Friday 6 June 2014

Cleaning up at a Refreshing Blog Hop!

I was really pleased to be asked by Jennifer Grace, to be involved in one of her blog events again.  Jennifer is one of my co-designers at S J Crafts and her events are always full of inspiration, ideas and prizes and I always find new blogs to follow and projects to try.  


This event focuses on Jennifer's word for the year which is "Cleanse" and so those of us who are guesting on the blog hop this weekend have all made crafty projects to share based on something along those lines.  You can find out more about the blog hop the associated prize at the bottom of this post.   


I pondered Jennifer's word "cleanse" and very much wanted to tie it in to my own word for the year - heart. She suggested water themes, decluttering, healthy living, letting go etc and all those things could fit with my own word in some broad way or another.  I began to tackle a layout on the subject of letting go as a way of allowing myself to register that there was something I had to temporarily put on hold.  Some aspects of my crafting endeavors need to go on the back burner for a bit because my mental health needs to take priority and is taking up a lot of time right now.  I sat down yesterday to put the title on it "Letting Go... For Now!" When I looked at the layout so far though, I didn't like it.  I decided to to start over and the word "clean" kept coming to me, probably because its something I need to focus on in many ways.  However with only a short time available I needed something I could conjure up but that would take me forward in trying to free my mind and my home of some clutter.  I needed something to help me achieve order in the house.  Here's what happened....

Firstly I carried out a partial scrapectomy of the unwanted layout in order to keep the cork print (From Simple Stories, Daily Grind) to attach to a baking tray.
I trimmed the cork paper to fit inside the flat area of the tray.  Then I trimmed it again.  And again.. ahem... I brayered Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the tray and to get a firm flat surface.  I still got air bubbles but you can't see them.  Mod Podge dries clear so you also can't see where you've run the glue along the edges to give them a good seal.
I needed to be able to hang my schedule board up and luckily there were 2 drainage holes in the tray that I could thread ribbon through.  I used bottle tops for my magnets so I punched a pinked circle and added a blob of glue in the centre to adhere them.  
I also wanted to use a few wooden pegs but I didn't have time to wait for paint to try so I added a strip of washi tape to the fronts.
When I bought the bottle tops a while back I also bought some matching epoxy circles so I added one on top of the punched circle.  Then I remembered that I was supposed to put letter stickers on the paper circles first... ahem... Then the circles popped out because the glue in the middle of the tops wasn't touching the paper so I had to redo the glue around the edges...ahem... It was going well at this point, yes?
Next I added some magentic tape to the backs of the bottle tops.  You can see the size that I used here was really small because I only needed them to hold a scrap of paper really.  Later on, when I came to take the photographs I discovered that the magnets were too small  to hold the paper through another layer of paper and Mod Podge.  I discovered this when the wind blew slightly and I spent a while rummaging around the garden for the bits of paper and magnets!
So with those bits done, I could move on finally... I covered the back of an envelope with matching paper (it was actually Christmas paper!) to keep all my bit of paper in.  I folded back the flap and stuck it down then decorated the front.
I started assembling the magnets on the board which proved quite tricky because there was a lot less room than I thought!  I made a title of Chores and added some flowers but there was little room to add anything else that wasn't part of the actual scheduling.  
I pegged the envelope on the board to hold the individual chores and made another magnet from a button to hold the things I need to do every day.  In time I will laminate all the chores and the daily list but I'll wait until we move and have sorted out how different things might or might not be!
So this is the finished article (minus one of the chores that I never found in the garden...) We have a list of the days of the week down the side with room for a chore  (you need to leave enough room on the slip of paper for the magnet to sit on without covering the writing) and then the rest of the chores go in the envelope.  The pegs marked B and L are for little chores for Bella and Louis to complete.  I'll keep these on circles so we can tell the difference when they are in the envelope.  The green theme is to go with our kitchen which is where I will be hanging this pretty schedule.  
Thank you Jennifer for giving me a prompt to do something I've been meaning to do for ages and something that will hopefully help us start sorting out our cupboards ready for moving if / when it happens!

So that's my contribution, I wonder what the other people on the hop have come up with?  As always, if you comment on all the blogs in the hop, finishing at www.jennifergracecreate.com to let Jennifer know you've been all the way around, then you'll be in with a chance to win a refreshing prize pack featuring Glitz 77 and My Mind's Eye Izzy items, total worth over £25. All entries must be received by Monday the 9th of June at 10.59pm BST. 
Your next stop along the hop is Louise: http://scrapbook-me.blogspot.co.uk/

I hope you enjoy the weekend as much I will!

Bye for now
xx

38 comments:

  1. Such a cute and clever idea . TFS

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  2. Such a great idea....and so pretty.

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  3. How good is that. a clever idea Lisa-Jane x x

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  4. fantastic idea, I'd never have thought of sticking corkboard paper onto a baking tray to use.

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  5. Oh wow! This looks amazing, I will be pinching this idea forthwith! TFS

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  6. Such a pretty way to outline those daily chores!

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  7. wow that is an amazing transformation!

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  8. What a super idea...love it :)

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  9. This really is such a fab idea and a fun way to include B & L in their jobs!! Bet it'll look fab in your new home! xx

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  10. A really clever idea...and beautifully made.

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  11. This is SO clever! I need something like this to organize my day to day stuff and to remember the important stuff! Functional and beautiful. A great combination!

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  12. it turned out great! plus green is one of my favorite colors

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  13. This is FABULOUS!!! Useful and beautiful. TERRIFIC!
    Blessings ~~ dawn

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  14. What a great project - so useful!

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  15. Fantastic job creating something to work with your life & goals right now - it's beautiful & functional!

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  16. Awesome chore chart!! LOVE it!

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  17. Gorgeous chart - wow!! The shades of green and the cork look beautiful together

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  18. Super message board! I love all your little magnets.

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  19. Beautiful project. Thank you for sharing some of your struggles with us, too.

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  20. What a brilliant idea! How cool is this! It was great to see your step by step and the colour palette is fabulous! thanks for sharing with us and hope you find time for therapeutic things in your life.

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  21. Love it!!!! Super use if a baking tray....much better than using it for cooking!!! LOL

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  22. This is fabulous Lisa-Jane! I love the bottle caps to show the days of the week, and how there are separate small chores for Bella and Louis. It all looks so pretty and I love the green colour and the flowers! Thank you so much for joining in with my blog hop with this great idea! x

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  23. This is fantastic! Love the colours you have chosen and such a great idea to use a baking tray.

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  24. So this is awesome!
    And I'm sorry I giggled when I read the bit about you running round the garden chasing paper :)

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  25. Brilliant idea! Really need to do something like this myself!

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  26. What a fun idea and I love how it turned out!

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  27. Great board!! And I have to say I love your word "scrapectomy." :)

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  28. Fabulous idea xLove how it's turned out xxx

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  29. This is really cute love how it turned out.
    thanks for the inspiration.

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  30. I love how it turned out, and it's such a great idea! Thanks for keeping the post real and telling about the struggles you had. Sounds like me when I go to create something, so I can totally relate!

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  31. That's really clever and looks amazing

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  32. Wow! What a great project. I keep planning to make an advent calendar with a similar design (substituting Christmas paper/December calendar for the cork board).
    Rinda

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  33. I absolutely love your project, the colours are fantastic and it feels like it's something that will really work.

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  34. What a very nifty idea! A perfect excuse to buy a new baking sheet..I always like the look of them, but don't do enough baking to justify buying another one. Maybe I'll make something instead..

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  35. I like the way it organizes everything. I really need one in my life. Gotta go get myself some stuff ;D

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