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Heart Shaped Crayon Valentines {DIY Tutorial}

Danielle — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

I first saw the crayon heart valentines on the Family Fun website. I thought they looked adorable but didn't have a heart mold so I figured I'd just send the regular store-bought valentines instead since I had a few I purchased on clearance a few years back. Then we went to Target and I saw the heart molds in the dollar section of the store and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Plus they were all over Pinterest!

So I went to the store, stocked up on a mold and crayons and headed home to do some experimenting. Before I started I did a little research to see what others were saying about the craft. I try not to just jump into a tutorial without reading about it from a few others first. That can lead to disaster (or just make it harder on me since others have found key tips/tricks on making it easier). Once I got the low-down I headed to the kitchen to soak, unwrap, break and bake! And here's what I did:

Materials Needed:

1 box crayons, unwrapped (or left over broken crayons laying around)
1-2 heart molds, choose your size
Construction Paper
Alphabet stamps OR printer
Adhesive dots

What to do:

Place your crayons in a heat proof dish & preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Heat up some water and pour warm water on crayons (note: do not use boiling water... crayons might melt).

Let crayons soak for 30 seconds (see what happens when your water's too hot?).

Unwrap crayons (any that didn't unwrap easily after soaking were set aside and not used).

Put crayons in a dish and let kids break them up into small, tiny pieces (or put them in a bag and hammer with a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer until broken up).

Place heart molds on a rimmed baking sheet and fill with broken crayon pieces.

Place tray in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until crayons are fully melted. Then carefully take out of oven and set aside to harden.

Once cooled completely pop crayons out of molds and smooth edges by rubbing against a piece of paper.

Now's the fun part! You can decide what you want to do with the crayons once you've baked them. I decided to use scrapbooking paper I already had in the house to create a postcard sized Valentine for my son. You can use this printable here for a square valentine with the writing already on the paper or this printable here for a circle valentine (you just have to add your child's name).

Or you can do what I did and use an alphabet stamp set to customize the sayings you put on each valentine. I simply adhered the crayon to a square piece of scrapbook paper with a glue dot and than layered that onto a larger postcard size piece of scrapbook paper. Then I stamped the sayings I wanted as well as my son's name to personalize it. You can also have your child decorate the postcard paper by drawing or coloring on it before you stamp out your sayings. You can find more sayings here (as well as more printables!).

The possiblilties and variations really are endless with this craft. And the kids have a great time helping you make them too. Much more personal then a store-bought valentine and twice as cute!

The post Heart Shaped Crayon Valentines {DIY Tutorial} appeared first on Cherish Paperie.

Tree Cupcake Topper {101 Woonedeeen DIY Tutorial}

Danielle — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Now that we're in the full swing of the holiday season we thought we could share a few fun DIY tutorials and patterns that go great with the holiday season. This tutorial was originally on 101 Woonedeeen however the link that each blog gave to the original post lead us to a 404 error. So we finally found the link to the PDF template (below) and were able to try it out ourselves. And fair warning - it is in a different language.

Simply cut out the strips of paper from the template and weave them onto a skewer stick. Then use the skewer part of the stick to add them to the tops of your muffins, cupcakes or other fun treats!

To download the PDF template go here. Or use scraps of paper you have left over from your latest project to create your own design! Instead of an apple, top with a star for the perfect Christmas tree design.

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Bubble Mailers {27 Things DIY Tutorial}

Danielle — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:57:00 +0000

Any time we can use up left over paper and cardstock in a project that will be used frequently we get giddy and excited! So when we saw this tutorial over on the Shoplet.com blog (originally from 27 Things) for a bubble mailer we knew we wanted to share it. We are always shipping things and when it comes to packaging sometimes pretty isn't an option. Being able to use our paper scraps we can customize the look of our mailers to fit the needs of what we'll be mailing.

Source: 27 Things

The tutorial below is to make a 6x9 mailer but as she says in her original post, you can make the mailers to any size you prefer. We can't wait to get started! For more pictures as you move along check out 27 Things' awesome step-by-step pictures.

What You'll Need:

cardstock (one 7.5″ x 10.75″ sheet)
pretty paper (one 7.5″ x 10.75″ sheets)
rubber cement
bubble wrap (two 6″ x 9″ pieces)
art knife (X-Acto knif)
cutting mat
scissors
ruler
a scoring tool or an old ballpoint pen that is out of ink

Getting Started
Start by trimming everything to size. This includes your card stock, paper and bubble wrap.

The bubble wrap should be trimmed to the inside dimension of your mailer, in this case 6″ x 9″. The card stock will be cut to finished size of your mailer, including a 1″ flap, in this case 7.5″ x 10.75″. Your paper should be cut slightly larger than the finished mailer on the 3 sides that will be adhered to the card stock.

I like to allow for a decent seam around the edges and bottom of my mailers. A larger seams means that your mailer will be less likely to pop open when you fill it and/or during transport.

A note on rubber cement -
Rubber cement is great in that it can be used for 2 types of adhesion: temporary and permanent. The best result for mailers is achieved using a cured bond. This means you apply the rubber cement to both surfaces and allow it to dry before joining.

1. Have your bubble wrap ready to the side of your work area.

2. Lay your card stock and patterned paper side by side and face down on your work area.

3. Line up the bottom edges of your sheets.

4. Apply a 2″ border around all 4 edges of your patterned paper, starting at the bottom, then the sides, saving the top edge for last.

5. Place one piece of bubble wrap, bubble side down and smooth side up, onto the wet sheet. Be sure make the top edge of the bubble wrap line up flush with the top edge of the paper.

