DIY: Book Page Pumpkin Tutorial

Halloween is just around the corner, and this tutorial can be made in just a short time, so it's perfect for last minute decorating!  We love this idea which is from Creations by Kara's blog - so check her out!

Book Page Pumpkin Tutorial

1- Make a pumpkin shape out of a piece of paper. I roughly drew one, then folded the paper in half and cut it so it would be symmetrical.  

2-Take the cover off of your book and place the pumpkin pattern with the fold on the binding edge. If it doesn't fit, trim it a little.  

3-Trace around the pattern with a pencil.

  

4-Now it's time to cut out your pumpkin. You can use an exacto knife, but I found that it was easier just to use scissors. I could cut through 5-6 pages at a time pretty easily. If you don't have fine tipped scissors to cut all the way to the edge of the binding, you can use an exacto knife there.  

5-After you cut all the way around, pull the excess pages over to the binding and they should tear right off.

  

6-Now trace around the pumpkin shape and cut through a few more pages. Tip: cut slightly inside the pencil mark, or your pumpkin will keep getting bigger. Yep, I learned that the hard way.   

7-Keep tracing and cutting until you have all the pages done.  

8-Now put a thin strip of glue on the very edge. I'm the impatient type, so I used hot glue.

  

9-Now bring that back page around and attach it to the hot glue, keeping the outside edges as even as possible. Then add a stip of hot glue to that page, and glue the next page to it, just on the inside edges. I sure hope that makes sense.  

10-When you stand your pumpkin up, it will probably look something like this:  

11-Don't panic! It just needs to be "fluffed". Just go around pulling the pages apart and arranging them how you want them. If I had a space where the pages just refused to come together, I added a little hot glue right at the inside seam. When you are done, it should look more like this. It's OK that there are some spaces. We'll fix them later.  

12- At this point I decided my pumpkin needed a little color. I could have inked all the edges with my orange ink pad. But I knew that would take awhile. So I turned to my best friend Krylon. Spray paint that is. Yep, you can totally spray paint book pages. Just use a very light touch, you don't want it drenched or anything. One light spritz is all you need.  

13-Now it's time to add the stem. I just used a stick from my yard. If you have any stubborn pages, now you can bend them to your will. Bwaahaha! I used a bunch of hot glue, then forced the pages where I wanted them and held the stem in place till the glue dried. Voila!  

14-Next I tied a ribbon around the stem. Not only does it look cute and add some color, but it hides all the gobs of hot glue. Yay!  

And just because I love it so, here is another shot of it sitting on my entry table.

 

DIY: School Supply Bouquets

Oleander and Palm's blog has a great "back to school" tutorial, that we think would be great anytime for teacher or for your own home!  You could easily whip this up for a teacher on their birthday, or use it as a decoration on your own craft table.  So many things you can do with these, so much fun to be had!

Well, the kids are definitely back in school.  We are starting to get into a bit of a routine.  I like to start the year off with a gift for my kid's teachers.  It's simple Math - Happy Teacher = Happy Students!  Last year I made fresh Apple Scones for the teachers and the year before, I made reuseable coffee cup sleeves.  

This year I thought a flower bouquet would brighten their day.  These we easy to make and really didn't cost too much.  

Supplies:

Pencils (about 32)

Crayons (about 25)

An empty baby food jar

An empty Starbucks Frappacino Bottle

2 rubber bands

Ribbon

Flowers

For the pencil vase, I wrapped an empty frappacino bottle with an elastic band and the inserted the pencils all the same direction.  And for the crayon vase I just used an empty baby food jar.  Then I simply tied a cute ribbon around the rubber band to hide it and then filled them with flowers.

Are your back into a routine with the start of school?  Is that routine welcomed or are you longing for more summer?

DIY: Glitter Word Art

Vanilla and Velvet's blog has a wonderful DIY for Glittery Word Art.  It's so simple and makes such a statement we think you could make this and then decorate a whole room off of this project!

Materials

• Canvas, I used Artists Loft 24×48 inches
• Glitter paint, I used 3 bottles of Martha Stuart glitter paint in antique silver
• Background paint, I used 1 bottle of Martha Stuart pearl paint  in mother of pearl
• 2 Paint Brushes
• Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors

Directions

First paint the canvas any color of your choice.  Next, create stencils for your word, my letteres were 10 inches in height and the  font I used was Arial Black in size 500, after printing the letters I doubled their size– I guess that makes it size 1,000. Trace stencil with a dull pencil on the painted canvas.  Fill outline in with glitter paint- this may take several layers depending on how much glitter you are looking for.

