12 Month Photo Wall Collage made with Dollar Tree Cutting Boards

 

Made this wall collage with a photo from each month of the year with Dollar Tree Cutting boards, the dollar tree level :) for spacing and leveling, and small nails where I hung metal clips from Hobby Lobby. Easy to change out! I might paint the boards later, I haven't decided.

Wooden Scrapbook Paper Jewelry

Easy fun craft that can be made for adults, tweens, or kids :)

wooden circles from craft store
drill
large popsicle sticks
scrapbook paper
modge podge
scissors
earring hooks and rings
ribbon
glass mason jars
blow dryer, optional

Earrings: Cut out piece of scrapbook paper slightly larger than the circle. Glue on with modge podge, let dry, Cut the excess off. Put layer of modge podge on top and let dry (can use blow dryer to speed up the process). Drill hole near top and attach ring and earring hook,

Bracelets: Boil popsicle sticks in a saucepan for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Bend into mouth of mason jar, pulling tight to form smooth arched shape, and let dry in the jar overnight. Trace the paper with a flat popsicle stick, cut out, and modge podge on trimming away any excess. Let dry and modge podge the top. Glue ribbons on to tie, optional.

Easy Sew Easter Egg Bunting Banner

Made this for Easter, super easy sewing project! Only takes 1-2 hours. I glued tiny clothes pins on the back of mine, 1 inch down from the top, so that I could adjust them on the bias tape string and take them on and off. Could also use ribbon to hang them on or twine. Biggest expense was purchasing pinking shears because I didn't have them. Was able to us a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and got the Fiskar's brand for about 18 dollars total. I used low fill batting and ironed flat between each step. I just printed out an egg shape from the internet. Traced with a marker, sewed in from the marker 1/4 inch. Cut with pinking shears on the pen line. Used double wide bias tape for the string. Picture instructions of each step below.

Inspired by http://kathyscottage.blogspot.com/2015/06/heart-banner-tutorial.html

Just FYI, the HOME letter decor is from LTD Commodities

DIY Water Based Acrylic Stain

Whenever I do small wood projects I just make my own stain out of acrylic paint and water. Costs nothing and doesn't have dangerous fumes! You can use it indoor. You can adjust the color however you want with the addition of black, red, brown, or yellow acrylic paint and water. Just be sure to stir it well and frequently while using. I seal the wood with MinWax Polyacrylic.

DIY Photo Print Hanging Boards with Clips

I take a ton of pictures and I love to print them out ... but I'm obviously not going to cover my walls in frames. So I came up with the idea to make different size boards that have clips I can easily change out the pictures. Item list and picture instructions below.

Item List for Horizontal Board

- from Lowes, they have ridges and interlock. Came in a package for about 1 dollar a piece
- steel cables for string
- ferrule and stop kit from lowes (the most expensive part!), used a hammer to smash them flat on the concrete patio
- tiny clothespins from hobby lobby
- Used my DIY water based acrylic wood stain
- I sealed the wood with MinWax Polyacrylic.
- attached to wall with 3M velcro strips for the individual board, use wire to hang the large board

Item List for Vertical Board
- boards from lowes in craft wood section
- used small finishing nails for vertical board and hung a small metal clip from scrapbook section of Hobby Lobby
- Used my DIY water based acrylic wood stain
- I sealed the wood with MinWax Polyacrylic.
- hung on wall with picture frame hanger

Easy Homemade Christmas Stockings with Fur Cuff

I made up this pattern myself and I was very pleased at how forgiving it is and how easy it was for me as a beginner. I made five total and after figuring out how to make the first one it only took me about an hour or less to make each one. It doesn't take very much fabric and though fur is expensive you don't need very much. I think each stocking ended up costing less than 2 dollars in the end. I picked coordinating fabric for each member of my family. I know Christmas is still far away but I wanted to put this out there in case anyone wanted to make some, since nobody wants to start Christmas projects at the last minute. I made the stocking pictured 2 years ago and made my fifth this month, which motivated me to finally write down the directions and get the post out. Text instructions are at the bottom of the post. I hope this tutorial makes sense!

