I started with this pile of cards. The three at the top are from Hobby Lobby, which always has pretty, seasonal card designs. The handful at the bottom are actually promo American Express clear cards—the only credit card like objects in my stash that looked like they might want to be jewelry. At some point, I’m pretty sure I’ll turn these into a necklace.

First, I did a little planning with my ruler. I figured I could cut eight pieces from the card by splitting it lengthwise, and then cutting 3/4″ strips from those halves. The little bit leftover removed the writing on the bottom of the card.

Armed with measurements, I flipped the card over, and drew out some cutting lines using a Sharpie.

Heavy scissors will cut through the cards easily.

The card had rounded corners, so I just used one of those as a guide, and rounded all the straight cut edges. This will keep the pieces from catching on everything in sight when they’re around my wrist.

I marked dots for two holes along one shorter edge.

I have a teeny tiny hole punch I use for jewelry, that’s just big enough for a jump ring to slide through. A drill would work for hole punching, too.

I used split rings to join the pieces together. Just place them back to back, and slide the ring through two side holes.

Just keep putting new pieces back to back with the ones joined together, adding links until the bracelet is long enough. I used seven for mine, but probably could have made do with six.

When the bracelet was long enough, I just added a toggle clasp to the ends.

To do this, you’ll need clear, shiny Easter grass, and parchment paper, which is available at most grocery stores in the wrap and foil section.

Tear off a sheet of parchment paper, and fold it in half.

Open the fold, and cover one half of the paper with Easter grass. To make loose webbing, pull a few strands at a time from the bag of grass. For something denser, pull it out in small clumps.

Spread the grass out somewhat evenly on half the paper.

Cover the grass with the other side of the folded parchment paper, and tuck any stray pieces of grass between the sheets.

Now, the scary part. Press the parchment covered grass with a hot iron. I had mine set on cotton, which is pretty hot. At first, I pressed down on each section of the paper, rather than sliding it, to flatten and melt the grass. Then, I slid the iron from one end to the other.

After peeking at the progress, I decided I needed to flip the parchment over, and press the grass from the other side.

This time, I just slid the iron slowly from one end to the other.

Wait a minute for the melted grass to set, then peel back the parchment. If the webbing is holding together well, peel it off the other side of the parchment. If not, hit it with the iron again.

I found that I could sort of square off the fuzzy edges by pushing the webbing against the fold of the parchment, and giving it another press with the hot iron. This is good for catching all those wayward strands of grass.

For fun, I decided to see if I could change the color a bit with some embossing powders. I’m not sure how effective this was—it looks great from an angle, in the light, but otherwise just looks a little blotchy. Perhaps I just need to work on a more even coat of powders.

I sprinkled the embossing powder over the webbing while it was sitting on folded parchment. It’s best of you do this right on the ironing surface, rather than trying to move it with loose powder.

Cover with parchment and press. You’ll be able to see the embossing powder melting against the parchment.

When the sheet has cooled for a moment, peel back the parchment.

While it’s possible to reuse parchment over and over again, I suggest throwing it away once embossing powder has been used on it.

What can you do with it? Well, so far, the only thing I’ve done is cut it into shapes and glue it to cardstock with a glue stick. For those of you who are into fabric things, this stuff can be sewn like lace trim.

Anybody want to whip up some sample projects using this technique and show them off? Go ahead. I dare you.

Place an envelope on your work table with the flap open, and measure about 3-4 inches down from a corner. Measure across from the corner the same distance, and draw a line between the two points to create a triangle.

Cut on the line, to create a triangular pocket that’s open on the longest side.

Decorate! Collage, stamp, doodle, draw, apply stickers—whatever you wish.

That’s it. You’re finished!

First, I sorted through my pile of junk mail envelopes, and pulled out all the ones that had interesting patterns inside. I gently opened them up and flattened them out to turn them back into sheets of patterned paper.

