Imagine my excitement when I found out that I was chosen to participate in the Martha Stewart Mother’s Day Campaign with Blueprint Social and Plaid Crafts. (squeel!) Then, imagine that excitement times a bazillion when all of this came in the mail!
Dude, I got paint brushes, paint, stencils, sponges, bottles, tips, more stencils………just amazing! My task: create a tutorial for a handmade Mother’s Day gift using the supplies I received. I had a bunch of ideas and after trying to make the first 2 work (and wound up with major craft fails! No fault of the supplies I received at all, just the other stuff I was using as my base of the project didn’t pan out the way I wanted), I wound up creating these fabric covered journals.
I tried to come up with a gift that I would like and that my mom would like and I know that if I received something like this for Mother’s Day, I would totally be digging it so this is what I went with. I love all kinds of notebooks and journals, especially pretty ones.
To make these, here are the supplies you will need:
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Black and White Composition Notebooks ($0.94 at Target)
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Fabric of your choice (I used a canvas painters drop cloth)
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Craft Glue
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Martha Stewart Craft Paint
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Martha Stewart Stencils
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Martha Stewart Sponge Tip Applicator Tops
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Martha Stewart Paint Roller
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Scissors
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Tulle or Ribbon of Choice
The first thing I did was lay out my fabric and open my notebook out flat on top of it. I then traced the outline of the notebook onto my canvas using a colored pencil.
After I cut out my fabric I then applied a good coat of glue to my notebook cover and then smoothed my fabric over it using my paint roller to smooth out any wrinkles.
Next, I took my stencils and placed them in different parts of the fabric covered notebook. I secured them with the stencil tape from Martha Stewart so that they wouldn’t move around and so that there was a tight seal on the book. I took my sponge tip applicator and screwed it right onto the paint, blotted it a little bit on a plate so that I had just the right amount of paint coming out of the sponge and got to work.
I really liked the adhesive stencils a lot. I found that the foam applicators worked best with the stencils. I tried other sponges and stencil brushes but the foam applicators definitely did the trick!
Tie them up with a little bow and you have your self a very cute {and thrifty!} Mother’s Day Gift!
Some other ideas may include adding a Monogram to the cover of the notebook for a more personal look. Also, maybe creating some handmade cards using the stencils and paint and slipping a small stack right under the bow.
And of course Blue Print Social! Here’s where you can find them: Twitter and Pinterest
{I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own}
Due to the amount of content that is used without permission and proper credit, I am no longer allowing a full RSS feed. I value each and every reader so I hope you will click through and come visit!
XOXO
Diana
www.thegirlcreative.com
paintmeplaid.com says
This is so adorable. Thanks so much for sharing.
CREATIVE MIND says
Awesome! Love it..
Caitlin says
Very cute idea! I’m so jealous of all the goodies you got!
Dawn says
Beautiful! I want that box of stuff too. Really.
Morning glory says
This is so very cute! Mom and I are going to make “Healthy Cookbooks” and spend the weekend trying new recipies and getting inspired. I’m totally going to make the outside of our books like this 🙂 THANKS!
No(dot dot)el says
Love this idea.
Amy Anderson says
Aw, these are so sweet! I love them – and the colors you chose are great!
Amanda says
Hi Abbie, I just posted the journal I made for my mom on my blog and referenced you. I thought you might want to see it! Here’s the link: http://pagesofamanda.blogspot.com/
and thanks for the great idea!
amit says
Wonderful Design Blogs, Such a great list. Thanks for sharing all these blogs all are very useful to every one
Webdesign Belgium
Robin says
I realise this is an old post, but I’m just curious, did you glue the fabric to the spine as well? I love this idea, and want to make these for mom’s day as well as teacher appreciation gifts
Diana says
Hi Robin!I believe I did. 🙂 They are super easy to make a lot of fun to give as gifts! XOXO