Children's Book eReader Cover

I’m going through a crafting phase of upcycling old books, especially children’s books.  I love the nostalgia of looking through all of the books I read as a kid.  I’ve been making envelopes and then making confetti with the leftover parts of the pages, but haven’t found a use for the covers yet.  I had an idea to make an eReader cover, and after finding a tutorial on Instructables (click to go to tutorial) I decided to give it a shot.

Shout Out Sunday 3

Week three of my new blog feature!  Inspired by other crafty blogs that host link parties and share other blogger’s work, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite crafts and recipes featured by other bloggers (and give them a Shout Out!).  Every Sunday, I will round up a handful of my favorite blog posts that I’ve come across and share them with you, my awesome readers.  Want to be featured?  Send me a message with your blog link and as long as there's something inspiring, I’ll pick out a favorite post to feature!

Anthropologie DIY Ruffled Lamp by Mom Advice

I love that this is more rustic looking than the Anthropologie lamp.  I like the larger ruffles and how it looks like it has more fraying.  The Anthro lamp looks to fussy to me, and this one looks awesome and would look great with some rustic decor.

Custom Confetti Cards by Aunt Peaches

Use a CD envelope with a viewing window to make a card where the confetti moved around over the picture.  I love this idea, and since my mom's birthday is coming up, I might need to give this a try!  I don't have any CD envelopes, but I'm sure I can find something around here.. if I can find the time.  I love this idea, and the cards with photos are way too cute!

Edible Sugar Lip Scrub  on How Does She

Homemade, all natural with simple ingredients, and with natural fruit dyes, what's not to love?!  My lips are in really rough shape due to the cold weather, so I need to give this a try.  She makes it look so easy and has excellent results!

Dollhouse Sneak Peak by Todd Lindsey

I am so in love with how this looks and I would love to have one of my own!  The attention to detail is amazing and I am seriously in love with this.  If I had a kid, they would totally have something like this.  Since I don't have any kids, I think the kid in me needs something like this or that I need to make one for when my niece visits.

Simple Wire Wrapped Pendant Tutorial by Inspiration Cafe

I have just started getting into jewelry making.  Okay, so the extent of my jewelry making has pretty much just been making Scrabble Tile necklaces, but I'm trying to expand my jewelry making skills and try new projects.  This tutorial is easy to follow and I love how the final necklace has a nice clean and modern look.  I like jewelry that makes a bold statement but doesn't have a whole lot going on (Less is More!), and this turquoise pendant is perfect!

Another Sunday with a hodpodge of unrelated projects, but they're all wonderful and I hope you visit each one of their blogs and give them some love.  Thanks for stopping by!

Upcycled Envelopes

Things have been pretty quiet around the blog since I've been working on trying to get more items listed in my Etsy shop.  I'm trying to expand on my existing categories so I have more items that are similar and have been focusing mostly on adding more Scrabble items and more Upcycled Envelopes from used books.  I have a fun new Scrabble project I've been working on that I'll share after I finish it (I need to find one more specific item to finish it up).  The past few days I have been focusing on making some new envelopes by using my Martha Stewart Scoring board:

I seriously love this thing.  It's easier and quicker for me to use than tracing a template because I can cut the paper to size, score it, cut the corners, fold it, glue it, and I'm done.  I also love that I can use it to make a nice clean fold line instead of having to score the paper with an Xacto knife and worrying about cutting too deep and cutting the paper in half.  I have gotten so much use out of this, especially after using it to hand make all of my wedding invitation envelopes and using it to fold my homemade wedding invitations in half.  The best part of hand making my wedding invitation envelopes was that I could print the address directly on the 8.5" x 11" paper (blue paper to match my wedding colors) instead of having to hand write each address or use labels.

But back to my more recent envelope activity:

Shout Out Sunday 2

Week two of my new blog feature!  Inspired by other crafty blogs that host link parties and share other blogger’s work, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite crafts and recipes featured by other bloggers (and give them a Shout Out!).  Every Sunday, I will round up a handful of my favorite blog posts that I’ve come across and share them with you, my awesome readers.  Want to be featured?  Send me a message with your blog link and as long as there's something inspiring, I’ll pick out a favorite post to feature!

Here is a list of my favorites this week:

ANTIQUE French Pharmacy Sign made from Scraps and Iron on Paper by Art is Beauty

I love antique signs and even more than antique signs, I love the idea of being able to make my own at a fraction of the price!

Stained US Map by The Happier Homemaker

I love this and want to make one myself!  I stumbled across these a few months ago and have been wanting to make one ever since.  I might make a world map instead, but I love this.

Jumbo 28" Doughnut Pillow by Somewhat Quirky

I WILL be making this as soon as I get used to my sewing machine.  I am so in love with it!  It will probably end up being a cat pillow in our house, but I will love it even covered in cat fur!

