DIY Decoupaged Wall Plates

I originally published this tutorial over at Crafting a Green World.

You’ll have the prettiest, most mitchy-matchy wall plates with this easy upgrade!

The cheap plastic wall plates that cover every light switch and outlet in my house are also veeeerrrrrry old, which is obvious from their dingy off-white color.

Unless interior designers in the 1980s were super into everything looking like it smoked two packs a day?

Yes, new wall plates are cheap, and even cute wall plates are pretty cheap. But that’s part of the problem, because even if I donated my gross old wall plates and bought cute new ones, nobody is going to then buy *my* chainsmoker-chic outlet covers and light switch plates when they can also buy cute new ones for just a few cents more!

The good news is that I’m not dealing with any of that nonsense. Instead, I decoupaged my wall plates, and they now look awesome and, most importantly, like they’ve never touched a single cigarette in their entire lives!

Decoupaging a wall plate is one of the simplest DIY projects there is, and even simpler if you’ve ever done any kind of papercrafting. But even if you haven’t, this project is SO easy that it’s pretty much impossible to mess up.

Here’s how to decoupage yourself a new outlet cover or light switch plate!

Step 1: Source your materials–especially terrific paper!

For this project, you will need:

• wall plates, squeaky clean and dry. Oils from fingers can disrupt proper adhesion of the glue, so wash your wall plates with dish soap and water, then let dry. And don’t forget that safety always comes first! Cracked or undersized wall plates absolutely DO need to be replaced.
• paper. This is going to be the star of the show! ANY paper that can handle glue will work for this project. Scrapbook paper is fine, but so are old book or magazine pages, sheet music, or anything with a similar weight. For this particular project, I’m using vintage wallpaper samples from a sample book I thrifted once upon a time. I never really found a great use for the contents of the carpet sample book I thrifted at the same time, but I have used the snot out of that wallpaper sample book over the years!
• Mod Podge. Any PVA glue can be substituted, because you’ll be sealing the decoupaged plate separately, regardless.
• water-based polyurethane. I spray clean and disinfect my light switch covers, so I need a beefier sealant than Mod Podge. I love to keep a quart can of water-based polyurethane kicking around my supply closet at all times to serve all my sealant-based needs!
• scissors, craft knife, and awl. You can use a sharpened pencil instead of the awl, but you can’t get by without the scissors and the craft knife.

Step 2: Glue the front of the plate to the back of the paper.

It will feel upside down, but I think the paper adheres more evenly if I lay it face down on the table, coat the front of the wall plate with glue, and rest it face down on top of the paper.

Press evenly on the back of the plate to make sure that the entire front is adhered, then flip it over and use your fingers to smooth out any bubbles by coaxing them off the edge of the plate.

Finish by trimming the extra paper away from the plate, making sure that you leave enough around the edges to cover the sides of the plate.

If you’re doing proper decoupage by adding additional layers of paper or cut-outs or other embellishments, you can wait and do it as the last step before sealing the finished plate.

Step 3: Cover the sides of the plate.

When you trimmed extra paper away in the previous step, you left enough to cover the sides of the plate. One side at a time, coat the back of the paper with glue, then use your fingers to press it down and mold it to the narrow side of the plate. Don’t tuck it under the back–you can trim any extra again after the glue dries.

Each additional side you work on will require you to fold the edge of the preceding side’s paper under, just like you’re wrapping a present. When you get to the last side, you’ll need to fold both edges under, so add extra glue as necessary.

Step 4: Cut open the holes for the light switches or outlets.

You’re also going to cover the interior sides of these openings with paper, but it will be easy!

Face the plate down on top of a self-healing cutting mat, then use the craft knife to cut through the paper covering each opening as if you’re cutting pie. If your opening is rectangular, you can get away with four slices of pie, but if your opening is circular, you’ll want to cut it into more slices.

Coat the back of the paper with glue, then use your fingers to fold each paper pie slice neatly over the side and to the back of the plate.

Trim as needed to avoid covering any screw holes.

And speaking of those screw holes…

Step 5: Open up the screw holes.

From the back side of the plate, use the sharp tip of the awl or a sharpened pencil to make a tiny pinprick or dent in the paper covering each screw hole, then from the front use the same tool to poke a proper hole. No glue needed!

Step 6: Seal the wall plate.

Follow the directions on your glue package for the drying and curing time of the glue, then follow it up with two or more coats of your favorite water-based polyurethane sealant, also following the directions on the package for dry time and cure time. My polyurethane, for instance, required additional coats separated by at least two hours from the previous coat, and a cure time of a full week before subjecting the wall plate to full use.

