We are so excited to introduce you today to our Lifeway Women friend, Shela-Lyn Boxberger. Some of you may recognize her from the Living Proof Live events (where she interprets for the deaf and hearing impaired). She is also extraordinarily talented at creating and crafting gifts. Check out more from Shela-Lyn at CleverCreations.me.
Acrylic Picture Frame Post-it Note Holder
Items you will need:
- Post-it note pads (Design and colors of your choice)
- Scrapbook paper, old book pages, or Bible pages for the background of your holder. Coordinate the background paper with your Post-it notes. If you are choosing Bible pages, use the recipient’s favorite Scripture or a meaningful Scripture for the occasion. If you can’t bear to tear up a Bible from the thrift store, then copy a page from your Bible on a printer and use it.
- Acrylic picture frames (I found mine at the Dollar Store.)
- Embellishments to coordinate with the theme of your gift (Craft stores have a huge selection; I like to use Scrabble letters, flowers, keys, washi-tape, stickers, photographs, Scripture verses, old jewelry…you get the idea. This is your chance to express your creative side.)
- Scissors or a paper cutter
- Glue (hot glue and a strong adhesive like E6000 or something comparable)
- Pens to coordinate with your color theme (Again – your friend and mine, the Dollar Store, has plenty!)
- Stamps and ink to coordinate with your theme. If you don’t own any, borrow from a friend or use a 50% off coupon at the craft store. Use small scale stamps as you want to enhance the Post-It note pad with the image, not completely cover it.
- Get your crafting on and let’s begin!
These are your standard acrylic frames – the kind where the acrylic is bent to make the stand. It is all one piece. They come in a variety of sizes. I recommend using the 5×7 or the 8×10. However, we aren’t going to use them as they were meant to be used to hold photographs . I love to turn things into something other than their original purpose to make a “clever creation,” and, in this case, we are using them as Post-It Note Pad holders. These frames will be laid down so that the slope of the frame is at the bottom and the back stand of the frame is at the top to create a small easel affect. (See additional photos once paper is added.)
When you glue, be sure to use a surface from which the glue can easily be cleaned-up. I use a vintage silver tray to work on. Hot glue peels right up from this, and the stronger adhesives like E6000 or 527 (Hobby Lobby) can be cleaned off this surface. If you have never used the stronger adhesives, be forewarned; they are strong like superglue, so be careful not to get this glue on your hands! You would look pretty silly walking around with a metal crown or silver tray stuck to your hand! The upshot is I have found these types of glues to give a longer lasting hold. They are good for things like heavy metal (and we aren’t talking about the musical genre here). Hot glue works great for lighter objects like Scrabble letters and the Post-it note pads.
Copy any photographs or images you want to use. You can also stamp images or use clip art. Here I’ve copied photos of my mom and two of my sisters and I when we were young. I just used my home printer and regular paper – it works great for black and white photos for our purpose on this craft. Cut out the photos and back them on a color coordinated paper. Since these are black and white, I used black cardstock to back them.
Gather your embellishments and paper for each theme. Here I’ve done a birthday theme, a ‘Queen Bee” theme, and one for Mom. These Post-it note holders can be used for a thank you, graduation/teacher gift (use school colors), Mother’s Day, birthday, or “just because” gift because they are quite affordable to make. I’m thinking of making several of them for the beginning of the school year for my daughter’s teachers. What teacher doesn’t love their Post-It Notes?!
Once you decide your theme and choose your paper, cut the background paper the size of the frame and add any other images/embellishments you want inside the frame. Lay the frame down as I’ve shown here with the slant at the bottom.
Stamp small images randomly onto the Post-It Note Pad. I just flip open the pad and stamp on the bottom of the page; it’s easy and quick. Here I’ve chosen to use an acrylic stamp block and stick on stamps but any type of stamp will do. The Post-it note pad I chose for my Mom’s gift is so pretty I decided it didn’t need stamping at all.
For the birthday theme, I chose pink. I thought this would be a great gift to tuck away in my gift closet for someone who is going through breast cancer and could use some encouragement. On the outside of the frame, I used a party blower and tied “happy birthday” ribbon to it and then hot glued on a metal “happy birthday” framed embellishment on top of the ribbon. I added a little bit of hot glue to the back of the Post-it note pad and party blower and stuck them to the frame. Voila – this gift is ready to go! Tie it up with some cellophane and tie a color-coordinated pen onto the outside of the cellophane or gift bag. It would be an affordable “I’m thinking of you” gift for an office co-worker for any day of the year.
This holder is made for my friend, Betsy, here at Lifeway. I nicknamed her “Queen B” years ago only to later find out that others also called her this term of endearment. She is queen of organization at the Lifeway hive, so the nick-name is quite appropriate. I made this for Betsy’s upcoming birthday this month (Shhh…I don’t want her to see it! Don’t BEE a snitch and ruin the surpriZ-Z-Z or I’ll break out in HIVES!) Under the frame is the bee paper, crown washi-tape, the stamped bee hive and bees. On top of the frame, I glued the Post-it note Pad, which is stamped with the word Queen and several different sized bumble bees, “Upwords” game pieces (found at the thrift store) to spell her name, small crowns on the hive, ribbon tied around the frame to add dimension, and I glued a large metal crown to the top of the frame. I tied up a pen with coordinating ribbon. Do you think she will BEE surprised?
For Mom’s holder, I glued on a clip (using 527 glue). I tied the clip with ribbon to extend off the top of the frame for dimension. She can clip on additional notes, coupons or her shopping list to keep handy by the phone. I found these clips at my local office supply. You could also use a glittered/embellished clothespin. I added a flower and key by her photo and then used hot glue to glue on Scrabble “MOM” letters; all glued on top of the frame. This would be a great thank you or Mother’s Day gift. I wrote a little love note on the pad and added a pen tied with coordinated ribbon for Mom. I will pop this in the mail “just because.”
I hope you have fun repurposing these inexpensive frames into clever Post-it note holders. They are affordable gifts to make for any occasion. Here are a couple of phrases you could use to write on the top page of the Post-it note pad or tie on a tag to complete your gift:
On this NOTE-able occasion, I wanted to say…
- Happy Birthday
- Congratulations
- Happy Mother’s Day
You are such a NOTE-worthy
friend/co-worker/Mom/teacher/babysitter (your choice for the occasion)
…thanks for all you do!
…I think you are the BEST!
I’d love to see some of your completed projects. Email me at Clevercreations@cox.net, or post your comments or questions below. Until next time…“In the beginning God created,” so don’t be afraid to step out in His image and create, too!
Happy crafting!