365 days 365 Do It Yourself projects (No money spend)

Soda Can Ornaments

2010-12-05T22:42:00.011-07:00

What CAN be easier? These ornaments are fun and fast to make, and they cost you almost nothing.

You will need one soda can, in this case it doesn't matter if it is regular or diet (ha ha ha)

Start by dissecting your soda can like so

I don't have craft scissors but my heavy duty kitchen scissors work just fine

Split your can body like that

Then across, like you see on this picture

Now create your petals

Pinch each petal in the middle of the wider end

Using top and bottom of your can as two bases attach your petals using Gorilla Glue

Two ornaments out of one soda can - how cool is that?!

Let the glue dry and then spray paint front and back of your ornaments

It looks pretty already doesn't it? You can stop here if you like this result or you can continue with me.

When your paint is dry apply Gorilla Glue to the center of the flower

and sprinkle some gold beads

Let it dry again. Then outline the edges of the petals with glitter glue and sprinkle with gold glitter

I am using

Shake off excess glitter

and there you have it - your beautiful Christmas Tree ornament

Have a great day and stress free season.

Sincerely,

I am linking this project to my favorite link parties

C.R.A.F.T Making Monday Marvelous #33

Tatertots and Jello

Skip to my Lou

The Scrap Shop Blog

Under the table and dreaming

Snowmen Project for a 3-year old

2010-12-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

Since we are talking snow, why not to have a project directly related to this subject. For the past few days my daughter's favorite book is "Snowmen at Night" by Caralyn Buehner. She only talks about snowmen and trying not to fall asleep at night to see what they are up to - so cute!

So you can imagine when I told her that we are going to do a project with snowmen she was ready to go in a second.

Before the project, I've cut out some shapes out of craft foam like trees, snowmen noses, and hats for snowmen in different shapes for her to choose from.

I've used my circle paper puncher to get some perfect circles "to build" our snowmen

then we added some miniature pom poms

and the most exciting part - for the first time my 3-year-old used glitter!!!!!!

and that's what we've got. Take a look!

Playing snowmen (we added some painted cardboard "trees" as well)

Tired snowman.

It was a very fun project! I hope you'll try it!

Have a great day.

Let It Snow - 3D Snowflakes

2010-12-01T00:03:00.003-07:00

December is here and it always brings my childhood memories and some of them are about making paper snowflakes. It was a fascinating moment for me as a child to watch how a folded piece of paper and a pair of scissors could produce something as delicate as a snowflake. Well, I have experienced the same fascination again when I came across this TUTORIAL - it brought my childhood memories on a new level - Snowflake in 3D what can be better?!

Here is my take on it:

Let it snow!

Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I am wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with joy, laugh and many thanks

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Cup full of Thanks

2010-11-24T08:45:00.004-07:00

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving in a large gathering of 35-45 people at my friend's house. Everything is done in a potluck style: great food and great recipes always. We do it for ten years now and I think I call it a tradition by now, another tradition that we practice for this gathering is saying a grace before and after the meal, but this year I've decided to add something new to this tradition: we are going to have a Cup Full of Thanks .....

I found beautiful FREE Thanksgiving printables HERE . On each piece inside, I've printed in large font some simple things that we use or see but forgetting to acknowledge sometimes.

Each guest will pass the cup filled with messages to each other, pull one and read it loudly starting with the phrase "I am thankful for..." and then read what's inside. Things I've included are for example humor, beautiful flowers, GPS, WiFI, Facebook, Sunsets, cell phones, movies in 3D and etc. You've got the point. I think it could be a fun, will see!

There is always a place for a new tradition, right?

What are you doing to make your Thanksgiving even more fun?

I'd love to hear it!

I hope you'll have a great day

Turkey Brine

2010-11-22T22:43:00.005-07:00

If you are in charge of turkey this year and wondering what to do to please your company, here is a recipe of a brine that makes every turkey super delicious and you are guaranteed to get a lot of compliments:)

Brine Ingredients

1 gallon of water

1 small orange sliced in half

1/2 lemon

1 cup of Kosher (coarse) salt

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1 large head of garlic sliced in half crosswise

1 table spoon of black peppercorns

6 branches of fresh thyme

4 branches of fresh sage

1 bay leaf

In a large pot combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring from time to time. Let it boil for 3 minutes, set it aside and let it cool. You can store it in a fridge for up to a week.

