Puffy Paint Backpack for Back-To-School

It's not too late to personalize those backpacks for back-to-school!

Save the cash you would lay down for a fancy designer backpack for your little princess and simply grab a pack of Puffy Paint to put a kitty face and her name on the front in no time.

DIY Sunglass Cases

When Scott and I were in Amsterdam this year, we were so excited to go to the Van Gogh Museum.  It was a tremendous experience, with the beautiful works of Vincent Van Gogh including masterpieces such as Almond Blossom, The Bedroom and of course, Sunflowers! 

After the tour, we ended up in the museum store where I found this little fabric rectangle in a plastic pouch for cleaning your glasses.  The pattern on the fabric is a print of Sunflowers, and I thought it would be fun to have, since I probably clean my glasses about a dozen times a day.... I know.  

Neat freak.

 Then I got the idea that the fabric would be perfect to make a little pouch for my sunglasses.  Plus, it would be handy to have a pouch made from the same fabric I can use to clean my glasses.

All I needed was a good adhesive to glue two sides together, right?  So I reached for my stash of super-duper fast and easy to use Aleene's® Instant Tacky 1/4" Double-Sided Tape.

Now if you don't have one of these glass cleaner cloths, you can pick them up in tons of stores, usually by the cash register.  Or, you can cut a piece of fabric or felt into a 6 x 7 inch rectangle with pinking shears.  Step #1 is to apply the tape on one of the short ends of the fabric (6-inches).  Then cut a piece of tape 3-1/2 inches long and apply from the corner, half-way up the longer side. It kinda makes an "L" shape.

Step #2 is to peel off the red liner from the tape.  

So far, so good :)

Step #3 is to fold the fabric in half and press the edges of the pouch together firmly with your fingers to insure the adhesive is set.
That's all there is to it, and I love my simple little glasses pouch.  It fits in my skinny cross-body bag, I use it all the time, and I think it's a great idea for a stocking stuffer or teeny gift for someone.

I hope you are enjoying my DIY journey and keep coming back for more ideas, tips, how-to's, and projects to 

craft, create, and decorate.

See you in the next post! 

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DIY Wine Bottle Wind Chimes

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know that every Friday night Scott and I have a TGIF celebration with a glass of wine.  Naturally I have always wanted to do something fun with recycled wine bottles.  So, I combined my love for wine with my love for Aleene's glues, and created these wind chimes.  The brand new Aleene's Ultimate Multi-Surface Adhesive™ is great for use on metal, glass and other surfaces, so I knew it would be the perfect choice for my  Recycled Wine Bottle Wind Chimes project. 

The Ultimate Crafter!

Lookie what I got today!

I guess it's official when you get a trophy, right?  Imagine my surprise to get this box of goodies from iLoveToCreate with my favorite brand of adhesives, but also a trophy with my name on it with a big bright red heart! 

DIY Pom-Pom Frame

I have just been dying to make a frame with pompoms, and when I saw this adorable canvas quote art in the Michael's store, that was it.  I grabbed it up the minute I saw it.  Plus, my daughter Tricia always signs her cards with "Forever and Always" so it was the perfect gift for her new home in Iowa. 

When you make this pompom frame, just know that the Aleene's® Super Fabric Adhesive™ is truly one of my favorite glues, and it has been for a very long time.  I always keep it in my designer tote when I go to trade shows, do television spots, and go on photography shoots because it doesn't run, it sets up fast, and it's dependable. 

DIY Birdhouse - Home Sweet Home

Have you heard about the NEW Aleene's Ultimate Multi-Surface Adhesive™ and watched the darling video?

It's a story about love, glue and, well…find out what happens on Day 395....

Watch it now....

After watching, I was inspired to make this super cute birdhouse your little birdies will call
"Home Sweet Home"
as soon as you hang it on a fence in your backyard!

DIY Junk Drawer Collage

This DIY Junk Drawer Collage is super easy for you to do in an afternoon, and it's a great opportunity to go thru those drawers with the weird things you think you'll need 'someday'.  One of my most favorite things to do is mixed media and collage. And this new Aleene's Rapid Dry adhesive really got my attention because it's perfect for my favorite kind of project.  It dries fast, it's a gel consistency, and it holds like a super strong magnet.  

Wanna see how I did it?  

DIY Father's Day Burlap Banner - Washer Panache!

Father’s Day is coming up, and I thought it would be fun to send my Dad a burlap banner made with washers, burlap fabric and Aleene’s® Easy Squeeze Turbo Tacky Glue.  Even if your Dad has everything he needs, he can always use a reminder that he’s loved, right?  And I wanted a handmade gift that I could put in a priority envelope, and then ship it from California to Oklahoma.  So this is perfect! 

DIY Ugly Chair Makeover

I love chairs!

But sometimes I meet an ugly chair and I just have to have an intervention.  That was the case with this chair.  And it was the perfect case for an ugly chair makeover because it was residing in the cube of Brandi, our Design Studio Coordinator.  She was desperate to have something done, and I knew just what to do.

Case in point, right?  Who doesn't love a mauve chair, leftover from the 80's or 90's and would give you some dusty buns if you sat in it. Well.... here we go. This is how you make-over an ugly chair.

Keepsake Frame for MOM

Here's a nice little idea to make and give away for Mother's Day, or just make two and keep one for yourself!  My dresser is where I go to every morning to put on my jewelry and get ready for the day, so I jazzed it up a little bit with this vanity frame that I can place my favorite jewelry on, a little twig of babies breath, some burlap roses, and little notecards and sentimental memorabilia. Oh, and I'm always looking for scissors to cut out tags, so I added a place so I could poke them, too.

