I love toast! I was freaking *de-light-ed* in Chicago and went into a japanese toy store and saw Kawaii Toast! So cute! Love them! But I didn’t really want a keychain. Or a coin purse. I just wanted a little toast to bring me joy and hang out on my shelf.
So, surprise surprise, I made it myself! And here’s how you can too!
I saw these sweet little filofax planner pages for free on MyGirlThursday and just had to have my own filofax planner. But, being me, didn’t want to pay much for one.
My sister gave me the notebook on the right, a very nice leather journal filled with graph paper (love!).
On the left is an old planner I picked up from the salvation army for $1.75 (it was half price day). I used a seam ripper to remove the binder rings.
Sweet. So easy!
Now, how to bring it together? First I cut it down to size so it fit into the leather journal (graph paper removed). Then I tried the old stand-by: hot glue. That actually didn’t work at all and peeled right off. Then I tried super glue (also didn’t work). And then I stopped being so “quick and easy” and just sewed it into place using a leather needle, needle nose pliers, and a metal thimble. Sure it took a little longer, but it looks nice and it will hold up over time.
I used a piece of hard plastic to make a hole punch template. It was a fun time cutting and punching a bunch of graph paper, plain card stock, and fun little organizational pages.
Like this project mapping page I made. I love the little elastic band that holds my pencil.
And those sweet filofax planner pages that got this whole project started in the first place.
I used mis-printed cl zine covers to make the dividers.
And a little masking tape so the names popped out a little more.
Tomorrow I’ll package up my planner pages and make them available as a download. It’s only fair since freebie print outs where how this whole obsession was started!
Until Next Time!
Happy Crafting!
Kristin
For a long time now I’ve wanted to make a stamp (or label) that I could mark every craft leftovers package with. I was thinking the Craft Leftovers name or the yarn ball logo or both.
First I tried just carving a linoleum block, but that didn’t really have the ease of use I was looking for – though I do love my yarn ball block. It was two hard to use on a rubber stamp pad, so I had print it just like any regular ol’ block print.
Hmmm, I thought maybe in the stamp aisle of the craft store they would have “make your own stamp” kit, nope. I finally did track one down in the print making aisle at hobby lobby. But it was really expensive. Then I realized, hey, I have that type of carving block in my stash of print making supplies.
So here is what you need to make your own stamp that can be used with any regular ol’ ink pad along with a few substitution options if you don’t want to get the ez carve block.
Materials
Directions
Step One: Draw out the design of your choosing onto one side of the block. I wanted some text, so I printed it out and used a glue stick to attach it to the block. It’s tricking carving text so don’t go too small if you opt to include some in your own design. Position your drawing in one corner of the block to preserve as much scrap block as possible. I want to make some other fun little stamps with the leftovers from this later :)
Step Two: Use the X-acto knife to cut the design out from the larger block. Don’t go right up next to the design, leave at least a quarter inch.
Step Three: Carefully carve the general areas out of the block. I like to make a smooth cut along the edge of the design, and then carve up to that point. It helps to keep the block from tearing or splitting into the design. As advertise, these little blocks carve up like butter, which is great, but also a little tricky to control sometimes.
Step Four: Details. There is no other way to do it than the tried and true method of going slow, be patient, and don’t cut deep. Just a little bit at a time, cut closer and closer to the design. With the areas where there’s paper, I “traced” the letters with the X-acto knife and then used my smallest carving tool to carefully sliver away the block.
The yarn ball took about 15 minutes, the letters = 2 hours. So worth it though. I love the handmade feel.
After you carve out all those little pieces, ink it and stamp it. Cut more into the block until it’s just perfect.
More alterations and ta-da!
Then it’s time to mount that baby. Mounting the carved stamp will help it to last longer. The ez-carve blocks are really floppy and flexible, so any find parts (like the letters of the tips of the knitting needles) will eventually crack off or the block may split – no good. Plus mounting has the added bonus of making it even easier to stamp with! And it’s easy, so why not right?
Step One: Find a piece of wood you would like to use for your mount. I used birch plywood, but really, anything will work pretty okay. I like the 1/2″ thickness, but more because I have a load of it than it being the best thing for
Step Two: Lay the carved stamp on the piece of wood and measure out where you need to cut down the wood. Since I was using a little piece, I just needed to make one cut.
Step Three: Take another piece of scrap wood that is smaller than your mounting piece (I used the scrap from my cut), smear some wood glue on one side of the small piece, press it to the back side of the mounting piece, and nail it in place using the 3/4″ nails, this is your handle. Clean up the wood glue with a damp paper towel before it dries.
Note: At this point, you can seal the wood with any kind of water proof latex paint (exterior house paint works great, and the miss-tint pints are really cheap). That way when you wash your stamp, the wood will stay protected.
Step Four: Put a few beads of glue on the back side of the stamp and press it against the block. Lay the piece stamp side up and nail a couple of the 1/2″ nails through the stamp in the recessed area.
And the great thing about using these blocks, is you really can use any stamp pad, making it much easier to use than a lino block – and a lot quicker to dry.
Happily, from now on, every package leaving my studio will have a Craft Leftovers stamp on it. Hooray!
Happy Crafting!
Kristin
Last week I showed you my favorite way to make pendants {link} and today I’m going to show you how string it up into a necklace using a fisherman’s daughter’s knot! I love necklaces like this and you can use this method for anything with a hole in it. Many found objects will work and vintage pendants too!
I finished the curtains for the studio a bit ago and wanted to help you make your own. It’s a simple process with just a little bit of math involved. Nothing scary. Promise.
Read more →
So you all know of my delay by wii fit? Well, I changed plans that day for a regular tote type bag to a Wii Fit carry all. For all your wii fit on the go needs. I had a two fold motivation for making this bag carry all for my newly acquired wii fit. The primary reason was that I needed something to protect it from ferret teeth when it was not in use. They reallllly liked the little cup feet on the bottom of the board as well as all the rubber fittings anywhere else on it. Secondly I was heading on vacation and my friend had a wii and she wanted to try it out, so I wanted to have something to carry it all in along with my mario kart wheel and wiimote. Are you nerded out yet? Haha. So this was the end result of those two needs.
You can download the pattern here (pdf).
So there are new kits in the shop, not just new ones that I’ve already been carrying, but new kits that I’ve never offered before! There are two Oopsies and Toofsies kits available and I’ll be adding two more later today.
I also added a few new things to Kro Postal! More Postal Options as well as more Vintage Post. I love these Vintage Post Card Sets I just added, it was so hard to put them up for sale! I also made up these Postal Option Clutches, the great size for sending to a friend!
Oh and in other news, don’t forget to check back on Sunday, the August issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly will be going on sale!
See you all then!
Kristin
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