Showing posts with label altered book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label altered book. Show all posts

1.30.2013

Valentine's Day Tutorial: Coaster Scrapbook


This little coaster scrapbook represents the early years of my relationship with my husband. I've called it Pics From The Vault since the majority of photos have never been shown to our children...until now. 

Many of the photos were taken while we were still dating at the end of 1999 and into 2000. To make them look like Instagram prints, I photographed the originals and downloaded them to my computer. Using Picasa, I cropped the photos into squares, added a black and white filter, along with the Holga-ish filter and printed them at Shutterfly (click here for my Instagram-printing tutorial).

Let's have a look inside:


I purged supplies from my stash, used a coaster book from Maya Road and my trusty Glue Dots®. The love-themed Fancy Pants cardstock and journal pages from BoBunny were purchased a few years ago, so I'm happy to see these finally get used (especially the cardstock with two blue birds). Here's how I made it:

Supplies:

Glue Dots® (Micro, Lines, Ultra-Thin)
Maya Road coaster book
Fancy Pants cardstock
BoBunny journal pages
Basic Grey stickers
Prima flower
StazOn black ink
small hole punch
square photos
white cardstock
paper trimmer

1. Remove chain from coasters and set aside. 
Trim cardstock to fit coasters and attach using Glue Dots Glue Lines®. 

 
2. Punch holes into cardstock for chain.


3. Decorate the coaster book with journal pages, photos and embellishments. 
Adhere decorations to book using Ultra-Thin and Micro Glue Dots®.


4. Ink the edges of the coaster book pages.


5. Type journaling on word processor, print on white cardstock and use paper trimmer to cut the lines into strips. Use Glue Dots Glue Lines® to attach the word strips to the coaster scrapbook.


6. Insert chain back through coaster scrapbook and secure clasp.

After I was done, I excitedly shared this coaster book with my girls and hubby. It feels great to finally document these photos and dig deep into my scrapbooking stash for a little purging.

What supplies have you been holding onto for too long? ~Danielle

Related:

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

9.19.2012

12 Crafty Things To Do

What's on your crafty to do list? I bet you have at least a handful of projects that you'd like to start (or finish) by the end of the year. I certainly do! 

Today, I'm sharing 12 things on my crafty to do list. These are the photos I took on September 12 for Ella Publishing's Take Twelve Challenge.

1. Decoupaged Wall Chalkboard: The kitchen is STILL a work-in-progress! We started the process by tearing off wallpaper in January, completed the majority of work in April and then I decoupaged a portion of two walls over the summer. Next up, add the chalkboard I painted to cover up the blank spot on this wall:



2. Winter-Themed Wall Hanging: For my upcoming Bind-it-All class and Glue Dots Dottess project, I plan to make some sort of wall hanging using these coasters from Outback Steakhouse:



3. Road Trip Scrapbook: I went to Kings Island in early August, took lots of photos, printed them as 4x6 photo collages and added the cropped pics to the original book I made during my Zutter Certification Course. What's left to do? I need to add the journaling and would like to create a video tour of this scrapbook:



4. Scrapbook With Poo: Yep, you read that right. Elephant poo to be exact! I first found out about PooPooPaper a couple years back and after my last trip to the Toledo Zoo, I finally got my hands on some recycled poo and brought home a pack of odorless scratch paper. I can't wait to scrapbook with this:



5. Decorate Paper Storage Organizers: When I receive orders from MemoryWorks, they are shipped in large boxes and I've turned some into paper storage. They have helped me to stay organized, but I still need to decorate the boxes:



6. Wall-Hanging Stamp Organizer: When my crafty friend, Candy, asked me if I wanted a bunch of plastic packaging from dies and such, I said sure, but had no idea what I was going to do with all of them. Then I saw this large acrylic wall organizer for stamps by Jules and an idea was born. I'll do something similar, but on a much smaller scale and create a stamp organizer that can be displayed on my craft room wall and also portable at the same time.



7. Photo Album Cover: I signed up for monthly workshops at Mindy's house and during the last class I attended, we made photo albums. I learned how to dye ribbon using ink and quickly dried it with my first-ever heat gun experience. Since I had to leave early, I wasn't able to finish decorating the cover:



8. Use Washi Tape: I did it! I broke down and bought some washi tape and will be creating a variety of projects with the two rolls below. I also plan to make my own washi tape and will share the tutorial here when I do so.



