Tutorial - Make custom Corrigated Alphas

Hello fellow bloggers!! Today I have a very quick and easy tutorial for you on how to create your very own corrigated cardboard alphas. I have been looking at the Jillibean Soup ones for months....and months, but I have not been able to bring myself to actually buy them. Why? Because they are cardboard, something that I love and something that I have all over my house. So one day I just thought to myself - Make your own, and that's exactly what I did :) But first I am going to show you one of the fastest ways to strip that pesky layer of paper off cleanly so we can get to that coveted corrigated bliss!

All we need for this is a bowl of water, a paper towl and your cardboard.

First we just dip our paper towl into the water. Make sure to get it really saturated with water.
Then just wet the cardboard really well and let it sit for about 15-20 seconds. Long enough to loosen the paper.

Start off in one corner and begin to lift the paper carefully. If you notice it isn't coming up very easily then add more water.

When you are pulling the paper off make sure to do it following the lines. The paper is glued to each individual raised corrigation, so this is the easiest way to do it. If you do it against the lines then it typically creates a mess!

As you are lifting the paper keep adding water.

And there you have it. A nice clean piece of corrigated cardboard to work with!

Now on to the letters. All we have to do it cut the cardboard to fit our cricut matt and run it through like you normally would. I set my settings to shadow because I like the thicker look. Also...I used a deep cut blade which works better for thicker products. I have used a normal blade, but have had to go back in with my Xacto knife to finish the cuts. So if you don't mind the extra bit of work the regular cricut blade works as well!

And here is my corrigated name all popped out!

These are a few different words that I have cut in various sizes. What I love about this is that you can cut your letters any size, any font that YOU want! And then use as is or you can paint them, ink them, make em' pretty in any way you want! Also another thing that I love is how the letters take on a different look depending on how you turn your cardboard before cutting. The 2 words on top are cut vertically with the lines while the 2 on bottom are cut horizontally! So cool!

And there you have it....Your very own custom Corrigated Letters!!! Have fun :)

2 Zipper Flowers - Tutorial

As promised I have a new tutorial for you fabulous bloggie friends based on creating a few flowers using zippers. I got my initial idea for these when I bought my DD a pair of shoes with a huge Zipper flower on the toe.....and after that I kept seeing Zipper flowers everywhere (or maybe that was just in my mind). So I set out to create an easy tutorial on how I created mine...and I am still playing around with the idea for more, so be warned...there may be another installment to this tutorial :)

Supplies Needed:

*Zipper - 18in long

*Needle & thread

*Scissors

First what we need to do is cut the Zipper pull and the end stopper off the zipper. That's where a good pair of scissors are needed. I used my Tim Holtz Tonic ones because they will cut through anything (including metal) and stay sharp! Love them!!
After you cut the Zipper pull and stopper off the zipper you will have cut off about 1inch leaving a 17inch Zipper area to work with.
Then simply use a running stitch up the entire side of the zipper on the fabric area.
After you complete the stitch up the side of the zipper just pull the thread to create a tight gather. The zipper will begin to twist into a circle. Make sure to leave the needle and thread on the zipper. We do not want to cut this off because we will be using it :)
Take those circle twists and start arranging them. You will want to take the very end of the zipper and just tuck it under. Use that as your starting point and wrap the zipper around until you get a look that is pleasing to you.

Once you get a desired look simply take your thread and hand stitch the zipper together to create a solid flower. This works best if you start in the back and bring the stitches all the way through to the center.

And there we have it - our Zipper flower. These look pretty awesome as is, but if you want to add something to the center - that looks sweet as well!

We are using the same exact Supplies for this flower as in the previous one. And it starts out the same as well. We need to cut both ends off the Zipper giving us about a 17inch piece to work with. The first thing we are going to do for this flower is cut the Zipper. We need 5 pieces of 2.5inch zipper. These will be the petals. There will be a little left over after we cut these 5 pieces - we want to save that and cut it down to 3 inches. This piece will be the center of the flower.

Next we want to start creating our petals. To do this simply take one of the 2.5inch pieces of zipper and bend it like shown.

Using our needle and thread simply tack the two ends together. We don't want those babies coming apart!!

Repeat this process until you have all 5 petals complete.

Next we are going to start forming our flower. To do this slightly overlap the petals and stitch them into place where one petal touches the other. This forms a really solid base.

And here is what our flower base looks like after we have stitched all 5 petals together.

Next we are going to create the center of the flower using the 3inch piece of zipper. Add a Running stitch to the fabric area the lenght of the zipper.Then simply gather the stitch to form a circle. Tack this circle together with your thread.

And then add tack it down it down to the center of your flower base!!

And there we have it folks, another Zipper flower completed!

