{Weekend fun with the kids} Washi tape pencil bags

Some of my most favourite things to do with the kids is to craft.

The key is to first test the concept quickly while they’re asleep so that I know how to troubleshoot in case there’s a meltdown or two.

(you might say I learnt that one the hard way)

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

Supplies

  1. Ziploc bags (the proper Ziplocs because they’re sturdier). I used these zipper slide bags because they were already in the shape of a pencil bag
  2. washi tape/ decorative tape (my first test bag was made with Scotch tape I bought in the USA)
  3. scissors

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.comWashi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

I also had one on one craft time with the kids so that there wasn’t any fighting (No, Kendra, don’t take my scissors; Connor’s using my tape/ too close to me/ breathing, etc. I’m sure this doesn’t happen at your house) and we could both enjoy the activity.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

This is so easy it feels silly to write about how to do it but I’ll try.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

1. Choose your co-ordinating tapes.

2. Decide in which order you’re going to arrange them.

3. Let the tape overlap a bit on a few of the rows to keep your bag stable.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

4. Once the first side is complete, we cut the ends off before flipping the bag around. Be careful to not cut the bags open!

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

5. Tape down the second side too, ideally in the same order, so that you can overlap a little tape if you need.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

When your bags are finished, they’ll look like this…

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

Use for holding pencils, pencil crayons (colouring pencils), flash cards, Project Life cards on the go…. or as I call them, cards for LISTS, any bits and bobs.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

Tips for a successful crafting session:

  1. explain what you’re going to do before you even go to the crafting area
  2. manage any perfectionistic tendencies carefully – yours and those of the kid (s). It really doesn’t have to be perfect. The fun is in the crazy colours and
  3. It’s best if you don’t plan to get any serious crafting done – just enjoy the time with your kids.

Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com Washi tape pencil bags | www.OrganisingQueen.com

Have you done anything fun with your kids recently? Or what have you personally created?

{Marcia gets crafty} Cot to coffee table repurpose

First there were cots…

 

then there was a coffee table.

I really, truly, madly loved our cots (they were both beautiful and practical – those storage drawers were amazing) and when the time came to move the babies to big beds, I sold the one cot easily but wanted to hold onto the other IF it could be used in a cool way.

I was thinking of doing this originally.

 

but then I remembered I actually hate chalk dust.

So I had another idea.

I moved the cot into the lounge just to see if the size fitted the space properly.

It sat there for a good month or so while I thought about the colour I wanted it to be.

And here it is – the final version.

My cot turned coffee table.

It ended up being lighter than I envisioned but I haven’t mustered up the energy to have it done again 🙂

Isn’t it gorgeous?

{Marcia gets crafty 11} Frugal Father’s Day craft

If you have a look at my Getting my craft on board on Pinterest, you’ll see I’ve pinned a TON of canvas projects.

I bought 6 of these A4 canvases for R16 each so I can play and try all of those crafts.

This is one of my favourite pics from our photoshoot with Jeanette Verster

Supplies

  • Canvas (mine was A4 size – 8 X 11) – you can get them at Mega Mica
  • Mod-podge (Mega Mica) & paintbrush (Crazy Store)
  • Photo (my local Fuji charged me R40 for the enlargement)
  • Ribbon
  • No more nails (Pattex product I had on hand – I’m 100% sure normal glue would work too)

How I did mine

  1. Paint the mod-podge liberally onto the canvas and attach the photo
  2. Smooth nicely with your hands so that there are no unsightly bubbles (this was my favourite part of the craft because I’m so tactile :))
  3. Leave overnight to dry
  4. Next night, paint a layer of mod-podge on the front. It looks a bit weird if you’re not used to the mod-podge like me but it dries clear
  5. Leave overnight to dry
  6. I did a 3rd coat too just for extra sealing and leave overnight to dry.
  7. Get a nice thick ribbon
  8. Cut the ribbon to size depending on where you want to hang the pic.
  9. Apply the No more nails/ glue for the entire length of the ribbon til it meets the edge of the canvas.
  10. Hang and admire your craftiness

 

 

 

We don’t have mud rooms here in South Africa (this would work if you have one) but I hung this at the entrance to our house and it makes me smile every day I come home.

side view
You could also first put scrapbook paper on the canvas and then cut your pic smaller, or you could paint the outline and then put your photo – I didn’t know if this would work so I did nothing.
Now that I know how easy (and cheap) this is, I have big plans for those other canvases.
I’ve already done another canvas – I painted it first and then attached the pic. Next one will get some scrapbook paper and a smaller pic 🙂
Only R56 ($7) and it looks gorgeous (to me, anyway).

So… what do you think? Would you do something like this? 

PS This isn’t our Father’s Day present but this type of thing would make a great gift. If this is not your kind of thing, then let this post simply serve as inspiration to use this weekend to get it all organised.

{Marcia gets crafty 10} Mini thank-you cards

I’ve been green since I was about 17, long before it became fashionable to reuse and recycle.

