{Paper Bag Scrapbook}

Whew!! I've been MIA lately and I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. I haven't been able to spend as much time in my craft room lately as I would like, but I did manage to get a little 'fix' with these little paper sack scrapbooks. These are so simple, you need VERY few supplies, and they make cute little keepsakes! I've seen lots of them, but never made one myself until one of my days off this week. There may be better ways to make one than mine, but I like the way it turned out.

I wanted  a cutie little place to keep a few of the group pictures from my preschool class this year. I didn't want to buy a photo album, because I really don't have enough pics to fill one. I saw my giant pile of brown paper lunch sacks and thought it was about time to try one of these!

I cut my bags off just above the bottom flap, then put a little glue stick on the open end to keep it together. From there I just added the pictures I wanted, and embellished with scrap pieces of patterned paper. I added a little bit of text here and there, but not a lot. I made it REALLY quick, but I can see doing one in more detail. Cute potential all over the place!

I punched the holes with my Crop-a-Dile, added book rings, and decorated with scrap ribbon. Voila! I think this would be a fun project for kids to make their own little scrapbooks on the cheap. I'm going to suggest them to my daughter's Daisy Troop Leader and I think the girls will love making them. They can make great little keepsakes with cheap scraps and stickers.

Thanks for dropping by!

{Easter Project for Kiddos}

I know it's soooo close now, but you can probably still squeeze a few of these out to hang in your own home or send to grandparents! Just use what you have around and it's so simple but cute! I deliberately used my flash so you could see the "whiskers"!

YOU NEED:

2 paper plates (we doubled ours)

cotton balls

photo of your kiddo

fishing line

scrap of black or pink paper for a nose

glue

paper for the ears

We glued 2 plates together for stiffness, then cut out a large photo of my kiddo in a circle to match the plate.

We circle punched a nose, and trimmed some short pieces of fishing line to be the whiskers. Try to make your paper nose cover the whole nose in the photo. Glue those on, then start gluing your cotton balls all around the edge of your paper plate. (You could also use colored pom poms.) Cut out 2 ears and color their centers, then glue them on from the back. You can add a cotton ball to the back for a tail if you want, but we didn't.

We mailed these to grandparents, and I kept one for myself.

I love kid crafts that are TOTALLY kid-made! They're the best to give and receive.

Happy Easter!!!

I'm linking up to:

{Valentines for Grandparents}

I don't know about you, but we always do a special Valentine craft for the 2 sets of grandparents in our family. My daughter is 6 1/2 now, and I've always tried to do this with 2 requirements: a)it includes a photo of her; and b)it's something that she makes almost exclusively without me.

This year we wanted to try something with conversation hearts, since they're so cute but nobody really wants to eat them (at least we don't)!  :) So during our second consecutive snow day today, she got busy on these little cuties.

THINGS YOU NEED:

recycled food boxes or cardboard

conversation hearts

scissors

Valentine themed photo (or any photo)

hole punch or Crop-A-Dile

jute or yarn

patterned paper

Aleene's Quick Grab Glue  (or Elmer's!)

First go through your recycle basket for food boxes. I usually cut these up before I put them in and file in my craft room. They are the best FREE chipboard! Then choose some patterned paper to cover it.

Cut your cardboard and paper to size, then glue it to the picture side with glue stick. Punch holes with your Crop-A-Dile and tie on yarn or jute for hanging.

Have your kiddo write a Valentine's message on the back, and date. Cute nails, huh?

Now you have your hanging background, a photo, and your conversation hearts ready. We have 2 of each. We used a photo of her in a Valentine's tee next to our "Love Tree."  (I got this idea here. )

Last year it was her and a Valentine Build-A-Bear. :)

Center your photo and glue on, then start adding hearts all around the picture. I used my Aleene's Quick Grab because I thought in the end that it would be stronger than Elmer's.

In no time it's finished! You could also distress the edges, but my kiddo didn't like that look so she won. :)

Let it dry. They are a bit heavy, so if you mail yours like we do, be sure to bubble wrap or put in a padded envelope.

The best part is that my kiddo loves how it turned out. She sang the whole time she worked, which is always my favorite part. :) Grandma & Grandpa can hang this anywhere and feel the love all the way from our house!

Take care,