DIY & Crafts

If you follow lots of DIY and crafting boards on Pinterest you may have noticed more than a few pins from this site lately:

DIY & Crafts is another fun submission site that highlights the best from the web in the areas of decorating, fashion, health, home, homemade, lifehacks, and repurpose.

Some of their more popular posts include:

As you can tell, it's kind of a wide range, which is fun because you never know what you'll find there.

They comb the web looking for awesome projects to promote but you can also submit your own projects in case they've somehow missed you.

According to their Pinterest page, everything they post comes with step by step instructions...so if you like to share tutorials this is an excellent place to get more exposure.

Have you ever been featured on DIY & Crafts?  Have you ever visited the site before?  Leave a comment and tell the rest of us all about it!

Pinspired Bookmark

I had to wait to share my Mother's Day gifts with you because I didn't get to see my mom until later in the week....and she's one of the few family members who actually reads my blog, so I didn't want to spoil any surprises for her.

I gave her a great garden bench that I know she's wanted for ages but I still wanted to add a little something handmade.  I inherited my love for reading from my mom so I hit up my "Scrapbooking and Paper Crafts" board on Pinterest for some bookmark ideas instead of the standard Mother's Day Card and here's what I came up with:

I don't have the die-cut (or the machine) that the original project used so I fired up my Silhouette and finally figured out how to use the Edit Points Button:

This little button
 is pretty amazing!

I came up with these shapes to make the project.

 

Before I cut out the second shape, I deleted the rectangle shape, drew the message with my Silhouette pens, and then without removing the paper from the machine, added the rectangle back in and deleted the text.  Actually, I did all this on a separate shape that I then pasted down onto the rectangle, but same idea.

Here's the original post from Ginger over at Gingersnap Crafts:

Source: gingersnapcrafts.com via Etcetorize on Pinterest

It's another fun and easy way to use up your scraps!  What do you use to keep your place in your books?  Or have you all switched to electronic readers?  I just can't bring myself to do it.  I still love the feel of a book in my hands.  Leave a comment below~

Craftbits

I just came across a new (to me) craft submission site that I thought you'd all want to try out.  It's called Craftbits!

I found it through a link on craftgossip.com, another one of my favourite craft submission sites.

You can find loads of member (it's free to join) projects, enter giveaways (which are open worldwide!!!), and submit your own projects.

You can find projects under all of these different categories:

Best of all, the site keeps track of all of the projects you've submitted.  No guessing which ones went in, which ones were approved, etc.

Click on the Most Popular Crafts button in the upper right hand corner...

and you'll find lists of crafts sorted by:
-projects with the most comments
-projects with the most bookmarks
-projects that have been emailed the most
-projects that have been printed the most
-projects with the most followers.

Check it out and let us all know what you think!  Leave a comment below~

Boys Vest

I still have a tiny bit of camoflage fabric from the bargain bin so I stitched up a cool vest for my nephew.

I've made him loads of outdoor vests but usually I just use a jacket pattern I have and nix the sleeves.  This time I used a proper lined vest pattern:

This pattern came out in 2000 so the only place you'll find it is in the bargain bins at the thrift shop or at an online vintage pattern seller.  If you do find it and you have a little man in your life, scoop it up.

It comes together really easily, fits great, and looks pretty spiffy!  Looks like I made this one just in time...he had just broken his arm the day before and this was the perfect thing to wear over his brand new cast!

Have you ever had to wear a cast?  I've never had to (thank goodness), but this is already the second time my nephew has had one...and he's only 6!  Leave a comment, tell us about your cast experience...and what you wore with it~

Paper Pendant

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but my blogging schedule has sort of been blown to pieces lately.  For someone like me who likes routine, and has been in this particular routine for the past two and half years, you can imagine how this sits with me.

My real life job, yeah the one that pays the bills around here, is getting in the way so I hope you'll bear with me while I figure out how to fit it all in.

In the meantime...I hope you enjoy this week's fun and super easy project!

 You only need a few supplies to make your own pretty accessory:

Supplies:
-Pretty medium/heavy weight paper
-optional template
-craft knife and cutting mat
-standard jewellery making kit: pliers, jump rings, chain, closure
-small hole punch
(In the picure you also see a glue runner, but I decided not to use it so just pretend it's not there)

Before we get started I have to tell you about my template.  I picked it up at the dollar store and got 4 different templates for a whopping $1.25!

I was originally drawn to the mailing/gift tags but this project uses the leaf pattern:

 So, you don't have to use a template for this project but it will sure simplify things for you if you have one.

Steps:
1) Choose 4 different papers and decide how you want to layer them.  It's important to use heavier weight paper so that your pendant doesn't bend or fly around while you're wearing it.

It's hard to see but some of these
have sparkle!

 2) Starting with your bottom paper, cut out your largest shape.

 3) Now just move through your papers cutting smaller and smaller (but same) shapes until you get a pretty stack.  Line them up with all the points matching to see how it will look.

4) Using a very small hole punch, punch a hole through the top tip of the shape, getting as close as you can to the edge without tearing the paper.

 5) Line your papers up and once again, starting with the bottom piece thread them onto a jump ring.

6) Now just add your pendant to a chain and add a closure and you're done!

So easy!  You can use any type of shape.  This is a great paper buster for all those little bits of scraps you keep from past projects too!  If you want to add more body to your shapes add a layer of Dimensional Mod Podge before you put it all together.

I'll try to have more to share next week.  Until then...don't be afraid to leave a comment~

Check out my other (very popular) paper jewellery project HERE!

Rainbow Flipbook

You guys know how much I love to have little blank books and journals.  I almost picked up another set to cover with pretty paper and then I realized that I could make my own...right from scratch with things I already had at home...and so can you!

 Here's what you need to make your own flipbook:

-recipe cards
-pretty paper
-Mod Podge and sponge brush or your preferred adhesive
-large D ring
-cutting mat and craft knife or pencil and scissors
-hole punch or crop-o-dile

Steps:
1) Use your recipe cards as a template to cut two pieces of pretty scrapbook paper.  These will be used as your front and back covers.  You can either just cut right along the card or trace around with a pencil and then cut with scissors.

 2) Use Mod Podge to adhere your pretty papers to two separate cards.

 3) If you have a brayer this would be a good time to pull it out.  Roll out any bubbles and make sure all of the edges are secure.

 4) Decide how many recipe cards you want to use to create your little book.

5) If you're really lucky and have a crop-o-dile I'm sure it would come in handy for this next step, but I don't have one (boohoo), so I'm just using a plain old school hole punch.  Determine where your D-ring will be inserted and punch a hole.

Use that card as a template to punch the other cards.  If you go off every once in awhile (like maybe I did), just switch out your template with a card that was punched cleanly.

Hopefully they'll all pretty much line up.

6) Starting with the cards you want at the back of your book just thread them onto your D-ring.

Voila!  You're done!

Punching the holes wasn't anywhere near as labour intensive as I feared it might be.  The whole thing was done within a half hour.

These are great books to use as flashcards when you're learning a new language, as a recipe stack, or just a plain old notebook.

What will you use yours for?  Leave a comment below!