24 posts categorized "Projects"

December 16, 2010

Treat Bags

P9040207 Every year I like to make a little something for the ladies in my family. This year I decided to make homemade turtles, but I wanted to wrap them up in something fun. I started playing with the idea of a treat bag and came up with this. I used my Silhouette to cut the template for the bag, but you could just as easily create this with a Cricut file or hand cut and fold it.

The trick to making this bag fun and unique is the window cut into the bag. Again, I used my Silhouette to cut the window, but your Cricut or a large punch like this one from EK Success would work really well, too. Use clear plastic (acetate, vellum, etc.) to cover the window (from the inside of the bag). Stamp on the window using a permanent ink like White Staz-on, or stamp with Versamark, cover in white embossing powder, and heat set.

Treat Bag Supplies
Paper: Jillibean Soup Christmas Chestnut Soup (Whole Cloves), Acetate
Stamps: My Mind’s Eye I Believe

November 12, 2010

Friday Fun - Tradition

Last week I spent Friday featuring Happy Together by Fancy Pants, this Friday gets to see Tradition by Fancy Pants. This Christmas line is everything it's name promises; it's full of traditional Christmas colors and patters, but done in a way that is a still new, fresh, and fabulous. You can check out the line in the store by clicking here. Now it's time for a few projects to get those creative juices flowing!

Fancy Pants Believe

P9200131
Have a great weekend! I'll see you Monday with some more inspiration from this month's featured manufacturers

 

 

November 11, 2010

Book of Books

Today I have mini project tutorial. I made this little book for me, but it would make a great gift for the book lover on your list. It's exactly what it's name says, a book for me to keep my list of "books I've read" and "books I want to read" in. Today's tutorial isn't quite as detailed as some tutorials, because it's one of those things that's easy to bend to your own tastes, however I'll be adding in a few things to think about or be careful of when making something like this. Alright, up first is a picture of the outside of the book:PA300041

Let's talk about choosing an album first. I wanted something small enough to put in my purse. The idea is that I can take this book with me to the library or book store when I go. I also wanted something that I could add pages too (for the books I've read section) and take pages out (from the books I want to read section). Finally, I wanted something that still had a bit of a book look to it. I ended up choosing Basic Grey's Tabbed Chipboard Album in Brown. This album consists of 10 chipboard pages: 1 large un-tabbed piece, 3 tabbed pieces, and 3 un-tabbed pieces. I flipped the book and actually used the back cover as the front. I embellished the front. I used papers from Pink Paislee Sweetness Collection as well as Parisian Anthology Broach Color Brads, I-rock crystals, some thread, and a tag I printed out with my Silhouette machine. I wanted to make this a pretty and girlie book, but I didn't want to go to embellishment crazy since I don't want to worry about catching it on stuff when I toss it in my purse. Here's a look at the back of the book: PA300043

Now as I mentioned, some of the pages have tabs and some don't: PA250004
I wanted all of the pages to have tabs, so I traced the tabs on the already tabbed sheet onto paper, and added them to the chipboard: PA300042
How you decide to label your tabs is up to you. I considered splitting my book up by genera, but in the end decided to split it up alphabetically by author. The very last tab, however, was saved for the list of books I want to read. 

You can decorate the inside pages any way you want. I didn't add any chunky embellishments, because I want to keep the book as thin as possible. Instead, I covered the pages with more Pink Paislee Sweetness paper. I also printed out quotes about books on vanilla card stock and added those to my inner pages. Here are a few examples:NovDec10

  Finally, I filled the book with loose leaf paper that I cut to size and punched holes in. I chose loose leaf paper instead of card stock for the simple reason that it's thinner. I read a lot, so I need to be able to fit as many sheets of paper as I can in this book. If you decide to make your own book of books, I'd love to see it. Just link it up here in the comments or post it to the gallery.

 

October 21, 2010

Stunning Memories

Blog Photos3 Last Friday I sung the praises of My Mind's Eye's Alphabet Soup. It appears I jumped the gun, because when I went into AWDML Saturday I found this lovely mini album created by Christy.

There are a few things about this mini that make it so stunning. First, it is simple yet gorgeous. There are a lot of layered papers and chipboard, a few brads, and a bit of twine.

