DIY Art with Wrapping Paper

Hello.

I had a baby shower for a sweet little baby girl this weekend for a neighbor :) I love baby showers and I love baby shower gift giving! I use coupons, so I was able to score a small stock of diapers, wipes, rice cereal and stage 1 baby food for her :)

Being a mother myself, you ALWAYS NEED more of the essentials :) But its fun to get the cute stuff too.

I decided to make her some cute art for her baby nursery ;) At the Dollar Tree, I saw some gorgeous wrapping papers with lovely floral prints and I snagged several.

Excuse my terrible photo :( lighting right!

Here's what I used:

Various wrapping papers

card stock

glue stick (not pictured)

pencil

scissors

washi tape (not pictured)

11x14 artist mat

I first made a heart template from the card stock. I then measured it to fit a base layer of a pretty patterned wrapping paper. Measure and cut to fit your mat.

Hmm.  Looks like my heart is a bit too big 

(I resized the heart template :)

That's better ;)

Trace and cut your heart shape onto another patterned paper.

Got a little carried away and forgot to take some pics of the next few steps. 

That creative process, ya know ;)

I added another square layer under the heart, secured with the glue stick and then bordered with a pretty peach washi tape.

I then added the flowered heart in the middle as pictured.

I felt the piece needed some bling, so I cut another smaller heart template and decided to cover in a pretty gold patterned washi tape.

I added strips as seen and let the tape over lap the shape of the heart.

Then cut off the access with the scissors.

I added the bling-y heart with the glue stick and then was ready to mat!

I secured the final piece to the back of the frame mat with masking tape.

All done! My neighbor really liked it :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Ginger

I will be linking to these awesome parties!

Macrame' Key Chain

Hello.

Today I have a super easy tutorial for an adorable DIY project that can be done in minutes. Check it out ;)

Super cute macrame knot key chain made with love for only a few bucks ;)

Here is what you need to purchase:

I first snagged this 3/16 " soft polyester blend rope at Harbor Freight for $1.99.  The roll is 100 feet - plenty of other projects to come ;)

I then picked up a half inch swivel snap at Home Depot for under $2.

Then you will need these to get started:

two lengths of rope 48" each

two lengths of rope 32" each

the swivel snap

ruler to measure your rope

scissors

First lope the two 48 " ropes through the bottom of the snap in a loop knot. You then make a single square knot like so. You'll be following the exact same tutorial for a square knot as shown here. See pictures below ;)

Make sure to pull firm and you have one square knot. 

Then create another square knot from the other side.

Like so.

Now you have two square knots.

Now we will develop a diamond pattern. Take a 32" section of rope and place under the two ropes on the left hand side. 

Then pull them to the middle.

With this new set of four, continue with a square knot.

I completed two square knots and then copied the pattern on the right hand side.

I then joined the four middle ropes into two sets of square knots - completing the diamond.

This is where I stopped - ensure your final knot is tight.

I then cut the ropes down to the length I wanted and pulled apart the plies into some pretty fringe.

Once done, clip to your bag or purse. Add to your key-chains or hang from the rear view mirror ;)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Ginger

I will be linking up to these awesome parties!

Make Your Own Creative Journal

Hello.

So I made a care package for a dear friend. A few weeks ago she sent me an essential oil blend I was out of along with some make up samples :) She's so sweet!

I wanted to return the favor with a bundle of creative goodies! Some items to give her inspiration!

I decided to include a necklace, a bookmark, a packet of flower seeds, some of my original artwork as well as a print from a local Dallas artist and this super cute creative journal.

Instead of just blank pages, I added magazines pages and adult coloring pages for inspiration.

And what is awesome is all materials for this project can be purchased at the Dollar Tree! The yarn and magazines I already had.

What you need for this journal:

package of black cardstock

pattern duct tape

notepad of colorful pages

adult coloring book

scrap yarn (or ribbon)

white paper (not pictured)

scissors

pencil

hole punch

ruler

First, use a peice of the notepad paper as the template for the size of your journal. Cut two piece of black card stock as your front and back covers.

Again, using the notepad paper as a size template, cut several pieces from the adult coloring book.

These were two sided coloring pages - so that's a bonus.

Next, thumb through a magazine and find some interesting images to cut.

Then cut several pieces of blank white paper.

Now back to the front and back covers.

Use some patterned duct tape to cover the ugly brown side.

Let the ends overlap and then cut the access off with scissors.

Then take another pattern of tape and add to one side, wrapping around the the front side.

Repeat this process with the back cover. Using the hole punch, add holes to both covers.

Sandwich the papers in between the covers to ensure a good fit. Be sure to shuffle the various papers for a good mix. With a pencil, mark where to hole punch the papers so they match the covers.

Punch the holes and then thread the yarn through the holes as the binding. I made it easy on myself and threaded a yarn needle.

I used a simple whip stitch and then tied once.

Take a moment to open the journal to make sure the pages open easily.

Then secure the yarn with a knot. I added some stickers throughout the journal on a few pages. Be sure to write a sweet note!

I hope some of you out there will try this DIY journal. If you do, post a comment with a picture :)

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

Linking to these parties.