Craft Tutorial: Mini-Album with Pockets from 1 Sheet of Paper

The promised craft tutorial is here! I'm very glad I'm not the least bit sick, and it appears my mother is much better too, so to celebrate I'm sharing this cool papercraft with you. I've divided the video into 3 parts, all below. This isn't my original tutorial, it's one I learned from Creations by Christie's tutorial on youtube, so all credit goes to her. If you like this craft, she has variations on it as well as other fun ideas! I like to make these as hostess gifts, thank you gifts, or even holiday cards. As I mention, they are also perfect for holding small photos such as Purikura photostickers which are popular in both lolita and gal culture.

Part 1: Intro and materials:

Again, the materials I used were: 1 sheet double-sided scrapbook paper (12x12 in), a ruler, pencil, scissors, about 22 in of ribbon, a hot glue gun and a decorative button. I meant to say printer paper when I said notebook paper.

Part 2: Making the Pocket Mini-Album!:

I think this video cuts off at the end, but I basically just say how the ribbon holds the book together, and then show where to place the button over the ribbon on the front cover (as illustrated in the next video). You could alternatively use craft glue (such as Glossy Accents, as Christie does) rather than a hot glue gun.
Tip: when you make your 2 inch mark with your ruler and pencil, put it in the very center for more precision. Also, about 7 minutes in--Napoleon cameo appearance (my cat)!

Part 3: Finished product:


I would have taken a final photo, but the finished mini-album is already on its way to the recipient. But Christie's original video has really quality footage of the results, so I would recommend referring back to her tutorial for more precise images and instructions.

As I said, I'm not an expert (only made about 3 or so as gifts), but I found these very easy to make--not to mention they're not too costly to produce, and they are so fun to personalize with ribbon, buttons, charms,etc. There are tons of possibilities!

tata,
beatrixx

P.S.: If you don't have a Purikura photo-sticker machine near you (or a photobox that does similar at your local mall), you can take your photos and make printable Purikura-style pictures at Puricute, then print them on photopaper or stickerpaper at home. You can also buy sticker sheets directly from the site. I just made this one as an example:

Hope you all enjoyed this project idea--if you make some please send me a picture or link to your blog/tumblr entry so I can share your creation ♥

Cool Wall Decorating Idea for Super Cheap: Doily Flowers

I saw this on the Nate Berkus show and thought it was a really neat idea: take different sized doilies and decorative thumbtacks and make a flower tree on your wall. This is an especially great idea for dorms or apartments where you can't really do much with the color of your walls or don't have a lot of time or money to interior decorate.

"Try decorating your walls with different sized and shaped doilies. Affix your doilies to the wall using colorful thumb tacks and create whimsical wall art with a long string of thumb tack doily flowers. You can also try assembling an array of doilies in a frame. If you’re weary of decorating with paper doilies, vintage, lace doilies can also add a beautiful, elegant touch to your home."- text from NATE, image from DG Style.


Here's another cool Valentine's Day wall look with recycled paper from music sheets. Happy Decorating!

Craft Post: Decorative Wallet/Coin Purse Out of Juice Carton

I've been getting really into recycled material crafts, and I recently tried this one over at Family Fun @ Disney where you take an old juice carton and make a nifty folding wallet/coin purse out of it. Looks tricky, but it's actually super easy and requires practically zero spending. All you need to do is print out their template and tape it together and follow their directions. While I like the funky look of just the juice box, it's not really my style (even with country loli, lol), so I used an old gift bag, computer paper, and deco gems to enhance it. Here are the changes:

Supplies: In addition to their recommended supplies, you will need something to cover the front of the carton. I used on old thin paper gift bag, but wrapping paper, scrapbook paper or thin fabric works too--just don't use anything to thick because you need to be able to score and fold the carton easily. Then use thin paper (not construction paper) of any color for the lining inside, and maybe have some decorative gems or something to bling it up.

1. Follow their directions up to step 2 EXCEPT the scoring,but after you cut your carton shape out, take your front cover and pin the cut out shape to it (or the template). Cut the front cover, allowing extra for folding over the edges. Score and cut out the spout area. Repeat with inside liner, making it just a little smaller than the cut out shape. Pics:

2. Now glue the front cover down using a glue stick, craft glue, fabric glue or some form of adhesive that is fast-drying and thin. Make sure to fold the extra material over the inside edges to cover them too. Then glue the liner on top, covering the raw edge of the folded over material. Clean up any rough areas. Let dry. Pics:

3. Now score your lines as in their step 1 and follow their directions through step 4. You should now have the basic wallet done, only yours will be much less juice box-y:

4. Next, take your cap. If it's not the color you want, you can paint it with craft paint. I liked my blue, so I just used it as is and decorated the whole cap with gems and pearls using a glue gun (also silicon glue would work, if you have it on hand). Make sure you don't cover over the very bottom rim of the cap or it won't screw back on. Pics:

Before and after

5. Add some finishing touches, like gems, ribbon, etc. to the outside. Tada! You now have a cute new coin purse/wallet/business card holder and no one would ever think it was once a carton of juice:

<------From this to this:

Now my crazy amounts of business cards can finally have somewhere to go!

It's still drying in this pic--I used doilies, gems, faux pearls and stuff I had around the house. I think I could have done better with more materials--next time I'd like to try this with pastel craft paint and then really deco the heck out of it!

Craft Time: Icing the Frosting Containers

I saved the two containers the frosting from my 22nd birthday cake came in awhile back to make decorative little boxes with. Here's how they turned out:

For the taller, lidded container I used pink stretch corduroy fabric to line the outside and embellished with gold ribbon. I also added golden music-themed ribbon in the center and a doily at the base of the lid. For the second container (the short one I don't have a lid for yet), I used green satin ribbon near the crown and a fancy gold border cutout at the rim. I wanted it to have a "secret garden" sort of vibe what with the gated look, so I added small light pink fabric flowers around the center.

Side by side. I've been using the shorter one to hold my camera and its accessories.

I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out. I've definitely been long overdue for a craft project anyway XD

Awesome Bonnet-Making Tutorial for BJDs

Very easy BJD straw bonnet tutorial:



Enjoy!