Second, Did you catch that there is 1 girl twin and 1 boy twin? Christy seamlessly combined MME's Alphabet Soup Girl and Alphabet Soup Boy to create this special gift.

Finally, When I create a mini album, I usually stick to all color or all black and white photos. I love that there are a mix of both in this album. Christy's definitely inspired me to mix photos next time!

September 28, 2010

Fall's in store!

Fall is in the air at A Walk Down Memory Lane, so today I have some fall eye candy to share. Check it out:     

                                          Fall Blocks

These fall blocks by Lisa are made with Imaginice's Apple Cider line. If Lisa can't find a good home for them, I'll volunteer!

 SeptemberOctober 2010

Bella Blvd's One Fall Day collection just seems to encompass everything fall to me; trees, leaves, pumpkins, and blue skies.  I was finally inspired to create some layouts of my first fall with a baby (way back in 2006)! 

ChristySaegerChallenge#9

This final fall inspiration comes to you from Christy. She uses American Crafts and Jenni Bowlin papers to create a sweet and crisp fall feel. Happy fall!


September 24, 2010

Changing the Plan

Bounce Barn I often start a project with some specific objectives in line. For example, sometimes I start knowing I want to use a specific photo, a certain stamp set, or my new favorite paper. I almost always know if the project is going to be a card, layout, or mini album.

For this project, I saw this great My Little Shoe Box Simple Life paper at the store, and just knew I had the perfect pictures for it. When I started work on this, it was going to be a layout. However, no matter how I mixed and matched the paper and photos, I just wasn't happy with my design. I decided to change the plan a little, and instead of the layout I started out creating, I ended up with a great little accordion album. Even though I ended up far away from where I started, I couldn't be happier with the finished product.

Supplies:

Paper: My Little Shoe Box Simple Life (Contry Road, Front Porch, Black Sheep), Chipboard
Accessories: Prima Alphabets, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Alphas, October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers (Green & Cream), foam dimensional adhesive, My Little Shoe Box Simple Life Card Stock Stickers.
Tools: Fiskars Upper Crest Punch

September 23, 2010

Washer Necklaces

Graphic 45 Drop Necklace  I thought Graphic 45 paper would make really cool jewelry, so I set about to figure out how to do that. I've seen a few necklaces made with washers and figured I could try my hand at that. I combined a few different ideas that are out there, to come up with my own twist on washer necklaces. The exact papers and ribbons to make these necklaces will be listed at the end of this post.

The first thing you'll need to do is raid the garage or head to the local hardware store to pick up some washers. I used pretty large washers in varying sizes. The larger the washers you pick, the heavier your necklace will be. If you care pick smaller washers. If like me, you don't care as long as it's pretty, pick whatever size makes you happy. 

Trace your washers onto the patterned paper that you want to use. Cut out your paper. Adhere the paper to the washers with a glue that works on metal and paper (I used Scrappy Glue). Use a clear glaze like Diamond Glaze to glaze and protect your paper covered washers. You only have to glaze the paper (front side of the washer), not the whole thing. The glaze also gives the washers an enameled look. I used 2 coats to get the look I was going for.

Graphic 45 bib necklace

Now you will need to attach ribbon to the washers. The necklace at left was laced up using the technique I found here. Scroll about 1/2 way down the page to see a diagram on how to lace the ribbon.

For the necklace at right, I had my husband drill holes through the washers. Then I just threaded the ribbon through the holes. Both necklaces were really fun, inexpensive, and easy to make, and they were a great use for my Graphic 45 paper!

Don't forget, you have until the end of the month to get Graphic 45 and Stampendous on sale for 25% off!

Supply List

Drop Necklace (on the left)
Paper: Graphic 45 On the Boardwalk (High Style Holiday), Graphic 45 Le Romantique (Celebration, Enamored Embrace)
Accessories: Hero Arts Hero Hues (Earth Ribbon)
Additional Bits: Large Washers

Bib Necklace (on the right)
Paper: Graphic 45 On The Boardwalk (Malt Shop, She Sells Seashells
Accessories: Hero Arts Hero Hues (Earth Ribbon)
Additional Bits: Large Washers

September 16, 2010

Beautiful Bella Book

Blog Photos1I dare you not to fall in love with this ridiculously cute paper bag book that Lisa made.

