DIY Photo Board for Food Photography...

 

A few months ago, I decided to make my own photo board to use for all of my food photography. Honestly, it was sooo much easier than I thought it would be!

I wanted a simple DIY project that did not include me building anything. This photo board was completed in only a few simple steps......

...... SCORE!

Mama loves an easy project! I still need to get in gear and finish three other boards. I'm planning on making a white board, a teal blue board, and an espresso stained board.

Let's start off with what you will need!

Supplies:

• One, 2ft. x 4ft. piece of plywood, cut in half to make two, 2ft. x 2ft. square boards. 

Home Depot will cut the wood for FREE! I bought two pieces of plywood and had them cut, to total four boards.

• Sandpaper and/or a sanding block. 

The roughness of the plywood will determine what sandpaper you use. I used 120 (medium) grit and 220 (finishing) grit.

• Tack cloth.
•  Non-toxic acrylic paint, one base coat color and one accent color.

I used Delta Creative Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint in Pearl Finish for my base and Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint in Wet Cement for my accent.

• Paint brush or a large foam brush.
• An old (clean) rag or old (clean) t-shirt.
• Safety glasses and a sanding respirator. 

You certainly don't want any of the sanding particles getting in your eyes or lungs!

Instructions:

1.) Sand the best side of the board and the sides of the board down, starting with the lowest grit of sandpaper. Sand until smooth and there aren't any more splinters. Finish sanding with the higher grit of sandpaper.

2.) Wipe the surface of the sanded board with a tack cloth, or other clean cloth, to get any fine sanding particles off before painting.

3.) Using a paint brush, paint the board using the base coat, in long strokes. Painting with the grain of the board. If applying a second coat, allow the paint to dry completely.

4.) Either on the first coat or second coat (depending on how many coats you apply) of the base coat, when it is still a bit tacky, apply the accent color using the rag or t-shirt. Squeeze small amounts of the accent color in different areas of the board and wipe along the grain of the board. Apply the accent color in as many areas as you like.

5.) Allow the board to dry completely before using.

Now how easy is that!?!

I don't have an exact total on the cost... since I can't find my receipts. I already had the paint brush, tack cloth, and respirator, so those were of no cost. With the cost of the other items, I'm pretty sure I spent around $28 for this project. That includes the other half of the unfinished plywood. So with the cost of some other paint, you have potentially two finished boards!

This project is so worth it if you do a ton of food photography! Now, to get to those other boards.....

Valentine Heart Garland...

You know.... if there's such a thing as re-incarnation, I must have had a previous life as a 19th or early 20th Century British woman.

I kid you not. 

I mean... it totally explains my love of Jane Austen and my love of any British period piece television series or miniseries, such as Downton Abbey and Cranford.

I'm totally obsessed with anything remotely related to Queen Victoria of Great Britain. 

Sherlock Holmes is my hero. Yeah, he pretty much rocks...... 

Anyway, I also love paper crafts... which I think were pretty popular during that period. I thought I'd make a cute paper heart garland for Valentine's Day. 

Here's what I did...

 

You're going to need three different patterns of 12 x 12 paper (2 pieces for your base and 1 of each for the second and third layer), ribbon, and knitting thread (optional). I found this Martha Stewart knitting yarn at my local craft store and had to buy it. I loved how it sparkled!

You'll also need three heart cookie cutters, all in different sizes. A pencil for tracing, scissors for cutting, a hole punch, and double sided tape.

On the back of the base paper, trace the largest heart cookie cutter. Trace the medium and small heart on the backs of the other papers. Cut them out.

Layer and tape the hearts onto each other. Use the hole punch to punch a hole toward the top of the hearts for hanging.

Cut about 8 or 10 inches of ribbon or knitting thread. Pull it through the hole and tie the hearts onto a longer piece of ribbon.  I knotted the knitting thread onto the longer piece of ribbon and then cut the excess off. I did this so the hearts wouldn't slide around when I went to hang the garland.

Perfect for some Valentine's Day decor!

Teacher Appreciation Notepad and Pen Set...

 

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2nd - May 6th and I've got a couple of cute ideas that your kids teacher will love....... trust me, okay. 

