YouTube Video

Hey guys, it's not a new tutorial for my readers but I put my iPad case tutorial into a video. Check it out. Oh and later this week I will have a new tutorial up and a new video on storage for all my crafting things :)

 

Lovelovelove

Book Storage Tutorial

Hey guys, I've got a great new tutorial for you:) I love going to the craft stores and finding things to make. Sometimes though, you walk in there and see all these great things but have no idea what to do with them. Well, one thing I found last time I was in there was this cardboard book. I've always wanted a fake book to it on a shelf or table to store stuff in. Finally I was able to do it without destroying one of the books that I love.

Materials-

Cardboard Book- found at Michael's or another craft store

Painters Tape

Assorted Sizes of Paintbrushes

Stencils of you're choosing- or anything else you want to decorate your book with

Paint in however many colors you'd like

 

 

 

First, tape off any areas on the book that you do not want to be your base color. For me, this was the stripes on the spine of the book and what would be considered the pages.

Once you have the book taped start painting. I used a sponge brush to paint the bulk of it. The sponge brushes leave less streaks in my opinion and I like the look that leaves. The paint will soak into the cardboard so you may need more paint than you think.

Once the base color is dry, peel of the tape you have already put on the book. Next, tape the outsides of where you took off the tape. This will make it so you can paint the smaller areas in the color of your choice.

I had to paint over some of my base color, so the red needed a few coats. Let each coat dry between a new coat.

 

 

 

Using a really small paintbrush, make any touch-ups that are needed. I mostly needed mine along the spine where I had done the red painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the spine was dry I opened it up and taped off the bottom part of the book. I used yellow to paint the book where the pages would go and also the inside of the book. For this part I painted with a thicker paintbrush and that allowed for some streaks to be left in the yellow paint, which just happened to make them look like there was pages :)

 

 

 

 

Once the inside is all dry, close the book up. Grab your stencil and place it on the book how you would like.

I used Martha Stewart stencils that I found at Michaels. I know I use a lot of her products, but I like the quality of them the most. They last well and the paint works on everything, literally everything! I love it so that is why I recommend everyone use it to :)

Anyways, back to the book. Use different sized brushes to paint the different parts of the stencil if you are doing it like I am. I used red for the flowers to match the spine and green for the leaves.

There is my final product. Now I can put it on my craft shelf to store all my little knick-knacks in. Perfect right?

Go out and craft! If you make a book storage take a picture and send it to me :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my YouTube channel too!

Lovelovelove.

YouTube Channel

Hey everyone. Sorry I have not been putting up new blogs. I have been super busy working on a new YouTube channel and cleaning up the house :) lame I know. So that being said, here is my new Vlog that I put up this morning. I am also going to try really hard to get a tutorial up today! Big expectations I know, but you all deserve it. Check out my video below and check back later today for a new tutorial.

 

Happy Easter everyone. Enjoy the day with your loved ones.

 

New semester...

New classes. I have officially sat through the first day of all my classes. I'm excited for most of them, not for the 17 credits. I eased back into the whole school thing last term with only 13 but I have to make up a few so that I can be done by December. Luckily, I am on track for that :) so everyone plan on celebrating my achievement in December. I'll FINALLY be a college graduate. Woo hoo!!!! Oh, so I never gave an update on last semester, but I passed all my classes :) But back to this semester. Zumba, Earth Science and lab, Social History of Rock Music, 19th Century US History, and Intro to Dance. It's going to be pretty easy. The history isn't going to be my best class but I'll make it through. Zumba is gonna kick my butt which is what I need. Hopefully it'll get me into a habit of working out to lose some weight. Intro to Dance will be fine because it's lecture one day a week and dancing the other day. And Rock Music is just going to be fun. The professor is weird. Haha. Does anyone watch the show 16 & Pregnant? Well, I do and I become emotionally invested in the lives of those girls. The one tonight was so sad. Her sister had already had an abortion and she decided to keep hers. Her boyfriend said he wanted to be there then ended up being a dick, no surprise there. She knew to give up on him because he kept disappointing her, it took him a month to even ask about coming to see the baby. Seriously? Gracious. Someone should be signing that boy up for permanent birth control. That's all that's on my mind right now. Hopefully this week I'll be getting a new tutorial up and a new video and some more blogs up, so check back regularly :)

iPad Cork Case

I finally was ready to make a new iPad case. I loved the one I had, but just wanted something different and something personalized. Plus, the husband was out of town so I had plenty of time to get it done. I am very happy with how it turned out and even had time to make one for a kindle fire all it took was some sizing changes.

