Fun Holiday Ideas with Pringles
December 22, 2011 Leave a Comment
Christmas Pillow Box Tutorial
December 13, 2011 7 Comments
These are really great to put candies like peppermints or Hershey Kisses in. Just place them in a basket and hand them out as your party guests leave. Or place them on the table next to each person’s place. And depending on what size you use, they’re also great for children’s party favors, grab bags, and small gifts. I’ve also used these to put my handmade jewelry in!
Pillow Box Tutorial:
What You Need:
Card Stock
Wrapping Paper
Glue Stick
Tape
Scissors
Directions: First choose some festive wrapping papers. For small boxes, paper with smaller patterns works best.
Take a piece of wrapping paper, and use glue stick to cover a piece of card stock with the paper. (If you’d like the insides of your boxes to have designs too, you can add paper to each side, but that’s not necessary.) Now you’ve got some festive material for your pillow boxes!
If you have a Cricut or Silhouette machine, you can easily cut out your pillow boxes using that. But if you’re like me, and you don’t have one, then you’ll have to cut these out by hand.
To do this, you’ll need a template like this:
You can find a printable version here. Or you can go to Google, and just search for “Pillow Box Template,” and you’ll find others.
After you print out your template, cut it out, and then use it to trace the pillow box on to the plain side of the cardstock. (Don’t worry about tracing the fold lines)
After you’ve got the pillow box cut out, fold it long ways (like a book), down the middle, as shown below:
At this point I used tape to make a seam from the two sides.
Next just fold in the flaps on each end, and you’ve got a pillow box! You can also add names tags, bows, or other embellishments if you have to fancy it up!
And on Friday I’ll be hosting a special Holly Bloggy Christmas Edition of my Friday Favorites event here at Simply Sweet Home with a giveaway from Amy Cornwell.
Guest Post and Giveaway for A Crafty Creative Christmas
November 29, 2011 Leave a Comment
Pumpkin Wall Hanging
October 12, 2011 4 Comments
During the summer I shared a couple of projects made with embroidery hoops. And here’s another! This Pumpkin Wall Hanging is very easy and very budget friendly!
I made with it with a couple of sheets from scrapbook kit that I got at the Dollar Tree and (believe it or not) the fabric from an old shirt.
What You Need:
One embroidery hoop (mine was 12 inches)
Fabric (14 x 14 inch square)
2 pieces scrapbook paper or fabric scraps if you prefer
Glue Stick or Mod Podge
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors
Ribbon
Directions: Cut fabric square into a circle (to fit hoop). Wrap fabric around the outside of the inner hoop. Put the outer hoop in place. Make sure the fabric is pulled and stretched tight. Then tighten the hoops to secure the fabric in place.
Apply hot glue to the inner frame of the embroidery hoop and wrap and press down the excess fabric.
Using a piece of scrapbook paper or fabric, cut out a pumpkin shape and a pumpkin face. Use glue stick or mod podge to add a face to your pumpkin. Then use hot glue or mod podge to place the decorated pumpkin on your fabric.
Cut out a 6 inch piece of ribbon, loop it through the top of the hoop and tie for hanging.
Harvest Halloween Sponsor #2 Paramore Art Works
September 25, 2011 Leave a Comment
It’s time to spotlight another Harvest Halloween sponsor.
Paramore Art Works is a unique Etsy shop, which offers handmade gift tags, word banners, potion bottles, and witches’ wands!
This is a fanstastic shop! The items have a sort of vintage, shabby-chic appeal, which I love! A couple of my favorite fall items are these cute tags, although I also love her Halloween garlands!
The thing that really makes Paramore Art Works stand out is their line of witches’ wands and potion bottles!
What a great decor idea! Each bottle is adorned with cute tags and embellishments, making them perfect for a Halloween themed mantle or buffet. So fun!
The shop also has a lot of non-Halloween items which I wanted to highlight. I really like their word banners like this one:
And they some very cute vintage and primitive tags featuring everything from from Wizard of Oz to Fleur de lis. This set is one of my favorites:
Please go by Paramore Art Works and take a look around!
Giveaway! Beth at Paramore Art Works is offering a potion bottle of “Moon Dust” decorated with crusty gauze, twine, moss, and a spider. Perfect for a witches collection of potions!