Wow, look at all that free paper I found! This will come in handy later, when I want to decorate the inside of my book.

Next, I found two envelopes that were plain white on the back side, and printed in black on the front. I licked the flaps, and tucked them inside each envelope to reinforce the top edge a bit.

I folded each envelope in half, one with the printing on the outside, and one with the printing on the inside.

I tore pieces from some of the patterned envelope sheets, and collaged over any printing I wanted to cover up.

I punched a few flowers, and used them to decorate the front cover of the book.

I lined up the folds, and punched holes about half an inch from the top and bottom edges.

Tie a ribbon through the holes, and knot at the spine, and the book is ready to fill with goodies. This made a book with four interior pockets, and a center set of pages that just need a few images to complete.

There have been quite a few popular articles about what folks do to recyle their business envelopes in crafty ways. One good idea has been to gently open them up, turn them inside out, and use them as either blank envelopes, or in the case of security envelopes, patterned ones. Another one is to use them as papers for making paper beads.

My first idea on using up those extra envelopes is to turn them into pockets, and use them on cards and in altered books. Here’s how I made the two samples on this page:

First, I dug through my pile of envelopes, and found a couple that were mostly plain on one side, rather than printed with address info and advertising slogans. The two I chose just had some lines where the return would go, which I’ll incorporate int my design.

I licked the back flap, and glued the envelope closed.

Using my paper trimmer, I cut the envelope short enough to fit on my card front. This also removed the clear window on the front of the envelope. You might prefer to use this section for a pocket with a window in it.

I used a very large round hole punch to cut a curve in the top front edge of the new pocket. This will make it easy to open it up and put things into it when it’s glued down.

On one sample, I decided to do a little stamping. I did this in black, to match the return address lines. On the other, I simply glued some flowers punched from colored paper. I might also have done a little collage work on the pocket to hide any printing on it.

Once the design is finished, the pocket can be glued onto a card front, or into an altered book.

Here’s the stamped sample, filled with a blue index card, a paint chip, and a library checkout card.

You’ll need the big paint sample cards from Behr for this one, available at Home Depot. Be nice, and buy something while you’re there stocking up on paint chips.

You’ll also need this heart pattern, sized for a standard card. Be sure to save it, and print it from graphics software rather than directly from your browser, to get an accurate size.

Print the heart pattern on heavy paper, and cut it out on the black line.

Place the pattern on the paint sample, arranging it as you wish. I lined mine up so the stripes on the hearts were diagonal, and only used up three of the four colors. Trace the heart on the paint chip with a pencil, and cut it out. Save the scraps!

Use a white plastic eraser to remove any printing on the heart. For more about erasing the printing, try this article. You can also erase the writing on the scraps—I punched around it, because I was in a hurry.

Punch flowers from the scraps of the paint chips. To dodge the white stripes, I flipped the punch over, so I could line the shape up on the colored strips.

I also punched a couple of flowers from the heart shape. Be sure to avoid the upper section that will stick up above the card later.

Cut a sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, to make two strips 4-1/4 x 10 inches.

Fold the strip in half to create a blank card.

Apply the heart to the front of the card, so the two upper curves stick up above the fold. I used the center V as my guide, to keep the card from showing above the heart shape.

When the glue has dried, cut around the heart shape, removing the white cardstock from the card front, but leaving the lower fold of the card intact.

Trim off the lower section of the card to size it back down to 5-1/2 inches tall. That way, it will fit into a standard card envelope.

Arrange punched flowers on the heart. I also added a few to the lower card, which will put them in the interior of the card when it’s open. Glue the flowers in place.

Add a punched circle or a little rhinestone to the center of each flower.

Here’s another finished sample. I whipped both cards out in less than half an hour!

Here’s how I made the cards shown above and below:

I started with one of the large Behr paint chips from Home Depot. They’re large enough to make a nice-sized card front.

