Husband and Wife Communicator!

Hello!

Thanks for visiting!  I cannot believe how long its been since my last post!  February is always so busy around here, between Lil A's birthday, T-ball resuming, Valentines and a shortened month, it seems like there's way too much to do in February!  And with this busy schedule, I was inspired to make something helpful for Big A and I... a way to keep things straight and look good doing it!

 

Yes, I know there's always texting, phone calls, etc - but what about those thoughts, items, to-dos that wake you up in the middle of the night?  Or that aren't important enough to interrupt a work day but that you still need to communicate about?  Let the Husband and Wife Communicator help you out!  I've hung ours from a suction cup on our bathroom mirror, but maybe yours would be more useful at your Kuerig Station or fridge.  Whatever floats your boat!  Big A has to wake up early for work... way earlier than my alarm goes off and I often stay up later than he does, working on KPS items, the computer or chores so it's pretty typical that I think of something to remind him of at 11 pm (and I've learned NOT to wake the giant while he's sleeping) while he might need to tell me something about upcoming plans for the weekend at 5 am... and since we don't seem to have a memory after having Lil A, this Communicator gives us a helping hand!

 

Would you like to make one?  Okay, let's go!

 

Supplies:

 

 

- Binding Tool - I used the Cinch by WeR Memories

- Patterned Paper - I used Notable by WeR (seemed fitting, ya?)

- Textured Cardstock - I used Avalanche by Bazzil Basics

- AME (Albums Made Easy) Frame Dies by Lifestyle Crafts/WeR (Large and Small)

     - Hello

     - Favorite

     -You

     - Today

     - Frame

     - Happy (Small)

     - Love  (Small)

     - Fame (Small)

- AME Journaling 4"x6" Cards and AME Journaling 3"x4" Cards in Snapshots, Grayson, Unscripted and Notable

-  Lifestyle Crafts/WeR Dies (Banners, Heart Beats, Nesting Circles, Stamp, etc.)

- Scrappy Glue

- Write-on Transparency (I used 3M)

- Evolution

- Sewing Machine

- Dimensional Tape

- WeR Washi Sheets

 

Let's get started!  First, I die cut all of the AME Frames that I wanted to use.  This was super quick and easy.  The words and frames are all cut at the same time, so easy and cute!  I think Instagram has turned me onto Polaroid Frames big time!

 

Next you're going to want to cut your transparency into 3 1/2" x 3 3/4" rectangles.  Cut as many rectangles as you have frames.

 

 

Lets adhere your transparency onto your frames.  You'll want to turn your frames over, apply a thin line of glue around all of the frame opening as close to the edge as possible.  Place your transparency onto your frame, covering the glue.  Quickly wipe away any glue that spills over onto your transparency before it dies.  I used a baby wipe for this buy a damp paper towel does the trick just as well.  Set it aside and assemble all of your other frames.  By the time you're done with the last frame, your first frame should be dry!

 

 

Next, grab your frames, the WeR AME Journaling cards and your scrappy glue,  Glue your frames to your journaling cards.  I didn't want my sewing machine to go though a ton of glue so I just put glue at the bottom of the frame, around the word.  I did this to all of my frames.  Then I took my pages with the frames to my sewing machine and stitched around the edge of the frame on the sides and bottom ONLY.  I left the top open so I could slide photos/memorabilia in and out.  After I sewed all of my frames I cut off any excess paper from the sides and bottom of my pages.

 

 

Once all of your pages are done, it's time to bind this bad boy.  Grab your Cinch Binding Tool and get to work!  I LOVE this binder!  This is actually my second binding tool (I have the Bind-It-All as well) and this is, by far, my favorite.  Its so easy to get right!  Gone are the days of worrying if my pages will be centered.  Gone are the days of holes in the wrong spot!  Seriously.  I found the Cinch so easy to use, with great color photo instructions!  I love that I can punch all of my pages at the same time - talk about quick!  And it has a holder for your binding coils so you can just slide your pages onto the coils - easy peasy.  The binding part of the tool is on the back - you adjust the binding tool by twisting a knob to the size binding coils you have and use the handle to press the machine down to close the coils.  The instructions are so much clearer than me!  And remember to put the front of your book as your last page when you go to bind it so that once your done with the binding you can just flip it around to the front and the closure to the binding is hidden in the pages.

