DIY: Window Card

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Hi everyone! The DIY of today is this adorable Window Card! It's really easy and simple to make!

By the way, please forgive my horrible instruction-giving skills....

Here are the materials that you will need:

• 1 blank white card 5 1/2 in. by 4 in.
• 1 piece of card stock paper with any pattern 5 1/2 in. by 4 in.
• 1 piece of card stock paper with any pattern 2 3/4 in. by 2 1/4 in.  (with a different pattern than the paper above)
• 1 regular invitation envelope 5 3/4 in. by 4 1/2 in.
• 1 ribbon strand 2 ft. 
• 1 pair of scissors
• Some tacky glue
• 1 3D type sticker (I used a flower sticker)
• 1 circle hole punch 2 in. diameter
• 1 circle hole punch 1 7/16 in. diameter

Below is a close up photo of my circle hole punches that I purchased from a Michael's Craft Store. The brand is called Recollections.

Instructions:

1. Take your blank white card and 5 1/2 in. by 4 in. patterned card stock paper and line them up perfectly, then take the 2 in. diameter circle hole punch and punch out a circle like so.

You will end up with things like in the picture below. Discard the white circle, but keep the patterned card stock circle. You will need it later in this project.

2. Take the 2 3/4 in. by 2 1/4 in. patterned card stock paper and use the 1 7/16 in. diameter circle hole punch to punch out a circle like so. 

You will end up with things like in this picture. Discard the patterned circle, but keep the patterned card stock paper with the hole in it.

3. Take your blank white card that you punched a hole in already. Lightly apply glue around the hole.

4. Place the patterned card stock paper on the hole. Make sure it's as centered as possible.

Look at the other side to see if it is centered. Mine is a different pattern and color on the other side because my patterned card stock paper is double sided, so it has different patterns and colors on each side.

5. Go back to the front of your card and lightly glue around the edges like so.

6. Take the 5 1/2 in. by 4 in. patterned card stock paper and place it on the front of the card. Smooth it down on the glue.

7. Open the card. Take the patterned circle that you previously punched out using the 2 in. diameter circle hole punch. Glue it on the right side of the card so that when you close it, you see the pattern through the window on the outside. Try to center it as best you can.

It will look like this on the front.

8. With the card closed, stick on your 3D sticker in the window.

9. Last but not least, take your ribbon like so, and tie a cute bow. Cut off the ends of the ribbon if you have any excess.

The finished product:

On the inside!

On the outside!

And of course I like to add my own personal touches like my customized rubber stamp! I also like to round the corners, like in the very first picture.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy your DIY: Window Card! Write in it, put it in the envelope, and give it to someone special!

DIY: Sea-Bottle Necklace

Level of Difficulty: Easy

How crazy, my very first blog post! Thank you so much for reading this!
So, today's DIY project is this lovely Sea-Bottle Necklace. It really is as easy to make, and as cute, as it looks!

Here are the materials that you will need:

• 1 small bottle with a cork (as small or big as you want, but keep in mind, it's a necklace)
• 2 small closeable rings
• 1 necklace chain
• 3 small puka shells
• 10 small blue glass beads
• 10 small clear glass beads
• Some fine white glitter
• Some clear drying glue
• 1 push pin
• 1 small pull-string bag (optional)

Obviously, all of the colors of the beads are interchangeable, however I just found blue and clear beads to be the most ocean-ish and sea-ish. And you can have more than the number of puka shells and beads that I listed. I just prefer my bottle to not be filled up all the way. But all of these choices are up to you!

Now on to the instructions...

1. Remove the cork from your bottle and set it aside. Fill the bottle with however much glitter you want, the beads, and the puka shells.

2. Take one of the rings and form a jump ring, and insert it into the top of the cork. Be careful, corks can crumble apart. Glue the jump ring in the cork if you want it to be more secure. Then take the other ring and attach it to the jump ring in the cork. 

3. Glue the cork into the bottle. Use the push pin to help the glue seep into the cracks between the top of the bottle and the cork. Do not apply too much glue, or else it'll get messy.

After steps 2 and 3, your creation will look like the following picture.

4. Put the chain through the top ring, and you now have a necklace!

You have completed your very own DIY: Sea-Bottle Necklace! You can wear it, put it in the pull-string bag, give it to someone special... The possibilities are endless! Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!