I've Been Feeling Crafty

For some reason in the fall and the spring I get the crafting bug. During the past few weeks I've had a few projects I've made and I thought I'd share them with you.
First, I made this cute board book for my cousin's 30th birthday. You can purchase blank board books here and here (although this site is down for maintenance for a few more days.) Then you can decorate your board book how ever you want. I chose to do digital scrapbook pages and then had them printed at Costco. I rounded the corners with a corner rounder and then used some adhesive to glue them to the book. After all the pages were on I sprayed them with a clear glossy sealant. (Although next time I think I'd brush on a glossy mod podge.) After it was all dry I embellished the spine with some ribbon and the front with some buttons.Another project I was working on pretty much at the same time were these key chains. At Michaels craft store you can buy Shrinky Dinks. Anyone remember these from the 80's? Anyway it is a package in the scrapbook section of the store. You design whatever you want to be on it on your computer and then you send this thin sheet of plastic through your printer. If you do this make sure you follow the instructions exactly (you must lighten your image 50% because when it shrinks it gets darker.) After printing you cut it out, punch any holes you may want and again, I used a corner rounder. Then you put it in the oven and watch it shrink. I also sprayed these with a sealant because the ink will still run if it gets wet if you don't seal it. Then in the leather-goods section of Michaels I found these little beaded key-chain things (not sure what they are really called.) I put it through the hole and ta-da a cute little customized key chain. The first one I made my mom for her birthday because it has all her grandkids on it. The second one of my family was for me. A few days after making this someone in line behind me at the checkout asked me where I got my keychain...the ultimate compliment, right?
Finally, I like to read a blog called Crafting Chicks. Someone posted this craft and I couldn't resist. Alyssa LOVES to color and I thought this would be perfect for our church bag. Thankfully I made this during some down time at work and our seamstress (who is the most amazing seamstress I've ever met) gave me some tips that made this turn out much better than if I'd done it at home by myself. If you're feeling up to it there is a link from Crafting Chicks to another website where there are specific instructions. Only one difference, I made mine longer than theirs. I wanted mine to hold 24 crayons instead of 16.
Now get busy crafting something...I want to see what you guys are up to!