DIY Teacher Gift - Altered Mini Clipboard

I love to give teachers a little something at the end of the year to show them

how much I appreciate the way in which they educate and nurture my Wee Ones.

This year I opted to alter mini clipboards that I found at the dollar store, so they fit in well with our family goal of operating on a leaner budget this year *smiles*.

To make covering the board easier,

try to find ones where the "clip" screws on and off.

I did not, so I had to be creative

by cutting pieces of paper to fit around the clip.

This is an excellent way to use up those paper scraps and left-over embellies

I know you have laying around.

Or switch it up and use fabric instead.

The bad news is that my camera is kaput so I don't have many pics to share but

I did snap some of the finished clipboards with my beloved phone.

Have fun customizing the clipboard to the teacher's tastes or personalize it with an initial.

Soften up all that metal with dimensional chipboard accents

or handmade flower posies and tied ribbon.

Pull out your craft punches and add some dimensional paper accents like the smaller butterflies.

Your store might even have the covered clipboards, like the one on the left (below).

I just cut a rectangular-sized piece of coordinating paper,

adhered it to the board and finished up with layered flowers, a little bling, paper punched butterflies and a ribbon tied cardstock initial.

Or, try themes, like the recipe clipboard on the right.

And don't forget ribbon always makes a pretty accent.

Here are the quick and easy directions to cover your own board:

Supplies:

Full size or mini clipboard

Pencil

Scissors

Mod Podge, glue stick or other adhesive

Sponge brush for mod podge

Scrapbook Paper

Embellishments

1. Unscrew clip from the board. (If you can't find ones that unscrew then paint that part of the clipboard or cut coordinating paper to fit).

2. Trace outline of board onto paper twice (for front and back)

3. Cut paper.

4. Use your favorite adhesive, gluestick, mod podge (I used my Xyron) and adhere papers.

5. Trim any excess paper and then sand the edges. Ink the edges is so desired(Remember to replace the clip!)

6. If you'd like your clipboard to have a little sheen, add a sealant such as mod podge and let dry.

7. Grab your embellishments and make your clipboard pop!

Tell your teacher the boards can be used for displaying pictures, notes, holding coupons, or recipe cards or as a decorative piece!

Handmade Baby Shower Part 3: Banner and Favor Tins

Did I mention I will be FLYING in for this shower???

So, yes, that means I've had to finish up certain items
like the banner and the jelly-bean filled favor tins

and ship them to Maryland!

Remember the banner in it's early stages here? Its almost ready to go in this pic...made a few more changes that you'll see when I get back!

I created a template (mine are 6 inch base, 9 inches in length) for the colored triangles and mounted them on a slightly larger white triangle.

After decorating the pennants, I punched holes on either side

at the top (about 3/4 inch in).

You can then ink the edges or add trim.

Lastly, string your ribbon or twine through the holes for an adjustable banner.

Found the palm trees and the whimsical wooden lion (already painted)

at Michael's! Perfect for the King of the Jungle theme!

And don't let me forget, the guest count for this co-ed shower is now at 100! Needless to say, ordering favors can get pricey, so I went with a fairly inexpensive option.

I already had some of these 2 oz. metal tins with clear lids in my stash, so I just ordered more.

I bought coordinating ribbon, ran strips through my Xyron >

The ribbon-wrapped tins would work well, but to give them a personal touch, I added punched circles in coordinating colors and stamped them with a lion (to match the theme of course), added thank you and adhered them to the lids!

They will add nice splashes of color to the treat table!

Handmade Baby Shower Part 2: Pennant Banner

You know what I absolutely love about handmade? You can customize whatever you make to match any theme/colors etc.,

so when the more than eager mommy-to-be picked out her own invitations here, it was no problem to create decorations to match perfectly.

Here is a work-in-progress pic of the

"It's a Boy" pennant banner. My girl likes things with a modern flair, so I have to try and keep it simple and fresh!

I didn't feel like going out to look for polka dot paper,

so I made my own for the accordion fold flowers.

I punched 1-inch circles from different colored cardstock and adhered them to the white cardstock. To make the flowers, I followed the tutorial here.