My light switches themselves are clearly still gross (any tips for getting old paint spills off of a light switch?), but the light switch plates are beautiful!

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Tutorial: Make a Favorite Quote Bookmark

I first wrote this tutorial for Crafting a Green World way back in 2014.

Even if you’ve got a favorite passage from a favorite book, you don’t have to go through the trouble of cutting up that favorite book just to make a bookmark out of it.

Instead, make your bookmark even more special by using your own handwriting to write out that favorite quote on upcycled paper. Whether your handwriting is awesome or ugly, Tolkien’s best is still the most meaningful when written in your own hand.

To begin, source out a truly special piece of upcycled cardstock-weight paper; the back of the bookmark will remain unembellished, so this is a nice place to use an old record album cover that has a lovely graphic, or the box that contains your favorite brand of granola.

If you don’t mind the back of your bookmark being blank, you can use an old file folder, and if you want total creative control even over the back of your bookmark, you can sand down even an existing graphic and paint or embellish it however you’d like.

I think the most pleasing dimensions for a bookmark are 2″x6″, but, of course, the dimensions of your own bookmark are up to you. Measure out your favorite dimensions and cut the bookmark out by hand, or make yourself a template so that you can make tons of bookmarks for everyone in your life who has ever wanted a bookmark.

Using a miniature hole punch, you can either punch the hole at the top of your bookmark before you write your quote or after. You might like to punch your hole before, so that you don’t punch through any of your writing later; I like to punch after, so that my writing doesn’t get misaligned by trying to avoid that hole.

The most important part of this bookmark, however, is the writing! Choose a pen or pencil that is archivally safe, if you don’t want your writing to fade over time–it’ll happen more quickly than you think! I like to use a black Flair pen, but if you’re feeling extra fancy, calligraphy is always an option.

If you want the entirety of a particular passage on your bookmark, practice it in advance in the approximate space. Otherwise, you can just continue until your space runs out. I write pretty small, and I was able to write just about one entire page from a paperback on the particular bookmark in the photo above.

To make the bookmark’s tassel, cut twice the length of the bookmark from embroidery thread or yarn, then thread it through the hole punch and tie it around the top of the bookmark. Knot the ends of each thread and yarn piece so that it doesn’t unravel.

The only problem with this bookmark is that whenever I’m reading a book that’s NOT Harry Potter (it happens less often than you’d think…), glancing at my bookmark as I find my place always makes me want to stop what I’m doing and read Harry Potter again.

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Make Your Own Path Tile Game from Mat Board and Markers

I first published this tutorial on Crafting a Green World.

A path tile game is a great introductory DIY board game, with tons of opportunities for creativity and infinite playability.

Tbh, I love making board and card games even more than I love playing them–and I love playing games! I really love taking a traditional game concept that’s been around forever, like chess or the Royal Game of Ur, and reskinning it with my own design, although I also have a lot of fun modifying more modern games for my own personal use; check out the Cards Against Mythology game that I made with my Girl Scout troop!

I particularly love the open-ended playability of path tile games. I love that depending on the design, the path you follow could be a highway or a water-filled pipe or a route through a cave system, and I love that you can make an all-new game just by changing the shape of the tile or the number of paths per tile. You can make up your own rules for your game, you can change the rules every time, or you can have no rules at all and just enjoy the process of building an intricate and ever-changing maze.

For this particular game, I decided that I wanted to make it for my four-year-old niece, so I wanted it to be fairly simple in shape and number of paths, and otherwise as open-ended as possible. I chose four bright colors for the paths, but otherwise kept the game un-themed so she could feel free to make up her own rules, enjoy the process of maze-building without gameifying it, or even incorporate the pieces into her own small-world play.

That means that this tutorial is for a square path tile game with four paths per square but no other theming or embellishments. Feel free to change the tile shape, number of paths, or anything else about your own game!

Materials

To make my simple version of the path tile game, you will need:

• stiff chipboard, cardboard, or mat board. I used mat board for this project because I have plenty in my stash and I’m pretty stoked about using it up. Mat board definitely made for a wonderfully sturdy game, took marker like a champ, didn’t need to be sealed, and is so easy to source that adding new tiles won’t be a problem–as long as I remember what color markers I used, lol! If you’re looking for a quick and easy game to experiment with, drawing on the blank sides of cardboard food packaging would work perfectly well. If you’re looking for something heirloom quality, you could upgrade to wood-burned and watercolor-stained wood tiles.
• measuring and cutting tools. Your tools will vary depending on your materials, but I measured with a clear plastic quilting ruler and a gridded cutting mat, and cut with a guillotine paper cutter and a craft knife.
• embellishing tools. For this project, I used a mechanical pencil to measure and draw the paths, then four colors of Prismacolor marker to color them in and a black Flair pen to outline them.

