Teacher Valentine Gift Idea

When I was cleaning out the basement I came across a couple of those plastic craft containers.  {You know, the ones with the little compartments for storing odds n' ends}.  And then I remembered this Back to School post from Eighteen25.  So... with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, I thought I would come up with my own Valentine's Day version.  

I am soooo loving working with pink!!!

Anyways, here's what I added:

• various candies {chocolate hearts, mini Hershey bars, and Hershey's kisses}
• strawberry gum
• Bath and Body works anti-bacterial gel
• some heart paper clips
• glass marble and clothes peg magnets {instructions for these can be found here}
• chunky clips {I have no idea what these are actually called!}

I cut out some coordinating patterned paper, inked the edges, and glued them on to the clips.  It is amazing what a little paper can do!

For the outside of the box, I just cut out some Echo Park paper {the little bird cage was also cut from the paper} and added some letter stickers.  I glued the paper down with Quick Grip and added the bird cage with a pop dot.  

I think it turned out pretty cute.  Now I am off to decorate the other box that I ended up keeping for all of my little office supplies!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

I have linked up with Project Inspire, Craft Quickies, Skip To My Lou,  Sassy Sites, The Blackberry Vine, Tip Junkie, Shanty 2 Chic Under My Umbrella, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Christina's Adventures, Paisley Passions, Night Owl Crafting, Passionately Artistic, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog, These Creative Juices, Sew Chatty, The Girl Creative, Craft-O-Maniac, CRAFT, Childmade, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Paper Issues, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Be Different Act Normal,  A Little Lovely.  

Craft Room Organization Ideas

Well, for those of you who read my Balance post, you know that my main goal for the month was to clean out our basement storage/craft room {and the garage too!}.  With less than one week left, I am almost finished the organizing part. {I will post on this later this week!} In the interim, I thought that I would share some of the great inspirational ideas that I have come across.  I did try to list the source for all of the photos but I missed a few.  Let me know if you recognize the pics!

I love these tins to store pens, paintbrushes, and other small supplies.

Or these ones

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Find cute little baskets to store ribbon, stamps, or small punches. {use a pin at the end of the ribbon so it doesn't unroll on you!}

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Use an unwanted bath caddy to hold some paper supplies.  {You can also add some wire to the bottom and hang additional items}.

The kitchen is a great place to come up with storage pieces from muffin tins to egg cartons.

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Now here's a good excuse to stock up on some Pringles!

How I love pretty little things in jars! {especially with all the different colors!}  Use jars to store buttons, pieces of ribbon, and other little embellishments.  

Pegboards are a great way to add easy storage to your craft room and can be mounted on the inside of a door or on the wall keeping your workspace clutter free!  And, of course, they can be custom painted to add that perfect punch of color!

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Decorate plain white magazine holders with decorative packing tape {or scrapbook paper!}

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Use a wine rack to store wrapping paper. 

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What to do with those left over scraps?  Sort them by color and store them in plastic containers.

{source}

Use magnetic storage systems.

Here's a little vintage storage with wire baskets and racks.  The pictures are actually hung from a curtain rod with curtain clips {love this idea!}

{source}

So go on a little scavenger hunt around your house and see what you come up with!  I would love to hear of any other ideas that you have.  

Happy Organizing!!!

DIY Notepad and Magnet Sets

I have been continuing on my organization craze around the house {I promise I will get around to doing a post on this soon!} and have come across a number of useful items to craft with.  Isn't it fun {and cheap!} to go shopping in your own home?  And, I can do it my P.J.s which makes it even better!

In going through my desk drawers I found at least 10 sticky note pads of various shapes and sizes {all buried at the bottom of course where I couldn't actually use them!}  So I decided to create something a little cuter that I might actually use and display.  Using various materials that I just had around the house, here is what I came up with:

Set Number One {notepad and clothes peg magnets}

Set Number Two {notepad and glass marble magnets}

Fun, right?

I'll try to give you a little tutorial on how to make your own.  Hopefully, you can follow along as it is one of those projects that is much more difficult to explain than it is to actually do!  If it doesn't make sense, just let me know!

MATERIALS
For the notepad:

• sticky note pad {post-it notes}
• Thinner cardboard {I order my pictures online and I always save the cardboard that is included in the packaging to make sure the photos don't bend.  You could also use old cereal boxes or something like that.}
• Something to score your cardboard and paper.
• Glue 
• button and embroidery thread
• ribbon
• scrapbook paper and embellishments {The first set is made from the Echo Park Be Mine line and the second set is from Bo Bunny.}
• small letter stickers {from Echo Park - I love these and use them ALL the time!}

For the clothes peg magnets:

• clothes pegs {yes, I am sure you figured that one out!}
• paint {if desired}
• scrapbook paper
• modge podge
• magnetic strips {available at office supply stores or Michaels}

For the glass marble magnets:

• glass marbles {available at Michaels}
• scrapbook paper
• magnets {I used the .5 inch diameter ones.  Also available at Michaels or office supply stores.}
• clear drying glue {As always, I use my Quick Grip.}

HOW TO

For the notepads:

