Puzzle Journal

I love putting puzzles together, but then when I'm done, I don't want to destroy it and put in back in the box, I want to look at it! So I decided to use it as a journal cover!

Materials and Tools
Puzzle (on hand or a $1 at the dollar tree)
Puzzle Glue and applicator ($3.90 with 40% coupon)
Paper ($1 or on hand)
Craft Glue (on hand)
Clothespins
Xacto Knife

Instructions:
1) Put your puzzle together!
2) Follow the instruction on your bottle of puzzle glue to glue the puzzle pieces together. Let dry. I glued on both sides of the puzzle.

3) Once the puzzle has dried, cut out the size you want your journal to be using an Xacto knife. If you have precut paper, then measure to the size of that. You'll want to cut out three pieces total, the front, back and spine. You might be able to cut out one big piece and then score the lines for the spine, I did not think of that until just now. If you decide to try to score, you would just score on the picture side of the puzzle and bend it closed.

4) Next, glue a piece of paper to the board so that it mostly covers all of it when it's laid flat open with maybe 1/4 inch left around the edges.

5) Now it's time to glue the paper together. I used some left over packaging paper and some old newspaper puzzles that I never got around to doing. Take your stack of paper and line up the edges. Depending on the size of your stack, you can either glue it all at once or separate into different stacks. Take your clothespins and clamp them on the sides and on the edge. Take your craft glue and glue down your spine, spreading with the tip as you go. Let dry.

6) Once all of your stacks are dried, it's time to glue them to the cover! Take your craft glue and squiggle a line of glue down the spine of the cover. Then place your stacks with the edges lined up onto the spine of the journal. Keep the cover opened and place two large objects on either side of the filler paper to keep it upright while it dries. I let mine dry overnight.

And here you have your finished product!

Tiered Vase

Vases are used for many decorating purposes. They are used in home decor to hold flowers and other pretty objects, and at events as centerpieces to add color, light, and elegance.  Vases come in many shapes, colors, and sizes to add the perfect touch to any party or event. The best thing about vases is that you can decorate them in many different ways to fit your personal style. Since vases are so popular and versatile, I was surprised that I couldn't find tiered vases anywhere, so I decided to make my own! I used vases and bowls from DollarTree to make mine. The materials aren't even exact, because you can customize it to how you want. I made two different vases, one was $4 and the other was $3, not counting on hand items.

Here's what you need:

- 7in bowl or larger for bottom tier ($1)

-1 or 2 thin vases, for middle and top if wanted ($1-2)

-1 small vase for middle layer ($1)

-Glue that can be used on glass (on hand)

-paint and other decorative items of your choice (on hand)

Below: Materials used, and the way they should be put together. The bowl goes on the bottom, then a thin vase, then a vase that is thinner than the bowl, and lastly the other thin vase. 

Decide how you want the vase to look, and decorate each piece individually. 

For my first one, I glued rope around the middle vase, left the rest undecorated, and filled the vases with seashells and dried flowers. On my second one, I spray painted the vases green with white on the top (see below).

Once you've decorated your tiered vase, it's time to glue them together. Follow the instructions on your glue. For the middle thin vase, it's best to glue it upside down to the bowl so that the glue doesn't drip and look ugly. 

This project has so many options that I want to keep making more, but alas, I have no where to put them! I think I like the way the first one turned out better because the green one seems a bit disproportional. Switching out the vase for a candlestick might make it a bit more eye pleasing, and maybe using a bigger bottom or smaller top, or even using a wine glass and glue the bottom to the bowl. That would make a total of $2 for a unique vase.  

This is such a simple project and I hope you find the time to try it! I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions or if you try this project! Please comment!