1. Set of cork wall tiles. These are sold by the school supplies in Target, Walmart, etc. They generally come in packs of 4 so I only needed one pack. A lot of people also use plywood squares for the tiles, but I wanted mine to have a bit of a "worn" look since everything else in the room has clean lines. I got the set of 4 tiles on clearance for .99, but the regular price was only $1.99.
The next step is to cut the scrapbook paper just a little bit smaller than the size of the tile. I wanted there to be about .25 inch on each side that would show the cork underneath, so I cut squares out of the scrapbook paper that were 7.5 x 7.5 inches each.
The next step is to paint the edges of the tiles. It is pretty self explanatory - just paint all 4 edges of the cork tiles with whatever paint color you choose. Make sure to get the sides of each tile, since they will show when you hang these up on your wall!
After the paint is dry (it only takes about 10 or 15 minutes) then you spray each tile all over the front side with spray adhesive AND spray the back of the scrapbook paper. Try to do this outside or in the garage because spray adhesive has a mind of its own!
Finally, place the paper on the tile and press firmly all over to make sure it is secure. I put each of mine under a book for a few minutes just to be sure that they were good to go. When you know that the paper is secure, then you are done! All you have to do now is put the tiles on the wall. You could use small tack nails but I actually just used the little square adhesives that come in the package with the cork. They are just little white sticky squares that you put on the corners and center of the back and then attach them to the wall. This way, you don't have to make holes in your wall. I also did a test on my wall and the adhesives did not take the paint off the wall when they are removed. Then you have your finished product!
I hope that this tutorial is user-friendly, because the project itself was SO easy. If anyone decides to make the tiles, I would love to see your finished products!
A 10X10x10 cardboard box with lid, fabric, ribbon, a craft knife and spray glue. My total was around $20. Because I chose a damask-style fabric with a design that goes in one direction, I could not just wrap the box like a present and call it a day. Instead, I cut 2 long strips of fabric, each long enough to secure inside the rim and just wide enough to fold the edges over. I sprayed the long sides and folded the edges so they would have a finished look. Now, if you ever plan on doing this, and you can sew, it would probably be a good idea to just hem the edges. But, I am still a very novice sewer and even hemming an edge can be tricky for me. Sad but true. After getting the edges finished, I attached one panel to the box, which looked like this:
After applying both panels to the sides, then came the lid. I basically wrapped the lid like you would wrap a present, only making sure that the sides were straight and not pointed. After the entire box was wrapped with fabric, it looked like this:
For the slit in the top of the box (which I forgot to picture), I attempted using the craft knife that I bought. Bad idea. That knife wasn't even worth the $1.99 w/ 30% off that I paid for it. It broke as soon as I attempted to cut with it. So, I had to rummage through Ryan's tools for something, and luckily he had a very sharp box cutter. This worked perfectly. I made a slit just large enough so that you could see it, but not so wide that you could see inside, since my unfinished fabric edges were secured in there. My last step was to wrap some pink satin ribbon around the center, securing it with the spray glue, and then attaching a little sign on the front, in the same font (albemarle swash) that we have used for all of our wedding stuff. Here's the finished product:
I made the whole design in Microsoft Publisher and it only took about 20 minutes to do, once I knew what I wanted to write. Then I took the design to Kinko's and had them all printed and cut on some heavyweight cardstock. I also bought the envelopes that matched the cardstock. For the outside, I embossed "Save the Date" in the upper left-hand corner with my latest obsession, my heat gun. I also made a quick envelope seal program in Publisher, and printed them out on colorful cardstock, because I was too excited to send them out to wait on an order of labels to arrive! I ran them through my Xyron 510 machine to make them into stickers, and convinced Ryan to help me put them on. Here he is in action, along with a picture of the finished labels (minus my address... in case any serial killers are reading):
Naturally, I had to go with "Sweet like candy to my soul, Sweet you rock and sweet you roll" from Crash by Dave Matthews Band:
I also finished my coloring books from DIY Bride:
Honestly, whoever created that coloring book file deserves an award or something. It has been used so many times, and is still such a great touch! My final project was my Program Basket:
EDIT: The "Programs" thing on the front of the basket is not actually crooked, I just took the picture before it was glued on for good! It does look a little shabby in the picture!
More on my actual programs when I finish them.. I am in love with them! It seems like a small amount of things, but just crossing 3 to-dos off of my 5 page list felt like a huge accomplishment!
She wrote the sweetest things about me, and called me "spunky," which I love! Thank you, Dana!!! Again, I am so horrible at passing these on, but I would like to give one to everyone on my blog list, because you all keep me so entertained and inspired on a daily basis!
The green paint on the sign actually matches the ribbon a lot better than the camera portrays. We are using this ribbon around our bouquets as well around our centerpiece vases, so I think it will tie in nicely. The sign and letters are all wood, so they should hold up well. This project took about an hour, and cost me about $8. I really love how they turned out. What do you think?
