DIY : Upscale a Dollar Store Tray (With Matching Journal)

I might have to start calling Mr. C, Mr. B. He’s become an aficionado of small batch bourbons (not to excess!)

I don’t mind because I get all kinds of cool bottles to play with. He mentioned the other day that he saw an online bourbon journal but it only allowed 5 entries until there was a charge for it, so I decided I’d go old school and make him a hardcopy journal. He’s also into watches and time pieces, and I already had some very cool clock themed paper in my stash. Win-win since I’m working to bust some stash this year.

For this project you will need:

1.) Dollar Store Silver Tray ( I got mine @ Dollar Tree)

2.) Pre-made (or make your own) chipboard journal….This was on sale after Christmas at Michaels for $.25! A whole quarter. Cheaper than making my own.

3.) Coordinating charms to match your paper of choice. These were NOT on sale at Michaels but they were $2 for the pack and totally justified given the $.25 journal ( which I may or may not have purchased more than one)

4.) Embellishments. In this case I had these Tim Holtz game spinner thingies in my stash. So my total cost was $3.25.

I cut my watch themed paper to fit the inside of the tray. Applied Mod Podge to the tray, applied the paper and finished with two coats of MP.

Before Christmas we saw some high end barware at Macy’s . Gorgeous, but $$.  I like my price a lot better!

For the journal, I covered two pieces of the chipboard ( it actually comes w/ four pieces but I’ll use the other two for something else) with the watch paper on one side and some number themed paper on the other. Mod Podged these on. Went around the edges with some aluminum tape.

I had a chipboard tag in my stash which I left naked and applied a scrap of the watch paper to, then edged with black ink.  I added one of the watch charms (one of four from my $2 package so this was $.50), and an antique embossed monogram sticker I had in my stash.

To finish off the journal, I added some of the game spinners to the watch hands on the paper.

Just gives it a little dimension. I cut the inside pages to size from paper I had on hand, and put on the ring that came with the journal ( added some ribbon on hand just cause) and done.

So now Mr. C or Mr B or whomever I’m married to , has a place to display his current favorite find, as well as keep track of what he likes, doesn’t like, etc. about them.

If adult beverages aren’t your thing, you could easily adapt this for any kind of theme from coffees / teas, flavored syrups, olive oils, balsamic vinegars or just cause you want to decorate a tray!

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DIY Vintage(d) Tree Topper: Scrapbook Paper, Glitter, and Paint

I decided when I took down last year’s tree that I wanted a new tree topper. I’d been using big ribbon bows but they were looking a little tired. We get a real tree, and nature does not always provide that perfect branch at the top for most of the vintage or vintage inspired glass  toppers I like. So natch, I made my own !

For this project you will need:

• Paper mache cone
• Craft paints ( I used a Sterling Silver and Sterling Silver Glitter)
• One 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper
• Oversized bottle cap ( you could also use a jar lid)
• Paper cut to fit inside your cap
• Focal point ( I used a vintage looking brass sticker)
• Glue Gun
• Glitter

I painted my paper mache with a couple coats of silver metallic, then went over that with a couple of coats of the silver glitter paint.

In between coats of paint, make the medallion that is the centerpiece of this tree topper. Cut one 12x12 page of scrapbook paper into 4 6x6 sections. I used a sheet music page from Recollections and made one inch score marks using my Martha Stewart scoring board.

Once you’ve scored and folded each of your sections, hot glue them together. Since the paper I used was pretty heavy I used hot glue vs tape.

Then I took a small paintbrush , thick glue, and silver glitter and made my way around my medallion until it was edged.

I had some giant bottle caps in my stash but a small jar lid would work for this too. Cut a circle of silver glitter paper to fit inside, Mod Podged it in there, and then added an embossed brass colored sticker to the middle. The one I used is by K&Co.

I hot glued a silver tinsel pipe cleaner around the inside edge. I had some silver glittered snowflake pics from my after Christmas deal scrounging last year so pulled on out, stuck it through the top of my cone and added a dab of hot glue to keep it in place. Glued  my completed medallion on to my cone and done.

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