Wednesday Website # 001 - Colouring Pages

Image: Patent Pending Projects

I have been really bad about updating this blog of late, yet I find the time to update the Facebook page on a daily basis - so new rule - update weekly.

To start things off - On my Facebook page I highlight a website every Wednesday. Most of the time it's for useful stuff like where to find great ideas for Handmade Gifts or cool websites that allow you to create Photo Booth Style Pictures with your webcam. Sometimes, I'll point you in the direction of a great Read or some great Art.

Sometimes, I just need a little break from all of it.

Today's website (and one of my favourite types of website - the FREE PRINTABLES kind) comes Colouring Page, a fantastic resource for lots of free colouring pages of characters from your favourite family friendly Movies, TV shows and Books.
Here's their Facebook Page too.

With colouring pages for Beauty and The Beast, Toy Story and Frozen to Peppa Pig, Spongebob Squarepants and Winnie The Pooh. There's something here to keep the kids entertained on the rainiest of days.

And remember - if you can, try to reuse any discarded printed paper to print the colouring pages on.
Better to have the kids scribbling on that than brand new pages, that if we're being honest, probably won't end up on the fridge 'forever'.

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Last Minute Valentine's Day Printables

Ok, It's Valentine's Day tomorrow.

You haven't taken my previous advice and gone for the simple option and now you are almost out of time and in a panic as to what to do.

There's still time though. LOVE vs DESIGN have kindly provided a free printable Valentine's card and some fun coupons. They've even designed them so that you can fill them out yourself and added an expiration date and terms & conditions.....just in case.

To download them, follow the instructions below these images.

Image: LOVE vs DESIGN

Image: LOVE vs DESIGN

Step 1: Go to the The Printable Templates Page page
Step 2: Click on 'Download the free template here' link
Step 3: Print, cut and fold your cards and coupons together. For your envelope liners use some glue.
The pattern can be printed on the backside of the coupons or as an envelope liner.


If that wasn't enough, ISharePrintables have over 90 FREE Valentine Printables.

Image: howdoesshe

Here is the link to all of the Printables.

Now, If none of this takes your fancy and you'd much prefer to steer well clear of anything 'Valentines' then I suggest you go sit in the corner, sip on some bourbon and have a listen to a little bit of this.

DIY Vintage Tin Project

Image: Tortoise and the Hare

I'm always searching for new ways to recycle old things but every so often I come across an old way to revamp a new thing.

Here's simple way to put a vintage spin on a plain tin.

Image: Tortoise and the Hare

 

Step 1: Spray paint your tin whatever color you like.
(O'Sullivans Art supplies on Camden Street have great offers at the moment on spray cans)

Step 2: Choose an image and resize it to fit your tin.
There's a great selection here where you can find images just like these.

Image: pilllpat

Image: pilllpat

Image: pilllpat

Image: pilllpat

Step 3: Print the image onto adhesive paper or you can print on plain paper and use craft glue to stick the image to the tin. Once attached - use a sealer like Mod Podge to waterproof the label. You should be able to pick some up in any art or crafts shop.

If all of this sounds like a great idea but you are faced with one small problem and that's having any tins to spruce up, fear not, IKEA have a set of 3 tins, seen below, for a tidy sum of €3.59.

Image: IKEA

So now you have 3 good reasons to get organized and make your own vintage style tins.

Shadow Theatre Project

Image: minieco

Here I go again with the cereal boxes.
A cereal box shadow theatre project from minieco, which is great little project for kids this Halloween.

Image: minieco

You will need
1. An empty cereal box
2. A4 piece of tracing paper/greaseproof paper/vellum
3. Sticky tape
4. 2 or 3 sheets of dark coloured A4 paper/card
5. Wooden sticks or the coffee swizzle sticks you can pick up with take away coffee.

All measurements given in this tutorial are based on you using a cereal box which is bigger than 21 x 30cm.


Instructions:
Step 1.
Begin by undoing all the flaps on the cereal box and laying it out flap.

