DIY Notepad Cover - Recycle, Reduce, Repurpose

I am definitely a "SHE" - 

Sidetracked Home Executive (via Flylady)!

Stationery supplies make my heart happy; 

notebooks, journals, papers, pens, markers, 

file folders, planners, etc.

So when hubby & I went to some local 

yard sales this past weekend and I saw 

a fellow "SHE" selling a portion of her 

stash, I was like...

Then during a little crafty time, 

I created a pretty cover for one

of the notepads I had picked up.

These lovely papers are from Echo Park,

For the Record, they were in my scrap

box along with their stickers & trim.

However, the scraps weren't quite wide

enough to cover my pad so I pieced some

together. It worked out perfectly with a

little washi tape to hide things inside! (:

I even found a little 

resin flower to match!

I now have a pretty covered 

notepad for my purse...

I like when everything coordinates!!

check out the one

I created for my

Christmas list...

Are you a SHE?

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Easy Melt & Pour Seashell Soaps

Ah, summertime...

sun, sand, beach, seashells...seashell soap! 

Why not!

It's a fun activity to do with the kids!

You'll need a melt & pour glycerin bar

and some seashell candy or soap molds
from your favorite craft store.

Then cut a few cubes from the bar and place

them in a glass bowl for melting.

Pop it in the microwave and heat it

for 30 seconds, stir. Continue heating

it at 30 sec. intervals until melted and

its easy to stir.

Separate the melted soap into different

glass bowls if you want to add color to

your soaps.

Once colored, you'll simply pour it into

your molds and let it sit overnight until

firm.

Then pop them out of the molds to use

or give as gifts.

Simple, huh?!

We used food to color our soaps;

brown sugar, paprika, dark cocoa and 

blue "Jello" powder.

Think of the possibilities...

depending on the molds and colors

you use; you can coordinate seasons,

holidays, sports, special events, etc.

side notes:

if you notice bubbles in your melted

glycerin soap-and they bother you-

you can put a little rubbing alcohol

in a spray bottle and lightly spray the

surface of the soap, the bubbles will

dissipate. 

Also, if you have older kids, this could be

a great fundraiser project. I've given

you the basic instructions, but you 

could get a little more involved by

purchasing soap fragrance and color

gels (a little goes a LONG way!) It can become 

rather addictive, be warned!

Have you ever made

your own soap?

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A Baby Giraffe Card - 5 minute cardmaking

How to make a super quick card.

(I used a digital image and a stamped sentiment for this one.)

After I chose an appropriate image

for my card, the process went like this...

1. print 

2. cut to size

3. color

4. attach to card base

5. stamp a sentiment

And in less than five minutes I had

a card. 

This can be an important skill to know

when you completely forget you need a 

card five minutes before leaving the house

for a party, shower or important event...just saying...

Copic markers, foam adhesive squares,
MFT sentiment stamp, Memento ink, white gelly roll pen.

I dotted the blue spots with a 

Sakura white Gelly Roll pen to add

a bit of whimsy but I see they're not

showing up in the photo. {{sad face}}

*side note:

I think this was the last baby card for awhile, I promise. (:

However, if you need more baby card inspiration, click HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Have a blessed day!

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Simple, Sparkly and Recycled - Birthday Card

A few months ago, my son

received this cute birthday 

card below.

It was bright, fun and sparkly.

And honestly, it was the sparkly

parts that saved this card from

the bin when he was finished with it.

So, with a piece of white cardstock

and a trimmer, a new birthday card

was born. Simple, huh?!

Can you see the sparkly glittery parts???  

Oh my heart be still! (: 

white cardstock, personal trimmer, foam dots

"So that which is old becomes new."

Works great for Christmas cards too!
Enjoy your day!

What do you do with

your old birthday cards?

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my "But for the Grace of God" bench - Home Decor

Quite a few years ago, my eldest son 

(with a wee bit of help from my carpenter husband) 

made me a lovely bench for Christmas.

He left it unfinished so I could 

paint it to match where ever I 

wanted to use it...so sweet.

It's a beautiful bench, buttery smooth

and I debated whether to just leave it

as is.

Then I was inspired...

Keith Urban 2016

by a Keith Urban song, 

"But For the Grace of God!"

It was a #1 hit back in 2001

but it's one of my favorites

from him.

I originally used my Cricut to 

cut out a stencil but had major

issues with placement and paint

getting underneath it...what a mess.

So I pretty much free-handed it.

Sketching the letters with pencil,

painting with acrylic then using a 

sharpie marker to even out where 

my hand was unsteady. whew!

Determination always succeeds!

Hope you're having a great day.

Blessings!

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A Doodlebug Onesie for Baby - Cricut Craftroom

Welcome to Baby Card Central!

the series continues...

I'm stilling using my Doodlebug Design papers,

they are so sweet! 

Cricut Craft Room basics, Cricut, Memento ink,
Doodlebug Designs paper (Snips & Snails),
kraft paper, button, baker's twine, SU! Congrats sentiment

The Cricut Craftroom offers some 

basic cuts and this is one of my 

favorites for baby making baby 

card making! (:

So many babies, so little time.

I believe I have two more cards

to share; another boy & a girl card

finally. Stay tuned.

More baby card inspiration...

CAS Doodlebug Baby

A Rubber Ducky Baby card

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Have a blessed Thursday!



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Cricut Wall Art - Bless This Home - Cutting Vinyl

Playing with my beloved Cricut, 

I made this fun little vinyl sign

the other day.

I had cut out this phrase some time

ago when the Cricut Craftroom had

it for free. (It's now available HERE

for $1.99)

The three boards were cut at 3.5"x12.5"

then glued and stapled together.

