Friday, November 21, 2008

Once again it's my weekly download. A collection of wonderful stuff I found on the web this past week.

Crafts, Tutorials...

How to make CD cases from paper
If you're like me, you have tons of CDs lying around, littering the desk and in drawers. The kids use them for school, we have CDs that we burn stuff on, and then the sprinkling of audio CDs. (Mom still buys those, although they're like dinosaurs, doomed to eventual extinction.) Most of them without any covers. I've bought cute little plastic covers, but I run out of them quickly. Plus they're p-l-a-s-t-i-c.

Well, here's a way of keeping our CDs unscratched, giving ourselves an opportunity to use our creativity, and staying GREEN, all at the same time!

You can EASILY make your own CD covers with paper!
How To Make A CD Cover Using A4 Paper - The top video clips of the week are here

I mean, how simple is this and why haven't I thought of it before!

You can add personal touches and your creativity to them. For example, design, print or xerox any arty label you want... glue them on - or use rubber stamps, silkscreen, linoluem cut print... whatever.

You can also use different paper - scrapbooking papers, pieces of wallpaper, handouts you received in class (or work) that you would otherwise throw away.

Marlie's Creative Universe suggests using magazine ads. These create a really nice graphic look. Plus it's a really good re-use of something on hand, that would either be going to recycling or possibly -gasp!- the trash.

Additional info on how to make them is here.

Empty House makes his out of brown paper lunchbags. They're even easier to make than those from sheets of paper and I really like the almost industrial look. They have a lot of potential for personalization, too.


If you want to print the contents of the CD on the cover, you can use this website to create a PDF file which can be printed on a regular piece of paper, then folded to create a paper CD case.










How to bind your own books


Binding books can seem intimidating because it usually requires specialized tools and costly supplies. But Craftynest has a tutorial that's an easy and inexpensive way to bind books—and it requires minimal specialized tools. Plus you can make these books any size you want and the supplies are recycled things from around the house, cereal boxes and scraps of paper.

What can you do with them? Write notes, jot down ideas for crafting, or give them as gifts.

I even found a site that had instructions on how to turn an e-book into a paperback-sized book! With a little creativity you can create books with glossy color covers that are hard to distinguish from a store-bought books.

There are lots of websites that have books in the public domain that can be downloaded for free! (For one, try Project Gutenberg .) Download one of these and bind with a special cover - what a fun gift that could be!

You don't just have to limit yourself to printing e-books. If you have a manuscript you have written, it is easy to set the page formatting in your word processor and print our your own book.



...And More!
Fingerprint Wedding bands

Jeweler Andrew English has designed wedding bands which are hand-engraved with the fingerprint of the partner so that they're completely unique to each couple. They're only available by commission and come in 9, 14 and 18ct white/yellow/rose gold and platinum.

The bands are available in a number of styles with the fingerprint hand-engraved on either the inside or outside of the band. (Somehow I just find the idea of having your partner's fingerprint engraved on the inside of the wedding band terribly romantic and beautifully understated.)



Taking your obsession for cake making to the next higher level


All you see below are cakes that can be eaten without any part of it left. No plastics or any other artificial stuff is being used - everything is eatable. All this cakes by Zhanna from St. Petersburg.I just chose a few examples. For more incredible cakes, go here.














I have to admit, I’m a little disturbed by this last cake with beer, fish and newspapers in the decoration. I'm just hopin the frosting fish still doesn't tastes like what it looks like.



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15 Comments:

  1. OurWanderingAdventures said...
    Holy cow everything is amazing!! I love those lunch sack CD covers and that sewing machine cake!? Fab!
    High Desert Diva said...
    I love the idea of those wedding bands...very cool.


    The cakes are absolutely amazing...
    ARTISANNE DESIGN said...
    Oh my, those cakes!!! :0)
    Robin@creations-anew.com said...
    Wow...what a great idea with the CD covers. I purchase *whispers* plastic ones for handing out with CD portrait packages...this is such a great idea.
    Thanks
    Robin
    CreationsAnew
    Bridget said...
    I LOVE the idea of the cd cases, especially the paper bag ones. I'm linking this to my blog. Marvelous ideas. Thank you for sharing.
    Cheryl said...
    Awesome ideas! I too have made my own scrapbook CD holders, but I love these too! (thanks for commenting on my blog)! Cheryl
    Anonymous said...
    The paper bag cd covers are a great idea, and I have loads of stamps.
    I'll have to check out the wedding ring site, I would love to have one like that.
    Those cakes are art, I would be afraid to eat them. Thanks for sharing some very creative sites today.
    Wear Your Wild said...
    I love the treasure chest of jewels cake! I've always thought that some beads looked good enough to eat. :)
    Contrariwise said...
    lol. You're absolutely right. That's why I included the treasure chest.

    I have some carnelians that, everytime I look at them, make me think of pomegranite seeds.


    hmmm......pomegranites.
    UniqueNurseGranny said...
    What an exciting and informative blog..Thanks
    Unknown said...
    Great tutorial on the CD Covers!
    Leet said...
    Hi...
    Just wanna say thanks to drop EC
    You have nice blog, cool

    Cheers - Leet
    Anonymous said...
    OMG I LOVE THE RINGS!!
    LaTonya Yvette said...
    I cannot believe these are cake! Very talented artists
    jozie said...
    Are you sure those fish on the last cake are frosting? They look like real fish to me. lol

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