Back to School Mini Backpack Gift Project

20 Aug 2012 1 Comment

by dlwidder in Cards and Projects Tags: , , , , ,

Need a little gift idea for your children’s first day back to school or a teacher gift? Check out this fab idea by Mary Arima for Splitcoaststampers! You can find the template and instructions for assembling this cutie project HERE. These are 3 little backpacks I made using this template (you can made adaptations to the template to suit your needs too):

Here’s a pic that shows the straps in the back:

Materials:

Webster’s Pages Game On papers
Webster’s Pages Girl Land papers
Making Memories eyelets
seam binding

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Post-It Note Holders – Inspired by Helmar

13 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by dlwidder in Cards and Projects Tags: , , , , , ,

Nearly every Monday, Helmar has live Ustream classes that are really fun to watch. The ladies that participate each week are so much fun to chat with and there’s a different creative project featured each week. On August 22, 2011, Tracy was the host (sometimes it’s Jess aka Kinderstampo), and she made the cutest little post-it note holders that I thought were just perfect for teacher gifts! This year I needed to create 5 gifts (Matthew’s teacher is on maternity leave after having baby number SEVEN so he has a long-term sub). Here’s the link to her recorded show: Note Holder Tutorial

In the video, Tracy shows how easy they are to make using regular square coasters with rounded corners, but I didn’t have any on hand and it didn’t seem likely that I could just duck into a restaurant and grab a few. lol But…last week Larry happened to be waiting for the car to be inspected and went to lunch with his boss. While out, he actually remembered that I needed some and snagged me 10. So he not only remembered that I needed them, but also remembered how many! How great is THAT?!! 😀

Anyway, I decided to make one a little different and used a 4×8 scalloped chipboard rectangle that I cut in half to create the 4×4 size I wanted. On another one, I trimmed of a 1/4″ off of one side to give it a different shape. So far, I’ve made 4 out of the 5 I need, so keep an eye out for #5 coming soon! Here’s how mine turned out:

I went ahead and took a pic of the inside on two of them because there are two things that I do that are not in Tracy’s video. The first difference…though I do bind with the seam of the rings on the inside of the covers, so it’s not exposed, I also glue the rings down using Helmar 450 Quick Dry to make it easier to open and close. The ring is then attached to the base and the cover is free to move along it’s track w/o taking the rings with it.

The second difference…In Tracy’s video, she removed the backing on the post-it pad and glued the pad to the base. For mine, I also removed the backing, but I glued just the top 1/2″ (the part that has the removable adhesive already on it) to a piece of 3″ x 3″ cardstock which is the same size as the post it pad. I then added a strip of patterned paper to the base where it is only glued on the 2 side edges. Once dry, you can then slip the cardstock backing that you added to the post it pad under that strip to hold it neatly in place. Normally I would match the pattern so you can’t see where this strip is, but for one I used contrasting paper so you can easily see what I’ve done.

TFL!

Altered Helmar “Glue Daddy” Caddy

06 Sep 2011 10 Comments

by dlwidder in Cards and Projects Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Caution: This post is photo heavy!

I was so excited when I came home from picking the kids up from school on Friday to find my Glue Daddy Caddy waiting on my doorstep! It didn’t take long for me to tear open the box and take it for test spin. Here’s the naked caddy decked out with my fave Helmar glues:

I knew this would be something I wanted easily accessible on my craft table and would be used frequently, so I had to make sure I created something that would really last. I started by applying Acid Free glue to one face of the caddy at a time and adhering tissue paper by 7 Gypsies. To remove the excess, I simply let the glue dry then sanded the edges, then moved onto the next side. Once all sides were covered, I inked the edges with distress ink. I then applied the 2 step crackle. Since this was my first project using this product, I was a little nervous, but let me tell you…it was soooo easy to use and the results are fantastic! I could readily see the crackle affect, but to accentuate them, I lightly buffed the piece with a papertowel dipped in a bit of brown acrylic paint. Working it into the cracks, I wiped the excess off with another part of the papertowel as I went, then sealed with Helmar’s Acrlic Sealer.

I LOVED the affect so much I didn’t want to cover the tissue paper design or crackle too much, so I only embellished one end of the holder with a couple 7 Gypsies sprocket gears, a Graphic 45 chipboard button and flower.

Here’s the finished piece with the fabulous Helmar products that helped make it happen:

Here are my happy glues in their new home:

TFL!

To order your own Glue Daddy Caddy from Tracy (Pres of Helmar USA), CLICK HERE. There are 2 models to pick from…mine, pictured above, is the deluxe model. The difference between this one and the standard model? The Deluxe model has pockets on the sides as shown. 😀