Friday, May 29, 2009

Decorative Binder Clips

I figured I would just jump on in with a tutorial. This is a simple project that I learned to make several years ago but forgot about them until I saw someone else making them. You know how it is, you learn something, make a bunch of them and then move on to other things and forget about things here and there. So anyways here we go. Be patient with me as this is my first ever tutorial.

1. Here is what we will be making today. You can use any paper that you like. I am catering to several people's likes thus the random camo, bright happy stripes, and purple pattern designs. I bought some zebra paper at Hobby Lobby the other day that I thought would be perfect for this. Photobucket

2. Here are the supplies you will need.
A. Cutting mat
B. Mod Podge ( I love this stuff )
C. Binder Clip
D. X-acto knife
E. foam brush
F. Paper of your choosing
G. template (I made one out of a business card I had gotten.) I used a tape measure to measure the binder clip and then created the template so I could just use the X-acto knife to cut around it. Makes is super easy!
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3. Cut out paper using cutting mat, template and X-acto knife.
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4. Use foam brush to spread a little Mod Podge on back of your paper. Remember a little goes a long way! I put down a piece of scrap paper to do this step so I won't have to scrub Mod Podge off of my cutting mat.
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5. Place the paper on the clip and line it all up. Make sure to press down on the bottom of the binder clip as it's a little rounded and the paper won't secure unless you press it down. Let dry for about 10 minutes.
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6. Now just put a small layer of Mod Podge over your paper to seal it in and keep it from tearing.
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7. Viola once the Mod Podge has dried you have a cute binder clip.
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I am making several of the zebra ones for my supervisor at work. I am making her a gift basket for her birthday that will have these, button tacks, magnets, and a notepad. All are going to be in the black and white theme and I may dress some of them up with my pink or red accents. I will post a picture of the finished basket.

If you make these I would love to see how your's turn out. I love seeing what all papers people choose to use.

Happy Crafting.

An Intro of sorts

Welcome to my little spot in the blog world. I am working at becoming a better wife, cook, organizer, crafter and overall person. I have so many goals and projects rattling around in my head that I thought I should put them down somewhere. So in no particular order things I want to achieve:

I want to cook more meals that my husband will actually like and want to eat again. He is the primary cook in our household. I am more of a baker.

I want to get our house organized and make it look more like a home and not a thrift store.

I want to work at losing weight so I can be healthier so we can start our family. This is slow going but frankly I need to step it up because I am not getting any younger. Baby clock is ticking.

I want to learn how to balance family, friends, work, life, fun, and responsibilities. I work shift work and am currently on midnight shift. I try to keep all the balls in the air but I know I am dropping them here and there. There has to be away to do it all..... right? So there you have just a few of my goals. Let's see how well I do at them!

A little about me. I am a police communications specialist (fancy title for police/fire/ems/911 dispatcher as well as records clerk) It's a stressful job but I do love it. I don't really care for the hours or the times I miss with my family and friends but I do get to work with a great group officers who have become my second family. I married my husband on Dec. 1, 2007 which was the best day of my life. I now know what it means to feel complete. I was raised with two older brothers so I have learned to be tough and to like sports. My husband likes this about me. My favorite thing to do is hang out with my and family and friends at a TCU (Texas Christian University) football game. Talk about relaxing and having a great time! I am a Horned Frog through and through. Go Frogs. I have a twisted sense of humor which I blame on my job and my family. My husband and I bought our house in Dec. of 2005. We have named our house the LazyMr. Our friends and family know it as such and when they are wanting to spend the night, they even call to reserve a room at the LazyMr. It's fun:) We have a lot of work to do on our house, paint, carpet, floors, cabinets, etc. It's a work in progress and I see it being so for a long time. I will share our progress as we go along.

Well I guess that's about it for the first post. Did I mention that I ramble? If I didn't I bet you figured it out didn't you! Anyway, Guess I will wrap it up! Hope you visit often and I look forward to getting to know my other crafty peeps!