it was a pretty good idea all the way around- it keeps them warm on Halloween night, is sturdy, and they can wear it all the time to play after the fact. You can turn a hoodie into almost anything if you apply a little felt, easy stitching and maybe some duct tape. Last year we made a Storm trooper out of a hoodie by outlining the armor bits with duct tape. This year we made "Batman Beyond" and "Domo Kun":

 

In the past we have made a cat, a skunk, a unicorn, dudes from Lord of the Rings. All you need is a little imagination, and you can make one too.

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Candy Corn Planters

This is a cute Halloween gift. Just paint a terra cotta pot, add flowers or plants, and you have a unique gift.

Photo by Lowes

Use painter’s tape to cover sections of the terra cotta planter. Paint the rim white, the middle section orange, and the bottom portion yellow. Be sure to allow each section to dry before removing and reapplying the painter’s tape to cover other sections. Then spray the painted planter with a coat of exterior polyurethane.

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Disguises for Trick-or-Treat Candy

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!  I don't know why...but I do!  I thought I would post some fun ideas that you could use as teacher gifts or classroom gifts or just for those "Special" trick -or- treaters that come to your door! Better homes and Gardens has some great ideas!  Here are just a few...

Make a Halloween Candy Box with Fangs

This fanged box may look scary, but it holds a sweet box of candy.

Designed by Laura Holtorf Collins

   What You'll Need

• Tracing paper
• Patterns
• Candy box
• Red or pink card stock or construction paper
• Scorer
• Crafts knife
• Glue gun and hotmelt adhesive
• White card stock and construction paper
• Red dimensional paper
• Scissors

Click here to download patterns

How to Make It

1. Draw a rectangle on tracing paper, using the diagram as a guide and your candy box for measurements.
2. Cut the shape from red (or pink) card stock (or construction paper).
3. Transfer the dashed lines from your pattern to the right side of the paper.
4. Lightly score the lines with a crafts knife. Fold along the scored lines. Hot-glue the shape to the candy box at the front, bottom, and back.
5. If desired, cover the top and short sides of the box with a piece of red paper; glue in place.
6. Cut teeth from white card stock (or construction paper) and glue to the rectangle ends.
7. Add blood to the fangs with red dimensional paint.
8. Finished size: Our boxed candy measures 3 3/4 (W) x 3/4 (H) x 1 3/4 (D) inches. Adapt the design to your boxed candy, enlarging or reducing the teeth pattern to fit.

My Eye Is on You

Spookify a classic lollipop for Halloween by making this easy eyeball disguise.

Designed by Laura Holtorf Collins

What You'll Need

• White tissue paper
• White floral wire
• Colored paper
• Black paper
• Scissors
• Glue gun and hotmelt adhesive
• Red dimensional paint
• Narrow red ribbon
• Iris pattern

Click here to download pattern

How to Make It

1. Cut two or three 6-inch squares of white tissue paper.
2. Layer the squares and then wrap them around the candy.
3. Wrap and secure around the base with white floral wire.
4. Cut the iris pattern from colored paper and the pupil from black.
5. Clip into the iris as shown.
6. Hot-glue the iris to the top of the candy. Add the pupil.
7. Use red dimensional paint to make the eyeball bloodshot. Let dry.
8. Wrap narrow red ribbon around the wire and tie in a bow.

Tombstone Territory

Candy gets a spooky place to rest in this easy craft. Cut two tombstones from gray card stock or construction paper. Cut a narrow strip of gray to fit around the outside of the candy box, piecing the strip if necessary. On the front tombstone, add "RIP" at the top and the word "open" with an arrow pointing to the bottom. See the next slide for further instructions.


Use dark gray pencils to shade the tombstone and letters. Add a silver gemstone, if desired, to the icon at the top and the middle of the arrow at the bottom. Hot-glue the gray strip around the outside of the candy box. Adhere tombstones to the front and back of the candy box, then stand up your masterpiece. The finished tombstone measures 3 1/4 x 6 inches.
Download tombstone pattern

 Happy Halloween!

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Pumpkin Patch

Halloween season is my favorite time of year. I love the fall decorations and crafts. I found these adorable pumpkins at Micheals. I thought they could be a fun homemade gift and they are made with a dryer hose!

Materials

•Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Paint - Pumpkin Orange

•1½" To 2" Diameter Tree Branch- Cut 4 to 5 Inches in Length
•Raffia
•Vinyl Dryer Hose
•Hot Glue
•Safety Wire
•Paper Clip
•Wire Cutters 

Instructions

• Cut the dryer hose to a length of 2" per pumpkin (stretched out).
• Fashion a hook out of a stretched paper clip and hook it into one end of the length of dryer hose.
• While stretching out the dryer hose, spray the Pumpkin Orange in several light coats until the hose’s original color is no longer visible. Allow to dry for one hour.
• After the hose is completely dry, bring the ends together and affix with the safety wire, clipping the excess off with the wire cutters.
• Apply hot glue to the end of the cut tree branch and insert the glued end into the center hole created when the hose ends were put together.
• Before the glue sets, add the raffia in the glue at the stem base to simulate the vines.

 Happy Halloween!

 

  

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Cute Little Fancy Pants

Our friend, Kim Cappel, suggested the site http://www.lillianvernon.com/. I found some really cute pants for wrapping up small Christmas gifts or treats.

Have you ever seen such cute little pants? I just love them. Thanks Kim!

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