Make a Book Page Pennant Banner

My latest addition to my Valentine's Day book page decor is this LOVE pennant banner (check out my Valentine's gallery wall for more great book page art ideas).  It was super easy and I love how it looks hanging on the mirror in my entry way.

Supplies

• Book pages (4)
• Red construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Permanent marker
• Twine
• Font you like (I used Sketch Serif. You can get it here)

Instructions

Step 1: Cut your pages

I folded my pages in half and cut off the raw edge. Then I cut the bottom off at an angle to make points.

Step 2: Cut out hearts

Cut out four hearts. I made mine big enough to span the width of the text on the page. 

Step 3: Write your letters

To do my lettering, I pulled up a font I love (Sketch Serif) on my computer so I could use it as a guide for how to write my letters on my hearts using a permanent marker.

Step 4: Glue your hearts to the pennants

I used a glue stick to glue my hearts down to my book page pennants.

Step 5: Attach to twine

I cut a length of thick garden twine long enough to hang across my mirror plus about 6 inches. I folded down the top margin of the book pages, which made a nice little pocket for the twine. Then I glued down the edge on the back with the glue stick (and added a piece of scotch tape for back up).

That's it!  Super easy and quick

Valentine's Gallery Art Wall (and free printable)

Until recently, I have not been one for "themed" Valentine's decor. In fact, I normally don't decorate for Valentine's Day and opt for cranberry colored winter berry decor to last from Christmas until Spring. This year, though, I have been loving book page crafts (it all started with my book page pumpkins) and decided I wanted book pages and red hearts to be my 2013 Valentine's Day theme. Considering our level of book nerdiness and the size of our library, books are especially appropriate for us.

I have a narrow wall in our downstairs half bath that was more than ready for an art update. I picked up 5 frames from the dollar store (2 8x10 size and 3 5x7 size) and got to work.

Supplies

• Frames (2 of 8x10 size and 3 of 5x7 size)
• Old book
• Glue
• Red construction paper
• Printer
• Cardstock
• Poster board ($0.50 from Dollar Tree for a huge piece)
• Permanent marker
• Embroidery thread
• Paint and paint brushes

Painted Heart

To make this one, I glued down several pages to the back of the default image paper than came in the frame.  Once it was dry, I painted a heart with watered down red acrylic paint and added some black accents. I like that the heart is see through and you can still see the words on the back side.

Cut Out "Specimen" Hearts

For this one, I printed out the lyrics of the song that was sung at our wedding (A Page is Turned by Bebo Norman - totally ties into the book nerd theme!) onto a piece of cardstock and used it for a mat. I cut some extra hearts out of the lyrics and glued them down onto a piece of red construction paper with some colored hearts (I decided on black for contrast). 

Song Lyrics Tree

This was inspired by this pin. Sadly, there is no original source - it just points to a tumblr blog. Let this be a lesson - if you're a blogger, watermark your stuff! That way if you picture becomes unmatched from the source people can find you. But I digress. The tree is another piece of cardstock with the Page is Turned lyrics on it. Then I tied red hearts onto the branch with embroidery floss. Mine is admittedly not nearly as pretty as the original but I still like it.

Pop Out Heart Art

This was inspired by this 3D Butterfly Art. I turned a book page sideways and drew hearts on the back. I cut around most of the edge, leaving a core in the middle to keep the heart attaached when folding up the sides. I slipped a piece of red construction paper in behind it and put it in the frame in front of the glass.

Printed Branch with Hearts

To make this one, I cut a piece of book paper to 5x7 and then told my printer to print the graphic as if it were a 5x7 photo. I should have reduced the amount of ink it used because it did take a little while to dry but I really like how it looks. 

If you like it, I'm sharing my printable graphic with you guys. You can try printing it on a book page like I did or onto regular cardstock for use in your valentine crafting. Click here to download the full size heart branch graphic for printing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Organize Your Pantry with Glass Jars and Contact Paper (plus free printable!)

Has your pantry taken on a life of its own? Do you fear spaghetti night because you know as soon as you open the door to your pantry, bags and boxes will threaten to avalanche and leave you buried alive? Are you putting off organizing your pantry because you just can't afford the fancy do-dads you want to make it perfect? Make excuses no more, friends because I tamed my pantry beast for a paltry $1.

I had tons of different bags of bulk foods, boxes open and half full crammed onto my shelves and precariously perched on top of each other. It. was. ugly. No, there are no before shots (you don't really want to see them anyway).

