random projects

I've gotta get my groove back!! I feel like I have spent the last couple of weeks just looking at the piles of stuff I end up shifting from one room to the next! My craft room was taking a major "back seat" to all of the other projects I wanted to accomplish, but finally by Saturday night I think I actually have it cleaned and organized to be able to get back in there and start working again. I'll have to post craft room pics soon because my mom made some fun curtains for my closet (I removed the doors) and I feel like I have a great organization system going on. I purchased a 12 x 12 paper rack from a paper store closing out and snagged a card spinner, too! I still have a few more things to be hung, but I'm just waiting for my hubby on that one! ;)

So, in the meantime I thought I would share with you a few random projects I've worked on recently...

I covered these small clipboards (6x9) for the kids to keep in the car. My daughter is always wanting to write or draw on something, so I thought this would be perfect! I decided to attach the paper with adhesive and Sticky Strip instead of Mod Podge which is what I originally tried. For some reason the Mod Podge just warped the paper and I didn't like the way it looked. I was pretty proud of myself for not just scrapping the project all together, but instead I started over and tried something else. Such a concept, huh? ;)

I used the Timeless Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits to die cut the letters for each of their names and used my "sticker maker" to add adhesive to the back of the letters. I liked the way it looked with their names on the bottom of the clipboard even though I'm sure they could guess whose belonged to who. I cut 8-1/2 x 11 white copy paper in half and a stack of paper is clipped to the clipboard ready to go. (Note: The paper is non-SU!...I have to use up some of that "contraband" paper somehow!! *wink*)


I also had in my stash (everybody has a "stash", right?) some short gel pens in different colors, so I found a gel pen that coordinated with each of the paper colors. I attached half of a Velcro circle on the clip part and the other part on the gel pen. Now they'll always have a pen to draw! I also decided to add some little bits of ribbon to each of the clipboards for an added flair.

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Another little project I worked on this past weekend was making some hand sanitizer bottles. These make such great gifts! I purchased some hand sanitizers at The Dollar Tree and peeled off the front label, then added either some rub ons (retired) or a vinyl flower (which demonstrators have been able to buy in bulk in the past). Adding the ribbon finishes the project perfectly! You'll notice I also added a few pearls to some of the flowers on the front of the bottle. The bonus is that these are refillable, so you can reuse them for however long you need to!

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We had MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) on Monday and just like each month I brought my group a little gift for January. I wanted each of them to have a little notebook to write down some of their goals for 2012...or just to use as a place to jot down anything they needed to! These are mini-composition notebooks I picked up in September on the school supplies clearance. Kind of wished I would have snagged some more! They were great quality notebooks and ended up only being $.25 a piece.

I covered each of the notebooks with retired Stampin' Up! DSP (Sweet Pea) and added some ribbon to tie around the notebook and ended it with a knot. I didn't take a picture of the back, but I also covered the back of the notebook using a coordinating color of DSP. I decided to use Mod Podge with this project and it worked great! With Mod Podge, I glued the paper to the notebook and then covered over it with another layer of Mod Podge that dried perfectly clear. This will help prolong the life of the notebook as it gets shoved in the purse or glove box of the car.


I added an initial for each of the ladies in the group using the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits (just as the same with the clipboards, but used the lower case this time).

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I was able to spend some time in my craft room Tuesday to get ready for my upcoming card night next week, as well as to make a few cards to mail out to friends. I'm still sticking strong with my motto..."Don't over-think it. Just do it!" I found myself chanting that while in my craft room. It actually worked! ;)