How To Make Leather Bound Metal Journals

Journaling is by far one of my favorite things!  

I've got nooks and crannies, boxes and drawers filled with my journals of notes, drawings, thoughts, sketches, lists, ideas, and hosts of other random brain droppings.  But I have to say that I also love making journals.  These are probably the most outrageous ones I've made, and the idea came to me when I was walking through the home improvement store.  Scott and I love going there and brainstorming about the different things we can make with all the extremely cool stuff.

When I saw the aluminum flashing in rolls, I knew that I had to have a roll!  Then I took it home and flattened it so that it didn't curl anymore.  

The next step is the most fun of all.  Take acrylic paints in your favorite colors, and drop onto the metal flashing.  While it's wet, pick up the metal and make the paint run from side to side. Keep playing with it until you just love it!  Let it dry completely.

You're ready to cut it with metal snips. You must wear heavy gloves for this, and have fine grit sandpaper to soften the edges after cutting it into matching rectangles.  Next, cut a 1-inch tab across the left edge of the rectangles. Don't forget to sand the edges so that they're not sharp anymore.

Now punch holes and attach grommets 2 or 3 inches apart along the center of the tabs, and along the edge of the rectangles to line up with the holes in the tabs.  If you've never made grommets, simply follow the steps on the packaging and you'll be a pro.

Grab some leather lacing at the craft store and punch holes in paper to match up with the grommets, and tie through the metal and through the paper to bind the journals.  Wow, you'll love it!

These would be perfect gifts for anyone, but I especially think they would be great for the guys in your life, too!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog, and I hope you'll find lots of cool crafts to make for yourself, your friends, and your family.

Happy Crafting!

Pompom Challenge!

Do you love pompoms?  

Do you love to make pompoms?

Do you love to help others?

Then you'll love this challenge!

The good folks over at sense.org are challenging the world of creative and helpful people like yourself to make pompoms for a good cause.... to increase awareness of people who have difficulty with both sight and hearing.  And all you have to do is make pompoms!

For more info, go to http://www.sense.org.uk/whypompoms and you'll be making pompoms that will make a difference and connect with people all over the world in this excellent effort.

Do it, and have fun with it!

How-To Make Expired Gift Card Earrings

What do you do with those gift cards when you use them up?

There are some really pretty cards out there.  I know Target has the cutest ones!  Well, here's an idea for you.  Punch or cut out the card to make two matching circles.  You can go as big as you want, but these worked out great for the flowers in a 1 inch circle. If the edges are a bit rough, you can use a nail file to make them perfect.

Then push a straight pin through the tops of the punched circles. Add a jump ring, then thread beads onto an eye-pin between the circles and fish hooks, and you've got yourself some snazzy earrings on the cheap.  Adding beads that match or contrast with the colors in the card really add pizzaz and will kick up your ensemble when you wear them!

Pompom Turkey Favors

These little pompoms will make everyone smile on Thanksgiving!

 When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of Scott and I waking up and

having a lazy breakfast before the dinner prep begins.

So, I thought a cute little pompom turkey sitting on top of upside

down coffee cups at our table would be just the

perfect favor to start the day!

Here's my crafty supplies:

Yarn, Aleene's Tacky Glue, Polka Dot Papers, and a PattieWack Pompom Tool.

 First Step:

Make a pompom

 Second Step:

Cut out 3 tail feathers and 1 circle.

Third Step:

Fan-fold the tail feathers and glue the papers into place to make your cute pompom turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pattiewack

How To make a Fall Pompom Wreath

Over at Design Improvised, there is the prettiest little pompom wreath for Thanksgiving with scrap yarns.  I love how the wreath has just the right amount of bright colors and it would be so easy peasy to make!

If you need to find out how to make super fast pompoms, go to my website and check out my PattieWack Pompom Tool and a video with the whole scoop.  Let me know what you think, and leave a comment on my video about how you use pompoms for fall.  Keepin' it fun and crafty!
PattieWack

My View Today

Taking product photography of the Pattiewack Pompom and Tassel tools today. Say "cheese!"

We're working on a new website.... Coming SOON!

DIY Spider Web Necklace

I think you'll love this DIY Spider Web Necklace I made, using Tulip Dimensional Paint!

If you do, I would be tickled to death if you subscribe to my channel and leave a comment.

6,000 YouTube Subscribers!

I'm crazy excited! Can you believe it?  With your help, I now have 6,000 subscribers on my PattieWack Designs YouTube channel.  And check out those views.... Thanks for watching and subscribing!
http://www.youtube.com/user/PattieWackDesigns

DIY Hobnail Glass

It is super easy to turn ordinary glass into faux hobnail with Scribbles paint. All I did was paint dots on the glass and let it dry. On some of the other pieces, I just painted simple designs and repeated them all the way around the vases. 

Uber easy! And fun to do a collection. 

An old chair reimagined

Spray paint, cool fabric and a little glue is all it took to turn this old chair into the perfect spot for you to have a seat at my desk!

