Patina White

patina'd calendar pages .... how {2}!

hello hello! so with a newYEAR comes the need for an updated calendar. and i like to have them "blend" in with our surroundings. which means they need to have some "patina"!

now...enter in the little calendars that are often attached to a stickly vinyl business label. we get a handful every year in the mail...to which i remove the staples and the tag from the top leaving me w/ tiny calendar pages that look something like this {below}

 

 

and how does one "patina" calendar pages you ask? well there is little paper that stands a fighting chance of staying crisp & white when you pour yourself a cup of coffee {below}...

 

 

...and dunk the individual pages into the coffee bath. then i placed them on a metal cookie sheet & allowed them to dry. they get a nice, crinkly finish. even the pattern of the tin sheet telegraphed thru into a pattern on the paper as you'll see {below}

 

 

i gathered up the pages & clipped them together...placing them on my magnet board. now i have a running set of months that blend in & serve a good purpose of keeping track of what day it is! take a peek of it up close {below}

 

this magnet board is part of my "command center" on the edge of our kitchen. if you've missed this picture {below} - it will give you a full view of this highly functional area! so nice to have a spot for keys + change. now if i could keep it tidy i would be set! but life happens & you just have to roll with it! 

 

 

so there you go! just a few minutes to make the most of your months. soon you'll be scouring for the "free, take one" calendars around your town! can't have too many calendars around your home if you ask me. and now you can have them here & "there"...without "glare"!

happy creating!

sweep up a SWEET treat sac {HOW 2}

hello there show & tell! i have been wanting to make some little "broom" treat bags 4{EVER}! and i mean it when i say that because i started them last year...ran short of time & tucked everything away in a drawer. wasn't going to repeat again this year by showing the year's before...because that'd be like running a repeat...of a repeat! 

so w/ a little extra time on sunday i got out the goods and got busy. and was tickled to make a little grouping of them {below}. interested on learning how? well please read on my friend...

 

now mind you...this is a MARTHA STEWART found project from years ago. infact i have already done them once...but love them so much i had to do again for those of you who missed it. i know...really still repeating here. but this time i took some snapshots to hopefully give you an idea of how i did them. it's sometimes hard for me to get instructions across with my somewhat {always} long rambling...but here goes!

if you're lucky like me to live on the edge of some woods...then twigs are not hard to come by. if not...well hopefully a stroll down the sidewalk or street would provide a few stray branches for your crafting pleasure. pick up sticks! {below}

 

 

now i go to our local hardware store enough that i felt comfortable asking if they'd share some of their small brown sacs with me. and they did for a minimal cost. but if you don't have access to tiny brown bags like mine {below}...then a small lunch bag would be fine too. it just will take a little more goodies to fill which will likely please the recipient anyway! :)

 

 

you will need two sacs to make each broom.  take the outer one...and fold the bottom down like shown {below} as you don't want to cut into that formed "V". you can use scissors but as a time saver i used my paper cutter to make many cuts forming thin "strips".  cut with care...

 

 

then you want to take the second sac...your "inner liner" and cut the top down to make strips only on the top 1-2". you then will tuck that "liner" sac into the outside bag with all the long strips. see those steps {below}

 

 

my favorite part. grab some sweet treats. i got an array of cookies and candy following with halloween tradition. you could fill with a multitude of surprise i suppose. i have to test what i give so of course candy it was! fill the inside sac up with as much as you like! 

 

 

just some last few fluffing details...see them {below}. 

 

 

so here's hoping my steps above will yield you a broom something like that of this cutie {below}. 

 

 

now you can sweep up with your own sweet treat sacs! you'll be the queen witch with these fabulous little treat favors perfect for halloween get togethers + trick or treaters alike! 

HAPPY CREATING & TREATING!

 

paper or plastic...HOW{2}

hey there everyone! right on the heels of my earth day tribute post i thought i would share a little HOW{2} with ya. so get out your shopping lists...and head to the store. and when asked if you'd like paper or plastic...shout out "PAPER"... because you are going to be making some sweet little sacs! read on...

 

 

you'll want to cut your bag up into rectangles. make 'em a variety of sizes. then take one of your rectangles...fold into thirds and then fold one side over a small amount to give a straight "edge".  {like below}

 

now fold together letter style. flip the bottom up to create a pocket. {i used a pinking shears on mine to clean up the flap. {see it below!}

 

alrighty...now you are going to want to run a piece of packing tape along that bottom flap to seal the deal!

and about that top...sky's the limit! you can freestyle cut out a pattern...or use a decorative scissor as i did to get the fun scallops {have a peek below}.

 

and if you flip it over you are pretty well done! you can get a number of pockets from {1} bag! i challenged myself to use up 99% of the bag and i think i did a pretty good job! the scraps were but a handful of tiny shavings! {below}

 

and time to show you my final product! {below}

i love these little sacs. especially the one utilizing the stamped bottom of the bag...a superb reuse of that "PAPER"! they work great for many projects! and i have an idea to use some of them for MAY DAY "baskets".  and with that only around the corner i suspect i will be showing them off very soon!

do you have your grocery list ready? pass on that ol plastic bag and stock up on the paper! infact tell 'em you want a double! because once you start your paper crafting...you'll be glad you did! 

wishing you the happiest of days...