Crafts

Ruffled Apple Pencil Holder // Back to School

1 · Aug 11, 2013 · 3 Comments

Back to School // Hello fabulous Whipperberry readers! Jenn here from Clean and Scentsible! I am back today with a cute and easy teacher gift idea for you. Yes, unfortunately {or fortunately for some of you!} it is almost back to school time!

One of my favorite projects from last year were these ruffled pumpkins. With just a little change of color and a few different embellishments, this idea was easily able to be adapted into this ruffled apple pencil holder.

Materials

4 inch Styrofoam ball
straight pins
red felt {I used approximately 10 8.5 x11 inch felt sheets}
green material or felt scrap {big enough to cut two leaves}
hot glue {optional}
pencil or pen
3 inch punch or other circular shape to trace for the felt circles
mini-chalkboard {optional}

To Do

Cut out or use a paper punch to create a circular template that is approximately 3 inches in diameter. If you are using the 8.5 inch felt sheets like I did, you may want to trim this down just a bit so you can get 3 circles across.
Cut out your felt circles. I'm not sure exactly how many I did but definitely over a 100. Place 2 or 3 sheets of the felt together when you are cutting so you can cut out multiple circles at one time. It's a great mindless activity to do while you are watching your favorite television show! 🙂
Using a knife, cut a small sliver off the bottom of the Styrofoam ball so that it will sit flat.

Using a pen or pencil slightly larger than your pencil width, poke a hole through the center of your ball. {this should run the full diameter of the ball}.
Take a felt circle, fold it in half and then fold it in half again. Place a straight pin through the pointy part of your felt circle and pin it to your Styrofoam ball. Start at the top of the ball and work your way down and around the ball overlapping your circles as you go.

The last row of pins on the bottom of the apple were a little loose and a couple of them were starting to pop out so I hot glued one more circle over top to cover the pins up and ensure that they stayed in place. It gives it a much more finished look as well.

I have had these mini-chalkboards lying around in my stash forever and I can't remember where I purchased them from. I just used one for my picnic caddy and had one left over. I just used a little stain to darken up the wood and added the teacher's name with a chalk pen. I used another straight pin to attach it to the apple.

Cut out a couple of leaf shapes from the green material and pinch at one end. The "pinch" will let it stand up more. Pin to your apple near the top.

Now just add your pen or pencil and you are all ready to go! It's a unique and functional gift for your kiddos to give to their favorite new teacher!

For those of you that are already looking ahead to fall, here are a few ideas to get you started….

Ruffled Pumpkin

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
Pumpkin Soap

Enjoy the rest of your summer and I hope you all have a smooth Back to School transition! 🙂

Silhouette CAMEO GIVEAWAY & Vinyl Promotion

4 · Aug 5, 2013 · 323 Comments

Silhouette Affiliate Post // It's Silhouette Promo time again and this month it's a DOOZIE!! It's a fabulous deal on my favorite Silhouette products, the CAMEO & their Premium Vinyl. As an added goodie, I'm giving away a Silhouette CAMEO to one lucky WhipperBerry friend!

I made a quick little chalkboard with the Silhouette Chalkboard Vinyl that literally took me 20 minutes to make, start to finish.

All you need is an inexpensive clipboard that you can find at most major retailers, some Silhouette Chalkboard Vinyl & a Silhouette CAMEO. I designed my chalkboard using a classic frame shape from the Silhouette Store and then I added the cut-out "to do list" using the SNF Miss Molly font.

I love the peak-a-boo lettering! This whole project is SUPER simple and would make a great gift for new teachers, new students, new friends… basically anyone! I cut out the vinyl on my CAMEO and then using the Silhouette Transfer Tape, transferred the vinyl to the clipboard, added a cute bow and voilá, it was finished.

Need a CAMEO? Need to stock-up on some vinyl? This is the week to do just that! Silhouette is running an amazing promotion for all our vinyl loving friends out there…

Click here to visit the Silhouette Shop to cash in on this great deal!!

