Book of Love: A Personalized Scrapbook

    I'm finally getting around to posting this (it took me long enough..), but this was part of my honey's Christmas present! I saw an idea similar to this one somewhere online, but it wasn't as detailed as I was hoping, so I wanted to put mine up ☺ 

    Some of you will be stepping out of your comfort zone on this one. It requires gutting an old book.. *GASP* The horror! I know, I know. I felt bad doing it, but honestly, no one in my household is going to read that Reader's Digest from the fifties. Now, if you make it past this stage, it's clean sailing.

   

    Here is what you'll need:

• An old book- think thrift shop find 
• Glue (and maybe tape)
• Photos 
• Scrapbook pages
• Stickers to decorate (I also used wooden shapes)
• A binder center or rings (I used rings)
• White 4X6 notecards

Ok, gut that book! Just make sure you only take out the pages, but leave the entire cover intact! It won't work if the cover gets ruined.

Next, cover the inside with pretty scrapbook paper.

 Poke the rings through the book's spine. If you decide to use a binder center instead, you will not be able to glue the ribbon down, ok? And you will need to used really strong glue to put it in place ☺ These will hold your pages inside. I used wooden shapes to decorate my inner covers and some of the pages I added. To cover the inside spine, I took a strip of thick ribbon and glued it down.

The pages were also made from scrapbook paper and I placed a white notecard on the pages I wanted to add text to.

Some pages were decorated with ribbon and stickers.

I used some of my favorite mushy quotes and special messages on some pages and glued pictures to the white backsides of other pages. Instead of typing anything, I hand wrote all of it so that it would be even more special.

Make your book as unique as you can ☺ The person who receives it will love all the work you put into it!

                                           Happy crafting!

Belt of Truth Hanger

If any of you are like me, you have belts galore with nowhere to hang them. Mine were actually rolled up inside a bucket tucked away in my closet... Out of the way, but also out of mind because I never saw them. Now, I've seen this particular craft done before and I love it! But this really came together when my best friend brought me a few oddly sized canvases. I looked them over and picked the long skinny one and said, "I have just the plan for you!" This craft is very simple and takes just a few minutes, so even if you're a crazy busy college student like me, you can probably find a moment to do this!

The scripture pulled is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 6:

The Armor of God- Ephesians 6: 10-20
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Supplies You Will Need:
- Long, skinny canvas
- Paint and/or Scrapbook paper
- Small hooks that can screw into the canvas
- Marker or sticker letters 
- Decorative stickers (optional) 

The canvas I used was 4 inches by 12 inches, so long and narrow.

Long and narrow!

The hook will be screwed directly into the side of the canvas!

Roll the canvas in the scrapbook paper and screw the hooks through the paper!

See? Easy, easy, easy! Now you have just the place to put all those tangled belts!

All done!!

Movie Night Gift Box

A few months ago I made a post regarding a Movie Night Gift bowl (found here) and needless to say, it was a huge hit! Anyone who has received one of these gifts loved it- which makes the giver feel really good.

The best part of this gift for you as the giver? It's fairly inexpensive. The most expensive thing going into the gift is the movie. 

This is just a slightly different way to do the same gift.

Want You Will Need:

- Large bowl or popcorn box (found at Dollar Tree)

- Movie of your choice

- Popcorn

- Various candy

 - Soda

Get as many different types of candy as you want! And of course soda!

Simple, yet very effective at bringing a smile to someone's face!

Zombie Survival Kit 2.0

Ok, so in the last Zombie Survival Kit post, I mentioned that my Honey Bee wanted a bigger, better kit for Christmas. Well, here it is!

I was able to get some really neat stuff during October since, you know, Halloween was then. Take the edible body parts- that is so gross to me, but my guy laughed really hard when he saw it. 

Scroll through this post to see just how YOU can make the Zombie Survival Kit 2.0!

What You Will Need:

- A medium to large sized cardboard box

- Spray paint

- Caution tape (optional)

- Brown packaging paper

- Small round containers

- Zombie decor (like the fake brains below)

- Large candy bars

- Red crosses

- Energy labels

- Zombie warnings

- Fake guns, knives, etc.

- Matches or a lighter

- Emergency heat

- Peanut or regular M&Ms

- Flashlights

- Binoculars

- Large blanket

- Filter masks

- Candy sticks as "matches"

 

I labeled this plastic brain as "Zombie Bait."

Edible body parts! Ick...

A put a back scratcher in the kit with the tag saying: If you find yourself alone during this time, you'll need a good back scratcher for those hard to reach spots.

I printed out some cool warnings and guides to take down on the inside flaps of the box.

The candy sticks will work as matches and you can put them inside of a small box and cover it in labels!

What would a survival kit be without weapons?? I included a bow and arrow set, water gun, and dart gun.

Here are toy binoculars, walkie-talkie, whistle, and compass, along with the filter masks and a rubber mallet.

The filter masks: Protect yourself from airborne illness. Being sick makes you slow. Being slow makes you zombie food.

The small containers will have the red cross labels hot glued to the tops and filled with the M&Ms.

This is the lighter and emergency heat. Emergency heat is awesome! But please don't play with fire...

