Lamp Shades

Have you ever wondered how to take an item from drab to fab?  Try using a little hot glue and ribbon! That's what I did with these lamps. These were simply white shades before I touched them up.  I thought it would be great to use some decorative trim and ribbon to give them interest and a better connection to the room.

Such a simple idea. In less than an hour, I trimmed four shades and gave my room a fresh look for the summer.  If you want to change the ribbon down the road, you can!

Flower Power Wall Art

I'm going to will spring to bloom here in upstate New York. It's been a long, cold, snowy winter up here and I am longing for some vitamin D! I thought I'd make this cute little piece of wall art. What I love about this is you can do it too and with little to no cost-- because I know you probably already have everything you need!

Supplies:

1 12x12 piece of scrap book paper

1 3x12 piece of paper

ribbon

large silk flower

some self adhering sparkles

an old 8x8 canvas

staple gun

glue stick

glue gun

Center your paper over your canvas. I made slight slits on each corner of the paper in order for it to fold over neatly. Then I folded the corners of the paper over the canvas like I was wrapping a present. I tacked the paper down to the frame with my staple gun. Then I placed my 3x12 paper in the center of the frame and tacked that down in the back as well. Time now to add your ribbon on each side of the center piece of paper. I did not use any glue. I simply tacked it down in the back with more staples.  Line your ribbon with your sparkles. Then cut your silk flower bud down to the nub. Be careful- if you get too close to the end you will clip the little nub that holds it all together. Stop just short of the little nub. Then place a substantial blop of hot glue in the center of the picture. Place your flower on there and hold in place until it's secure. 

This project is super duper easy and fast! And what a way to brighten up your space! Hope you love it like I do!! Please tell me what you think. I love hearing from you.

Bookmark D.I.Y.

 I love to curl up with a good book. In fact, I think that's just about all I've been doing lately because the weather here in upstate New York is miserable. It's cold, snowy and downright nasty. What better way to cope than to warm up with some blankets and dig into an adventure? I love real books. I'm not sure how I would do with an E-reader. I kind of like turning the pages and smelling the books. It's an experience. Another way to show my books some love is to make a bookmark to go with it. This is so easy- really, I'm not sure if you'll think I'm corny for actually spelling out the directions- but here it goes!

Go to your ribbon stash and find a pretty ribbon. You can cut it at about 12 inches. Then raid your jewelry stash. I found a cute little heart charm and a wonderful little funky bead. You thread an embellishment on each end of your ribbon and tie it off. I tied the bead in on both ends- but left my little heart with one end open. It's not moving. Then you put it in your book and away you go. There are also little clasps that you can put at the end of a ribbon that allows you to dangle a charm from- but in this case- I wanted to make a quickie one. I hope you like it! Happy reading!

Ribbon Rack

As I delved more into using ribbon in my scrapbooking, I created beautiful layouts and a serious dilemma.  I became a ribbon addict. 

I had nowhere to put all of that ribbon.  When I tried to peruse through dozens of designs, I couldn't find what I wanted because things just weren't organized.  I had plastic bags full of various sizes and colors and I simply lost track of what I had.  So, as we all do, I went out and bought more.  Finally, I had a vision.  If I just knew what I had in my craft nook, I would use that, instead of buying new ribbon everytime I started a project.  I wanted a ribbon rack.  That way I could even color coordinate!!  Dreamy.  I put my father to work pronto!!

Dad did a great job creating my vision.  If you decide to give it a go.  Here are some things to keep in mind.  Give yourself enough room between dowels to store spools of all sizes (see my project for storing really small ribbons spools by clicking here). Simply drill large holes on each side of your frame to slip either end of your dowel through so you can take it out to add more ribbon.  Once your ribbon is on, you don't need to remove the dowels...just pull down the length of ribbon you need and cut.  Remember to color coordinate.  I also used one row for holiday ribbon.  Organizing everything was the best part.  Be sure to leave enough space on the top frame to attach hanging hardware.  Once you hang this baby up, you won't be able to stop looking at it.  Your masterpiece will become part of your art in your craft office.

Finally, there are different ways to put your mark on the ribbon rack.  My father added some fancy trim to the lighter oak model.  I asked him to keep the darker one simple so I could modge-podge the sides and create a fun gift.  As you can see in the picture above I added the wooden letters "Create" to the top with modge-podged flowers all over it.  Then, I added initials on the side...same decoration.  I covered much of the frame with pretty paper and added some glitter glue and a few flowers.  Let's just say my crafty friend was in love with her gift immediately.  By the way...the whole idea that I would not buy so much ribbon if I was organized enough to know what I had around the house...that didn't work.  Once I got this ribbon rack.  I just wanted to fill it up with more ribbon.