Usually you brine your turkey for 24-48 hours and here is how: Place your bird into a clean plastic bag and lower into a bucket or deep bowl. Pour the brine through the strainer into the turkey bag. Move your turkey around a little bit to make sure the brine will fill the cavity. If your turkey is too big and brine doesn't cover it, add some cold water to make sure your bird is completely submerged. Seal the bag tight and put in a fridge for 24-48 hours to soak.

After that no matter how you cook your turkey, you can't ruin it - it will be moist and delicious ALWAYS. I've roasted, deep fried, baked in a brown paper bag, baked without brown paper bag mine and it came absolutely fantastic , I think it is pretty encouraging.

Have a stressless holiday:)

Sincerely,

Last Minute Autumn Wreath

2010-11-22T08:11:00.007-07:00

Hello, there

Where did this month disappeared? Thanksgiving is going to be this Thursday but you still have sometime for a last minute decor on a dime!

You will need two pieces of cardboard, plastic table cloth, plastic letters from you child's ABC set and few Autumn related items for decoration (I am using few Autumn leaves from a Dollar Store)

Cut two cardboard circles

Wrap them in orange plastic table cloth

Add letters and decor using your choice of glue.

Enjoy!

This project is very easy and suitable for kids and I think all recyclable elements of this wreath can bring a very good conversation with your children about recycling and being thankful to Mother Earth.

Have a great day!

Linking this post to The Shabby Nest Blog

New ATC

2010-11-20T14:48:00.003-07:00

Here is another ATC made by moi. The theme of this swap: Zodiac Series #11 - Scorpio.

My swap partner's profile says that she doesn't care about horoscopes and loves everything vintage, that's why I put my effort to make this Scorpio as vintage as possible. Take a look.

What do you think?

Sincerely,

Shampoo Bottle Wreath Tutorial

2010-11-19T23:36:00.015-07:00

As crazy as it may sounds that's what it is - My Shampoo Bottle wreath.

For a long time I've had my collection of empty shampoo bottles.

The colors were so pretty that I didn't want them to go to my recycling bin. I was desperately looking for an idea on how to use a shampoo bottle in any craft project but wasn't successful, and then I saw this beautiful wreath from Williams-Sonoma....

I simply fell in love with the shapes of bay leaves and then I've got an idea.... I still don't understand how my brain connected shampoo bottles and bay leaves but it did... I've decided to slice my shampoo bottles and cut out "bay leaves" and since my bottles had "autumn" colors I thought it should work for Thanksgiving Decor. Why not?

First I cut off the top of the bottle

Then I cut along this red line and around the bottom to open up the main body part.

When it's all open - it is super easy to cut out "the leaves"

That's how they look like!

Then I've decided to use the tops of the bottles.....

You'll need to help flower "petals" to open up by pushing them against their natural curve.

Note. Since I am having a lack of storage most of my items have to be flat in order to fit into my garage cabinets, that's why my wreath is going to be flat as well.

I've cut out two cardboard circles and glued them together.

(As you can see, I am using old cardboard box)

Then, I wrapped an old plastic tablecloth (leftover from my Halloween decor) around

and your base is ready!

Now that you've got all components - get your hot glue gun ready, and let's rock-n-roll!

Start with flowers first, I've decided to cut off the spout to make my flowers sit closer to the base of the wreath and hide connection points.

This is my half way in the making and it took only 5 minutes to get here:)

5 minutes later, I've got it all done

Few finishing touches, like pom pom hearts of the flowers

and a piece of ribbon and we are done.

Reduce, reuse, recycle! works all the time!

This wreath is my way of saying "Thank You!" to our Mother Earth.

Be thankful and have a great day!

I am sharing this project on the following link parties

Hope Studios Tutorial Tuesday

Shabby Chic Cottage

The Shabby Nest

DIY Living Showcase by Cheri

The Trendy Treehouse

Garden full of thanks - Stepping Stones Tutorial

2010-11-19T20:27:00.007-07:00

I have been thinking about this project for awhile. I've been collecting plastic containers from food and grocery packaging in my garage for 2 months and bought a 60 lb bag of concrete for $4.65 at local Home Depot but couldn't start the project..... During our last trip to Sedona, I finally got that push that I needed to start the project. Here is the moment

My daughter was simply mesmerized by colorful pieces of glass embedded in concrete and then I knew we have to do it.

