Category Archives: DIY

My New Recipe Box

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Happy Sunday!  Are you all having nice weekends?  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going to a 90th birthday party for my…well, I don’t know how we’re related.  That’s the thing about big Italian families.  It was a celebration for the books, though, that’s for sure!

For those of you on your computers and on my site directly, you will notice many new changes to the looks of Scissors & Sage.  For you loyal subscribers out there, visit http://www.scissorsandsage.com to see my updates!  I’ve designed a new header logo, a much-needed menu of categories up top, and new social media icons that I coded myself!  Anne snapped some pictures for the updated sidebar and “New Reader?” section.  I hope you all enjoy the new layout!

This week, I thought I’d share my latest love: my recipe box.  Anne gave it to me for my birthday in August, and it was just what I wanted!  I had been eyeballing it on the Rifle Paper Co. website for about six months.  You see, I had a pretty good system for my recipes pre-recipe box — a binder with tabs and plastic sleeves.  But this, this is just on another level.  I stared googly-eyed at it for probably three or four days before starting to transfer recipes.

Some who know me might say that I’m neat or maybe organized.  Others, like my college roommates, might call me compulsively neat AND organized.  Everyone has their way and, needless to say, I like things in their place.

When I started my recipe transfer and looked more closely at the pre-written letterpress tabs the box came with, I started to wish that I could have decided on my own categories.  Where was the salads category?  And what about sides?  Does a quiche go under breakfast or eggs?  And why on EARTH were breads and pastas in the same category?!  As I’ve previously said, and as it’s written in my “New Reader?” section, pasta is its own food group.

I began breathing a little bit more quickly as my eyes darted around trying to put an order to all of this chaos (note: there was literally no actual chaos to be found).  Then it hit me: I could make my own tabs to supplement what the box came with!  I had recently picked up some thin chip board from Paper Source, and it was the perfect material.  I traced an existing divider and then cut it out.  I borrowed Anne’s alphanumeral stamp (the kind that librarians use), and it was finished!

A month or so into using my recipe box, I have to say that it is quite functional.  I use some categories more than others (do you see how big desserts is?) and others not at all (seafood).  The box also came with 24 blank recipe cards that I am really excited to start using.

I am so incredibly happy with how my recipe box turned out.  There are so many family recipes, so many stories, and equally as many happy memories spent in the kitchen and at the dining table.  This is my holy text.

DIY Pencil Eraser Stamps & Card Crafting

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I’m a sucker for all things paper crafts.  A few weeks ago, I saw a picture on Pinterest for these DIY pencil eraser stamps, and nearly fell out of my seat.  Not only because of how cute the stamps themselves are, but because I had never thought of using a pencil eraser as a stamp before.  It’s almost like your own little linocut!

One perk of dating a middle school language arts teacher is that I have endless access to no. 2 pencils.  I sent Anne on a mission to collect like-new pencils, and she didn’t have to look any further than her classroom floor in the first week of school.  Success!

I’d like to also mention that this is my first blog post with my sister’s awesome Canon DSLR, so bear with me as I learn how to use the different settings and lenses.  Here’s what you’ll need to make these DIY pencil eraser stamps:

Materials:

  • Two no. 2 pencils with unused erasers
  • Ballpoint pen
  • X-acto knife

To begin, use your pen to draw your desired design on the pencil eraser.  The triangle was the easiest for me to make, so it might be a good place to start.

Once your design is drawn, use the X-acto knife to cut along the pen line and straight down toward the pencil’s metal band.  Then, lay the pencil down and carefully cut in toward your design to break away the excess eraser, like so:

Continue this process until your entire design is cut out.  Be gentle with it, as your new stamp does not have as much structural support as it used to.  Note that I also found it helpful to rinse the stamp afterward to wash away any remaining pen ink.

Voila!

Making a stamp is fun and everything, but it gets even better once you pick out some pretty ink colors and STAMP IT!  The triangle was so easy to make, that I experimented with a plus sign stamp as well.  This design is a little more flimsy, but no less cute.  I decided to make a couple of cards with these stamps, and one is already en route to a loyal reader!  Here are some pictures of my final product:

What other stamps could you make from pencil erasers?

Mirror, Mirror: Part Two

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Last year, I made my friend Caroline an apartment-warming gift for her move to The Big Apple.  It was a framed sign that read, “YOU LOOK GREAT” when read via the bathroom mirror.  When not read through the bathroom mirror, the DaVinci-style message appears to be written in reverse and with mirror-image letters.  The trick is to hang it on a wall directly opposite the mirror so that you can read it when you’re brushing your teeth or getting ready to go out.  It can be a nice way to counteract self-criticisms.

I’ve been thinking about ways to spruce up our own bathroom recently, and recalled this project.  I got to thinking that I kind of wanted one, too.  We have a wall in our bathroom about 3-4 feet from the mirror, so it was perfect for a similar sign.  I wanted it to be subtle and unique, and quickly settled on “INSIDE AND OUT.”  (As in: “You are beautiful, inside and out.”)

The steps for this project are almost identical to my first Mirror, Mirror sign.  Read up on how to make either of them here.  There are, however, two differences in this one.  First, the two frames need to be far enough apart on the wall so that your head fits between them when looking in the mirror.  They may look oddly far apart on the wall at first, but it’s worth it when you or your house guests discover the secret message!  Second, the frames need to be hung in reverse order.  When looking directly at the wall, the left frame must read “AND OUT” and the right frame must read “INSIDE.”  Capiche?

What would you write in your own secret bathroom sign?  Leave your response in the comments section below!

DIY Dragonfly Earrings

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DIY projects don’t always end the way I had anticipated, which is one reason why I love them so much.  They force me to see things in a new way, and think up alternate routes to a final product.  When I bought Sculpey clay a few months back, I thought that I’d be making a ring dish for my nightstand.  Yet when it didn’t work out the way I had envisioned, I began brainstorming.  What could I make instead?  I tested what the clay looked like with alphabet stamps pressed into it.  Much to my surprise, it worked quite nicely!  My alphabet set came with a few image stamps, too — a tiny dragonfly being one of them.  I quickly got to work.

DIY Dragonfly Earrings

Materials:

Preheat the oven to 275°.  Gather a pea-sized amount of clay and roll into a ball.  With a butter knife, flatten the ball onto a clean, flat surface until it is about 1/16-inch thick.  Stamp the flattened clay with the dragonfly stamp.  With the tip of a head pin, pierce a small hole into the top of the clay for the earring to later connect.  Carefully place the earring onto a cookie sheet.  Repeat for the second earring.

Bake the two earrings in the oven for approximately 7-10 minutes.  When they completely cool, coat the front  with clear nail polish.  This will give them a nice finish.  Allow them to dry for 20 minutes.

Using the pliers, bend the two ends of the wire into small loops (see finished product below).  Before closing the loops completely, attach the clay and hook ear wire.  Now close the circles as to avoid anything falling off.

Ta da!  My earrings were about a 1/3-inch wide, although any size would work (note that the baking time may vary).  They are the perfect earrings for spring and summer!

Father’s Day Card Crafting

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Looking for a last minute Father’s Day card?  I made this card fort my dad in under 15 minutes, and he loved it!  There isn’t much to it.  I cut up a few pieces of colored paper in the shape of a popsicle (I wasn’t neat and tidy about perfect lines — on purpose!).  Next, I glued the paper down and then hand-wrote the words in a few different fonts.  I got this card idea from Paper Source, as I often like to do.  This card could even be used for a dad or grandpa whose birthday is in the summer!

IMG_1310 IMG_1314Happy Father’s Day!