Step 1: Measure and cut your tiles and mark your paths.

The first decisions you need to make consist of what shape and size you want your tiles to be and how many paths you want per tile. If you don’t want each tile to have a top and bottom, then they need to have rotational symmetry in both shape and path endings per side. For the path endings, I accomplished this by measuring and cutting a set of 50 2″x2″ tiles, then marking paths that began 3/16th of an inch from each corner and were each 3/16th of an inch wide. There’s then a 1/4″ gap between paths on each side.

It’s tedious work to go ahead and mark every path ending on every tile, but you’ll thank yourself for it later.

Step 2: Draw out the paths.

The next decision to make is what you want your paths to look like. I have eight path endings per tile, which means that I’ll have four paths per tile. These paths can look however you want, shaped however you want. Do you want angles to fit a robot theme? Scallopy edges because your playing pieces will be boats on the water? Do you want to insert a couple of dead ends or u-turns or other tricky traffic signs? You can do anything you want!

My family of four worked together to create our 50 tiles, and I like that you can see a stylistic difference between our tiles. I liked smooth lines and curves that matched, but another family member liked a lot of wavy lines and crazy curves, and another family member even added some loop-de-loops to their paths. The game was meant to be a handmade gift that was clearly from all of us, so in this case the stylistic differences were a feature, not a bug. If you want an overall more cohesive aesthetic, decide that from the beginning.

Mat board doesn’t erase particularly well, so make yourself a few extra practice path tiles if you really don’t want any faint pencil lines or eraser marks to show while you’re figuring out exactly how you want your paths to look.

Step 3: Color the paths.

This is my favorite part of the process!

You can choose any number of colors for your paths, but I decided on four colors that would each be represented by one path on each tile. You could make your paths all the same color, or a different color for every path throughout the entire game, but I really like the impossible prospect of trying to match path colors when I play–it’s randomly satisfying, for all that you can never perfectly match every color.

Carefully color in the paths, then outline the edges in black pen.

Step 4: Play!

This is such a fun game to play, with rules that are unlimited only by your imagination–if they exist at all! Add a couple of wooden game pieces that you’ve liberated from another board game (for this game, we spray painted DnD minifigs solid colors to match the paths), then decide if you want to try to run each other off the playing field, or if you battle when you meet on a path, or if touching orange moves you back to the beginning and loses you 100 points, or if you all have to try to get to a specific spot.

To store the game, build a box out of that same mat board, or repurpose another storage container. I really like this clear acrylic one that I rehomed from a bathroom drawer because it shows off the pretty colors of the game.

P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!

Look at This Cool Path Tile Game That I Made

It's probably not my least autistic characteristic, but I'm obsessed with it!

The path tile game is exactly the type of open-ended, easily-customizable game that I like to reskin with my own theme. My second favorite is the Royal Game of Ur, because we're not currently solid on what exactly the rules were, but even that's far behind how fun I think it is to make and play with these maze-like tiles.

This specific path tile game was made as a present for my four-year-old niece, so the idea was that it would be colorful but otherwise pretty simple. I wanted her to be able to make up her own rules, but I also wanted her to be able to play with the tiles as-is, matching colors or building little paths for her toys to follow, etc. 

Each tile is mat board, from a set I bought for $18 waaaaay back in 2014, have used for about a billion projects since, and STILL haven't used up--although omg I would LOVE to, lol! It's this exact set and it's $23 now, but back then I also had to pay almost nine bucks for shipping and now shipping is free, so I guess it's actually cheaper today? Rude.

Anyway, because the mat board is in assorted colors I just made the colored sides be the bottom and embellished the unfinished backs to make the game pieces. I don't think having the backs of the tiles being random colors would negatively affect any kind of rules someone would make for their game. Heck, you could even turn it into a feature!

I measured and cut the tiles, about 50 of them, measured and marked where the paths should meet the edges, and chose the four colors I wanted to use, and then got the whole family together to actually draw and color the paths. It was a couple of chill evenings listening to music and podcasts, and it was fun to see how everyone's path-making style was a little different. Some people liked smooth lines, some people liked lots of wiggles, some people had loop-de-loops, some people made lots of angles--between the four of us, I think we got through pretty much every possible permutation of a four-path square tile!