9. Make "Green" Scrapbooks: I've been wanting to put together a completely "green" scrapbook for some time now, using only recycled and eco-friendly materials and will finally be tackling this during the ScrapHappy Layout a Day in October. I purchased two eco-binders by TerraCycle for $1 each at a local thrift store and they will become the covers for my ecoscrapbooks:



10. Bind-it-All Class Projects: The day I snapped my Take Twelve photos, I was prepping for my Bind-it-All class at Hobby Lobby. I've been struggling to find students, but happy to say that I have my first one! A one-on-one class was perfect for Nancy since she owns a Bind-it-All, but didn't know how to use it. She left the class with plenty of knowledge and confidence to use her book-binding tool.



11. Toilet Paper Roll Home Decor: 2012 has been the year for toilet paper roll art. I've featured several crafts using toilet paper rolls and have seen a plethora of finished projects on the web. Lately, I've been itching to create one eye-catching home decor item using these tubes that usually gets trashed or recycled. I have an idea and I can't wait to make it!



12. Make Handmade Paper: This has been on my crafty to do list for almost a year now. Last November, I purchased my very own handmade paper kit at the Great Lakes Mini Meet and have yet to use it. I've been saving scraps of paper and fibers in the bag I brought the kit home in, but all of it has been sitting on a shelf, waiting to be used:



Whew! As I tackle each project, I'll be sure to share photos of them right here. With less than four months left of this year, I'm hoping to complete all twelve projects, as well as a few others.

I'd love to hear which project you would like to see most. Please comment below and let me know ;) ~Danielle

See my other Take Twelve posts:

August
Labels: , , , , , , ,

8.01.2012

Tutorial: Using Paper Scraps to Decorate a Wedding Book Cover

Calling all brides! Are you planning a do-it-yourself wedding? If so, I have a simple craft tutorial that can spruce up the cover of your wedding guest book, planner or scrapbook.

Decorated Wedding Book Cover

Supplies:

Glue Dots© (Micro, Mini)
white paper scraps
flower punch
butterfly punch
vintage buttons
assorted ribbon

*Book shown was created using Zutter 8x8 Canvas Art Boards, O-wire, filler paper and the Bind-it-All.

1. Punch 30 flowers and 10 butterflies out of the white paper scraps.

2. Make 10 three-dimensional flowers by attaching 2 flowers together using Mini Glue Dots©. Secure a button to the center of each layered flower with Micro Glue Dots©. Then make 5 three-dimensional butterflies by attaching 2 butterflies together using Micro Glue Dots©. Fold up the top layer of each flower and butterfly to create the three-dimensional effect.

How to make 3-D flower and butterfly embellishments.

3. Use Mini Glue Dots© to attach all the flowers and butterflies to the front cover of the pre-made book.


4. Tie ribbon to the o-wire.

That's what I call an easy peasy way to add a special touch to any wedding book. ~Danielle

Related Glue Dots Tutorials:

Upcycled Flower Carrier
Birdseed Ornaments + Upcycled Tags
Confetti Dropper

Disclosure: This blog post was written while participating on the Glue Dots design team.
Labels: , , , ,

5.14.2012

Toilet Paper Roll Craft: Charlene's Mini Album

Charlene from Scrapateers entered my recent Toilet Paper Roll Challenge and created this adorable mini album:


Visit Charlene's blog to see additional photos of her toilet paper roll mini album and learn how she made it.

Additional Toilet Paper Roll Crafts:

Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies
Labels: , , , ,

9.19.2011

Eco-friendly Scrapbooking: Mini-album-palooza

Have you been inspired by Pinterest yet? I sure have and love seeing other people get their eco-craft on! Check out these upcycled mini-albums I found on Pinterest:


Created by JB - Altered CD Case Album:
Paper Dolls - Reduce, Reuse, UPcycle:

My heART Blog/Wilna Furstenburg: Coffee Cup Albums:
Source: flickr.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Made an eco-friendly mini-album? Contact me, ecoscrapbook (at) yahoo (dot) com, if you would like to be featured here.

