Fiskars: Bottle Cap Magnet Tutorial

making a set of trendy bottle cap magnets is a super easy do-it-yourself project that is sure to boost your creative self-esteem. besides that, they make a lovely, unique gift for that person who has everything! it’s a simple as gathering some scraps of your favorite colors of patterned paper, a small amount of cardstock and a few matching gems, beads, and bottles of glitter.

 

they are super easy and very fun to make.  it's a project that even your tweens or teens can do unassisted and would make for the perfect back-to-school project to add a little bling, bling to their lockers, don't you think!?

learn how in my recent article for Fiskars: Bottle Cap Magnets by Tania Willis

if you give them a try, i'd love to see!  just use the link over there under my photo to email me, or leave a link in the comments.

happy crafting! :)

first day of school! first day of school!

it's the first day of school and i have two little girls who are super pumped to be back in class! i'm happy to report that there were no tears this morning, from myself or the girls...nothing but smiles. :)

they had the outfits planned down to the accessories, because all girls need to accessorize, ya know. they both have an infectious enthusiasm for school that is rooted deep within and i love that about them. totally ready to go learn.

little miss emma grace (aka: spidergirl) is in second grade now and totally marches to the beat of her own drum....can't you tell? LOL.  she normally isn't too overly concerned about what she wears and rathers I pick out her clothes for her, but when we were shopping a few weekends ago, I was trying something on and her and doug were browsing the little girls' section when they found this outfit.  one look at her with it on and those big brown puppy doug eyes asking "please, mommy?" and I was done for. she was sooooo excited for the first day of school to come so she could wear it.  she calls it her "old-school, school girl outfit". too cute.

so far this is the only back to school outfit we've purchased. she added the nerd glasses and is adamant about this being the outfit she's wearing for her fall school pictures too----with the glasses. i say, go for it, sister!

and yes, she totally went to class with the glasses on and was smiling so big i thought she might burst.  gosh, i love this kid.

this one here, miss ashlyn rose, is now a FIFTH grader!!! say it isn't so!  oh.my.word. excuse me while i hyperventilate and get my beating stick ready to club the boys who get too close. 

she, on the other hand, is very vocal about what she will wear and won't wear and never gives me the priveledge of picking out her outfits---but that's nothing new, she's always been that way.  and gosh, i love her too!

after an afternoon shopping, picking up bits and pieces at a few different stores, she was stoked to realize that nearly everything sparkled or had stars on it and put all together made for quite a cute little outfit. totally unplanned, but totally awesome.  jeans with stars? check. sequined tank? check. feather earrings with sparkle stars? check. sparkle start hairtie? check.

then, yesterday, we found the perfect zebra striped shoes that fits her style and wouldn't you know we couldn't have found a better pair of shoes to pull it all together! it's hard to tell from this photo, but the part of the pattern that looks white is actually shimmery silver. and even though they are laceless, she added sparkly turquiose laces to them too.

and i'm left here, as mama to a fifth grader and second grader, wondering when did they get so big and start looking so grown up? *sigh*

FISKARS: Trendy Locker Magnets

let's face it. lockers at the public schools are B-O-R-I-N-G!

kids need something to infuse a little personality into that space they will soon inhabit. so, i have a little idea to help you, help them add a little pizzazz to their locker.

i'm almost certain you have the few simple paper crafting supplies necessary to make this project a success. and might i add, it's a fun project to do together with your teen (or pre-teen)!

if you need something stronger than just a decorative magnet, then simply adhere the finished piece to a metal frozen juice lid for additional support and add a strong magnet to the back. then it can be use to hold up little notes, test reminders, etc.

you can also add a magnetic bulldog clip to the back so they can clip up things like: notes, lunch coupons, upcoming sporting event tickets, photos of friends, etc.

i think it would be super fun to leave these stuck to friends' lockers.....what do you say.
(and yes, i resisted the super strong urge to add 'maybe' on the bottom of this one. heee.)

anywho.
you can see the whole process in my latest project for Fiskars by clicking here: Trendy Locker Magnets by Tania Willis

if you give them a try, i'd love to see what you come up with! :)

the Willis' and the not bummer summer!

my presence in this space has decreased greatly over the last several months, but the fun and excitement we've been sharing as a family hasn't slowed a bit!  i just can't find enough hours in the day to blog about it all, LOL!

i have a backlog of photos and stories...that, honestly, i may or may not get around to ever sharing here.  hoping and aiming for more of the 'may' share rather than 'may not', but i can't make any promises.