After my acrylic paint dried, I placed

the vinyl and made sure there were 

no air bubbles. 

The vinyl on the paint is "moveable"

at this point using transfer paper if

you need to adjust it but be careful.

I then painted a thin coat of Mod Podge

over it, left it dry overnight and wrapped

the cord around three times. The cord

is knotted in the back and stapled down.

Note: 

when cutting vinyl on your Cricut,

your blade should be at 3 and the 

pressure at medium.

(I used my Cricut Expression)

Do you use an

electronic cutting machine

for you DIY projects?

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Birthday Cardmaking with My Mind's Eye and Paper Smooches!

Quick morning cardmaking!

When I decluttered my crafting 

supplies, oh my, I found that I 

had somewhat of a paper fetish!

However, with so many designer

paper pads it's quite easy to be

inspired.

For this birthday card, 

MME's Happy Day pad

caught my eye.

Hey Chickie!

My Mind's Eye-Happy Day papers, The Twinery twine,
Paper Smooches-Chubby Chums, Memento ink

So tweet sweet!

Anyone else have 

a paper fetish?

I know I'm not alone on this one! 

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A Rubber Ducky Baby card - Cricut Craft Room

My Doodlebug Designs papers are at it again.

I shared a CAS baby card the other week and

here's the second one in my "baby series!"

This sweet little rubber ducky die cut was made

using my beloved Cricut and a free cart from

the Cricut Craft Room.  

Cricut Craft Room basics, Cricut, Inkadinkado sentiment stamp,
Doodlebug Designs paper (Snips & Snails),
kraft cardstock, flower button, jute twine

The rubber ducky song kept going through my

head as I was making this card.

Rubber Ducky you're the one,

you make bath time lots of fun...

I hope this post brought a little smile to your face!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

This baby card series will 
continue in the coming weeks. (:




If you own a Cricut,
have you ever used the free
online Cricut Craft Room?

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My TO-DO List Altered notebook - Bella BLVD

Happy Earth Day!

Here's a fun little recycle/upcycle - reuse

project I've been wanting to share.

I am an admitted list-maker, yep, it's right there

on my "About Me" page! Lists are a constant in

my life. 

My mind naturally works in lists.

When I have a project to do, I see the steps in

list form before my pen even hits paper.

So where does a prolific list-maker keep her lists?

Notebooks!

But I'm a crafter too, so they need to be

embellished notebooks!

I make one for each season. (:

notebooks - Summer '15 & Winter '16

Recycling or is it Upcycling?

I use the kids old composition books; they 

never use all the pages. Would that be 

recycling or upcycling?

Upcycling the kids old notebooks.
The used pages are carefully cut out and
the cover is joyfully altered.

Most notebooks have more than half of

their pages unused, in that case I just 

alter the cover. 

However, my current edition was pretty

much thinned out so I made a quick 

bookcover from kraft wrapping paper.

This will allow me to transfer my spring 

cover to another book when this one

is finished before the end of the season.

creating a kraft paper book cover

Ironically, some of Bella Blvd's winter papers 

were perfect for my spring notebook!

Bella Blvd Winter Wonder design papers were

used, earlier in the year, for both my winter notebook 

and my 2016 daily planner, I really liked the color scheme.

Winter '16  with Bella Blvd design papers

My 2016 daily planner using Bella Blvd Winter Wonder papers

spring 2016 To-Do list notebook

Are you a list-maker?
Do you keep notebooks of notes?



For more fun projects...

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A Clean and Simple Doodlebug Baby

A CAS baby card

The end of the world is NOT near!

I just thought I would put that out there today.

How do I know?

Because of the un-naturally high number

of babies being born over the next few

months to friends & loved ones!

With all that new freshness coming into our

world...the world can't possibly be near it's end!

Cricut Craft Room basics, Cricut, Memento ink,
Doodlebug Designs paper (Snips & Snails),
My Favorite Things (DC stamps: notched tags)

CAS (clean and simple) cards are 

definitely my go-to approach to

cardmaking, it fits nicely with

my minimalistic lifestyle!

Doodlebug Designs: Snips & Snails paper 

was perfect for all the baby boys cards I 

crafted; love this monkey print!

Then I used my beloved Cricut and the 

Cricut Craft Room basics cart, available

for free online, to cut my little onesies.

This design would be great for mass 

production but I wanted to get a bit 

creative with each of the cards I made.

Stay tuned for a "series" of baby cards

over the next few weeks!

Thanks for stopping by, have a blessed day!

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Springtime Centerpiece - Chicken Wire Flower Cage

Spring has sprung!

So I thought it appropriate to dust the 

cobwebs from my blog and say HELLO!

This past winter season was a busy one
in our home, more on that later but I
wanted to share my first spring project
with you.


A Chicken Wire Flower Cage

centerpiece using  recycled bottles

My original idea was to place

single stem flowers in plain 

clear bottles spaced across my

table. Cute idea, right?

Turns out it was not very practical 

once I needed to move them every

evening for meal time. So hubby 

made me this sweet chicken wire cage!

So simple but I'm lovin' it!

general materials used:
soda/beer bottles, labels removed.
flower bouquet (Walmart $3.00),
 snipped to separate stems.
scrap wood.
chicken wire.

*side note...we have a very long
farm table (nine foot long) so I
needed at least seven bottles to
make the piece look right. If you
have a normal size dining room table,
and you wanted to make a similar
centerpiece you could probably get
away with using only 3 to 5 bottles.

Sweet & Simple

What do you think?

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