Materials:

• Cork- I used 12x12 squares instead of rolled cork because it was easier to work with. Make sure the cork is about 1/8th of an inch thick. You can find this at most stores like Fred Meyer, Michaels, Target...
• Cotton- enough to make 2 squares about 9x10, I used an old shirt.
• Fleece or felt- this will be the piece that your iPad actually comes into contact with, so softer is better. I used felt pieces I found at Michaels.
• Steam-a-Seam fusible web- this is found at JoAnns.
• Poster Board- use this to make a stencil. I used the kind with lines on it to make the stencil easier.
• Craft Sticks, Binder Clips, Wood Glue, Spray Adhesive, Sand Paper, Scissors, Xacto Knife, Pen, Ruler, Iron, Paint, Stencils, Rubber Band, Paint Brushes

Begin by making your stencil. Lay the poster board out and use the ruler and lines on it as a guide. The stencil needs to be 10x11 inches, I left a slight curve on the top end of mine. Once the stencil has been made use it to cut out two matching pieces from the cork with the Xacto Knife- do not use scissors or it will not cut the cork nicely.

Just to get an idea of how things will look, lay your iPad on the stencil. To make the stencil for the cotton and the felt, cut down your original stencil to about 9x11. Use that to cut out the cotton and felt. Set the felt aside for now. Now, cut out the same size square from the fusible web (Steam-a-Seam).

Peel off one side of the paper backing from fusible web. Place the now sticky side onto the cotton piece you have. With an iron set to cotton, with steam, iron the fusible web and cotton together. Next peel off the paper backing and stick the sticky side down in the middle of a cork piece and iron that down, again with steam. This makes the cork a little more durable and gives some extra support to the case.

Using the spray adhesive generously cover one side of the felt. Lay this on the cork piece so that the cotton piece is now completely covered by felt. Repeat all the steps above for your other piece of cork.

The next part all needs to be done fairly quickly. Lay both cork pieces with felt side up. Cover the cork on three sides with wood glue, skipping the rounded part on top. Be careful not to get glue onto the felt. Carefully lay the two cork pieces on top of each other with the felt sides touching.

Moving quickly, place one craft side on either side of the cork and hold together with a binder clip. This will allow the glue to set correctly without you needing to hold it and it also keeps any marks from being left in the cork from the clips. Continue that process on all three glued sides; making sure everything stays lined up.

Let your case stay like this for at least an hour so the glue can dry. After the case has set for awhile, take all the clips and wood sticks off. Use that sand paper to smooth down all the edges and remove any dried glue that can be seen. Also sand down the front and back of the case. This will leave the cork feeling nice and smooth. At this point you get to design your case however you would like. I used Martha Stewart craft paint and some stencils to make my design. Then, as a extra little closer, I used a large rubber band that I found at Michaels... They were with the Smash books. Voila, you now have a new iPad case.

When you put your iPad in for the first time you will hear a little cracking on the edges, this is completely normal. It's from the glue, so no worries, your case will stay intact.

For those of you who don't have an iPad but want to make the case for something else, just measure your item and make a stencil that is larger than the size of the device. I recommend adding about an inch or so to get the final size for the stencil.

Until next time, stay crafty.. As always, if you make it send me a picture :)

I love my iPad

It is the greatest thing ever. I do all my homework on it, use it for blogging, it's my kindle, it's my Internet browser, and I play games on it. I'm at the point where I don't know what I would do without it. So the point of this blog is my favorite apps as of right now.

First, Pinboard for Pinterest. It is everything a pinner will need. It has a browser so you can pin from the Internet without leaving the app. It also gives you a way to pin from safari. This app was so wonderful when I found it. It does have some bugs, but overall it works amazingly.

Second, Blogsy. When I started blogging I was looking for a good way to do it from my iPad because safari just wasn't cutting it. This app supports a lot of blog sites and lets you add pictures and customize your posts. Perfect. This is one of the only apps on my iPad that I have paid for and I'd say the price was worth it, I use it everyday.

Third, Words with Friends. Everyone plays it. Having it on the iPad just makes it that much better.

Fourth, Tiny Tower. It's like an iPad version of sim tower. It's addicting but I love it. And it's free.

Fifth is CloudOn. When I first got my iPad I was trying to find a good word processing software to eliminate my need for my laptop. Well, I found this little jewel. CloudOn uses a website called dropbox to let you create word documents (or PowerPoint or excel) and access them on any device using Dropbox. Basically, you get CloudOn for free, use Dropbox for free and then have MS word, ppt, and excl for free!!!! The only you can ever get charged right now is if yo want extra storage on Dropbox but I think they give you plenty for free. Basically, you must download this app for everything you have... Laptop, iPad, iPhone, everything.

So there you have it you lovely readers of mine. Go forth and download all these awesome apps :)
Oh, check out Richards YouTube channel and follow it. It's our life in video form.