This translates into me reusing every bit of paper or cardboard – I use them for lists (!), my husband has a stack for shopping lists, etc.

I’d cut some cardboard for my mini-scrapbook and there were strips of cardboard about 5 – 6 cm long.

 

I decided they’d make the perfect mini-cards for gift tags or to just leave a random note on someone’s desk.

I LOVE simplicity and non-fussiness so all I added was a piece of fabric tape with thank you on it.

Done!

In about 15 minutes I cut, folded and stuck the tape and then I had a set of 10 gift tags.

This would also be a lovely little gift to give someone.

You could punch a small hole in the corner, string some baker’s twine or ribbon and package 6 together (why are all cards in packs of 6?) in a cellophane bag.

A lovely, thoughtful present.

What would you have used these cards for?

PS isn’t it crazy I’ve already posted 10 of these crafty posts?! Click the label “Marcia gets crafty” to see them all and pin if you want to do them too

{Marcia gets crafty 8} fabric tape clothespeg clips

I went to Pep Stores the other day and saw they had the most adorable clothespegs.

Slightly shorter and wider than the regular ones and only R6,99 for 24 (less than a dollar).

I took a packet and decided to play with some of my fabric tape.

Supplies
clothes pegs
fabric tape (I bought the two used for this project at Scrapadoodles)
scissors

How to make them
  1. I found that the quickest and easiest way to make them was to leave the pegs clipped to the little cardboard in the package but space them so they’re about 2cm (1 inch) apart.
  2. Measure (by measure I mean “eyeball) the length of tape you need against one peg and cut.
  3. I then cut them all, one for each side using the first piece of tape as my template.
  4. Peel off the backing and carefully affix to the peg (especially if, like me, you can’t see in a straight line!)
  5. Turn the peg on its side and carefully snip off any excess tape.
  6. I lined up the tape with one side of the peg so I only had to trim the ends off the other side.
  7. The longest part of the whole process was peeling the backing off the adhesive side of the tape.

 

They are VERY satisfying to make because it’s such a quick craft that before long, you have a whole load of beautiful clips.
Ideas for using them
  • for categorising paper (red for action, pink for fun, etc)
  • for gifts (package 4 together in a cellophane bag and tie with a satin ribbon)
  • for keeping family members’ paper separate (one colour per person)
  • keeping bags of chips/ peanuts closed
  • attach magnets to the back and use like I did in this picture (only use fabric tape on the one side)

How would you use these clips?

PS I went back to Pep and they no longer have the short, stubby pegs.
PPS I made another couple of sets on the weekend which I’ll show you soon 🙂

 

Marcia gets crafty 7 – elastic notebooks

these elastic books are inspired by Aimee
What you need
  • Postcards or other project board (I liked the idea of finally using postcards I’ve been keeping)
  • Blank or lined paper
  • Elastic band (I happened to have coloured ones so I co-ordinated the colours with the postcards
How to make them
  • Fold the postcard in half
  • Choose about 5 – 10 sheets of paper per book. Fold in half and make sure the paper will fit neatly inside the postcard.
  • Use your fingers (I don’t have fancy “tools”) to make firm folds in the paper.
  • Place inside the folded postcard.
  • Stretch an elastic band along the spine and fold close.
  • Ta da – as easy as that you are done.

 

this postcard is from a penpal I had AGES ago, from Slovenia
I’d bought a pack of index CARDS and when I opened the pack, the CARDS were actually paper. Faxed them a complaint and of course, they didn’t respond. This is me “letting go” and using the paper for something else.

How to use them
  • I gave some to our PA to take all the coffee orders in our meetings 🙂
  • I keep one in the car to make notes while driving (well, at the traffic lights)
  • One lives in my handbag
  • One lives in the kitchen so we can make quick notes
  • Give them to your kids (Kendra loves to also have a “book” like Mummy)
  • Give them away as random acts of kindness
When you’ve finished writing on all the paper, if your postcard is still looking good (my first one looked well-used), you should just add more paper.
Very green of me, don’t you think? 🙂


Who else loves paper?

Do you keep a notebook in the car?


 

Marcia gets crafty 6 – mini scrapbook travel journal

Whenever we used to travel overseas, I’d keep a little notebook with me and divide it into 3 sections:

  1. things to do
  2. day to day notes – there’s nothing worse than getting back and whole days of your holiday are blank because you didn’t take notes
  3. budgets or what we spend daily (we like to have an average daily budget)

Sometime last year I saw a scrapbook travel journal and I was inspired. Hers was a lot more scrapbooky for my taste but I loved the idea of capturing memories on the day itself and just putting the photos in when you get back from your holiday.

After all, I was used to doing the daily writing anyway.

So eventually I had all the supplies and to be honest, I only assembled the book on our first night on holiday but at least everything was ready.

