Adding Pages to a Dear Lizzy Daybook

Hey Friends,

One of the projects I'm working on right now, is finishing up the Dear Lizzy Daybook I started while on vacation.  It's well under way - I think I'm at the halfway mark.



One of the ways I've decided to include ephemera I collected on vacation is to bind the ephemera into my book like this...



It's really easy to do and, unfortunately, not my idea. I believe I saw Amy Tan of Amy Tangerine do this but I'm not sure. I  Googled it but couldn't find anything. Still I'm pretty sure that's where I saw this idea.

Anyway, here's how this works. To get started, all you need is your daybook, your ephemera and a pencil.



I lined up the ephemera with the coils and marked them in pencil. This works best on light colored paper so I flipped my pages over before marking with my pencil.



Then I punched holes over my pencil marks using a 1/4" punch and got something that looked like this...



Then I snipped through holes. This is how I can bind the pages into the coil binding.







Then I lined up the holes with the coils and pressed the paper into place.



And there you have it! An easy way to fill my daybook with custom pages like this...



and this...



and this...



This is so easy to do it's become addictive. It works really well on heavier cardstock, pattern paper and photos. I'm not sure if it will stand the test of time but it's certainly working well for now. Stay tuned for more pics and ideas as I pull this book together, I'm determined to get it done.

Wish me luck and thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

Use it or Lose it: Leftover Letter Stickers

I love letter stickers and I have a huge collection. Who doesn't, right? And if you're anything like me, you probably have lots of packs of leftover letters.

So, what do I do with those leftover letters? Usually I alter them to be the letter I need. This works really well with sans serif fonts.

First, I layout the title and fill in the missing letters with substitutes that I think I can alter. Like this...



Then with a few snips, Q's become O's and T's become L's and O's become U's. And voila!



I also like to use multiples of the same letter in words like "hmmmm..." or "argghhh" like I did here in my December Daily.



These tips are my go-to-solutions for using up letter stickers but I've found some pretty fantastic ideas that I wanted to share, too. I haven't tried them yet but they're definitely on my to-try list. 

1. This blog post by Ashli Oliver (Little Purple Maibox). You must see how Ashli uses every letter in a pack of Thickers. It's genius! I'm definitely going to do this.
2. I love how Donna Downey uses letter stickers in her Collage Monday series especially this one and this one.
3. And here's another one. Uppercase D's as ladybug bodies? Uppercase B's as butterfly wings? So smart! And there's also a tutorial for turning letterstickers into flowers.

So, here are a few ideas for getting those leftover letter stickers out of your stash and onto your pages. Do you have a favorite trick or tip that I missed? If yes, then please share it in the comments.  You never can have too many good ideas, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

Mini Twine Wreath Tutorial

I mentioned yesterday that I would share a tutorial for the mini twine wreath I used on the cover of my December Daily.



They're really quick and easy to make. If you're not careful, you'll be swimming in little wreaths in no time!

All you need is twine, green spray mist, shimmer spray mist and a strong liquid adhesive. I used Ranger's Adirondack Color Wash in Meadow for color and Studio Calico Shine for a little hint of shimmer. I also used Ranger's Glossy Accents to hold it all together. It super strong and dries clear!



Let's get started. I wrapped the twine 4 times around my fingers.



Then I took the end of the twine... 



 ...and wrapped it around all the strands of twine. This is important because this is how the wreath is going to keep its shape.



Finally, I tied a knot and trimmed the ends.



Here's what it looks like.



Now it's time for some color! You can use whatever color you want but I wanted mine to look like evergreen boughs so I went with green.  I gave it 5-6 spritzes of Meadow mist and then a couple of spritzes of SC Shine.



Then I set it aside to dry.



And while waiting, I tied a twine bow.



When the wreath was dry, I attached the bow with Glossy Accents. (You can dry your wreath with a heat gun to speed up the process. It's smelly but works just fine.)



Yes, it really is that easy.  They look great on cards and you can put them on almost anything - tag, present, tree...

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and feel inspired to make some mini twine wreaths of your own.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie