It’s back-to-school week for this week’s Polkadoodles Digi Choosday Design Team theme, and I wanted to create something fun and cheerful, especially for those who are not exactly excited to head back to school. Haha!
For this week’s project, I made these adorable Glitter Shaker Bookmarks featuring the Cute Boy and Cute Girl Students digi stamps from Polkadoodles, colored with my trusty Ohuhu Alcohol Markers.
What makes these bookmarks extra fun? They’re transparent shaker bookmarks! How cute is that?
I created little rectangular plastic pouches using my We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool, then filled them with my colored digi images and shaker bits for a fun interactive effect.
And can we talk about the Fuse Tool for a second? This project was a big moment for me because my Fuse Tool has been sitting unused in my craft room for ages! It was gifted to me by a friend, Kaye a few Christmases ago, and I’ve only used it once… and yes, I burned myself. So naturally, I never touched it again until now. Haha!
So if you own a Fuse Tool that’s collecting dust, consider this your sign to finally use it!
(Just… please be careful!)
Don’t have a Fuse Tool? No worries! You can still recreate this project using a plastic sealer or even small cello bags. There are always crafty ways to make things work!
1. Color your digi stamps
Start by coloring your digi stamps using your favorite markers. I used my Ohuhu alcohol markers.
2. Create your bookmark pouch
Decide on your bookmark size, then use your Fuse Tool to seal the sides and bottom of your plastic sleeve.
3. Insert your colored image
Place your colored digi inside the bookmark pouch.
4. Add shaker bits
Sprinkle in your favorite glitter, sequins, or shaker bits.
5. Seal the top
Once everything is inside, carefully seal the top.
6. Punch a hole
Use your Crop-a-dile or hole punch to create a hole at the top for your ribbon.
7. Seal again below the hole
Create another seal line just below the punched hole so the ribbon section stays separate from the shaker compartment.
8. Add ribbon
Thread your ribbon through the hole.
9. Finished!
And tadaaa! You now have fun, colorful, and interactive shaker bookmarks!
I had fun making these and I love how playful they turned out. They’re perfect for back-to-school gifts, party favors, or even just to make reading a little more fun.
I hope this project inspires you to get crafty this week!
Don’t forget to check out this week’s challenge at Digi Choosday and join in on the fun with us. We’d love to see what you create!
And if you enjoyed this project, I’d love for you to follow along on my crafty adventures and socials for more inspiration, tutorials, and happy handmade projects.
This week’s Happy Planner layout comes from one of my most neglected Happy Planner sticker books - Colorful Leopard.
More than half of my sticker books have already been moved to our new apartment, so I just reached into the remaining pile, grabbed one without looking, and told myself, whatever comes out, that’s what I’ll use.
Well… leopard prints it is!
It actually ended up being quite fitting because our new apartment came with a huge carpet in the living room featuring a giant leopard (or… jaguar?) in the middle. Funny side story - I had to Google the difference between a leopard and a jaguar because I thought it was a jaguar the first two times we visited the apartment. But after using this sticker book, I am now confused.
And even after Googling, I still can’t tell!
What do you think?
I snapped a photo of it, and I also have a theory that Lucky refused to come out of his carrier the first few minutes after he got in when we visited because he got scared of the giant animal on the carpet. Whether that’s true or not, I wasn’t really a fan of the carpet anyway, so we had it removed.
For this week’s layout, I included big sticker with lots of boxes for my TTD (Things To Do) to help me keep track of daily chores, Design Team deadlines, and, of course… packing.
The stickers I used say:
Do all things with kindness
You are capable of amazing things
Attitude of gratitude
Hello Weekend
On to the next adventure
Which pretty much sums up life right now because there is so much happening!
First Overnight Stay
Over the weekend, our friend Jay helped us move the first batch of our things to the new apartment, and we all stayed there overnight.
Of course, the very first thing I unpacked wasn’t clothes.
It was our travel magnets.
I’ve joked for years on Instagram that after every trip I’d say, “I need a bigger fridge!” because I kept bringing home magnets from everywhere we visited. I also did that just recently, coming from our last cruise where I added 10 magnets.
Well… I finally got my bigger fridge!
It’s actually large enough that the magnets and photos that used to spill onto the side of our old fridge now fit perfectly on the front. Since one side now sits against a wall, I’ll probably move our weekly meal planner magnetic board to the front too. A little rearranging is still coming this weekend.
The fridge is practically brand new too. I was even the one who peeled off the protective plastic from the doors! There were still protective pieces inside on the glass shelves and tape holding everything in place. Of course, I still gave everything a good wipe-down and even washed the crisper drawer before using it.
