A few September bulletin boards

Please excuse the flash on this photo! It washed out the bees, but you can still get the gist of it, right? :) This is one of the bulletin boards from my son's science class in September. I'm just now getting around to sharing it.

I started with a bulletin board kit from Dollar Tree. It came with the branch and large bees. Then I purchased the "3D" hive separately, as well as the mini bees (25/pack) and border, all for $1 each. They worked so well together, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out!



This is from my daughter's Social Studies curriculum. The large cards came from Abeka, our curriculum publisher. The heading came from Dollar Tree (for $1). I was pretty excited to see how well they worked together.

And in case you're wondering, I don't have a dedicated "bulletin board" on my daughter's side of the schoolroom, so I work around what wall space I have. This particular space also happens to house the clock, so I just worked it into the design. :)

Enjoy! I'll share some more bulletin boards next week.

40th Anniversary Card

Supplies: stamp (K&Co); paper (glittery paper by Slice, gold metallic paper by unknown, gold vellum paper by unknown); ink (Versamark with white embossing powder); Nestabilities Labels 4; CB Vintage corner die; wide gold satin ribbon; homemade mini roses.

This is a companion to the wedding card I posted on Tuesday. My parents just celebrated their 40th anniversary, and I wanted to make them a special card for the occasion. Since this was pretty 3D with the bow and roses, I mailed it in a 6x9" mailing envelope. It was a little extra postage, but definitely worth it.

Enjoy!

I Challenge You Wednesday: Stained Glass Flower Transparencies

My friend chose the challenge for this week. She chose the flower transparency/stained glass technique. This is something I've been meaning to try for awhile now, so I was glad for the push to get it done.

I've seen it done with magazine cut-outs and other full-color images, but I don't think I had ever heard of using stamps and patterned paper to do it. I'm also not completely sure that my examples are wonderful examples of it, since you can barely tell from the pictures that they are transparent ... but I really like them, so I guess that's what counts. :)

Oh, and one more disclaimer ... I didn't use any flower stamps. So much for "flower transparency," right?



Supplies: stamp (Studio G); ink (black StazOn, BIC Mark-Its); paper (American Crafts, D.T. file folder, ATD, The Paper Company); Nestabilities Labels 4 and 8; dimensionals; green paper clip; packing tape. Finished size: 4 x 5-1/2".

I used packing tape for this first transfer. Don't you just love onesies? This homemade hanger (from a green paper clip) was the perfect size to hang it from, too. I had fun making the quilt background with paper scraps, and then I popped up the center element on dimensionals.

As a side note, my StazOn pad must be getting old because I had to go over both of these images with my BIC and Sharpie markers after I stamped them. Hmmm ...



Supplies: stamps (SU! sentiment, DOTS/CTMH Benson Bear); paper (recycled baby announcement); ink (black StazOn, black Sharpie, Versamark with black embossing powder); Nestabilities Labels 1; paper doily; dimensionals; clear ConTact paper. Finished size: 5x7".

I used clear ConTact paper as an experiment with this one, and it worked. I also accidentally used double-sided paper (which supposedly doesn't work as well with this technique), but it worked out just fine.

I started with a recycled baby annoucement. As you can see, I flipped it around so I could get the best use out of it:



And when it needed a little extra something, I pulled out a paper doily. It was too small, so I cut it apart and strategically adhered it to the back of the shape:



It worked great, and I was very happy with the results!

That's all for me this week. Now you can check out what my friend made. Enjoy! :)

Love Wedding Card

Supplies: stamps (K&Co); paper (glittered background paper by Slice, gold vellum by unknown, gold metallic by unknown); ink (Versamark with white embossing powder); homemade hot glue pearls; gold satin ribbon; Nestabilities Labels 4; Martha Stewart corner punch; homemade mini roses.

I had a wedding and special anniversary to acknowledge this past week, so I broke out some new glittery white paper I had just picked up at Ollie's. It was $1.99 for 25 sheets of this specialty paper put out by Slice. I know it was in conjunction with a company (I'm thinking Making Memories), but I can't remember exactly which one at the moment.

You can't see the sparkle of the background paper in this picture, but it's all glittery and gorgeous. I gave this one to our nephew and his new bride. It was a tight fit in the envelope, so I would have gone with a 6x9" mailing envelope if I hadn't been delivering it in person.

Enjoy!

Simple Bind It All Planner #2

On Friday, I shared my first planner with you. Today I'm sharing the second one. Again, I first saw this idea on Leigh's blog. She got the idea from a blogger at An Altered Life.



Supplies: paper (unknown); Nestabilities Labels 8; chipboard letters (unknown); peach grosgrain ribbon; binder clips; tiny adhesive rhinestones; mini legal pad; Bind It All.



Here's the front of this one, with the initials of my other Secret Sister. (I really hope she doesn't read my blog, but she's probably figured me out already anyway!)

See, I got the binding right on this one!



And here's the back, with the ribbon holding the monthly calendar part in place.

I forgot to mention that I used regular cardboard for the base of these. I adhered two sheets of sturdy (non-corrugated) cardboard together, then covered it with decorative paper.

Enjoy!

Simple Bind It All Planner #1

I originally saw this wonderful planner idea at Leigh's blog. She, in turn, was inspired by another blogger at An Altered Life. I loved the concept and was itching to try out my new Bind It All, so I made two of them, one for each of my Secret Sisters. This is my first one.



Supplies: paper (Making Memories); Nestabilities Labels 8; chipboard letters (unknown); ribbon (unknown); binder clips; tiny adhesive rhinestones; Bind It All.

For the mini-sized notepads, I simply cut a mini legal pad in half lengthwise with my X-acto knife. I discovered that you get a nicer cut when you work from the front to the back, instead of the back to the front!



Here is the front of the planner, with my Secret Sister's initials on it. I covered the binder clips with scraps from the rest of the planner, and it was super-easy!

Did you notice that I goofed on the binding holes? It was my first binding project, and from it I learned how to properly line up my covers. Oh well! My Secret Sister didn't even notice.



Here's the back of it. As you can see, there is ribbon holding in the monthly calendar part. This way, it can be switched out next year if they want.

I'll show you my second one on Monday!

DIY Easel-Backed Recipe Book

I've had this idea running around in my head for awhile now. Since I got my Bind It All, I got the chance to try it out. What is it? A stand-up recipe card book:



Supplies: stamps (free digital stamp from Leaves of Time, letters by Studio G); paper (K&Co, unknown); ink (BIC Mark-Its, SU Chocolate Chip); Nestabilities Labels 8; Bind It All; recipe cards; manilla file folder for easel part.

Here's a picture of the inside, using a set of $1 recipe cards that I got on clearance for $0.50:



And here's a straight-on view of it:



So, how do you make an easel stand? It's super-easy! For this project, you will need to cut a manilla file folder to 6 x 10". Score the 10" side at 4, 5, and 6". Mountain-valley fold the middle section (to create the stand). Bind as usual.

It's that easy! Enjoy! :)