Category Archives: DIY

Sticky9 Square Prints & GIVEAWAY!

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I know how it goes.  You spend all this time taking wonderful pictures (hundreds, maybe thousands!), and you don’t have a thing to show for your hard work.  Instead, they are sitting on your computer somewhere off in la la land.  I’ve been there and, truthfully, I am usually still there. It’s heartbreaking, really.  I love going through printed photos from my childhood simply because they’re something I can hold onto.  Is anyone else with me on this?

Today, I am here to tell you that there is hope.  I have teamed up with the fantastic crew behind Sticky9 to share with you one way I have recently used their Square Prints.  If you’re not familiar with Sticky9, they are a London-based business whose mission is to turn digital content into fun and tangible objects like magnets, phone cases, prints, and calendars.  In other words, a dream come true!

The best part?  This post comes to you with a GIVEAWAY!  More on that later, though… First, I want to show you my closet!  A Beautiful Mess posted my picture below on their Instagram feed, and it received more than 5,400 likes — yippee!

I would consider my closet to be quite ordinary.  Our apartment has very little closet space, so it can get kind of hairy in there sometimes.  In order to spruce things up a bit in my closet, I decided to order myself a set of Sticky9’s Square Prints.  It’s a fantastic deal: 27 premium matte prints for $16.99 (free shipping worldwide).  I may have screeched when my package arrived.

Going into this project, I already knew what I wanted my final product to look like: a colorful, memory-filled surprise every time I opened my closet.  Now, I spend more time gazing at my pictures than I do getting dressed.  Oops.

Here’s what I used for this project:

Before you start hanging, take a few minutes to spread your photos out on the floor.  Figure out what order you want to arrange the photos in, and how much space you’ll need between each.  I also took this time to write on the back of each photo in pencil.  I wanted to remember why these specific pictures were so important to me.

To hang your photo display, place your first two thumbtacks on the inside of your closet door at equal heights (I eyeballed mine).  Take the hemp string and tie a knot around the first thumbtack.  Pull it taut and tie another knot to the second thumbtack.  Double check that the string is level.  Clip on your first four photos!  (You’ll notice that the string will dip in the middle — this is normal!)

Repeat this process five more times, spacing each row about five inches below the previous thumbtacks.  Then, admire your work!  It’s that simple.

And now for the fun part: a GIVEAWAY!  One lucky reader will win their own set of premium matte prints, courtesy of Sticky9.  HOW COOL, RIGHT?!

Here’s how to enter:

  • Comment on this post with how you would use these Square Prints.
  • Follow Scissors & Sage using the email sign up in the sidebar to earn one additional entry under your name.
  • If you already follow Scissors & Sage, say so in your comment to earn both entries.

The giveaway is open until Friday, January 23rd at midnight EST, so get to work!  The winner will be contacted directly after the 23rd.

Can’t wait to find out if you’ve won?  Visit Sticky9 now to pick out your very own Square Prints or one of their other awesome products!

PRODUCTS & MATERIALS FROM: Sticky9, Jo-Ann Fabric, and A Beautiful Mess App

Project Roundup: Holiday Inspiration!

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I have to confess that I did not pre-plan a blog post for today.  I practically forgot that today is Monday.  Anne and I had a wonderful weekend together, as we celebrated our 6-year anniversary! We purchased our very first Christmas tree — a little guy, about 2.5 feet tall — that fits perfectly in our apartment, and enjoyed a delicious dinner at probably our favorite restaurant in Philly.

In conclusion: I didn’t write a blog post.  So, today I have for you a nice roundup of a few giftable projects I’ve created here on Scissors & Sage.  I hope that they inspire you to make something special for a loved one this holiday season.  And if they don’t inspire you — well, let me make it for you!

EDIBLE

These Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies really are perfect.  If you don’t believe me, make them yourself and find out!

Make Quick & Simple Fudge for your holiday hosts, family members, or friends.  It makes a big batch that can be distributed among many.