• Measure your notepad.  You will need length, width, and depth measurements.  Mine was about 7.5 cm x 12.5 cm x 1 cm in depth.
• Cut out your cardboard.  To get the length you will need, multiply the length of your notepad x 3 {this is a rough estimate so you may want to leave slightly longer and can trim as needed later}.  To get the width you will need, add on roughly 2 cm to the width of your notepad. 
• Now you will need to score the cardboard {This is the part that is tricky to explain!}.  Place your notepad on the cardboard so you can get a better idea of where to score.  For mine, I placed my notepad approximately 4 cm up from the bottom of the cardboard.  At the bottom end of the cardboard you will need to mark off two score spots.  The first one is just below the bottom of your notepad.  To get the second score mark measurement, it should be slightly larger than the measurement for the depth of your notepad.  My note pad was 1 cm in depth so my second score mark was about 1.5cm below my first.  You will then repeat these score marks above the notepad.  So in the end you should have 4 places on the cardboard that you have scored.  

• Cut out two pieces of scrapbook paper to cover your cardboard - one for the front and one for the back.  Glue on one piece and re-score.  **TIP: Make sure you use lots of glue over the whole piece of paper so it doesn't end up bubbling.  A brayer works great to really get the paper to adhere.  Let the glue dry for a few minutes before scoring.  Repeat with the second piece of paper.  **TIP: If you are using directional paper remember that the paper on the back will need to be glued on in the opposite direction as the front piece so that it will be going the right direction when everything is folded up!
• Glue down your notepad. 
• Sew on a button with embroidery thread to the bottom flap of the cardboard {This is literally the extent of my sewing skills!}
• Wrap thin ribbon around the button a few times to secure in place.  Wrap around the back of the cover and down over the front until you are back to the button.  Wrap around a couple of times to secure.
• Embellish your cover as you would like.  

For the clothes peg magnets:

These are left over clothes peg from my Clothes Peg Wreath.  You can find the directions here.  Then all you will need to do is cut out some of the magnet strips and attach to the back.  

I then cut out paper to decorate the front and back of a piece of cardboard.   You can place them on the fridge or other little magnet board.  I think I will add another strip of magnet tape along the cardboard itself so it will stay put if all of the pegs are in use.

For the glass marble magnets {these are what I use for my magnetic calendars}:

• Using some scrapbook paper, trace around the bottom of your glass marble and trim the paper to fit.  
• Use a light layer of clear drying liquid glue over the paper and attach to the glass marble.  
• Press and smooth the paper down to get rid of any bubbles.  
• Glue on the magnet to the back of the marble.

I think they turned out pretty cute and would make a nice, little Valentine's gift.  Here's the first set again when you open it up.

  

And the inside:

Whew!  That was a long tutorial!  Hope you made it through.  As always, if you have any questions, just ask!

Enjoy your Sunday!!


I've linked up with these great blogs: Sassy Sites, Passionately Artistic, The Girl Creative, Under the Table and Dreaming, Whipperberry, Be Different Act Normal,  A Little Lovely, Tatertots and Jello, Young and Crafty, Funky Junk Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, House of Hepworths, Paisley Passions, Katie's Nesting Spot, Night Owl Crafting, Polly Want a Crafter,Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Sew Chatty, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to my Lou, Support Blog for Moms of Boys, Craft-O-Maniac, Me Making Do, Paper Issues, Childmade, I Heart Naptime and CRAFT.

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Valentine Hand Print Canvas

There is always something about my children's hand prints that captures my heart.  If they can't stay little forever at least I can preserve their cute little hands.  So...I came up with this canvas to remind my favorite little Valentines that they will always have my heart!

Sometimes it is the simplest of projects that ends up being our favorite, eh?  If you would like to make your own, here's what you'll need:

• a canvas {mine is 12x16 }
• paint and foam brush
• painter's tape
• scrapbook paper {mine is from Echo Park}
• vinyl letters.  I used black flocked vinyl and cut them out on the Silhouette {and the font is My Own Topher if anyone was wondering!}.  If you don't have access to a Cricut or Silhouette you can always use stencils and paint.
• ribbon
• any other embellishments you would like. I added the a felt heart key and the little pink letter stickers are from Echo Park as well.

HOW TO:

• Paint your canvas starting with the lighter color.  Once it is dry, mark off a border on the front of the canvas with painter's tape.  Paint the sides of the canvas and the border with a darker paint. 

• Stamp your kids' hand prints in the top right corner.  I painted the paint right onto their hands so I could be sure there was even coverage {well as much as possible anyways!}  I did Connor's left hand and Matthew's right hand.  Wash the kids' hands!!!
• Using the Silhouette, cut out the letters and a paper heart {I downloaded mine from the Silhouette site}.
• Using double sided tape, add a strip of ribbon along the bottom of the canvas.  Position the vinyl letters and heart over your canvas and adhere.  I thought mine looked a little plain so I added the felt key and the pink letters for hands and heart.  