Supplies

  1. Chipboard covers
  2. Binder rings
  3. Two-hole punch
  4. Scrapbook paper
  5. Cardstock or project board
  6. Notebook paper – I used a graph book for the budget papers
  7. Stamps
  8. Glue
  9. Photos
  10. Number stickers (before I saw these, I was going to use plain circle stickers and write the numbers on them)

How to make

  1. Decide how big you want your journal. I initially used one double spread per day we were away but then later after going through all the pics, added another four pages.
  2. Lay everything out first to make sure what’s in your head works out visually too. I had to change some papers here and there because the colours didn’t look good together.
  3. When you’re happy, punch the paper and bind with binder rings.
  4. I saw the idea for the cover page ages ago (I think on Becky Higgins’s blog) so I made sure to take that photo on day 1.
  5. I wrote in my book every night, sometimes I had to catch up two nights.
  6. I made a separate folder within my Ballito folder called scrapbook and dragged the pics I needed to print. Sometimes I cheated and made collages when I couldn’t decide on one pic.
  7. I tried various methods of sticking the photos to the pages – the one that worked best for me was putting glue on the page and then affixing the photo.
  8. A normal glue stick works better than liquid glue, double-sided tape or those sticky dots. Nice to know cheaper is still best 🙂
  9. And there it is – a quick way of capturing our memories – in all its imperfect glory.
  10. We all LOVE it – me, D and the kids keep paging through it and best of all, because it’s not perfect, I’m not at all precious about people (two and a half year old twins!) touching it 🙂
bakers twine from In Good Company – I won’t tell you how much I spent when I went but it was three times what I’d budgeted.
examples of the extra pages I added
the “splash” card is a free download from Monika Wright
I had a little man wanting in on the photo action
this is what all the journalling pages look like – words on one side and pic on the other
 

This was undoubtedly one of the best ideas I’ve ever had and I will definitely be making more for gifts and for our future trips.
I still have not blogged or posted pics of half of our travels from 2008 and 2009 but if I’d had little books like these I know they would have been DONE by now! I used to blog ours but it got away from us.
How do you document your travel (international and domestic) adventures?

What do you think of my little book?
PS please spare a thought for my friend, Beth. It’s one year today since her son died so tragically.

Marcia gets crafty 5 – washi tape notebooks

After jazzing up the other notebooks with tape, I decided to go all out on these ones.

 

They are super easy.
  • Decide which colours of washi tape you’d like to co-ordinate and in which order.
  • The planning part for me is the most boring but I found when I started messing up the first one that it pays to plan. Who knew it works even with crafts?!
  • Thankfully, washi tape is so forgiving as you can pull off the same piece and re-apply it elsewhere.
  • These were jazzed up just a little more because they were gifts for friends (the orange stripey one is mine though) so I don’t have pics of the final versions with the punched circle tags

 

I am VERY happy with how these turned out.
What do you think?

Marcia gets crafty 4 – scrapbook paper noteboooks 1

It’s no secret that I love notebooks and paper 🙂

I’m not a scrapbooker but ever since I bought my first pad of scrapbook paper, I’ve been hooked.

The colours, the sturdiness, the ease of using it…

I decided to make some scrapbook notebooks after I saw a tutorial for something similar on a blog (in the days before pinterest) otherwise I’d link to it.

What you need:
scrapbook paper
hole punch
twine
gift tag (if gift)

How

  1. Take 4-5 sheets of scrapbook paper
  2. Fold them in half and tear down the middle. This is a great craft for recovering perfectionists. You will twitch at first at the thought of not cutting neatly but when you put it together and see how cute it looks and how the torn edges add to the cuteness, you’ll smile.
  3. Fold all the paper in half again.
  4. Punch along the folds (spine of the book) as far in as your punch will reach.
  5. Thread the twine through the holes (I’m afraid I was experimenting mostly and I still don’t have the exact method…) – keep going until your book feels secure. I don’t like flimsy so once I think it’s okay, I thread one more loop through.
  6. Make sure the twine is on the outside.
  7. Tie a lovely big bow and call it a day.
  8. I tie a gift tag to the twine with a “made for you by Marcia” note.

Quick, easy and very, very pretty.

What to use it for:

  1. A standard notebook
  2. A book of lists
  3. a year in review book (I’m keeping one this year and it’s been fabulous – I will blog at the end of December)
  4. Little scrapbook
  5. Journal

(all of these for you or a friend, of course)

Do you love notebooks and scrap paper too?

What do you use scrap paper for besides scrapbooking?

Marcia gets crafty 3 – washi tape binder clips

So I’m very slightly addicted to washi tape at the moment.

I get my packages delivered to work.

A package of lovely orange tape arrived for me and I couldn’t wait to start playing with it.

This is why all my boring black binder clips are all sporting orange at the moment.

So quick and easy and I did them all while chatting to a client on the phone 🙂

What’s this got to do with organising?

Well, we all know organising is MUCH more fun when things are pretty and when you’re happy to use them.

Do you like washi tape?

Have you decorated any of your office supplies yet?

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