But the after is so nice. Everything has a place and most things have a label:

My favorite labels, of course are the pretty, swirly ones on the top shelf (which is actually the second shelf...the top shelf just has cereal boxes and a large jar of oatmeal). All I had to do was trace the template shapes onto the back of some white contact paper from the dollar store, cut them out and label them with a permanent marker.

Where'd I get all the jars?

I started using just extra quart size canning jars. Anything that was in a bag in the pantry but could fit in the quart jars went in. I also saved all of my glass jars from store bought foods for several months to build my collection. I just soaked off the label, gave it a good scrub and gave it a new home in my pantry. I did eventually purchase some large 1.5 gallon and half gallon jars but most of the jars are re-purposed food jars.

Why not chalkboard labels?

With chalkboard stuff everywhere, there was a temptation to try and make these chalkboard style. I'd seen a tutorial online of someone who had just painted contact paper with chalkboard paint to make chalkboard labels. And I thought about it. But at the end of the day, it was just a lot more work than I wanted to put into this project. 

What if I change what's in the jars?

That's the beauty of contact paper! The contact paper just peels right off. I actually cut out a small stack of extra labels so if I switch out the contents of a jar, I can just peel the old label off and put a new one on. Tracing and cutting out the extra labels was way less work than painting a whole roll of contact paper with chalkboard paint (plus, no need to worry if it will flake or chip off later).

(if there was extra contact paper not big enough to make a label, I cut it into a square or rectangle to copy down things like cooking times or instructions and put it on the back of the jar)

If you're itching to organize your pantry, too, save some time and download my free printable label template instead of having to find the shapes yourself. There are a whole range of sizes so you can pick one that's the right size for your jar.

Download the FREE Printable Label Templates Here

(if you are reading this via e-mail or RSS feed, you may need to click through to the post on my blog in order to download the labels)

Upcycled Thread Organizer

Today, I'm proud to show you guys a project that my mom made. I come from a long line of crafty women so it's fun to show off some of their work to you guys. My mom does lots of crafty stuff but one of her specialties is sewing. Currently, fancy Irish Dance Dresses are her thing (interested? check her out at Irish Rose Couture). All those dresses means lots and lots of pretty threads. With her thread collection multiplying faster than rabbits, she needed so do something but she didn't want to add another dowel-based thread rack to her wall.

Instead, she used some small divided tray organizers (she had a lot of leftover from another project), stacked them together and hot glued them to a piece of foam core board from the dollar store. The result is a super cute thread condo that uses the space more efficiently and looks way cuter. Plus it only cost her a dollar because she already had the little trays on hand.

Interested in achieving a similar look?

Look for divided boxes. Think silverware organizers or jewelry boxes. You should be able to find these kinds of items at your local thrift store or if you need to buy something new, I know both Jo-Ann's and Michaels sell divided boxes that they market at jewelry organizers (just don't forget your coupons!).

If your pieces are not already made of wood or something sturdy, be sure to attach them to one big piece of material (like foam core board or MDF) for stability.

Be sure to pop back in throughout January for more organizing ideas. You can also subscribe by e-mail to make sure you don't miss a single post!

Easy Glitter Candle Holders

If you're like me, you have barely recovered from Christmas when you realize that New Year's Eve is like, tomorrow! If you're also like me, you may not have made anything crafty for New Year's. Well, worry not because these candle holders take all of 7 minutes to make and only require 4 ingredients!

Supplies

• Small tumbler or candle holder
• Tea light
• Double sided tape
• Glitter

I got everything at the dollar store (or had it on hand from a previous dollar store trip) except for the tumblers, which I picked up at Wal-Mart for $2 for a set of 4.

Instructions:

Step 1: Apply double-sided tape around top of tumbler.

Step 2: Apply glitter.

Step 3: Press glitter down with your finger before shaking off excess.

Step 4: Apply double-sided tape to tealight.

Step 5: Roll tea light in the excess glitter from the tumbler.

Blinged out tea light:

Step 6: Insert into the tumbler, light and go!

Don't just stop at using these for New Year's decorations. Use pink and red to make pretty valentine's candles. Green for a little luck o' the Irish in March. The possibilities are only limited by your glitter supply!