 

 

Now, you can embellish your pages to your hearts content.  I made a pocket on the back of the "FRIENDS" page so that we can store photos of friends there that we can slide in and out of the frame.  You can leave love notes, a to-do list, items you need from the store, anything you can think of, with a Dry Erase Marker.  I LOVED the WeR Washi Sheets - it was great cutting those with my dies or cutting a strip to edge my pages with to add just the right amount of ta-da!  So quick and easy.  On a few of my pages I added die cuts, bling, banners, hearts, hand-cut embellishments but I didn't do it on every page.  You totally could, but I was trying to control myself since this is for BOTH my husband and I to use and he doesnt' seem to love flowers, hearts and bling as much as I do.  WHAT?!  I know, shocking.

 

 

There you go!  You can make these for your kids, leave them in the bathroom or on their bedroom door.  You could also make these an educational tool, helping your kiddos learn to write their letters, do multiplications, memorize their sight words...  yep, can you tell which journey I'm on now?  We are sight-word obsessed around here!  After you through with your notes, words, etc, just grab a Kleenex, wipe your transparency and it's all ready for another day/memo/hunny-do or love note. 

If you have any questions, leave me a comment!  Also, if you like ANY of the products I used (like the Cinch!), go to ShopWeR and use discount code KUTZPAPER to receive 20% off your purchase!  Yay!

Thanks for stopping by today! 
Have a great weekend!
Andrea

* As a member of the WeR Lifestyle Crafts Studio Team I do receive compenstation from WeR/Lifestyle Crafts for my project BUT all opinions, projects and ideas are 100% mine*

A Little More Love

Hello,

I wanted to share a few of my past Valentine favorites today!  Since Lil A's birthday is right before Valentines Day I don't normally decorate too much for the Day of Love... I've found that little boys aren't big into red and pink all over the house when celebrating their birthdays, but I was able to find a few things I've made for the lovey dovey holiday!

I made this chair backpack for Lil A last year.  I wanted it to look like an envelope and be full of love.  I put love notes, little goodies, candy in it every night before I went to bed so Lil A would wake up in the morning and run to look and see what was in it.

Another Valentine treat I made was a Mailbox and Love Coupon Book Combo...

I still LOVE this sweet mailbox!  Both the Mailbox and Coupon Book are made from the Lifestyle Crafts dies, along with all the fun and frilly details!  After seeing the honeycomb embossing on the coupon book, I'm feeling inspired to go make something related to "bee mine!"...  You can still get some of these dies at the WeR Shop - if you make a purchase from there, use code KUTZPAPER at checkout for 20% off!

Have a great day!
Andrea

Feelin' Lovey Dovey - Valentines Goody Box and Arrow Pencils

Hello!

Yay for Wednesday... Boo for first post of the week on Wednesday!  Better late than never?  Anyone else hit hard with numerous bugs, virus, doctor trips this season?  I was thinking about it, we've had some sort of illness every. single. week. since the week before Christmas.  The stomach flu has gone through our house twice, I've lost track of colds, I'm pretty sure that someone in the house has been on some kind of antibiotic every week since Christmas and I've now decided that Lysol is my new BFF.  Cross your fingers that Lysol does that trick and we can all stop getting sick so I can keep on keeping on!

Today I wanted to share another project from CHA... a Valentines project!  Yep, somehow February came and with it, one of my favorite Holidays - Valentines Day!  Now, I know there's plenty of people out there who are anti-Valentines Day, who say that the Holiday is an "industry" Holiday but you know what?  I don't care!  I LOVE any holiday that is comprised of telling people close to you that you love them, a holiday that adorns everything with red, pink and hearts and a Holiday where it's expected to give or receive chocolate!  My kind of Holiday!  So when I saw the new Arrows Die from WeR/Lifestyle crafts, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into a Valentines Project.

I ended up using a lot of the new WeR/Lifestyle Crafts dies for this fun, sweet and simple Valentines Treat Box and Pencil Set.

