Re-Purposed Pencil Box

Hello everyone!! It's Angela Ploegman here to share a project at SEI Lifestyle... so excited to be back for another day of fun!

On of my FAVORITE things to do is to re-purpose and alter containers, especially if it means NOT throwing them out! I have 2 drawers FULL of alterables that I dig through on a regular basis. This gem was a chipboard pencil keeper box originally and now is a fancy gift box...thanks to the fabulous SEI Couture pique and chintz papers the 'redo' was a success!

The outside of the box was covered with the pique paper...I added a foiled die cut and a doily and then created a tissue paper flower using the tissue and toile pack from the Couture collection. The tissue paper flower is attached to a button, which is attached to the box with foam squares-this allows space for the ribbon to loop underneath the flower and tie onto the added knob to keep the box closed.

The inside of the box is decorated similarly, using the chintz paper on the box bottom and underside of the lid. I added a doily and some layered punched circles and finished it with a monogram letter from the Black Licorice Puff Stickers.

Thanks for stopping by today...join me any day at my blog: Angela Ploegman Designs

Angela Ploegman
My Blog

Monst(e)rous Frame + Giveaway [CLOSED]

Today is my final day with you as a Guest Designer and I have saved my favorite project for last! I found this little wood frame on clearance and immediately thought of the Monsterville Monster Mash paper! My intentions were to cover the frame with the monster covered paper and add in a cute photo and put it in my son's room...note I said "intentions"!


I began by tracing the frame base on the back of the Monster Mash paper and then I centered the frame stand backing and traced again, cutting out the frame and the center. The frame stand backing is typically larger than the window which allowed me to add a black mat.


Then I adhered my Monster Mash paper to the wood frame and covered with several coats of Mod Podge. I used the inside cut of the frame inside the window, so the paper patterns line up. This was going to be the photo mat...but as I finished up this project I realized that I love it just the way it is!


Currently this frame is sitting in my art room, where it will remain until my son (my #1 fan) talks me into allowing him to have it for his room! :)
I have had so much fun sharing my projects and want to give a big "thank you" to SEI for having me!

keep creating...Jamie

Don't worry you don't have to say "good-bye" to Jamie forever because you can hop over to her blog, Bits of Paper, anytime. Isn't she a delight? We have really enjoyed having her this week and loved all of the creative ideas she shared. Thank you, Jamie!!


If you would like to win some Monsterville goodies, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, September 19th at midnight MST. Please tell us which post was your favorite this week. We will announce the winner Monday. Be sure to check back to see if you are the winner because if we don't hear from the winner within a week we will pick a new one.

Although the giveaway is now closed, we are sure Jamie would still love to hear what you think. Feel free to continue leaving comments on this post.

Cutting-board Calendar

Mandi stopped at the craft store and this $2 cutting board caught her eye. Being the creative gal that she is she knew she could use it for a fun project. She cut up some pretty Moonrise papers and made the calendar using one of her favorite toys, the Silhouette. Didn't it turn out great?

So next time you are going to throw something out or pass by a great deal at the store stop and think...what can I do with this little treasure? But if it really is junk you'd better throw it out!

3rd Thursday - On the Coast

Club SEI's July kit features On the Coast. We love the diversity of projects in this kit - a mini album, photo display, party favor pockets, plenty of unique cards... There is something for everyone! Click here to see what club members can make with this kit. If you aren't a club member, you can still sign-up and receive this kit. If you are a club member, see what our guest blogger Nancy made with her kit.

This fun island attire was made with some of the contents of the kit. Happy 3rd Thursday!

We make a good pair + Giveaway

I don't know if you've heard but we do fabric too! Robert Kaufman sells some of our favorite designs in the prettiest fabrics that you'll just love cutting up and making new things with.

A few weeks ago they featured the Eerie Alley fabrics on their blog, the Swatch & Stitch. We thought we ought to do the same!


Maria made an adorable Halloween trick-or-treating bag complete with a puffy spider on the front! How cute is he? The eyes are monster iron-ons. We also think you should personalize yours! That way no fussy kids about whose bag is whose.

I made pumpkins following this fabulous tutorial. They would be great to stack high by a door or make lots of little ones for a table display. Treats around the projects are all embellishments from Eerie Alley. Candy not included, sorry!

I know you want to make projects out of this too! Well, the fine folks over at RK sent over one-yard cuts for two lucky winners! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling us what you would do with your frightening fabrics if you won. This giveaway will close on Saturday, June 26th at 11:59 pm. We'll announce the two winners Monday when we show you even more fabric projects.