I removed the print from the card using a white Staedtler Mars plastic eraser. The printing on most paint chips can be rubbed away with this eraser, leaving nothing but a slightly duller spot behind.

Punch shapes from each colored section. I did most of my punching in a straight line, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be random.

Fold a piece od cardstock in half to create a card. I chose white, to sort of coordinate with the white stripes of the paint chips.

Apply glue to the back side of the punched paint chip, and press it onto the folded cardstock, applying the edge of the chip along the fold.

Trim around the unfolded sides to remove the extra cardstock. Save the extra pieces to make ATC backs!

Apply dots of glue to the backs of the punched shapes, and arrange them on the card front. My shapes were fairly delicate, so I used a bamboo skewer to apply dots of Tacky glue to the backs.

I glued a tiny acrylic rhinestone to the center of each flower.

Here’s the result:

If you don’t have access to those big paint chips, you can still use this idea. Above is a card made with a long, narrow strip. I cut off the last, darkest color to make the strip fit onto the front of a white folded card. Then I punched flowers from all four colors.

At left is a long, narrow strip, punched with a very small flower punch. This might make a nice bookmark, or a very long tag or border.

I should also say that this technique is very smelly, so it’s best done with the windows open. It also causes the surface of the CDs to spark for a few seconds, which is a little scary. Try this at your own risk, and don’t blame me if you burn the house down or have a heart attack!

Having said all that, this is a pretty quick and hilarious technique, and it creates a lovely crackled surface, so it’s worth giving it a go with a fire extinguisher in one hand.

Start with old CDs. Mine were blank, without any label on them. Don’t try this with CDs that have a paper label applied to them, because it really will catch on fire.

Put a microwave glass, cup, or small bowl in the center of the microwave. Don’t try this by putting the CDs flat on the floor of the microwave—they need to be lifted up a bit.

Put a CD on top of the glass, with the metallic side up. Usually, the metallic side is the one that has some sort of brand logo on it.

Close the microwave, say a silent prayer, and set the timer for 10 SECONDS. Seriously, 10, and only 10 seconds. Don’t leave it in there any longer.

Press start, and step back. Nothing will happen for a few seconds, and then all of a sudden, there will be a bunch of flashes and sparks. Don’t panic—this will stop as soon as the microwave shuts off.

Pull the CD out. It will be warm, but not hot. Lay it on a flat surface to cool. If it rippled a little while it was heating, you can press it flat while it’s still warm.

Now, the CD surface is crackled. The metallic finish on the one side has split into tiny pieces. If you leave it alone, and just seal it with some acrylic varnish or Diamond Glaze, most of the metallic will stay where it is. However, if you want some of those pieces to come off, just brush it with a paper towel a few times before you seal it. Whatever you do, seal it! I took these, unsealed, to lunch this week to show to Livia and Mary, and Livia had to pick little silver bits out of her Thai food after handling one.

So, now I have crackled CDs—now what? Here’s a shot of the unsealed side, which is still smooth, and ready to accept some alcohol inks and a little collage goodness, which will probably be my next steps.

These two books are made from printed gift boxes and leftover ribbon. My idea is that you’ll hit the dollar stores early, pick out the prettiest printed boxes you can find, use them to hold Christmas gifts for your family, and as soon as the boxes are emptied, snatch them up again, and recycle them into little books. They can hold prints of holiday photos for relatives far away, or CDs of photos if that’s how you roll. You can make little books to use for notes or test swatches of new techniques. You can gluebook in them, journal in them—whatever.

So, here’s how they go together:

Start with some printed gift boxes. I got this four-pack of medium boxes at the dollar store. Go early, because they always blow out of them quickly.

When Christmas is over, collect the boxes. You’ll need a top and a bottom for each book. Flatten the boxes out by cutting them at the corner folds.

