Monday, October 13, 2008

Baby Picture Display


This is a craft from a while ago, but I wanted to post it anyway since we used several used materials for it. It was actually Mark's idea to put the frame together & my idea to put the pictures on it.  I love to see it hanging in the baby's room & I considered updating the photos, but I think I actually like seeing the older ones to remind me how much they have grown & how amazing those first few months were.

Supplies Used:
1) Frame made from old piece of plywood that used to be part of a door on a very old entertainment center - FREE
2) Baby Blanket - FREE
3) Photos - FREE
4) Thumbtacks to match coloring in project - $2.00
5) Wooden shapes - $1.50

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Hairbow holder craft

I got this idea from a similar idea I saw a few weeks ago. I had to change it up a little bit to make it my own but I'm pretty pleased with the way this craft turned out. I started with these art boards that come 3 in a pack at walmart for about 3 dollars. I drew a curved dress design on the back and then pulled out the power tools for an easier cut. The next step was painting. I chose a bright pink and applied two coats.


The next step is using the hot glue gun. I applied the twill at the bottom then the matching ribbons I'd picked out along with the flowers. I also added the hanger to make it look a little nicer and then hot glued the flower at the top. I plan on also adding a little girls name in the middle on the bodice of the "dress". Once its complete, little girls can use the ribbons to hold their hair bows. Super cute idea Right?



Monday, October 6, 2008

Wipe Diaper Case

I had originally posted this on my blog because Maria had listed this as a craft for Super Saturday and I thought she'd post it. But Maria pointed out to me that it was a recycled craft idea so I decided to go ahead and post it here too. This is a simple diaper wipe cover. It takes material, ribbon, and hot glue to make it.

Glue the material to the base of the wipe case and again at the top (two separate pieces). Once you've done that, trim the edges to extra material. Then glue the trim around the edge of the case. Repeat for the top of the wipe case. Since my husband is in the Army I used the ACU material for one of them. Then I wrote my son's name with a paint pen.
I used brown ribbon because I could not find matching green ribbon.I used red ribbon to match some of the red in the material. This is my favorite of the two. These cases are selling on the Internet from 8 to 10 dollars. It cost me about 2.50 to make this but if you have material and ribbon on hand you could make it for nothing.



Sunday, September 21, 2008

Quick Birthday gift containers!

When I was called to be 2nd counselor in the Relief Society, I instantly was swamped with all kinds of new ideas I wanted to implement. One of those was to recognize the sister's birthdays with a little something special, so I baked some crispy oatmeal raisin cookies with white chocolate chips in them & pulled together these two cute containers to put the cookies in.  I also have a sign up sheet for each month & the sisters at church volunteer to make or give something small to those having birthdays & this month it was a free haircut, along with the cookies I made. Not too shabby!  

Just trying to show you the nice depth & roominess it has for an assortment of fun treats & I like the way the tissue paper shows through. 
I covered the back too, just for fun.  

Supplies Used (All from current stash of goodies):
1. plastic container - FREE
2. paper - from my scrap box
3. ribbons - from my stash
4. stickers - $2.00 from the Dollar Tree (I used some from 2 different packs)
5. brads - from stash
6. tissue paper - from stash
7. baked oatmeal cookies inside

Supplies Used:
1. baby formula can - FREE
2. paper - from scrap drawer cut to size
3. stickers from pack that's been sitting around for who knows how long - I know it's been a pretty long time because I had to add more adhesive they were so old their own adhesive had lost it's tackiness
5. ribbon - from my stash
6. tissue paper - from my stash
7. baked oatmeal cookies inside

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Broken Mirror No Longer

I am very honored that Maria asked me to contribute to this Recycled blog. Thank you Maria, for thinking a few of my ideas are worth sharing! This is a mirror I bought on super clearance for Shelby's room but when we moved here it got broke. We had to save it anyway until after I filled the claims paperwork so I just kept it afterward thinking I'd get around to doing something with it. We'll Maria's blog of recycled ideas got me working on this finally. I knew I wanted to turn it into a bulletin board. I found 12x12 tiled cork board at Target for a little over five dollars. I measured the area and cut the cork board tiles to fit. I thought about painting the cork board but that is always something I can do later. I'd also like to add curved screw things to put on the bottom for keys and such but I didn't have any in my tool box so they will have to be added later. I also found the pins at Target as well. Here is the before:
Here is the after. A pretty simple project that went from trash to use able in a matter of minutes.


Sunday, August 24, 2008

"Recycled Crafting"

What is "recycled crafting"? I am not an expert, this is just something I wanted to do to have fun & feel like I'm doing one more small thing to help the environment. There is a plethora of items available online & in craft stores for the use of crafting, scrapbooking & card making. I have bought thousands of items over the past 8+ years & have yet to use them. They are taking up space in my life & serving no purpose. So, it's about time I started to use what I have around me to get creative.

So, recycled crafting is using what you already have or items that have been previously used for the purpose of creating a new project.

I first had this idea come to mind when I received a really cool FedEx booklet in the mail after signing up for an account. It is a slim booklet with spiral binding & tabs. I could already envision a great scrapbook or memory keeper just by covering the pages, adding some ribbon, stickers, brads & of course PAPER!! I do not have it finished, but hope to unveil it soon!

In the meantime, I have been stashing things on the shelves in my craft room that I would have either thrown away or put in the recycling, figuring it would be much more fun to see them come alive with crafting materials.

Just a few of the things I have been hoarding.....plastic zippered bags that hold pillowcases, old multi-paned windows, a broken vase, interesting junk mail, baby formula cans, boxes, canisters from baby snacks, tags from clothing & shoes.

So keep checking back to see what I can come up with!!!

Key Holder

What started the idea.....this is actually not the first project that spawned my idea for "recycled crafting". It was a FedEx booklet that I'll post later on, but this is the first project I was able to FINISH. I completely forgot to take a picture before I painted it, but it was cream colored with ugly blue lines & a very faded looking picture on the front of a dilapidated looking home. Mark has been asking for a key holder, so when I saw it at the thrift store for $1.70, I figured I could turn it into something more our style.


The first picture was too dull & I know the next picture has a glare, but it shows the glossy look I was quite pleased with. This project was all about using things I already had, which is what I hope every project can be based on!

Here is it hung up on the wall. I use the clip to remind me what I need to put in the mailbox on my way out the door!

Here's a rundown of what I used:
1. old key holder purchased at thrift store - $1.70
2. spray paint found in garage, purchased ages ago & never used
3. 'Home' metal embellishments - bought at Dollar Tree over a year ago - $1.00
4. Ribbon - all from my ribbon stash
5. Clip - found in my pile of office supplies
6. Flower - bought at Big Lots over 6 months ago - big pack of them - $1.00