Words And Photos Blog | By Gail Lindner

Christmas Planning!

So once again it seems that Christmas is sneaking up on us! With just over a month to go and only two more weeks of school left for the year, I NEED to get organised! So I customised a fun little notebook to be my Christmas Planner!

I had a small notebook in my arsenal of unused stationery (lol!) so i grabbed it and some items from the American Crafts Christmas collection. I started by covering my notebook in patterned paper - I simply adhered it using double sided tape.

I added a few embellishments to the front cover starting with a patterned gift tag and layering different pieces from the collection over the top. I used my typewriter to add the words to the front.

I've added a clip to the cover also as a place to add in receipts, discount coupons etc.

Finally, I created different sections in my notebook such as 'Gifts', To-Do's', 'Food & Baking' and 'Christmas Cards'. For the start of each section I added a patterned paper border to the page, a small piece of gold glitter washi tape and then a typed heading. Perfect!

I've actually popped my little planner in a ziploc bag with a pen so it is somewhat protected when I throw it in my handbag to take with me! 

I love having a place where all my lists, notes and ideas can be! I hope if makes the whole festive season a bit less stressful for me so I can relax and enjoy family time!

 

 

Pink Paislee: Notice Board Makeover!

Recently the Pink Paislee design team were challenged to create an item for our desk using the  collection. I like to keep my desk fairly uncluttered with only my lamp and tool caddy on my desk so I have maximum space for creating. But I do have a magnetic notice board hanging on the wall above my desk and thought it could do with a little makeover!

I had a little wander through our office supply store and purchased this magnetic metal basket that I thought would be perfect for holding a few smaller items that I want to keep close to hand! Of course, it had to be gold so I grabbed my gold spray paint and transformed it!

While this was drying, I grabbed a few supplies and some simple white circle magnets and embellished each one with some embellishments from the collection. 

My Sticky Thumb hot glue gun made the process super quick! I used a variety of punched circles, puffy stickers and cork hearts to embellish my magnets and they turned out super fun!

And here's a look at my finished project! My newly transformed magnetic gold basket was perfect for holding some of the new sticky notes and small notebooks from the C'est La Vie and Paislee Paperie collections. I'm thrilled to have them so close to hand now!

At the moment my magnets are holding some special bits and pieces from my recent trip to the USA! Here's another photo of the corner of my desk. 

It's amazing how such a small project and change to my creative space has made such a HUGE difference to my creativity! I love it and I hope I've given you a couple of ideas today!

 

 

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Words And Photos Blog. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own. 

 

 

Bazzill Basics Poster Board: DIY Photo Booth!

Today I am sharing THE quickest and easiest DIY project that would be awesome for ANY occasion! With it being Australia Day yesterday, I wanted to grab some props and take some photos of the kids as we were hanging out in the backyard on a hot Aussie afternoon! And how fun to have an oversize vintage-style frame set up with the occasion written right on it!

You can see just how easy it was to create using the new Poster Board from Bazzill Basics (it’s THE perfect size) and the Template Studio system from We R Memory Keepers on the Bazzill Basics blog here.

As a finishing touch, I used a black pen to write on “Australia Day 2016″.  I poked tiny holes in the top of the frame to thread fishing line through so I could hang it up outside. Here’s one more photo of my cheeky 4-year-old!

 

The possibilities are endless! I’m already thinking of how I could decorate one for my daughter’s birthday! What about back-to-school, Christmas, graduations or any celebration really? I think that anything to encourage us to take more photos is a very good thing!

 

 

 

 

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Words And Photos Blog. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own. 

 

 

Pink Paislee: Be"Witch"ing Halloween Decor!

Each year Halloween is gaining more and more momentum here in Australia! And each year my collection of Halloween decor is growing! While browsing through the glass jars and bottles in my local dollar store, I came across a little bell jar and the idea to create a little "spooky" something to pop in there for Halloween came to me.

I went through my Pink Paislee patterned paper stash to find some that would be Halloween-worthy. I settled upon a classic black and white stripe from Bella Rouge and set about to make my miniature witch hat. I did a simple search online for a pattern to follow.

When it came to embellishing, I added a fun green fringe along the base (using this paper from the Cedar Lane collection). I die cut the word 'happy' from gold cardstock and added a gold foiled label from Memorandum with 'Halloween' typed on it. A couple of gold puffy sticker stars (also from Memorandum) and a black fabric flower (Bella Rouge) finished it off nicely!

 

When I placed it inside my jar, I realized it needed a few spiders to make it extra creepy . . . and once they were glued on, it was finished!

This goes to show that you are NOT limited when you are creating and you can pull bits and pieces from almost ANY collection to suit halloween projects!

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

 

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Words And Photos Blog. I do receive financial compensation and products from American Crafts to develop certain blog posts, but all of the ideas and opinions are my own. 

 

 

Pink Paislee Cedar Lane Inspiration!

I just had to have a play with the Cedar Lane collection (new from Pink Paislee). For a quick and easy project, I decided to have fun altering this letter that I had previously purchased from Typo.

 

 

It was a super simply project! I started by tracing the letter onto some of the patterned paper (I did half/half with two patterns). I have gone for a softer color scheme. Then I created two little embellishment clusters. The one at the top is one of the puffy stickers layered over some gold thread and onto a couple of small banners cut from more patterned papers.

The bottom cluster is made up of a couple of larger flower die cuts from the Ephemera pack along with the word "grateful". The 'G' is actually for 'Gail' but could also be for 'grateful' I decided.

This now sits proudly on top of a shelf in my scrap space with a couple of other collected and made items, all with a similar aqua color scheme.  

Bye for now! 

Bazzill Basics DIY Workbook

My big four year old boy is entering Kindy next year (!!) and is starting to become quite interested in letters and spelling. I had the idea to create a "workbook" for him, perhaps to both keep him amused while I help his older sister with her homework and also give him an introduction to writing and drawing.

I used my new Heidi Swapp Cinch tool and it really was quick and easy to put together!

I started by searching for some printables on Pinterest for very beginner tracing and drawing (of course you could create your own). I resized them to be A5 size and printed them onto sturdy cardstock - Bazzill's Card Shoppe: Marshmallow. 

Once printed I then laminated them and left some extra space on the left side where I knew I wanted the binding to go.

I also created extra sturdy covers from Bazzill Board covered with bright patterned papers. I think it's important to use the board for the covers as when they're folded back, it will create a very hard surface for him to write on.

Then came the fun part - using the Cinch tool! It was so easy to punch the holes and have everything lined up perfectly for the coil binding. It punched through the thicker board with no trouble!

I added through the coil binding and closed it and that was it!  I think it's the perfect introduction to pen skills for him! I'll store it together with some whiteboard markers and wipes.

I included pages on  tracing line patterns, tracing basic shapes, tracing the letters to his name, space to draw a self portrait and a blank spiderweb for him to add his own spiders and bugs etc. (This is what he's into right now). 

I'm excited for the possibilities now! I'm thinking of creating a similar books for my daughter for mazes and spelling words and another for my son for counting and numbers!

What ideas can you think of?