Kids Inchies

This was the first time I made inchies. I had read about them and saw a chance to join a swap. I had no idea what to make at first, but decided that since I had a little girl I should make little girl inchies. These would go on so many of my pages. I used the cricut to make the butterfly and flower. Then I used a tiny punch of my daughter's to make flower cut outs on the green paper and added pink to the background. It was a lot of work. I made 50 of each, plus a few extras. My thumb was killing me from the dollar store hole punch, but I love how they turned out.

Valentine Paper Doll Swap

I just got the Paper Doll Dress-up Cartridge for my Cricut. I love it. These dolls were made for a Valentine Paper Doll 3x3 Swap I was in. My five year old daughter helped me design them. She chose the dress, the paper for the dress, and the hairstyle and color. I love how they turned out. I had been making 4 inch dolls and decided that 3 inches is perfect for these dolls. I will start making all of mine in 3 inch from now on.

Cutter Blade too Dull

I have a Provocraft Trimmer for my scrapbooking. I liked it at first but now the blades do not seem to stay sharp for very long. I want to continue using it, but it is way to expensive to keep replacing the blades. I have decided to buy a trimmer with a self sharpening blade. I had never heard of that before. The cost is $50, but I have a 40% off coupon and should get it closer to $30. That I can afford. Actually I can't afford not to buy that.

What to do with my old trimmer? I should go on e-bay and sell it. I have other crafting items I do not need and did not like, so maybe I should set up an account and get rid of them. Don't get me wrong, the Provocraft Trimmer is not a bad trimmer, but I spend at least $12.00 a year to replace blades, if not much more. It just has been ridiculous.

I will post a picture of my new Trimmer when I get it and let everyone know how it works. If it was worth the money.

Recycle Toilet Paper Roll Scrapbook

Upcycle mini album
Originally uploaded by ThreadfulArt

I love that this adorable scrapbook is made out of toilet paper rolls. I just can't believe how great it turned out. I would love to make one of this and it is on my to do list for this winter. Not sure what to use it for yet.

Scary Spider Spinning a Web

Scary Spider Spinning a Web
Originally uploaded by bon_here

This paper plate craft is very inexpensive for a classroom project. the web can be drawn on by the kids or painted with a marble technique. I think black markers would be the best thing to use at school since it dries fast. The spider can be made with an egg carton and pipe cleaners and googly eyes. That is not what they used here, but I am trying to keep every cheap!!

Halloween Candy Favors

Halloween Candy Favors
Originally uploaded by callista1172

I am going to try these out for Halloween. I don't have a lot of Halloween paper, but I do have a lot of craft paper laying around the house. I am not sure what i will fill these with, but these might be what I give out for Halloween. We live in a dead end, so I won't have to make too many, but I like to make my treats special. If I had to give out a hundred or more I wouldn't bother, but since I give out less than 20 each year I can add a little something special to them. I am going to fill them with mini candies that are all individually wrapped. Nothing like candy corn or any other loose candy.

When I am done I will post a picture.

Paper Plate Angels

I used this project for Christmas, but think it could be used any time of the year, for religious activities. I saw one on a friend's tree and decided, I can do that! The paper plates only cost a quarter, since I already had some at home and needed only a few. You can decorate the plates with crayons, markers, or whatever you have lying around. Pipecleaners were $1.00 at a Dollar Store. Pictures can be donated from each child, printed for $.15 each, or just drawn on another piece of paper and attached. Last but not least a stapler.

I think I liked the fact that they are stapled together the best because we didn't have to wait for drying time. I will say, it is tricky to staple them together. Also, these look so cute on top of those little Christmas Trees we sometimes put on tables. Especially if you keep one in each kid's room. My kids did this on their own and I left it there the whole Christmas Season.

To make the angels, first let the kids decorate their plates. They need to decorate the bottom side of the plate, if you were eating off of it.

After they decorate it, you cut the plate in half. Then cut one of the halves, in half again. The half will be the body and the quarters will become the wings.

Assemble the body, by creating a cone and stapling it together.

Next staple the winges onto the angel. This is the hardest part. Don't worry if they are not perfectly straight. It's just a fun activity for kids.

You can add a halo, by stapling a pipecleaner inside the angle and twisting it into a circle on top. Glue on your face and you are done.

This project was so cute, cheap and easy that it makes me want to make more with paper plates.

Paper Bag Album

I have recently started scrapbooking. I had never planned to scrapbook because of the expense of it. I had to get supplies last year to help out with a school project and decided I would spend that much money again to scrapbook for myself. My original project was paperbag albums. I had to repeat the project again this year, but decided to spend much less. I think I have cut the cost in half. I will be able to complete 2 dozen books for just over $100, and that includes picture development. It still seems like a lot of money, but double that and you will be close to what it cost last year.

My first step in saving money was to make the albums myself. I spent $20 on paper bags, which I bought on-line at PaperMart.com. I split the cost with a teacher, who was making them for her entire class. There is a place about 45 minutes from me that sells these bags to businesses, but it was not worth the gas it would have cost me to go pick them up. You can buy these books already assembled on e-bay, but they cost a lot more than I was willing to spend. One thing I must say, is that making them myself, they will not be covered with a protective archival coating. This helps to proctect the pictures over time. Since it is just a school project, I was not worried about adding that feature. You can buy the spray at craft stores and protect your books if you choose to.

I punched four holes along the side of the bag and assembled them with 3 bags, instead of 4 bags, which is what you would buy on e-bay. That saved me five pictures for each bag, plus all the cardstock, glue and embellishments you may use. Not to mention my time.




Then I used the $.49 satin ribbon from Wal-Mart to bind the books together. I used 4 spools of ribbon for 24 books. I used a large plastic needle to sew the ribbon. Made it very easy.


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Since each page needed a piece of cardstock, I found a 200 piece package of 8x8 cardstock at

Wal-Mart for $9.99. I bought 2 packages.

The cheapest picture development I can find is Wal-Mart for $.15 each. The picture quality is just as good as Kodak and I can get them done while I shop.

One problem I have run into with these scrapbooks is getting my cardstock to stick to the bags. I have found the cheapest choice is Aleen's Tacky Glue. It is a little messy, as you have to spread the glue with your fingers, but it holds very well. We used a few kinds of scrapbooking glue last year and it peeled off right away.