Next morning, I've got everything out and we started.....

Concrete is a very easy but also a very tricky thing. You need to get a feel of concrete: it should be not too thick and not too thin. Here is an example of how "too thick" looks like

Don 't worry it's fixable - just add a little bit of water. By a little bit I mean a little bit- 1 table spoon at a time and stir, stir and stir!

The most successful recipe for my mixture was 10 parts of concrete to 3 parts of water.

That's how it looks

When you've got the right consistency pour it into containers

Then we've got pieces of mosaic tile, glass marbles and etc. for embellishing. Our theme - "things we are thankful for". I thought it would be a good idea to embed our thanks into concrete and keep it in the garden as a constant reminder. Here is what we came up with, with my three year-old in charge:) I guess summer was her brightest memory:)

We pushed mosaic pieces into concrete creating different images and let it sit outside for 24 hours (our temperature outside around 65 F)

that's how it looks when it's ready to be taken out of the form - edges are dry and separated from the form and concrete has light grey color.

and that's how it looks all finished and in the garden.

I still have half a bag left for may be more "thanks" - will see.

Have a great day.

Autumn in Sedona

2010-11-17T00:27:00.006-07:00

In my previous post I've been talking about how much I miss Autumn Foliage, well my prayers have been heard and I finally got a chance to witness Autumn at its best - Autumn in Sedona.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to see all my favorite colors that Mother Nature so generously creating for us. I hope you are enjoying this beatiful season as mush as I do.

Have a great day!

I was featured!

2010-11-17T00:21:00.003-07:00

All my hard work for Halloween didn't get unnoticed (Bragging) My Halloween Wreath has been featured on

"

Thank you so much for showing my project - I am thrilled! Santa's Gift Shoppe is a great Blog with fun link party. If you have time, please stop by.

Sincerely,

Bits and Pieces Part 3

2010-11-16T22:10:00.014-07:00

I've learned really well over the past few months that for everything planned there is a big force of unplanned that could overpower your agenda. That's what happened to me. All my planned have been postponed for a week and that's life

Now back to catching up (smile)

If you are like me and have something like this - mismatched family treasures

and something like this - an old framed poster (I happen to have two)

You may very well be interested in combining these two items in order to create something new. Take a look!

First you need to remove your framed "art" and get yourself a frame.

I have used my old "art" piece as a template for the new cardboard backing for my new creation

Then I've added some burlap to the cardboard using hot glue to create the background. I've cut up a piece of burlap slightly larger than the piece of cardboard in order to stretch and line-up while working with hot glue.

When everything has been glued and set - I've trimmed the extra fabric. Put your cardboard/burlap creation back in the frame and using the same hot glue attach your objects (spoons) in some sort of pattern. Note: hot glue can be easily removed from the spoon by placing the spoon in a hot water (just in case if you are afraid that this application can damage your collection)

Tah Dah!

I think it works really well for some trendy Homey Touches. I hope you will try it - it is really easy.

Sincerely,

I am linking this post to these fun link parties

Bits and Pieces Part 2

2010-11-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

You know how popular clear glass containers that display objects - you can see them everywhere. They can be pretty pricey!

These ones from Williams-Sonoma starting from$58.00

Well, I don't want to pay that much. Actually I don't want to pay anything at all! Here is what I did....

What is it? This is my Pedestal Beverage Jar that I've used so much during hot summer days

but now it serves as a brand new display for my favorite artichokes and the best part - No Money Spend!

Have a great day!

Bits and Pieces

2010-11-08T22:46:00.008-07:00

Did I forget my Blog? Of course not! I was very busy working really hard on a big project that I will reveal at the end of this week, but for now I want to show you some of bits and pieces that will be part of my final look.

Here is a transformation on a dime. I went yard sale shopping with my girlfriend who is a pro. This is what I found for a dollar!!

I couldn't walk by this beauty - the detailing of this piece was screaming at me - "Take me home!" and so I did

After cleaning all the dust and dirt off, I put a coat of spray paint in Celery from Krayon.

Then I went back and added some glaze. You can see the area on a very left doesn't have any glaze and the area before it already have some - just to show you a difference.

Here is the final look.....

and here is the final place.....