Paint Background, I used 1 bottle of Martha Stuart pearl paint  in mother of pearl and a small brush for a horizontal stripe effect.

Print out letters and create a large word stencil.  I used Arial Black in size 500, after printing the letters I doubled their size– I guess that makes it size 1,000, they ended up being 10 inches in height.

Lay stencils on the dry canvas, use a ruler to make sure you have everything centered.  There was 7 inches above and below and about 3 inches on the sides.

Using a dull pencil lightly trace the stencils.

Fill in outlined letters with glitter paint, this will take several layers.

Several layers later….

DIY: Lined Paper Tee Tutorial

U Create has some amazing tutorials and DIY projects.  We highly recommend checking them out for more!  Today's highlighted tutorial is a lined paper tee.  These are so cute and would make a great gift for not just students, but teachers!

 

A little about me first . . .

 

My name is Rachel, and I blog over  Maybe Matilda. I'm from small-town New York, currently living in Utah with my soon-to-be-chiropractor husband and our soon-to-be-one-year-old son. When I'm not sweeping up Cheerios, I love sewing and crocheting for my etsy shop, and sharing what I make on my blog.

 

I think this lined paper tee is such a fun way to bring out the inner student, and possibly even encourage a little bookishness in a little one (maybe that's a stretch, but a girl can hope, right?).

 

 

It's really simple to put together, and you can easily make it in any size. And how cute would it be if you embroidered or stamped your child's name or a favorite quote onto the lines?

Here's what you'll need to make this tee:

 

a white tank, tee, or onesie

masking tape

foam brush

blue and red acrylic paint

fabric painting medium (available at craft stores--you'll find it with the paint supplies)

 

To start, place some cardboard between the front and back of the top so your paint doesn't bleed through to the back of your shirt, then place your tape in straight horizontal lines across your shirt to mark the areas where you'll paint your blue lines. I put my first strip of tape right beneath the sleeves. I spaced the tape strips about 1/4" apart from each other, but only painted in every other open space (on an adult size tee) to create a little more distance between the lines. For my little guy's onesie, I painted in the spaces between each tape strip.

 

Mix your blue paint and fabric painting medium according to the directions on the medium (usually a 2 to 1 mixture of paint to medium), and lightly sponge it between your tape strips. A little goes a long way, so try not to get too heavy-handed with your brush. (And personally, I really like the look of a lightly painted, sort of splotchy paint line!)

 

 

(You can see here that I only painted in every other open space for the adult tee. For a baby/toddler top, you can paint in each open space.)

Give it some time to dry, then carefully remove the tape. Place two long strips of tape vertically down the left side of the shirt where you'll paint your red line. Again, place the strips about 1/4" apart, and make sure they're running straight down the tee so you don't end up with a wavy line.

 

 

Mix your red paint with the fabric painting medium according to the directions on the package, and sponge it on as you did for the blue lines. Let it dry for a while and carefully remove the tape.

 

 

If you're making a baby onesie, don't forget to lift up the shoulder flap to tape and paint underneath it!

Make sure you read the directions on your fabric painting medium to find out how to finish your shirt--you'll probably need to let it air dry for 24-48 hours, then iron it to set the paint. You can just turn the shirts inside out and toss them in the washing machine, and the paint holds up just fine.

 

DIY: Neon Paper Bead Earrings

Plaid 130508 Mod Podge Dimensional Magic 2 Ounces (Google Affiliate Ad)

Dollar Store Crafts has done it again - another amazing and easy tutorial that we just can not wait to try!!

You must go to their blog, you'll love it.  Trust us.

I created some circular beads with the help of some neon paper, Mod Podge, and Mod Podge's cousin Dimensional Magic. I love the possibilities of turning a little piece of paper into a decorative bead you can use for lots of different kinds of jewelry! Read on to find out how to do it.

