Trash to Treasure Notebooks

Today I have a project where I used what some may consider trash
and turned it into something useful.
I turned tea box covers into notebooks.

Here's how they turned out.

For the front covers, I cut off the tops of two different boxes of tea.

For the back covers, I cut two pieces of chipboard to the same size as the box lids.

I used a pad of graph paper and cut pieces to fit in between the covers. I had 30 pages for each book.

I like the look of graph paper in notebooks:)

I bound the books using my Bind-It-All.
It's made by Zutter.
Heidi Swapp and Tim Holtz also have machines that will bind like this.
If you don't have one of these machines, you could bind your books using two office rings.

 I made these notebooks for a friend for her birthday.

She's a huge fan of tea.

I wrapped the notebooks with the tea infuser dude.

These notebooks are so simple to make.

You could use any type of packaging like Mac and Cheese boxes, movie theater candy boxes,

or even a soda box.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,

to which also you were called in one body;

 and be thankful.

Col 3:15

This post is linked to That DIY Party, The Crafted Sparrow, Lil' Luna, The Crafty Blog Stalker,
and I Gotta Create.  

Thrifty Thursday #224

I recently went to an estate sale and actually had the opportunity to make it to their pre-sale.
(A pre-sale is when they open on Thursday afternoon before the official sale
that runs Friday through Saturday.)

I didn't find anything big. I did, however, score some good office supplies.

 

I love old stamps.

I got these for $1 each.

I never pass up ledger paper- even it it's not vintage.

I got the pad of ledger paper for fifty cents and the graph paper pad for a dime.

 

I got this bundle of chipboard for fifty cents.

 

I also got a bunch of envelopes for $1.

I was loving the bottom envelopes. They're not your average size envelopes: they're 5 x 11 1/2".

The last thing I picked up is this tin of Brasso.
When I was in the Army, we used this stuff quite a bit on doorknobs and belt buckles.
I have a few old pewter pieces that I'd like to try to clean up.

Sometimes when I hit an estate sale pre-sale, I plan to go back on the last day to see what I can get at half price. I didn't see anything that I wanted to go back for this time, but I was glad I stopped.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Set your mind on things above,

 not on things on the earth.

Col. 3:2

This post is linked to Blue Willow House, The Cottage Market, Life With Lorelai,
and Gingersnap Crafts.

Layout of the Week #135

I hope you're all having an awesome week.

For this week's Layout of the Week,

I decided to take a look back at a layout I did featuring my hubby's gardening.

I used actual seed packets on it.

Go here to see a step-by-step tutorial on how to make this layout.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

But above all these things put on love, 

which is the bond of perfection.

Col. 3:14

This post is linked to Skip To My Lou, I Heart Naptime, Crafts a la Mode,
and Between Naps on the Porch.

Recipe of the Week #229- Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches With Gravy

 

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Gravy

2-3 lb chuck beef roast 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Place roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour broth around roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Remove roast and shred. In a medium pan, add all the broth from the slow cooker. Cook over medium-high heat until hot. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch and water together. Add this to the pan. Lower the heat and stir constantly with the whisk. Bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes or until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Place bread on a plate. Top with beef. Top with another piece of bread. Cut diagonally and cover with gravy. 

I must say that I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl- actually more of a mashed potatoes and gravy kind of girl- so I found this recipe ah-mazing! I had my parents over for this meal and they went on and on about it. It is going to be a repeat recipe at this house!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

Therefore. . . put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 

bearing with one another and forgiving one another,

 if anyone has a complaint against another; 

even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Col. 3:12-13

This post is linked to Sugarbee Crafts, Plucky's Second Thought, Too Much Time,
and The Girl Creative.

How I Turned a Wooden Crate into an End Table

You know those wooden crates that you can get at Michaels and Wal-mart?

Well, I've had one sitting around just waiting for me to do something with it.

Guess what I did?

I turned it into an end table.

I started by painting it a light aqua.

Then I applied a grayish stain on top of the paint.

I let each step dry for 24 hours before moving on to the next step.

Then I tore pages out of an old book and cut them into strips. Using spray adhesive, I adhered the strips to the bottom slats of the crate. I chose some pages with images to give the project a cute twist.

My final step was to add castors to the bottom of the crate.

This was such an easy and enjoyable project.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

It is better to trust in the Lord 

than to put confidence in man.

Psalm 118:8

This post is linked to Wake Up Wednesday, Simple Nature Décor, Embracing Change,
Tatertots and Jello, and The Dedicated House.

Alphabet Wall

Well, I've been talking about it forever, and I finally have it. . 

my alphabet wall!!!

I gathered all my letters- some I crafted, some I bought.

Then I talked my hubby into hanging them up for me.

Yes, my hubby always hangs things on our walls.

Years ago, when we were first married, I tried to surprise my hubby by hanging a large picture on our living room wall. He was pretty pleased until I showed him the wall behind the picture.

There was a large part of the wall that was missing.

My hubby decided then that he would be the all time picture hanger.

No problem with me!

Anyway, take a look at my wall. . . 

Definitely worth the wait!!!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

For who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

Psalm 18:31

This post is linked to Tatertots and Jello, Embracing Change, The Girl Creative,
The Crafty Blog Stalker, and Life With Lorelai.

Thrifty Thursday #223

A Goodwill store recently opened in my town.

I've been a couple of times, and while it is incredibly clean and organized,

I feel that their prices are a little high.

This time around, I did find two things.
 

The first was this awesome old Scrabble Sentence Cube Game.

The dice have words on them. How cool is that?

I paid $4 for it. (Usually I get old games for a dollar or two. See what I mean about the prices?

But I felt this one was worth paying a little more.)

I also got this bag of four plastic vials for $2.
They're about four inches high.
They were so cool and unique, I couldn't pass them up.

After this visit, I've decided that I need to pop into Good will more often.

What about you? Have you been to Goodwill? What's your take on it?

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

It is better to trust in the Lord 

than to put confidence in man.

Psalm 118:8

This post is linked to I Gotta Create, Too Much Time, Blue Willow House, and That DIY Party.