Vinyl Delight

When I see strips of vinyl words made to attach to walls or plaques I imagine a huge, expensive, high-tech machine creating them. I thought I would just leave it to the pros and hire someone to make one for me. Boy, was I wrong! It is really quite simple to make your own vinyl designs. The machine you need is the Silhouette and it's not scary to use at all.


Pick your designs from the library or make your own, then size them, load your vinyl and the machine does the rest. When it's finished just peel away the extra vinyl, place transfer paper on your design and go to town rubbing it off on different materials. I especially love the way it looks on acrylic albums and glass.


Papers: Bridgeport, Jocelyn, & On the Coast
Embellishments: Stickers, Petals, Ribbons & Brads
Album Shapes: delightful_phrase_C00534_20509, elegant_flower_C00066_27011, rough_flourish_C00013_27011 & flourish_1019
Jar Shapes: blossom_C00049_27011 & decorative_leaves_C00065_27011

Do you want some vinyl? Lucky you. Silhouette has provided us with 2 rolls of vinyl and 1 roll of transfer paper to giveaway! To enter, just leave a comment on this post with an idea of how to use the vinyl (with or without the machine). You have until Sunday at midnight. Be sure to enter the giveaway we are sponsoring on their blog too. It's an On The Coast assortment pack!
-Maria

A flavor of explosion!!

When I was a little boy I would periodically go on vacation with my parents. It became a tradition to buy those cheap, laminated placemats featuring local landmarks. My favorite one was Alcatraz. Now that I'm a grown-up I've felt like we had to use cloth placemats instead, which is all well-and-good for those fancy dinners we have when we wear nice clothes and talk about business and politics during dinner, but what about when it's just my wife and I? Invariably every time we use those cloth placemats they get messy and we're forced to wash them and even though we don't put them in the dryer they are shrinking like crazy. At this rate we'll be out of placemats and instead have some nice cloth coasters before the end of the year. Thus the decision to make ourselves some new placemats, ones that I can just wipe off and won't shrink.

If you want to do one exactly like mine (I can't understand why you wouldn't) here is a list of supplies you will need:

x-acto knife
ruler
tape
carbon paper
pen or pencil
1 sheet of on the coast "reflection" paper
1 sheet of on the coast "still water" paper
1 sheet of happy day "streamers" paper
1 sheet of happy day "candle" paper
1 large sheet of textured cardstock or poster board

Directions:
1. I did my illustration on the computer using Adobe Illustrator. Before printing it I made sure to reflect the image so it was backwards.
2. Tape at least two corners of the printout to the back of one sheet of scrapbooking paper, this will keep the printout from moving. Slip one sheet of carbon paper in between the printout and the sheet of paper with the black side facing the scrapbooking paper.
3. Using a pen or pencil trace the image of your printout. The carbon paper will transfer it to the backside of the scrapbooking paper.
4. Remove the printout and carbon paper and cut out the part of the image that you want in that particular color with your x-acto knife. If you have one of those fancy cutting machines you can use that instead and it will save you from going through steps 2 through 4.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each of the sheets of scrapbooking paper.
6. Tape each of the cutouts together and then tape that on to your large sheet of textured cardstock. Mine is 12x18" and I rounded the corners.
7. Laminate it and enjoy eating without ever having to throw it in the washer again!

-Matt

Jessica's Coasters

We would like to introduce you to Jessica. She is an interior designer who designs many of the projects for club and writes instructions. You may catch a glimpse of her beautiful little daughter on some of the layouts she creates. We love the stylish way she dresses and her quiet sense of humor.


Jessica made these pretty Claire drink coasters. Here are her instructions:

Supplies:
4” x 4” glass squares
copper foil tape (available at most craft stores or stained glass shops)
paper
die-cuts

Pick up 4” x 4” pieces of glass from your local glass shop. Mine cut them for me, no big deal.

Cut 4” x 4” pieces of paper – I used Claire
Cut flowers out of the paper or use die-cuts, layer them on the 4” x 4” pieces
Sandwich the paper between 2 pieces of glass
Use copper foil tape around the edge of the glass to hold the 2 pieces together

Who knew making glass coasters could be so simple? Thanks for sharing, Jessica!

Matchbook Gift Holder

I needed a quick, pretty way to present these bracelets for my niece. So, Mandi and I came up with this little matchbook gift holder.


Directions:
1. Print out this template, place it on your patterned paper (we used BTW) cut it out, and fold on the lines.
2. Punch two holes in the top folded section and thread your ribbon through your bracelets and the holes. Tie a bow on top (we used Mimosa ribbon).
3. Cut a piece of paper (we used pink riot) 3 x 6 and fold it in half. Place your card behind your gift.
4. Seal the matchbook shut with a sticker (we used Jocelyn epoxy stickers).

