I love recycling. It is no news to you. What can I say, giving something a new lease of life just before it was about to be tossed away is magical to me.
Paper towels or a heat gun. (I actually prefer the paper towels for this purpose)
How To
[Watch on You Tube & while there, please rate, comment and subscribe]
Step-By-Step Instructions
First Flower Style -
Cut your sheet into strips of about 1″ wide. It doesn’t have to be precise. The wider the strip, the larger the flower would be. For a Two layered flower, make 1 strip wider than the other.
Dye your strip with Glimmer Mists and Perfect Pearls mixed with water.
Dry your dryer sheet completely. You may use a heat gun to dry the strips, but be careful not to get too close and not to concentrate on one zone for too long, or the strip will rip from the heat. You may also use a paper towel to blot the excess liquids.
Pleat the strip around the button and make sure all the ends are tucked underneath the button. Secure all the pleats with a button and embroidery floss.
Tie both ends of the embroidery floss in a double knot and cut off the excess.
Second Flower Style -
Take a couple of sheets and lay them together. Fold them into thirds and cut out an imperfect circle to create a stack of dryer-sheet-circles.
Dye each circle with the mists. To make it more interesting, use different colors on each circle.
Let the circles dry completely.
Stack them together again in an order that appeals to you and secure them with a button and embroidery floss. Alternative: Sew them together with embroidery floss threaded with small beads.
Tie both ends of the embroidery floss in a double knot and cut off the excess.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
This year you can really make your dream come true!
“Capture Your Dream” workshop is a self-paced, six weeks long workshop, that will walk you through a journey of capturing your biggest dream and making it come true.
In the process of making your dream happen – with lots of inspiration and guided self-exploration, you will also create a mixed media mini album from scratch and learn many tips and techniques – including some photography pointers that will add character to your photos and will help you take better pictures of your projects.
The workshop includes 30 printable PDF lessons with step-by-step pictures and instructions as well as several printable templates you may use in other projects too.
I am confident you will enjoy it and find it helpful so I also offer full money back guarantee while the workshop lasts.
In this week’s creativity prompt I am reusing bottle lids to create artistic patterned papers.
The polka-dot-circular-spotty look is extremely popular right now and almost ALL the patterned paper manufacturers have a few in their latest collections. Before you reach your hand to the wallet and buy some new papers why not stopping at the recycling bin and make your own ones?
If you are interested in some ideas, then keep on reading.
Watch on You Tube.
[I have had lots of comments requesting me to speak on my videos. I hate talking because my funny accent shines through. This time I took a deep breath and created a voice over - with my voice (I have to write it to believe it). Tell me the truth, don't you want the fabulous music back?]
Step By Step Instructions
Dip the lid in a pool of acrylic paint and stamp over the cardstock. To get a good impression of the lid make sure its entire surface is covered with paint. You may also use a brush to apply the paint more evenly to the lid. Apply some pressure on the lid, but beware of the paint’s slipperiness. I was going for the artistic look so I didn’t mind the imperfect stamping.
You may use the opposite side of the lid to create a circular outline. Use it as a frame, or as an outline to the solid circle you stamped with the other side of the lid.
Experiment –
Create different patterns.
Use different sizes of lids.
Use other mediums (instead of acrylic paint):
Ink pads.
Embossing ink + embossing powder.
Glue + glitter/ flock/ foil.
Use different objects to stamp with:
Toilette paper rolls.
Paper swirls.
Cardstock/ corrugated cardstock.
Old credit or gift cards.
Vegetables (if they went bad…)
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
Check out the new “Make Your Own Planner” workshop and you may solve this year’s holiday gift shopping problem. An affordable workshop that keeps on giving…
I loverecycling and every time I manage to turn trash into treasure, I am happy. Maybe too happy, but that’s for the professionals to judge
If you are as jubilant about recycling as I am and would like to make a fat journal out of cardboard and packaging paper used for padding – then keep on scrolling.
I’ve got a video tutorial just for you.
