After their announcement 10 days ago, I've been DYING to make a shirt and bag about the New Kids on the Block. I'm so sad that I don't have all of my old stuff but I still have some goodies! Once I make the shirts, I'll post them too. 




Not sure why the second one is so big, but whatever.

[size=10pt]YAY NKOTB!!![/size]

[$70]

I was looking for ideas on how to design something for my two cats and printed a few "cat condos" from online. My dad saw one of them had the dimensions and started measuring it out to see if it would be big enough for my two cats. We had to customize it because my boy is large (not far, just big) and ended up changing the size of the houses and platforms but it turned out great!




What do you think? TJ seems to be pleased!

Materials:
1 sheet of plywood = $20
Old landscaping posts  =  free
900 feet (seriously) of sisal rope = $50
5 yards of carpet = free scraps under 6 yards!  (insides, tops and sides are all covered)

TOTAL: $70   (compared to the one online for $189)

I imagine if I could've bought the sisal online, it would've been cheaper but we got on a roll and did all but the carpet in one day. It wasn't that hard either. The only bad thing is that I had major hand-cramps from the staple gun. 

[FYI, the platforms were connected last, after they were carpeted, so we can remove them to move it out of the room. Otherwise, its short and skinny enough to fit perfectly through the door.]

I hope you like it! 

I've been working on this for at least a year because I'm too afraid to commit to any recipe box designs. 

I used 5x7" scrapbook pages called Once Upon A Time (by DCWV). I tried to paint the box to resemble them and this is how it turned out. (I'm going to add ribbons and embellishments but it took me a year to paint it so who knows when I'll get to that!) Oh, and I've already Mod Podge'd it because I didn't want the glitter getting in my food. 



Some of my recipes. The lighter colored ones have the recipes printed on them but the darker ones I printed on white paper and stuck that on the pretty page. (Most have photos but not all of them.)


Before (if you're curious)


Thanks for looking!!!

I've become really crazy about making these simple altered journals and I've been on a binge for a few days now. It all started with my parents Alaska travel log: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=190162.msg1997211#msg1997211

Here are a few more I've done in the last 24 hours. My best friend works with the Packers so she asked that I make her one for keeping notes about the games and stuff, the other is going to be my new planner/organizer.

Sorry for the big pics! Again, I don't know what's going on...

Green Bay Packers notebook:

2007 Schedule

Organizer:

October got stickers but most didn't
I had to use my Quikutz 

My parents are leaving in 4 days to go on their first ever 2 week vacation (without us kids). They're going to Alaska where they're going to take a land tour for a week and then a week-long cruise. They've been planning this for years and they're so excited about it that I thought I would make them a travel log to keep track of what happens there. I know they'll have a lot of stories for us!

I bought this terribly ugly (but sturdy) notebook on clearance for $2 and all I had to buy was one sheet of scrapbook paper. All together it cost about $2.75 in with tax. 



On the inside I glued a library pocket for the note from my brother and me and some money to put toward their trip. I also used travel rub-ons throughout for a little bit of interest 



I used double-sided tape and taped two sides shut to make pockets for brochures, postcards, etc. Those are where the chipboard tabs are (two on top, two on the side). I painted the tabs to match the big brown "a" (for Alaska). I was really surprised that everything held so well. I just used a spray adhesive-- even on the "a"-- for everything but the flower where I used a drop of hot glue.

I like things pretty simple so I was pretty excited about it-- plus I didn't want anything that my dad would be too embarrassed to be seen with 

PS: I have no idea why these images are so big. Sorry!

I was at JoAnn's one day and I saw this adorable chest that I really loved--- but not for $60! I found a junky (pretty disgusting actually) jewelry box for $2 and figured I'd give it a try. (Officially my idea came JoAnn's but since I've made my box, I've seen it done here many times and its even on Mod Podge's website.)

Unfortunately I don't have a before pic but basically the jewelry box was one of those that they sell at K-Mart at Christmas time for like $20. It had hooks inside the lid for necklaces and a little tray for rings and things. It even had a deep pull-out drawer underneath that but that's all gone now. I stripped the inside, took off all the hardware, patched up the holes (and glued the front of the drawers to the box), painted it black, and mod-podged this beautiful fabric to the outside. Oh, and I put a mirror inside the lid because it was there and why not? I think I might glue two black knobs on the front just for interest's sake but that's for later!




It was a lot of fun to make and I definitely recommend it! The fabric worked okay but the Mod Podge soaked in so the white wasn't as vibrant as I would've liked but after a few tries, I decided it was good enough.   I've already decided I'm making a box like this with vibrant scrapbook papers to hold my friend's birthday present.

Happy crafting!