Figure out how big you want the finished book to be, and do a little measuring. If your print is directional, be sure you’re working so the pieces end up oriented in the right direction. Start by cutting a straight line for the bottom edge of the book’s front cover, removing the bottom fold of the box

For this book, I’m going to make the pages half a sheet of paper. Covers should always be just a tad bigger than the pages, to protect the edges of your work. I placed a page on the printed side of the box, and used it as a guide for cutting, leaving just a bit extra around three sides. The fourth, left side will be where the binding is, and that’s where you don’t need the covers to extend beyond the pages.

Use the front cover as a guide to cut the back one. They should be the same size.

I used the fold line on the side of the boxes as part of my cover design, since the height of the orginal box was the right size for a binding section. For my half page-sized book, a fold of roughly 1-1/2 inches was just fine. You can choose to trim your fold off completely to do a flat book, or make it narrower or wider. It’s your book, so you decide. If you’re going to use a fold, give it a good crease now.

I decided to line the inside covers of my book with pretty papers, because the bare chipboard seemed to clash with the print of the front of the book, and the stark white of the back. If you’re using a pattern that looks good with plain chipboard, you can go without. Again, it’s your book, so you decide. If you want an inside cover lining, just apply some paper with a glue stick, then trim it to the size of the covers.

There are quite a few different ways to bind these books. You can tie them with ribbons or fibers, use binding rings, brads, or screw posts, or do a stick binding. Check the decos and small books section for a bazillion different binding techniques.

I chose to punch holes, and use ribbons to tie my books. First, I marked the holes with pencil, measuring to be sure they were centered on the fold, and equidistant from each edge. I also made sure that my holes were placed so the pages would be punched securely.

I punched holes as marked through both covers.

Next, I prepared the pages. For most booklets, that just means cutting a stack of them the right size. However, if you’re making something that will hold photos, recipe cards, or other bulky items, it’s best to cut the pages a little long, and fold them on the spine edge to create a spacer that will give a little ease between pages.

If you’re really into bulky stuff, do a double fold at the spine edge, to give yourself two layers of spacers. This way, your book will lay flat when it’s full, instead of turning into a wedge shape or a fan that never closes.

Line the pages up on the cover, and use one page as a template, marking where the holes should be.

Punch through all the pages, using the same template.

Line all the holes up on the back cover.

Place the front cover over the pages, and clamp the whole book to hold everything in place while you bind. I use kitchen clips or clothes pins for this.

For fun little books used for a short time, it’s fine to use gift wrap ribbons for the binding. If you’re planning to keep the book for a long time, those ribbons might not be strong enough, and might not look pretty after a while. Try satin ribbons or twine instead.

Re-curl the ribbons once they’ve been threaded through the holes and tied in a double knot.

First, I took a sanding block to the fronts of the CDS. Most CDs are really clear disks coated on one side, and the coating really isn’t that hard to remove. A few strokes with the block to break the surface, and the coating pretty much chips away in big chunks. I didn’t bother removing all the coating—just whatever came off fairly easily.

In keeping with the sort of transparent them, I used printed tissue papers to decorate some sections. I applied it to the unsanded side of the CD with a little glue stick.

I like preserving both the outer and center circles when I alter CDs, so you can stiil see what it used to be. I just trimmed off the excess paper around the outside edge with scissors. The center was easy to remove by just dampening my finger, and pressing it along the inner edge.

To color each CD, I dripped a few drops of alcohol ink on it, and then a few drops of extender.

A little pounding of the color and extender with a felt pad gave a nice, uneven color to the CD and paper.

Each CD got an image, torn from one of my color-themed collage sets from Ten Two Studios.

I edged the CDs with embossing powder by rolling it across an embossing inkpad, and then dipping it into the powder. I also did some stamping and embossing on the CD fronts.

Each CD also got a word stamped and embossed on it.

I didn’t want to make the CDs too lumpy and bumpy, so stuck to mostly flat embellishments like flowers and glitter glue. I also added a bow to each CD, and a hanging loop, so they can be used as ornaments.