DIY Branded Notebooks

Happy Saturday!  I decided to get a little crafty this morning and play with my camera this morning.

I love moleskine journals.  They are different than the notebooks.  The journals don't have as many pages, have a softer cover and you can easily flip through the pages.  

When I rebranded ROAR events, I had some stamps made with our logo.  I thought this would be an easy way to make stationary more my own.  Well - I made these moleskin journals more my own.  With the help of some Wasbi tape, some black ink, stamps and one business card - I now have 4 custom branded ROAR notebooks.  

Everyone needs to look at a little creative inspiration through out the day - don't you think?  And these will do just that.

{holiday} DIY Ornament

For the past week, I've been talking about this ornament that I was going to have the little mister's class create.

Being a mama - I always LOVED the ornaments that the class would do that had their photos on them or something that they made.  I still have my little guys hand ornament that he made in daycare when he was 2 years old.  Each year it comes out - he always puts his hand up to it to see how much he has grown.

So this year - I created an ornament that had all the children's picture on it.  Here is the little misters.

These were so easy to make.

Materials Needed: 

2.5" circle punch

glue stick

doublesided tape

favorite holiday scrapbook paper

fishing line

{holidays} pom-poms

I made a pom pom!  I made a pom pom!  OK, actually I've now made tons of poms over the past couple of days.

I don't know why I'm so excited by this...but I hadn't made one before.  Thanks to the Creature Comforts blog it was so easy.

So you might ask...what will I be doing with these poms?  I think I might make a garland and I will be using some for holiday presents this year.  Remember - this is the paper.

Here is a little sample of the poms that I made...

I decided instead of putting our holiday cards that we get from friends and family in a bowl, I wanted to put them on a bulletin board for all to see.  So now it will be a part of our holiday decor.  I attached the pom poms to the board to add a little splash of embelishment.  What do you think?

DIY :: Chevron, Gold & Sequins

I've been obsessing over gold, sequins and chevron lately.  I especially love the trays that hold trinkets and such.  I've seen quite a few on interior design sites just sitting happily on tables and nightstands that I decided I wanted to make one.

I was in Joann's recently and I saw a small unfinished tray that I wanted to play with.  I wanted the chevron design and I wanted it in GOLD.

So this little project was actually really inexpensive.  I already had a few of the supplies (white spray paint and paint brushes) which kept the cost down.  Total investment: under $10.  If I hadn't had the spray paint and brushes, the cost would probably been close to $20.  But hey - that is still cheaper than if I were to buy one.

Step 1:  Spray paint the tray (I used white flat paint) and let dry.  An hour is good.
 

Step 2: Use blue painters tape to create your chevron design.  I measured the length and centered the middle chevron point.  I centered it directly in the middle.  I did use a pencil and measured with a ruler.  One thing to keep in mind with the painters tape is that paint might bleed - so be prepared for touch-ups and a steady hand (oh and those reading glasses - let's just say LIFESAVER!).
 

Step 3: Once your tray is taped, paint the white space.  One thing I didn't realize is the amount of coats you will need to get good coverage.  The paint does dry quickly so by the time I was done, I could start all over again.  When all was said and done - the tray has about 5 coats of paint.  When I took the picture, I could really see the areas that still needed to be painted.

Step 4: Remove the blue tape.  You will need a smaller brush for touch up.  I also repainted the white space.  I wanted the interior sides to be gold so painted that.

Step 5: Time for black sequins.  I wanted to add a little something something to the tray to add a little pizzazz.  This required glue, tweezers, black sequins and reading glasses (so I could see).  I found a font that I liked, printed it to make a template, outlined it directly on the tray and got out the glue.  I used the glue in sections.  I didn't want to glue the entire area at once for fear parts would dry.

Step 6: Style your tray!!  The finished product!!  I couldn't be happier with it.  It looks great sitting on my dresser holding my perfume, rings, sunglasses and such.

I started this project on Saturday afternoon and finished it up with the exception of the sequins that night.  This morning I went right to work on the sequins.  So what do you think?

A little gift...

I just love this DIY.  It does require sewing...but I actually think I could do it.

It's a summer essentials bag - but I'm sure we could think of a reason to make a similar one for fall.

Beachside Sparkle D.I.Y. from Ashley Brooke Designs on Vimeo.