How to make a Dollar Store Journal

In order to improve my son’s creative writing, we decided that we are going to write in a journal each night.  This can be anything!  A simple story.  A few lines about his day.  A cartoon drawing with some simple conversation.  Anything to get him writing more.  I thought it would be a good idea to create my own journal and write along with him.  So I created this one for him.  I simply bought a composition notebook at the dollar store, traced the front, cut out the paper, glued it on, glued on some ribbon and a mailing tag.

The other day I was at the dollar store and found this red, faux leather place mat.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it but I knew I wanted it.  :)  I ended up using it as a cover for a journal, check it out!  :)

What you will need:

composition notebook

place mat

strong glue  (or waxed thread, I used glue because I was lazy)

Velcro

Rip the cover off of your notebook and throw it in the recycle bin.  Place your notebook on the backside of the place mat.  Measure the place mat to where you want your cover to end, draw your line, cut off the excess.  I just kept mine just under half an inch on each end.

With your notebook on the place mat, line up where the spine of it should be on the middle of the mat.  Using a ruler, draw a line vertically down the mat, this is going to be your guide for your glue.    (If you want to sew it instead, use waxed thread, open the journal to the middle and stitch through the original binding holes, depending on how thick the material you are using is, you  might want to pre poke the holes with an awl first.)

Run a strip of glue down the line, place the notebook back in place, close the cover tightly, place something heavy on the book to help set the glue.

Next I took the scraps and made a closure for my journal. 

I cut a one inch piece of Velcro and glued it to the cover (or stitch it if you are sewing it), and the opposite end to the inside of the strap end.  If you have a sewing machine, it would probably be a good idea to sew it on if you will be opening and closing it a lot.  Better for wear.  ;)  I lined up the strap and glued it to the back of the journal.  I just made a little mark with a pencil on the inside so I knew how to line it up.  Wait 24 hours or so for the glue to dry completely before using.

Voila!  All done.   

I already had the glue on hand and the Velcro, so the total project cost me $2.  :)  Hope you like it!  If you make one yourself, link me up.  I would love to see it!

How to make a Feather Headband!

This morning I woke up wanting to make something pretty, so I did!  :)  I have never done this before and there very well be better ways to do it, but this is how I did it!  Hope you enjoy it.

What you will need:

Feathers

Glue

Headband

Felt

Button

The first thing I did was cut a thin tear drop shape out of the felt.  Not long, just a wee bit shorter than what you want the feathers to extend over your head really.

Then I picked out what feathers I wanted to use and played with them until I got an idea of what I liked.  Then I started to glue them on.  I started at the tip of my felt piece so that the ends of the feathers would be hidden as I went.  Make sure you place the feathers down!  You dont want the tips poking out.  :)

I decided I wanted another brown feather on top after I took this but you get the idea.

This is my back….

Just be careful with the glue, you dont want to use too much or it will make a mess of the feathers.  Clean up the back of the felt, just pulling gently on the glue and tiny feather bits.  I than trimmed a little of the excess felt that was showing on the front.  Then I just found a matching button and glued it on the button to hide the end of the feathers.

Next put your headband on and decide where you want the feathers.  You can mark it with a piece of chalk if you like.

Simply run a line of glue up the center of the felt and attach it to the band.  Wait for it to dry for a little while before wearing.  After I did that, I added small dabs of glue here and there to make the feathers lay flatter against my head.  Hope you like it! :)

Let’s just pretend

that I havent been horribly at blogging.  Again.  :)

Some pages that I scrapped recently.  :)  I have gotten into a habit of just using one kit per page.

Land of Odds by Lynne Marie

About by Creashen

This One’s for the Birds, this month’s Guild kit.

In Good Company by Paisley Press & Leora Sanford

Boy’s Retreat by Catherine Designs

In Good Company by Paisley Press & Leora Sanford

Times Flies by the ladies at After 5 Designs

Times Flies by the ladies at After 5 Designs

Have a good scrapping day!

Baaaaaaad Blogger

So a few weeks ago I fell horribly ill and it seemed like it took forever for me to recover.  While I was out sick, I kind of fell out of blogging mode… I also missed a lot of 365 photos… :(  I will do my best to catch up with today’s post and be better from here on in….

Day 202

We went to St. Peter’s for my girlfriend’s bridal shower and Connor wanted to stop at the beach on the way home.  I was not prepared for the beach as I was in dress pants and heels.  lol  We had fun anyway, I just relaxed here on the rocks and watched him swim.

Day 203

Sean had wonton soup, which I have nicknamed Brain Soup.   Do the wontons not look like brains?  lol

Day 204

Apparently the only photo I took this day was a bad picture of an ugly spider….

Day 205, 206, 207

Missed…. :(

Day 208

My brother and his girlfriend became engaged and I made this cake for them when they came home to celebrate.

Day 209

We went to a bike show and Sean ran into an old friend who has a business doing custom bike work.  This is one of his helmets.

Day 210

The buskers were in town.  This man stood on a bike, on a pole, and juggled a torch, knife, and apple.  Here he is taking a bite of the apple.  Very talented people the buskers are!

Day 211

 

We went swimming at Connor’s BFF’s pool.  :)  Ahhhh….

Day 212, 213, 214

Missed

Day 125

It has been a long time since I even started this post.  I have completely lost track of my 365 photos.  :(  I have missed so many in the last few weeks that it seems that I can hardly call it a project any more.  Alas…. I stop the project.  I will not stop taking photos though!  Nope!  Not going to happen.  Want to see some photos I have taken recently?  Yes?  Okay!  :) My friend Jennifer got married….  The first set of photos are a trash the dress session we had after the wedding.  I was MOH in the wedding so I didnt get to take many photos but I did try!  So I will post some of them here too!

