Next up...

I think I'm going to make some of these next.

 

What do you think??

Covered Note Pad

Hi! Our first MOPS craft is a pretty covered notepad. The uses are endless for this notepad. I've used mine for a grocery list, sermon notes, and budget planning.It's fairly simple & very inexpensive, but the result is a beautiful, embellished notebook to record your thoughts.

SUPPLIES:
1- 12x12 scrapbook paper (two-sided is best, but one-sided works fine)
1- mini legal pad
2- 1/2 inch brads
1 length of twine, string, embroidery floss
2 - 8 inch pieces of ribbon
glue, sticky dots, or double-sided tape
scissors
hard edge to make a crease (credit card, craft stick, etc.)

1. Place the scrapbook paper right-side-down. Center the notepad about 1.5 inch down from the top & fold the paper down to crease.

2. Align the top of the notepad with the folded crease. Fold the bottom of the scrapbook paper up about 2.5 inches, to cover the back cardboard of the notepad. Crease the fold there.


3. Wrap the sides of the scrapbook paper around the notepad & gently crease the folds. The 2 sides should overlap about an inch or so. Take out the notepad & use the hard edge to crease the left & right folds.

(NOTE: using a hard edge will give you a more crisp fold, much like a greeting card's fold. You can fold it by hand & smooth the creases, but a hard edge will look more finished.)

4. Fold in the left & right flaps about 1/4 inch. (You can use a pencil to mark the line to make it easier to see where to fold.) Use the hard edge to crease the folds. Lightly glue the LEFT AND RIGHT folds down.

5. Glue a strip of ribbon to the inside edge of the left & right sides. This will cover the paper seams & make the inside of your notepad look pretty!

6. While the glue dries, choose 2 jeweled brads. Tie a short length of string to one brad. Use glue to reinforce the knot if needed.

(take a break to get the 2nd battery for the digital camera & to eat a bowl of cocoa krispies for lunch.)

7. Close the flaps & mark a spot about 1/2 inch from the opening. Pre-poke a hole for the brad with scissors, a sharp pencil, a toothpick, an earring post, etc.

8. Insert the brads into each hole & open the tabs to secure. Wrap the string around the brads in a figure-8 to close the cover of the notepad. Embellish the cover however you want!

Ta-Daaaa!

I'd love to see other people's version of this pretty little notebook. Send me a link in the comments & I'll be happy to post it here on the blog.

MOPS Creative Activities

So... here's the deal. (for all you invisible readers out there...)
I'm leading the Creative Activities for my MOPS group this year. This is such a great area for me to serve in because I'm a behind-the-scenes kind of girl who LOVES to be in the middle of everything. Just not in the front of it. ;-)

One of my personal goals this year for MOPS is for every mom to come away from the meetings with the knowledge that she is created in the image of a very Creative Creator. Every woman (every PERSON) has an innate ability to envision & create something unique and beautiful. No, not every mom is "crafty," and not everybody has 6 glue guns, let alone understands the mystery that is a Cool Hot Glue Gun. But, every mom can put elements together in a unique way to create something that didn't exist 20 minutes before. For the past several months, I've been on a search for simple, useful, and relevant crafts that fit within our group's budget & timeframe. It has been a challenge, but I've enjoyed the hunt. Pinterest has been quite the little helper, I might add. As of right now, I currently have 121 pins on my MOPS Crafts board. Eager much, Ginny?

With the budget I'm working with now, I think we will do 2, maybe 3 crafts this semester. For our first meeting, we'll make covered notepads that can be used for anything: grocery list, prayer requests, sermon/speaker notes, boredom doodles, etc. I'm gathering supply sources now, and I'll order the embellishments before the middle of next week.

I'm not sure what our other crafts will be this semester, but I'll choose the Christmas craft first, since it may just be the most expensive of all of them, then work my way back.

My other plan is to document & photograph each craft, step by step, so moms can easily see how it's done. We have access to the projector at the church, and I can hook up the ol' netbook & show photos and descriptions of each step. Then, if a mom is interested in doing more of the same craft, she can always come back here to my blog to find the instructions.

We also plan to bundle extra supplies together so moms can purchase additional "kits" for a very small fee. Any money made will go directly back into the craft budget. Woo!

So... those are my thoughts. I'll get started posting photos of our first craft really soon.

Long Time, No Blog!

So, it's been a while, I know. All zero of you have missed me greatly, I'm sure. ;-)
(I blog for me, so Pfffft.)(Did that just sound like a poot in your head too?)

I've discovered Pinterest & would like to be more deliberate about things I create. I don't want those boards over there to be a dumping ground for great ideas that are never realized. I have too much half-ass in my life, I don't need anymore.

Anyway, I'm going to put a link to my Pinterest boards SOMEWHERE on this blog, as soon as I can figure out how. Then, it's time to plan!

:-)