Valentine Photo Cube Tutorial

Traditional photo cubes are a fun way to display family photos outside of a picture frame. Here’s a new version I created as a Valentine/spring decoration. You start with 2 in wooden cube.

Wooden children’s building blocks would work and it would be fun to use the letters on the blocks for your project. But if you’d like a smooth surface you have a couple of different options. You can buy wood cubes at your local craft store for a 2-3$. But this can get a little expensive once you decide how many you need if spelling a word such as “love” or “family”. The second option is going to your local hardware/home improvement store and buying a 2 in log. These hardwood logs are under 10$ and come in varying lengths and cut your own 2 in cubes. Many stores will make the cuts for you for a small fee, this varies by store.

Steps:
1) Cover the cubes with paper using either a liquid adhesive such as Tombow or Modge Podge. You can also use acrylic paint just keep it mind it may take 2-3 coats to get full coverage.
2) Determine the top of the cube, and make a hole in the top of the cube to hold your wire. I used an awl and hammer to make a hole that went 1/4th of the way through the top.
3) Take a 7 in piece of stiff wire, wrap one end three times around a pencil to make a swirl. You can also add other bends or loops along the wire just make sure you have a straight piece coming up from the bottom.
4) Place a drop of glue in the hole in your cube, then press the straight end of the wire into the hole. I used the same liquid adhesive as I used for the paper instead of wood glue because it wouldn’t swell much and would dry clear.

5) For the front of the cubes I used embossed chipboard letters with Chocolate Chip craft ink and embossing powder to spell “love”. These were adhered with the liquid Tombow and punched hearts were added.
6) Next create the photo frame layers using paper punches. Punch a hole in the top of the scallop, thread with thread, string, or ribbon. Hang these from the swirls.

You can also add pictures to the sides of the cubes as well.

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Valentine Tin Tutorial

This is a great project because it’s an easy way to recycle a candy tin, fairly quick, uses scraps and other little bits, and is adaptable to just about any theme you’d like.

Supplies: Altoids tin (or similar)
10 photos, corner rounder, paper punches, card stock, patterned paper scraps, paper trimmer w/scoring blade
ribbon, stamps, Crystal Effects, liquid Tombow, stapler
Note: nearly any liquid glue will work for this such as Modge Podge which also works great to seal your project if you’d like!

Lots of options for altering the tin. Spray paint the entire album in desired color. Make sure to do this in a well ventilated area and follow the safety instructions on the can. (end disclaimer). For other projects I’ve covered the tin in gesso, let dry completely, paint with acrylic paints, then seal coat either with a spray clear coat or a gel medium.
On this project I covered parts of the tin in patterned paper (pp), adhered with liquid Tombow. To keep it easy I only covered the large rectangular areas with paper and left the original tin colors.

For the tin:
1) For the top, cut a 3 x 2.5 piece of pp, round the corners adhere with liquid Tomobow, repeat for the back of the tin.
2) Embellish with buttons, flowers, or punched shapes
3) For the inside of the tin, cut a 2.25 x 3.5 in piece of pp, round the corners adhere with liquid Tomobow, repeat for the back of the tin. Add a photo to the front inside of the tin if desired.

For the mini album
1) Use a sheet of 12×12 card stock for the base of your album.
Cut a 3 inch wide strip, then score every 2 inches along the strip. Accordion fold along the score lines using a bone folder or pen lid to press the folds.
2) use a corner rounder on all the square edges of the book, this helps it fit into the tin better and looks cute!
3) Stamp with the same color ink hearts on the front and back of the folded book and along the edges of both sides of the book unfolded.
4) Trim down photos into squares(1.5 in) or rectangles (1.5 x 2 in) focusing on faces. Round the corners. Arrange photos in the order you’d like then adhere to the center of each page.
5) Add a small title/journaling for each page as desired.

6) Cut a 5 in piece of ribbon, wrap around mini book for size, staple ribbon together. Add a button or punched shape on top of staple using liquid Tombow. On my project I covered a punched heart in Crystal Effects (a clear drying glue) to make my own “epoxy” type embellishment.

