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!

Fall Wreath

Fall is almost here! I love fall more than any other season because it is so colorful! I bought the wreath used for this craft at Micheal's Craft Store and the leaves were purchased in a bag of 50 from the Dollar Tree, along with the sunflowers.

 Now just follow this easy picture guide to create your own!

Supplies You'll Need:

-Grapevine wreath

-Artificial flowers

-Artificial leaves

-Hot glue gun

Supplies you will need!

Push the flower tip through the center of the leaf before hot gluing.

Hot glue flowers into place.

Single flower arrangement with leaves on the side.

Double flower arrangement with leaves on the side.

Tuck leaves into the vines and hot glue into place.

Your leaves should be tucked into place around your flowers and into the vine.

Hang on the wall or your front door!

 Follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!

Making It New Again

Have you ever wondered around a thrift store looking at charming old decor, thinking It's cute, but it wouldn't fit in around my home, simply because it was outdated? Well don't rule out something adorable simply because it needs some TLC. I found this sassy Kitchen Closed sign for a dollar. All it needed was a few coats of acrylic paint, some artificial flowers, and a new ribbon- now it looks brand new!

It makes a lovely addition to our kitchen ☺

Thrift store cow hanger for $1

Kitchen Closed: This heifer has had it!

 

So are there any thrift store finds you've come across that you fixed or updated?

I'd love for you to share!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, find me on Pinterest and Facebook!

Dollar Tree Finds

 I love a bargain. Especially when the bargain is also adorable! When browsing around the local Dollar Tree, I found some cute wall plaques. The lady bug was begging to be taken home and painted, so I thought I'd share. The plaque is sturdy and came with an attached ribbon for hanging. Kids would love this idea as much as I did!

 You don't have to stay within the standard lady bug colors- go nuts! A light blue lady bug with lime green dots would be awesome! Plus google eyes make everything more fun!

When you finish this simple project, hang it wherever suits you. I hung mine in my bedroom amongst some framed pictures. I think she fits in nicely, don't you? Extra fun: Add a quote on the front!

"Lovely little ladybug

sent from up above

please watch over my garden

and fill it up with love."

Clothespin Crosses

Today I thought I'd share with you a simple, yet oh so pretty craft made of clothespins. If your laundry is like mine, you probably have more than a few extra clothespin laying around. This craft is the perfect way to put them to use! (Click on any of the images to enlarge.)

Figure 1- All the supplies you'll need!

What You'll Need:

-8 clothespins
-2 large Popsicle sticks
-Elmer's glue, wood glue, or a hot glue gun
-Artificial flowers
-Scrap ribbon

(1) Lay the Popsicle sticks in a cross position and glue one on top of the other.

Figure 2

(2) Take two clothespins separate the parts (as seen) and they will be laid out in a fan shape.

(3) Step two will be done to both left and right sides, and the top of the cross.

(4) The bottom of the cross is a little different. Take a clothespin and separate the pieces and put them together like the middle of step 2. The large part will be near the center of the cross with the pointed tip going down.

(5) Take another clothespin that has been separated and put them against the pointed tip as show in the center of figure 2. The bottom of your cross should touch as seen.

Figure 3- Fan shape

(6) Take the artificial flower and/or greenery and glue it into the center of the cross.

(7) The scrap ribbon will be used as a hanger on the back. (See figure 2). Glue the ribbon in an X fashion onto the back on the top of the cross.

Figure 4- Finished!

(8) Hang on the wall and enjoy your new cross!

And believe it or not, this craft was done at a youth VBS and even the teenagers enjoyed it!

(Can be found for purchase here.)

Decorative Gumball Machine

This idea floats around lots of blogs, so I figured I'd post one too! ☺ I did mine slightly different than most, in the fact that mine has a seashore theme. It's really easy to make, even for people that are so called "craft challenged."

Supplies You Will Need:

Terracotta pot- (L x W x H): 4.33 x 4.33 x 3.94
Terracotta pot saucer (match with above pot)
Round glass bowl- 4¼" wide, 3¾" tall
Acrylic paint
Brushes
Hot glue gun
Seashells or other decorative objects (optional)

Paint the pot and it's saucer any color you want with the acrylic paint. Once it dries, you may need to add another layer to better hide the pot's original color.

 

After you are satisfied with whatever paint you have applied, hot glue the bottom of the terracotta pot onto the bottom of the small glass bowl (if you choose to put shells on it, hot glue them around the pot's top first). Take a few small shells and hot glue them around the pot's bottom, that the bowl sits on now, making sure they all fit without overlapping. The saucer should fit nicely onto the top of the bowl. Arrange the shells however you like on the saucer top and hot glue them one at a time. The shells that are glued to the top act as a handle- just remember not to tug too hard!  

I also (just to make it prettier) added vanish mixed with green glitter and painted the blue areas around the top and bottom. If you are wondering where to purchase the right bowl and pot, I found the glass bowl at Dollar Tree, and the terracotta pot at Walmart. Fill your new gumball machine with Hershey's kisses, wrapped gumballs, or even more shells!

So, this craft is easy, fun, and affordable! Hope you enjoyed!