You know that magical hour right before dinner?  When homework is hopefully done, the usual toys abandoned on the floor, the educational tv programming for little ones is replaced by the news and everyone is just a little antsy because their little tummies are growling?  That is the perfect time to bust out this altered project.  In fact, earlier this evening my little ones made “alien hats” out of fuzzy sticks.  Beauty.

Inspiration for this fun project came from my 8-year-old son Jacob.  He asked for a place to hold all his invention materials and even sat by my side and designed prototype papers using Dani’s Imagi-Nation kit:

Still not sure where he learned the word “prototype” but I’ll run with it.  :)  We are going to print up a lot of these and store them right in the invention bag.  So fun – I’ll have to ask my children more often for their ideas.

I sewed up a tote bag using an old pair of jeans and ribbon.  I hand-stitched a clear vinyl pocket to the front for my label.  The label was also made using Dani’s Imagi-Nation kit:

This kit is not only wonderful for science fairs, experiments, and children’s museums - it’s also a perfect back-to-school kit!

I purchased the vinyl at Walmart.  It can be bought by the yard in different thicknesses.  I found a wonderful piece in the remnant section that worked great.  It is quite large and was under a dollar.  I can make many, many more pockets with what I have left.  :)  I first tried machine-stitching the pocket on, but I couldn’t figure out how to stop it from slipping.  I’m sure there’s some trick, but in the meantime I quickly hand-stitched it on.  No biggie.

The bag was then filled with yummy scientific goodies:  markers, craft sticks, fuzzy sticks, clothespins, glue, scissors, pencils and pens.

Hopefully the bag is durable enough to be filled and refilled and refilled.  For a less durable, but quicker bag, the label could be glued onto a paper gift bag and then filled.  It would also make a fun gift that could be adapted for a variety of ages.  

I know this invention bag has already inspired creativity and curiosity around here -

at least for Katey, who could not leave it alone during the photo shoot.  :)

*smiles*  

Becky

 

Hello!  SaraL here with a quick and easy hybrid-something today.

I wanted to send some bonbon sweets (candy) to my grandmother recently, but the packaging was very dull and uninspiring - so naturally I decided to make my own.  I say naturally, but this is actually my very first attempt at bag toppers – but still, having quite a collection of beautiful designs by Dani, how could it not be natural to have a go!?

The bags I was using were just shy of 12cm wide, so I so I made two blank files in Photoshop, each 12×12cm wide.  As the bonbons were lemon and strawberry flavours, the choice of kit was easy: Fruit Punch – which has the perfect papers and images suitable for both varieties of summer fruitiness!

After decorating my two individual toppers, I flattened the files and copied both onto a new blank file, sized to print perfectly onto A4 card, so that I would only be printing once:

After printing, and testing of the sweets (I had to make sure they were ok, didn’t I?), I assembled my gift, using staples to attach the toppers and close the bags securely – tape would not have been strong enough for this job:

This really was as easy to do as it looks in the photo, and I’ll definitely make my own again.  In case you were wondering, I didn’t buy special candy bags, but simply used the clear bags that I would normally pop my cards into, that are readily available from craft shops. 

…and my grandma loved them

Don’t forget to pop back to yesterdays post if you haven’t picked up your freebie desktop by Kyla – its far to nice to miss!  See you in September!

SaraL x

PS All papers and images that you can see are from Fruit Punch, as is the alpha on the bag of lemon bonbons.  The font on the strawberry bag is Pea ChelseaK Script, which is available with Dani’s Retrospect kit.  Additional materials were the clear card storage bags, card, staples and bonbons!

This is my first time making the desktop as a Dani girl. I hope you enjoy it!

1280×800 or 1024×768

Hi Everyone, Jill here with my first post on Dani’s team blog! I’m so excited to share with you this cheap and really easy to make set of hanging frames which I had given to my dad and my stepmom on their wedding anniversary! I used Dani’s awesomely retro Retrospect kit, to give my project that vintage nostalgic feel.

I think this kit is just awesome to use for projects where you want your loved one to remember old photos, don’t you think? So, now here’s my supplies list:

Supplies:

Hanging flourish frame from Kaisercraft
print out papers from Retrospect kit
Some brown acrylic paint for painting the edges of your frames
print out elements and photos (you can fit it all in one page, like I did! )
some ribbons to match your papers

OK, just remember that you don’t have to have the flourish frame if it’s not available at your area. You could use any unembellished wood frame and decorate it to your heart’s content as well!