The marker is probably a little less professional-looking than paint would have been, but on the other hand I think we were all neater with marker than we would have been with paint, ahem. And I also like that marker didn't add a layer of dimensionality to the tiles, so if you don't notice the few coloring errors they do almost look printed. 

My favorite thing, though, is actually playing with these tiles, and even though it was a lot of work to make what's essentially a toy, I'm VERY tempted to make another version just for me. I think it would be cool to lay out all the tiles with the paths drawn in but not colored, and then choose the path colors according to some system known only to me--outward radiating rainbow, perhaps? Maybe something that looks more ombre? Obviously when you play the game you'd never think about trying to achieve that exact placement, but I like the idea of there being a single hidden order inside the game that's there to discover.

Okay, maybe this is actually my MOST autistic characteristic, lol!

P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!

Make a Giant Upcycled Cardboard Minecraft Grass Block

 

This is an old tutorial that I recently realized that I've never shared here before! I originally published it in Crafting a Green World way back in 2017.

Why, yes, this IS an oddly specific tutorial that I’m writing here. But what can I say? If you know a kid, do me a favor and try this: leave the computer and go ask that kid if she’d like to have a giant Minecraft grass block all of her own. I’ll wait right here, because trust me–you’ll be back, and you’ll be making this, too, and here’s how you’ll do it:

1. Score some cube-shaped cardboard boxes. This is the trickiest part of the project, because most cardboard boxes aren’t perfect cubes. You can cut down a larger cardboard box, but I volunteer weekly at a food pantry, and what I did was simply keep my eagle eyes out for the perfect type of box. One day, we got in a pallet-full of I Heart Keenwah snacks, and the boxes that those snack packs come in are perfect cubes! Tape the box closed, and you’re all set!

2. Download Minecraft grass block skin vectors. Google it, Baby! You want to find vector images so that you can size them up and down and the image will stay proportionate. My I Heart Keenwah boxes were 8 inches square, and using vector images allowed me to maintain the correct sizing of the pixels that make up the block.

You will need a top, bottom, and side image for the grass block. If you’re going to use the block as a party invitation, like we’re doing, then put the party info on the top. Resize the vector images so that they just fit on the sides of the box.

3. Print the images onto used paper. Use the back sides of paper that you’ve already used once. 

4. Cut the images to size. A guillotine paper cutter is the best and quickest way to get smooth cuts.

5. Adhere the images to the box. You know how a cube goes together, right? Four sides, a top, and a bottom are what you’ll need, and don’t forget that the sides also have a top and bottom–grass above, dirt below. Use your favorite glue or double-sided tape to attach the images to the box.

6. Is it a party? Put the party invitation on top. My partner is a graphic designer, so he redid the vector for the top of the Minecraft grass block to include the details of the party invitation. You can get the same effect by simply gluing the invitation on top, or putting it into a pocket on the side of the block.

You could actually mail these invitation, although our particular plan is to doorbell ditch them on friends’ front porches. My kiddo spent so much time playing with the blocks before they were delivered, however, that we’re considering making another set to play with at the party, and for her to keep.

P.P.S. Want to know how that long-ago party went? Here it is!

P.P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!

I Made Greek Alphabet Blocks from Cardstock, Because Even College Students Learn Better with Manipulatives

It is completely unsurprising to me that the homeschool kid who knew more about Greek mythology than anyone I have ever met is now a college freshman studying Ancient Greek.

It's actually turned out to be her most rigorous class--more than the math classes, more than the classes that required multi-page papers, more than the upper-level literature class she took as a first-semester freshman! I took a year of Ancient Greek when I was in grad school, but when I looked at her homework last semester, I was all, "Um, your teacher is a LOT harder than mine was. You should probably sign up for a peer tutor, ahem..."

Anyway, you'll never out-study this kid, and she doesn't actually *need* these manipulatives, because her class blew through the alphabet stuff back in late August, but when I wanted to put something light and handmade in her care package this month, I remembered this set of DIY Greek Alphabet Blocks that I purchased and downloaded way back in 2017. 

Because a vacation is no fun if you don't study for it!

Unfortunately, the shop where I purchased them is currently taking a break, which is a bummer because this set of blocks comes together perfectly.

Tediously, but perfectly!

I experimented with white glue, super glue, and double-sided tape, but the quickest, easiest, and by far best is hot glue. I also recommend super thick cardstock for a project like this, a bone folder, and a good movie to keep you from getting bored.

