Cruising Along - A Driving Album

One of the projects which the Beloved and I took before the arrival of our little bundle of joy was to get me my driver's license. Here Down Under, he could coach me and I only had to chalk up a certain number of hours before sitting for my test. One of the "momentos" from this journey (ha ha, pun totally intended!) were the plates attached to the car. As a result, I used them to be the covers for my album. I was glad that my Bind-it-All could easily punch through the plastic that these plates were made of. Now I bet you thought these license plates were metal.  These ones are NOT.  Although the BIA can punch through some metals, most license plate metal is too thick and can potentially damage your tool.  So look for thin craft metal, and if in doubt about metal materials, don't punch it. 

On my owires, I attached ribbons in the colors of the traffic light to add symbolism to the album.

On the inner pages, pictures of my thoughts and places we travelled to as part of my learning experience were added.

So there you have it, a simple and quick project using items you may want to keep to form the covers of your mini album. Have fun creating you own too!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

Come Carousal With Me!

Don't we all love colors? This project has been brewing in my mind for the longest time and I'm so thrilled that it's finally completed and I'm here to share the process with you!

Using the Zutter Spinner Album Kit, the pages were inked with different colors so that I can include pics of items that correspond with the colors in this album. My plan was to have this album serve as a form of inspiration from pictures taken over time. Some of the pages were also misted. As for the wooden base of the album, I covered it with gold ink to give it some shine. Now for the fun bit in creating the carousal top.

I like the fact that the album kit base is made of wood, which gives the entire project a firm structure. In order to have the carousal top, I used a wood drill to make a hole in the ball of the stand. This way, I could slot the "stem" of the carousal through it. Think of the carousal top as an umbrella.=)

Next up, roll a strip of paper to from a firm stick, which can be slotted into the drilled hole, as well as you carousal top. Right at the point where the stick meets the top, attach either sticky tape or in my case, a strip of paper coated with glue, and wind it tightly round the stick. This serves as a barrier to prevent the top from slipping. See the picture below for the details.

For the top, I traced the album base and extended the diamenter by another 2cm. Once you have cut out your circle, cut a slit right to the middle of the circle and attach both ends together. Remember the additional 2cm added? I cut slits into this band and folded each tab in to form the following:

To add a decorative touch to this edge, adhere a strip of decorative paper around it and embellish further with gemstones. This gives the top that whimsical element found on all carousals! Top it off with a flag and it's ready to go!

Now, instead of horses going round my carousal, I opted for what I had on hand - a butterfly punch, which I used on various pieces of cardstock. The butterflies added dimension to the project. To attach each butterfly to the corresponding tab, simply cut a strip of cardstock and attach one end to the butterfly and the other to the same colored tab. Each butterfly also had a gemstone added to it's wings for additional sparkle.

Additonal details in this project included having chipboard letters demarcate the start of each color tab and using the Bind-it-All to punch a hole in each tab, ribbons were affixed.

There you have it, your very own carousal! This project now sits prettily on my desk, a convenient location for me to place all my inspirational pictures and a reminder of the wonderful year I had as a Zutter Zister.

Thank you for being an ever faithful reader and I'm glad for this opportunity I had to work with all the wonderful products Zutter continues to create! I hope you will continue to have a much fun as I had with my BIA!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

Seasons Collage with the Distrezz-it-All

Having resided in Australia for a year now, my family is enjoying the different seasons - something we did not have in tropical Singapore. The Beloved made it a point to take the view outside our apartment at the start of each season and as a result, this project was born.

Each season's picture was created on a cover and embellished to reflect that particular time. What was really fun was the fact that I got to use the Distrezz-It-All on the covers and that added a rustic touch of sorts to each frame. I like how the distrezzed edges complement the trees in the pictures. Don't you?  I used Zutter Canvas Artboard to make even more artsy :)

A simple challenge for you - start snapping pictures of the view outside your home and be amazed at the changes! More importantly, create a distrezzed collage from those pics! Have fun!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

Soul Food - Music CD Holder

Do you love music? We do in our family! So at the request of my husband, who has become a great fan of the Bind-it-All, he requested a CD holder that can carry his favorite CDs in the car. As a result, this was created:

All you need to do is to create individual pockets for the number of CDs you want to have in this book. Here, I chose to include 10 sleeves, each made out of half a sheet of 12 x 12" patterned paper. Fold an edge of about 1cm on the bottom and on the right, before scoring the paper in half. See the rectangle marked on the right side? That's so that each CD can be pulled out easily from the envelope, after the rectangle has been cut.

Once this has been done, glue the two havles together on the folded edge. This is what you'll get:
Now run each CD sleeve through your BIA, before binding them together with your owires. Finally, embellish your Zutter Cover-All as you wish and there you have it, a personalized book to hold your CDs!

