Burlap Banner

I love making banners.
Sometimes I make them with pretty paper,
but my favorite ones have been made from burlap.

I made this one for my friend's baby shower.

The shower had a moustache theme and the color was turquoise.

I started by deciding what size triangle I wanted the letter panels to be.

I cut a triangle out of cardstock and used it as a pattern.

Using a Sharpie marker, I traced around the template for a total of six burlap triangles.



Then I cut out along the inside of my lines (that way the lines wouldn't be visible).

I used foam stamps and black paint for my letters.

On two triangles, I used a heart stamp.

To keep it with the moustache theme, I added moustache stickers to the hearts.

(I liked that they were stickers- that way my friend can peel them off

and use the banner in the nursery if she decides to.)

Then I glued the burlap triangles to a long piece of twine leaving just a little space in between them.
My final step was to add pieces of turquoise ribbon in those spaces.

Easy and cute.
You could make a personalized banner like this for any celebration.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Be still and know that I am God

Psalm 46:10

 This post is linked to USS Crafty, Gingersnap Crafts, I Gotta Create, and Wow Me Wednesday.  

Beach Shadowbox DIY

My brother visits family in Fort Lauderdale three or four times a year.
It feels like a second home to him.
The first time he visited, he brought back lots of seashells and quite a bit of sand.
I thought I'd make him something to remind him of the place he so loves. 

I started with a 5"x 7" shadowbox.

I removed the backside and poured sand into the bottom 2/3 of the frame.

Then I filled the rest of the space with small seashells.

 

I added a tag that I stamped with "My own piece of Ft. Lauderdale Beach."

 

I sure wish I had collected sand and shells from all the places we've been.

Wouldn't several of these look cute on a wall with vacation photos?

 

The weather is getting nicer- it's been in the 80's all week here.
We're heading out for a three day camping trip this coming Sunday, so the weather will be perfect.
Our boys are 16 and 14. I was just telling my hubby that we need to enjoy what few family vacations we have left before they leave home!
I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

Job 37:14

 This post is linked to Embracing Change, Life With Lorelai, Artsy Fartsy Mama,
Tatertots and Jello, and Pretty Handy Girl.

Thrifty Thursday #210

My thrift store run this week provided three great vintage finds and one fun (not vintage) find.

I was tickled pink when I spotted these flour sacks.

Are they old? I'm not sure, but they have a vintage look.

Believe it or not, they let out a poof of flour when I set them on my table at home.

Two of them were fifty cents and one was seventy-five cents (not sure why they weren't all the same).

Any ideas about what I can do with them?

I love using paint chips in different projects.

I got this pack of them for fifty cents.

Score.

I picked up this old children's Golden Encyclopedia for fifty cents.

It has a copyright of 1960.

How about those graphics?

I also got this big ol' children's book (published in 1955) for fifty cents.

Here's what the hardcover looks like.

This is the inside cover.

Cute, huh?

More awesome graphics.

That's it, my friends.
What did you come across this week?

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

But I know that when I come to you,

 I shall come in the fullness of the blessing 

of the gospel of Christ.

Romans 15:29

This post is linked to Blue Willow House, That DIY Party, Too Much Time,
and The Crafty Blog Stalker.

Layout of the Week #128

It's been awhile, but I got back into the scrapping mode today. :)
I grabbed a few pieces of pattern paper and a handful of photos and came up with this layout.
Follow along to see how to make it.

To create it, you'll need:

one piece of 12"x 12" pattern paper

two strips of pattern paper measuring 1/4"x 12" (or you can use decorative tape)

one strip of pattern paper measuring 1/2" x 12" (or you can use decorative tape)

two strips of pattern paper measuring 1"x 6"

one journaling card (an index card will work if you don't have one)

letter stickers for title

embellishments in your theme 

6-7 photos

paper trimmer

adhesive

Place 2 or 3 vertical photos along the right side of the 12"x 12" pattern paper making a photo column.

Two will fit without trimming, but if you use three, you'll have to crop them to fit.

Place your 1/2" x 12" strip of pattern paper along the right edge of the paper overlapping the photos.

Place one strip of pattern paper measuring 1/4" x 12" along the outer right edge 

overlapping the first strip.

Now we're going to make two rows of photos that will butt up to the column of photos.

You'll want to figure out what size to trim your photos to to make them fit.

(Mine measure 4"x 4" and 4" x 3".)

Place your two taller photos in the center of the page next to the first photos. 

For the top photo, I only placed adhesive along the bottom edge with two mini Glue Dots in the upper corners. That way I can hide my journaling card behind the photo. If you'd rather place your journaling card here instead of using a photo, that will work, too.