First step is to prep your frames. I did this by sanding the edges for rough spots and then painting it brown. I used acrylic paint from Making Memories coz it was the cheapest I could find at my craft store. Trace out the shape of your frame onto the back of your printed papers to get the shape right and cut. If there are any small holes like the ones I have on my frame, I used a craft knife to cut these out.

Once you have the shapes cut, use craft glue or Mod Podge to stick ‘em on your frames. As an alternate step, you could use some Mod Podge Glossy as a varnish on your dressed up frames so that the colors on your printed papers don’t fade.

Next, I stuck some acetate sheets on the back of my frame where the picture window would be. The main purpose of the acetate is to prevent your photos from fading due to exposure. I used double sided tape to stick my acetates because it’s invisible and just because I’m real lazy and that’s a pretty easy adhesive to use!

After the acetate comes the photos on top. My photos were sized to fit the picture windows of the frames perfectly, so I had to take some extra care to be sure there were no whites or blank spaces showing on the edges. Then I covered the whole back of the frame (except where there were holes) with another sheet of acetate.

You can then embellish the front of the frames with printed designs from the kit. Use mounting squares or foam tape for added dimension.

Here’s my finished product:

Now what’re you waiting for, get going to the Sweet Shoppe to get Dani’s kit, take out those scissors and glue and get scrappin’!

Thanks to everyone who tumbled Debra last month!  Our random winner is Theresa (tborntreger)!  Please contact Dani HERE to claim your prize.

And now onto this month’s challenge…Tumbling Rochelle!  Pick a layout from her gallery HERE and spin it somehow when you do the lift.  Then come back and post a link to your LO in the comments here for a chance to win a GC from Dani.

Deanna lifted Summer Days using It’s Elementary

Debra lifted Determined using Life in Technicolor

Can’t wait to see your layouts!

 

Hey everyone! Fairon (WalkersMommy) here! It’s my first post as one of Dani’s girls, and I’m bringing you a sneak peek of Dani’s awesome new kit! The colors are just beautiful and the kit is so versatile!

Here are some gorgeous layouts by Dani’s girls!

by Tracy

by Sheri

by Fairon

by Rochelle

by Rachelle

by Kristin

by Keela

by Elizabeth

by Elizabeth

by Debra

by Dawn

by Melissa

Make sure to check out the shoppe on Saturday for this new release! And come back here Monday for this month’s Tumble Challenge! Happy Friday!

Hi everyone!   Rochelle here just with a quick reminder to check out the great template challenge going on right now.  Elizabeth whipped up a fabulous template for everyone to play with this month, so don’t forget to head here to pick up the template and scrap with it for a chance to win something great from Dani’s store!!! Just post a link to your layout in the comments of the original challenge post by the end of August for your chance to win.  Happy Scrapping!

Wow! I seriously LOVE Dani’s new kit, It’s Elementary! It is simply GORGEOUS!

This weekend, I whipped up some fun teacher gifts that we will take to “Meet the Teacher” tomorrow night. I figure a little buttering up can never hurt, right?? And, who wouldn’t like to receive this?

Here are a few more pictures:

I simply took a can of fruit with a pull-top opening and opened it from the BOTTOM with a can opener. You want to make sure the pull-top is still intact and unopened. After I washed and prepped the can with a little brown paint, I adhered the paper to the can (I used red-line tape, but most any adhesive would work). I stuffed it with fun goodies (chocolate, anyone?) and red crumpled paper filler and hot glued the bottom back on to the can.

When the teacher opens the top and empties it, then she can use the can as a pencil holder/desk organizer/etc. Our school is very big into recycling and I thought this would be PERFECT!

I also included the little card that my son & daughter will sign.

And, that’s it! Easy peasy and oh so cute!

Hope you like it and if you decide to do anything similar, please come back and link us up!

Hugs to all and happy Back-to-Schooling!

Allie here with another Sneak Peek Friday!  I have an awesome kit to show you that’s perfect for this time of year!  Here’s a little peek:

We had such a great time with this kit!  Check it out:

layout by Debra

layout by Elizabeth

layout by Fairon

layout by Rachelle

layout by Rochelle

layout by Tracy

layout by Allie

layout by Allie

Check back this weekend for some ideas for some back-to-school projects with this kit!

Hey! It’s card day with me Indah! I usually make cards for girls and women because i usually send them gifts, big or small, for all occasion. That is until just recently my nephew’s having a birthday and i realize i lack in boy cards. So i made one that consists of his birthday theme, dinosaurs.

Here is my boy card:

When making a boy card, keep in mind that it shouldn’t be too racy or flashy. Bold colors are great but accessories and elements should be kept less than a girl’s card.

Here are also some examples i made for boys: