Decoupaged Day Planner Part 2

Happy weekend! Only a few hours left until Monday; hope you’re making the most of your Sunday night.

Without further ado, here’s my made-over day planner post I promised last month. {See part one, here!} I needed a new one (and had to end the school year planner cycle by jumping into the June section of a Jan.-Dec. calendar planner. No more school; bittersweet!) but am always on a super-tight budget, so I headed to the 99 Cent Store and found one in a size I liked. It was plain, but I liked the color, so I went ahead and splurged for $1. 🙂

I decided to jazz it up with a chevron-inspired pattern using masking tape and paint.

The paint all peeled off, so I retaped and instead used a paint pen. Thankfully, this method worked.

Then I topped the gold paint pen off with some sparkly nail polish for some extra pizazz.

Ta-da! Easy peasy, and one of a kind.

While putting together this post, I took a break to make kale chips that are now completely gone. haha. Now to wash them down with a little something. . .

Decoupaged Day Planner

This is my current planner that I carry around with me. Despite the numerous technological options for scheduling, I still like good ol’ fashioned pen and paper to keep track of my plans.

I didn’t love the selection of planners available, so I bought the size I wanted and decided to redo the cover. I just snagged a catalog from my desk and got to work!

I found two coordinating pages and used them for the front and back.

The images weren’t super exciting, so I braided some embroidery string and fashioned it into a heart to jazz up the front.

I always need a quick reference to where we are in the month, so I braided a coordinating place marker right onto the top coil of the notebook. 

This was a super quick, simple project, but I like the DIY look. This scheduler actually ends in June, so I just bought a new one which I’ve already decorated. 🙂 Stay tuned to see that one, which I’m loving already.

Happy Monday!

Let My People Go

This past Passover season, my family hosted a dinner in which we decided the decor should be loosely themed ‘Egyptian’ (since we were commemorating the Israelites leaving Egypt and all . . .). As is, King Tut lives in our family room, so this was a logical table decorating decision. (Should you be wondering, he’s filled with DVDs, not a mummy. And yes, he’s wearing a Medieval Times crown, and also holding rhinestoned reading glasses. He likes to accessorize.)

I chipped in by making place cards.

I stamped, embossed, cut, and folded card stock, then lightly colored in the designs with colored pencil.

I didn’t trust myself with the penmanship, so I asked my mom to write the names.

Doing their jobs . . .

Ready to eat!

These were pretty straight forward, but I had fun making them! There are some awesome and creative place cards out there, and I’m looking forward to playing with new ideas for future get-togethers.

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Avengers was great. The 3D IMAX experience was pretty fun, too, though the screen wasn’t much bigger than regular 3D. Great movie though!

DIY Smart Cover Makeover

I’m too cheap to buy the authentic Apple Smart Cover for $50, so when I first bought my iPad 2, I got a decent knockoff online for around $20 less. Over the last couple of months, it started getting stains and peeling, which gave me an interesting idea. Rather than buy another fake (or splurge on a real one), why not remake my own with my pick of fabric? So I did.

Before

Starting to come apart

The magnets that wake/put to sleep the iPad

As a precaution, I took note of the spacing of the internal pieces

Innards

Everything completely separated

I used the old fabric as a template for the new fabric

Pieces ready to glue. I folded over the fabric tab and glued in the hinge that attaches the cover to the iPad. Then I glued the two pieces of fabric together sandwiched around the inner plastic pieces.

Despite double checking—so I thought—I accidentally glued the hinge on backwards (the magnet was on the wrong side). I had to take it apart and reglue the tab over the gray lining. (If done properly the first time, the tab would have been under the gray fabric giving it a cleaner look.)

The cover is far from perfect and has a homemade feel, but I love the pattern (my favorite fabric from when I worked in the Textiles department at IKEA)!

Ignoring the uneven edges, I like it! I know I’m the only girl with this case (until this goes viral ;)).

1/4 yard Outer Fabric: $0, already owned

1/4 yard Gray Lining: $3.53

Fabric Glue: $3.45, with 40% coupon

Total Cost: $6.98

One of a kind and cheap. Win!

Warm Thanks & A Giant Apple

I’ve been slacking on my 365 creativity projects, but I do have two to share!

The day’s prompt was “Today, make a stencil and use it for your work”. On my to do list was to make a thank you card for a handmade scarf that was given to me, so I decided to combine forces and make a stencil for my card.

I struggled with what to cut and what not to cut (the inverse thing always confuses me. . .), but in the end got it right! I was happy with how it turned out, especially considering I have zero drawing skills.

The recipient loved the card. 🙂 

The next one said “Make something with your breakfast before you eat it”. Hard to make something out of granola, so instead I used two small apples as my medium. Simple, but kind of fun!

Mega apple. . .

More of an apple tower, I suppose. Have you done any cool things with your breakfast fruit?

Lettuce Art

I got a fun shout out on my friend Tara’s blog this weekend, and highly recommend you give her a visit! She’s just getting into the swing of things but has had some lovely offerings so far.

Now, to create!

I have always loved the flower design at the base of romaine lettuce and have wanted to stamp with them for years. A few months ago, I finally did it! I used slightly watered down acrylic paint with the ends from my lunch salad. 🙂

I ended up with abstract roses, which I finished off with a sprinkling of gold paint.

This makes me want to stamp with other veggies and fruit. The patterns found in nature are truly beautiful!

Wipe Clean

A few months ago I finally decided on a plan for my famous IKEA Ung Drill frame, which, until this, sat hanging empty on my wall. I wanted to incorporate more of my accent hot pink, so I took this opportunity to use a few shades of paint chips to pull everything together (haha, poor Home Depot. I made sure to return the ones I didn’t use!). It was pretty simple, but definitely time-consuming!

Almost there. . . I love the texture! Once done, I put the glass back on, and voila –  my new dry-erase board.

Overall, I’m happy with it. And, since it’s just sitting in the frame, I can always change it up later! Do you have a favorite way to leave notes around your house?

Creativity

Hey! A while back, I bought the book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal. It gives you a starting place and inspiration for creating something every day. I finally started it recently, and, though not sticking to it daily, am slowly starting to work my way through it. Here are a few of the projects I’ve done so far — the point being to challenge the mind more than ending up with a masterpiece:

Go on a 5 minute walk and create something using what’s around you, leaving it there for others to enjoy.

Happy to say that it was still there when I drove by a week later!

Create something using only paper; no glue, markers, scissors, tape, etc. I had in mind a sort of paper basket idea, so I tore up my strips and got to it.

The weaving thing wasn’t working out (couldn’t hold them together with folding), so instead I twisted the paper strips around themselves into rings. With some finesse, they managed to stay together.

Work with a collection. At first, I didn’t think I had a collection . . . Oh, duh.

Make something using a favorite animal as inspiration. Zebras aren’t my #1 fav, but I’d say they make my top three. I’d been wanting to make a weekly to-do list for awhile, so this was the perfect opportunity!

I’m only on the third page of the book, so lots more to come!

Framed Earrings

Bonjour!

I’d been wanting a better storage solution for my earrings for a while, and this seemed like an easy and decorative way to do so! And cheap, which I’m always such a fan of. 🙂 I managed to find this antique frame in storage and already had an old window screen lying around. I put this together in about 10 minutes, using a staple gun.

I might hang it one day, but for now it rests happily on my dresser. I still keep posts and studs in a jewelry box, but I like seeing all my pretty dangly earrings on display. It makes accessorizing much more convenient!

Hope you’re having a good day!