Sheet Music Deco

I just LOVE music and art and so why not combine them both in a much more visual and chic way? Well, I ran into these tutorials while searching some quick deco makeover ideas and I really want to try it out. Now, since I do play the piano and sing, I typically can't find it in my little heart to permanently use music as decoration only because I'd much rather play it.  So, I have to find a printer or copy machine somewhere so I can make enough copies to work with and use as beautiful accessories for my little home.

So, I'll be making these soon and hope they come out as pretty as the DYIers made them look here!

These decoration ideas, and much more, can be found at Tip Junkie, or just click on the image for the specific tutorials and references.

Stop losing your grocery coupons!

Now, for the my first craft for your home!  It's a coupon file pocket with magnet for your fridge!  I did this craft before Thanksgiving time last year because I noticed there were offers coming in from everywhere!  So, I created this cute little file pocket to keep things organized and just keep the coupons I want, not the whole ad, you know?  There are two versions I'm showing because the fancier one was made by my mom.  I made one for her after she visited and since she has more supplies than I do, she made many, many more to give to her friends.

This is so functional and decorative.  I think I saw something similar to it when I was preganant in a magazine, but it was more like a wallet you can tuck away in your kitchen drawers...I like this better!  I will give a step by step tutorial so you can have one too.

1. Get some cute, patterned  or decorated cardstock and cut what you need just staright accross from the whole page that is sold in a big square shape.  Fold into 3 parts, making the top-most fold thrice closely together since if you make only one fold, it might tear from too much usage after your start to wear it.

2. Measure another solid-colored cardstock and cut.  Fold as many times as you need, like a fan.  So if you want it to have 3 dividing sections, fold vertically 8 times.  If you just need 2 compartments, fold 5 times vertically. 


3. Follow my sketch for where to glue it.Use tacky glue (preferably) to join the fan-like paper to your envelope-like paper and hold to make sure it's sturdy.  Slide in more cardstock (or cereal box pieces) that you cut into the right size for your dividers.  I used an extra cardstock piece that fit in perfectly.

4. Now, decide how you want to keep the flap closed.  My mom used velcro, strengthened by more cardstock behind it to be sturdy.  I used those metal paper things and also folded the top section my ribbon around it and folded extra from the flap to cover my not inside.

5. Decorate! Put on stickers, flowers, gems, or leave it simple if your cardstock is pretty ornate already, or you love the pattern. Here, you just get creative!
6. Attach a magnet to the center back a little less than an inch away from the top with a glue gun.

7. Now get some coupons and organize them however you want.  I divide them into 3 coupon categories: Grocery, restaurant, and products and slide then into their respective section.

Hasta la proxima vez!  Until next time!

Birthday Card Pop-up

I made this for my little brother's birthday coming up soon.  He was born on February 29th....leap-year baby!  He will be 7 soon and he loves sports and just being active so I incorperated it all into his card.  These are pretty easy to make since all you need is a blank card, scissors and paper scraps.  I hand write a lot of my stuff because I like to be different.

The colors are a little washed out here, but it's much richer in person.  The miniature swing set was made by small rope-style yarn (the kind you can make tassels from) and I knotted them at the bottom and attached with glue gun dots.  I can't fugre out how to cover them without making it look bulky since it'll be prassed into the envelope.  It folds in nicely the way I left it.  I drew the balls and glue-gunned them on.  The two front balls have thin foam pieces to add dimension too. The grass took the longest to cut, but it I'm pleased with everything.

I hope this inspires you to make a cool-looking and fun pop-up card for someone special to you.

Desktop

I created this using the simple program Picasa, by Google. Not bad, I think. It's our new little desktop background with the settings customized and set into categories. Took me about 15 minutes start to finish.