Place your final two photos along the left edge of the background paper. You'll want to use your shorter pictures here. 

They should butt up to the middle photos. 

(My photos measure 3"x 4" and 3"x 5".)

Now place your 1"x 6" paper strips above and below the photos on the left.

My strips were a bit long for the space, so I trimmed off the excess.

Place your final strip measuring 1/4"x 12" along the bottom edge of the photos.

Trim off the excess.

Place three embellishments in the upper left corner in the space above the photos. 

Tuck your journaling card behind the top center photo.

Using your letter stickers, place your title in the space below the middle photos.
I used three stickers for my title.
Place an embellishment along the right edge of the vertical photo strip
and one more along the bottom left photo.
That's it!

I think it's a fun layout, and I love that it features quite a few photos.

If you enjoyed this, stop by every other Wednesday and complete a new layout with me.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Romans 14:12

This post is linked to Gingersnap Crafts, Between Naps on the Porch, A Morning Cup of Joe,
I Heart Naptime, and I Gotta Create.

Recipe of the Week #215- Monster Cookie Dough Dip

Monster Cookie Dough Dip
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups quick oats
2/3 cup plain M and Ms
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, brown sugar, flour, and vanilla. Mix in the oats- you may use more or less here depending on how thick you'd like the dip. Add the chocolate chips and M and Ms. Store in the fridge until serving. Dip will firm up in the fridge. Serve with pretzels, graham crackers, or apples.

This dip is as good as it looks! I served mine with plain animal cookies. Definitely a treat to share!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love

Romans 12:10

This post is linked to My Girlish Whims, The Crafted Sparrow,

 The Dedicated House and Wake Up Wednesday.

Cabinet Door Clipboard Display

I have a slew of old cabinet doors set aside for crafting.

Sometime ago, my neighbor threw away a huge pile of them, and I claimed them for my own.
 I got one out for today's project . . .

and made it into a large clipboard display.
 

 I started by sanding the "frame" of the door with my hand sander.
Then I cut a piece of wallpaper to fit and used spray adhesive to adhere it inside the "frame".

I added a hanger to the back. . .

 and a Tim Holtz clip to the front.
I measured to make sure there would be enough room to fit a 8 1/2"x 11" piece of paper on it.

I've placed a quote printable on it, but it would look cute with a photo as well.
I'm thinking I'll add this to the gallery wall I'm planning in our living room.

If you like this printable, you can get it here.
Go here and here to see other projects I've made using these cabinet doors.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

For the Lord is great 

and greatly to be praised

Psalm 96:4

This post is linked to Skip To My Lou, USS Crafty, Simple Nature Décor,
Funky Junk, Lil' Luna, and Plucky's Second Thought.

Teacher Gift DIY- Personalized Clipboard

Teacher Appreciation Week takes place the first full week in May,

so it 's the perfect time to start thinking of what to do for your child's teacher.

Here is a simple, but cute DIY:

a personalized clipboard.

It's so easy that you could make several of them: for the secretaries and principal, too!

To make one, you'll need:

one clipboard (doesn't matter if it has this kind of clip or the old fashioned bull clip)

3 pieces of 12"x 12" pattern paper

Mod Podge or spray adhesive

paper trimmer

For the front, you'll take one of your papers and cut it to the width of your clipboard.

It should cover all but the bottom 3" of the board.

Before adhering it, you need to cut out a space for the clip. Start by holding the top edge up to the clip and make a mark at each edge of the clip.

Then measure how far down the clip is on the board. Cut this small part out the top of the paper. 

Using Mod Podge or spray adhesive, adhere this to the board. After laying it on the board, press all along the surface making sure it sticks paying special attention to the edges.

Now trim a second piece of pattern paper as wide as the board and three inches tall.

This will go below the first piece.

Optional: If you're using a third piece of pattern paper, trim it to the width of the clipboard and 1/2".

Adhere it along the top edge of the bottom paper.

For the back, trim a piece of pattern paper to the width of the board. Cut it into two pieces measuring 9" long and one measuring 2 1/2" long.

Adhere the larger piece along the top of the board.

Use a strip of your second pattern paper measuring the width of the board by one inch.

Adhere this under the first piece.

Now place your last piece of paper (2 1/2") below that one.

Press all along the board making sure the paper is sticking.

I used a rolling pin to help with this step.

Carefully rub sand paper along the edges to get rid of any paper hanging off the edges 

and along the corners.

Allow to dry for 24 hours.

To take it a step farther, you can tie ribbons along the clip or add a name tag to the back of the board.

You can go here to see other teacher gift ides.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Psalm 96:1

 This post is linked to Pretty Handy Girl, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Too Much Time,
The Crafty Blog Stalker, and Tatertots and Jello.