Next, I think I'll be adding some animal friends to the solid pennants...will post more pics soon!

Handmade Baby Shower: Part 1

It's A Boy!!!!!

One of my closest girls in Maryland is having a baby, so I have the pleasure

of helping plan her shower!

So you know that means it's gonna be a HaNdMaDe affair...

over the next couple of weeks

I'll be showing you what I'm working on and how it all comes together...

hopefully you'll enjoy the ride!

In lieu of a traditional guestbook, we plan to let the guests

decorate mini "birthday" cards for the baby


and give them to mommy-to-be. I loved this idea so much I thought

it would be nice to have a place for mama to

store the cards and a few pics.

So, when I saw this Maya Road chipboard binder


I thought it would be perfect! Here's a work-in-progress pic: I'm covering the pages with Bazzill


cardstock in colors to match her "King of the Jungle" theme and sanding the edges with my


Basic Grey precision file set (no scrapbooker should be without these!)


Lovin' the envelopes for her to tuck the cards into. Next, I'll be finishing the book,


making about 30 mini cardstock cards and a pennant banner. Thanks for stopping by!

Easy Peasy Valentine Card/Mini Album from Cardstock Scraps!

First off, let me apologize for these less than stellar pics...I've been experimenting with the settings on my camera and somehow changed something and can't figure out what! Anyhoo, I fell in LoVe with this eco-friendly Kenner Road tutorial , which uses cardstock scraps to create a quick mini album, and you will too!

I adored it so much that I adapted it for Valentine's cards this year. All you need to do is cut your cardstock cover to the size that you desire...My card books are 6 x 6 and 5 x 8 inches.

Then gather your cardstock scraps, cut them into rectangles (different sizes work well!) and fold them in half. Stitch the spine of your book to hold it all together and it's ready for you to add pictures, journaling and embellishments!

Gabrielle Pollaco's beautiful blog, Such a Pretty Mess, inspired this flowered heart. I found this scrapbooking goddess on my beloved 2 Peas in a Bucket Gallery. To make the heart, I hot glued prima paper flowers to a heart I cut from pink adhesive-backed felt.

The different-size pages make the layout fun!

For this cover I tore strips of paper and cardstock and stitched them to the front.

I love tall, skinny cards!

Birthday Cake, Scrapbooking & Snow!

Yesterday I spent the most wonderful BiRtHdAy with my loving family! Mother Nature graced us with a pretty blanketing of snow, hubby followed up with pancakes, bacon & eggs in bed and I spent the day doing all the things I enjoy most: playing Wii with the kiddos, scrapbooking (started this mini album from scraps with the quick & easy Kenner Road tutorial ) and snuggling with hubby. Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, I gorged myself on a delightful dinner of steak with some crazy good marinade, crabcake, baked potato and veggie, oh and let's not forget the Moscato! The night ended on a high note with the Jayhawks defeating K-State...so much for the so-called "Octagon of Doom!" Turning 29 again is not so bad after all...

Showin' the Teachers Some Love!

While bloghopping the other day, I came across a fabulous site: the "Cutting Cafe" and did she ever save me in the knick of time! I needed something quick and easy for the end-of-the-week teacher gifts; we'd already given them cards made by the kiddos and "sweet treats" (based off Stamper's Dream's tutorial), so we continued with the handmade goodness! Remember my pack of K & Company "Wild Saffron" paper? Well, I put it to use with these monogrammed notecard holders, aren't they delish??? The look of surprise and delight on the teachers' faces made it all worthwhile! Need some crafting tips or gift-making guidance? Check out TipJunkie's Blog; it's chock full of helpful ideas for any occasion.

Handmade Baby Shower Essentials

Need some fresh, new ideas for a baby shower?

1. Opt for a "destination" shower:
My girl, Kelli, and I hosted one for a really sweet friend of ours today. Like me, she's having her 3rd baby and didn't really want a traditional shower with a lot of people; so we went for something more intimate and held it a cute little tea house, McDuff's Team Room and Emporium. It saved me on time and money because I didn't have to clean my house or buy and prepare all the food, decorations etc.