I hope she likes it and so do you!
Maria

My Favorite Flower

If I need some quick inspiration, blogs are my go-to. I found this amazing pinata not long ago:


at Inchmark and thought I needed to do something cute like it. Spring is finally coming closer too, so I thought some little versions might be in order! They are incredibly easy and so much fun.


Go to a craft store and buy a round foam ball; ours is 6". Then go find the tissue paper and pick some springy colors, and be sure to grab some hot glue sticks if you're running low!

Start out by cutting approximately 100 1" circles out of your tissue paper. You may need more or less, but it's a good starting point. Take your warmed up glue gun and glue a few petals to the "top" of the foam ball (the side we photographed). Carefully start layering them in concentric circles, being sure to overlap little by little. Be patient and before you know it you'll get to the end! They turned out really nice, but I thought it could use just a tad more of something. I grabbed some Tumble Dye and lightly sprayed the tops to create the gradient. Just what I wanted!

It would be pretty to have three different sizes and make a bunch for a table setting. Go and have fun with your pretty peonies. :)
-Mandi

Monika's Favorite Things Book

Today we are featuring Monika Wright and her Favorite Things book. We love the idea of having a neat little book handy to jot down your ideas. What a beautiful job she did with papers and embellishments from the Poppy collection.

Monika won one of our giveaways a while back and has sent us images of several projects she made with her goodies. Thanks Monika! We love to see everyone's creations. Just send them to our e-mail at seiblog(at)shopsei(dot)com and don't forget to enter March's challenge.

Spring Tree

Pia made this spring tree with a freshly cut branch. She layered Claire petals, Lovebirds Forget Me Not paper, and Bridgeport petals. Then she placed treats on it, put it in a vase of water, and tied a Lovebirds ribbon around the vase.



Just in time for Easter, leaves will appear on this branch and add even more color. What a fun way to spruce up your home for spring!

Matching Game

I made this matching game to teach my 3 year old his colors. SEI has so many beautiful solid cardstock colors, it was hard to choose. It would also be fun to use the animal papers from the Zoo Pals paper pad. It only took me 30 minutes to make the game. The hardest part was saving up all the juice lids. You could ask friends to save theirs for you too.

To make this project you need:
12 frozen juice concentrate lids
6 different papers (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, & purple)
circle punch (or scissors)
Mod Podge
a foam brush

1. Punch 2 circles out of each paper using your circle punch or a pair of scissors and a circle template).
2. Mod Podge a paper circle onto each juice lid.
3. Let dry & play.

-Maria

Jocelyn Decor & More

The Jocelyn collection is not just for scrapbookers. There are a lot of amazing craft projects you can make. We made this collection of projects for the CHA show and Mandi put them together in our retail store. In case you didn't know we have an outlet store. So, if you are ever in the Logan, Utah area, stop by and check it out.


Try mod-podging some home decor items you already have for a new look. We used velvet paper for the mirror. A few simple embellishments go a long way.


Customize items with rub-ons. You'll be surprised by how many different surfaces they work on.


Cover journals, books, & binders. There are so many possibilities - cards, mod-podge hangers (you could hang scrapbook layouts from these), magnets, banners...

Magnet Makeover

Before you toss out those ugly magnets you keep getting from random places, consider giving them a makeover. That is what we did with this large "advertisement" magnet and these three broken magnets.


For the large magnet:
1. Peel off the glossy top layer of the magnet to expose the paper underneath.
2. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge.
3. Place a piece of pretty paper on top (we used Mint Julep).
4. Add rub-ons (we used Mimosa's words and designs).
5. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on top.

For the small magnets:
1. Pull the magnet part off a broken magnet or buy some.
2. Add an epoxy sticker (we used Mimosa's).
This is the same technique Dotty used for these Dill Blossom magnets.

Write Your Goals

Last year Dotty gave us some tips on setting goals. So here are few reminders:
1. Write it down.
2. Pick only a few.
3. Look at them often.

I am going to add:
4. Be specific.
5. Keep track.

I made this book to help me keep track of my goals this year. I chose to use papers, ribbons & epoxy stickers from the En Route collection as a reminder that life is a journey and goals keep us heading in the right direction. I am going to write each goal on the front, then use the inside to track my progress. Do you have any tips or goal ideas to share?

-Maria

P.S. Don't worry we will start the sneak peeks TOMORROW!