Creative brain at work!

I have been having a ball thinking about and creating some new items for my etsy shop.  My ideas always start with something I wish I had, something I've not been able to find, something I would die to wear.  Forever I have been thinking about cuffs.  I've been drooling over this one from cgwhitfield on etsy for a long time.  A perfect, simple accessory to throw on with that little black dress to instantly change the look from okay to stunning.  I love wide and chunky, whether it be rings or cuff bracelets.  And I'm so into vintagey-recycley-repurposey projects.  I get a kick out of turning some bit of someone else's castaway into something beautiful.  So, while I don't have any finished pictures to show you as the work is still in progress, here is a taste of what I've been up to.

Oodles of tea-dyed lace...





Tea-dyed muslin on the right compared to undyed muslin and lace on the left!

Oooh the buttons, buttons, buttons and lucious embroidery thread (all scored at the Reuse Centre!)



And one last hint of things to come!

Hearts

I'm loving hearts right now, in anticipation of Valentine's Day.  Valentine's Day is an excuse to have red, white and pink all over the place, an opportunity to do anything with lace and doilies.  Valentine's decor is just FUN.  I was inspired to make some Valentine's themed jewellery for my etsy store and I had so much fun!!  It was a chance to mess around with hearts, lace, more hearts, pink and red paint, and some recycled book pages thrown in for good measure.  I am delighted with what I made so far and have promised my facebook fans one sweet Valentines item in my store everyday until The Day.  Take a look!

        

        

I just loooovve the way these pieces turned out.  And I do have more up my sleeve, including some cute cuff-y madness.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

                                         

Japanese Flower Scarf Dilemma

I'm afraid I have to abandon ship.

 



By that, I mean stop my Japanese flower scarf project that I was so excited about once upon a time.  I've been feeling increasingly uncomfortable with my color choices, just not at home.  I know for sure that I'm really not a pink person.  I bought these colors partly because they were the only ones there were and partly because they did look nice together in their balls.  At the end of the day I just don't think these colors are me.



They're too dark or too jewel toned, too blue, I can't put my finger on it.  Ah ha, I think they're too muddy.  Yes, too muddy for my liking.  My conscience tells me to not continue, and to only put what limited time I have into projects that I love and that make my heart sing.  I'm sure I will find a good use for this wonderful soft silky yarn in the future.  I did however, attach a flower to a recently crocheted hat.

 



Love, love, love, looove it!





This little accessory makes my heart sing!

Paint Chip Calendar

Here it is!  I am thrilled with the results of this project which I started the other day.  It's a 3 month calendar made of paint chips and laminated for use with a dry erase marker. 



I liked the names of the paint colors so I left some on the corners...then I thought that the words might get in the way of our writing so on the next 2 pages I was more careful.





Why 3 months?  Because I thought it would be nice to write some dates in advance so that we can look ahead.  Also, this way we don't have to write in the next month's numbers right when the month ends.  The month bar at the top of the calendar is laminated separately and simply sticks on with a couple of masking tape loops.  At first I was going to use velcro dots until G mentioned that it would be easier to do with tape.  Brilliant!



I love the little holder for the extra months and dry erase marker.



It's a pencil crayon box wrapped with packing tape for extra durability with a neodinium magnet hot glued to the back.



I hope that we will use this calendar for many years!  I got tired of buying a new fridge calendar every year.  Less waste, more money in my wallet!

Winter Day

Winter has finally come this week!  We've started plugging in our vehicles and majorly bundling up to go out!  I must admit that I kindof like this kind of cold weather.  It's such a great opportunity to live a cozy indoor life.  I knew the cold snap was coming so I made a little something for us to wear in our mittens on the way to school.



Made from scraps of flannel and felt and filled with rice, these cuties heat in the microwave for 30 seconds then go into your mitts and keep your hands toasty warm.  I do look forward now to stepping outside!  But I'd still rather do this...



The crochet bug has bit me.  Is there anything better to do on a blustery cold winter day?  I don't ever seem to have enough time to sit for an extended length and crochet to my heart's content.  

J is into origami right now.  Yesterday he built these sweet little canoes.



Perfect for little legomen!



And a couple of lego creations...





I've been  procrastinating on a project that I really should finish.  It's going to be a fridge calendar made out of paint chips and laminated.  I really should get on this, seeing as it's already mid-January!



More to come on this project!

Hair Clips and Mystery Project Reveal

A friend came over yesterday and we whipped up these sweet little clips for our girls.  Previously I used Aleen's Tacky Glue to glue down the grosgrain ribbon but the ribbon came off after a few wears.  For this set we tried her jewel glue which I thought would have better adhesion between the metal and ribbon.  So far so good!

 



I love bright colors.  And an awesome cost: $0.00! I already had all the supplies!



And now for the mystery project reveal...

Are you ready?

3...2....1....

Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



 





It's an organizer bag for my yarn projects!  No more stuffing beautiful projects in grocery bags for on the road.  Around the house, my projects stay in this basket which is beautiful, but big and not very portable.

All this....





...is now in this!  Yes, this little bag holds 7 balls of yarn!

 



I just love the fabric which is mostly Reuse Centre  finds.  The time and effort I put into this were totally worth it.  It was kindof like making a mini quilt.  There is flannel sandwiched between the pocket fabric and felt sandwiched between the outside edges of the bag so it's sturdy. 



I took my new bag on a test run to my kids' choir practice.  It was awesome!  Perfectly comfortable to carry.  Not too big, not too small. 



Satisfaction!  If you're wondering, I got the instructions here.  And here is the same bag being used as a note card and accessories holder!  So many possibilities!

Slow and steady

Homemade bias tape...is there anything more wonderful?  It costs nothing.  It can look however you want it to.  I wanted mine to look scrappy, patchworky.  It is so satisfying to see it all rolled up, ready to be used.



Now let me tell you, this little project is turning out not to be so little!  It has been very time consuming but really fun.  It's not one of those "I'll just whip that up tonight" projects.







hmmm...what could it be?





Is it a house for my mouse?  A hat for my cat?  A box for my fox? Reveal coming soon!