The first idea is this notepad and pen set. It's a lot fun and your kids can help you put it all together!

Supplies:

• 5 x 8 in./ 12.7 x 20.3 cm legal pads
• Clear re-fillable pens, the larger the better
• 3-4 Decorative 12 x 12 scrapbooking papers, coordinating solids and prints
• Themed embellishments and/or stickers
• Double-sided tape 
• A paper cutter

Begin by measuring a paper of your choice to fit as the cover of your notepad. Measure an inch longer at the top so it folds over the top of the notepad, covering the binding. Next, place double-sided tape along the entire front and back of the top binding... as shown below:

Place the cover on the front of the notepad and secure it in place, folding the extra inch of paper over the pre-taped binding. Now you can start cutting your coordinating paper and adding your embellishments and/or stickers how you would like.

I chose to cut different sized rectangles in different papers to layer on my cover. I then vertically placed three apple sticker embellishments down the center.

For the pen, unscrew the top and remove the ink stem. Measure and cut coordinating paper to fit in the pen. Using the ink stem as a guide, roll the paper tightly around it. Place both the ink stem and paper back into the pen and screw the top back on. The larger the pen, the easier it is to fit both stem and paper back into the pen.

There you go! A cute, fun, and crafty Teacher Appreciation gift that just screams THANK YOU!!! 

I've got another super Teacher Appreciation idea that I will be posting soon...... stay tuned!

Decorative Paper Flowers...

 

Since I haven't posted a craft tutorial in quite awhile, and I need to add to my Ideas page, I thought I would share this fun decorative project with you.

This is a super cheap way to add decor to a party... and I LOVE anything that saves me a buck or two!

There are a few steps in creating these paper flowers, but I think it is well worth it. You'll end up with an adorable decoration that you can hang from your patio, above a dessert bar, or along your staircase... as I have done.

So, let's get going.

Supplies:

• 6 paper bags, such as colorful lunch bags- per flower
• A ruler
• A pencil
• Scissors
• A hole punch
• Double sided tape
• String
• An object with a rounded edge, such as a cup saucer

Step 1:

Fold the bottom of each bag down on it's self and with a ruler, draw a

straight line just above the crease at the bottom.

You will be cutting this section of

the bag off later:

Step 2:

Measure and mark the center of the top of each bag with a ruler and pencil:

Step 3:

Measure from the center point, diagonally... your preference... on each side of the bags: 

Step 4:

Take a saucer, or another object with a rounded edge, and connect the two points

on each bag. This will make the petal shape:

Step 5:

Cut along your pencil marks and punch a hole just above the base of each bag.

Place double sided tape as shown below. Stack and tape all the bags together.

Cut the string to your desired length and loosely tie a knot to secure it:  

Step 6:

Fan out your bags, pull the two ends together, and tape them to secure.

Place the string along the center of the two ends before securing.

This will help it to hang evenly:

If you want to get all fancy, use crafting scissors that have the decorative edges to cut your petal shape.

I'm linking this post up to Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It.

I hope you'll enjoy making these nifty paper flowers...

Welcome!

  Hi there, so glad you could join me for my first blog post! I know you can't see me, but I'm jumpin' up and down with excitement...whoohoo...... OK I'm done now. Forward, marching on...

After a lot of thought, I've decided to throw my girls a Valentine's Day Party. The invites are out, so now I'm definitely committed... no turnin' back now. The party planning begins! How does one entertain 11 and 6 year old girls, you ask... because you gotta keep them busy. After a visit to my local craft store for some ideas, I decided that they could decorate photo frames. To keep it inexpensive I've chosen magnetic ones. I'll just pat myself on the back, thank you. If you'd like to know how to make them, keep on reading...

So, you'll need:

Various Valentine themed stickers
Valentine themed adhesive borders (for scrap booking)
3 1/2 x 5 in Magnetic Frames (or any size you'd like, not smaller though)

... and the fun begins. After you have determined what you want your frame to look like, cut the adhesive borders to size. Peel and stick to the frame. Do the same with the themed stickers. Just make sure to stay close to the border so you can see the picture once inserted in the frame.

... and Voila! A lovely Valentine picture frame...