Related:


Labels: ,

9.14.2011

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Welcome to my new blog series called Words of Wisdom Wednesday!

You may have noticed that I've been blogging every day. Originally, this started out as a seven day project and then I decided to take it up a notch and try for thirty days of blogging. Can I do it? We'll see...

With that in mind, I came up with Words of Wisdom Wednesday, which ties in perfectly with my Smash Book project.

Have a look at this week's Words of Wisdom:


"Words of Wisdom" Smash Book


Supplies: K&Company Smash, Cosmo Cricket Elements, Simple Stories letter stickers.

Related:


Labels: , ,

8.28.2011

I ate beef (for the first time in over a year)

Today is the final installment of my twisted Week in the Life project. I've already taken you through six days of my life (including the thoughts that go through my brain) and showed you things like how I decided to purchase a new phone and what not to wear to Mi Hacienda.

On the last day of a Week in the Life, I ate something I shouldn't have.

Day 7: I Ate Beef (for the first time in over a year)

It was good, but I'm not doing it again.
The back story goes like this...

Thinking I was allergic to strawberries, I went to see an allergist to find out why I had an itchy skin rash that spread from my face to my back and chest. I ended up taking two different allergy tests and found out that I am highly allergic to almost every single weed and tree and mildly allergic to beef and crab (I'm also allergic to dust, dust mites, dogs, cats, nickel and probably to the dye/preservatives that are added to strawberries).

I had been wanting to stop eating beef and this was the perfect excuse to do so.


June 2010 was the last time I ate beef. 

Our family meal plan changed drastically with occasional complaints from my meat-lovin' husband. Every once in a while I would prepare some cow for the family, but I refused to eat the stuff.

Slowly, I began to crave a hamburger. Veggie burgers and chicken sandwiches couldn't fulfill that craving and watching shows like Man vs. Food didn't help either. Finally, I caved in, but with one condition: no fast food burgers (have you seen Fast Food Nation or The Meatrix movies? Seriously, go check them out! And if I would have watched those videos before I decided to cave in, I wouldn't have even considered eating beef again).

I bought the beef patties and the hubby happily fired up the grill. Once cooked, I smothered it with all my favorite toppings and devoured it. It tasted like that burger I'd been missing for so long and I was satisfied (but a little nervous that I might end up in the hospital which is why I chose to eat beef when the girls were still visiting the grandparents).

Obviously, I survived.

Update: I'm back to being beef-free after a few beef-infused (homecooked) meals resulting in major intestinal issues (felt like someone ripped out my intestines, beat and scratched them and stuffed them back inside of me. Luckily, there was no fever or other nasty issues, just belly pain that lasted about five days.)

Lesson: Don't eat beef if you are allergic to it no matter how much you crave it.

Glad I'm not allergic to chocolate.

Day 1: A Week in the Life of Danielle's Brain and a phone obsession
Labels: , ,

8.27.2011

What not to wear (to Mi Hacienda)

Have you ever wondered WTH is this person thinking? (Maybe you're thinking that right now about my Week in the Life project and if you are, then read this first.)

Day 6: What Not to Wear (to Mi Hacienda)

Please, do not make these fashion mistakes ;)

When my husband and I get a chance to go out to dinner, we have a few favorite spots. And when we are in the mood for margaritas, we head to Mi Hacienda in Toledo.

You can find an assortment of people in Toledo, wearing all kinds of crazy things and here are just a few of them:

Tucked-In Jersey Man Without A Dress Plan
Lesson: Don't wear a football jersey tucked into your pants unless you are a football player.


Jersey Man Without A Dress Plan

Halloween Costume in July: Cruella De-WTH?
Lesson: Don't wear a Cruella Deville Halloween costume to dinner in the middle of July.


Cruella De-WTH?

Holey Army Pants! Why Women I Should Dress My Man
Lesson: Don't EVER wear a t-shirt with a hole in the armpit to dinner with your wife (or camouflaged shorts). And that IS my husband.


My Husband

I'm not usually a judgmental person, but I love to people-watch and often wonder WTH are these people thinking.

