the hybrid chick

Happy National Scrapbooking Day/Weekend! Don’t forget to enter the little give-away at the end of this post…everyone stands a chance to win!

Today I will be showing you how to make these darling Wooden Pegs. They are just perfect as gifts or even just around the house. You can use them as magnets, to close your open bags in your pantry, or even as cute gift card holders. Plus, as an added bonus, you can use up your paper scraps with this project!

“Paper Scraps?” you ask, “But this is Hybrid! You only print what you need!” I hate to waste my paper so when I am doing a project I try to fit everything on one page. On the rare occasions that I cannot, I like to print extra paper or even elements to use in little projects like this.  If you have a punch you can even punch out shapes to keep on hand for your next project.

Supplies Needed for this Project:

• Wooden Pegs
• Paper Scraps: Paper Daisies by Sugarplum Paperie available for free HERE
• Craft Knife
• Scissors
• Craft Glue
• Foam Brush
• Mod Podge
• Sanding Block/Nail File
• Magnet Strips
• Glue Gun (Optional)
• Buttons, Flowers, Ribbons ETC.

Step 1:

Apply glue to the back of your pieces of paper with the foam brush.

To save time and effort, I glue the pegs first then wait for them to dry before I cut them out. Makes life easier! You will want to make sure you have enough space between the pegs so you can cut with your scissors/craft knife.

Also, to save time you can use a hair dryer or heat gun to speed up the drying process.

Step 2:

Carefully, using a sharp craft knife/scissor, cut around the glued pegs as close as possible to the pegs themselves. Be very careful to avoid the metal hinged part of the peg since it can dull your blade.

TIP: Use the pegs themselves as your guide and use your blade at an angle…you will get a smoother and closer cut.

Sand the edges of your pegs with a Nail File or Sanding Block to get a smooth finish and even out the cuts from the Craft Knife/Scissors. You might also want to ink the edges depending on your own personal preferences.

Step 3:

Now you can apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to seal the paper and make it last. I like to use Mod Podge on projects like this where you know it will be handled often and might also come into contact (by accident!) with liquids. Let it dry before you proceed.

Step 4:

Cut strips from your magnet sheet and glue them to the back of your pegs as shown. I generally want to put the magnet on the bottom half of the peg or if you choose you can cover the whole peg with the magnet sheet.

You can also opt to skip this step and repeat steps 1 to 3 on the other side of the peg so they are covered with paper on both sides.

Step 5:

Decorate! Release your creativity here…add flowers, buttons, paper punched shapes, labels, chipboard alphabet stickers, ribbons etc.

I used a glue gun to attach the flowers and punched butterfly shapes. It takes seconds to dry and also lasts longer.

TIP: I used a scrap piece of cardboard to clip my pegs on while I created. It made the project easier to handle and also saves time since I can paint and mod podge them all at once with no sticky fingers because I handle the cardboard and not the pegs themselves. Because this project is so simple, quick and easy I like to make a bunch of them at a time. It is nice to have a kind of a production line going.

To make the butterflies I punched 2 butterflies using my Martha Stewart Butterfly punch and printed scraps from the Paper Daisies pack available HERE. I folded one in half to make the wings stand out. I glued the flat butterfly first, then I add the second folded butterfly for dimension. Just another way to use up those scraps!

To add the ribbon, wrap it around the bottom half of the peg and tie a knot.

A great way to present these cuties is on a piece of cardboard or cardstock that you have decorated as in the example shown below.

Just have a closer look at the final product. Trust me. These are so addictive to make!

One lucky person will stand the chance to win a set of these cute wooden pegs! All you have to do is leave a comment in this post for a chance to win! Tell us what your favorite hybrid project is, and we will pick a random winner by Midnight EST on Sunday, May 3rd.

Want another entry for this giveaway? Mention it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter with a link to this post and you can be entered again. Just leave us another comment for each thing you do with a link to your post or Tweet.

Don’t forget to hop on over to the Happy Little Chickadees Forum at The Digichick for more awesome giveaways by The Digichick designers in honor of National Scrapbooking Day!

Other Articles by Mari Koegelenberg:

• Easy Printable Christmas Advent Calendar - December 4th, 2009
• Trick or Treat!!! - October 30th, 2009
• Halloween Banner - October 28th, 2009
• Little Monster Mini Book - October 18th, 2009
• Just a Little Notebook - September 16th, 2009