This book is made from 3 paper bags. The openings to the paper bags make pockets in the pages to slip tabs or memorabilia into. There is a diagram at the end of this post that shows how to layer the bags to make the album. I apologize to the maker of the diagram for not giving her credit, I can't seem to figure out who it was.

Lets talk about some of the beautiful products Lisa used on for this book. The paper is all from Bella Blvd's Sunny Happy Skies Collection. This line is full of bright colors and sweet patterns. Remember that Flower Soft I wrote about yesterday? Lisa used it here to outline the cloud that adorable panda is sitting under. There are lots of buttons, brads, twine, and ribbons used in this book too, so it's a great way to use up your embellishment stash (or a good reason to pick up a few more!). Finally, Lisa wasn't afraid to use her border punches to add some extra detail to the layers. I'm so inspired by this album, that I think I'll make 1 or 2 of my own!  Bag book directions

September 09, 2010

An Amazing Project

P9040085 Every time I walk past this project at the store it makes me drool. Christy really made something jaw dropping. Here's What Christy has to say about her project: 

   "If you haven't seen the Embellished Paper Doily tutorial by Christine Middlecamp then let me highly suggest you check it out.  Amazing, simply amazing!  I immediately fell in love with this project and added it to my ever expanding "to-do" list.  Instead of using a shadow box I picked up a 7-Gypsies Printer Tray to use as my display.  Using an all about "me" concept, I copied some of the doilies Christine did pretty close and others I made all my own.  This was a really fun project and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to snag some more of these Martha Stewart Doilies tomorrow at work, so very awesome!"

If you want to re-create this project with the same paper as Christy, the papers and stitched brads are from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry Line.

August 26, 2010

Altered Notepads

Peacock Notebook This little notebook has been sitting at the Brick and Mortar store for a while now, and I thought it was about time to share the directions. Please forgive me, but at the time I made it, I didn't take step-by-step photos, so I'll give you all the measurements and then describe the steps as best I can. Feel free to post any questions you may have in the comments, and I will answer them. When giving directions (i.e. right side, left side), I mean the right or left side when looking at the project (here the far left picture would be the photo of the front cover of the book).

1.You'll need 2 sheets of coordinating card stock. I used Bo Bunny Peacock Lane Dot and Peacock Lane Stripe (which just happens to be on sale 25% off this month), 1 small legal pad that measures 5"x 8" (these can be found at almost any office store or office department of a big box store), your favorite paper adhesive, extra sticky adhesive, 2 thin magnets (I like the ones made by Basic Grey), and your choice of embellishments.

2. Cut 1 piece of paper to 8 1/2" x 11 1/4" (here I used Peacock Lane Dot). Put this sheet of paper in your scorer so it is longer than it is tall, and score at 5 1/2" and 5 3/4". 

3. Cut your second piece of paper to 8 1/2" x 9 1/4" (here I used Peacock Lane Stripe). Put this sheet of paper in your scorer so it is longer than it is tall, and score at 5 1/2" and 5 3/4".

4. You will now cut a 1/2 circle into the sheet of paper from step #3. You will cut the circle into the side that measures 3 1/2" from the edge to the score line. If you're like me and can't free hand cut a circle, place a plate or bowl down on the paper and trace it with a pencil. Cut just inside your penciled in circle to create the curved edge. It's okay if your curved edge isn't centered perfectly from top to bottom, mine isn't! 

5. Assemble your notebook. Take your 8 1/2" x 11 1/4" piece of paper and place it in front of you so it is longer than it is tall. Put regular adhesive on the rectangle of paper that is on the left hand side of your score marks. Take your 8 1/2" x 9 1/4" piece of paper and attach the part of the paper that is on the right hand side of the score marks to the piece of paper that you have added adhesive to.  Your book should now consist of a left side, a middle, and a right side.

6. Use super sticky adhesive to attach the notebook to the middle section of your paper.

7. Add a thin magnet to the inside of the far right side of the book and the outside of the far left side of the book. These magnets should overlap when the covers are folded in to hold the covers closed.

8. Embellish your book. I like to cover the magnets with paper or a chipboard embellishment, so you can't see them.

9. You can add a small strip of paper (roughly 3/4" x 5") to cover the binding of the notepad.

Here's another one I created with Crate Paper's Season Collection

10 May