These Chewy Chocolate Jumbles are delicious, and can be customized with all kinds of added ingredients like nuts or dried fruit.

NON-EDIBLE

Make someone happy with this Honey Citrus Hand Scrub.  It smells incredible, and leaves your hands feeling very soft.  Easily gift it in a small jar.

This DIY Stencil Pillow is a labor of love.  There’s still plenty of time to begin working on lengthy DIY holiday gifts!  (This was also, believe it or not, the first project I ever posted on Scissors & Sage!)

Learn to make these Mirror, Mirror bathroom signs that are only readable when viewed through the mirror.  Check out the first installment of Mirror, Mirror here, too!

Feel like knitting?  This Cowl Me Crazy project has you covered.

These DIY Pencil Eraser Stamps require few materials and yield great results.  Use these stamps to create a matching set of custom stationery for a friend or loved one.  Need envelope inspiration?  Look here, and be sure to use old December issues.

Do you know someone who loves cooking or baking?  Give them the gift of a curated recipe box.  First, find a beautiful recipe box.  Second, learn to create custom dividers (see link).  Third, add recipes you think your gift recipient will enjoy — perhaps recipes that are important to you!

These DIY Dragonfly Earrings are cute and simple for the nature lovers in your life.

Make a statement with this Oscar Wilde Stencil Art.  It’s easily customizable if you know your gift recipient loves a specific quote.

I hope you enjoyed this roundup.  Be sure to let me know if you make any of these projects!  Share your creations using #scissorsandsage on Instagram and Twitter.

Carving Buttons With: Sal Vitale

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A few months ago, I saw some beautiful wood-carved buttons in a local yarn shop in Philly.  Their simple and rustic appearance caught my eye, and I thought that my dad, who is an expert woodworker, could recreate these with his own flare.  I sent him an email with some pictures to see if he’d be interested in this project, and he quickly set to work.

My dad sent me picture updates of his many buttons over the next few weeks.  (Each one took a couple of hours, and he often whittled as he watched a favorite television show.)  I was blown away by his designs and execution.  He began by finding very dry wood, and ultimately decided to use one of my Grandma Elisabeth’s unfinished pine walking sticks from many years ago.  The pine wood in our yard was too wet and sappy, but the maple wood for the oblong buttons worked just fine.

To create the flat pine buttons, my dad used a hand saw to cut the wood about 1/4″ thick.  I love that each button has its own unique shape and thickness — I wouldn’t change it for anything!  He then drilled four holes into the coins to create the buttons.  That fifth hole in the center of each button is actually a natural hole where water once traveled up the tree.

My dad whittled some of the pine coins to create rounded tops.  He cut the maple sticks longways and scooped out part of the center.  These oblong designs revealed two-tone wood when carved away, creating such beautiful buttons!

To finish off his project, my dad sanded the entire surface of each button, as I didn’t want any of the wood to catch on yarn for future projects.  He was sure to use a very light sand paper so that the natural beauty of the wood remained.  Finally, he used wood oil to complete his buttons, which gave them a finished, professional look.

I am so excited about these buttons and the story behind them.  I used one of them last week to finish a scarf I knit.  I’ll be sharing that project next week so that you can see these buttons in action!  I am so happy to have these as part of my knitting collection.  There is so much potential with hand-carved buttons in knitting — shapes, sizes, styles, etc.  What would your ideal button look like?

DIY Advent Calendar

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Late last week, I was inspired to create my very first advent calendar.  I was catching up on posts from A Beautiful Mess, a lifestyle blog I follow, and came across this DIY project.  I’ve thought of making an advent calendar in years past, but never had enough foresight to create it before December began.  Now that the calendar is finished, it will certainly bring a lot of holiday cheer into our cozy apartment this season!

Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess was kind enough to share a PDF of the advent numbers in her blog post.  When I noticed that some of her numbers were missing in the download, I wrote to her in the comments section.  She got back to me very quickly, and fixed the download the following day!  It was so nice to receive a personal response from such a well-known blogger.