Project Materials:

• Assorted paper (I used neon), on hand
• Paper punch (I used a 3/4" round punch), on hand
• Small hole punch, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand or about $5 and up a bottle
• Dimensional Magic, about $5 a tube
• Earring Hooks, on hand or $1 and up
• Black thread, on hand
• Foam brush, on hand
• Wax paper, on hand

Total: $5 and up

Supplies: I had all this stuff on hand. If you have the Dimensional Magic on hand, this project is basically free. If you DON'T have any DM on hand, I recommend it because it is a very fun supply! What is Dimensional Magic? It's a water-based glaze that has the look of resin, but without the mess, the mixing, or the uncertainty. 

One thing you need to know about Dimensional Magic is that it takes several hours to dry, so plan on an afternoon, or overnight, for creating these beads.

How to Make Dimensional Magic Paper Beads:

1. Mod Podge the paper you want to use, and allow it to dry. Then Mod Podge the other side.

You need to seal the paper before you coat it with Dimensional Magic, and it is easier to Mod Podge it before you punch it as well.

2. Punch the Mod Podged (and dried) paper. Make sure the paper is completely dry, or you will muck up your paper punch.

3. Lay a piece of wax paper on a sturdy surface (such as a cookie sheet), and put the punched out paper discs on top of it.

4. Put a light coat of Dimensional Magic on each disc. You might want to use the "royal icing" technique of piping around the edge of the disc, and then flooding DM inside the bead. Don't use too much DM. A light coat will do.

Allow the Dimensional Magic to dry completely - at least several hours or overnight.

5. When the DM is totally dry, turn discs over and cover with Dimensional Magic and allow to dry.

6. When completely dry, you can punch a hole in the disc with a small hole punch. You might have a little leakage of Dimensional Magic on the edges of the beads. Just trim it off with scissors.

7. String as desired.

To Make Neon Paper Bead Earrings:

1. Tie some black thread around each bead.

2. Tie thread to earring wires.

3. Rock the earrings.

4. Get kissed by boys.

5. Get made fun of for wearing earrings that look like they're made of garage sale price tags.

6. Yes, this blog is cheap, but it's not THAT CHEAP.

DIY: Easy Screen Print T-Shirt

We just love this tutorial from Calico Skies blog showing how to make a quick and easy (and CHEAP) screen printed t-shirt!

Be sure to check out her blog for more!!

Here's what you need:

Shirt (thrifted), modge podge, fabric paint (this was my first time using Martha Stewart's all-purpose acrylic paint and it's amazing!), design, cardboard piece, embroidery hoop, nylon or panty-hose fabric, paintbrush, and permanent pen.

1. Create a design for your screenprint. I started with something simple since it was my first time using this method. Later, I did a more elaborate design for the front of the shirt, after I did this first heart as practice. Make sure that your that your embroidery hoop is large enough for your design.

2. Stretch the nylon over the hoop so that it is taut.

3. Trace your design using a a permanent pen.

4. Using Mod Podge, paint the "negative space", or, the space that you do not want to be painted.

5. Fill in the whole area, making sure there are no holes or gaps. I was obsessive about this because I didn't want the paint to seep through. Let dry completely. It took about 3 hours for this little one to dry.

6. Lay the hoop flat on the shirt and position where you want the design to be, and place a piece of cardboard beneath the area so that the paint doesn't bleed through the back. Squirt a generous amount of paint over the design.

7. Use the cardboard to spread the paint over evenly.

8. Carefully lift the hoop off the shirt and voila!

9. Let the paint dry completely before wearing.

DIY: Cookie Cutters from Soda Cans

"Making do with the not so new and other frugal things I do" blog is fantastic.  We love the nothing is really trash approach.  Why not use the things you've already paid for / used / loved for another purpose!

Check out their blog for the instruction on how to make the goldfish with a recipe!

First, I sliced one in half with a knife and then cut a strip with my heavy duty scissors all the way around.

Then I evened up the edges by cutting them as straight as possible.

Then I worked with the strip to create the fish shape. Don't bend too often or you will crack it. I did it on my third try. Sorry that this picture is missing the last bend back to make the flat edge of the tail, but after three tries, I lost count of what photos I had taken!

Then I sneaked my stapler in the back and stapled it together. I cut off the mismatched edges.

And there you have a fish cookie cutter. I have to admit it isn't the most comfortable to use, I am thinking about putting some duct tape along the top edge because pressing the piece down with no handle hurt just a teensy bit after awhile. It is probably 6 times larger than an actual goldfish cracker, but it's a fish!