6. Using your patterned paper as a guide, apply a 2″ border of rubber cement along the bottom edge and sides of your card stock. You don’t want to apply any glue in the area that will later be used as your flap. Apply a line of rubber cement across the top edge of your GLUED AREA and place the 2nd sheet of bubble wrap flush with this line.

Time for a break.
Take a breather and let the rubber cement dry completely.

Joining
1. Begin by making 2 small angled cuts on the bottom edge of the patterned paper. Cut from 1/4″ from the corner of the paper over the the corner of the bubble wrap, stopping slightly shy of the bubble. Repeat on the opposite corner. This will prevent the paper from buckling along the bottom edge.

2. lay the card stock bubble up and then gently lay the paper bubble down on top of it.

3. without applying any pressure to the glued edges, carefully line up the four corners of the bubble wrap.

4. Holding the sheets in place with your palms, use both pointer fingers to press the center of one edge of the paper onto the card stock edge. Join the rest of the edge by pressing down both fingers and moving them away from each other toward the corners.

Be sure that you don’t accidentally press down the corners of the bottom flap. You can use your scissors as a temporary barrier until you get the hang of it.

5. Repeat on the opposite side.

6. Repeat the above step on the bottom edge. Be sure to start in the middle!

Finishing up
Your mailer is almost done! Time to trim, burnish, score and fold!

1. Your edges will likely be crooked or have card stock or paper hanging over the edge. Trim the sides and bottoms to obtain an even edge of paper and card stock.

2. Use a ruler and a scoring tool (or inkless pen) to score a line along the flap about 1/8″ away from the opening of the mailer. This will make a nice clean fold.

3. Cut off the corners of the flap.

4. Using the rounded end of your art knife or pen, carefully rub along the 3 seams of the envelope. Gently run your tool along the edge of the bubble wrap to ensure all the paper is joined.

Enjoy!
Guess what? Your mailer is ready for mailing! I used strong double-sided tape to seal my flaps, but they can also be taped closed from the outside. Time to get mailing!

Post Your Pictures
Feel to post pictures of mailers you have created or received in 27 Things' Secret Mailers Flickr Group!

A Note from 27 Things:
Of course, it is my pleasure to share the mysterious process involved in making my top secret mailers. In return, I ask that you do not reproduce my mailers for resale and that you enjoy using them for your business or personal mailing. Should you decide that my mailers are beyond the scope of your abilities but you'd still like to have some, they are available in small sets on Etsy. Happy crafting!

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DIY Paper Flowers {Scrapbooks Etc DIY Tutorial}

Danielle — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Source

When you're a stationery designer (or if you work for one) there's one thing that you always have an overabundance of... paper! We are always looking for ways to use up the paper scraps that we have left over from projects, orders and samples we create. So when we stumbled upon this beautiful picture from Scrapbooks Etc on Pinterest we knew we had to try some out on our own.We'll be showing off the results in early December with a few other DIY projects we've been working on. Stay tuned!

Here are the directions we went off of from the Scrapbooks Etc post:

Scalloped Puffs

Punch five scalloped circles from cardstock.
Soak the circles in water for a few minutes.
Remove the scalloped circles from the bowl and blot the excess water with a paper towel.
Stack the five scalloped circles and stick a brad through the center.
Beginning with the top layer, scrunch all the sides up together. Repeat with each layer until the flower is formed. Let it dry completely.

Fringed Flowers

Cut a long strip of cardstock, and fringe-cut 2/3 of one side.
Gently fold down the first few fringed pieces on one end and begin rolling strip with these folds inside.
Once rolled, gently fold back all remaining fringes outward and add an adhesive dot at the end of the strip to secure.

Spiral Flowers

With a pencil, lightly draw a 4″ circle and a spiral from the outside to the center of the circle. (Increase or decrease the size of the circle to change the size of the resulting flower.)
Cut out the spiral using decorative-edge scissors. Be sure the decorative edge faces the outside of the circle.
Bend the tips of the decorative-edge down and roll into a spiral, beginning at the outer end of the spiral. Be sure to bend the tips toward the side with pencil marks (so they will be hidden on the back of the flower). Let the flower relax and adhere at the center/end of the spiral to secure.

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Paper Pumpkin Ornament {Hostess with the Mostess DIY Tutorial}

Danielle — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:04:00 +0000

I have to admit... I've had this craft bookmarked for quite some time (along with a few others). And I'm just now getting the chance to try it out with my kids and share it with you. I have a lot of scrap paper to use up so I'm hoping to try out a few paper crafts I've had bookmarked for a bit.

I love how simple this ornament is yet it's the perfect addition to my other harvest decor. And the best part about pumpkin decorations is that they can be used from September till the end of November! For the original post on Hostess with the Mostess go here. This DIY project was submitted to HWTM by this talented lady here.

PAPER PUMPKIN ORNAMENTS

Materials
• 1-2 pieces of orange construction paper
• 1 piece of green construction paper
• 1 piece of brown construction paper
• scissors
• paper cutter (optional)
• paper clips and/or stapler
• string

Directions
Cut the orange pieces of construction paper into 1″ wide strips (each strip will be 1″ x 11″). Then, shorten some of the strips so that you have (1) 6″, (2) 7″, (2) 9″, and (2) 11″ long pieces.

Gather the strips of paper together (with the ends flush) and place the smallest one in the middle. Order them by size so that the largest strip is on the outside.

Secure with a paper clip or staple (I prefer the paper clip so that I can keep adding more elements). Line up the opposite ends so that they are together like the top.

Cut a brown strip of paper 1/4″ by 3″ long for the stem. To make it curl, wrap the paper around a pencil and hold it in place while you count to 20 (or sing the ABC song).

Cut out two leaf shapes from the green paper (ours were sort of like pairs of bunny ears).

Add the stem, leaves, and a piece of string to the paper clip at the top.

Hang up and enjoy!

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