Flower Power Wall Art

A fun and inexpensive way to change your home decor is to create your own pieces of art work! I took an old 8x10 canvas and made it new with a couple pieces of scrapbook paper a ribbon some little gems and a big flower! This piece of art really makes me smile- considering I took this picture during fall when we still had real flowers in the garden and we didn't have snow on the ground.

Paper Snow Flakes And Bow

Making snow flakes can be such a fun little project. You don't have to be an expert cutter. There really are few rules and just like the real snowflakes- no single paper snow flake is alike! All you need is some paper, scissors and if you want to jazz them up--- some glue and glitter!

I used my paper cutter to make squares that were all equal in size- but I admit, in the end it really didn't matter! Then take your paper and fold it in half and then in half again- you can also fold your paper in odd folds.

You know, like corners and fat chunks in the middle. Once you get into your second or third fold- you can then take your scissors and start cutting small holes in a variety of shapes (triangle, oval- whatever you can manipulate your scissors to do). Then fold again in a different way- and cut again. Really, your only rule is to make sure you don't completely cut off a fold- that will cause your snowflake to have a large hole or even be cut into separate pieces!

I had fun with Elmer's glue and fine glitter. Well, the glitter got the best of me and I'm sure I'm sparkling like a vampire in the Twilight movie! LOL Still, the glitter really brought the character out in them!

Then, because I already made this display with my son's snow flakes, I decided to make a cute little bow to hang them on! All I did was loop the bow several times and fanned them out. I then tacked them together and added a cute little glass button in the middle! Soooo simple.

Adhere your snowflakes with double sided redline tape and then find a place to hang it.

Crazy Little Feathered Christmas Tree

Who says Christmas has to be filled with red, white and green? I had way too much fun making this fun little project for the corner that never gets any attention! How does a girl get so many feathers she has enough to make a Christmas tree? Well, I made the most awesome bird costume for Halloween this year and I had a plethora of feathers leftover!

Supplies:

-Feathers

-Large sheet of card stock 

-Large flower

-Ribbon

-Glue gun

-Glue sticks

Optional for a base:

-sequence ribbon 

You need to create what looks like a cheerleaders cone and you do that by cutting your card stock with 2 straight sides and a half moon rounded edge on the third. You then meet the straight edges and over lap them- making the straight ends overlap until one end has a very tiny hole and the other is very large. Glue it in place.

With the rest of the card stock you can cut a circle out and sequence around the edge and create a base. Do not adhere the tree to the base until you have feathered your tree.

I started feathering the tree from the top to the bottom. All you do is put a little bit of glue on the feather tip and the adhere it to the tree. Every other row you should layer and not place a feather directly under the next. This will help you cover all of the tree and create volume. Your feathers will likely puff out on their own. If you get a flat one very gently try to bend the stem out.

To top my tree I used a beautiful silk flower. I stuck the stem into the tiny hole in the tree and then hot glued the stem to the inside of the tree. Then you can hot glue the tree to the base. You can tie a beautiful bow just under the flower to add some flare and then add some Christmas lights for the holiday sparkle!

Chipboard Flip Book

Chipboard books allow you to take your scrapbooking to a whole new level- removing the boundaries of the 12x12 or 8x8 paper.

If you're new to scrapbooking and wonder what chip board is... It is basically cardboard you can find at the bottom of paper packets or pads of paper. You can also do what I do and recycle most of your food boxes.
It's great for the environment and great for scrapbooking with! They will allow you to have a variety of thicknesses to choose from.

I used a die cut machine to cut out these small 2 inch tags and then used the same machine and shape cutting die to cut out the paper- so I knew they would match up.

Then I used a glue adhesive to adhere the paper to the cardboard and allowed it to dry.

Now comes the fun part... Decorating! I had never painted on my scrapbook creations so this was a safe way to try it. I whisked the paint across the paper with a foam pad and really liked the results! I think this is where my obsession with paint started!

Once that's dry- figure out how you want to embellish it. I chose to place a flower on the front and stamp my letters. While you can put photographs in these lovely creations- I chose to offer my friend some advice on how to relax. I used the letters in her name as a guide for my advice. So as she flips through the book she will see her name on it and some kind words to help her relieve stress in her life. Finish it off with a lovely charm and lots of ribbons.

The end result is a very special gift for someone you love.