It really does take a long time to cut these out, fold them, and assemble and glue them, but they came out so great!

You can't quite do the words perfectly without accents--

--but nevertheless, I think she'll have fun spelling things out:

I mean, if you don't use alphabet blocks to spell out Greek curses for motivation while studying, then are you even a college student?

P.S. I post on my Craft Knife Facebook page all. The. Time, sometimes even while I'm in Greece! Come see!

How to Make Quilted Greeting Cards

I originally published this tutorial over at Crafting a Green World.

Quilted greeting cards are a great way to show off your cutest mini quilt blocks!

When I made quilted postcards, we all knew that I was just one small step away from making quilted greeting cards, right? I mean sure, there was a chance that I’d get bored with mini quilt blocks and move onto the bookshelf quilt that I promised my younger daughter, but you and I both know that when I start down a rabbit trail, I generally follow that trail to the absolute end.

It turns out that the end of the mini quilt block rabbit trail is a set of quilt-as-you-go rainbow quilted greeting cards!

These quilted greeting cards have a whopping two additional steps over my quilted postcards, so they’re still a terrifically quick and easy way to do some scrap-busting of your sewing stash. You should also already either have a mini quilt block in mind OR know how to do the quilt-as-you-go method.

Here’s everything that you’ll need to make quilted greeting cards:

• fabric for quilting as you go or mini quilt block. Fabrics that are approximately all the same weight work best for this project, but otherwise, feel free to play with whatever fun fabrics you’ve got on hand. Those white suns on my mini rainbow quilts are pieces of my old wedding dress!
• double-sided fusible interfacing. This will allow you to adhere your mini quilts to your greeting cards without stitching onto the card. You can do without it, but I think it makes the final product look the nicest.
• heavyweight cardstock. Regular cardstock doesn’t feel hefty enough in the finished product, considering how much weight the mini quilt adds to the front of the card. I actually really like this Strathmore watercolor paper for this project, and I think you could even go as heavy as bristol board or cardboard food packaging.
• measuring, cutting, folding, and sewing materials. I used a guillotine paper cutter, a spoon instead of a bone folder, and regular sewing supplies.

Step 1: Measure, cut, and fold the greeting cards.

To make a standard 5″x7″ greeting card, you’ll want your paper sized to 7″x10″. I actually folded my watercolor paper in half first, then cut it to size with my paper cutter. I’ve got some nice scraps leftover for making bookmarks and gift tags!

No matter whether you fold first or cut first, the most important part of making a homemade greeting card look really nice is getting a really nice fold. With paper as thick as this, you pretty much have to use some kind of tool to smooth down that fold. The concept of the bone folder grosses me out even though I know most of them are just plastic, so fortunately the back of a spoon works just as well!

Step 2: Sew a mini quilt block sized to your greeting card.

I had the idea for this quilt-as-you-go rainbow and sun block, so in these photos that’s what I’m sewing, using that ‘Merica fabric as my base. I generally snap up 100% quilting cotton whenever I’m out thrifting, even if I hate the print, just for projects like this. I’ll also take all your old 100% cotton blue jeans!

By the time I finished my rainbow, you can’t see ‘Merica at all!

Edge-stitch around your completed quilt block, even though fraying isn’t going to be a problem. Your block also doesn’t need to be quilted, strictly speaking, so quilt it or not as you like. I quilted some of mine and left others alone, and I still can’t figure out which I like better.

Your appliques are another place where you can play fast and loose. I just zigzagged my suns onto the quilt blocks and called it good!

Step 3: Attach the quilt block to the greeting card front.

Cut the interfacing to size, then make a sandwich with the greeting card face-up, the interfacing, and the quilt block face-up.

Iron the snot out of your sandwich! Or, rather, follow the interfacing manufacturer’s instructions for how to iron it, ahem.

I ironed the snot out of it, though…

Trim any bits of the quilt block that are sticking out past the greeting card. If any bits of greeting card are sticking out past the quilt block you’re going to be soooo tempted to trim that, too, but trust me: that way madness lies. You will NEVER get it even, so just set your mind firmly to not noticing any sticky-outy card bits.

In case you’re thinking that now I’m SURELY done with mini quilt blocks, I’ve had the idea that maybe I could figure out a way to only temporarily attach, say, a mini quilt block coaster or mug rug to the front of a greeting card, so that the recipient could pull it off and use it. That would be super cute, right?

Move-in day. I HAVE to have that bookshelf quilt finished by my kid’s college move-in day!

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