Tomorrow is the last day of my twisted Week in the Life project and I ate a hamburger. That may not be a big deal for you, but I stopped eating beef in June 2010.

If I made you laugh today, feel free to share this post with your friends :)
Labels: , ,

8.26.2011

The not so picture-perfect transfer during a Week in the Life

On Monday, I shared how I chose to buy an HTC Evo 4G (start there if you are new to my Week in the Life series) and when it's time for a new phone, it's also time to remove all those photos and videos from the old cell phone. 

I did it the hard way.

Day 5: The Not So Picture-Perfect Transfer

This is how NOT to transfer photos from your cell phone to your computer.

One by one, I emailed each and every photo...each and every video...to myself in order to download everything from my Blackberry to my computer. That was not a quick and easy task, nor is it the way it's supposed to work.

Why did I take on this task? My computer was hit by a (stupid and annoying) virus a couple months ago so I had to take it in to be serviced. Luckily, all my documents and photos were unharmed, but the computer has never been the same. It didn't recognize my phone, even after uninstalling and then reinstalling the software.

I could have just waited to have all the photos transferred to my new phone, but they still needed to get to my computer (and I was also worried about losing pics during the transfer).

Two-hundred photos and videos later, the transfer was complete. It took a big portion of my Friday, but I was also working on other projects in between all the sending and downloading. 

It wasn't as bad as it sounds.

I edited the photos and uploaded them to Shutterfly, leaving the videos to be dealt with at a later time.

Lesson: Download photos from your phone to your computer on a regular basis so you do not have to transfer almost a year's worth of pics in one day.

Tomorrow is my favorite day of my Week in the Life project: What Not to Wear (to Mi Hacienda). My doodled people aren't stick figures (although they aren't completely proportional) and they ARE funny.

Labels: , ,

8.25.2011

I don't wear a mini-skirt and jump for joy when I have four days of freedom

Hello and welcome to another addition of a Week in the Life of Danielle's Brain! 

If you have no clue what I'm talking about, start here. And if you know what's going on, then you know all about Back-to-School Shopping 1985 vs. 2011 and Mortal Kombat.

Being a mom has its perks and when grandparents are involved, it can mean freedom (at least for a couple days or so).

Day 4: 4 Days of Freedom

You'll never EVER find me wearing a mini-skirt.


I love summertime. 


Thanks to my parents and in-laws, I have at least one weekend a month to do whatever I want (like doodling, shopping without the gimmies, datenight and visiting the library without security telling my children to stop running around).

Obviously, I was happy to have four days of freedom. I may not have been jumping for joy like a cheerleader wearing a super-short mini-skirt, but I absolutely LOVE having time to rejuvenate (and quiet throughout the house without any screaming and bickering children).

Oh, and my girls are waaaay cuter than the doodled girls. I almost went back to fix them, but this project is not about perfection (and I can't wait to show you the people of Day 6...hilarious!).

If you enjoyed seeing me in a mini-skirt or any of my Week in the Life posts this week, share them with your friends (and I'll give you a cookie).


Labels: , ,

8.24.2011

Back-to-School Shopping 1985 vs. 2011

Today is Day 3 of my twisted Week in the Life project. If this is your first time here, you'll want to read more about this project, find out why my doodles look funny and learn about my cell phone brain. Also, if you feel like finding Mortal Kombat for me, try that here.

Day 3: Back-to-School Shopping 1985 vs. 2011

Back-to-School Shopping: Times have changed!
When I was a child, mid-summer was the time to go back-to-school shopping. My mom and I would hop into her car and drive down the road to a big box store. We'd shop for hours and then once we had a cart load, my mom would wheel it to the back of the store and put it all in layaway.

All my new stuff. Gone.

Week after week, we would drive back to that big box store and my mom would give the cashier twenty bucks. And week after week, I had to leave my new stuff behind. Then the day came when my mom would make the final payment. The cashier would walk to the storage area and come back with a few boxes.

The boxes came home with us and there were always a few forgotten surprises inside.

Times have changed!

The moms of today have it much easier. We can search for the best deals online, pick out what's needed, add to a virtual shopping cart and pay with plastic. Five to seven days later, a big delivery truck pulls up carrying boxes filled with back-to-school supplies (hopefully delivered by a smokin' hot man). Easy-peasy!

