Hey all, Jewelle here! I don't know about you, but for me this past weekend was spent shopping for Christmas presents. Because of that my wallet is now overflowing with receipts! Of course I have to keep all of them until after Christmas because what if one of the presents is broken or my daughter decides to have a growth spurt and the brand new clothes don't fit? Yet I hate that every time I open my wallet I'm risking having all those receipts fly all over the place, and I end up on the floor frantically picking them all up. Is this sounding familiar to you? This weekend I came up with a solution for that problem. I thought a nice pretty envelope in my wallet would hold all my receipts nicely. Here is how I went about making my own envelope.1. Find an envelope template. This can be as simple as taking a regular old envelop and carefully opening it up to trace or it can be as … [Read more...]
Felty Fall Crafts for Kids
If you have little ones, or will be entertaining a younger crowd for Thanksgiving (or any holiday), you know the importance of keeping little hands busy. Otherwise they poke anything within reach, weave underfoot while you're dicing and stirring, distract you until the pot boils over, and so on. You get my drift. I have three boys preschool age and younger, and I've come up with a few ways to hopefully keep them entertained while I cook Thanksgiving dinner this week. The first project I made a dozen copies for a busy bag swap and it was a huge success. The second I whipped up in just a few minutes on a whim. Both are easy, and best of all, require no sewing!To get started, you'll want a large pack of felt sheets in assorted colors. I bought mine at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, but if you can't find a variety pack, I used red, green, white, yellow, black, brown, and tan. The only other … [Read more...]
“We are thankful for…” Hybrid Album Tutorial
Hi everyone, Jewelle here to share a hybrid tutorial with you! Have you been noticing that everywhere you look people are taking time to record what they are thankful for this month? Some people are posting on facebook, their personal blogs, or declaring they are writing it in their journal at home. Why even here at The LilyPad we have a thread in the forum where you can list things YOU are thankful for!I've always loved the idea of taking the month of November to write down things we are grateful for. Two years ago I started a family tradition with my family that each night after dinner we wrote down on a slip of paper what we were grateful for that day. We had our younger children draw pictures so they could be involved too. That year I had great intentions of making something to hold those precious slips of paper, but time got away and I didn't get it done. That album didn't … [Read more...]
An EASY Fall Craft For You!
Hey there! Brandi here again. I just finished the cutest burlap wreath last week (I actually made two) and I thought I would share with you the process on how it's made. (Sometimes I don't know what I would do with out Pinterest!!) First, you'll need to go to your local craft store and pick up some supplies unless you have them on hand (I went to JoAnn's):• Foam wreath •• Glue gun •• Burlap •(depends on the size of the wreath but for a medium sized one I would say close to 2 yards, more is better)• Wide ribbon •(preferably with wire in it)• Twine •• Fall decoration pieces •• Gorilla Super Glue •• Phillips head screwdriver •• Rotary cutter (not necessary) or Scissors •• Cutting Mat & ruler (if using rotary cutter) •∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞Let's get started!Cut out about 4x4" squares of burlap. (It doesn't need to be perfect)Fold the burlap … [Read more...]
A fun way to display your Instagram photos!
Hey there fellow TLP lovers, Polly Brandi here to share with you how I decorated my house with my Instagram photos. If you don't use Instagram, you can still use this idea! :)Here is what it will look like...(excuse the stuff in the background)As you can see it *looks* like I used 2 different colors but in all honesty, I didn't. I bought the EXACT same spray paints with the same number and color code on them and when I started spraying the bigger frame, it came out a darker, more royal blue. I was shocked but was still happy so I just let it be. I knew that once I stained them they would both look great hanging together regardless if they weren't the same color blues.So, what you need to do is find yourself a frame, or two, or three... (I used a total of 5-- these babies have been lying around in our garage for the past year and I've been wanting to use them so this was perfect) … [Read more...]
Back to School Gifts
It is that time of the year where you aren’t thinking about popsicles, swimming in the pool, or even sleeping in anymore. Gears have changed and we can’t stop thinking about pencils, notebooks, backpacks, sack lunches, and just how well our kiddos are going to do in their new classes. I find the beginning of the year can be a bit overwhelming for everyone; parents, kiddos, and teachers. To ease this burden a little bit I’ve come up with a few first day of school traditions. The two traditions I’m going to show you today are fun little hybrid gifts, one for your kiddo{s} and one for their teacher{s}.For the kiddo’s it is a first day of school survival kit. I have given one of these to my daughter each year since she began school. It is a fun little gift she looks forward to, and helps her get excited about the school year. One cool thing about this gift is that even if school has … [Read more...]
DIY Notebook
Since I last wrote about the different methods of binding a mini book together, I have discovered a new binding method that I had to try out! It’s called disk binding.I saw this system online in the DIY planner communities, where people love to DIY notebooks and daily planners by designing or downloading calendars and printable notebook pages, and then fully customize their planner. When I saw it I thought, why limit it to planners? There’s all kinds of possibilities with custom notebooks and mini-albums! So I braved the back-to-school crowds and went to Staples to buy the supplies.The system is called the Arc system and it’s available at Staples. (Not in any way affiliated with them. It’s just where it’s sold exclusively.) It’s basically a line of modular planners where you can move pages around however you like, because the pages are removable due to the special holes on it. … [Read more...]
Confetti Pockets
I don’t know about you, but every time I see confetti, I think “celebration”, “party”, and “FUN”! Confetti makes me happy, especially when it’s made of many colors!Here’s some confetti inspiration I found on Pinterest.Source: thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com via Allison on PinterestSource: carolynshomework.blogspot.com via Sarah on PinterestSource: ohjoy.blogs.com via J on PinterestSource: sayyestohoboken.com via Ashley on PinterestSource: decor8blog.com via Lindsay on Pinterest I wanted to incorporate confetti into my Project Life scrapbooking, and into some birthday cards, but I wanted to contain the confetti so it isn’t so messy. So… vellum pockets to the rescue!I cut vellum into the sizes I wanted. In my Project Life album, I wanted the confetti to fit into the 3x4 … [Read more...]
Tutorial | Print & Cut Digi Elements with the Silhouette
Remember my blog post last month about my Elf Party and how I printed and cut out some elves from Kate Hadfield's "Santa's Little Helpers" digital doodles, using my Silhouette digital cutting machine? Today I've recorded a video tutorial on exactly how to use the print & cut function with any of your digital elements!I've had my Silhouette SD machine since October 2009, and I love using it to cut out my digital elements for hybrid projects! Who needs scissors when the machine will cut it out for you? :DThis tutorial will work with any of the Silhouette machines (the original, the SD, and now the new Cameo). You just need to use the free Silhouette Studio software that comes with the machine.Are you ready for some cutting magic?After the Silhouette has done its cutting magic, I just carefully remove the cut-out pieces from the cutting mat.Now I have a bunch of … [Read more...]
An Elfing Good Time
Hi Everyone! Pollywog Christine here! This is my first post on The Lilypad blog!Tonight is our second annual Elf movie viewing party at our house! We invited a few friends over to watch the holiday movie "Elf" together last year. It went over so well that we decided to make it an annual tradition. :)And of course I have to make a homemade treat as a party favor gift for my guests. Any Elf fan would know that Buddy The Elf loves anything sweet. What could be better than some homemade hot cocoa mix for my Elf guests to take home and enjoy this winter? My husband Todd and I tried this "Best-Ever Hot Cocoa Mix" recipe from America's Test Kitchen last year and it was phenomenal! (The full recipe at the link is available if you register at the America's Test Kitchen site, it's free.) And believe me, we are hot chocolate connoisseurs, especially since our first date (oh so long … [Read more...]