New Craft Project

I started a new craft project. I got a cool pillow case from the thrift store and some vintage fabric for about $4 or so and am going to embelish the case. I started by drawing some birds with fabric markers. I may or may not add some buttons or other trim. I'm definitely going to add a few leaves cut from the green and yellow fabric.

Simon approves, I think.

Christmas Project

What do you get when you cross a terrarium with a snowglobe and subtract the water? No, seriously, what do you get? Because I'm having a hard time figuring out what to call these. I love terrariums but either kill the plants or they grow too large. I love the miniature world in a snowglobe but don't care about the whirling snow (it doesn't "whirl" for very long, anyway) and hate the glitter ones.

Anyway, I made these for my mom and sisters for Christmas. I made the birds and mushrooms using Sculpey. I added some holiday picks from Michaels, decorated some branches with glitter from Martha Stewart's collection and sprinkled some fake snow (don't know what it is, plastic? I got it from Target and I think people use it for their Christmas village displays). Everything is firmly affixed to a styrofoam base (that is glued to the overturned jars "lid" or the bottom of the container), using craft glue. The birds are attached to the branches using hot glue. I didn't glue the lids on because I wanted to be able to make repairs, if necessary, but you'll want to make sure they are tight-fitting if you go that route.

Ribbon Wreath

I needed something to hang above our "mantel" - really several bookcases that we hang our stockings on - and didn't want to buy anything (having already gone over my holiday budget!). I started looking for round things around the apartment and came across this old plastic serving tray. I also have tons of ribbon (the paper kind) from a box that I got at a thrift store. I used double sided tape to attach the ribbon and just folded the ribbon like ribbon candy. What do you think?

Paper Source Event

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in stores and on-line, anyway. I'm starting to plan my Christmas projects and have been looking around for ideas and inspiration. Luckily, one my favorite stores, Paper Source, is having free holiday demos and "make and take" projects this weekend! Check out the schedule on their blog: http://www.blog.paper-source.com/

If you're in the area, I recommend the one on Hennepin in Minneapolis because there is a Penzey's Spices store and an Urban Outfitters on the same block! Penzey's can get expensive if you have no willpower like me but smelling the spices is free :) If you aren't near a Penzey's, no worries - you can shop online: http://www.penzeys.com/ Urban Outfitters has a lot of overpriced crap but you can find some cute little gifts or decorations, too. They also have a website, of course, and they have a lot of things that are only sold on the web: www.urbanoutfitters.com

FYI - I have no affiliation with these companies but like their products enough to spread the word :)

Fall Tree and Links to Other Projects

Here is a picture of a cool fall craft project that I did with some friends a little while ago. It was fun and pretty easy. The idea was originally posted on this blog:

http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-paint-fall-trees.html

It was also posted here, along with a lot of other really cool projects:

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

Necklace Holder

Here is a simple and inexpensive project and a cool way to keep your necklaces from getting tangeled. If you are like me, you usually take them off and plop them down wherever - or, if you are especially tidy, you keep them tumbled together in a jewelry box.

Anyway, I came across this idea on a blog the other day (I would give credit but have no idea which blog). All you need is a cheap picture frame (I got mine at Walgreens for five bucks), some suction hooks, and some decorative paper or fabric. Cut the fabric/paper to size, slip it behind the glass, put the glass back on, and arrange the suction cups however you'd like.

The other nice thing about this project is that there isn't anything permanent about it. If you get tired of the background, just change the fabric/paper. You can also change the hooks around however you want.

Watercolor Wednesday and a new toy

I am experimenting with a looser, wetter style. What do you think? I'm just messing around with colors to see how they flow together. We'll see what comes of it.

Above is my new crafting toy! I got it from Cathy of California's etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=35475. It was waiting for me when I got home today so I haven't had any time to experiment. Hopefully, I'll be posting some of my creations soon......