Ok…. I am off for a bit but I promise to be better about posting!  And scrapping… SPEAKING OF SCRAPPING!

I have a TWO PAGE SPREAD in Canadian Scrapbooker magazine this month so CHECK IT OUT!  :D

Can you believe I scrapped?

Surprising, I know!  I have been in such a funk lately and I am trying to force myself out of it.   I made this page with the Guild kit this month, Watermelon Head, and a piece of cardstock by Redju.  The font is Susie’s Hand.  To create this page I….

Using my rectangle Marquee tool, I chose a rectangle shape around the edge of my photo, Copy, Paste on a New Layer, added a drop shadow on its own layer.  For the details, I used the watermelon scalloped border which I changed to solid gray, duplicated, flipped horizontally, merged the two layers and changed the blend mode to Overlay.  Duplicated this layer and added it to the other side of my photo as well.  I thought it would be a cute pun using ‘wheelie’ because of the bike in the kit.

I have been at my parents’ house and they only have dial up.  *grumbles* SO!  I have had to head into the library and coffee shop to use their high speed every few days.  Here are a few pictures of what I have been up to this week….

Day 194

Shalako, the neurotic fur child of the family.  He was running in the wet grass, can ya tell?  lol

Day 195

I have been doing a lot of embroidery while watching TV in the evenings because I am out on a highway with nothing around me.  At least I am being forced to get creative!  This is on a tea towel and the design is from Sublime Stitching.

Day 196

It was HOT!  So we grabbed the hose in the backyard and had SO MUCH FUN playing!  Even Shalako got involved for a little while before he started hiding on the step.

Day 197

Jen came over for a visit and we thought it would be fun to have a camp fire.  We all got a lot of bites.  Connor and I got about 20 plus each but poor Jen got about a million and six.  The bugs love her!  Here is Connor putting on some After Bite.

Day 198

Since mine is broken, I brought some things over to make using my mother’s machine.  While I was sewing, I noticed this….  The dog is scared to death that I am going to leave him like his parents did.  lol 

In case you were wondering what I made…. some camera straps!  The brown flower one is currently on my camera.  :)  I am not sure what to do with the other one…any ideas?

Yesterday I bought the book Hello, Cupcake!!  I AM SO EXCITED!  It was only $18 so I had to grab it.  Around here it has been selling for $40 so when I saw the price, I grabbed it, hugged it to my chest and RAN for the check out.  Sean laughed.  I didnt think it was funny.  lol

 

 

 

I was thinking about creating EVERY cupcake and posting the pictures on here as I go.  May be I should start a blog for it!    I am currently reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.  Can ya tell?  For those of you who dont understand that comment, in the book Julie cooks every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook MtAoFC and writes a blog about it.  :)  The first ones I chose, because I had the stuff to do it, was the faux Petite Fours on page 139, but I put my own little twist on them.

Day 199

Day 200

We discovered a museum about our island that we didnt know about.  Connor and I stopped by and had a nice time.  I love this photo, it makes me laugh.

Day 201

We went to a wedding out of town today and had a fantastic time!  Felt like a short vacay!  :)  Made a new friend…..

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Who would like a freebie?

Would you?  Well, you can have one….right after you listen to me ramble aimlessly for a few minutes.  ;)

Day 187

I asked Sean to pick me up a banana when he went to the store.  This is what he came back with…. Biggest banana ever!  It was a foot long, Sean measured it.  lol  It took me two sittings but I ate it!  ;)

Day 188

Missed it.

Day 189

Missed it.

Day 190

We went to see an advanced showing of Harry Potter!  Sweet!  We had a great time.  I forgot to take pictures though because things were rather hectic trying to get in and find seats.  So this is Facebook.  ;)

Day 191

We had craft corner!  YAY!  I love it.  We did some finger painting!  Here is Connor making a butterfly for his stepmother.

Day 192

We spent most of the day at my parents’ house.  Connor even earned some money but helping his grandmother wash the car. 

My mother went to get the hose and all of a sudden she started screaming!  LOL  There was a snake hiding out beside the hose.

Connor now has a chore chart that he is too follow in order to earn his treats.  He has been rather ungrateful lately and I figure if we dont start doing something about it now, he will only get worse.  So I picked up this chore chart by Kate and Jacque., 

did it up to  suit Connor, had it printed and laminated, then attached some magnets and VOILA!

Day 193

I havent been scrapping much but I did put this layout together last night of my niece Emma.   It is made with this month’s Guild kit, Watermelon Head.

And now for your freebie… an old alpha of mine that I decided to take out of the store.  Just for you, Scrap Metal Alpha!

Enjoy!

Just a few photos…

Day 184

We spent about two hours on the tramp and BOY did we feel it the next day!  Wow, what a work out!  That night we headed into the city because I wanted to donate blood before I got my tattoo.  I was rejected because my iron was too low but Sean successfully donated!  :)

When I was getting my tattoo, Steve (tattoo guy), asked why and I responded that it was the scrapbooker in me.  To which he started laughing and said, My grandmother scrapbooks.  Yeah, well I straightened him out right away!  LoL!  Scrapbooking is COOL!  :)  So I thought I would get the word ‘inspire’ inked on my wrist…. I like it!  :)

My friends Janice and Jen came with me and Janice snapped some photos.

Day 185

It was hard to take it with my left hand!  lol

Day 186

It was gorgeous out today so we hit the beach!  :)  SCORE!  I couldnt go swimming because my suit no longer fits and I just got the tattoo yesterday but still had a fantastic time!

Hope everyone is having nice weather and happy times!