I used the following supplies for this project:
WeR/Lifestyle Crafts Large Bakery Box
WeR/Lifestyle Crafts Arrows Die Cut
WeR/Lifestyle Crafts Cut Out Chevron Die Cut
WeR Chevron Washi Tape
WeR Bakers Twine
WeR Happy Campers in Flannel Shirt
WeR Textured Card stock in Leather
Crop-a-Dile
Dylusions Ink Spray by Ranger in Postbox Red
Printer
Pencils
Lifestyle Crafts Valentine Matchbox Die (unavailable on WeR Site)

First I decided to cut my Large Bakery Box from the WeR Textured Card stock and from there, I knew how large I wanted my tag.  I formatted the writing on my tag to fit on a 3"x5" rectangle, making sure to leave room in the wording for my arrow.  I printed the working on white card stock, cut it down to the desired size and then put a piece of Emerald Green Chevron Washi Tape down in the blank area I wanted my arrow to go in.  I then wrapped some red and white Bakers Twine around my white tag, overlapping the Chevron Washi a little.  I die cut my arrow using the Arrows Die and popped it off the tag using dimensional tape. I then glued it to my Happy Campers Flannel Shirt paper that was cut to be 3 1/8" x 5 1/8", just wide enough to frame the tag.  I then used my Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole in the top of my tag so I could hang it from my Baker Box.

For the Bakery Box, it was looking a little plain, so I decided to stencil on it with the negative of a die cut!  I love this, I've done it with actual metal dies (cookie cutter dies work the best for this) or by making a stencil from paper, which is what I did here.  I cut out the chevron pattern (mimicking another arrow... are you seeing a pattern here?  Or an unhealthy affinity for arrows?) using the Cut Out Chevron Die.  I tried to cut the pattern from the center of a 6" x 9" piece of card stock, leaving me enough room around the shapes so that when I sprayed it with my color, it would protect the area around it.  If your paper isn't large enough to cover the area you DON'T want color on, just layer some scrap paper over the area that's still exposed.  Note: You want a heavier paper so that you can spray onto your paper without it bleeding though and distorting the image.

Once you have created your negative (I didn't use the arrows it cut out, just the paper it cut it from), lay it over the bottom of the box, about 1.5" up from the bottom and spray your color over your stencil. Gently remove your stencil and admire your awesome image below!  I used the Dylusion Ink Spray in Postbox Red for my spray.  It has a nice mist, not too heavy and the color is really saturated.  If your hands hold your stencil down, you'll want to wear gloves so you don't stain your skin... yes, I had one red hand for a few days after this project!  Stencil all around the box, trying to keep your stencil even on all sides.

I love that some of the arrows are slightly darker or lighter, depending on how heavy I sprayed that area.  Also, I thought the little bit of over spray would bother me, but I like the way it looks a little distressed.

Once I was done stenciling my box I glued the edges together and created the actual box. I added 2 bands of card stock around the box, one below the stencil and one above.  The box was taller than I originally realized so it was nice to break up the tan color of the card stock.

Now lets turn our pencils into arrows of love.  You'll want to die cut enough arrow ends and heart points for each of the pencils your plan to give to your Valentine (BTW - you could do this with any round type of candy, like pixie sticks, if you wanted to give something sweet instead of practical).  Hot glue your arrow ends (feathers?) with hot glue to the end of your pencil, trying not to get glue on the eraser, and the hears with the points down at the bottom of your pencil.  I used unsharpend pencils for this project, but you could easily use sharpened one, or patterned ones - whatever you have on hand.

Cute, huh?  I love these Arrow Pencils... maybe they'll inspire your Valentine to pen you a sweet, lovely thank you note?

Fill your box with some shred (I always get mine from the Dollar Tree), your Arrow Pencils and some sweet treats and have your child take it to their teacher, give it to a co-worker, anyone that might have an affinity for office supplies...

If you decide to purchase any of the supplies that I included links to, use code KUTZPAPER at checkout and get 20% off in the WeShop! Hope you have a lovely day!

Andrea

** As a member of the Lifestyle Crafts Studio Design Team I do receive compensation for the projects I post using their products but all projects and opinion are all me!