How to Enter: The Harvest Halloween Giveaway will be posted and open for entries on Oct 14.
Stuff to Scrap Review
September 15, 2011 Leave a Comment
Having just started working with digital scrapbook kits over the summer, I was very excited when I got the opportunity to try out a kit from Stuff to Scrap.
Stuff To Scrap offers digital scrapbook papers, elements, premade templates, and kits, which can be used for a variety of projects. All products are delivered to you via computer download and they are in the highest quality and resolutions, all 300dpi. Papers are 12 inches x 12 inches and in .jpg format, elements are in .png format, and templates are in .png, .tiff, and .psd formats.
What I love about these kits is that you can use them in so many projects! A lot of people think the kits are just for digital scrapbooking and photo books. But you can actually use these in a number of digital and printable projects, including greeting cards, invitations, party supplies (banners, cupcake toppers, etc), gift tags, and basically anything else you can think of.
The kit I chose was the Berry Delight Kit:
This kit is one of Stuff to Scrap’s Mega Collaborations, and it contains a whopping 112 papers, 145 embellishments, and 2 sets of alphabet letters. Wow! The main colors are a berry color (surprise) and a teal/green color. The papers come in just about every pattern, style, and texture that you can imagine.
And the embellishments are amazing! They include all kinds of berries, other fruits, ice cream, ribbons, bows, hearts, tags, and flowers!
With the kit, I created this page, using some photos from my recent high school reunion.
And then I also created this graphic for my upcoming blogiversary:
Check out Stuff To Scrap and pick up some kits for your own projects!
Fall Letter Craft Tutorial
September 14, 2011 9 Comments
I love fall crafts and decor! I made this shabby style fall craft the other day. I guess you’d call it a wall hanging (even though I’ve hung it on the fridge). But the concept behind my little fall letters could also be applied to banners, cards, place mats and more.
What You Need:
Black Felt
Brown Paper or a paper sack
Faux Leaves
Sand paper (or scrapbook paper)
Black Marker or Alphabet Stickers for lettering
Hot Glue
Twine
Twine
Magnets (optional)
Directions:
1. Cut 4 squares of black felt. Mine are 5 inches by 5 inches.
2. Then cut 4 squares of brown paper. (I used a paper sack). The size of the brown pieces will depend on how big your black pieces are and how big you want your black border to be. For example, my brown squares are about a 1/4 of an inch (or so) smaller than the black squares. But if I was using 10 inch black squares, I probably would make the brown squares about 9 inches.
3. Next crumple the brown squares to create the textured/wrinkled effect.
4. Use hot glue to affix the brown squares to the black felt squares.
5. Next position your leaves on top of the brown paper, and affix using hot glue.
6. Next cut out pieces of sand paper (or scrapbook paper) for your FALL letters.
7. With a Sharpie draw a letter on each piece of paper and place them on top of the leaves using hot glue. Or you can add stickers or chipboard letters if your prefer.
Directions and Methods for Display/Hanging
The next step depends on how you wish to use the letters. Here are some options:
1. You could place your letters inside a frame.
2. Another option is to place the letters in a vertical or horizontal row and attach a piece of twine to the back of the letters using hot glue. (Or poke holes in the felt and weave the twine through to connect the letters). And then tie a piece of twine at the end(s) for hanging. (as in the very first picture)
3. As a third option you can attach magnets to the back of the letters for refrigerator hanging. (or you could even use tape).
4. Or you can do a combination of #2 and #3, which will allow you to hang this of the fridge (or somewhere else) in a variety of ways. (See examples below)
Z-Access 3D Display Frame Review and Giveaway
September 13, 2011 3 Comments
Today I’ve got a great new display frame to share with you. The Z-Access 3D Rotating Display Frame is the perfect way to showcase your favorites items. You can creatively display family photos and keepsakes, sports memorabilia, awards, collectibles, and more!
“With the Z-Access Display Frame showcased treasures can be seen and felt from a variety of angles, while staying safely protected from moisture, dust and fingerprints – an interactive display experience display cases made with rigid glass or acrylic can’t offer! What sets the Z-Access™ Display Frame apart from traditional frames, display cases and shadow boxes, is its clear flexible frame inserts which gently conform around objects placed between them. The puncture-resistant, dual inserts fit securely within the hinged frame enabling treasured objects of virtually any shape, to be suspended in full view. Don’t let those treasured life memories stay tucked away another day, proudly share them with your family and friends by prominently displaying them in the Z-Access Display Frame today!”