Make a Christmas Countdown Chalkboard with Mod Podge

This post is brought to you by Mod Podge and The Blueprint Social. I received free product and was compensated for my time creating this project. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

I love Christmas! As soon as the table is cleared on Thanksgiving night, I am counting down the days until the calendar flips over to the big 25. I love Advent calendars as an interactive way to countdown to Christmas but I needed something else. When I got a big box of shiny and glittery Mod Podge and paint in the mail, I knew my something else needed to have some bling. After a couple weeks of pondering, my Christmas Countdown Chalkboard was born.

Supplies Needed:

• Wood frame OR a framed chalkboard
• Chalkboard paint  (if you're using a plain frame)
• Scrapbook paper
• Sparkle Mod Podge
• Glossy Mod Podge
• Gift Tag shape from package of Podgeable Shapes
• Paint (I used Folk Art brand)
• White
• Metalic Gold
• Gold Chunky Glitter
• Ribbon scraps (I used a combo of metalic gold and red)
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
• E beads (red and iridescent)
• Glue
• Paintbrush and/or Foam brushes
• Scissors

Prep the Frame 

Remove the wire hanger from the frame and paint it white. Once its dry, paint the center with two coats of chalkboard paint if you are using a plain wood frame. Obviously, skip this step if you purchased a framed chalkboard. Set it aside to dry.

Make the Gift Tag

Take the gift tag Podgeable shape and trace the outline onto the back of the scrapbook paper you would like to use. Cut out the paper shape.

Podgeable shapes are lightweight acrylic pieces that can be Mod Podged on both the front and back for cool dimensional effects. This was my first time working with them and I love how great they make the finished piece look.

Paint one side of the tag with chunky gold glitter paint. Next, give it a generous coat of Sparkle Mod Podge (on the same side you put the glitter on). Apply Sparkle Mod Podge to your scrapbook paper as well and flip it design-side down onto the podgeable. Rub the back to get out any air bubbles before applying another generous coat of Sparkle Mod Podge, being sure to seal the edges. Place it acrylic-side-down to dry (I propped it up on a paint bottle so the edges would be free to dry without sticking).

When the Mod  Podge has dried enough to touch the back (the clear side may look cloudy for a while but it will dry clear and sparkly), cut two pieces of gold ribbon the length and width of the podgeable with a little extra to wrap over the edge. Apply Sparkle Mod Podge to the back side of the ribbon and adhere it to the front of the gift tag. Wrap the extra around the back and adhere with glue.

Make the "X-mas countdown" label by using a fine point brush and gold metallic paint to write on a piece of white scrapbook paper. Use the Glossy Mod Podge to adhere it to the front of the Podgeable using the same technique described to adhere paper to the back of the Podgeable. When the Mod Podge is dry, use Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to cover just the white tag. This will give it a finished look similar to poured resin or expensive puffy stickers but with way less mess. (if you have never used Dimensional Magic before, check out Plaid's great how-to video here). Set the tag aside to dry.

Mod Podge the Frame

To cover the frame with scrapbook paper, make template pieces from some plain paper (pic 1). This allows you to tweak the shape without messing up the pretty paper. Then trace the template shapes onto the back of the scrapbook paper and cut out the pieces (pic 2). To adhere, apply a generous coat of Sparkle Mod Podge to one side of the frame (pic 3) as well as the back of the scrapbook paper. Press onto the frame, rubbing to get out the bubbles before applying another generous coat of Sparkle Mod Podge over the top (pic 4). Repeat with the other three sides.

Finishing Touches

To give the plain wire hanger some bling, I strung red and iridescent E beads onto the part that stuck up above the frame. I also threaded some gold and red ribbon through the hole on the gift tag.

Before using the chalkboard, you need to remember to prime it. To do that, rub the side of a piece of chalk all over the board and then rub it in/off with a rag. Lastly, reattach the beaded wire hanger and glue the tag onto the edge of the frame. 

Once the glue is dry, you can write your countdown message on your chalkboard!

Finished Product:

I hope you enjoyed my project and feel inspired to make your own. For more great holiday inspiration, visit Plaid, online here:

Inspired by Plaid on Facebook | Plaid Crafts on Twitter | Plaid on Pinterest

Get Inspired:

I'm not the only one blogging about great holiday projects made with Mod Podge this holiday season! Check out more of my fellow bloggers' great projects below:

This post is brought to you by Mod Podge and The Blueprint Social. I received free product and was compensated for my time creating this project. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.