Framed Inspirational Quote

Framed Inspirational Quote
"How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?"

This is one of those "quick fix" projects, the most time consuming parts are waiting. 

 

Take all the pieces out of an old picture frame and for a more vintage feel, spray paint the wood with primer. The primer gives the detail a slightly darker look than the smoother parts, giving it that "dirty" look. Let dry and spray the other side of the frame.

Then I just took a piece of cardstock, watercolor paper, some kind of thick paper and glued it to the cardboard insert of the frame. Very professional process, right?

With acrylic paint, paint the background for your quote on the paper glued to cardboard. For this one I used a very coarse paintbrush and long strokes across the paper to keep some of the white paper shining through. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled some loose glitter over the background. 

I love glitter.

Fire up the Cricut, pick your paper, your font (if you want certain words to stick out more consider changing your sizing), and cut! Don't you just love how easy this machine makes projects?

Arrange your letters in place and take a photo for reference.

I did not take a photo of my arrangement, pieces started sliding while I was gluing, and this quote ended up a little funky. Darn, a photo would have really come in handy!

Now coat the dry background in small sections with Mod Podge and arrange the letters on as you go, referencing your photo. When everything is on, let it dry for a few minutes and put another layer of Mod Podge over the entire paper. It acts like a sealer.

Once it's all dry, pop it back it the frame, put in plain view and be inspired!

:)

Pacifier Clips

Pacifier Clip off Pinterest

I made a few of these for a friend who just had a beautiful baby girl and now I'm extremely bummed I didn't get proof pictures of this finished project! Oh well, suppose it's an excuse to make more (like I need one!). This photo is off Pinterest but it shows the idea of what I did here.

Supplies:

-patterned ribbon

-solid color ribbon (used behind patterned)

-suspender clips (say in place much better than other styles)

-sew on snaps

-sewing supplies (machine[optional], thread, scissors, etc) 

I used a little different technique than this photo but basically I just used more reinforcement and gave it a cleaner look with the ribbon's pattern on both sides! Start by sewing your pretty ribbon to a solid color one (I used a lacy ribbon that was a little difficult to deal with so I found it easier to sew it on before I started doing anything. If your using 2 solid ribbons [or just using 1], skip this and layer them how you want them to sit.) and fold it lengthwise with one end about 1 1/2-2 inches below the other. Then slide a suspender clip into the fold and sew the width of the ribbon above the clip to secure. Next, take that lower piece of ribbon and sew one side of the snap near the end. At the end of that same piece (lower ribbon), sew widthwise above and below the snap to reinforce and secure ribbon together. Sew the length from the top seam to the suspender clip seam on both sides, also to secure ribbon for a clean look. Then take the unfinished end and on your pretty side (not the side with the other snap), sew the second piece of the snap about 1/4-1/2 inch from the end. Fold over so snaps are on the same side (also they can clip together) and just like with the other, reinforce/secure by sewing the width on both sides of the snap. Voilà, binky clip!

 

I was able to make one with lace ribbon in this manner and it was really strong! This project looked great and the mom of two was very pleased to have such cute, girly things for her first girl. There is so much room for personalization with these adorable little things, it's almost jewelry for babies. Just be sure not to add small parts and remember too much reinforcement is better than not enough, don't want little curious fingers pulling anything off!  

As I make more of these I will include a photo step by step of the process, this project was just so quick and cute, I had to share! If you have any questions, ideas, critiques, or anything else, please feel free to comment :)