Custom Mousepads

I had so much fun putting these custom mouse pads together!  So many different directions you could go with this project. Don't you think these would make a fun personalized gift?  Most everyone I know uses a computer. So I figured that these would be fun to personalize. These are really quite simple to create and depending on if you like to sew or use glue you can easily make one of these for yourself or a friend.  Once I had gathered all my supplies it literally only took 10 minutes to make one of these!   To make the fabric mouse pad all you need  to do is decide what you want your finished size to be.  I chose 10x8.  I cut out 2 pieces of fabric in that size along with a piece of felt, or medium fusible webbing.  I put wrong sides together with the felt or webbing inside and sewed a 1/4 inch seam. I left a 3 inch opening to pull the fabric  right side out. I then hand stitched that opening closed and I was finished! You could easily sew a decorative stitch along the edge for a fun look as well.

This second one was my favorite to put together. I think this would be great for my husband to use at the office. I also thought these would be fun to make for each of my brothers and sisters this Christmas. For my mouse pad  I designed it in Heritage Collector Storybook in a 10x8.  I used some elements from Boutique Cute Dolls along the bottom of the page.

This third idea was from Boutique Cute Dolls Springtime kit.  I love the bright pattern of the paper.  I also printed it on photo paper in a 10x8 size.  I think this would be a great gift idea for a few friends.

For this project the materials you will need are: Craft foam,  modge podge,  polyurethane, and a foam brush.  I also used a corner punch but you are welcome to leave the corners square if you wish.  I cut the craft foam to fit my print.  Then I put a few coats of modge podge on the foam and then carefully put my print on the glued side.  I smoothed the paper onto the glue a few times to make sure it was firmly attached and that there were no air bubbles.  I waited about 5 minutes and then sprayed the photo print with a couple of coats of the polyurethane.  You could also laminate your photo paper and attach with the glue.  Or contact paper would also work as well to protect the photo finish.

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing at our house. Lazy summer days.  Trips to the river and the pool. Friends coming and going.  Never ending snow cones, ice cream and pop sickles. Night games and movie nights with popcorn. Camping, trips to the beach, road trips in the car. Oh to be a kid again.  Mom keeps it all together with  the fridge fully stocked and the laundry going to clean the never ending towels and swimsuits. The reality is that it's not all fun for Mom. Don't get me wrong I love summer too.  During all the chaos and trying to keep things going I have forgotten a few times to keep the battery in my camera fully charged. I really need to get a backup battery! Sometimes we forget something important like sunscreen.  Or I have grumpy kids from too many late nights.  But through it all one of my favorite things to do during the summer is to capture all those fun times on film. I get to follow my kids around join in the fun and hopefully catch a moment or two on camera!

It's fun for my family to look back at all the great times we had during the break.  This is my journal keeping in a nutshell.  I am not very good at writing day to day, but I really enjoy putting together a page and jotting down some of my thoughts about the pictures on display. I think my kids enjoy looking at them too.

Most of the pages I create are 12x12 size.  I love using Heritage Collector Storybook to create the layouts.  Most of the graphics came from Cool Summer, Sweet summer, and All about Boy kits.

I am also sharing these two summer adventures from Deena Rutter too. 

Camping fun

I love summer!  One of the things I enjoy is scrapping all the fun things we do during our break.  It's a great time to enjoy each other and make some great memories!  I use to hand scrap each page.  Until I discovered digital scrap booking a few years ago.  I will never go back.  I still enjoy making a handmade card or tag.  But I love all the fun things you can do with digital graphic kits.  I think it's great that I can use the graphics over and over.  As well as make as many changes to my page as I want!  Which I usually do a few drafts before I even print the page.  I used the camping kit from Jessica Sprauge. Of course I couldn't create these without  Heritage Collector storybook.

So this post is all about summer.  My family is going on a camping trip to Bear Lake soon.  I put together a camping kit for each one of my children to use on the trip.  I created a laminated digital page that doubles as a white board that they can doodle on.  I slipped each one into a bag with a dry erase pen, and some snacks for the trip. I think we will use these for next summers activities too.

I designed each of these pages as 8 1/2 x 11.  I printed them on card stock and then laminated each one.  I love that you can use each one as doodle page when you flip it over.  I think they will work great to pass the time drawing while driving in the car.  If I were to do these again though I would size mine to an 8x10 because it is a tight squeeze into a gallon ziplock bag.

 My kids seem to like them and it will keep their own stuff marked and labeled with their name.  Can't wait to add some mini flashlights and glow sticks to their bags.  These were really fun to put together and build some excitement for our upcoming camping trip!

DIY Chalkboard Quotes

I have been wanting to try out some chalkboard prints with Heritage Collector Storybook for awhile.  I finally got around to making some up today.  There are a lot of great fonts that pair well with the chalkboard background.  I could have designed the background entirely as a chalkboard effect.  I decided I needed a little color though.

This was really simple to create.  I looked through some of the kits that I had purchased and located some brushed effects.  Believe it on not the flowers I used here were originally in bright colors or black.  I changed the color to white.  I chose to use two free fonts called EcuyerDax, and  DK Claire de lune.  I thought the effect was just about right.

