Fabric Checkbook Cover

A while back I saw this tutorial for a checkbook cover at Attempting Creative. I absolutely loved it! Checkbooks are always so boring and this was a great and easy way to spice things up. I have to admit I did not follow her tutorial, but it is a good one if you want some step by steps. As always it was my day off and I feel like I have wasted the day if I don't have a new finished product by the end of it. So look it your scrap pile and whip up one of these gems for yourself, because that plastic-y vinyl cover has got to go!






I did cut the plastic dividers out of an old cover and sewed them on to separate my duplicate checks.

Book Page Topiary

I wanted to craft something on my day off, but being that it was my day off I didn't really want to leave the house. So I rummaged through my craft stash and found the awesome buckets I got on sale at TJ Maxx about a month ago. The wheels started turning and I grabbed a garage sale book, Styrofoam balls, which I don't even know why I had them, skewers and paint.

look at that awesome sale price!

I bought the buckets for the tag on the front, but 7 means nothing to me, so they would undergo a change. I gave the buckets a coat of blue craft paint. Spray paint would have worked better, but again I was not leaving the house, and blue spray paint was not in my cupboard.

Then came the time consuming part. Pull out pages, accordion fold, fold in half, repeat. Til I had a huge pile. Or so I thought. That pile you see was barely enough for one ball. So...back to pull out pages, accordion fold, fold in half, repeat.


After hot gluing on the pages it looked pretty sad. I started to think this was a total waste of time. But I pressed on and continued to fill in the gaps and tried to "make it work," as Tim Gunn would say.

Once I was finally done gluing and folding, I mod podged some scrapbook paper over the number tags, stuck a skewer in the ball and put it through the cardboard barrier I put in the bucket. To cover the cardboard I made a big rosette and called it good. The book-page topiary's now have a place on the tv stand.






*you'll probably see this here and there.

Things I Love Thursday

This week I heart Ribbon!

It is so versatile. You can use it to spice something up, hang, or fasten. Honestly the possibilities are endless.

Jazz up a plain pillow

Make some artwork

Keep decorative towels decorative

Use in place of a chain on a necklace

Make a headband

Use to detail

Hang a wreath

Decorate an entire wedding reception with ribbon!

Even detail the wedding cake!
(yep this was my wedding reception done entirely with ribbon, as you can see there were even ribbon flowers and bows scattered on all of the tables).

Buttoned Belt

Remember this little beauty? Well when I chopped off the bottom I salvaged the scraps to make a belt. I hate waist seams...they needed to be covered.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics for a tutorial, but here is a quick rundown. I shaped the belt with a little flare at the end and had in mind that I wanted it to pull the belt through itself, fold and button. I sewed some medium weight facing to the wrong sides of the belt pieces and then flipped it all right side out. At this point I decided to put a stitch 1/4" in all the way around for a more finished look. Last were the two button holes...my FIRST 2 button holes to be exact! One to pull the belt through and the other for the actual button. Sewed the button on and all done!





I'll be linking up to some of these great blogs...you should too!

Modern Bird Studios Giveaway @ Tatertots & Jello

Modern Bird Studios takes an ordinary photograph and turns it into the ridiculously cool piece of art!

I know I would love this hanging on my wall! So to get in on this awesome GIVEAWAY just pop over to Tatertots and Jello and enter.

Things I Love Thursday (1st Ever!)

I decided it is time to make my blog a little more organized, and to accomplish that I am setting aside Thursday to highlight my favorite things. These "Things I Love" will be easy decorating items and tips, thrifty finds, and things in general that make life a little easier.

To start this shebang off, my first "Things I Love Thursday" item to be featured is... drumroll...

BOOKS!


Books?? Yes Books. They are an easy space filler and can be a conversation starter. There are so many unique looking and titled books out there to choose from. They can also be mod podged and hot glued to anything!

Here are some examples of book use around my house.

I promise my entry way isn't really that bare.

Even text books can get a new life to add height.

So next time you see that box of 10 cent books at a garage sale...stock up!

Picture Frame Wreath

So wreaths really aren't my thing. I find most of the wreaths out in blogland really cute and would love one of my own, but we it comes to me actually taking the time to make one...pass. Until... I found this blog on wreaths. She made it really simple, a picture frame and ribbon. Now that I can handle. The wheels in my head started spinning. I loved the non-traditional square wreath and decided to finally make a wreath of my own. My front door is looking pretty boring and needed some color anyways.

So I went from this beauty,

Added a little paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and fabric and ended up with this.











**I'll be linking up here.