How To Make Stamps Out Of Wine Corks...

Well... my new venture (Bits of Envy on Etsy) has started off with a bang!  Within less than a week, I had three orders.  One of them shipped to Australia...So... I guess I can now say Bits of Envy has gone global!  However, I was so focused on getting my shop up and running... that I completely over looked how I wanted to package my items for shipment.  Luckily being my thrifty crafty self, I took stock of what I had on hand...
Brown paper (check!)
Twine (check!)
Buttons (of course... double check!)
But... when I wrapped my order up... it looked a little blah...
Back to the hoard...(I mean drawing board) I went... to see what I could find...

 I remembered that I had some corks... And thought to myself stamps!

 I printed off my saying in a font and size I thought would be good ... and got to work...

 I taped the letter to my cork... remembering to place the letter up side down otherwise it would have been backwards...

 Using an X-Acto knife I traced around the letter...

 Then I cut around the side about 1/4 inch down... careful not to cut under my letter...

 Taking out small chunks at a time... I worked my way around... until...

 ...All that was left was my letter...

 I had more letters than corks... so I carved out both sides...

The end results... Now my package is ready to ship!
Happy Stamping...
***Jennifer

Catching on to the infinity craze... without spending a dime...

Recently my fabulous friend Maya made me an infinity scarf... and I have to say I'm kind of obsessed with them now... all outfits seem to revolve around it!  I wanted more... but being thrifty decided to look around the house first for something that I could quickly refashion...



Of course I didn't have to look  for long... I knit this cable scarf a couple of years ago... but don't wear it that often...

Not sure that I wanted a permanent change... I use safety pins to connect the ends...

The pins are invisible on the right side... and easy to take out if I change my mind...



Now this scarf has a new life...  such an easy change, and I will definitely wear it more often...



Just an old knitted scarf I've had for ages...

With these button safety pins, and vintage buttons... I'm going to give this scarf a new life too...

I simply lapped the scarf ends on top of each other... holding it together with the buttons and safety pins...

 

And voila!  A second infinity scarf made... I really like the fringe, it adds a little some thing extra... and the scarf is so long I wrapped it around my neck tree times... giving me some nice chunky layers....

 So, it all started with my inspiration scarf... and now I can add two more to my infinity collection... The best part of all is... (as my thrifty heart jumps for joy) it cost me nothing, and barely 10 minutes of my time! So get out there my crafters... I challenge you to make over at least one of your scarfs with things around your home... even an old lace curtain panel could be made into an infinity scarf... have fun with the infinite possibilities...

***Jennifer

Paper Wallets...

This week I've been working on Christmas presents... Here is a fun idea I found... Paper wallets!  I'm going to make them for the boys(friends/family) in my life...  The supplies you need for this project are...

1- 8.5X11 piece of paper

1-8.5X11 piece of iron on vinyl

Iron

Ruler

Scissors

Pencil

First I started out with an 8.5X11 piece of paper (I used the comic section of the newspaper)

Then I cut out a piece of Iron on Vinyl the same size(8.5X11)  I found it at Joann's... It's in the same section as interfacing by the yard... 

Then peel the vinyl away from the backing... place on top of your sheet of paper tacky side down... and smooth out any wrinkles with your hand... 

(It would also be a good idea to check for any lint caught in between, and make sure it is lined up properly.)

Place the vinyl backing shiny side down on the paper(sandwiching the vinyl between)... and iron on a med/high setting without steam... make sure you get all of your edges... 

Peel off the backing and now for the fun part! 

Folding...

You'll also want to press your finger along the fold(s) to make crisp edges...

Open the paper back up(vinyl side down)... bring the outside edges to the center crease... 

 Again making crisp folds... 

 Then fold in half again... And then fold in half lengthwise...



Open up all folds again... and place vinyl side down... 

Next... using your ruler, draw a half inch line on each of the side creases

(there should be six) ... then cut your line with scissors...

Fold in the second and fourth segments, on each side...

 Now at the bottom/ center fold line(the crease down the middle) ...draw a line(vertical) 1/8 of a inch from the center fold on both sides, to the first horizontal fold...

Then on the second fold(horizontal) draw a 1/4 inch line at the center fold...

Starting at one of the bottom lines... cut up and around the diamond shape... It should look like this when you are finished... 

Now tape the second segment tabs down... on both sides...



Now fold the top and bottom toward the center again... And again fold in half... 

Fold in half lengthwise again... So... the side view should look like this... (starting from the left) 

tab-flap-tab-flap-flap-tab-flap-tab (I promise this will make sense when your doing it!)

 Starting with one side... Fold the outside flap into the inside pocket... then tape to keep in place...

Then fold the inside flap into the outside pocket.... tape this down also...  

Now you've finished one side credit card pocket...  repeat now on the other half...

When finished... you will have two side pockets....

Two inside card pockets...

Pretty cool... Right...

I know it is a lot of steps... but I promise it goes pretty fast... If my pictures are not helping, you can click here to watch a step by step video... I think these wallets are going be a hit!  The best feature is they are super thin...  I can see endless possibilities...  so if you need a quick gift, you could skip the vinyl part and make these out of anything you have laying around... even wallpaper or wrapping paper...  gifts don't have to cost a lot... just come from the heart... Happy Folding!

***Jennifer