Making a calendar out of scrapbooking paper

For the next 12 days I'm going to make a calendar for each month of the year.  Obviously I'm starting with January.  To get started you will need 13 sheets of scrapbooking paper.  I used doubled sided sheets, but it's not needed.    

- First cut out 31 squares that are 1.5 inches square.  

- Using a ruler organize the squares on a sheet of scrapbooking paper.  Keep in mind whatever paper you pick to put the squares on, the back side will be February's background for tomorrow's project.  Once you get the proper spacing for all the squares glue each one down individually.  

- Then write 'Sunday', 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', 'Thursday', 'Friday', and 'Saturday' across the top.  Then number each block from left to right.  

- Pick a different scrapbook paper for the January background.  Then write 'January 2012' in large letters across the top.  

- You can scrapbook whatever design you would like to on the page, but for mine I decided to do a simple snowflake.  I got 4 wooden skewers and cut off the tips.  I cut one in half, and two an inch shorter then cut them in half.  I covered them in glue then sprinkled glitter on them, and hot glued them in place on the scrapbook paper for January.  Once it dried, if there were any spots left bare I put some more glue on them and added more glitter.  

Hope you enjoyed! Happy DIYing!

Empty can becomes something more.

Today's project is super simple again.  I am making a utensil or tool holder out of an empty can.  All you need is leftover paint.  I always seem to have a few cans of paint around, so this was an easy project to come up with.  I used a can from some sweets I had finished.  Now it is storing my pre-cut magazine strips and wooden skewers.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- Small amount of paint

- Paint brush

- newspaper

- Empty tall can

Directions:

- Cover your surface area in newspaper or whatever you have available that you  don't mind getting paint on.  Then place all of your materials on top of the newspaper.  

- Choose one half of your can and paint that half completely first.  I found the paint looks best if I paint with the height of the can, instead of around the circumference of the can.  Let the paint dry before painting the second half, that way you don't smudge your work.  Once is dry's paint the second half completely, and let dry before storing materials inside of can.  

- Once you're done you can store anything you need to organize into the can.  Pencils, buttons, coins, pens, yarn scraps, markers, rulers, the list goes on and on.  If you use different sized cans you would be able to store all sorts of things.  Use different colors for different cans.  

Hope you all enjoyed! Happy DIYing!

Spiral Paper Rose

Today's project is another super simple one.  I'm going to show you how to make spiral paper roses.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- 3 inch square paper, in 2 different colors

- pencil

- scissors

Directions:

- Lay the two pieces of paper on top of each other.  It works best if one of the pieces of paper is card stock thickness.  It adds depth to the flower if the papers are the same color, but if one is a darker shade and another a lighter shade.  Draw a spiral on the paper.  

- Start cutting the spiral out. Make sure to hold the two pieces of paper together the whole time.  

- After cutting the whole spiral out, round off all the corners.  

- Than starting with the outside end of the spiral roll up the two pieces of paper together.  Roll the papers tightly together.  When you get to the end you can let it go.   The paper should look like a rose.  

- If you cut out a bunch of spiral flowers it can make a beautiful center piece.  

Hope you all enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

More T-shirt projects!

I've been seeing a bunch of different DIY projects with old t-shirts, and I just love all of them!  A few days ago I made a braided headband out of an old t-shirt.  Today I used a very similar technique and made another headband (unbraided) and a necklace.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- medium tank top made out of cotton t-shirt material 

- scissors

- ruler 

- hot glue gun

Directions:

- Lay a t-shirt (or tank top) flat on a table.  

- Cut the hem off the bottom.  Then cut the shirt into at least seven loops, each about 3/4 inch in width.  It doesn't make a big difference if you don't measure these pieces exactly.  Feel free to play with the width.

- Hold each loop in your left hand, laying the seams on top of each other.  Once you've placed all the loops in your left hand, grab the bottom of the loops with your right hand and stretch them apart.  The loops should start to curl up on each other.

- Cut one strip 2 inches by 4 inches, and then as many strips as you have loops that are 1/2 inch by 3 inches.  I used two different colors for my smaller strips, but you don't have to.  

- Starting with the longer strip wrap that around the seams you layered together in your left hand, hot glueing the piece down as you go.  Next wrap the smaller strips around each individual loop's remaining exposed seams, hot glueing as you go.  Now you have a necklace!

- For the headband you'll follow the same first three steps.  Then you will take the other seam of each loop and double it up to be on top of the loops piled together in your left hand.  Once you've done that you will cut a strip that is 2.5 inches by 4 inches, and wrap this around the seams hot glueing as you go.  

Hope you all enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

Polka Dot Nails!

Today I wanted to try this new nail painting technique I read about on the hybrid chick's blog, but it didn't work out for me.  My guess is because I was trying to substitute isopropyl alcohol instead of rubbing alcohol.  By the time I knew the iso wasn't going to work I had already painted a white base coat on my nails.  

So I decided to grab some of my bright colors, orange, pink, and kelly green.  Then I dipped a toothpick in one color, and gently made polka dots on my finger nails.  I made 2 - 4 dots on each nail.  It is good to wipe the toothpick against the side of the bottle before you make your dots.  That way none of your dots are so large they take too long to dry.  I used a separate toothpick for each color.  After all the colors were dried I added a coat of clear glitter polish, and then a clear hard coat to seal it all in.  

Hope you all enjoyed!  Happy DIYing!

Upcycling an Old Sad Pair of Shoes

For today's DIY you'll need a little of your own creative juices to make this piece your own.  I have this plain light grey pair of shoes by Dirty Laundry.  They are a couple years old now, and they are starting to look kind of sad. 

I wanted to add a little character to them, and hopefully this will help fill them with some life again.  I grabbed one of my many black fine point sharpies, and went to town.  This is a pattern I often find myself doodling, so I knew I wouldn't have any trouble free-handing this onto my shoe.  

With the shape and style of this shoe I just wanted to add a little to the toe and heel of the shoe.  

After I was finished with my sharpie, in a spray bottle I made a mixture of white vinegar (1 tsp), a pinch of salt, and warm water (1 cup).  Then I sprayed the mixture on the shoe.  The ratio of the mixture isn't all that important, just make sure that it doesn't smell too strongly of vinegar, but you also don't want the vinegar to be too watered down.   The vinegar and salt will help ensure the marker doesn't run or fade as quickly.  

Hope ya'll enjoyed.  Happy DIYing!

Christmas Food

I'm going the simple route today.  I'm going to post the photos of food I made toda, and the links for the recipes.  Hope you all enjoy!  Merry Christmas!

This is what we ate for breakfast.  They are Bacon & Egg in a Toast Cups.  Everyone loved them, and they were super simple to make.    We even mixed up the bacon and cheese step, and they still came out fabulously.

For the past couple years my family has been doing just appetizers for Christmas dinner.  I've only just recently discovered how much I love Ruben sandwiches, so I had to give this Ruben Dip a try.  All the Ruben lover's raved about how delicious this was.  

Above: pre cooked; Below: after baking in the oven

This was what I made for dessert.  Individual Oreo Cheesecakes, they taste just like cookies and cream ice cream.    

Happy DIYing!