2. Focus theme on the guest of honor:
Instead of a baby-centric theme, we wanted this luncheon to be all about the mommy-to-be, so I went with this cute, but stylish pregnant lady because she fit Julissa to a T! Little bitty arms and legs and nothing but belly! Create your own invitations to match your theme. Need a little help in the wording department? Try Birth Announcements Galore for free ideas.

3. Handcraft or buy a handcrafted gift:
I wanted to have as much of the shower items made by hand as possible, so I purchased this beautiful diaper cake from my lil sis Aisha over at Gifts for All NC. For the DIYers, here's a tutorial for making your own: http://cinnamonspicecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/04/baby-shower-bliss.html

4. Create a babyshower keepsake book:
And I made my first babyshower memory book, where there's room the invitation, for photos and a place for each guest to write a message to the mom-to-be. I blinged it up a little and I think it turned out well. I am so lovin' the brown, green and pink "Spumoni" colors!

5. Give the guests party favors they can eat or will actually use! Let's be honest, sometimes we leave the shower with some cute baby-oriented momento that we'll never use again... I used take-out boxes and accented them with the expectant lady, a circle tag stamped thanks, curling ribbon and color-coordinated satin ribbon. I filled them with hershey's kisses.

6. Last, make sure you leave the mommy with a set of thank-you cards. These are a pocket-style card, stamped thanks but they can be monogrammed with a stamp or on the computer. Instead of purchasing cards, you can make your own inexpensive ones by using textured cardstock and scrapbook paper. Each guest can self-address the envelope for mom so all she has to do is fill out the card! Got any great tips? Leave 'em here!

Baby Shower Bliss!

Yes, I know we're supposed to be posting about our upcoming craft fair, but you'll find sometimes I get a little distracted and promise to help out a friend, when I really should be focusing on something else! So, over the past few days I made these thank you cards and the diaper cake for the mom-to-be at her baby shower.

I've seen many instructions on how to make a diaper cake, but I'm not big on instructions, I like winging it. But just in case you are wondering, here's what I did:

I used two packs of diapers, a pack of newborns and a pack of size 2 diapers. Why two different sizes you ask? Well, one can never have enough diapers, but it's nice for a mom to have a stash of larger sizes on hand, once the newborn ones run out. Also, it's hard to find brand name newborn diapers that are mostly white, which is the look I prefer for my cakes!

You will also need small elastic bands (preferably white or clear) or narrow ribbon, some decorative ribbon (I like 2" or wider), and a large circular platter (16" circular cardboard piece will work) to form your base.

~1st step is to roll each diaper, (make sure on the mostly white diapers there is no color showing when rolled). Then secure each diaper with an elastic band or a piece of narrow ribbon. Once the diapers are rolled you can then begin creating the layers or tiers.

~2nd, I use the platter as the base for my bottom layer. I stand the size 2 rolled diapers up around the perimeter of the platter and fill in with the newborn diapers. Once the circle is almost full, I wrap a piece of decorative ribbon around the middle of the diapers, and cut the ribbon (allow extra ribbon to tie a bow if so desired). Next you can fill in the gaps with more diapers until the layer can be picked up without losing any diapers! Alternatively, you can form a small circle of diapers first, tie with narrow ribbon and build a larger circle around the smaller one.

~3rd, repeat the process for next two layers, using the previous layer for the base. For the top layer, you might take a stuffed animal, bottle of baby lotion or shampoo, and place the diapers around it. This makes it easier to form the top layer and adds a functional, yet decorative cake topper! Have fun with your cake, focus on a theme, such as safari or colors, or whatever the shower theme might be! You can also add as many accessories to the cake as you like, pacifiers, rattles, baby booties etc by tying them on with pieces of narrow ribbon. If you're only feeling a little bit crafty http://www.diapercakewalk.com/catalog.php?category=10 has some premade cakes that you can decorate yourself. For beautifully decorated cakes at an affordable price, shop Mommy3Jesse: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5386417&section_id=5309956