The frames come in 3 different types: The 6″x4″ 3D Stand Alone Frame, the 6″x4″ Slim Line 3D Rotating Frame, and the 6″x4″ Executive Rotating Frame in Frame.
Within the 6” x 4” frame size you can display items with volumes up to thirty-seven cubic inches (approximately items 5” x 3” x 2.5”), and the frame can hold items weighing up to three pounds.
Here’s a demonstration to show you how easy it is to place your favorite items inside your frame:
My Thoughts: As someone with a lot of collectibles and keepsake items, I love this frame! I normally put my keepsakes in my China cabinet, but with this frame I can now take select items and display them on my desk, a shelf, or any other area of the house for better viewing, and I don’t have to worry about them collecting dust.
I also love how quick and easy it is to place your items in the display frame. It’s much easier than mounting your items in traditional shadow frames, which often requires using adhesives that can damage your collectibles. And the Z-Access frame you can remove your items from the frame at any time. And it’s also more convenient and way less expensive than sending your items off to be professionally framed.
If you’re looking for a better way to display your memories and collectibles, you should definitely consider this frame!
Buy it! You can purchase all Z-Access Display Frames online at Displayit3D.com.
Connect: Also, check out DispalyIt3D on Facebook and Twitter.
Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a Z-Access Display frame.
Mandatory Entry: To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.
Fall Leaf Jar
September 8, 2011 16 Comments
At Christmas I just love jars filled with Christmas balls, so last year I took the idea and applied it to fall.
It turned out really cute, and the best part of all is that I didn’t have to spend a dime. I already had the gold Christmas balls that I used. And the leaves actually fell off of some fall garland that I had. Rather than throw them away, I figured why not use them for craft materials!
What You Need:
A Glass or Plastic Jar(s)
Christmas Balls in Gold or Fall Colors
Faux Fall Leaves
Or other fall-ish items (gourds, etc.)
Directions: Just layer your balls and leaves inside your jar as desired. I suggest starting with a few balls and then place your leaves in and around them as a filler.
My Memories Suite Review & Giveaway
August 31, 2011 8 Comments
I’ve got a fantastic review and giveaway to share with you this week! I recently received My Memories Suite, a digital scrapbook software package.
This software is an amazing value because it can be used to create tons of projects! Apart from digital and printable scrapbook pages and photo books, you can also use the software to create videos, as well as calendars, photo cards, gift tags, business cards, printable crafts and even homemade party supplies. (I’m thinking cupcake toppers!)
The software is also very user friendly! I’m new to digital scrapbooking and graphic design, but I found it very easy to get started using the program. The software comes quickpage layouts, where all you have to do is add your photos, and then it also comes with a lot of papers and embellishments to help you create your own pages from start to finish.
There’s also some amazing kits on the My Memories website that you can download and add to your software. Or you can use kits and graphics that you already have on your own computer.
Just to show you how easy it is to use the software, I created two projects to share with you. For both of these I started with a blank screen and built my own layout using elements that came included with the software. The first project I did was a basic scrapbook page (above) featuring a couple of photos of my nephew.
And then, to show you that the software isn’t just for scrapbooking, I made this desktop/printable calendar for September:
These were very easy to make! And again, I was able to make these using elements that were already included with the software. The only thing not included was the chalk board on my calendar. I made this using the basic “shape drawing” tool in the program, and then I just added words to it, drew a white line for the chalk, and added the apple. What do you think?
Here’s a video to show you how easy it is to get started using the software:
Welcome to the Family! from Lisa Jurrens on Vimeo.
Discount! Purchase My Memories Suite 2.0 today, and get $10 off! Just enter the coupon code: STMMMS63042 at check out!
Connect: Follow the My Memories Blog or follow on Facebook and Twitter
Connect: Follow the My Memories Blog or follow on Facebook and Twitter
Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win My Memories Suite 2.0 (worth $39.97).
How to Enter: Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. You must be a follower and then in the form tell us a Digital Kit that you like at My Memories. After you’ve completed the mandatory entry, the optional entries will be enabled.