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Felt Flower Barrettes Tutorial

One of the plastic butterflies fell off of my little girl’s barrette so I thought I’d use my felt flowers and a button to fix it. This is probably not a new idea, but it was fun and my little girl thought I was a hero for fixing her barrette!

From 2009 cards

I layered the flowers and button on top of the barrette. There was a hole where the butterfly had been so I used it to sew the flowers to the barrette. I think in the future I might sew first then use a strong adhesive like E6000 to attach it to the barrette. I’m also thinking of sewing a bunch of flowers and ribbons to some plain jeans to make them more interesting for a girly-girl!

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some thrifty goodness

 I admit to loving thrift shops. I like to see all the old stuff people have gotten rid of, those things that were all the rage (like the singing bass fish), the funky old tupperware, books, toys, clothes, picture frames (some with pics still in them), and all sorts of goodies. So my latest finds have been a wind up alarm clock which I thought about taking apart but it’s so fun to have that ticking in my kitchen! 


 Then I found my Royal Portable Typewriter complete with case. Needs a new ribbon, but after taking the air hose to it, it’s in terrific shape.

And now my very latest find. It’s a metal spinney thing. I got it for a buck. It reminded me of those cool 7 gypsies atc card spinners so I thought I could use it in a similar fashion. Or make it into a revolving scrapbook. I’m sorry to admit that it took me a week to remember what it was used for: holding stamps like in a office or courthouse. Still cool to me, still going to scrap it somehow!

But in the meantime I’ve used it to display some of my favorite mini books. How clever is that? This kind of silly, simple thing, is the thing that just makes me really happy. Simple minds and all that goes along.

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making kits

In praise of the New Year, I’ve made some resolutions I mean goals. Things I’d like to work on for the upcoming year. Here’s a partial list: lose weight, get healthy (duh), get organized (sort of), be more productive, make better use of my time, buy less craft stuff (or not as much), and use up the stuff that I’ve been holding onto for way too long. After reading several boards and blogs I know that my hoarding and collecting of craft stuff is not unique to me. Many others suffer from this affliction. I had found a blog where many posters were talking about building their own kits for scraping. Did a bit of brainstorming and came up with a plan and started shopping in my stuff.  Yes, I have lots of stuff, but I know that many others have more stuff than me, and that helps me not feel as guilty. So I started with some funky cardstock that had no apparent use.  I also included leftovers from 12×12 sheets that looked approximately 8.5 x 11. Then I added 3-4 patterened papers (some where full sheets, some scraps), then I choose an alpha type (sticker, rub ons, chipboard, or stamps), I added a card or tag (something that I could use for journaling or something), ribbons (at least 3), chipboard, flowers, buttons, brads, or similar embellishments. I also included things that I have collected or held on for a long time. I put all of the kits in big baggies that I’ve saved–yes, I’m a huge packrat! Part of the goal I have is using things that I’ve waited to use on the “perfect” project.I also wanted to use some of the non-scrappy things I’ve collected. One of the kits has a paint chip sample that is part of a larger pile that I always meant to do something with someday. Well, someday is now.My other thought with these kits is time saving. Like a lot of scrappers, I would love more time to scrap. As a SAHM to nearly 2 year old boy/girl twins I really am limited in time. As if that isn’t enough I also work out of my home with a couple of businesses. So, if I have a few kits made up ahead of time I can do a bit of scrapping when the kiddies are taking a nap. I also think that down the road it might be fun to swap page kits with other crafters online. Maybe. When I first tried this I was feeling restricted by using only the stuff in my bag. But I made myself stick it out and now it’s become a fun and easy way to craft. Plus, now if I go to a crop of a friends house I can just grab a few kits and head out the door instead of packing half of the stuff I own! 

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One Picture 3 ways

There are pictures I’ve taken that I just love. Pictures that just seem to say, “scrap me please”. Often times I will use the same picture or pictures in multiple layouts or mini books.

Last year my babies were 10 months old. This was before they were really moving and would sit for a few seconds to let me get some great shots of them in their Christmas outfits and Hats. My little girl was so sweet in her first Christmas Dress and I was able by pure coincidence to capture her sweetness.
I discovered that I had scrapped this same picture three times!