Tools & Supply
Packaging material – cardboard and padding paper (or plain copier paper)
Cut cardboard at: 5½” by 4½” | 5½” by 4½” | 5½” by 1″.
Cut 2 pieces of patterned paper for the cover, at: 8″ by 6″.
Adhere the cover pieces to the center of the patterned paper with glue stick.
Cut the corners of the patterned paper and leave a gap from the cardboard corners – a gap as long as the cardboard is thick (between ½” to ¼” depending on the cardboard).
Fold the remaining patterned paper flaps over and adhere to the cardboard with glue stick.
To cover the spine, cut a 6″ by 6″ piece of patterned paper diagonally. Cut it 2″-1½” away from the corner on each side.
Fold and adhere the top patterned paper flaps to the cardboard spine with glue stick.
Apply strong double sided adhesive to both edges of the patterned paper and attach the cover pieces to it. Allow an 1/8″ gap between the spine and each of the cover pieces.
For the inside cover, cut your patterned paper at: 5¼” by 4¼” | 5¼” by 4¼” | 5¼” by 1″.
Adhere the patterned paper to the inside cover with glue stick. Optional - To secure the adhesion go over the cover with a brayer a few times in different directions.
Punch 2 holes in the spine using a Crop-a-Dile.
Cut the insert pages (from the packaging paper, or any other plain paper you have) at 8″ by 5″.
Fold the insert pages in half.
Optional - Use a T-Square ruler to straighten up the inserts (or leave them looking rustic).
Position your folded pages where they should lay inside the journal and mark the placement of the holes, then punch the inserts accordingly.
Thread your string through the inserts, from the inside – out.
Thread the ends of the string through the spine and secure in a knot or a double bow.
Write your secrets and deepest wishes in the pages of your new handmade journal.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
This week’s creativity prompt is more of an idea on how to reuse drier sheets after they have made your laundry smell fresher and become softer. You know how much I love recycling, so this project is right up my alley.
It takes merely seconds to make this flower and it has a fabric-like texture. Think of it as a tissue paper that won’t rip.
The added bonus of the drier sheet is that even after it does its job inside the drier machine, it still holds its smell. That means that you are not only adding cuteness to the project but a scent too!
Add color by rubbing ink directly onto the circles. If the ink pad falls off, no worries. Stick it right back with a glob of Diamond Glaze.
Cluster the circles together and adhere with Diamond Glaze – a dot of glue will do. (dry adhesive, like a tape runner or glue dots will not work)
To finish off the look, thread an embroidery floss through a button and adhere to the top circle with another dab of Diamond Glaze.
Let dry. After the adhesive has dried up and hardened, you can go ahead and attach the flower to the project with a glue dot. (Position the glue dot directly on the hardened adhesive).
Share
Share your thoughts and your own drier-sheet creations by leaving a comment!
Being environmentally friendly is important to me. It is actually very selfish of me, as I want my posterity to enjoy mother earth as long as possible. Therefore on one of my very first creativity prompts I have shown you how to turn your trash into treasure.
This week I am revisiting this idea and I am going to show you how you can upcycle an empty yogurt container, just before it hits the recycle bin, and make a beautiful surprise mini album with it. If you are not a big fan of mini albums in boxes, you can stop half way through and make a lovely pencil (or brushes…) holder from it.
So if you are interested in turning your trash into treasure too, keep on reading.
[The fabulous music is by Josh Woodward from his album: "Not Quite Connected"]
Step By Step Instructions
Measure the lid’s diameter with a ruler.
Cut a circle from your patterned paper in the same diameter.
Adhere the patterned paper circle to the lid with Mod-Podge and seal with another generous layer of Mod-Podge on top. Let dry completely.
Cut a bunch of patterned papers to the same height as your container and a 1″ width. [mine are 4" by 1"]
Adhere the strips to the container – one by one – using Mod Podge. To eliminate air bubbles, rub each stripe with your finger. It’s messy, but important to secure your paper strips to the plastic container.
Seal your strips of paper with another generous layer of Mod Podge and put aside until it dries completely.
Measure the diameter of the bottom of your container to figure out the smallest size of a circle that can fit into your container.
