Friday, January 25, 2013

Free Bright & Cheery February Calendar


What?! But it's only the 25th of January! I know, I know.... I won't have access to my desktop computer for a few days and I don't want you to be without your pretty, perky, playful calendar. So here you go! 
I apologize for being stuck on the same basic color scheme as one of the December calendars, but it's that ribbon! And it's winter, so a little extra burst of high-energy, happy colors couldn't hurt.

Feel free to download this calendar to your iWhatever or desktop. HERE are step-by-step instructions if you've never done that before. If you would like to use your free Coolibah app to make a calendar of your own design, you can find those instructions HERE

The days and dates on my calendar are in a font called Crushed Out Girl. I thought it had the same playful feel as the rest of the page. Here is a copy that you can use if you are creating your own calendar.


Sorry to post and run, but I have a ton of things to do before tomorrow morning! Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Party!!!


Surprise! I'm back already! 
Just a quickie though. I wanted to submit this cute card to a Linky Party over at Crafty Secrets. They have a blog at heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com that I like to visit for inspiration. I ordered several postcard kits from their online store a couple of months ago, and the image of the little girls was included in one called Best Buds.

This card was really easy to put together. The base of the card uses a very simple trick that produces great results. I just ran a single layer of Bazzill Bling Bankroll cardstock through the BigShot with a Nesties Grand Labels Four, about 4.5 x 7 inches, to get the top layer of green. (Yes, some of the Nesties Grand dies will fit through a BigShot! Just check the measurements before you buy.) Then I cut a piece of plain green cardstock to 9x7--the shimmer of the Bling won't show on this piece-- folded it in half to 4.5x7, and ran it through using the same die. But this time I lined everything up so that  the fold stayed intact.


See how there is just a tiny gap between the edge of the fold and the die? When you run that through your die cutter, you end up with this:


The top edge is straight right now, but that's why we cut the Bling, too. We'll come back to that in just a second.


I folded some pleats into the middle of a doily to make it more oval than round.


Then I lined up the bottom and sides of the green pieces and adhered the Bling to the base, layered the doily on top, and added the little girls with a nice little bow. Quick and easy!


I'll stay out of your mailbox for a few days now.
Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Totally Trash to Treasure!


In my Andy's garage is a stack of about 40 corrugated plastic campaign signs. You know--the kind that you might order if you lost touch with reality and decided to run for the school board. They come in really handy sometimes.  I used a couple of them when I upcycled an old foot locker. (I was told that the term "upcycle" is much cooler than "recycle" or "repurpose." So there you go!) The signs are about as thick as a good piece of corrugated cardboard, but being plastic, they are much more durable. I have a  plethora of projects for them knocking around in my brain! One is ready to share with you today.

We spend most of our vacations on a beach, reading, dozing, enjoying the local beverages. I read almost exclusively on my iPod. Yes, iPod, not iPad. I enjoy my iPad, but I like the size of the iPod for reading. It probably sounds strange, but it's kind of like water skiing on one ski instead of two. No one believes it's easier until they do it. But I digress.... The one drawback to the iPod is the glare on the screen when you are in the sun. Since we will be on a beach again very soon, I decided to eliminate that problem by purchasing a Nook Simple Touch. It has an e-ink screen that looks like a printed page, even in direct sun. I chose it over a Kindle partly because it will open library books, while Kindles need a program to convert library books to their format, and partly because I already have 30 or 40 books in my Barnes & Noble library, as opposed to 4 or 5 in my Amazon library.

Of course it needs a cute protective cover, so before I even loaded it with books, I came up with a plan.

I've made covers for iPads and other tablets before, but they've always had three sections. Two sections fold around the tablet and the third works kind of like a flap on a purse or satchel to hold everything closed. 
This one really only needs two sections--a front and a back. 

I traced the shape of the Nook onto a sign two times and cut out both pieces. 


Then I dug out an old ripped out pair of jeans that one of the boys thought I could salvage (could or would?) and cut pieces big enough to wrap around the plastic. 


I basically sewed two pockets with a one inch wide strip of fabric between them. The plastic slips into the pockets to protect the Nook, but can be removed easily so the cover can go through the washer and dryer.


I used strips of clear vinyl sewn into the corners to hold the Nook in place. Some covers have fabric corners, some have elastic, and I've even seen some made with ponytail holders, but I like how the clear vinyl almost disappears. I used the same vinyl on the iPad cover I made over a year ago and it has held up very well. 
Next I got to "cute-ify" the outside. I didn't want to make it too foo-foo-ey because Andy will probably want to use it, too, so on the front I used an iron-on "P" that's been hanging around my craft room for years...


 and I made a pocket for the back. It's just the right size for a room key so we don't get locked out of the room. Or some cash to tip the housekeeper that lets us in if we do get locked out. In the rain. At night.
Not that that has ever happened....


I've been told that I should try making some video tutorials to put on YouTube. I think one of these covers might be a good project for that. They can get pretty complicated if you try to do silly things like have the hem of the jeans line up at the edges of the cover, but I think I can simplify it so it's not so confusing. If I decide to give it a shot, I'll let you know. In the meantime, if you would like to have a go at making your own cover (for any device) and want some nice sturdy plastic to slip inside it, leave a comment or send me an email. I'd be happy to share!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!