I'll call it my "Pantry Topper"

Have a great day and come back for another part of Bits and Pieces, as well as the large reveal....:)

Sincerely,

Creating Autumn

2010-11-01T22:25:00.009-07:00

What do you do when you don't get to see beautiful Autumn foliage? You create autumn colors for yourself....

This project based on my previous post "Crazy Crayons" but with a new twist

First, you will need to make Crazy Crayons in Autumn colors

for which you will brake crayons

and bake them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

and cool for an hour - here you have it

Now, the next step of the project. You will need an orange paper for printer and large real leaves of your choice.

You will need to work on a flat surface. Put the leaf down, paper on top and start rubbing over the area where the leaf is with Autumn Crazy Crayon. I am finding these Crayons great for my 3-year old. Her hands are small and bigger crayon is more comfortable to grab on while rubbing. Also, make sure you will secure the orange paper in order to prevent any unwanted paper moves that may affect the final results. It is so much fun to watch "the appearance" of the leaf

Here is what we've got after few experiments with different pressure

Now, let's think what can we do with these beautiful leaves?

The adventures of Raggedy Ann

2010-10-31T22:23:00.007-07:00

Hello everyone. If you ended up with the same amount of candies as we did then you are very well set till the next Halloween:)

I've never seen as many Tick-0r-Treaters in my life as I've seen today! The army of adorable Fairies, Black Ninjas, Supper Heroes and Pink Princesses came to our front door. Half way through, I've started to get a creepy feeling that we may run out of candies but we barely made with 12 (twelve) pounds of sweets!!! My little one, who after a month-long struggle finally made a decision on her costume -

A Raggedy Ann

(I think make-up became a key factor in this decision),

took this Trick-or-Treat very seriously and brought home a ton of candies... What do you do with all these sweets?

We never have candies at home - only fruits and frozen juice, and now we have this much! Oh, my! But I can't complaint - from my daughter's daycare Halloween Party to our block party - - it was a lot of fun!

Now we can clean up and get ready for Thanksgiving - one of my favorite holidays!

I hope your Halloween has been a lot of fun as well.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Halloween Matryoshka Dolls

2010-10-30T23:18:00.008-07:00

This is my Halloween Finale - Matryoshka Dolls. I've started them a months ago, by started I mean I've painted a base coat and set them aside waiting for epiphany.....

last night I was able to finish the set. Scary Castle and Halloween Creatures that reside in this spooky mansion:

Frankenstein,

Dracula,

Ghost,

Owl

and Jack-O-Lantern.

My daughter is going to find this gift tomorrow morning ..... It's been a fun month.

Happy Halloween to all of you.

I am linking this post to

Halloween Ornaments Part 2 Tutorial

2010-10-28T21:20:00.012-07:00

Now, it is time for my Halloween Ornaments Part 2, in my previous post I have disassembled my old Christmas Tree Topper to create a set of Halloween Ornaments inspired by Martha's idea but this time I am creating something from scratch...

I've participated in Vintage Ephemera E-Swap at Swap-bot.com, and one of my trophies was a wonderful set of Vintage Halloween Images, which I've put to a good use.

Step 1

Collect single serving boxes from Sun-Maid Raisins

Step 2

Paint sides of the box in orange

Step 3

Glitter sides with Orange glitter

Step 4

Glue images to the front and the back of the box

Step 5

Embellish!!!! I've used different scraps from my previous projects, but I wanted all my ornaments to relate to the Black Crow that is sitting under the tree (I found it at the Dollar Store) and that's why I've used black feathers as part of my decor.

That's how it looks all together.

Now I can put a check mark next to this project as well:) Let me tell you, this is the busiest Halloween ever for me but it is so much fun!

Now, I have to come up with a costume idea for moi.... (Did I forget about myself?!)

Sincerely

I am linking this post to

Halloween Wreath

2010-10-26T22:49:00.010-07:00

It's all started with one of my discontinued cabinetry catalog. The pages were nice and thick and I've decided to use them for something crafty vs. giving up for recycling.

Well, step 1

Paint each page in two colors: one side black and one side orange.

Step 2

Roll paper cones and secure each roll with hot glue. Trim edges to make them look nice and even.

Step 3

Arrange all your cones in a nice circle and glue them to a base of your choice.

You can see mine - it is a cardboard where I've cut a center

Step 4 (optional)

Embellish each cone. In my case I am using a decorative border from this napkin.

