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Showing posts from August, 2012

Recycle Craft: Crystal Light Container to Magnetic Organizer

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This is a very easy project to take something that would have ended up in the recycling bin and create something useful. You Will Need the Following:   One empty Crystal Light Container A piece of scrapbook paper Glue--I used Mod Podge A foam brush Neodymium magnets and glue to attach them I used my paper cutter to cut a piece of paper that was 5 inches tall.  I then wrapped the strip around my container and marked where it would overlap just a tiny bit and cut the excess off.  I then brushed Mod Podge onto the paper with a foam brush and carefully applied it to the container making sure to line the seam up in the middle of one of the flat sides of the container. I put some extra glue along the seam and let it dry.  If you want a really secure and water resistant covering, you could take the time to cover the whole container in a couple of layers of Mod Podge after you've applied the paper. I opted not to since this scrapbook paper has a bit of a shimmer to it th

Magnetic Pin Dish

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As soon as I saw a photo on Pinterest showing a magnetic pin dish made out of a pretty old dish from a thrift store, I knew I wanted to make one.  From then on, I was on the hunt for the perfect plate or bowl that would work for this project. I had a list of criteria for the dish: it needed to be inexpensive, have a bit of a lip around the edge so that pins couldn't be bumped off the dish, be pretty to look at, and have a little ridge on the bottom so that it would still sit flat after I glued the magnets on. I finally found this beauty for 79 cents at my local goodwill that met all of the criteria. I used two  neodymium magnet  that I picked up at the craft store ( ones like these from Michael's) and glued them to the bottom of my dish with E-6000 glue.  After a few minutes of drying, I was able to put a handful of pins in the bowl and turn it over without any falling out.  Of course, your results may vary based on the strength of your magnets and the thickn

Thrift Store Makeover: Plastic Key Wall Art

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I'm proud to share with you my very first thrift store redo. I love going to thrift stores, but I rarely find decor at thrift stores that isn't terribly outdated. I have seen some adorable projects from people taking things they find at thrift stores and painting them or deconstructing them etc...so when I saw these keys, I thought I'd give it a go.  These light plastic key wall hangings were originally done up in this lovely outdated gold/brass finish (update: gold accessories have come back into fashion...crazy how that works). I thought they looked a little steam punk-like and that they had some potential.  The larger key is about 2 feet wide and cost $1.99 and the smaller one was marked at 99 cents.  With only 3 dollars to lose, I took the gamble. My first thought was to spray paint them. A good coat of black spray paint  would hopefully help them blend in with a more modern decor and play down some of the ornate details a bit.  So that's exactly what I did.

More Scrapbook Paper Tile Coasters

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I made a new batch of ceramic tile coasters covered in scrapbook paper . For a full tutorial, check out my earlier post here . But it's really as simple as cutting your scrapbook paper to size, decoupaging it  it on the tile with mod podge , and then gluing (with hot glue or tacky glue ) some felt on to the back of the tile.  These are really fun to make, and if you have a steady hand (or a paper cutter) they turn out really professional looking!

Craft Foam Paint Stamp

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This super simple project is full of potential. Buy a sheet of the extra thick craft foam from your local craft store (you may be able to laminate the thin stuff together with a strong but flexible glue, but I haven't tried it).  Next, carve out your design with a craft knife and use a small pair of scissors to smooth out any ragged edges. In the photo below, you can see how it was not a very clean cut on the curved arms of my meeple pattern, so I cleaned that part up with a small sharp scissors. Once you've cut out your shape in foam, glue it to a very thick piece of cardboard or a scrap of wood. I laminated some thick non-corrugated cardboard together to make my stamp and it's held up to being painted and washed off a couple of times without problems.   Once the stamp is done, go to town with your paint.  I used mine to make some homemade gift wrap out of brown craft paper from the dollar store and some leftover craft acrylic paints.  Cheap,

Scrapbook Paper Star Wreath

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Before the 4th of July, I saw this adorable paper star wreath .  It was themed for Christmas, but I thought it would work great for the 4th of July.  Unfortunately I didn't have enough red, white, and blue scrapbook paper lying around to really give it a go.  I did, however, have some cute coordinating paper that I had had so long that I didn't even remember buying it, so I thought I'd give the whole 3-D star thing a whirl. I found a picture of a simple star online and printed it out on card stock so that I could use it as a template.  I traced around the star on to the back of my scrapbook paper and cut the stars out with a scissors (If you have a cutting machine or die cutter, that might be a bit faster--but this worked fine).   After the stars were cut out, I then begin the process of creating the dimensional folds. The inspiration wreath was created using a bone creasing tool--no need, you can just fold the star in half at each of its points. The photo be