El Cheapo 2: The Original Scrap Book

I think you should all be very proud of me :) It took enormous amounts of self control, but I kept this project under wraps. This is a really cool project-it is indeed a scrap book. It was virtually free. Soooo cool!


Materials:
magazines-free
large brown paper bag-free
1 button, brad, or clasp of some kind
25 sheets of 8X11 paper
Vinyl letters- I got mine for $1 during the American Crafts warehouse sale

Metal ruler

Utility knife

Glue



1. Cut off the bottom of the bag, leaving the unfolded long side connected. Now it should be double thick.


2.Fold the bag bottom almost in half, leaving about 1-1 1/2" hangover.


3. Find pictures that inspire you and tear them out. It's okay if things are rough, it just adds to the "artsyness" of it all.


4. Glue them randomly to the outside of your paper bag.


5. Accent your picture collage with marker or rubons.


6. Have fun and sew around the pictures, using a variety of stitches.


7. Zig zag stitch around the outside of your entire project. Place your vinyl lettering and sew it down using a variety of stitches.


8. Punch a hole for your brad and attach it, or sew on your button. :)

*Can you see the little hole in the book cover?


9. Find some fabric from your stash that is complementary and cut it the same size as your book cover.


10. Using a straight stitch, sew the fabric to the inside of your cover, making sure to sew in a bit of elastic to the 1" overhang right across from the button/brad.



11. Take your 8 1/2X11 sheets of paper and fold them in half and cut them. They are now 8 1/2X5.5. Fold in half again, now 4 1/4X5.5. In my book, I had five 10 sheet folios for a total of 50 pages.


12. Sew each folio down the center to the inside of the cover.


13. Trim the edges to even things up using a metal ruler and a utility knife. You're done! Hooray!

The 10 Dollar Scrapbook

I used to be a part of a monthly craft group, until we moved away for a job. The hostess provided dinner, and we each paid $10 for a craft. The last month I lived there, I created this little beauty. It is a 6X6 inch mini chipboard front scrapbook that holds the pictures of all of the monthly crafters, and a spot to write names, dates, addresses, etc.

There were 4 different basic page layouts customized with different papers. I printed my own journaling spots on transparencies (it was cheaper) using a stamp and black Stazon ink.


I also included an envelope to keep memorabilia.

This was one of the most difficult projects I've ever undertaken, primarily because I had to make make 16 of them for $10 a piece or less! Way to go me. :)

Pink Parisian Shower

I offered to throw a baby shower for a good friend of mine. She has two boys and is expecting a little girl now! It took me a while to settle on a theme, but once it came it pulled together so well!


It is hard to see, but there is a filigree watermark on the pink cardstock. So cute.


We had a wonderful assortment of food displayed using 'lifts and levels'. Everything was amazing! Thank you everyone for your help!


These are Crab Sandwiches. THEY. ARE. SO. GOOD. They really were a huge hit.


Lehi's Dream...otherwise known as Chocolate Mint Decadence. It really is that good.
5 lbs. of chocolate. No flour. Yeah.


I hung up a sheet and used some fabric to create a faux wall/window look. It turned out really cute! I also created a cool frame using spraypainted cardboard, then drew a simplified picture of the Eiffel Tower using chalk pastels and suspended it in the frame with fishing line. It was really, really cool. I may end up doing something similar to this with more permanent supplies...


I really loved the balloons on the ceiling. It just made things so...festive. :)
It was a great party and I had so much fun planning it! Hopefully this post can inspire you all to step outside the "party planning box" and have some fun!

Easy Wall Hanging

My wonderful guy was sweet enough to weld this frame for me, while I created the mini pages that sit inside the squares.

Too bad all my hard work will be wasted. I'm planning on redoing it to match my little girl's room.

A Manly Recipe Book

Every year for Christmas, the hubby's family has a handmade gift exchange. Can I just say that they have about a million dudes in their family? This year I (yet again) drew one of the BIL's.
So, said BIL, Ben, just came home from serving a mission for our church and I decided that the perfect gift would be a manly recipe book. Ya know, so he can impress the ladies and stuff. It was ridiculously easy and super cheap. :) Yay for me.


*Chow: this section is for food that sustains life


*Snackage: this section is for partaaaaays


*The Goods: this section is for treats...or the future girlfriend