Cut as many cardstock circles as the number of pages you wish to have in your mini-album. The circles vary in size whilst the smallest has the same diameter as the container’s bottom and the largest has the same size as the container’s lid.
To find the center of the cardstock circles, cut some more circles from scrap paper, at the same size as your cardstock ones. Fold each scrap paper circle once vertically and once horizontally and mark the point of conjunction. This point is exactly at the center.
Use the scrap circles as a template and punch a hole at the center of each cardstock circle.
Cut a long strip of strong decorative string and fold in half.
Make a knot at the fold (with the two long string edges coming out of it).
Weave both edges of the string through the circles. Secure each circle with a knot and add another knot between each circle, at about 1″, as a spacer.
Punch a hole at the center of the lid and apply Diamond Glaze (or any other strong liquid adhesive) to the inside of the lid.
Thread the ends of the string through the hole and make sure the top cardstock circle gets stuck well to the inside of the lid.
To finish off the lid, thread the ends of the string through the paper flower and the button and secure in a knot. Dab some diamond Glaze on the knot to make sure it stays put.
Cut a piece of ribbon that circumscribes the top of your container. Apply a strong tape adhesive to the back of the ribbon and adhere to the top edge of your container. Repeat on the bottom of your container. This will finish off the edges.
For a more cohesive look, add a second strip of ribbon (about 1½ times the circumference of your container) and then adhere to the edges with glue dots, while pleating the ribbon at each 1″. Secure each pleat with a glue dot.
Variation - You can skip steps 1-3 & 7-16 and make a quick and easy pencil holder instead…
How Ideas Become Creativity Prompts…
A page torn from my bedside journal:
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
If you liked this post you may want to subscribe to my feed:
If you are anything like me then you probably have a ton of paper scraps. The scrapbooking industry keeps on wowing us with delicious patterned papers and I feel bad about throwing away any tiny little cut out… Not to mention the environmental repercussions of tossing all that paper (read: severed trees) away.
I have found a great “marriage” between my current stash of paper scrap and patterned paper which is still on my wish list. I have derived inspiration from the wonderful new collections from Sassafras Lass and recreated my own patterned paper design, while using only paper scraps.
[Go to YouTube to watch the video in HD and feel free to rate, comment and subscribe]
Step By Step Instructions -
Take a piece of scrap paper (I used recycled newsprint paper) and cut it to the size of your desired design. Mine is 8″ by 8″.
Cut a circle from your scrap piece of paper. It doesn’t have to be centered. Just position it whenever you’d like your focal picture to be.
With a pen and a ruler start drawing your design.
After you are pleased with your design, list all your individual shapes by number, this will make your life much easier later on.
Cut each individual shape with your scissors. Don’t worry about the curvy part, as your focal picture would lay over it.
Now it’s time to get all your paper scraps. Use as many or as little textures, colors and patterns as you like.
Adhere each individual shape to the back of your paper scrap. Make sure the number faces down (just apply your adhesive to the number itself, to avoid “mishaps“). Don’t forget to rewrite the number again at the back…
Using those numbers, reassemble your design and adhere all the individual shapes onto your background cardstock.
Adhere your focal picture with foam adhesive. The photo doesn’t have to be circular. I just think it adds some extra flair. (You can crop your photo with a photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, or you can use any circle cutting system you feel comfortable with).
Add your title and call it good (Well, except for some journaling).
Share -
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own paper-scraps creations, so don’t be shy and share
This week I have another quick and easy, and most importantly – recycling – project for you.
Saying styrofoam is bad for the environment is quite an understatement. Nevertheless it is widely used for packaging and some other “really important” (NOT) purposes. Changing the world is done one step at a time, right? So our baby step today is reusing the styrofoam.
The styrofoam is light weight as well as soft enough to be pierced repeatedly (while chanting: “Bad styrofoam. Bad. Bad. Bad”) what makes it perfect to serve as a magnetic bulletin board! By salvaging a never-has-been-no-longer-will-be in use pillow cover we got ourselves the perfect recycling project and quite a nice addition to the fridge. (This looks much neater than a bunch of scraps scattered around).
