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DIY laptop cover

/ TakeTimetoCreate / 3 Comments

Hello everyone!

The other day I was working on my laptop and just kept getting distracted about how boring it is. I mean, the laptop is just black, no color at all. And you all know me by now, so you know that this just won’t do. I had to fix it!

DIY laptop cover

See much better!

Materials:

~ Laptop or any electronic

~ contact paper (I found mine on Amazon)

DIY laptop cover

~ Letter stickers (I found mine on Amazon)

~ Exacto knife and scissors

 

Instructions

~ Cut your contact paper a little bigger than the laptop

DIY laptop cover

~ Slowly and carefully peal the back off the contact paper and adhere to your laptop. Try to keep it straight and try and keep the bubbles out. I still ended up with bubbles, but that is ok. I think it adds to the creativity

~ Once the contact paper is on then carefully trim the edges with an Exacto knife. Smooth it all down and make sure it is secure

DIY laptop cover

 

~ I love the chevron pattern, but I felt like it needed more so I added the purple, glitter letters. I think that was the right touch.

DIY laptop cover

IMG_0106

DIY laptop cover

 

 

That is it! It is a great way to add character and personality to you electronics, and I already feel more productive!

And the best part is this was easy enough that you can change your design often. I have seen some really cute contact paper designs at the dollar store.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

/ TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

Hello Everyone!

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

I just had to make this clutch all because of this fantastic pair of shoes! (I think all great stories start with shoes)

 

Anyway, here is the story, my cousin is getting married on Sat (YAY) I am so happy for him. (His bride-to-be is wonderful and I think they will be very happy together. )

And since I have these great shoes that I never get to wear (they are a little impractical for work, haha) I decided to wear them to the wedding. Buuuut, I didn’t have a clutch to match. So I decided to make one.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

Aren’t these shoes great?

Anyway here is how to make this DIY Rhinestone Clutch.

Material:

~ Fabric (I am using a faux leather that I had in my craft room, but any fabric that is slightly stiff will work. I did not line it, but you can if your fabric is not stiff enough)

~ zipper (I am using a plastic zipper that I had laying around, it is not the perfect red, but I think it works)

~ Sewing Machine, or needle and thread

~ Rhinestone and glue (I used Aleene’s jewel it glue)

~ Decoration for zipper if desired

 

Instructions:

~ First cut your clutch. I cut 2 pieces that were 10 inches x 6 inches. (this was big enough to put my lipstick, phone, gum, and blotting papers in)

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

~ Once your fabric is cut them measure your zipper. If it is too long then measure how long you want it, then place a few stitches there. Once it is secure then cut off the excess.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

~ Next is place the fabric on the zipper and sew the fabric on the zipper. I held it together with tape since I didn’t want puncture holes in it from needles.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

~ Do this step to both sides of the zipper

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

 

~ Turn your work so that right sides are together and stitch around the edges. Make sure you leave the zipper open so you can get your hand in to turn your work right side out.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

~Once you have stitched all 3 sides turn your work right side out and there you have a really cute new clutch!

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

~ Ok by now you all know me well enough that you know I can leave anything that plain. I just knew it needed rhinestones. So I placed dots of glue in a swirl type pattern all over the clutch. Then I decided that wasn’t quite enough Smile so I added to wonderful broach that my mom gave me, with a little ribbon, I thought it was the perfect accent to the clutch.

 

 

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

There you have it. What do you think? Pretty easy right. Now on the the wedding celebration on Sat.

DIY Rhinestone Clutch

Making a Dollar Store Cell Phone Case Super Cute

/ TakeTimetoCreate / 2 Comments

Hello everyone!

Once again I found myself at the Dollar Store. I always seem to find something I just *need* when I go. Well this time I found all these super cute cell phone cases. If you follow me in Instagram you already know all about them. you can follow me at @taketimetocreate on Instagram

Dollar store cell phone case diy

I will show you what I did with each case and have fun making your own!

