Four Dots Designs

Handmade Tape Wallet – Dario’s Comic Book Wallet

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:44:00 +0000

A while back I found this tutorial on craftster and based on that I’ve made a few wallets before. For the first one, I followed the instructions to the tee but after that I’ve made some changes here and there. These are just wallets made using paper and packaging tape and they are very durable. My first one lived for a few years before it finally fell apart.

My nephew, Dario, is 5 years old he’s been obsessed with the Post Office lately and wanted to receive something with “his name on it” so my sister asked if I could mail him a letter. I wanted to send him something a little more fun than a simple letter but light enough to mail to Ecuador and that it wouldn’t cost me a small fortune.

That’s where the wallet came in: fun, small, you can still mail it flat…perfect! And I even threw in some cash and a few fake credit cards for him! Can you say, “Best Aunt Ever”??

It was made with pages from a comic book that I got free from work. I made another super cute wallet for Isaiah using the same book but I made it at work so I couldn’t take pictures of that one. Maybe I’ll take my camera with me one of these days and I’ll take a picture.

Anyway, I think it’s time to stop talking and show you Dario’s wallet, even if it’s only a couple images.

Handmade Upcycled Magazine Envelopes

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:24:00 +0000

From a previous post you can see the massive amount of magazines I’ve accumulated so I’m always trying to find projects that can give them a second life.

This is a fairly simple one. Start out by gathering your supplies.

- Cutting mat
- Scissors, X-acto or utility knife (they all work just fine)
- Pencil
- Envelope template
- Adhesive (not pictured)
- Assorted papers (I’m using magazines for the larger envelopes and some scrap paper for mini envelopes but almost anything can be used)

Go through your magazines and find pages with interesting images, fun text or anything else you like and cut them all out. I prefer to find all my pages first and then make my envelopes all at once.

Once you’ve made your selection, use your pencil to carefully outline the template onto one of the papers.

Although this image is not very clear this is what you should have so far. Repeat as many times as you want to save paper.

Use one of you cutting tools to cut your envelope. Remember to use your cutting mat when using the X-acto or utility knife, it runs a lot smoother and you won’t ruin your table!!

Finally, fold all four sides and use some glue or double sided tape to finish up your envelope leaving the top flap open.

A few more envelopes cut with the larger template, ready to be finished.

All done.

Dining Room makeover…continued

admin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:43:00 +0000

I’m still not finished with everything in the Dining Room but it’s slowly coming together.
I bought this frames at the dollar store and gave them a few coats of paint. They’re not up on the wall yet but wanted to show the progress.

Before, even though I only remebered to take pictures after I started painting.

After…frames are almost ready, just need a couple touch-ups

Home Makeover

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:45:00 +0000

I have been trying to make my apartment pretty. I get it to where I’m happy with the way it looks and, two days later, I absolutely hate it and have to start over.
I love Design Sponge and one of my favorite sections is the Sneak Peeks, where you get to see artists’ homes and studios. They are so inspiring! I recently saw Jill Bliss‘ place and fell in love with her breakfast nook. I’m not sure if that’s what it is, maybe it her dining area. Either way, I think it’s pretty darn wonderful. So, with that in mind, I set out to make my tiny dining room a little more Jill-esque. It still has a long way to go but I like it so far. I’ll be sure to show you when it’s totally finished.

BEFORE

I moved all my furniture out of the space so I could start from scratch.

AFTER

It still needs work, artwork on the wall, and specially more color but we’ll get there soon.

File Cabinet Revamp

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Before

One of the drawers

Both drawers together

Almost ready but no handles yet!

This is how the top looks, and now with handles!

TADA!!! The finished product!

…and a "huge" one!!!

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:21:00 +0000

I was watching TV a little while ago when, all of a sudden, I heard this horrible noise…like the world was coming to an end kind of noise.

Next I saw the cat run out of the bathroom and I obviously thought he did something! Well, I went in and all I found was the soap dispenser on the floor…so what happened???

Let me show you

Disaster area (my magazine shelves came crashing down)

And from the other side

This is where my book/magazine shelves used to be. I guess they were too heavy!!

A "Little" Accident

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:12:00 +0000

I was warming up dinner the other night and when it came out of the oven…this is what it looked like:

The lid flipped completely inside out! That’s never happened to me before!

And this is what I ended up with after trying to fix it.

Better than I expected!!

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Lots and lots of lint but at least it came out the same size!

Something blue…

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:36:00 +0000

I’ve “felted” way too many sweaters in my life but this is ridiculous! I have this light blue area rug and it was filthy so…I have to wash it, right?
Well, here’s what I found when I opened the washing machine!!! The thing is in the dryer now and I’m scared to look.
I’ll show you in a few minutes…

This is the inside of my washer after I pulled the rug out.

And some of the fuss that got everywhere!

Even on the floor!

May I take Your Coat??

admin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:57:00 +0000

I found this hand outside my apartment one day (weird, right? i think it belonged to some sort of toy) and I had to have it, I just knew it could turn into something fun.
All it took was a wooden plaque, a few coats of paint and scrapbooking paper and voilá…a super cool hook!