This second print is basically the same.  I just chose to use one less flower and a blue background instead. You can try just about anything with a chalk print.  I love being able to easily move elements and backgrounds around to see what works best.  One of the best parts about digital scrap booking!

For the print above I decided to add a little more color and a different font.  I used DK Claire de lune for this one. As well as the kit Happier by Deena Rutter. I thought the colors were fun bright colors to go along with the theme of the message here.  I love being able to print up my own personalized art for a gift.  A print for the kitchen or even a card for a friend. So many possibilities can be used with these prints!

My daughter has been begging me to paint a wall of her bedroom with chalkboard paint. After making these and discovering all of the fun possibilities with this look I may just move onto a chalkboard painting project next!

These last two  are not chalkboard style but I just had to add them! I thought the graphics went well with the messages of these prints.

Teacher Thank You Gift

It is the end of the school year here in Utah.  My kids are getting so excited for summer!  It can be a challenge for them to continue to attend school when all they want to do is play with friends.  Or  go play outside and enjoy the sunny weather. I am sure that their teachers are also looking forward to summer vacation as well.

So I began thinking of ways we could thank my children's wonderful teachers for a great year.  I decided to keep with a summer time theme.  I chose this super fun kit Lemonade Stand from Daisy's and Dimples.  They have some great digital scrap booking kits to choose from. I have attached the link.

http://daisiesanddimples.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2044:e00a8f60fc5268ff9623f0510c09d4f4

I thought the lemonade theme went perfectly with relaxing summer days.  So I downloaded the kit and designed some cards.  I thought they turned out perfect.  I picked up some plastic cups and some lemonade packets from my local store.  I then added a card.  The dimensions are 4 inches by 11  inches.  I then folded it and I slipped a gift card inside.

While I was thinking about lemonade I picked up a large jar of simply lemonade and made another card and attached it to the jar with some fun paper straws. The card dimension were 4x8 inches.

I picked up the straws at my local Partyland store.  Hobby Lobby also stocks them.  I thought the lemon tag went great with the lemonade jar. You could also attach a gift card inside

I decided to make up a batch of lemonade cupcakes. I picked up a Betty Crocker Lemon flavored cake mix. While the cupcakes were baking. I used one of the fun elements from the Lemonade Stand digi kit to design a card for the cupcake. Then I printed out a polka dot paper from the collection. You can get free cupcake topper printables here. I added a decorative edge with some craft scissors and  wrapped the paper around the cupcake liner and dropped it inside a plastic cup.

 The finishing touches were a lemon candy for the cupcake.  Cellophane and a clear tied bow and the card.


Below is a fun lightly lemon flavored frosting recipe for you to try!  I found some coordinating papers and lemon elements from the Lemonade Stand kit to put this together.  Heritage Storybook made it super easy to arrange the cards and elements  Enjoy!  Summer will soon be here.

Fabric Flower Wreath

My front door was in need of a little something new.  I haven't had anything on my door for spring and summer for a long time. So it was time for my door to get some color to celebrate warmer days.  I started with the items you see in the photo.  Some bright cheery fabrics.  I started with the print and then took my color scheme from there.

I found the wooden bird from the wood connection.  I then chose a favorite color and painted on two coats of paint.  When it was dry I distressed the edges of the wood just a little.

Once I arrived home with my fabric I got to work making these fun fabric flowers.  I was amazed at how easy these flowers were to make. I learned from a friend and also this tutorial. Literally only a few minutes per flower. They would be fun to add to a headband, a bag, or a little girls dress.  Tons of possibilities!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/12/tutorial-rolled-fabric-flowers/

Here is a close up of the flowers and the little bird I used on a grapevine wreath.  I picked up my fabric from Hobby Lobby as well as the grapevine wreath.  I love using the 40% off coupon for craft projects!

The finishing touch was my curvy frame and of course the digital print I sized to fit in Heritage Collector Storybook.  The frame had a 2 x 4 inch opening and so I had to size down a bit with the digital print. I printed it out from my personal printer.  But if you want the print to last in the bright sunshine it would be better to do a photo print and laminate it.

What to you think?  Are you ready to go make one for your front door?

Mothers Day

This weekend is Mothers Day.  I have been thinking about the wonderful mothers and grandmothers in my life.  I love that I have a chance to celebrate them on a special day!  So as the week has progressed I have been busy as most mothers are with birthday parties, household chores and a sick child. As well as trying to get a garden planted.  You all know I share the busy life of a typical mother! So I haven't had as much time to create a card that I wanted to make for the special women in my life.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this beautiful quick page.  That's right it was all created through the generosity of a great designer.  http://bcdolls.com/blog/ I signed up for her newsletter to receive the quick page.

So all I had to do was pull the quick page into Heritage Collector Storybook.  Once the page was downloaded I could pick from any of my family photos and slide one behind the page.  Once that was complete I was able to add a little of my own personal touch to the card.  I sized the page down to a 4x6 size.  I think this would also be great as a 5x7.  I sent my print to Costco and it should be ready just in time!  Because I didn't get this card in the mail earlier this week it may arrive on Monday.  So I can also email this to each special lady as well.  I love how easy it is make a beautiful project with a quick page and this is so simple to do. What I love though is the personal touch it adds to a card that probably won't simply be thrown away but can be enjoyed for a while.

Happy Mothers Day to all of the beautiful mothers this Sunday!