Blog Swap!

Today I am doing a blog swap with Laura from Live.Laugh.photograph! She is very talented and has some great ideas over at her blog. I am super excited to be doing this with her today, so go check out the post that I am doing on her blog today!

Hi Everyone! My name is Laura, I am the woman behind live.laugh.photograph, and I am super excited to be featured here on A love 2 Create!!

Trina has been so kind as to let me share a fun creative craft tutorial here with you today! But, before I being... I have to gush about how awesome Trina really is. I mean, her rainbow tutu, potpourri holders, and decorative plates are just some of my favorite projects she's done! She is definitely talented and oh so creative! But, then again, if you are a follower of her blog then this is nothing new to you!

Let's get started shall we?!

Today I will be showing you how to make these cute little clothespin magnets.

Now, I am a digital scrapbooker which means that I do all of my scrapbooking and get all of my papers and elements online. If you are not a digital scrapper, and have no idea what I'm talking about, have no fear! You can still do this project with any cardstock or papers you have lying around at home. For the flowers, you can trace them on some paper, or even use silk flowers. The options are endless! For those of you out there how know what I'm talking about, I got the flower templates and digital scrapbooking kit here.

So, first I gathered some materials I needed. I used photoshop to print out the papers and flowers.

Now, cut out the papers and elements you will be using.

We are going to glue the paper onto the clothespin. So, take your pin and generously put glue on it. You can use a hot glue gun or gluestick. I prefer gluestick :)

Press it down firmly and then set aside to dry.

Now we are going to move onto the flowers. After I cut them out, I like to distress them a bit. I folded the edges up and then down, just to make them a little messy and worn. Then I inked the edges using a walnut stain.

Here is what they will look like after the previous steps.

Now it's time to break out the mod podge! Oh how I LOVE this stuff!!!

Take a brush {note I'm using a different one than pictured above.... it's just because I change my mind a lot. I'm a woman. And it's my prerogative! hehe}

Anyway, take your brush {or a different one if you choose} and mod podge the flowers! Make sure you get the back and front.

Set those aside now and pick up your clothespins. It's time to trim the edges.

Take an exacto knife, or scissors if you want and trim around the edges of the clothespin.

Now wer're going to sand the edges to make them more even. I used a sanding block but you can use a nail file or a piece of sandpaper. It's really up to you!

ink the edges.....

Once those are sanded and inked, it's time to put the magnets on. I used little strips that you buy in a pack. I had to trim them down a bit so they wouldn't over lap the edges. I used my glue gun to attach them because in previous attempts, the glue on the magnets just doesn't cut it!

This is what it should look like when it's finished.....

Now lets put it all together! Glue your flowers to the top of the clothespin.

Add any extra embellishments you choose! Ribbon, buttons, stickers, etc.

And there you have it! Cute little clothespin magnets for your fridge.

You can even use pictures of your kids to make as a present for the grandparents.

Like I've said before, the options are endless for this project!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and if you want to see more, check out my blog!

I have a ton of new tutorials in the making and on their way. So head on over and follow because you won't wan to miss out!

Thanks again Trina for letting me take over your blog for the day :) And I hope to see you all over at live.laugh.photograph!

Happy Crafting!

Thanks so much for doing this Laura....that was great! Remember to go check out her blog!