I posted two process pictures (below) on Instagram of my DIY advent calendar, and couldn’t believe when Elsie not only “liked” both of the pictures, but also commented, “Looks great!” on the first one below!  I felt starstruck.  What’s more, Elsie’s activity on my two pictures brought a lot of new traffic to my Instagram profile; I received over 80 likes on the first picture, plus new followers!

I completed this project over the course of two days.  There were more steps to it than I had anticipated, and crafting + taking pictures of crafting = a lot of time per project.  Here’s how I made my DIY advent calendar!

Step 1: Download and print Elsie’s advent numbers onto soft white text weight paper from Paper Source.  (I printed my numbers at a scale of 65%.)  Using a paper cutter, cut the numbers into uniform-sized cards.  Lay a large piece of butcher or craft paper on the floor and arrange your numbers in a tree formation.

Step 2: Move the numbers to the side and turn your large paper over.  Create square edges by folding over uneven sides and taping them to the paper.

Step 3: With the help of another set of hands and eyes, hang your large paper in a desired location using clear push-pins.

Step 4: Set up an assembly line of numbers, string, scissors, washi tape, and mini clothespins.  (These clothespins are sold in a pack of 25, however I somehow lost one over the years, leaving me with 24.  I decided to use a regular-sized clothespin for number 1, and really love how it looks as a tree topper — not shown below!)  Cut washi tape into square segments and then diagonally into triangles.  This will allude to the shape of a tree.  Finally, tape the string to the paper making sure to hold it taut.  Snip off the ends of the string close to the tape.

Step 5: Continue this process until you reach the bottom of the tree.  Clip on all of the numbers with clothespins to confirm that they sit nicely.  Then, step back and admire your hard work!

Step 6: Using a thin Sharpie, unclip the numbers one by one and write down winter- or holiday-related activities under each number on the large paper.  That way, you can reuse the number cards in future years for different activities.  (My December activities are fun and simple surprises for Anne and me, so for her sake, I can only share one with you here!)

When December hits, unclip your card to reveal the activity of the day.  Then, turn the card over and clip it on backwards.  That will allow you to keep all of the cards up at once, plus know the current date.  By Christmas, you’ll have a white paper tree decoration that no one would ever know was an advent calendar!

What do you think of this DIY project?  Will you try making your own advent calendar this holiday season?  There are so many alternatives to the usual candy-filled advent calendar that I challenge you to come up with your own way of doing it.  Tag your creations on Instagram with #scissorsandsage and @victoriaavitale so that I can see what you’re working on!

DIY Leaf Flowers

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Three years ago, I read an interesting guest blog post on Design*Sponge by artist Kate Pruitt.  She took autumn leaves and transformed them into a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  How did she do it?  I was sure to find out.  Living on a breathtaking college campus in upstate New York at the time, I walked the campus to find fallen leaves.  It was such a fun project that I decided to make it again for you here today.  It’s the perfect time of year to be collecting leaves of all shapes, sizes, and colors — ingredients to surely make a beautiful arrangement!

Materials:

  • 15 or so leaves per flower (dry and freshly fallen)
  • Thin, straight sticks (one per flower)
  • Washi tape

The first time that I made these flowers, I used maple leaves and followed Kate’s instructions more closely.  This season, it has been quite difficult finding rich, red leaves in Philadelphia.  I adapted my folding technique to work with these pretty yellow leaves I collected.  Above are step-by-step picture instructions on how to fold and create your own flowers.

This is one DIY project where I wished I had three hands.  It can become difficult as you add more “petals” to your flower to hold them, fold them, and then place the stick in the center of the bunch to begin taping it.  My third yellow flower completely fell out of my hand when I began taping it to the stick, so I started over.  If it becomes frustrating, take a break and go make some tea.  The end results are completely worth it!

Below is a picture of my red leaf flowers three years ago.  They kept their red color and dried beautifully.  My housemates and I enjoyed them on our dining table for about three months!

What are you making this season?  Share your fall DIY creations on Instagram with #scissorsandsage.