Why would a person scrap the same photo three times?
Well for me, I have an album for each of my babies, and one for everything else. So if there is something I really want to have in my album and one for the babies I end up making more than one layout. Sometimes I’ll do this in one sitting, and sometimes I will scrap them separately of each other. This may seem like a lot of work, but repetition really makes quick work of this.
How about you? Do you scrap for your kids? Do they have their own albums?

Here are a couple more pages I done for my babies, you can see they have different pictures, papers, and embellishments, but both have the same basic layout.

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Pile of stuff

I don’t know how many of you out there are like this, but I always have more than one book I’m reading, project I’m working on, or some household chore that is ongoing (like laundry). So here is a pile of the stuff I’ve been working on.

There are the two square canvases my Rv log book, a happy mini book, a giggle mini book (a gift), my daily something inspired by Ali, a fabric covered house book, 100 things notebook, wreck this journal, a friend mini book, and a covered notebook.
Well, when I got to looking at these projects I decided I really needed to get them done and move on. No more of this or that project waiting for inspiration to happen. Just do it. So here’s what I’ve finished so far:

The canvases that I’ve held on to forever waiting for the “perfect” project. I used staz-on ink, new Heidi Grace stamps that I got from a very cool person-May. I added a little Heidi Swapp bling, paper and cool brads from a Cloud 9 paper kit. I’ve added ribbon to hang them on the wall in my babies’ room. I’m thinking a cute peg board hanging in their room would be fun for hanging stuff like this. Might have to find a cheap unfinished wood one.

My Rv Log Book.

RV Log

The ribbon binding is an idea from Donna Downey off of the Simple Magazine’s web site. The foundation of the book is plain old cardboard covered with some of my favorite Chatterbox papers. This was made to document our little family’s adventures in the old motor home we bought off of craig’slist. And they have been adventures. Just think of any of the family vacation movies mixed in with 16 month old twins. Inside I have used a variety of things like maps, receipts, brochures, pictures, and scrap stuff. One of my awesome friends gave me the remains of a Stampin Up travel kit which had a bunch of self-adhesive die cuts, papers, and other fun things. Some of the other papers are American Crafts.
So I made the book before we left for our first trip, I packed some quickie stuff I wanted to use on the road and kept a journal of our trip. When I got home I made wallets in Photoshop, printed them at Walgreens and added the pics and finished it up. We only managed two trips for the summer but we put about 1500 miles on the motor home.

Giggle book.

giggle mini book

Was made as a gift for someone who gave my kids some cute shirts and other things. Just a thank you for being sweet. It was also requested because she loved my little books and wanted one of the babies. Used a new set of paper from Stampin Up, I think the boho line.

My daily something.

daily something

I started this in August and well, it’s October and I kind of quit doing it. I had great intentions and about every week I made at least one entry. The book is from recycled envelopes from bills and junk, and bound it with my new Zutter Bind it all. I think I’ll start back into it now, do something once a week. I like to do crafty/creative stuff every day. But it’s hard with two toddlers and when I’m lacking inspiration or motivation to do anything crafty.

100 things notebook.
Taken from the list of 100 creative things by Keri Smith. Started this last fall and did a few off of the list. Looking back at it I think this may be fun to keep handy to do when I’m stumped for ideas or need a little down time.

Wreck This Journal.
Book by Keri Smith. It is a book of things to do to the book, some are cool and some are off the wall. I had it a friends house where after a few glasses of red wine we took turns playing with the book. I highly recommend this as a gift for any crafty/arty person you know, or as a fun family gift. I think my niece is getting one of these for her birthday, just need to warn her not to do the parts where it tell you to burn a page.

Happy book.

Happy Book

Just some fun pictures I wanted to play with using a free Cloud 9 paper kit and Heidi Grace acrylic stamps. Simple, easy, and so fun to look at.

Friend Book.
Again using a free Cloud 9 paper kit and embellies and Heidi Grace acrylic stamps. I just need to get photos of my friends and journaling to finish it off.
There’s more to this story but can’t share until later!

And that’s just a little sample of my piles. I’m not even going into the piles of laundry I need to fold and put away. ICK!

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