Shhhhhhhhh

Just finished this project, and couldn't wait to share it! It's a birthday present for my boss, silhouettes of her kiddos. So shhhhh, her birthday isn't until next week ;)

How to:

First, take a backlit picture for a sharp silhouette.

Next, upload it into a ms word type of program, and adjust the contrast and re-size to what you'd like the final product to be.

 Cut out the silhouette, and trace onto a nice black paper. To avoid unwanted pencil lines, remember to flip it at this point if you'd like it facing a certain direction.

 Pick out a cute paper (little K loves butterflies), and trace the insert of your favorite frame for sizing.

Paste or tape your silhouettes in place. 

The hardest part of this project is getting them to stand still!! :)

xo

Back in Focus

 I thought this day would never come... I finally have my camera back!! :) It was in the shop, and after almost a month and many frustrating phone calls, we are reunited. Herein also lies my excuse for not posting for a month: I had no way to upload pictures of what I've been working on!

My sis was in charge of the games for a womens' retreat a few weeks ago and I was honored she asked me to make a set of cards to give out as a prize.

Out of the 100 or so women that were there, my sis-in-law won them! Funny how that works :)

xo

10 Minute Craft: Magnetic Recipe Holders

Fire up your hot glue gun, because heating it up is the most time consuming step for this quick and lovely craft!

You will need:

3-5 clothespins
magnetic tape roll
tacky glue
1-2 pieces scrapbook paper with a small print design
1 piece scrapbook paper in a coordinating color
scissors
a hot glue gun

1. Measure and cut your patterned scrapbook paper to fit the front of 1 side of the clothespin, repeat for as many clothespins as needed.
2. Glue paper on with tacky glue, smoothing as much as possible.
3. Trim magnetic tape to fit the back side of your clothespin. Glue with hot glue gun and press firmly to secure.
You could be finished at this point if you like it simple!

 But, if you'd like to add an embellishment, cut out a simple shape in the solid color scrapbooking paper (such as a butterfly or heart) fold it in half, hot glue along the fold, and glue onto the front of your clothespin. (I rolled some strips of paper into little rosettes).
Attach a cute note and you're done!

Makes a great gift (especially with a delicious recipe attached!) ;)

Lend Me Your Earrings

Apartment living can be challenging. How do you organize your home in a way that is both efficient and space-conscious?
 My conundrum this month has focused on how and where to store my earrings. They had previously been piled in a small box in a drawer; out of sight, out of mind. I would rarely wear them. Since we have a good amount of counter space in the bathroom, I wanted to find something to store them in that could be both functional and decorative.

I came across this cute box at Michael's, 30% off. It's made out of cardboard and has a magnetic closure. And it looks like a book! How cute and scholarly is that? The only problem was, how would I hang my earrings in it? Then I had an epiphany:

A wardrobe!

So I set off to find a small wooden dowel (29 cents), a few unpainted cardboard boxes (50 cents each) and a cute piece of scrapbook paper. Here's the end result, and I'm so happy with it!

I started by measuring the dowel to the width of the box (x3), then cut and painted them with a white acrylic paint. Once they had dried, I marked where to put them in, leaving extra room for the longer earrings. With a hot glue gun, I glued in the dowel bars. Then I painted the small cardboard boxes and glued some cute scrapbook paper to the front.

The boxes hold stud earrings, and the other holds rings! A great solution to my problem, for less than $10 (and less than an hour to make)!

Happy crafting!

Birthday

 One of the best things about having a birthday in January is that you get a second-chance at receiving things that were on your Christmas list. Something that was on my list this year was a paper cutter! Nothing too fancy, mind you; I don't know if I could keep up with those crazies who have the cartridges and all that jazz. Are you one of them? :)
 Armed with an hour or two and a Michael's gift card from the MIL I picked up this sweet puppy right here

and decided to make some thank you cards to test it out!

Happy Saturday!