DIY Map & Junk Mail Envelopes

I never paid attention to the inside of the junk mail envelope until I started working with EcoMonster.  She showed me the beauty of the inside of the junk mail letters and how to use them for scrapbooking paper or designs for cork coaster.  Today I'm posting some quick photos on how to convert your own junk mail into fun and beautiful envelopes.  I recently used this envelope to send to my pen pal.  :)  Yup, you heard me right, my pen pal.  I joined the Post Mark Society via www.postable.com earlier this summer and have been exchanging letters with my pen pal.  It basically a pen pal group for bloggers created by bloggers.  :)

One thing I love about pen pal letters is that you don't see too much of it anymore since we have the internet, emails, Facetime, etc.  Another thing is that you can let your personality shine through your letters and envelopes!  So after so many camping trips this summer I have a nice pile of park brochure maps stacking in my room.  The quality of the maps is pretty durable so I decided it would make the perfect envelope!

What you'll need:

• Junk mail envelope
• Park Maps (or any other sturdy scrap paper you have laying around)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Pen

DIY My Little Pony Plush - Part 1

Pin Rating: 4

Difficulty: Intermediate to difficult

I LOVE My Little Pony.  I love the fact that they rebooted the series and I enjoy it just as much as I did while I was a kid.  When a friend posted a blog post featured on OffBeat Families on my Facebook page for a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic plush tutorial, I knew I had to make one for myself.  Despite there being a template and instructions - provided by Voodoo Tiki over at DeviantArt this project is more difficult than I expected.  I had made my R2D2 plushie a couple of months ago and didn't have too much difficulty so I thought since this one had a pattern it would be even easier - I was so wrong.  I think the most difficult part of this was being patient.  There are a lot of little details but it's well worth it as it all comes together in the end.  I decided to make my own DJ Pon3 with the fleece I had left over from the R2D2 plush.

Still up for the challenge?  Here's what you'll need.

• Sewing items (Scissors, needle, thread)
• Fleece 
• 2 shades of blue fleece
• White fleece
• Small piece of Black
• Small piece of purple
• Voodoo Tiki Template
• Polyester Fiber Fill
• Knowledge of how to do a backstitch - it's more secured compared to a single stitch when you flip the plush inside out.

More DIY Game Night Decor

At the beginning of the month I posted about a Game Day food table & decor and now I'm finally getting around to posting more details about the prep.  This blog post is going to be a few Fast & Simple projects put together.

Playing card box, Vase Decor & Card Cover for a Dip

What you'll need:

• Playing cards (2 decks for $1 @ Dollar Tree)  I am still using the same deck I used for the card banner.
• Cardboard box to height of your liking.  I just used an amazon cardboard box I had laying around.
• 2 short vases (Dollar Tree purchase)
• 1 pack of dice (Dollar Tree purchase)
• Hot glue & hot glue gun
• Tape

DIY Scrabble Pillow Case

Pillow will spell out "HOME"

Original Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298484042/

Pin Rating: 5

Level of difficulty: Medium (basic sewing experience required)

Duration: 1 hr for pillow case + 15 minutes for lettering (For initial pillow case)

It seems as if all of my friends are either looking to buy a new home or have just received the keys to their new place.  Hats off to them!  This gives me plenty of opportunities to make them gifts for their new home.  I have a few friends who love Scrabble so when I saw this pin I knew I had to make it for their new homes.  I was a little worried at first since I never really worked with a zipper before when sewing, but when I found out this pillow case didn't need a zipper I was excited to get started right away.  Also, this pin is a little different since it's really pinned "For the Home" instead of DIY but I always have a DIY mentality so that's how I approached this pin.  (Also, I apologize since photos were taken with my phone since I didn't have the camera handy.)

If you don't feel like trying to make this yourself, I plan to put this up for sale at my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyPinspirational) after I complete the current set I am working on.  So please do keep an eye out for the pillow cases.

UPDATE:  Pillow cases are finally listed on my Etsy shop.  You can purchase a set of 4 here.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/119560993/scrabble-pillow-case-16-x-16-set-of-4

• 16x16 pillow (Purchased from Hobby Lobby.  Other sizes also available but this process is for a 16x16)
• Fabric - I purchsed Calico 100% cotton, color: Kona.  I found out that the fabric is 38 inches long which is perfect to cut up 1 pillow case.  
• You need 1 18x18 square and 1 square with at least 18 x 20 (added 2 inches for sewing room and additional 2 to fold the flaps in for cleaner backing) square which will become your pillow back
• When you purchase the fabric keep in mind how many pillows you are making
• For this case I found this rule to be a good rule of thumb: 2 pillows = at least 36in (1 yard) 
• Sewing items (pins/needles, scissors, measuring tape)
• Fabric chalk pencil - something that you can mark for measurements with and will wash off
• Fabric marker - to color in the lettering and it won't wash off
• Optional - small blade/knife & paper binding clips

DIY Wipe Off Weekly Menu Boards

http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298381043/

http://www.makeandtakes.com/wipe-off-weekly-menu-board

Pin Rating: 5
Duration: 2 mins
Cost: $1.30-$2.00

I'm a little under the weather today so that might reflect my blog post today.  Going to make this one a short and simple post so I can get back to bed and take a nap.  :)  So this pin request is from my sister to help her organize the weekly menus in the house.  She showed me the pin and I think it's a great idea.  It helps to do the grocery shopping at the beginning of the week and then plan the meals for the rest of the week.  Every day I usually ask her what's for dinner and what should I do to help with prep work.  Now that we have this nifty white board she can now update it weekly with any prep instructions for myself and her husband to see so that we can help start dinner for that evening, and everyone's on the same page.

• 8" x 10" glass pane (important that it's glass pane) picture frame from the Dollar Store
• Scrapbook paper of your preferred design.  I picked mine up from Michael's and they had papers ranging from .29 to 1.99 sold by the single sheet.   Make sure the paper matches the size of your frame.
• Dry erase marker (not pictured above)
• Possibly some scissors  and a pen(not pictured above)

DIY Autumn Holiday Wreath for $3

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/231724343298389048/

Pin rating: 5
Duration: 15-20 min
Cost: $3.00

Granted the pinspiration and final product don't look exactly alike, but sometimes you're inspired to do something of a similar sort and not to make an exact replica of what you see.  And the results still look great!  After seeing the holiday decorations on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland (and not to mention my sister repeatedly asking for a holiday wreath for our door) I knew I could use it for inspiration for a wreath for our home.  I really  loved the bow on the Haunted Mansion decoration and was aiming to make something similar.  Since I'm on an unemployed budget I knew the dollar store was where I would have to go to find my inspiration.  When I walked into the dollar store I was looking for any sort of material that I can make a holiday wreath and I actually saw them well stocked with Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas decorations!  I decided to go with an autumn theme instead of a Halloween and/or Thanksgiving wreath.  This way we can keep the wreath up for October & November.  :D

• Grapevine wreath
• "String" of fall colored leaves
• 1 roll Wired ribbon - the wired is a must in my opinion ($ store had 1 roll of 9ft wired ribbon.  I bought 2 just in case but I could have done fine with just 1)
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Loop the string of leaves around and through the grapevine circle.  Make sure you wrap it tight so that the leaves don't sag.