Invitation 0004 (Child's Birthday)

I hosted a card party in December (2012) and my cousin asked if I could help her create invitations for her daughter's birthday.  I was more than happy to help.  

She was planning a jungle theme since her daughter likes, "Go Diego! Go!"  

I had some animal stamps from a zoo set.  We stamped the animals and vines.  Super easy and cute invitation.  

Tutorial: Upcycled Cardboard Boxes

I found a metal wire rack a long time ago to organize the bathroom counter.  I searched far and wide for bins or baskets that fit each section perfectly.  I never found them. I finally decided to make my own.  

After I collect some cardboard boxes, I cut them open along their seams.  I measured and cut them to fit the sections of the metal rack.  

I taped of the edges with painter's tape and formed the box.  I made four of the exact same boxes. 

I covered each box with white scrap paper since the boxes had bright prints on them.  I brushed on a thick layer of my modge podge then added the paper.  Then I brushed on another layer on the white paper.  I let it dry over night.  

Most online bloggers create their modge podge solution with 50% water and 50% white liquid glue.  I bought my glue from the dollar store, so it had more water than glue to begin with.  I think that's why my boxes look warped.  I add more glue to my solution to about 65% glue to 35% water.  

I picked a light teal colored pattern paper that matched the decor in my bathroom. I covered the boxes with the improved glue solution, added the paper and then brushed on the final sealing coat of glue.  

The final outcome wasn't too bad.  The boxes fit the rack perfectly.  Once I filled the containers, the warped edges weren't as noticeable.  

 

Wedding Card 0001

This past year was full of babies and weddings.  I enjoyed making this wedding cake card.  I bought a 12 x 12 die cut sheet to create the white layer.  I am still debating a die cutting system of my own. 

MATERIALS:

• die cut paper
• flower punch
• pearls with adhesive 

Greeting Card 0001

I decided to create some "just because" greeting cards.  One of my best friends live in another country and the other two live more than 2 hours away.  I have other friends that I often think of but also never get to really see.

I think they'd be excited to find cute cards in their mailbox instead of junk mail.  

For the "hello" tag, I used a stamp that had the phrase once.  I used the same stamp three times for the effect.  

MATERIALS:

• Flower punches
• Journal tag punch
• Stamp and ink

Invitation 0003 (Baby Shower)

My sister in law was on Baby #3.  She already has 2 boys and she lucked out having a girl for #3.  She initially didn't want a shower.  Our friends thought it would be nice to throw her a shower since she's having her first girl.  We decided on a small girls only shower.  

I knew that she wasn't crazy for pink.  Purple has been used for many of the past showers that we have been to.  I found coordinating wrapping paper with bright polka dots and plaid.  I knew I was going to make a lot of paper decorations, so I figured that the most inexpensive way to buy lots of cute paper was to buy wrapping paper.  It worked out very well!

MATERIALS:

• Wrapping paper
• Circle and button punch
• Buttons
• Corner round punch

Dry Erase Picture Frame Board

I have recently become addicted to Pinterest!  I have seen fancier examples of this project.  I had my 10 year old niece every other week during the summer.  I also tutored a kid for 3 hours in the morning.  

I created this schedule board to keep my niece busy.  I was gone in the morning before she woke up, so I wrote in a chore and an activity for her to do on her own.  When I came back for lunch, we did activities together.  The first week we worked on a lot of paper crafts.  The following week we worked on projects in the kitchen.

I used Microsoft Word to create the schedule template.  I chose a 8″ x 10″ random frame I had laying around.  I printed out the template on 8.5″ x 11″ paper from my scrap bin and trimmed it to size. 

Upcycled Decorated Cans

I was working on organizing the home and my hands were itching to craft something.  More importantly I wanted to upcycle something practical.  I had saved some cans and wanted to organize the makeup in my bathroom.  

I used some decorative paper that matched the color scheme of my bathroom and contact paper.  Next time, I would find an alternative to the contact paper because it didn’t stick to the paper well.  I had to add adhesive to the paper and contact paper.  

I had a separate container for my makeup brushes, mascara, lipgloss and eyeliners. I was pleased with the final result of my efforts.  

Paper Scraps

Remember the time that you had that really cute patterned paper you bought for one project and later wanted to punch out just a 1″ circle from it?  I used to run into that A LOT!  I don’t like punching out small shapes from a gigantic 12 x2 sheet.  

I organize all of my scraps into two expanding files.  I’ve seen this method before.  But what I love about mine, is that it has two sizes in each expanding file.  There are 12 tabs with a total of 14 slots.  Half of the slots can fit up to  8.5″ x 11″ and the other slots can hold up to 4.5″ x 11″.  I purchased these expanding files several years ago from Target and they were the Up and Up brand.  I think the cost of each one was about $5.  

Each expanding file  is color coordinated for easy retrieval.  I also have a bin to collect paper scraps when I’m working on projects.  Then when I have time, I file the scraps into my expanding files.