Materials:

You will need a variety of materials, I just depends on what you want to do. Here is a short list of some of the things I used:

~ Glue ( I used E-6000 and Loctite)

~glitter

~stickers

~rhinestones

~Soft gloss gel paint medium

~mica powder

~Chip board letters

Instructions:

1st case

For the first case I decided that it needed glitter! So I coated the outside of the case with a layer of E6000.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

Sprinkle glitter on it, shaking off the excess.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

Once it is dry coat it with a layer of Mod Podge to keep the glitter from going everywhere.

Dollar store cell phone case diy 

I love how it turned out!

2nd Case

This one I just wanted to put a pink rhinestone where the plaid patter intersects.

Just put a dab of E6000 where you want the rhinestone and put the stone on the case. To make things easier I use a syringe when doing precision gluing and a wax tipped tool to help pick up the rhinestone.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

I forgot to take a pic when I was done, but you get the idea! Smile

3rd Case

This beautiful swirly case needed some rhinestones. I just found some swirly ones and put Locktite glue on the stickers and added them to the case.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

It was quick and easy, and I love the added detail to the case.

 

Dollar store cell phone case diy

4th Case

This one was just as easy as the rest. I just used some chevron stickers to add detail to the white areas.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

Just be sure to glue the sticker down with Locktite

Dollar store cell phone case diy

Fun!

5th Case

This one is fun. The pattern was already bold, but I thought it needed more. So I added a chipboard letter and parentheses with Loctite and it is good to go!

I really like how this one turned out.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

6th Case

last but not least. This one was a little more involved, but not much. The case was not plastic, but more like a fabric on the area I painted.

I used come soft gloss gel and mixed in some Mica Powder on a small plate. You only need a little bit of each.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

Then I painted stripes and blended them together.

This one was fun to make and I have to say I love how it turned out.

Dollar store cell phone case diy

 

have you decorated a dollar store cell phone case? If you have I would love to see it!

Alter a Statement Necklace into a Hair Barrette

/ TakeTimetoCreate / Leave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I am showing you how I altered another one of those Statement Necklaces I got from Wal-Mart a few months ago. In case you forgot about these Statement Necklaces  here are a few posts about how I altered different necklaces.

You can see them Here, Here, and Here

Part of this necklace will become a new, pretty barrette.

alter a necklace into a barrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Materials:

~ Statement Necklace

~ Wire cutters

~ Glue (I used E-6000)

~ Barrette or alligator clip

~ Nail Polish, I used this LA Colors nail polish from the Dollar Store and for the glitter top coat I used a Wet n Wild glitter top coat.

alter necklace into a barrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions:

~ Here is my necklace in all its glory. There are a ton of colors going on and it is too much, even for me.  Here is a side by side image with what I started with and what I ended up with.

Alter necklace to a barrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the first thing you do is take  your wire cutters and cut the necklace apart. You want to separate the clusters.

 alter necklace into a barrette alter necklace into a barrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Then I painted all the multicolored sections with nail polish a beautiful blue. In hindsight I probably should have painted a base coat of white before I painted the blue, you can see that the colors are slightly different, but not too much. I put on about 3 coats.

alter a necklace into a barrette

~ it is pretty, but it needed a little sparkle. So I painted a glittery top coat. Ahh, much better. You can see the glitter in this pic.  Let it dry completely

alter necklace into a barrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Glue a barrette or alligator clip to the back and you are done.

 

Nice and easy, and it looks so cute.

 

alter necklace into a barrette

Vintage Button Magnets

/ TakeTimetoCreate / 6 Comments

So as you all probably know by now I love buttons. I made this letter S a few years ago and I still love it. Buttons are so much fun to go through and sort and reminisce about. I think they are one of my favorite crafting item.

So I made another craft with buttons. This time I made button magnets.

In addition to the crafting I decided to reopen my Etsy store and sell some of the things I make here on this blog. Stop by and check it out: TakeTimeToCreate.