life is busier than ever and is treating me better than i could have imagined looking forward from just a few years ago.  funny how time and patience changes things--and the right medical treatment (more on that later).

we're on a mission to finish out the summer just as strong as we started it with a goal of being able to say "2012 was the BEST summer EVER!" and totally a not bummer summer. :)

we've swam so much we look like wrinkled prunes. we've eaten enough popcicles to serve and army. we just returned from walking miles upon miles at the most magical place on earth! now, we're looking forward to a trip to the Ohio State Fair and giddy about taking the girls to their very first concert!

hard to believe the girls will be headed back to school in less than 3 weeks! guess i better get busy making lists of what clothing they need and start shopping for those supplies---my favorite part! i think i look forward to new school supplies more than the kids do. :)

i'll tell you what i am looking forward to come August 20th. i'm looking forward to reclaiming my daily 2-hour window of quiet studio time/blogging time once they are back in school!  i miss my uninterrupted morning time something fierce---but i still wouldn't trade the memories we're making to have it all back.

what kind of adventures has your summer taken you on?

back to school layouts...

while i've always been persistent about taking photos on the first day of school every year, i've never been one to really scrapbook those back to school pictures unless an assignment required me to. i'm not really sure why that is, i just haven't...until now. :)

Little Yellow Bicycle just released a school themed collection called Head of Class and i couldn't resist reaching for some of our older school photos---because we all know i'm not *that* on the ball with printing the new ones. LOL.

(spidergirl: preschool)

after making these projects, i've decided a few things:

• i quite like scrapbooking with this Head of Class collection. :)
• i'm wondering why i waited so long to scrap back to school photos---as they always show such cool growth from year to year.
• i'm going to journal about each year as if i wrote the journaling during the time period that they were in that grade.
• with these layouts i'm starting to build them each their "graduation party" album now. :) (YAY me for being on the ball!)
  

there is nothing really unique about this layout, just lots of layering. the number strip was cut using my Silhouette machine and Bazzill cardstock. the colors in this collection are very much primary colors and i didn't want to reprint the photo as black & white, so i used the number strip to pull in the pink from her outfit. journaling was typed using a typewriter and reads:

My goodness, look at you! You’re getting to be such a big girl now that you’re attending Preschool through (name withheld) at (location withheld) in (city withheld). Ms. Nicole and Ms Angie are your teachers and they tell me you absolutely adore being a preschooler, but can’t wait until you can ride the bus to school with your big sister. You’ve made quite a few friends in Preschool, but we often hear about your favorite friends as being two boys named Michael and Wyatt. You’re learning all the skills you need to become a successful Kindergarten student and you tell me your favorite part of the day is doing centers and you especially enjoy getting to spend time on the computer. I love that you’re excited about learning, Emma. Photo taken: 8/24/2009

(ashlyn: kindergarten)

this layout here is so funny to me because it's of ashlyn on her first day of kindergarten. she has somewhat of a special education history/story, so while her first day of kindergarten was sept 5, she will also have a layout of the first day of first grade on sept 23....the same year. :)

kindergarten lasted a whole 18 days. LOL.

the story of how all that happened will be journaled about on her 'first grade' page and more details of how we arrived at our decision to put her in a special needs class will be put on pages of her preschool year. most likely just copy/pasted right from my blog entries during those times. there really isn't much of a story to her kindergarten days....all two weeks of them.

i loved both of these pictures, but that didn't leave much room for my lengthy journaling, so i adhered the larger photo down both sides and along the bottom with no adhesive in the middle leaving a pocket to slip the journaling card down into.

again, the journaling was typed on my typewriter and reads:

Ashlyn, today is the first day of Kindergarten for you at (school withheld) in Mrs. (teacher withheld)'s class. This day couldn’t have come soon enough, as you love school and are more than ready for another year of learning! Deciding to hold you back from the full-day kindergarten class last year and placing you in a special needs class with Mrs. (teacher withheld) was the best decision we’ve made for your concerning your education. You grew by leaps and bounds both emotionally and socially. Her class also gave you the confidence and assurance that you needed being that you were entering an unfamiliar building and unfamiliar surroundings. I’m confident that occupational therapy at Children’s hospital coupled with the special attention received in Mrs. (teacher withheld) class has prepared you to have the most successful Kindergarten year you could possibly have. You’re one brilliant little girl and I can’t wait to see how well you’ll transition and excel in your new classroom. Photo taken 9/5/2008

if you have other questions that i didn't answer about the layouts, just let me know in the comments. :)