DIY number one cake topper

photo props are easy to make and can make your photo shoot more exciting.

here is a tutorial on how to make an easy cake topper.

(you could do this with any number letter or simple shape)

use card stock to trace or draw a number one.

cut them both out.

place a skewer, popsicle stick, lollipop stick, or whatever you have on hand that may emulate one of this items.  I twisted some craft wire and used that.  boom!

mod podge + glitter = FUN!

voila!  reusable and super cute for a first anniversary photo shoot!

DIY deck of cards book

yeah I'm still anniversary-talkin' (still a couple more DIY's to come on that as well), but this is something you can do anytime!

So here's how it went down.

get a deck of cards (it should be 53 cards including the joker)

punch 2 holes in the side of each card (use your first card as a template for the rest)

aw.  my holes are hearts.

*I only own a heart shaped hole punch

print on card stock (or plain paper would work)

the title of my book and a special message for the inside cover

cut your title and message out and mod podge, baby!

oh!  someone broke out the fancy scissors!

so you come up with 52 reasons why you love your loved ones and you print each reason out (on card stock or plain paper).  I also mod podged scrapbook paper onto each card (and then repunched my holes)

I hope your printer is working... or that you have one.

Now we print the page numbers.  I chose a few different fonts just for funsies!

mod podge the whole card after you've put everything on it.  This seals it nicely.

let cards dry.

I was going to go buy some rings to put through the holes but I ran out of time and the craft store is so far away (waaaah).  So jute twine it is!

tie it, snip it, done.

so sweet.

and I was able to say that I gave a paper gift for anniversary #1

anniversary gifts are fun.

My sweet friend Bethany made this awesome frame for us for our anniversary.

I love it.

she kept several different paper elements from our wedding and decoupaged them onto a frame.

this is from our programs.

so is this... she also used our invites, our cd inserts (these were favors),  and leftover burlap from bridesmaids clutches I made.

thanks, sweet Bethany!!  You're the best!

decoupage bird art.

I have been recently inspired to redecorate my apartment, but budget decorating takes time and a lot of creativity... so with a little bit of inspiration from the Color me Katie blog, some Pier One catalogs that keep getting mailed to my apartment, some black paint, and one large canvas I made this...

and a little more up close and personal...

give me your scrabble tiles!

Since NaNoWriMo is over, I can finally blog again!  Whew!

I've been seeing these little scrabble tile pendants all over Etsy.  I like them so much, I figured I'd try to make some myself!  Here's what I ended up with...

they look better in person.  I need a better camera... or better lighting.

How can you resist a fat cat, nonetheless?

high fructose corn syrup?

tonight I went to the bookstore to look at magazines and see if I could find some cool ones to cut up and turn into cool recycled stuff to potentially sell on Etsy. So after skimming a couple of magazines to just say "eh" to, I found a little gem called Hi-Fructose. Lots of weird stuff... kinda like a weird art magazine. I just got finished with a deep skim of it, and I figured I would write about it since it will be contributing to my craftiness. I was going to post a picture of the cover but I liked this picture better... so here it is... fresh off the hi-fructose website...

p.s.
I hate high fructose corn syrup... even though it's sweet... and yes, I've seen the new commercials about it. I'm still skeptical.

bangle sale!

I couldn't resist buying out all of the wooden bangle bracelets marked 90% percent off at my local craft store last weekend. I busted out the Modge Podge and decided to decoupage the bracelet with an old magazine I wanted to cut up.

So here you have it! I may even list it on Etsy!!