If you're feeling lucky, you can enter to WIN a SILHOUETTE CAMEO!

Follow the directions in the Rafflecopter box below to enter. This giveaway is open from August 6-11 with the winner announced via Facebook and email on August 12th. This giveaway is open to anyone with a shipping address within the United States.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer // I am a Silhouette affiliate. I was not paid for this post, but I will receive a percentage of the sales made from this post.

Contributor Update

0 · Aug 5, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Contributor Update from DecoArt & Pillsbury // Hey there friends! This last weekend was kind of crazy around these parts… We are actually MOVING again! We finally found a home here in Lincoln that will fit our family sooooo much better than the one we are in right now. Thank goodness. It' s been a long 11 months in our Craig's List, site-unseen, rental adventure. "Anyone can do anything for a year," has been my mantra for the last 11 months. It's been a good growing experience for the whole family. I will however, miss the fabulous yard and the Little Red Barn! I may have to build my own little red barn at the new house.

I wanted to give you an update on what I've been up to over at the two sites that I contribute to each month, the new DecoArt blog and Pillsbury.

DecoArt Blog // Inspirational Lazy Susan

Today, on DecoArt I'm sharing how to make my Inspirational Lazy Susan…

It's a fun piece that I created using one of Rhonna Designs quotes that I think is a great reminder for everyone each day. Not only is it a fun lazy susan, but I coated it with DecoArt's Clear Chalkboard Coating so that you can write little reminders on it as well. It's so fun… For the full tutorial visit the new DecoArt Blog!

Pillsbury // Easy Thai Chicken Salad with Scallion Pancakes

Over at Pillsbury I'm sharing a FABULOUS chicken dish that if you are a Thai lover, you're going to die for!! It's an easy week night Thai Chicken Salad with Scallion Pancakes…

It's super easy and you'll never believe how I made the Scallion Pancakes. Come on over to Pillsbury.com to learn the secret and for the recipe!

DIY Polka Dot Notebook for Back to School

2 · Jul 31, 2013 · 10 Comments

This post brought to you by DecoArt // Back to school is right around the corner for my kiddos and it's time to start working on dressing up our school supplies. I am Target's biggest fan and have been since birth, so… A few trips to Target is a must before school starts. I've been loving the Greenroom line of school supplies and found a fun notebook that I thought would look extra special with some gold polka dots!

Doesn't it look extra special now? This is a perfect project for your kiddos to create some fun notebooks for themselves or to create a fun teacher gift for their new teacher. It's super easy, here is what you will need…

Polka Dot Notebook Supplies

Find a fun notebook.

Select a coordinating paint color from the full line of DecoArt paints. I used Americana Multi-Surface Satin in Muted Gold. These paints are available at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, A.C Moore and other fine craft retailers.
Large Foam Paint Brush.
Cardboard diamond that I cut out myself.

Polka Dot Notebook Instructions

Open up your notebook and lay as flat as possible on a protected table.
Use your paint cap a your paint supply, this way you don't have to create any waste. Just pour little bits of paint in the cap and when you are finished, just rinse it out, dry completely and replace on the paint bottle.
Take your large foam paint brush and dip the tip of the handle into the paint lid and load with a small amount of paint. Then using your cardboard diamond as a guide (a trick I learned from one of my contributors Haley from Life is Sweet) carefully place your polka dots.
Let dry over night to ensure that the paint has completely dried. My polka dots were pretty thick so that couldn't see the notebook through the paint so it took a bit for it to dry.

Like I said before, this would be fun for your kiddos or for a teacher gift for the first day of school.

On August 14th I will be sharing this fun printable tag with the Printable Club that you can use to create a super fun teacher gift for your kiddos new teacher.

Pair your polka dot notebook with a coordinating spiral notebook, some fun pencils and a Target gift card and you'll have one happy teacher!!

Disclaimer // This post brought to you by DecoArt. I am a member of the DecoArt Core Blogger Team and did receive product and payment for this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own!