Bookmark Love {craft}

I recently made a reading list for myself to go through during the school year (hey, just because I've graduated doesn't mean the work stops!) and some of the books I'm reading are borrowed from other people. This means I can't do what I usually do with my darling books: fold the corners to mark my spot, scribble notes on the side, and underline all my favorite quotes. I can prevent myself from folding corners by using bookmarks - so I made some!

The Craft:

Washi Tape bookmarks

The Purpose:

To keep yourself from dog-earing any books you're borrowing for school or fun - they also make fabulous little gifts for bookworms!

The Materials:

 

 -Washi Tape 

-Regular tape

-Ribbon

-Sharpies or markers

-Cardstock paper...you could use regular paper, but I don't know if it would be sturdy enough.

 -Scissors 

-Ruler [if you want to be all neat and proper, that is. I cut with wild abandon.]

The Instructions:

 To be honest, I didn't have any plan of attack when making these. I just grabbed some stuff from my craft box and got busy!

First, I cut the cardstock into thick strips, about a couple inches across and ranging from 6-4 inches long.
 

 

 For the first bookmark, I carefully taped across the front then wrapped it around to the back, then snipped the tape to make one layer. I then repeated this until I was about 1/3 of the way down the bookmark.

 

 You probably can't see it very well, but I wrote [in pencil!] "Book Worm" on the paper and then went over it with a colored sharpie:
 

 

 Then I flipped the bookmark over and taped up the "bald spot" in the back.

 And continued to wrap tape around the rest of the bookmark until I reached the bottom. You might need to trim the ends of the bookmark.

 

For the second one, I cut a couple pieces of ribbon about 4-4 1/2 inches long and taped them to the back of the paper.
 

 

 Then I repeated the process of wrapping washi tape around, one layer at a time.
 

 

The thing with Washi tape is that you can really do whatever you want with it. The little bicycle at the top of this bookmark is from one roll of Washi, then I finished with a different roll.
 

If you don't have Washi tape, you can also use duct tape - my brothers have some that they want me to use to make them some "manly" bookmarks, haha!

Blessings,

Washi Tape Pencils {craft}

By now, pretty much everyone has either already started school or is about to. I graduated from High School a couple years ago, but still have classes every Monday as I work towards my Associates Degree in Bible Doctrines.

The Craft:

Wash Tape Pencils {three styles}
 

The Purpose:

A ridiculously easy way to brighten up or change the way your pencils look this year! I made several for myself and for friends of mine starting college this year.

The Materials:

Washi Tape - this can be bought just about anywhere that sells crafts/school supplies. I got mine from Office Max.

Pencils

Scissors

The Instructions:

 I found three different ways to tape up your pencils and decided to try all three to see what works best.

Style One:

silly me got working on the pencil and then realized I had forgotten to take pictures, so here's an "in progress" picture!

 This works if you have an actual picture, not just flowers or swirls, where it doesn't matter so much if you don't see the whole thing. You simply start at the top, wrap the washi around the pencil for a couple layers, cut or tear the washi off, then start wrapping again right below/slightly overlapping with the first row. Keep going until you reach the end of the pencil.

The Verdict: this wasn't too bad, but it took up a lot of tape and thrifty me prefers to use as little as possible to make the tape go further.

Style Two:

  This was my least favorite, though it did look cute once I finished. Basically, start at the top and keep wrapping, pulling the washi down to create a messier version of the style above.

The Verdict: washi tape isn't super durable, and so it kept ripping and wrinkling up on me. However, if you like a messy, distressed look, this would work!

Style Three:

 Unroll the washi until you have a piece the length of your pencil.
 

 

 Put your pencil in the middle of the strip of washi and carefully wrap the edges around it. The washi won't go all the way around,
 

 

 So repeat for the other side. If you can see the pencil through the washi, you might want to do a second layer.
The Verdict: The easiest style, displays the print very well, and uses as little tape as possible - perfect! This is definitely my favorite style and the one I'll personally use the most.