If you recognize the fabric from the easy peasy hardbound journal tutorial, you are right… (and I haven’t used the rest of the sheets yet, so stay tuned).
Tools & Supply
Styrofoam
Fabric scrap (~3 inches larger than the styrofoam all around)
Adhesive lines/ Plain office stapler (Whatever you have at hand)
Measure a piece of fabric, about 3 inches larger than the styrofoam, both lengthwise and widthwise.
Cut the fabric to size. You can use your scissors or cut a small slit ant rip along.
Put the fabric on your desktop – right side down – and straighten it. You can use an iron if you feel much inclined. I don’t.
Adhere the fabric flaps to the back of the styrofoam. I used Thermoweb’s Clear adhesive Lines but you can use a stapler, just as well (probably better). Start with the long flaps and then move to the shorter ones. Make sure they are pulled tight before adhering or stapling them.
Tuck the edges of the small flaps in, as if you are wrapping a present. Then adhere or staple them to the back of the styrofoam.
To embellish the bulletin board I threaded a string through some buttons and adhered the buttons to some paper flowers. I then adhered the flowers to the board with pop-up glue dots.
[Click on the picture above for a better view]
Share -
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
After long deliberations with myself (I admit. I have those.) I have decided to go ahead, roll up my sleeves and make a video tutorial. I have chosen to make a project similar to a former creativity prompt – a mini album I have prepared from a recycled cardboard box, for my nephews’ and niece’s photos.
I hope you will enjoy this tutorial and that the instructions are clear enough. However, bear in mind that this is my first attempt at a video tutorial, so it’s a bit rough around the edges (and then some). Therefore I would be much appreciative for any feedback – good and bad, so I can apply it to my next videos.
Covering the cardboard (which is the same as covering chipboard) with patterned paper is a step which is repeated in many creativity prompts. So it’s good to have it “on tape” for you to see the way I am going about it. I believe that even in poor quality, a video is more explanatory than a photo.
This week’s creativity prompt is brought to you in a video form… Enjoy!
[To watch in high resolution, go here and press the link below the video]
The song on my video was made and performed by my brother in law and his friend while they were still in high-school. I was amazed at their talent and I would like to know what you’re thinking as well
Enjoy!!!
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
Next time you receive a package, don’t throw the box and the padding material away. Instead, turn them into a gorgeous hardbound journal, you can carry in your pocket.
This tutorial is a recycled version of the extremely popular Hardbound Journal tutorial. You can find another variation here.
Supply -
Two 2¾” by 3¾ “ cardboard pieces, cut from the box.
50 pieces of newsprint paper (used for padding packages) measured 5” by 3½ “.
4 scraps of patterned paper. Two measured 3¼” by 4¼” and two measured 2 5/8” by 3 5/8”.
Flatten the box and cut 2 pieces, measured 2¾” by 3¾ “.
Adhere the cardboard pieces to the larger scraps of patterned paper (3¼” by 4¼”) with the glue stick. Position the cardboard pieces in the middle of each paper scrap (you can also use fabric scraps which are slightly larger). Cut the corners of the patterned paper flaps and allow an 1/8” gap between the edge of the cardboard to the base of the cut. Fold each flap and adhere it to the cardboard, using a bone folder.
Cut the newsprint paper to size (5” by 3½“) and fold each piece in half (creating 2½” by 3½” pages) – use a bone folder to insure a crisp fold. Stack every 5 pieces into one signature (altogether 10 signatures of 5 pages each).
Measure the height of the stack of signatures to determine the width of the spine.
Position the two covers apart from each other allowing the gap between them to equal the signatures’ height, as you have measured before. Using a double sided tape, adhere a strip of ribbon to both sides of the covers.
Mark the width of the ribbon on the signatures to figure out where to pierce them afterward.
Repeat with a second strip of ribbon. The second strip will reinforce the journal and increase its stability.
Secure the embroidery floss to the cover with a piece of tape and start sewing the signatures to the ribbon. Start from the outside of the ribbon, into the signatures and through the ribbon.
