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 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

Valentines Chocolates - Peanut Butter Filled

Will make 30-60 chocolates depending on size of mold. I use Aldi brand semi sweet chocolate chips. They are very good and affordable. Quite easy to make and fun to give to friends. 

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1/2 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine

24 ounces chocolate, chips or chopped (or more)

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Make peanut butter filling in small bowl with hand mixer. Prepare peanut butter filling inserts and set on wax paper. Melt and temper chocolate (I would only temper 10-12 oz at a time). Fill piping bag with tempered chocolate. Fill bottom of mold. Place peanut butter filling on top of chocolate and fill rest of mold with chocolate. Tap the mold to settle and smooth out the melted chocolate. Look underneath mold to make sure the peanut butter filling is not showing but completely covered with chocolate. Place molds in fridge until hardened (doesn't take more than 30-60 minutes). Pop out of mold and store in airtight container in fridge.

How I tempered my chocolate: http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-temper-chocolate.html

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. 

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