I hope you have loads of fun creating this and perhaps even making these as gifts for your loved ones! Afterall, music is soul food!

Greeting Card Holder - BIA Style

Hi there! Though e-cards are so easy to send these days, I say nothing beats receiving a card in the mail, and better still, one that is handmade! It's truly sending a love letter! So for me, I have cards made for various occasions, ready for me to send my love to my family and friends for a myriad of reasons or simply just because. In this post, it's not going to be about creating a card, but rather, creating a Card Holder to house all those lovelies so that I can reach for them in a jiffy and know exactly for what occasion each one celebrates/remembers.

For this project, all I used were Covers (4 x4") and ClipBoard Wood (8x10"), owires 1/2" and my trusty BIA. Because of the size of the cards I usually create, what I did was to trim my ClipBoard Wood to 4x10" to ensure that this holder will fit most cards. To do so, I used my paper trimmer and went over the board a few times. Trust me, this process will be much easier when the Zutter Kutter is used, which of course I'm waiting to land my hands on.

After attaching patterned paper to the covers using Mod Podge, I ran my boards through the BIA, including both lengths of my ClipBoard Wood. For the 4x4" covers, you only need to punch holes on three sides of the covers.

Once all that is done, owires were used to bind the covers together. While you might like to weave ribbons through the holes instead, I like the idea of using wires here as it allows my card collection to expand and the holder is able to stretch a little, given the extra space found in the rings of the owires. Nonetheless, both options make for an excellent card holder!

Now on to embellishing the almost completed project. Remember that the Clipboard Wood covers were punched on both lengths. This was done to allow me to tie ribbons through them at the top. I like how those cream ribbons lend a romantic feel to this project. Each ribbon was threaded through two holes. I also added alpha stickers and blooms to the front of this project.

Finally, in order to organize my cards, I used Clear Acrylic Folder Tabs as dividers and labeled each using my Dymo tape labeler. This way, I know exactly which part of the holder to look into, without having to over handle any of my creations.

I hope you have fun too creating a personalized card holder, one that will help you make the process of sending love in the mail all the more sweeter!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

See the World with Zutter!

Greetings! I'm back, this time with a simple project on creating your very own luggage tags.

These totally versatile tags were created using Zutter Clear Acrylic Covers and my favourite, the very versatile Hang-it-Alls!

All you'll need to do is to trim your patterned paper or cardstock to size and affix them to the acrylic covers. I like my tags glossy, so a layer of Mod Podge was also used. From there, all that is left is to have loads of fun in embellishing your tags to personalize them. Once all this is completed, attach a Hang-it-All to the top of the tag. Tie this to your luggage using your favourite ribbon and voila! The front of the tag is done=)

As you can see from my pic, I've yet to include personal details on the reverse side of the tag. For this, you could either use a dymo tape machine to type your details and affix to the tag, or simply cut up strips of paper and write on those before attaching them to the tag. My favourite part of using the acrylic covers for this project is the versatility it provides when I want to change my particulars on the back of the tags.


Have fun creating your very own luggage tag and you're on your way to travelling in style!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

Whether the Weather Be Good....

Having moved Down Under, the Beloved and I have been avid fans of the weather.... Back in Singapore where it was sunny all year round, it has been an education in itself learning about how the weather can be so extreme - all within 24 hours.

So this Date and Weather Chart was created for the benefits of the students in my sister's class so that they will learn the dates, seasons, weather and days. Best of all, this was easy to create and it incorporates loads of wonderful Zutter products!

I printed out the dates and weather details and attached them to pattern papers. For the top row, these were easily attached to the top of the board. Do note that I chose to use two boards so that this chart can easily be propped on a table so that the children can reach for it easily.

For the middle row, to keep the labels straight, I hammered a couple of Zutter Rivets into the board which served as a prop for the labels. It also helped to have the wonderful Hang-It-Alls strategically located there as well! Using the BIA, each day label was punched and hung from the Hang-it-All. The remaining days were kept in a Pre-Punched PagePprotector, bound at the back of the board for easy access.

So whether the weather be good, or whether the weather be bad, do have some fun creating a weather chart for the fun of it!

smiles
sophie=)

Zutter Zisters DT Member Sophie Sim

Parade your Creations with Pride - with the Display-It-All!

I love Show-and-Tell sessions in school, don't you? So while creating this mini book of animals, imagining all the fun I'll be having when I start teaching my soon-to-be-born baby the ABCs, I realised what a handy dandy tool the Display-It-All will be.

