Magazine Bow

For my Mom's birthday presents I decided to try something different this year when wrapping them. Every time I wrap a present for her she asks if I want the bag it came in or the ribbon I used back so I can use it again. She knows I will reuse it and it is very nice of her, but this time I got an idea. I decided to use some ads from the recycle bin and pages from some old magazines for the wrapping paper. It made the wrapping paper a little comical with fast food ads and coupons and once they were unwrapped she could just throw the paper back in the recycling bin.

I also made a bow from a magazine page to dress up the envelope for her card. The bow was so easy to make. I found a great tutorial online and just love how it came out with the print and images from the magazine page all mixed together. You could also make one from wrapping paper, newspaper, scrapbook paper or even an old map. The possibilities are endless. Just shows what you can do with some old scraps!

What do you like to use for gift wrapping?

Linked up here.

Thanks for the feature at For Mamas!

Just an Old T-Shirt...

When I came across this great tutorial at delia creates I knew I had to make some of these knit t-shirt produce bags. I just love them!! Armed with an old t-shirt, scissors, and a working sewing machine (mine's been broken for a while now) I started on my first bag. I made this one out of an old soft grey t-shirt and am loving it. Now I just need to find a few more t-shirts to use....

What are your plans for the weekend? Maybe a t-shirt produce bag! I know I'll be looking for another t-shirt or two to use...

Hope you have a great weekend!

Linked up here.

Tags: More important than you think

If you have an Etsy shop you know what tags are. I know a few people that have started up Etsy shops recently and just wanted to share my two sense. I don't claim to know any secrets or even how to actually make sales on Etsy. I think it is hard and something you really have to work at. I think great products are the first step and then being able to capture your products in great photographs are important. Spending time on your profile and descriptions of your items is important. Then I think relisting and marketing are some of the biggest keys, but those cost money and add up quickly.

I think the easiest and most important thing you can do to bring people to your shop is to use all your tags. You get 14, don't waste them!

When someone searches for a certain word on Etsy and one of your tags matches: bingo! They are more likely to find your item. Think about each item in your shop. So the first few might be easy...What category it fits under...What your item actually is... But then think of other words to describe your item. Who is it geared towards, men, women, kids? Where would you use it, kitchen, living room, bathroom? Is there free shipping? What color is it? Anything you can think of that relates to your item will help.

Just think, if I search for something in my favorite color for my kitchen and you have the perfect item in your shop, am I going to find you?

Image: wordle.com

Don't throw those letters away

What do you do when you don't have enough matching letters left to spell something out?

You might think your only option is to throw that sheet of stickers or rub-ons aways or buy another sheet to find the letters you need.

But wait! What about mixing up different styles of letters or upper case and lower case letters? Give it a try. It might turn out to be something better than you were expecting. Check out these examples from some of my projects:


So what do you think? Are you going to give it a try?

Take your photos with you...

Another great way to enjoy your photos of trips, family and friends is to take the photos with you in a pocket size photo book. I love to make these as gifts by filling them up with a variety of photos, patterned papers and postcards. The more you put in there the more fun it will be!

To make your own I suggest:
- 20 +/- pages about 5”x 3” (Cardstock works well)
- Hole punch
- Round corner punch
- Small chain or metal ring
- Photos, postcards and patterned papers
- Glue stick (Yes glue works well too)
- Stickers
- Wax paper and heavy books

I like to put my photos in chronological order and place patterned papers and fun postcards throughout to add variety. Roughly arrange what goes where before you start gluing.
1. Start by gluing everything that will be on the front side of each page.
2. Place wax paper between each page and place under a heavy book over night.
3. After these pages have dried trim the edges away and round all the corners. Punch a hole in the upper left hand corner. Once one page has a hole punched in it use it as a template so all the holes will line up.
4. Next glue what goes on the back of all the pages.
5. Place wax paper between each page and place under a heavy book over night.
6. After these pages have dried, trim the edges away and round all the corners. Punch a hole in the upper right hand corner matching up with the hole on the other side of the page that you already made.
7. Place on a chain or ring and your photo book is ready to go!