DIY Crafts - grace grits and gardening

#RandomLoveLetter Bookmarks

July 1, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

My friend Sarah, who blogs at Random Love Letter to Adventure, has been participating in a #RandomLoveLetter Instagram Challenge during the month of June. The idea behind this IG micro-challenge is to leave a note, a “random love letter”, in a public place for someone to find. Something unexpected to brighten someone’s day. As usual, I’m extremely late to the party, but on Sunday I became inspired to create #RandomLoveLetter Bookmarks to leave in each of the books in my Little Free Library.

This was a simple craft project especially since I had this incredible notepad from SugarBoo Designs purchased at Shindig Paperie in Fayetteville. There’s an inspirational saying or quote at the bottom of each page.

Not only is each page already perforated, there’s also a hole on one end begging for a ribbon. (If you don’t want to buy such a notepad, you could type up your own, right?)

This project is justification for saving every scrap of ribbon you happen upon all the live-long year. Not that I do that:) And the packages of vintage rick-rack you weren’t sure how you would use? Bingo.

Those ink stamps? Use them!

For a completely spur of the moment project, this turned out to be really fun. I made enough bookmarks for every book in my Little Free Library plus a few for later.

Speaking of books...I’m doing pretty well working my way through my “not so typical” summer reading list. If you missed my summer reading list click HERE.

So far I’ve finished The Girl on the Train (★★★★), The Deep Green Sea (★★★★), The Pleasure of My Company (★★★★), Hold Still Sally Mann (★★★), The Life and Adventures of an Arkansaw Doctor (★★★). I’ve also read a few that weren’t on my list including The Vacationers (★★★), Biography of Marilyn Monroe (★★★), and Stoning the Devil (★★★★).

What’s everyone reading?

Happy July 1! (Can you believe it’s July?)

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]A great reason to break out the #craft supplies! @Sarahdshotts @LtlFreeLibrary #RandomLoveLetter #summer #read [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Love Letter, Bangin’ Rackettes

DIY Notepads

July 22, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

A month or so ago, I spent the day with my blogger friend Gina. “You should do a guest post for me sometime,” I said. “I’d love too!” she said. And drum roll… Here she is! Please welcome Gina and show her some Grace Grits love. Yay!

Hey, y’all! I’m Gina from Desperately Seeking {Gina} and I am so thrilled to be here in Talya’s space today.

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love to craft. And also, I love paper. Currently, there are no less than fifteen decorative blank notebooks and decorative journals sitting in a drawer waiting to be journal-ed, or filled with grocery lists, hopes, dreams-well, you get the idea. I love them all. Imagine my delight when I figured out how to craft my own adorable and useful notepads. Today, I want to show you how to make your own DIY notepads. I hope you enjoy, and I’d love to see your creations.

Gather:
paper
cardboard (or pieces of cut-out cereal boxes)
decorative scrapbook paper
decorative tape
PVA glue (special glue for bookbinding-dries clear and stays flexible)
Decoupage glue (I use Mod Podge)
ink pads in matching colors (optional)
foam brushes
razor knife
2 paint stirrers or 2 narrow rulers
assorted clamps (clips or C-clamps) or heavy objects to use as weights

The How-to:

1. Gather supplies
2. Cut paper and cardboard to desired proportions.
3. Optional: You may add a paper-covered cardboard cover to the top (use Mod Podge to glue)or just use the decorative scrapbook paper as the cover.
4. Assemble the cover, papers, and the cardboard backing. Place paint stirrers or rulers on either side of your notepad and secure with clamps. I love these handy plastic C-clamps.
5. Apply PVA glue liberally along the top of the notepad being sure to cover the entire edge of paper, cover, and cardboard backing.
6. Allow to dry according to PVA directions, normally around 10 minutes. I added extra clamps to the middle to ensure the entire length of paper and covers were squeezed together tightly.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 three or four more times drying thoroughly each time.
8. For added cuteness, apply decorative tape (I used Washi Tape) to the top edge covering the clear-dried glue.
9. Ink edges in a coordinating color using stamp ink pads to finish off your notepad.

These are so fun to make! Addictive, even. Make assorted sizes with coordinating covers and stack together. Tie with pretty ribbons. These make excellent gifts for writer friends-just be sure to make plenty for yourself!

I’d love to see what you create. Connect with me at my blog Desperately Seeking {Gina} or on Facebook and see what I’m currently up to over at Instagram. Thanks so much to Talya for having me over!

Aren’t these notepads adorable? Thanks Gina!!

#Palsies

Grace Grits and Gardening

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

How to Make Pumpkins from Recycled Books

August 31, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Once September rolls around, I am all about decorating for Halloween. I saw a similar recycled book pumpkin project on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to try it.The hardest part of the project for me was selecting which book to use. ‘Defacing’ a book is downright sinful; however, I decided an old Fodor travel book on the Caribbean was expendable. If I return to the islands, I’ll buy a more up-to-date issue.Continue Reading

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