Step 2.
Cut out two large rectangles on each face of the cereal box. The rectangles need to be 19 x 28cm.

Image: minieco

Step3.
With the printed side of the cereal box facing up, tape a piece of A4 tracing paper over one of the rectangles to create a screen.

Step 4.
Remove the two flaps either side of the screen.

Step 5.
Re-assemble the box so that it is now inside out.

Step 6.
Decorate! You can use this pdf template. Simply print out the template and cut round the shapes – or use it to trace the shapes onto a black piece of paper. Remember to stick the scenery on the inside of the tracing paper screen. Use the wooden sticks/coffee stirrers to stick the ‘skull’ and ‘bat’ onto. 

You can download more templates here to add more characters to your show.

Image: minieco

Step 7.
Illuminate the back of the shadow theater with a bright lamp in order to bring the set to life

(PLEASE REMEMBER lamps get hot – so don’t leave it unattended)

Have a look around minieco. There are some great tutorials from Pacman Halloween Garlands to an amazing cardboard guitar.

I know I'll be trying that out with my secret store of cardboard!

Free Halloween Printables

There are plenty of free printables available across the Internet.


Here is just a small collection compiled by poppytalk.

First up are Vintage Poison Labels. Print them out and put them on wine glasses, cups and old bottles.
Courtesy of Coco & Bella

Click on images to enlarge

Next up are some Silhouette Posters.
You can find out how to make these and more at The Pink Peony of Le Jardin

How about some free Halloween Clip Art? Print them out or use them for online invitation cards.
These pieces have been enhanced by Nest of Posies but you can find loads more vintage and retro looking Halloween clip art at The Graphics Fairy, a collection of 2,200 FREE clip art images and vintage printables.

Following that, there are some printable Halloween sweet bag tags from The Twinery.

Next up are some iron on transfers.
Halloween Eye Chart from tattertots & jello and treat bag labels by  Oscar + Emma Design

How about some cupcake toppers?
Try I {heart} Nap Time 

Head over to Mr Printables from some Halloween Candle Wrappers and Party Favours.

And Finally, a few more Party decorations courtesy of Poppies at Play

Gift Wrap Paper Project

Sharing is caring.

At this moment in time across the Internet there is an awful lot of talk about file sharing.

If you'd like to know more about what that is then you can read about it here and one of the many possible outcomes here but in reality this article in Slate describes the future path of file sharing.

For those who don't really want to know what it is, it's mostly about downloading music and TV shows for free.

This is not a new concept.
For those of us who remember our first tape recorder coming into the house, you will remember sitting by the radio waiting for your favourite songs to come on. Index fingers poised, hovering over the record (and sometimes play button as well). The truly expert ones in this colossal piracy campaign had the foresight to already have record pressed down (and here's the trick) along with the pause button which could be lifted up in a micro second, thus getting as much of the song as possible.

Of course you never could get it perfect all of the time and therefore some of the tracks you recorded had snippets of ads or the dj's chatter. Ultimately these snippets would become a part of the very song as you remember it.  "...she used to make dartboards for a living recalled Bello the drummer in The Go Go's. She had some pretty weird jobs but that one's gotta be the weirdest". At number 4 this week, Belinda Carlisle with Heaven on Earth"

So in the spirit of 'sharing is caring' I've something to share with you.

Over on Poppytalk a Canadian based design blog founded by husband and wife team, Jan and Earl, they have decided to share some printable gift wrap paper and tags with all the people who stop by their site everyday and as I reach over 700 readers this month I share them with you.

Image: Poppytalk

Image: Poppytalk

Image: Poppytalk

image: Poppytalk

Below are the a links to the full resolution pdf files that you can download and print.
As always, these are for personal and not for commercial use.

Vintage postcard gift paper
Rodeo gift paper
Stripes gift paper
Stripes gift tags

And maybe you don't want to download these files. Maybe these files will inspired you to create your own gift paper design. All you need to do is fine some images that you like and scan them into a computer. The possibilities are limitless.

All that's left is to find a nice pressie to wrap up and give to a friend.

So happy sharing!