1. Draw and cut out pattern using newspaper or a store ad. I just looked on the internet for different stocking shapes and drew one that I liked.
2. Layer your batting and fabric in this order: batting, fabric print side up, fabric print side down, batting (4 layers total).
3. Pin pattern to your layers and cut out. Remove the pattern and reinsert the pins. Sew around sides but not at the top. (I just lined up the edge of the fabric with the edge of my pressure foot). You can trim the edges a bit if you want. **This is the only step where you have to be really careful about how you sew, because it's about the only part that where mistakes will be visually obvious in the finished product. Be very careful as you sew so that your lines are smooth, especially around the rounded corners of the stocking foot, because when you turn it right side out it will be very obvious if your curves are not smooth. The lining doesn't have to be perfect because it will be stuffed inside the stocking and no one will see the edges.
4. Two layers of stocking lining - lay out, pin pattern on and cut out. (I used a reversible ivory color fabric, but if yours isn't then make sure you sew with the right sides facing each other, since you will be stuffing it in the stocking and you want to see the right sides when you look inside your finished stocking.) Remove pattern and sew lining around sides but do not sew the top.
6. Turn the lining right side out.
7. Leave your stocking wrong side (batting side) out and stuff it into the lining.
8. I cut my fur 5 inches wide and cut a piece that stuck out about 1-2 inches on both ends after wrapping around the top of the stocking (my piece was about 17-18 inches long).
9. Hem one raw long edge of the fur (just fold over and sew with a big loose stitch or hand sew with a big loose stitch, use a needle to hand pluck out any fur that becomes matted down in the stitches on the visible side).
10. Pin fur to top with raw edge of fur on the top (make sure the fur side is facing/against the lining of stocking).
11. Make hanging strap (I cut my strap piece 2 inches by 8 inches and folded the sides toward the center then the whole thing in half again (pressing flat with an iron) and did a straight stitch to stitch them together).
12. Pin the hanging strap onto the side you want it against the lining, hanging straight down. I had my hanging strap stick out 2.5 inches.
13. Sew the hanging ends of the fur together, trim excess if necessary, and then pin the fur (with the hanging strap in between the fur and the lining) all the way around, pinning all 5 layers together. Sew all the way around. I just lined up the edge with the edge of my pressure foot. Thankfully this step does not have to be perfect because it all ends up getting hidden when you turn the stocking out for the final time. This project is VERY forgiving.
14. Turn stocking right side out, the strap should be sticking up now, and then fold the fur down.

15. Hang stocking and enjoy your work of art!

Personalized Mini Martinelli Bottles for Party Favors

I made these personalized labels for mini Martinelli's bottles as a party favor for my grandparent's anniversary celebration. I just designed them on powerpoint, printed them out on regular paper, and taped them over the real label. I bought the mini Martinelli bottles at Walmart in the juice aisle. You can also find them at Dollar Tree sometimes.

Fabric Applique Greeting Cards

I made some greeting cards recently with fabric scraps and Heat 'N Bond and some good quality cardstock. For the dark colored cardstock I used double sided adhesive tape to secure white paper on the inside. I just printed some basic shapes from microsoft clip art and other clip art I found online and traced them onto the heat n bond.  For the thread on the birthday hats I just layed it underneath the fabric before ironing on the applique. Keep the iron moving while putting on the applique or else you will get an imprint on your cardstock of the edge of the iron. I put a piece of white copy paper between the applique and the iron. Then I put the cards inside a heavy book (like a dictionary) to press them flat for a few hours because some of them bowed a little from the heat of the iron. I added embellishments (beads, ribbon, buttons, etc.) with a hot temp glue gun.

Crayon Monogram Shadow Box

Now that I've given away a few handmade presents over the last few months I can finally post about them. This crayon monogram shadow box is the perfect teacher gift or would be cute in a child's room to display the first letter of their first name. I used a regular certificate frame (that fit 8.5X11) that I found at Hobby Lobby, it doesn't need to be an actual shadow box frame, just one where the glass is in the front and doesn't directly touch the back so that you have room for the crayons. I found inspiration for the directions here.

First I made a large letter in Word on a paper size template and drew a line as a guide for the height of the letter. I printed off both, the letter on scrap paper and the line guide on nice cardstock.