DIY Anthropologie-Style Confetti Vases by Hi Sugarplum

I have seen similar projects around, but I thought "meh" until I saw these - I love the shape of the vase and it makes me really want to make some of these now.  The little ball at the end is just so much more fun than the standard glasses that I've seen.  I must keep my eyes peeled for unique shaped vases at the Thrift Store so I can try this!

Cinnamon Spice Dough Valentine's "cookies" {non-edible and calorie free!} by Shaken Together 

I need to find time to make these because they are way too cute!  Apparently they don't take long to make, so I need to just set aside time to actually do it.  I want to make them into little ornaments, so I can either hang them or use them as gift tags for little Valentine's gifts for my coworkers and family members.  Way too cute!

Which are your favorites?  Be sure to show their blog some love and leave them some comments!

If you want to see some of my other favorite projects I come across during the week, be sure to follow me on Pinterest where I Pin all of the awesome projects I come across.

Sheet Music Envelopes & Confetti

On Sunday, I spent my evening working on making envelopes out of a Sheet Music magazine for Standard Piano/Guitar from October 1987.  I was hoping to find some real vintage sheet music, but this was the closest I could find.  

The magazine features these songs: Elmer's Tune, Frenesi, I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You, Perfidia, Racing With The Moon, Stompin' At The Savoy, Maria Elena, You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You.

I don't have a photo tutorial because these were pretty straightforward to construct, although a little time consuming.  I cut the pages down to size and used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board for directions to make the envelopes.  

What I really like about these envelopes is that portions of the lyrics are included with the music notes, so it really makes them unique and can be a fun conversation starter.

Do you like my envelopes but don't have time to make your own?  I have them for sale in my Etsy shop.  

The sheet music envelopes are a little larger than standard 4-bar envelopes (not sure how it ended up 1/2" wider than 4-bar envelopes, I think the scoring board has an error

Shout Out Sunday - A New Feature

I'm starting a new blog feature!  Inspired by other crafty blogs that host link parties and share other blogger’s work, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite crafts and recipes featured by other bloggers (and give them a Shout Out!).  Every Sunday, I will round up a handful of my favorite blog posts that I’ve come across and share them with you, my awesome readers.  Want to be featured?  Send me a message with your blog link and as long as there's something inspiring, I’ll pick out a favorite post to feature!

Eventually I would like to add a theme to each Sunday’s post, but for now I’m going to get the ball rolling with a handful of my favorite random posts!  Click the image or caption to go to the original blog post. 

Owl Figurines Makeover from Sarah SaturDIY

What I love most about this is that it inspires me to go to the thrift store, find the some cute figures with the funkiest paint colors, and spray paint them a uniform color to give them an amazing transformation.  I like the idea of making everything a uniform color to give it a nice clean look (I may try this with White spray paint!).

Valentine Glitter Mason Jar Tutorial by Tatertots & Jello

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, this is a project on my radar.  I love Mason Jar projects and any excuse to add sparkle to projects with glitter.  I may try this with a spray glitter (Krylon makes some I've used once before on a Wreath) and apply to the outside of a Mason Jar.

Reversible Block Letters by Eyes on the Source 

I love this and that it's dual-purpose!  I don't like having to store all my Christmas décor, so this would be a perfect alternative!  I'll be keeping this project in mind so hopefully I can find time to make some of my own Reversible Block Letters.

Embarassingly Easy Christmas Garlands by Clever Nest

I love these stars and they would be great for on a fireplace mantle or other decorating - not just for Christmas!  I'm really getting into rustic decor so I think I could make some of these and get away with displaying them all year! 

Wall Mounted Advent Calendar by The DIY Dreamer

I just love everything about this and I want one for all year round!  This is my favorite advent calendar I've seen and I seriously LOVE this! ... did I mention I love this project?  I'm hoping I'll find time to make one for next year.

Do these projects inspire you as much as they inspire me?  I've added them all to my growing to-do list!

Newborn Subway Art

One of my cousins just had her first baby, so I put together a quick Subway Art canvas for them for Christmas!  This is a great project and is relatively quick to put together.  The most time consuming part is the graphic design and making everything fit on your paper size.

Below is a quick tutorial, but it's really a simple project so I'll show the steps via photos.

For this project, you'll need:

• ModPodge of your choice (I used matte)
• Brush for ModPodge
• Canvas of your size (I used 8x10, which is convenient for printing on a home printer)
• Printer (laser jet works best, ink jet is okay and what I used, but let the page sit for a while before ModPodging to help prevent ink smear)
• Photoshop or other Computer Program to design subway art (or contact me in my Etsy shop and I can create a custom design for you - see here)
• Paper cutter (I used an Xacto knife for a precise cut - and managed to leave my finger intact this time)
• Baby stats of your choice: Name, Birth Date, Birth Time, Length, Weight, Hair Color, Eye Color, Birth Location (City and/or Hospital) and you could add a Photo or a Custom Quote (such as "Gift from God", "Sweet Baby", "Baby Boy", Future Cougar, Etc.)

Paper trimmed to size and everything ready to go