Friday, May 27, 2011

Additional Goodie Jars

Here are two more jars that I decorated for the other teachers.  Click here for the post on how to make one. Enjoy!



This one was filed with Cheetos!

This one was filled with Chocolate (my kind of lady!).

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Decorate a Goodie Jar

Hello Everyone!
This week I made another gift for my kids teachers (just the main 3 - no speciality teachers this time). I purchased the jars from Walmart and decorated them with the teachers' favorite color and will fill them with their favorite snack.

Supplies Needed:
Jar (a flat edged jar works best)
Paper: I used Pink Passion by StampinUP and Pink Glitter by DCWV
Adhesive: The stronger the better. I used my ATG 714 tape gun. Also used Xyron sticker maker.
Embellishments: Flowers from Michael's $1 bin. Keep in mind, any embellishment will do.
Cricut Cartridge: Mini Monograms
Pop Dots: StampinUP
Ribbon: StampinUP Rose

I cut the rounded corner squares with my Cricut Expression (my Cricut Expression 2 should be here next week!!!). I cut two squares in Pink Passion and two squares in Pink Glitter, all at 2.5 inches. After covering the square with a lots of adhesive, I place it on the jar. My jar had a square on each side with a raised edge, which the 2.5 inch cut out fit perfectly. I alternated the Pink Passion and Pink Glitter on the sides.


I attached the flowers and gem with pop dots. 

On the lid I cut a circle at 3.5 inches and another one at 3 inches.  I layered the plain paper and glitter paper.  Again, attached the flower and gem with pop dots. Using my Xyron sticker maker, I attached the ribbon around the lid edge. All done!


This jar will be filled with white cheddar popcorn, the teacher's favorite snack!


Thursday, May 19, 2011

More Decorative Notebooks

Below are all the other notebooks (and bookmarks) that I decorated to give you some ideas. Anything combination is possible! To see how to make these easy notebooks, click here. To see how to make the bookmarks, click here.











Decorative Notebook - Super Simple

Hello Everyone! I am so sorry that my post from last Thursday disappeared while Blogger was "down." The good news....here it is (again)! It is Teacher Appreciation time at my kids schools.  I made decorative notebooks last year and the teachers are still stopping me to let me know how much they loved it and what they used it for. Since they are SO simple to make, I decided to create them for my children's teachers this year.

Materials used:
Notebook - any size or kind will do. I stock up on them at "back to school" time when Staples has them $.01 (does anyone know where the cent symbol went on the keyboard and what replaced it? I know when I took typing in school (way too long ago) there was a cent symbol)
Paper - StampinUP paper pack, but any paper you like will do
Paper cutter - I used my Provocraft cutter, but any will do
Adhesive - any you like, but the stronger the better
Optional - Ribbon, embellishments, stickers, etc

First measure your notebook, mine was 8 by 10.5 inches. I cut my paper at 7.75 by 10.5 because of the spiral wire. The next step is putting the adhesive on the back side of the paper. I have found the closer I can get to the edge of the paper, the better. This will prevent the edges from "rolling." I also put a big "X" corner to corner to help keep the paper down. The hardest part of this project is lining up the paper with the notebook. If I get going too fast, I usually mess it up. I start at the upper right corner and match up the notebook corner to the paper corner. I carefully line the top of notebook and paper up and press down, while keeping the rest of the paper off the notebook. Next, I line up the right side of the notebook to the paper and carefully press down all the paper.

I added a ribbon to the edge of mine (I used my Zyron sticker maker to adhere the ribbon to the notebool/paper) . I think this blends the paper to the wiring/notebook nicely. I also used my Cricut Expression and Songbirds cartridge to cut out the M.  I cut the M using the real size dial at 3 inches. Keep in mind, you can decorate your notebook any way you want with ANYTHING! That is what makes these so much fun.

I also made a matching bookmark for all of them. If you are interested in seeing all them that I made using several different colors and pattern paper, click here!

Remember, I love comments and hearing from you all. Thanks and have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Mother's Day Card

Hello Everyone! Today I made a Mother's Day Card, which is super easy to make. At the end of the post, I have alternative suggestions on how to make this card with your everyday supplies you probably have at home.

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up! Paper - Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White
Stamp Set - Women of Life by Paper Trey Ink
Ink - New Leaf by Paper Trey Ink
Flowers - purchased at Michael's (I no longer have the little jar they came in, so I am not sure what brand)
Embossing machine - Sizzix Texture Boutique
Embossing folder - Textured Impressions Flowers by Sizzix
Adhesive - ATG 714 and Pop-dots


First, I cut the Melon Mambo paper in half (8 1/2 x 11 original size) to create the base of the card, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2. I scored the card at 4 1/4 inches and folded along the score line. Remember, if you have a bone folder, using it will create a nice smooth fold line.  The next layer is 4 x 5 1/4 inches in Kiwi Kiss paper. I decided to emboss this layer, but you certainly don't have to. I used my Texture Boutique by Sizzix embossing machine and embossed little flowers on the paper. 

An embossing machine is very easy to use. They are often on sale at craft stores and if not, make sure you use a coupon (typically 40% off). Also, the chain craft stores do take competitors coupons (Joann's, Michael's AC Moore, Hobby Lobby). The paper is placed in between the embossing folder, the embossing folder is layered in between the "plates" (they come with the machine) and then it is all "cranked" through the slot (in the picture above, the corner of the paper is in the slot). If you don't own an embossing machine, it would be something to consider. Embossing is very easy and adds to your card and other craft projects.


Next I cut the Whisper White paper to 2 1/4 x 4 inches and stamped the stems of the flowers. I attached the flowers using Pop Dots. I just love the glitter flowers! I stamped "Happy Mother's Day" underneath the steams.


Now it is time to assemble the card. Using my ATG 714, I adhered the embossed Kiwi Kiss paper to the Melon Mambo card and the Whisper White paper to embossed Kiss Kiwi paper. I shifted the focus of the card to the bottom right by adhering the Whisper White paper to the bottom right corner. You could place the Whisper White paper anywhere you prefer on the card.

There you have it, a super easy Mother's Day card. As promised above, here are some alternatives you could use to make a similar card. Instead of embossing the Kiwi Kiss paper, you could leave it plain, use pattern  or textured paper. You could use a marker, crayon, or color pencil and draw the stems and write your greeting. This could easily be a changed to thank you, just a note, thinking about you, with love, happy birthday, etc. You could draw flowers, use stickers, cut them out of a magazine, newspaper or colored paper. The possibilities are endless.

I hope you all have a great weekend and to all you mothers out there - Happy Mother's Day.