Some Assembly Required February Challenge

I'm not sure if I posted about this site, but there is a brand new blog that deals with the altered arts. Each month they post a challenge to alter a particular object. For those who participate their name is entered into a drawing for a great prize. For the month of February the challenge was to alter a cigar box. It took me forever to find one, but I finally did and here's how it turned out.

Sorry the picture is so small. I just realized I deleted the larger pics accidently. The journaling on the front says "Strength comes in numbers." The journaling on the inside cover says "When a man stands alone he can be easily broken, but when he stands together with his family and friends nothing can break him." The L side has a broken pencil attatched and the R side has seven pencils bound together. We recently used this object lesson with our kiddos and I wanted them to have a constant reminder of that lesson.

BTW the March SAR challenge is to alter a letter or a word.

Scrapbooker Online turns 3!!!

In celebration of Scrapbooker Online turning 3 they are hosting a weekend crop starting February 29. Get your pictures read and come join the fun. For more details click here.

I'll leave you with a pic of a bird I altered yesterday. Nathan found the bird in the clerance section at Target. It was all blue and not something I would typically pick up, but I saw what it could be and just had to get it. Here's how it turned out:

In order to get the paper to cover the bird and not drive myself crazy with measurements and cutting I decided to use the paper mache method. I cut the paper into small strips and the crumpled them up to make them softer and more moldable. I then attatched them to the bird with Mod Podge. After the strip was attached I applied more Mod Podge to the top and rubbed the strip with my finger to make sure all the air bubbles were out. Once the bird was finished I painted the base and hot glued some Making Memories leaves to the base. I then added flowers, brads and gems to complete the look. I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Unmounted Stamp Storage

I used to keep my stamps in the original packaging and they barely fit into a photo box. I decided that I really needed a new way to store my stamps so this is what I came up with...




This lunch box is roughly half the size of the photo box I was using and it fits all of my stamps with plenty of room for future stamps. It can also fit my acrylic blocks but I'm not sure I want to do that at this point.

Here's what I did:
1. I bought a lunch box from Hobby Lobby and altered it.

2. I took some laminating sheets and ran them through the laminator.
3. I cut the laminated sheets to fit the box, in this case the sheets were cut down to 4x7 sheets.
4. I took all my stamps out of the original packaging and sorted them by category. ie: journaling stamps, swirls, sentaments, flowers, etc.
5. I placed the stamps on the 4x7 laminated sheets using the front and the back.
6. I made tabbed divider cards for each catagory.
7. I placed all my stamps and dividers in the box in the order I typically use the stamps.

Need to try something different.

Ok. I've kind of lost my blogging mojo so I think it's time to try something different. You know how some people have an idea jar on their scrap table for when they need a kick in the pants? Well I think that's what I need for blogging. I think I'll make one of those. So what could go in it? Maybe color schemes or color meanings? Maybe featured LO's from some of the message boards I'm on? Products I love? New techniques? Project step-by-steps? Well I'll get to thinking about that and I'll be back soon with some more frequent posts.