 

For instance, to get my child all interested in reading, I'll have this displayed prominently, on a shelf, table, by the bed, so that he/she can easily see and reach for it. As an additional touch, I'll definitely be placing tools/objects related to the theme of the book by the stand, so that he/she (yup, we do not know the gender yet, it's going to be a surprise at birth, hence the he/shes =)) can make associations between subject matter and objects.

 

Next, because it's a book attached to the Display-It-All, I can pace the speed of his/her learning, choosing to flip a page after the letter has been taught, or the spelling of the word has been learnt etc. Better still, with blank spaces on the book, my child can also add his/her own drawings thoughts to that particular animal!

 

Now, one of my favorite usages - I get to hang my items off the owires on the book as well! So my child's interest will constantly be piqued, and no one page will ever be the same. So besides K for koala, he/she will also know that K is for Kangaroo, without the santa hat=)

 

So if you fall into one of the following categories:

• you're a mummy like me
• an educator
• someone with the desire to start conversations around the home/workplace
• a crafter proud of your creation
• have loads of mini albums around the place
• have a menu to display
• wants to announce a special news
• just enjoys storytelling

 .....then you know what, you'll need a Display-It-All, where your life can be paraded! Have fun!

 

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim (and proud mum-to-be!!)

Line it Up!

With Valentine's Day is just about here!

Wouldn't it be lovely to add some form of decor to the home? I love doing that - ushering in the different festivals with simple touches of love, all around our place. So today, here's a tutorial on how to create shelf liners using the BIA!

Materials Needed:

• 1-2 Sheets patterned paper / cardstock
• Bind-it-All
• Glue
• Ribbon
• Decorative punches
• Stickers/embellies

 First up, grab a sheet of 12x12" patterned paper / cardstock. Something to match your home, as well as the theme. Cut the paper into three equal sections. You may need more paper if your shelf is very long.

Next, you'll need to fold about an inch lengthwise on each piece of paper. This can also be done with a scoring tool like the Scor-it-All.

Now comes the precise bit. Lay all three pieces on the shelf that it's intended for to get the length needed. Of course you can measure the shelf, but I like to eyeball my projects=). Once this is done, attach all three pieces, or more if you have a super duper longggg shelf, to form one piece of liner. See the markings on the back of my liner? I drew a solid line right done the middle of the entire liner, before measuring the rest of the liner to help guide me on where to punch my butterflies later, so that they all line up. This measurement will depend on the size of punch used. Punch out where you'll like your butterflies, lace etc. to be.


Once this is done, we'll run our liner through the Bind-it-All, on the side which is folded, as one continuous line. See, there's no limits to the project length a BIA can take! Part of its beauty=) You will also notice in this picture how I used my dotted lines to guide me in punching the butterflies, i.e., right down the middle of the butterfly.

So here we have an almost completed liner, with the holes punched out beautifully using the Bind-it-All! To add ribbons to this project, we'll weave the ribbon through the holes, tying the ends with a butterfly knot each.

As a final touch, you might like to add some stickers of embellies of your choice. And there you have it - a completed shelf liner to don your home with. Here's wishing you and yours a Valentine's Day filled with hugs and kisses!

Zutter Zister DT Member Sophie Sim

Owire Christmas Wreath

What about creating some wreaths to adorn the home with? This one is absolutely quick and easy, using only 2 lengths of owire as the base.

First, tie ends of both wires together using ribbons. You might want to overlap three prongs for a firmer grip. If you're after a smaller wreath, join the two ends of one owire together in the same way.

Next, embellish as much or as little as you wish! Here, I covered mine with pinwheels, ribbons, flowers and Christmas images. The possibilities are endless with this project as you can customise your wreath to match your home or Christmas decoration theme. Here, I've got pinwheels, an ode to the summer we have during Christmas in Australia.

Have loads of fun creating and do share your creations with us at the Zutter Zisters Message Board! Have a blessed season!

Secret Thoughts!

Want a beautiful journal that you can personalize and change the covers at will? Then the cloth journal is for you!

First up, gather some blank pages and patterned paper that you would your journal to be made from. Bind these using you Bind-It-All and embellish as you wish. See the green ribbon attached to the owire with a brad? That serves as a bookmark that can help me keep track of which page I'm at.

Next up, the cloth cover. Choose your favorite fabric for this step.

To create the cover, I sewed a piece of fabric and felt together. Remember to fold both ends of the cloth vertically so that "pockets" are formed. The pocket in front serves as spots to places cards and notes, while the back pocket allows us to slot our journal into. Sew a button to the front of the cloth journal and a piece of leather string can be used to hold your journal close. If you want the leather strap to be more secure, run a couple of stitches through it on the spin of the fabric.
Ta dah! You're done! Have fun personalizing your own journal, a beautiful place to hold your thoughts and secrets! This is a perfect project for those who are "sew" crafty and like to bind too!