The lighter and emergency heat wear taped with sticky caution tape with the tag: For long, cold nights. Or for cooking. Squirrel anyone?

I wrapped the weapons all together and labeled them.

The large candy bars can be wrapped in plain printing paper with the Emergency label!

Flashlights and binoculars.

These I found during Halloween also, just Zombie warning signs.

Most of the kit out of the box.

All wrapped up and ready! Make sure you "bloody up" the packaging for a spooky effect!

 Remember, this is just a guide! Make the kit how YOU want it! Personalize it how your significant other would like it best!

Tappy Tap Shoes!

My niece really likes to dance around the house wearing her black dress shoes. She calls them her "tappy tap shoes." Since she loves them so much, and of course dancing, I glued pennies onto the bottom of her shoes. Now they really "tappy tap!"

Tappy Tap Shoes!

Supplies you will need:
- 1 pair of shoes
- 6 to 10 pennies
- Glue gun or super glue

Just glue the pennies around the sides of the bottom of the shoe! Any kid that loves making noise will definitely like these shoes!

DIY Chandelier Earrings

I made these recently as a Christmas present I'll be giving to my best friend. They took a little time, but were well worth all the effort put into them!

Supplies you will need:
- 2 Earring chandeliers
- 2 Fishhook earwires
- 12 Headpins
- Small jump rings (if desired)
- 24 pearl beads
- 10 flower shaped glass beads (or other shapes)

These earrings are on the heavier side because I used glass beads. If you like lighter earrings, use plastic or even wooden beads!

{Will be posting a video soon!!!!!!! So stay tuned!!!! ☺}

Pass the headpins through a pearl bead, then the flower bead, then another pearl bead.

Use pliers to fold the cut headpin back against the top pearl bead.

Use the same technique for the pearl bead used in the top of the chandelier. Fold the headpin back, leaving room for the pearl to dangle. Cut the excess headpin and fold what remains back against the bead.

On the fishhook earwire, I had springs resting at the bottom, but I removed those a replaced them with yet anther pearl. So this is a cuter option than the spring!

Ta-da!

Finished product!

Zombie Survival Kit

Ok, let me start this off right. I love my man very much. So much so, that I made him a zombie survival kit. 

I hate zombies. Zombie movies, zombie games, zombie blah blah blah.

My fella however, loves them. And anything else that is scary and/or creepy. He's a horror movie junkie, whereas I am not. Ever.

So to prove my undying affection for him, I decided I would make him this gift for no reason at all. (Who doesn't love getting gifts for no reason, right??) Needless to say, it was a huge hit with him. He loved it so much, in fact, that he wants me to make an even bigger, better one for his Christmas present this year.

Oi.. But I said ok. 'Cause remember, I love this guy!

Does your gentleman or lady love zombies? Can't convince them to stop? Well then, love them through it!

Follow the easy picture guide below to create your very own Zombie Survival Kit.

{Follow this link here for the Zombie Survival Kit 2.0!}

Supplies:

- Shoe Box

- Black Spray Paint (to paint shoe box)

- Candy Bars (Power Bars)

- Small Box (to put "matches" in)

- Candy Sticks ("matches")

- Flashlight

- Pretzels M&Ms

- Brown Wrapping Paper

- Mesh Drape

- Caution Tape

- Red Paint  (blood)

- Empty Glass Root-beer Bottle

- Peanut M&Ms

- Granola Bar (Energy Bar)

- Bookmark

- Stencils (if you want to do it by hand)

- Band-aids in Case

- Toy Gun and "Ammo"

- Masking Tape

- Werther's Original Candy ("gold")

- Cologne

Keep in mind that any of this candy can be substituted based on what they like.

Just click the pictures to enlarge!

Paint shoe box black and add red hand prints or red paint splatters. Wrap in caution tape.

Decorate the kit so it looks creepy and slightly aged.

This is just a granola bar wrapped in white printing paper.

"You will get bored while hiding out. Be sure to bring literature."

This caution tape was found at the Dollar Store. Not exactly what I was looking for but it worked great!

Stencils will really REALLY help if your printer is out like mine..

Make it creepy! Zombies are creepy!

Root-beer bottle filled with M&Ms. "To keep your mind off your troubles and to chase the shadows away."

This nifty bandage holder was just laying around my house, so I used black nail polish to cover the design, then used red polish to write "first aid" on it. Fill with band-aids. "For minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. NOT for gunshot wounds or gashes."

"Matches-" small box painted black and wrapped in caution tape.

Candy sticks! Used to eat these like crazy as a kid! They made great matches.

Chocolate bars wrapped in white printing paper, and stencils were used to decorate them.

Find a toy gun with darts or one that makes noises. This one even came with a target to practice "zombie hunting."

The flashlight is very important. "To light your way in darkness." Put some kind of candy in it, like Pretzel M&Ms. Or, hey, even batteries!

My guy laughed the hardest at this! "For when bathing is not an option." A little bit of cologne.

Small tub for "gold." "Gold is valuable everywhere."

Werther's Original Candy is excellent as gold pieces!

Put it all together!

Wrap it up in brown paper that you messily cover in masking tape!

Whip out that red paint!

And make it absolutely scary and authentic!

Well I hope your zombie loving significant other loves this gift as much as mine did! As always, follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!