Upcycled Notebooks {The Twinery}

It's Earth Week and in the spirit of reducing, reusing, and recycling I've got some quick & easy upcycled notebooks to share with you today. 

I started by taking some empty boxes with fun, colorful designs and I cut them to a variety of sizes (making sure to have both a front and back of the same size for each notebook). Cereal boxes and snack boxes are a great to way get chipboard for a variety of crafting projects.

I put lined notebook paper inside, but this is also a great project for those printing mistakes and other projects that are ending up in your "scratch paper" pile.

To keep these notebooks together, I tied them up with The Twinery's Solid Natural, Solid Peapod, Solid Charcoal, and Solid Denim twines.

These are fun to make and are easy enough for kids to do. These would be great for kids' parties, too - just take something like a LEGO box and cut it to size for a great LEGO party favor. These can also be used like mini albums (just fill them with pictures instead of paper).

So many different ideas and they will get you looking at everyday boxes in a new way!

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Natural, Solid Peapod, Solid Charcoal, Solid Denim); 
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Easter Treat Bags {The Twinery}

Easter is almost here and I just love to celebrate such a joy-filled holiday. 

In our family we try to remember that Easter isn't about eggs, bunnies, or candy, but about the fact that our Lord was raised to life and that He lives! (And we are certainly thankful that He gave us eggs, bunnies, and candy to enjoy.)

These decorated bags are a simple reminder - and as a bonus they hold a little treat.

Each treat bag is topped with a paper doily and tied closed with The Twinery's twine. (I used Solid Marigold and Solid Lilac.)

I love these quick, easy additions to any celebration (just change out the stamped images and these are perfect for any party and/or holiday). Simple to make but add such a great handmade touch.

What special way(s) will you be celebrating Easter this year?

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Lilac, Solid Marigold); 
Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (The Lord Is Risen, Worship The Lord); 
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Colored Pencils: Prang;
Other: Wilton (Paper Doilies); Gartner Studios (Woodgrain Favor Bags);
Tools: Fiskars (Scissors);

Valentine Treat (Peanut Butter Balls) {The Twinery}

Hi there! 

Today I'm sharing a delicious treat with you!  

Okay, it's not easy to share homemade, chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls through the internet...but I can at least share the recipe with you. (And the recipe makes plenty to share with friends and neighbors.) 

You can find the recipe here:

Recipe:

4 cups natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt...no sugar)

8 cups (2 lb. bag) powdered sugar

2 cups butter

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients and chill in refrigerator until firm.

Scoop into balls and place in fridge or freezer until firm.

Melt 2 pounds chocolate chips with 1 stick (1/4 box) Gulf Wax paraffin wax in a double boiler (or a dish over a pan of hot water).

Dip each peanut butter ball in chocolate coating. Place on tray that has been covered with wax paper & return to fridge or freezer to firm up. Dip tops in melted chocolate (if needed) and return to fridge or freezer to firm up. Store in fridge or freezer.

This recipe is pretty forgiving. Add more peanut butter, more butter, more sugar...more chocolate...whatever you want. 

And I don't pretend to be some master chocolatier - these aren't the prettiest things. (In fact, my friends and I call them my "peanut butter blobs".) 

But they sure do taste good!

Once you've got all those treats made, it's time to wrap them up.

I created these quick and easy boxes that each hold three peanut butter balls:

And, of course, I used The Twinery's twine to add an extra pop of color (and hold the boxes closed).

...delicious treats all packaged up and ready to pass out for Valentine's Day! 

(If you don't eat them all first.)

Enjoy!

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Charcoal, Solid Honeydew, Solid Pink Sorbet); 
Patterned Paper: Heidi Swapp; Jen Hadfield;
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); We R Memory Keepers (1-2-3 Punch Board);

Hello Lovey {Market Street Stamps}

{As seen today on the Market Street Stamps blog}



Although my first love (as far as paper crafting goes) is making cards, I do love to break out and try something new every once in awhile.

With Valentine's Day coming up fast (and Easter not far behind) I thought it would be good to test out the new Birds of a Feather set from Market Street Stamps and see what I could come up with for a quick gift container.


These gift containers were actually from the office supply aisle in WalMart (originally containing clips, push pins, etc.). I thought they were a great size for a small treat. (Wouldn't conversation hearts look great in these?)

{Tip: If you are going to put any sort of food in your container you will want to make sure it is a food safe container or line it with a small food safe lining or bag.}


Everything on the box started as a plain white piece of cardstock.

•For the band around the container, I randomly stamped a few of the sentiments/images from the Birds of a Feather set (Open heart, filled heart, "Hello Lovey", and "Love")- either in Tuxedo Black or Pear Tart ink. I cut the cardstock into strips and added some dots with a Copic marker.

•For the layer behind the stamped chick, I simply swiped my pad of Pear Tart ink across a plain white sheet of cardstock until it was saturated enough for the look I was going for, and then cut it to size. (This is a very quick way to make sure you have a cardstock that matches the ink you are stamping with.)

•Each little chick was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink and was given a pop pf color by coloring the little hearts with a Copic marker.


I adhered the band and the layered image to the container, topped it off with some of The Twinery's twine...and now I have two containers ready to fill with a sweet treat.
{Bonus: These will look perfect for both Valentine's Day AND Easter.}

Thanks for stopping by today!


Supplies:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (White);
Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Birds of a Feather);
Ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black, Pear Tart);
Twine: The Twinery (Caribbean, Honeydew, Cantaloupe);
Markers: Copic (YR12, BG15);
Other: Clear Container;
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);