Another thing moms love (especially yours truly) is to have four days of freedom...that's tomorrow.

Labels: , ,

8.23.2011

Searching for Mortal Kombat during a Week in the Life

Yesterday, I showed you how I decided to buy an HTC Evo 4G and told you all about my twisted Week in the Life project.

Today is the day of Mortal Kombat.

No, I'm not going to challenge you to a fight.

My challenge is this: Find the hidden Mortal Kombat game.

Day 2: Where in the World is Mortal Kombat?

After the entire family spent the day searching for our Mortal Kombat game, it's still missing (even one month later).

Did you find it? Neither could the four people that live in this house! (By the way, we actually have more rooms in our house, the German Shepherd IS bigger than our fish and the basement shower isn't always running.)


This house was the very first sketch I created for my Week in the Life project. I originally planned on making my project more like a scrapbook, but upon finishing the house, I laughed at myself and figured What the heck? Who's stopping me from using this? 

UPDATE: It's almost one month later and we STILL can't find that dang game.


Tomorrow: Back-to-School Shopping 1985 vs. 2011

Yesterday: A Week in the Life of Danielle's Brain and a phone obsession

Labels: , ,

8.22.2011

A Week in the Life of Danielle's Brain and a phone obsession

Day 1: How I chose to buy an HTC Evo 4G

One stressed-out, crazy-haired mama, researching cell phones and wearing her pink fuzzy slippers.

Sorry for the long post, but my twisted Week in the Life project needs a little explanation.

Obsessions. 

We all have them from time to time. Some are long-lasting while others may only stick around for a day or two.

The first day of my Week in the Life project was centered around my obsession to find a new cell phone. After two years of having Blackberries, my husband and I were ready for a change.

As the photographer of the family, I wanted a phone with an awesome camera and plenty of photo apps. And since I love to listen to music (when I craft and shower), a big data hog, I had to have unlimited data.

So, on Day 1 of a Week in the Life of Danielle's Brain, I researched dozens of cell phones, various providers and an assortment of plans. I'm pictured with thought bubbles, along with my crazy, stressed-out hair and of course, my fuzzy pink slippers (drawing people is not my forte).

After going from one site to the next, the decision was made to purchase HTC Evo 4G phones and go with Sprint since they are the only providers offering unlimited data. You may notice that the iPhone is not listed and this is because we bought our phones through my mother-in-law, an ACN representative. Unfortunately, ACN does not carry the iPhone. Thus, we now have androids.

Let's talk a bit about my zany idea to draw my thoughts instead of taking photos...

Basically, I wanted to do my own thing. I went with the flow of my thoughts and chose not to take dozens (if not hundreds) of photos a day. I challenged myself to draw. Well, actually they are more like doodles (I call them my brain doodles...Why? Because I think I'm funny sometimes, a little weird and I still can't draw the same images I see in my brain. If I could, I'd be a brilliant artist making tons of cash. And thoughts cannot be photographed).

With EcoScrapbook, I'm all about experimenting with alternative scrapbooking, from using eco-friendly scrapbooking supplies and recycling to digiscrapping and photography, which is why I chose to use an unwanted children's book as my canvas.

My supplies for the entire Week in the Life project included items that were in my stash (well, more like my daughter's stash): a black Sharpie, Crayola markers (the new eco-friendly ones), colored pencils, pen, glue stick, paper scraps, magazine letters, diecut letters, scissors, old printer paper and a children's book called How to be a Star in 7 days or less (perfectly fitting for a Week in the Life project).

What can you look forward to during my Week in the Life series? Well, there'll be some Searching for Mortal Kombat, Back-to-School Shopping 1985 vs. 2011, 4 Days of Freedom, The Not So Picture-Perfect Transfer, What Not to Wear to Mi Hacienda and finally, I Ate Beef (for the first time in over a year).

Stay tuned tomorrow for another brain doodle.

Until then, check out my 2010 Week in the Life project: 9 Days of sCRAPs and for the real deal Week in the Life project, including more information about it, visit Ali Edwards.

Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)