Amanda O'Banion

Creating a custom page protector using my Singer Hand-held sewing machine: a tutorial.

If you remember from this post I recently purchased a Singer hand-held sewing machine in the hopes of creating custom sheet protectors for items in my Project Life album!

Well I finally got the chance to use it and let me tell ya....LOVE IT!

It is so easy to use, and I can have quick custom page protectors in just a matter of minutes. I have already incorporated it into my album in tons of ways!

So, in honor of all things Singer, I decided to do a quick tutorial video on how to use it to create your own. It's my first ever so please don't hate me. I know I'm not always in the frame but you get the gist of just how easy they are to use. I have already heard from one reader that she has purchased one and is waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Hopefully this will help you guys see the wonderfulness this thing can add to your scrapbooking!

Let me know if the video was horrible or not. I'd love to do more tutorials so any feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, how would you feel if I gave one of these baby's away as my next giveaway? Hmmm...what are your thought?

A valentine, a tutorial, and a GIVEAWAY!!!

14 Days of Love.

I can't believe it's over.

I had such a fun time creating gifts for my awesome hubby and watching him get so giddy every time I handed him a new package to open.

I already have big ideas for next year, including a cute little paper mache mailbox I got on clearance!

For day 14 I stole an idea that I saw in a magazine at the beauty salon (BHG maybe?) and I knew I just had to try it.

Behold, the day 14 gift.

My binder rings were a little on the small side so I am going to buy bigger ones and redo that part but all-in-all it turned out great and he was really pleased!

At one point I was trying to get him to put it down so that I could tell him something and he said "No! You spent a lot of time on this and I am going to spend a lot of time looking over it! You deserve it!

*Insert beaming face here*

This cute book is super easy to make, but there is a little bit of time involved because I had to cut out a lot of little cardstock pieces. 53 of both the red and the black. But it only took me about an hour and half to complete the whole project.

Here's the step by step process.

1. I bought a deck of cards at the Dollar Tree (2 decks for $1- shhweeett!)

Then I inked the edges, wadded them up, spit on them (not really), and did anything else that would make them look all old and distressed.

I cut down my cardstock to the appropriate sizes and then matted the black on top of the red. I found this amazing product at my local craft store called Chalkstock! It comes in both 12x12 sheets and tags! I was super pumped! 3 sheets of 12x12 will do the job and I think I used 4 sheets of 12x12 red cardstock.

All that was left to do was write my little sentiments with a white gel pen, attach them to the cards, make my cover, punch the holes with my Crop-A-Dile and put the binder rings in the holes.

Super cuteness!

And he loved it!

This doesn't have to be just a Valentines gift. It would work great for birthdays, anniversaries, or just about anything!

If you make one I'd love to see your versions!

And last but not least: GIVEAWAY TIME!

The giveaway will run from today (February 15th) through Friday, February 18th @ 11:59pm

I've been working crazy hard to complete my 14 Days of Love Valentine mini scrapbook.

At first I was going to include a page for each day but I changed my mind due to the lack of people linking up. I decided to make it more versatile and do a generic Valentine mini. You could totally still do a 14 day album if you choose.

Giveaway rules:

Leave a comment on this post about either

1. A special Valentine's moment with a loved one.

or

2. Something you would like to see me blog about.

or

3. What you would do with the album if you won.

YOU CAN EARN EXTRA ENTRIES IF YOU:

refer my blog to someone, they follow me, and then leave your name as a reference in the comments section!

I am super pumped about my first giveaway and I can't wait to see who responds! Pass the word please!

Thanks to all who linked up throughout the 14 Days and I hope that you enjoyed slowing things down for Valentines day this year and enjoying your loved ones everyday. Don't stop here! Why not do 365 Days of Love? (Oh my!)

You can find me linking this project here:

14 Days of Love-Day 11: A necktie affair

There is one thing about Landen that I can't stand.

I mean I HATE it!

It makes me want to scream...punch something...anything.

His stupid ties.

I mean, he has a ton. And every Christmas it seems like everyone else has the perfect gift, more God-forsaken ties!

I probably wouldn't hate them as bad if it weren't for the fact that they usually end up everywhere else BUT his tie rack in his closet.

Maybe I should do a blog post just on the random places I find his ties.

What do you think?

Anyway

In honor of my hate/hate relationship with his ties I figured I should do something "tie" related.

I'm loving this card. I combined some origami YouTube videos and some creative genius on my part to create this gatefold necktie card. In true Landen style, of course.

Inside I attached a cute little journaling spot letting him know how thankful I am for constantly providing us with financial stability and food (healthy food) for our table. I thank you for the lettuce Landen.

I am going to post a step by step tutorial on how I created this card tomorrow. My stud-muffin, tie-wearin man just got home and I'd like to go smother him with suga.

Happy 11th Day!

Have a cute Valentine project? Link up below!

Picture Frame Jewelry Holder

Earlier this fall I decided that I was tired of my brown and cream bedroom decor and wanted to make things a little more cheerful. So I painted over the mud colored walls and added a bright green to the back wall that the bed was on.

As with any remodel of a room, whether big or small, I decided that some reorganization was necessary too. This led me to find most of the jewelry that had been stored in ziplock bags or one of 20 different jewelry boxes in various locations around the space. Now I had a bigger problem, what the heck do I do with all this stuff!

The first thing I decided to do was sort through everything I had found. I had accumulated a lot of costume jewelry though-out the years and lets be honest, I just don't wear the stuff so I threw it in my donate pile.

By the time I had sifted through all of my stuff I had a nice little pile of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings to show for all my hard work.

I wanted somewhere to store my jewelry that was both accessible and cute all at the same time. I hopped in my car. Drove to my second home (Hobby Lobby) and began pacing the aisles looking for some inspiration.

Then it hit me!

A picture frame!!!

So I ran over to the photo frame department and grabbed a solid black frame. Now I needed something to stick on the frame because I hated the cardboard backing and I sure as heck wasn't going to keep the picture of the smiling people I don't know! So I ran back over to the scrapbook section and found a FANTASTIC piece of paper that just matched the color of my newly painted bedroom.

Now, the real problem, what can I use to hold my jewelry.

Enter in another spark of genius! EYE HOOKS! HL had some great gold ones that were the perfect size! PUMPED!

After I paid for my purchases I was so excited to head home and try it out!

I started by painting my picture frame white. I love how some of the black still shows through giving it that vintage look.

Then I glued my paper to the cardboard backing using regular adhesive.

I marked out my holes for the eye hooks and then drilled small holes into the cardboard and screwed in the hooks.

and here you have it, a fabulous jewelry holder suited for any room in the house!

And doesn't it just fit perfectly into my bedroom decor!

The best part is that you can customize it anyway you want! Want neon orange? Do it! Want a wooden frame. Totally!

You can make it completely yours!

I linked this project up here:

Boys Baby Album

Back in November I blogged about a baby album that I had created for a co-workers baby girl. I had so much fun doing it that I decided to try a boy's album. Another co-worker has the cutest little 8 month old who loves Ohio State, so when she asked me to make her one I knew right away that I wanted to try to make a themed Ohio State album. What do you think?

I changed the colors of the memory cards to Scarlet and Grey

and then I added the cute little cardstock tabs at the top and embellished them with some stickers.

My favorite is the 1 year old tab, it's a helmet!

I also changed some the extra tags in the back so that the mommy can customize them to say whatever she wants to celebrate.

This album was a blast to make! I think I am definitely a sucker for themed things. I would love to create any kind of themed album if you know of someone who might be interested.

Also, if you have any ideas on other types of albums that could be done the same way I would love to hear them. I'm thinking of trying out a wedding album soon!