Take a peek at the finished spine –
Cover the inside of the journal with the 2 5/8” by 3 5/8” pieces of patterned paper to conceal the embroidery floss and give the journal a finished look. This is the time to trim the ribbon’s ends and cover them, if you don’t wish the ribbon’s ends to show.
Here is how the journal looks without the ribbon’s ends -
Enjoy!!!
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share
I love making my own mini-albums. The handmade album is unique and filled with love and attention.
By definition, the handmade album is going to be a “one-of-a-kind”, even if you make a hundred of them – because as long as it is not mass produced by machines it is going to turn up a wee-bit different each time you make it.
Apart from the handmade album’s singularity, there are two more things that make me happy about making my own mini-albums:
Recycling. By making my own albums (and journals) I get to reuse stuff that otherwise would go to the bin and clutter the world… I can recycle boxes, notepads covers, chipboard which is used for flattening shirts and linens in their packaging. I get to literally turn trash into treasure, and I LOVE it.
Flexibility. When I am making something from scratch I am the one setting up the rules. I decide what shape it’ll be (or that it is going to be made out of multiple shapes). I decide what size is it going to be (or multiple sizes – to fit my own personal needs). I decide which materials I am going to use (hence the opportunity to recycle). I am the boss
In this week’s creativity prompt, I am calling you to use your flexibility and create a circular mini-album for yourself or as a gift for a loved one.
(for embellishing your album you can use whatever you have in your stash – patterned paper, paper flowers, buttons, glitter, ribbon etc. The sky is the limit when it comes to embellishments. You can be creative and do some recycling for creating your embellishments as well…)
Instructions -
Start by making the album’s cover. Cut 2 circles from a cardboard box (mine are 6″ in diameter). Because of the thickness of the cardboard, the circle cutter won’t go all the way through, but it’ll help you in creating a nice groove that you can follow cut all the way through with either the utility scissors (very sharp) or the craft knife.
Next you need to cover the cardboard circles with patterned paper. Apply a generous amount of glue with your glue stick and stick each of the cardboard circles to a sheet of patterned paper. Then flip it over and cut the excess of the paper with either the utility scissors or your craft knife (what ever works better for you).
Alternatives: you can paint the cardboard with acrylic paints and a sponge brush or cover it with modge-podge or leave it as it is for a natural-recycled look.
Punch the holes for your album with the trusty Crop-a-Dile. Make sure your hole is no farther than a ¼” from the edge, otherwise the pages of the album won’t turn easily (I’m speaking from my own experience here… You can see that in the picture below).
Cut the insert circles from your cardstock, using the circle scissors again. You can cut them a little bit smaller than the covers. You may use multiple colors of cardstock to make it more interesting visually.
Next punch the holes in your inserts. Use your punched covers as a guide and trace the holes lightly with a pencil. Using the Crop-a-dile, you can punch all your pages at ones to make it quicker and to insure even lining. (Don’t forget the ¼” rule from step 3 above!!!)
It’s time for the fun part – embellish!!! You can cut any excess by flipping the circle over and use your utility scissors or craft knife.
When all your album pages are done, thread them through with the loose leaf rings (you can also use ribbon or thread as an alternative binding method).
Share -
I would love to see your own interpretation to the circular mini-album.
Share you creations by leaving a link in the comment section below or by adding the pictures to the Flickr’s Creativity Prompt group pool.
Feel free to share your thoughts about this project. I’d love to hear what you think about it.
This week’s creativity prompt is more of an idea on how to reuse drier sheets after they have made your laundry smell fresher and become softer. You know how much I love 
Being environmentally friendly is important to me. It is actually very selfish of me, as I want my posterity to enjoy mother earth as long as possible. Therefore on one of my very first creativity prompts I have shown you how to 
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
This week I have another quick and easy, and most importantly – recycling – project for you. 
Next time you receive a package, don’t throw the box and the padding material away. Instead, turn them into a gorgeous hardbound journal, you can carry in your pocket.