How to Make Cornstarch Dough Clay using Tacky Glue

Did you know you can make a great crafting clay using Aleene's Tacky Glue and cornstarch from your kitchen cabinet?  Yep!  Two ingredients are all you need to make an easy-to-make air-dry clay that will save you time and money!  And who doesn't like that? Watch my video below or simply follow the easy steps!  I've included some beautiful eye candy examples at the end too! There are so many possibilities with this clay!!

Eye Candy & Fun with iLoveToCreate at the 2014 Craft & Hobby Show

All of our team at a great time at the 2014 Craft & Hobby Tradeshow and Convention!  Our booth this year was loaded with inspiration and we had a blast sharing the work of our talented team with attendees.  A lot was going on in our booth...from Pattie (above) decoupaging her fabulous magazine mannequin to enthusiastic tie dye action from our favorite reality TV star Rupert Boneham.  Let us take you on a mini tour of all the activity!

DIY Zebra Glitter Shoes

Glitter shoes have been all the rage for the past couple of years!  I adore shoes and I knew I wanted to give my own spin on this popular shoe trend!  I took it too the next level with a fun set of zebra strips, because who can resist an animal print?  I know I can't.  Here's how you make this fun and sassy pair of kicks.

Leather & Studs Shorts DIY

As a part of our DIY shorts challenge in our design studio, I wanted to use my favorite Aleene's glues to make some shorts that had a little edge to them! I've been addicted to studs and spikes as of late...I did add spikes all over my iPhone after all! When paired with some faux leather, studs immediately give off a rocker vibe that I just love to pieces.  So why not rebel against the plain Jane shorts everyone else is wearing and make your own pair...here's how! 

Candy Crush T-shirt Tote Bag

I love a little bit of bling during the summer, so when I saw a giant bag of rhinestones at the craft store the other day, I knew I had to make something fabulous with them.  Inspired by all the crazy Candy Crush talk in my family and at the office, I made this colorful and sparkly bag!  It's the perfect tote to match my Candy Crush Color Bomb ring I made last week. Here's how you get the fun look for yourself!

What you need:
– Plain large t-shirt in grey

– Fabric Fusion Adhesive

– Large rhinestones (you can buy value packs at the craft store)

– Sewing machine

– Various ribbons

– Painter's tape

– Scissors

– Wax Paper

Cut out your tote back from a plain shirt!  This a great way to revamp that old tshirt in your closet.  As you can see, the bag is already taking form with just a few cuts.

Sew the bottom of the bag shut with your sewing machine.  You can also hand sew if you don't have a machine.

Rip off a sheet of wax paper and insert inside of the bag. It's there to protect the other side of the bag when you glue.

Rip off a few pieces of the masking tape and make a giant rectangle with the tape on the front of the bag. Arrange your gems in Candy Crush fashion.  Make sure to have some in groups of three or four just like the game!

Now apply a small amount of Fabric Fusion to the back of each rhinestone gem and press in place.

Remove the tape guideline around your piece and let dry.

 Cut several pieces of ribbon in 2 feet sections for each.  Gather together and tie around the handle for a fun and whimsical touch to your bag. I also added my little Color Bomb ring I made last week as a cool accent to my bag.

 Here's a couple details of my bag!

It's going to be my new summer market tote/ So sparkly and fun!

Cupcake Wrapper Flowers

Making these pretty flowers for gift wrap and décor can be done in no time at all!  And they are created using your stash of pretty cupcake wrappers. I don't know about you, but I have tons that I snatch up throughout the year.  I show you how to make these pretty gift toppers in the video below! 

What you need:

– cupcake liners

– Aleene's Original Tacky Glue

– clothespins

– scissors

Also shown in the video are how to make these fun flowers that can adorn simple spray-painted sticks from your yard.  These are perfect for accessorizing a space in your home or for displaying in a big glass vase for your next party, shower, or function.  

It's always nice to have a simple craft like this on hand when you want to do something special for a gift or a quick decoration.  Hope you like trying it!

Make polka dot framed pumpkin wall art

I just LOVE decorating for Halloween!  Here's a fun project I did for an iLoveToCreate photo shoot to match our Halloween food table.  I love both polka dot and stripes and in this project, I got to create with both these looks!  Halloween is one of my favorite times of year to decorate, because everything is so funky and fun!

What you will need:

– Aleene's Tacky Tape

– Aleene's Large Tacky Dots

– Aleene's Tacky Dot Dotter

– Tulip Fashion Glitter in black
– Medium to large foam pumpkin
– craft knife

– 16 x 16 square frame

– black and white striped fabric

1. Remove the insert from your frame and tack out the paper/cardboard sheet. Cut a piece of fabric larger than the sheet and wrap it around. Use your Tacky Tape to hold it in place.

2. Put your fabric-wrapped cardboard back into the frame and secure.

3. Use a craft knife to cut the pumpkin in half. It's really easy to do, the foam pumpkin cuts like buttah!

 

4. Open up the large Tacky Dots and remove from inbetween the plastic sheets they are seperated by. Apply randomly all over pumpkin.



5. Pour the glitter all over Tacky Dots and shake off onto a sheet of scrap paper.

6. Use a large brush to remove any excess glitter. Don't the dots look great?



7. I chose to further embllish the stripes with some random Tacky Dots using the Tacky Dot Dotter.  I sprinkled on and shook off the glitter as I went.  I went back in and used the brush to remove glitter when I was done.

Now frame and enjoy your creation!  I actually did 2 framed pumpkins with my two halves. They looked perfect with the Halloween table we set up!!