Quick note: like I mentioned above, washi tape isn't exactly the most durable sort of tape, so work carefully with it. When making my pencils, sometimes the tape would wrinkle up on me as I wrapped it around the pencil. Usually you can peel it back until you reach the wrinkle and smooth it out again.

Have fun!

Until later,

 

Easy Crochet Scrunchie {craft}

Please don't let the word "crochet" make you want to run away! I use the word crochet in the title and post because the technique is technically a crochet stitch. However, hopefully even if you are not a crocheter you will still be able to do this!

The Craft:
Easy Crochet Scrunchie
 

{thanks to my little sister for being my model!}

The Purpose:

To turn an ordinary hair elastic into a fabulous little scrunchie! My little sister likes to put her hair into a braid or ponytail every night before bed and I thought I would brighten her elastic up a bit.

The Materials:

A pair of scissors

Some yarn - any color works, and you probably want a medium thickness {I used some cheap acrylic yarn that my sister had}

A hair elastic - again, any color works, and you might not want to use a thin one unless you were using a thinner yarn

A crochet hook {I used a size G}

An embroidery/crochet needle

The Instructions:

Tie a slip knot around the elastic, leaving a long tail. With this one, I didn't make a very long tail and so it left the finished product looking a little uneven - next time I will try to leave a tail long enough to go all the way around the scrunchie.

Hold the two strands of yarn between your fingers and use the crochet hook to go through the elastic and grab the two strands, pulling them through the elastic to make a loop next to the slip knot. Then do a yarn over. {if you don't know what that means, click here}
 

Congratulations, you've just done a crochet stitch! Now repeat over and over all the way around the elastic, occasionally pulling the stitches closer together so you can get as many on there as possible.

Once you're finished, leave a large loop, pull out the crochet hook and snip the yarn, leaving a tail about about 5-6 inches long.

Use your embroidery needle now, threading the yarn through it. Pull the needle through about 1/4 of the new scrunchie for one "stitch"...

and then pull it through again in the opposite direction.

If you have any remaining yarn, snip it off, and then enjoy your new scrunchie!

Enjoy! I hope the instructions were easy to follow - let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Until later,

Tea-riffic Encouragement Card {craft}

Hello everyone! My name is Hannah Grace, and I am honored to be a contributor for A Pinch of Classy! A little bit about me - I am a 20 year old Christian, Homeschool Graduate, writer, nerd, big sister, and so much more. 

I will be bringing you all weekly posts featuring different crafts, easy to make fashion accessories, and even fun hair styles.

The Craft: “Tea-Riffic
” encouragement card.

The Purpose: A happy little homemade note card that you can send to a friend to brighten their day!

The Materials:

1 sheet of cardstock paper

Scissors

1 tea bag (I used a round one, but you could play around with the picture you draw and use any shape)

Glue dots

Crayons

Sharpie Marker

Pen

Someone to give the finished card to!

The Instructions:

First, take your piece of cardstock and cut it in half. I did this to make a card that would easily fit into an envelope, but if you wanted to make a bigger card you can skip this step. Once you’ve cut the paper (or not), fold it in half, classic card style.

Then you get the tea bag…

…and use the Sharpie Marker to transform it into a happy tea bag!

 

I used glue dots to attach the bag to the front of the card, so I am really not sure how it would turn out if you used regular glue. Frankly, glue dots are one of my favorite crafting supplies in the whole world so I am slightly partial to them.

 

Once you have attached the tea bag to the card, make a picture! I used yellow and orange crayons to make my tea bag into a sun:

 

Other ideas would be to add a stick figure body using the tea bag as the head, draw a mug around the bag, or turn it into the center of a flower.

Tell your friend to have a tea-riffic day, add a personal note on the inside, and voila!

This card is sure to bring a smile to any tea loving friends – you might even want to slip a tea bag inside the card that they can actually brew.

Have a tea-riffic week!

In Christ,