And now I LOVE it!!! {I just need a few other little goodies to add to the shelf!}

I linked up with Craft Quickies, Sassy Sites, Shanty 2 Chic, Passionately Artisitc, The Girl Creative, Whipperberry, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Night Owl Crafting, My Delicious Ambiguity, Polly Want a Crafter, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Sew Chatty, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to my Lou, Support Blog for Moms of Boys, Craft-O-Maniac, Me Making Do, Paper Issues, CRAFT, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Scrappy Gifts, Be Different...Act Normal, A Little Lovely, Free For All, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tidy Mom, Christina's Adventures, The Speckled Dog, Childmade, Katie's Nesting Spot, House of Hepworths, Paisley Passions.

Kids Crayon Hearts

The kids and I had a fun weekend making up a few Valentine's crafts. I'm sure everyone has made some form of these crayon projects at some point in their childhood!

{Please excuse the dirty window!!  I promise that it is clean on the inside but the outside is a mess!  As I was saying in an earlier posting, we have had a lot of rain this year...}

The project was very easy and the kids thought that the melting crayon wax was really cool!  Here's a quick run down for you. 

MATERIALS

• wax paper
• crayons {I ended up using about 3}
• iron
• scissors

HOW TO

• Pick out your crayon colors and shave them down with a pencil sharpener.  I found the good ol' Crayolas did the best for giving nice shavings as the cheaper crayons just kind of turned into dust. {they would still work though}

• Spread out a large sheet of wax paper and fold in half.  Spread the wax shavings evenly over one half of the wax paper {you don't need a whole lot of wax}.  Leave 1-2 inches around the outside border of the wax paper uncovered.

• Fold over and crimp the edges of the wax paper.  {I discovered the messy way that the wax easily runs out of the wax paper if it is not tightly folded!}  
• Iron over the wax paper on medium heat until the wax is all melted.  {I would recommend an old towel underneath it if you are ironing on a good ironing board!} The wax will all kind of run together so if you want different colored hearts do seperate wax sheets.
• Using a sharpie, outline the hearts on the wax paper.  I drew really big ones, had kids cut them out, and then I trimmed them again so the edges were a little smoother. {The kids had returned to playing by this time and didn't even notice!}
• Hang your hearts up in a window and let the light shine through.  Hopefully your windows are a little cleaner than mine. :)

My pictures are terrible but they do look pretty cute in real life.  

I still have one more project that we worked on this weekend to show you.  The kids have done their part but I still have to finish!

In linked with My Delicious Ambiguity, I Heart Naptime, Child Made and Katie's Nesting Spot.

Hope you having a great week!

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Opinions Needed!!!

Okay, I have a favor to ask.  I am stumped on a project and am in need of a little advice.  Anyone else have those moments??

I started a yarn wreath way back in November sometime {with the intention of making a Christmas wreath}.  With all of the craziness of the holidays it didn't get completed.  I didn't want to put all of my work to waste and really didn't want to be doing a Christmas project in January so I changed things up a bit {I'm sure you know how that goes!} I added a few random natural elements balls, a pine cone, and a couple of the beige yarn balls.

So here is my wreath up to this point.

So here is my question.  If I compete the whole wreath like this, will it be too full?  Would it look better if I just do the bottom half?  Should I leave it as is?  I really don't want to spend a bunch of time completing the whole thing, only to decided that I liked it better with some of the vine wreath still showing.  That being said, I do have quite a few more yarn balls already completed.  

If it helps, this is where it will be going once I figure out what the heck to do with it.  This is our laundry room/mudroom.  I just finished organizing everything today {post to follow!} and needed something for above the shelf.  

So, what do you think???  I would love to hear what you have to say!

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Clothes Peg Valentine Wreath

As a Mom of two boys, I rarely get a chance to work with pink paper.  I think that is one of the reasons that I am having so much fun with these Valentine's Day crafts!  I saw this clothes peg wreath from Family Chic over at Be Different...Act Normal and thought that it would look great with my new Echo Park paper.  So here is my version,

I started off by taking all of the clothes pegs apart to paint them and painted half in a light pink and the other half in a darker pink.

I chose three patterns of paper from the "Be Mine" Echo Park line and cut strips to fit on the front of the clothes pegs.  They were decoupaged on with Modge Podge.  Then, the fun part of attaching the clothes pegs back together! {I still cannot feel my left index finger!}

Take a wire clothes hanger and bend it into the shape of a heart.

I also ended up bending the top hook of the hanger into a full loop and covered it with ribbon to hang.  

Add the clothes pegs and it is ready to hang!  I added some Love cards for now {also cut from the Echo Park paper} but it would also be cute to add your own "Love Notes".

Well, the kids and I are off to create some more Valentine's projects {this time a little more kid friendly!}  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

I have linked up with Craft Quickies, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tidy Mom, The Speckled Dog, Katie's Nesting Spot, House of Hepworths, Paisley Passions, Lil' Luna, Somewhat Simple, Night Owl Crafting, Embellishing Life, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Tip Junkie, Polly Want a Crafter, Today's Creative Blog, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Childmade, Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, Young and Crafty, Funky Junk Interiors,  Be Different, Act Normal,  A Little Lovely, Paper Issues.

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