Recycled Tshirt Flower Tutorial

Amy here with another tutorial. This one is fast, fun, and also budget friendly!! I like not spending money, don't you?! Well....let me rephrase that...my HUSBAND likes me not spending money :) So today we are going to be recycling something that I am sure many of us have laying around the house - Tshirts. My kiddos go through tshirts like crazy. They get stained pretty easily and I hate to just throw them out so I decided to figure out a way to use them and came up with a flower - because we all love flowers, right?! Let's get started!!

Supplies Needed:
*Tshirt (any color) - cut into strips. Mine is 1.5in wide and 15in long.
*needle & thread
*Glue Gun
*Circle for base. I used a Large Chipboard button.

Start off by creating a running stitch down the very center of your fabric strip.

Gather your fabric strip until you have about a 9in strip.
Tie off the end to prevent it from coming undone.
Next we need to fold the fabric strip in half along the stitching.
Add a glob of hot glue to the center of your circle.
And begin to roll your fabric strip (still folded in half) onto the glue.
You will need to continue to add glue as you twist your fabric around still keeping it folded in half.
Make sure to glue as close to the fabric as possible and keep your rolls tight.
When your done gluing down all your fabric strip use your fingers to pull the 'petals' apart until you get a look that is satisfying to you...and there you have it....our recycled tshirt flower! I would love to do one of these in a pink or red, I think that would be beautiful, but the only Tshirt I could find tonight was a grey one :) Maybe it's time to "clean" out my daughters closet!! lol

Fortune Cookie Tutorial

Today I am going to show you how I created these felt fortune cookies. They are so simple and adorable, not to mention they make the cutest gift for someone special! We made them for teacher's gifts for Valentines Day, but they would be great for any time of the year. First off I found the Chinese take out box pattern here. This is a small box that fits 2 cookies perfectly.

Supplies Needed:

*Felt of desired color

*Glue Gun

*Scissors

*Quotes 'fortunes'
First what we need to do is draw a 4" circle onto the felt. I used a sharpie because it works beautifully!
Cut out the circles. When doing this cut just inside your drawn circle. This eleviates any marker to show.
Lay your 'fortune' on the felt and using your glue gun add a thin line of glue leaving about half an inch on each side. This allows room for the fortune to be pulled out!
Then just fold over and let the glue set.

Next we need to flatten out the top of the felt. Using your finger just push it down to create a dent..lip..heck just flatten that baby ;)

Add a bead, ok a glob of hot glue onto one side of your 'dent'.

Then just fold it together and allow to dry. Warning from experience: Hot glue takes a little longer to dry on felt than it normally would. I don't know why, I am sure there is an awesome reason....I just know it's frusterating at times. (meaning I'm impatient)

And this is what they look like completed. And those fortunes just pull right out!

Wouldn't these make the cutest little gift?! I love how you can totally personalize your fortunes depending on the person. There are also many sites that have fortune cookie quotes if you would rather.

Custom Pretty Pebbles Tutorial

Hello fellow beautiful scrappers! Today I have a tutorial on how to create your very own custom pebbles. I just love all those pretty little pebbles you can buy to add that special depth to your projects... I just hate to pay the prices for so few especially when I only end up liking and using a couple out of the package! So I got to looking at those bad boys and realized that they would be SO easy to make! I went to my local Michaels and picked up some clear glass flat backed pebbles - $2.49 for a bag of 20. Got on the computer and searched for images that I loved...printed those out onto white cardstock using my thumbnail option which is the perfect size. And then got busy making my pretty custom pebbles!

Here is how I did it:

Supplies needed:
Clear flat backed pebbles. (I used 1" and 1 1/4")
Your images/pictures
Glossy Accents
scissors

Then I simply layed my pebbles onto the pictures I printed to get the positioning I wanted.

Then traced around the pebble with a pencil for a guideline as to where to cut. I used pencil so I could go back in and erase the marks so they wouldn't show through the glass!

Then of course we just simply cut them out. And there we have it...the backs for our pebbles.

Next take some glossy accents and apply a glob to the center of your image. I used glossy accents because it dries completely clear and doesn't deflect from the glass effect we are going for. Plus that stuff can glue like no other!

Using your finger spread the glossy accents into a thin layer over your entire image. This is the only messy part of the entire process I promise :)

Then simply lay your pebble on top of the image. Using your fingers make sure to gently press out any air bubbles you see between the image and the glass. Start in the middle of the image and work out.

On this one I didn't use glossy accents for the glue. Rather I used Diamond Stickles and it sealed beautifully! I love the glittery effect that the glitter gives to the pebbles and you could use any color. Just one more way to create a custom pebble for your project!

I even used some vintage music sheet paper for one of the pebbles below. Love it! Turn rub ons into pebbles, pictures of your children, Or even just a sweet sentiment. The possibilities are endless!!! To create the 6 pebbles below it only took a matter of minutes. A quick, easy, and custom look for your projects at a VERY reasonable price!