Making the Apartment Feel Like Home
I’ve already made up both bedrooms with sheets, although we quickly realized we need another set of king-size bedding because both beds are king-sized and we only own one king sheet and one queen sheet.
Here it is... the queen fitted sheet struggling and failing to fit.
We also told Jay that the second bedroom is officially his room anytime he needs to stay over or has business in Dammam or Al Khobar.
My Favorite Corner So Far
One of my favorite parts of the apartment is our display shelf.
Everything on it was either handmade by us or lovingly gifted by family and friends, making it one of the most meaningful corners in our home.
Before
After
Top Shelf
A light-up shadow box I made during a Bee Happy workshop (I haven’t unpacked the power cord yet!)
One of the Marmee & Me candles gifted by Kaye
Our 6-year-old Young Living Desert Mist Diffuser, still paired with our favorite Cotton scent
A light-up Instax photo frame gifted by Chummy
First Shelf
The colorful tile photo frame I made during an Arts & Crafts day with our Bahrain Beshies
An Ugu Bigyan Mother and Child sculpture from my mother-in-law
A candle Sean gave me for my birthday that has travelled from Australia to Manila to Malaysia and finally Saudi Arabia
Ton’s clay throwing masterpiece (or… masterpiece with character). He actually shaped the bowl beautifully, but then overthought the painting. The result definitely has personality!
My selenite tower, temporarily living in the living room while my craft room is still under construction. Hopefully it’s busy cleansing our new home.
Second Shelf
A painted portrait of Ton and me for our wedding, gifted by my former colleague Anna, whose sister painted it
A textured floral artwork by KM (she made matching ones for Kaye and me!)
Another painted portrait from my niece and Beshie Girl, Sabi
The lower shelves aren’t finished yet, so I’ll share those once they’re fully decorated.
Craft Room Progress Report
The craft room is slowly coming together!
I’ll be sharing photos in the next few weeks to show the progress:
Bed in the middle with the shelves still in pieces
Bed moved against the wall
Shelves finally assembled
The first few baskets of crafty supplies happily resting on their new shelves while waiting to be organized
It’s still far from finished, but every unpacked crafting haul makes it feel a little more like home.
Closet Goals
Our bedroom closets have glass doors... which means messy closets are unfortunately not an option. Hahah
Right now they look beautifully organized, although that’s mostly because only a handful of clothes have been hung up so far.
Let’s see if I can keep it looking like this!
Lucky’s New Favorite Spot
Lucky has officially claimed his favorite sleeping nook.
It’s the top left corner of the couch’s backrest.
He lounges there like he owns the place.
To be fair… he probably does.
Crafty Updates
Even with all the moving, I’ve still managed to squeeze in quite a few crafty projects!
I’m also busy working with her brand new collection releasing July 24!
On the personal side, I finally finished my Travelers Notebook documenting our latest cruise, exactly one month after we got home! That’s a huge improvement from the eight (or so!) months it took me to finish my Alaska cruise notebook.
This is also my first Travelers Notebook I’ve completed from cover to cover, documenting two cruises from 2025 and 2026. It’s wonderfully chunky and I absolutely love it.
I made one of those viral DIY journal covers… using one of my Bee Happy eco bags! It’s not published just yet, so for now you’ll just have to enjoy the front cover!
I also finally completed an overdue Design Team project with the Nuestro Dia collection. And I made a wedding mini album.
This one is a little different from my usual albums. Instead of lots of flaps and interactive elements, I leaned into a more mixed-media style using stamps and Lindy’s sprays.
I wanted to add texture paste through stencils too… but then I remembered all my pastes were already packed in the new apartment!
Even so, I really like how the simplicity turned out.
Paint Anywhere Challenge
I’ve also joined Fuumuui’s Paint Anywhere Challenge for Watercolor Month.
I’m currently on a five-day streak, and hopefully I’ll keep painting every day until the end of the month.
Naturally… I’m making every single painting Harry Potter themed.
Here are Days 1 through 5!
Al Ahsa Checklist
Last night’s dinner was takeaway from Maza, our absolute favorite broasted chicken in Al Ahsa.
Ironically, it’s the only fried chicken I’ll happily eat even though they don’t serve gravy.
The chicken is just that good.
Life has been a whirlwind of luggages, packing, Design Team deadlines, unpacking, and trying to remember which luggage I packed things in. But little by little, our apartment is starting to feel like home, my craft room is slowly taking shape, and Lucky has already chosen the best seat in the house.
So here's cheers to more unpacking, more creating, more little adventures, and finding joy in every corner of this new chapter.
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