Then I laid out my crayons and cut them to the right lengths to fit over the letter template. I used an exacto knife to make the cuts. The crayons on the curve must be cut at an angle. Once I had my letter perfect (and in a ROYGBIV color like order) I transferred them one at a time to the cardstock with the line quide (so that I wouldn't have to worry about any of the letter showing through) and glued them with Elmer's glue. I felt more comfortable using Elmer's glue than hot glue so that I had some freedom to shift the crayons around after I set them down. Make sure your cut edges don't have any crumbly edges or else when it is all finished you will have wax crumbs falling to the bottom of the frame, so blow on it to test for any strays.

Then I set the frame on top and cut a piece of thick cardboard to fit the back. I had to make my own backing because the one it came with wouldn't fit right with the crayons. I gave it as a gift to a teacher with a nice stand to display it on. 

Fall Felt Leaf Garland

I saw the idea for this craft here. I made my own leaf template which you can download. Cut out the leaves and pin to two layers of felt. Cut out leaves and line up on floor in what order you want them and then stack them in that order. Take one at a time and put it through the sewing machine with a light brown thread and do one continuous stitch lining the end of one leaf up against the edge of the next leaf. 17 leaves made about 5 feet of garland. You don't need very much felt, 1/8 yard of each color would be plenty so even without coupons it can be really cheap. Some stores don't have many color options for felt so you might have to hit up multiple stores. I had so much extra felt I made a few extra for a friend and my mom. This only took me about 30 minutes.

Tissue Pack Covers

I saw this awesome and cute idea to make tissue pack covers on Thrifty Crafty Girl (I really like her blog because she makes easy and practical types of crafts that I like to make). When I saw them I just had to make them that very week. I LOVE those little packs of tissue and I'm always buying them at Dollar Tree because you can get a 10 pack. This craft is super easy and she has a great tutorial. These are the ones I made: one for me, one for my husband to match his backpack (he was pretty excited about it (not)) and one for my son's diaper bag. They are perfect for getting a tissue out when you need to keep quiet (like in church or a meeting) and not have everyone hear noise from the plastic wrapper.

Pin Cushion Jar and Matching Wrist Cushion

I saw this idea on A Girl and a Glue Gun and just had to make it. It was harder than it looked but with the help of my engineer husband I figured it out. The trick is to cut the cardboard small enough so that the glass jar fits when you screw it all together. The one I cut too big I glued some ribbon around the edge and glued a piece of elastic so that I can wear it on my wrist.

Fabric Covered Organizing Trays

I made these organizing boxes for my mom for Christmas.
I saw the idea on craigslist and figured out how
to make them. I just used good strong cardboard from paper
boxes we had saved. The size and fabric possibilities are endless.
They are reversible and can also lay flat for easy storage if you untie
the ribbons. Depending on how much you pay for the
fabric they can be really cheap.
In the end mine cost about $2.50 a piece.

All the supplies you need - cardboard, pins, 2 kinds of coordinating
fabric, I think a solid and print work well (at least 1/2 yard each),
ribbon,glue stick, exacto knife

Cut coardboard pieces to size that you want it to be in the end
(my sides were 3 inches deep and the base is 10 in by 13.5 in)
If you do this size then you will need at least 1/2 yard of fabric
as long as you don't mess up, so cut 19 inches to be safe.
Whatever size you make it, just have at least an inch of fabric
around all sides. The one I made is good for papers/magazines

lay second piece on top (iron first, I didn't but should have)

use a glue stick to keep the fabric in place for when you
sew later, just on the main big piece

flip it over and glue the other piece on so that all the edge of
the two pieces of fabric stay lined up, to do this just
fold back one corner at a time

draw lines so that you keep sewing straight once you get
off the cardboard, I used my side pieces as a ruler to
draw my corners, sorry you can't see my lines very well

pin the two pieces of fabric together next to the cardboard edge

sew the two pieces together right next to the cardboard.
I kept half the foot on the cardboard sot hat I would
stay close to the edge, you want to be close so that you have
enough fabric available to insert the side pieces and
still have that extra inch or so

so it will look like this on all 4 corners when you are done,
doesn't have to be too perfect, because when it's all
folded up you can't even tell

insert your side pieces

fold your print side over the solid side twice to hide the
raw edge, make sure it is pulled tight so that the fabric doesn't
bunch over the cardboard (like my first ones did,
see the green and pink one below)

I just sewed it right onto the cardboard

then I sewed two pieces of 6 inch long gross grain ribbon,
melted the ends with a match so they wouldn't fray