Unicorn Crafting

You know it's going to be a good day if there's a unicorn at your desk! 

Behind The Scenes at The Threadbanger Crafty Palooza

Corinne and Savannah rocked the 3D Tulip paint spiderweb necklaces, baybee!

Selfies with Corinne at the after party. 

And Rob, too...  2 Cutie patooties!

Cute little pennant I made at the party... "BE ... anything you want..."

My little ombre glitter chihuahua. I hope I spelled that right!

Bottle Centerpiece

I love to pick up fresh flowers on Sunday afternoons and fill the house with that sweet smell. 

I used some recycled bottles for the dahlias and mums on the dining room table. 

The gerberas and daisies were just right for the studio. 

And the carnations were just perfect for the guest bathroom. 

Now I'll just have to choose one single flower to take to work tomorrow for my desk!

How To Make a Pompom Boa!

 

Here's a simple DIY pompom boa that feels like a fluffy furry scarf around your neck.  

Choose yarn from your stash, or find some beautiful new yarn that compliments your fall wardrobe.

Or, make a pompom boa to give as a gift.

To make it super easy, use your PattieWack Pompom Tool to make the easiest pompoms ever.

I hope you like it!

DIY iPhone Case - Vintage Junk Jewelry

 

Check out the DIY iPhone case I made with vintage junk jewelry.    I'm not usually a girlie girl, but sometimes you just need pearls, rhinestones, charms and buttons, right? 

 

So, when I found this marked down iPhone cover at Ross, I couldn't resist picking it up for $5.99. 

It was the perfect base for me to start with and add a little bling and sweetness.

 

I have to admit that I'm a little bit of a hoarder when it comes to vintage jewelry.   And it was really hard to choose exactly what I wanted to glue to the cover.  But I knew it needed just the right stuff.

 

Seriously, I could have just started at one corner and cover the entire thing, but I really wanted the flowers to be part of the design.  So I chose a handful of my favorite things and the charm "inspire".

I grabbed one of my favorite glues, Aleene's Jewelry & Metal adhesive, and it worked great.

 

Some of the pieces were earrings and buttons, and I snipped the backs off so that they would lay flat against the case and insure that the glue would hold when I shove the phone in and out of my purse.

 

And of course, I had to add a little "WACK" to my design with fabulous silver alpha cubes.

I hope you like it, and will be inspired to personalize your own phone cover with whatever you love.

DIY iPhone Cover with Studs

 

I've been looking for just the right thing to add bling to my iPhone, and I found it.  STUDS!!

 My DIY cellphone cover with studs came together really fast and easy.  First I went online and found flat backed gold studs. (Just google it, and you'll find exactly what you need...) Then I grabbed a package of the Aleene's Jewelry & Metal Glue dry adhesive dots.  These things are crazy cool!

 Next, I used a clear ruler to line up the adhesive dots and stuck them to my animal print cover in rows.  You'll be able to cover the whole thing, or do like I did with four rows of eight,in the center of the phone.  The 1/4" dots fit the bottoms of the studs perfectly.

 I used tweezers to peel off the red backing from the Aleene's Jewelry & Metal Glue dots.

 Then I sat the studs right on top of the dots.  You have to be pretty precise because those boogers really hold fast, and it's tough to pull them off and realign.  Just be patient and take your time.

I didn't have to wait for it to dry, since the adhesive is instant! I hope you like my studly bling.  It added a lot of pizazz to my phone, and makes it totally different than anybody else.  Easy-peasy.  What do you think?

Trashique 2013 Couture

This year for Trashique, I was invited to design a gown inspired by Erte' with nothing but trash and recyclable materials.  This challenge was so much fun!  As you can see, I chose the Symphony in Black by Erte' to compose a piece that is completely black and extremely dramatic.

 The headpiece is made with a vinegar bottle, shredded VHS tapes, and magazine pages rolled up and glued together.  I also used an aluminum turkey basting pan for the medallion in front.

Chloe Tatro was my model, and took on the fierce attitude of the gown in the most amazing way! Thanks Chloe, for your dedication and grace on the runway.

 As most of you know, I'm huge into altered shoes, and so I simply had to do something crazy for them. The heels have eyes on them from magazine pages, and the toes are covered in shredded VHS tapes.  The straps have wine bottle tops on them to simulate jewels.

 The biggest accomplishment was making the pompoms for all three boas.  I'm estimating that I made at least 300 pompoms from VHS tapes and tied them all together.  Perfect for Trashique!

The dress is weed control sheets from our yard, glued to a thrift store dress, and the bodice is a discarded leather skirt.  I cut the waist band to form the choker around the neck.  A train made with layers of the ground cover is attached to the base of the dress with velcro. 

I'll put up more photos of the details.   Oh, and of course, I'll post some pics from the Trashique' event.  It was so fun, and we raised lots of money for the Fresno Art Museum.

Ready to GO on We Are Fresno LIVE!

Ready to GO on We Are Fresno LIVE!

Sent from Pattiewack's iPhone