Matchbook Notepads

Hello Crafters,

Always looking for a scrap of paper to jot a gift idea, a forgotten grocery list item, or a to list? I know I am. Daisy Janie has a great tutorial for simple Matchbook Notepads. All you need is some scrap paper (I always have a pile of used paper, like misprinted copier paper, that I keep to use the back of) and a decorative paper (like scrapbook or card stock). I made these and put them in my Christmas cards as an extra treat!

 BK

Polaroid Magnet Frame

Hey Photo Phreaks!

Pic by papernstitch

I stumbled upon this super easy and cute tutorial for Polaroid Magnet Frames on papernstitch: the blog! All it takes is a white magnetic sheet, box cutter, pen and ruler to make these cute frames for the fridge. Papernstitch has very sweetly figured out the dimensions of a Polaroid picture for us!

BK

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hey Chefs,

I made Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour's Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe this last, rainy Monday. I made a few variations to the recipe to use what I already had in the fridge: one large chicken breast (which was definitely enough chicken, as you can see in the first picture) and I cooked the chicken in 2 cups of vegetable stock and used that as my Chicken broth.

This recipe was terrific! It is thick, hearty, and chock full of veggies. In my pictures, you can see that the soup doubles in volume once you add all the veggies (picture to the right). I topped mine with sharp cheddar and scooped it out with tortilla chips (which is my favorite way to eat anything). It certainly warmed me up!

BK

Black Friday!

Ahoy Black Friday Buccaneers!

Here are a few places that you should visit in this Black Friday and Cyber Monday Madness:

Spoonflower: 2 for 1 fat quarters
Etsy: Almost everyone has deals. Look in sellers banners for Black Friday codes.

Get yer Booty, BK

Magazine Letters

Heya Home Decor Nerds,

I bought a magazine subscription a few months ago and now have a stack of magazines cluttering up my space. In college, I did a project where I used the pattern and texture from magazine ads and fashion spreads to make different dove shapes. Inspired by that project, I came up with the idea of cutting a short phrase out of magazine pages and putting them on my bare, new apartment walls. I free hand cut the letters and taped them to my wall. They use the whole, rectangle shape which should give you an idea of how big they are (along with the sliver of window I included in that shot). Using darker colors on a light wall and vice versa is probably best (I know you see my pale E and D). Simple and recyclable.

Live the life you've imagined (Thoreau), BK

Odds and Ends

Hey all you Craft People,

These are a few small, crafty moments I'd like to share with you.

It might be a little late for this tip, but I re-used the fake cobwebs I had up at Halloween in my windowsill for fake snow!

I have bread bag ties on the cords in my power strip so I know what I am unplugging instead of having to follow it through a jungle of cords. This would work really nicely for the power strip behind the TV! I don't know how many times my parents have made me shimmy behind the entertainment center to follow cords to their plugs.

This tip was a complete accident. I filled an old soap dispenser with dish soap so I don't have to fiddle with a bottle with soapy hands. I started with yellow dish soap and when that ran out I moved on to a blue soap but the blue soap is heavier so it made this ombre effect.

BK

Scrabble Ornaments

Hey Crafters,
I recently joined Pinterest and I'm hooked. It is a website that works like a cork board where you can "pin" interesting pictures, recipes, crafts...you get the idea. While browsing I saw a Scrabble name ornament which I didn't even need a tutorial to figure out. I grabbed my baggie of Scrabble tiles, found my and my fella's names, hot glued the letters together (very thin lines of glue or try super glue instead!), added some ribbons and voila! Ornaments!
BK

PS I buy my Scrabble tiles from Goodwill and chuck the board. You can usually get the game for a buck or two and it doesn't matter if there are pieces missing!

Fabric Roses

Heya Craft Masters,

Alisa Burke's website is pretty amazing. She has tutorials, teaches online craft classes, and shows what inspires her. She also writes books (all of which I put on my Christmas list). I finally tried out a tutorial I've had sitting around for a while, her version of Fabric Roses. Since I had a bunch of left over orange fabric from Halloween, I decided this was the right place/right craft. It was super easy and took only about the length of your forearm for a good sized rose (about a inch and a half in diameter). I used hot glue and made about ten just putzing around on Hulu. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them, maybe with them on bobby pins or pin backs. I've seem them as structured necklaces or adorning everything from pillows to purses.

Her Poetry Pillow tutorial is a pretty cute idea. She made her front panel by painting some canvas, but that isn't very cuddly. I suggest writing it on real notebook paper, scanning it, and turning it into a real piece of fabric on a site like Spoonflower. Then sewing it into a pillow.

BK

Flower Headband Tutorial

Howdy Craftsters,

Today is a pretty big day for BK's Craft Blog: My First Tutorial! If there are any confusing instructions, I'd love the feedback.

Flower Headband!
What You'll Need:

• Fake Flowers (one big bundle did the trick for me)
• Sturdy Headband (I bought a cheap-o pack of two in case one broke)
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue
• Ribbons, Beads, Sequins, Rhinestones, etc..
• About a Fat Quarter's worth of Fabric, could be a scrap!

Instructions:

1. If your headband is already covered in fabric, skip this step! My headband was made of plastic so I covered it with some scrap fabric I had, to give the hot glue something to really hold onto. I started with one side of the the fabric, gluing it to the center of the inside of the headband. Then I wrapped the fabric around the outer side of the headband and glued it to the center of the back, over the fabric already glued there. Cut off any excess fabric.

2. Take all the flowers off their stems and lay on the table in the order they are going to be put on the headband. I started with the center flower first, angling some flowers towards the front and some towards the back (pictured). Put hot glue on the plastic base of the flower and attach to headband (to make it sturdy, put glue wherever the flower makes contact with the headband).

Continue with the rest of the flowers.

3. Add sequins and rhinestones to the petals and centers of the flowers for sparkle and ribbons for flair. Loops and strands of ribbons add some dimension. I put ribbons near my ears to finish off the headband (pictured). 

And Ta Da! You've got yourself a Flower Headband to wear on all matter of occasions; Day of the Dead or Frida Kahlo costumes in my case! Possibly for a wood nymph or Eve costume.

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This picture is, of course, after I realized that my fleshy colored powder doesn't really set white make up but before I had transformed into Frida.

BK

Tom the Turkey!

Hey Crafters,

I hope all are well hydrated after a sugar (and possibly alcohol) filled Halloween! I know I'm back on my feet and ready for some solidly fall crafts! Since we didn't get enough sugar in fun sized form, I found a recipe for Tom the Turkey Cupakes on Disney's Family Fun website. I think you could skip the black and white frosting if you have some confetti sprinkles. Dab a bit of the brown frosting and stick that sprinkle down.  I remembered a cupcake recipe I used that was sweet potato based so, for a healthier alternative, I found this tasty sounding Sweet Potato Cider Cupcakes recipe on Food Network's site. The texture is a bit different but, trust me, sweet potatoes make yummy cupcake insides. And you can use almond slivers instead of cookies or the head and wings.

BK