Millions of Magnets

Okay, maybe not millions, but I've been putting a lot of time into making these magnets. I sold some at the bake sale I mentioned in my last post and will probably give some as Christmas gifts. To make them, I bought large (1" or so) glass "pebbles" (the kind you use to put in the bottom of vases) at Target. Then I cut out the images I wanted from various magazines and glued them to the back of the glass pebble, using Aleene's Tacky Glue. You could use any glue that dries clear. I don't think a gluestick would work, though. Then I cut and glued a little circle of cardstock over that and applied a stick on magnet. It's an extremely easy craft but it looks really nice. If I were going to sell these for real then I probably wouldn't use magazine pictures but would instead use my own images or decorative papers.

Gift Tags

These are some gift tags I'm making out of pictures cut from some old books I got from the library book store and some adhesive mat board usually used for scrapbooking.

Apron Project

Here is a project I started last weekend. I bought a plain apron at JoAnn's Fabric and am spiffing it up. So far, I just have this black outline (done with puffy paint which was really fun). Should I fill it in? Which colors? I haven't decided - maybe some turquoise.

I am definitely going to add a pocket, though.

Fall Leaf Project

I like to collect things. I collect pebbles from the lake shore. I collect shells from the beach. And I collect leaves in the fall.

However, I don't really care too much about the collection once I have it; it's the act of looking and sorting that I enjoy. I have recurring dreams where I am sorting through a pile of junk and find some kind of treasure in the bottom. My biggest thrill in life! What does that say about me? I don't know for sure, but I sometimes feel like I should be one of those people who is satisfied to just take a picture or just look and appreciate. But, no - I want the physical object itself. Maybe it is pure greediness, but I like to think it is my attempt to hold on (literally, I guess) to those fleeting moments of beauty - so startling in everyday life, kind of electrifying really.

Anyway, some of you probably did this little project in elementary school but I didn't discover it until after college. It's pretty simple. All you need is:

Fall leaves
2 sheets of wax paper
An iron
Some newspaper

Lay down a sheet of newspaper to protect the table or surface you are working on. Put down a sheet of wax paper on top of it. Arrange your leaves on top of the wax paper - taking care to leave some space between the leaf and the edge of the paper (maybe an inch?). Place the other sheet of wax paper on top and another layer of newspaper over that. Then iron the whole thing for a few seconds. The wax will melt together and seal in the leaves. They still won't last forever, sadly (but if they did, then we wouldn't appreciate them so much probably). They will last a few weeks. I hung mine in my windows to allow the sun to shine through the leaves. I would think that this probably contributes to their eventual decay, but it seems to be the best way to display them.

PumpkinPalooza!

Just a quick post to show one of the things I've been working on this week - when I really should be painting. I'm trying to improve my carving skills so I can do more complex relief prints. I have to keep muttering, "the carved part is the color of the paper, the carved part is the color of the paper". The technique is opposite from drawing with ink or pencil and I can't seem to get used to it. Anyway, I bought the blank bookmarks at Michael's (50 for about $3). The linoleum to make the print block cost about a buck. Add in the ink (maybe another $5? I bought it a while ago), carving tools (about $10 and you only need to buy them once) and this is a pretty cheap and easy project. After I printed the black outlines, I colored the pumpkins yellow and orange with pencil. The tassel is some embroidery floss I had left over from some other project. That's the nice part about having so much random crap - if you can find it in all the boxes and drawers, of course.

My Own Glove Monster!

I saw the tutorial for this cute little guy on CraftyPod (http://www.craftypod.com/?p=256) and knew right away that I had to make my own.

Luckily, the stores are under the impression that it is winter already so I easily found the needed stretchy gloves. I bought four pairs of gloves for $4 and will use the stripey ones for more monsters and the plain black to keep my hands warm this winter. These cheap gloves are perfect for people like me who lose several pairs each winter.

Anyway, this was a fun project and great for people who don't really know how to sew. I didn't follow the tutorial exactly (as you can see) but I think it turned out well, nonetheless.