The Red Pencil Box: June 2012

I saw a simple decorating idea on pintrest months ago when I got really bored of schoolwork and instead thought of ways to decorate my bedroom.

The idea involved framing different patterns of scrapbook paper and hanging up a collection of frames in an area on a wall. It's super easy and if your bedroom color scheme changes, it's really easy and cheap to just buy new paper. The only semi-costly part would be the frames, but with the clearance rack at Ross (my new favorite hidden gem) and coupons for various craft stores (can be found online, just Google), it's doable, quick, and inexpensive.

My cousin introduced my to an awesome company called "The Paper Source". Unfortunately, I have yet to visit the store closest to me, so I just marvel at the website for now- http://www.paper-source.com

Here's a few pictures of finished products (not mine):

livingincolorprint.com

pepperdesignblog.com

theshoppingmama.com

fun prints

Friday, June 15, 2012

I apologize for being slightly off schedule this week with my posts. Quite a few people have told me I should sleep as much as I can and watch TV as much as possible to get it all out of my system before school starts, so I am trying to do just that!

Here's a page out of my scrapbook I made for a group lunch:

I handmade the burger and fries! Everything is cardstock except for the cheese and fries. I used a white pen to outline the tomato details to give it a little extra something. So much better than paying $5 for these at a craft store, just takes 10 minutes!

lunch

Thursday, June 14, 2012

I have been making a bunch of graduation cards lately!

Here's one I made this weekend for another friend who just graduated high school.

I love polka dots

New glittery clear embossing powder I bought recently. Unfortunately, I didn't know it was clear and thought it would be white and glittery. But, it's still pretty!

The end product! I used the embossing powder to better outline the graduation cap (tassel is sticker I cut). The lettering is embossed silver lettering. The red polka dotted paper is cardstock.

graduation card #9483597345

Monday, June 11, 2012

I bought this flower shaped bowl off the clearance rack at Ross for $1.49. It's the perfect size to store jewelry and I love the shape/design. The side has little ridges, and as soon as I bought this, I immediately decided to do something extra with it to match the rest of my bedroom.

I used silver nail polish (Revlon's "Silver Dollar") to paint streaks vertically along the ridges.

The finished product! It's something a little more fun than just a plain white bowl. Best of all, it took less than 10 minutes to do and dry and can be done to anything!

DIY touch up on jewelry bowl

Friday, June 8, 2012

Back to the scrapbook, here's a page for the Superbowl viewing party from this year

Embossed lettering on a ribbon of the teams playing this year

superbowl

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Thank you cards are an opportunity to show just how much you appreciate people, and what better way than to hand-make them?

thank you card

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I've seen a lot of DIYS for earring holders. It's a really practical idea for if you have a lot of earrings and can't ever recall what you have or you have difficulties organizing.

My idea was to use the screen used for window screens and insert that into a picture frame. Unfortunately, the guy at the hardware store told me that they don't sell those window screens by the yard, they only come in giant rolls. And I have absolutely no use for that.

So instead I did something a little questionable and cut out the side pocket of my laundry basket. I may regret it later, but it was the best idea I could come up with!

I bought a simple 12" x 12" black frame and cut out the mesh from my laundry basket. Of course, anything with small holes would work to hold earrings

I used this super strong binding craft glue called "Gloop". Any craft glue would work, and I wouldn't recommend Gloop. It smells really bad and has harsh chemicals

Since the mesh was fabric, I had to make sure it was taut when gluing edges down so the fabric wouldn't slouch

Lastly, I inserted the glass behind the mesh in the frame just to give a backing, and bam: DIY earring holder!

diy earring holder

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

With high school graduation season in the air, and my own sister graduating this weekend, I added something extra to her gift wrapping. I basically took an ugly box, wrapped it in postal wrapping paper (plain brown paper), and drew in a crossword on the top with a little message.

1. Wrap the box. The messiness of the inside doesn't matter, just make sure the outside and sides are smooth and neat

2. Draw pencil lines to ensure your lettering stays relatively straight

3. Draw in the letters! Make sure to add in your message ahead of time you you don't forget to include it in there, otherwise it's just wrapping with a bunch of letters...

I used a watermark pen (black) and then embossed clear powder on top so it wouldn't smear.

4. After writing in all the letters and message, circle the message

I circled my message in watermark pen and embossed green glitter powder on it

5. Add a ribbon or hemp rope

Personalize the message as much as you want, that's what makes this idea fun and meaningful (until they rip off the wrapping and throw it away, but it's all about the moment, right?)