Here is how you can make your own button magnets

Materials:

~ Buttons (so many buttons!!! And this is only a small portion of what my mom gave me! She is the best!)

Box of buttons     Buttons

~ Magnets

~ Glue (I am using my trusty E-6000)

~ Clippers or something to cut the shank off

 

Instructions

~ prep the buttons. You might need to clean them a bit or snip off the shank. Be careful because pieces of plastic might go flying.

Cut off the shank

~ Stack the buttons to create a different looks. Glue the stacks as necessary.

layer the buttons     layer the buttons

~ Glue the back of the button and add the magnet

Glue on the back of buttonAdd magnet to backAdd magnet to Button

~ Wait for them to dry and then put them up on your fridge. You can see I use them to hold pictures of Cole. I love his monster and dino magnets he made when he was little. So cute! Sigh he is not so little anymore.

Stay tuned for DIYs on how I made the little canvas magnets and the bottle glass magnets.

Display button magnet     Display button magnet

Here are some of the completed magnet sets that I have on Etsy just to give you an idea of what you can do with magnets and buttons. These make great house warming gifts!

Button magnets     Button magnets

Button magnets     Button magnets

Make Yarn Out of an Old T-shirt

/ TakeTimetoCreate / 3 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I hope your years is getting off to a great start. I am pretty excited because I have started on a project that I have been wanting to get started on for a long time. I got this huge stack of old t-shirts that had the wrong logo on them (this pic is only part of what I got). And since the shirts can’t be sold my friend gave them to me to make into yarn. This is not a new technique, but it is new to me and I am pretty excited in how it turned out. It is a perfect activity to do while I am watching TV. I am only part way through the stack, but eventually I will be done and then I am going to make rugs out of the yarn. Great way to upcycle old t-shirts and make something new.

stack of shirts

I didn’t connect the balls of yarn to make one big ball because I am not sure if I am going to braid the rug or crochet it. (if I crochet the rug I will need to combine the yarn, if I braid it then I will need to sew together the strips.) Either way when I do the rug I will be sure to do a  tutorial for you guys.

Here is how you turn in old t-shirt into yarn.

Materials

~Old T-shirt (make sure it is washed, if it is new this will take the sizing out and if it is from a thrift store it will make sure it is clean)

~ Scissors

~ ruler if you want, I didn’t use one but a ruler might make it easier to cut the strips.

Instructions

~ Lay the clean shirt on a flat surface. As you can see from the pics I am working on the floor, but that is just my preference. Make sure the shirt is flat and as smooth as possible.

~Cut the top off right under the sleeves. (I am keeping this top part, not sure what I am going to do with them but I just can’t throw it away) Then Cut off the bottom hem. (I threw that part away)

 

Cut top and bottom off

top cut offbottom cut off

~ Then you want to cut the remaining shirt into strips. I cut mine about 1-1.5” wide.

***This is Important! Make sure you don’t cut all the way to the top! You will need this uncut area to make the yarn into one continuous length.

cut into strips

angeled cuts to make 

(This is what the top looks like with the uncut areas. You will cut it at an angle to make the strips, starting at the right end)

~ For this part refer to the pics, and please let me know if you have any questions.

To make the yarn cut off starting at the last strip and make an angle cut to the edge. Then cut the rest of the strips in an angle until you get to the end. I place the shirt on my arm and make the cuts on there, that just helps me keep track of were I need to go next.

 

cutting t shirt yarnwhere to cut for t shirt yarn

~ Once you have cut the entire shirt you should have on long length of T-shirt Yarn. Then gently stretch the yarn and then wrap it into a ball. I made individual balls because I am not sure if I want to combine them into one length or not, but this way I am keeping it all nice and neat until I am ready to use it.

stretch yarnwrap yarn

I know this may seem a little confusing, but I am here if you have any questions. Have any of you made t-shirt yarn before? I would love to some tips and tricks to make it better and or easier.