Cut the border and glue it to each cone

Step 5

Paper plate flowers tutorial you can find here. Add your flowers to the wreath. In my case I've used black plate and painted it orange on the back.

Step 6 (Optional)

I added a Witch on a Broom (my Dollar Store Find) and a cute Free Printable "Boo" Sign

Step 7

I've used a fishing wire to hang my wreath. The final width is 36" and it makes a very nice statement. Now that my front door is done, I can finally see the finishing line for this Halloween Fun Marathon:)

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

I am linking this project to Show and Tell party at Blue Cricket Design

Its So Very Cheri

My Backyard Eden Party Make it yours day{39}

The Trendy Tree House

Do you like Cardboard? Halloween Garland Tutorial

2010-10-26T00:11:00.000-07:00

I love cardboard! It is free (how many packages we receive and we send to recycle?!) and it has a fabulous texture. I've used it on my last ATC "Iris" and now I am ready to use it again for my Halloween Decor.

Let's go!

We need cardboard, black and orange acrylic paints, free printable letters you can find here, and how-to on strings here

Here it is - a beautiful piece of cardboard

Your goal is to "open" it and expose the hidden texture

Now you are ready to paint. First in Black

and after it's dry, add some orange paint working across the rims using dry-brush technique

Now, the fun part. Cut you cardboard in pieces large enough to display your printed letters and punch two holes for the string. Note: Each letter comes in 8"x10" size but you can resize it to the size that is working for you.

Feed the string through and you are done!

It may be considered as a last minute Halloween project:)

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

I am linking this project to

Bucket For Trick-or-Treat Tutorial

2010-10-25T22:43:00.009-07:00

Last year my daughter was a Witch and she had a very cute small Black Cat Bag for Trick-or-Treat, but now since she is three - she understands "the candy" thing very well and we needed to create a new candy carrier for this year. Why not?!

OK. You will need any large plastic container like this one from Costco.

Craft felt for Owl's Face and old t-shirts for feathers or you can do felt all the way.

Cut out your "feathers" out of T-shirts. You'll see the shape of feathers on the picture but you can go longer or shorter if you like. Note: if you are cutting sleeves - save the top of the sleeves -

they make perfect wings, but we will get there, and also drill two hole on each side of the bucket for the "handle"

Now, start from the bottom of the bucket and work your way

Decide where Owl's face will be and leave that area free of "feathers"

Now, for the face I've used hard craft felt. I don't know if there is a better name for this product, but when you touch it is very stiff. Here it is. I am sorry, I don't know how to add PDF files to my post for easy download, so I am thinking may be you can enlarge this image and use it as a template?!

Now the wings. Fold each top of the sleeve in a half and trim edges. Now, glue each wing down along the straight edge .

That's how it looks from the side

and from the back

There you have it - a very cute creature ready to help you to Trick-or-Treat:)

Have a good one!

I am linking this post to

Look Whoo is Here

2010-10-22T16:49:00.006-07:00

Meet the Owls - our new pine cone friends that we've made this morning, thanks to this fabulous tutorial

We followed the instructions precisely and it works!

Look who may show up at your front door for trick-or-treat! Note all names and colors were selected by my 3 year old, so here is the family

Daddy Owl

Mommy Owl

Baby Owl

Have fun!

Sincerely,

I am linking this post to

Meet Zoe

2010-10-21T12:41:00.006-07:00

Zoe is a virtual dress-up doll and during 13 nights before Halloween she will try to decide what costume to wear, and she will be trying new costume every day. You can follow this link and enjoy a wonderful creation of Jenny B. Harris, illustrator and designer, which I admire so much.

But when I saw Zoe, I started to laugh because we are having another "Zoe" in our house. My daughter is trying out new outfits for Halloween every day but she is having a hard time to decide what to wear. Here is a little journal of her "struggle".

Last year Princess too small:(

May be a Witch Costume from last year?

May be Marry Antoinette black wig? "Hello! Versailles?

May be a Sailor?

May be a Pirate but glamorous

May be just glamorous?

May be just silly?

I hope this virtual Zoe will redirect my little "Zoe's" energy into virtual dress-up. At least I am willing to try:)

Have a great day and I hope your costume decisions will be less painful:))

Halloween Ornaments Part 1

2010-10-21T07:35:00.002-07:00

I love ornaments - and thanks to Martha I've discovered that I can have them on other holidays besides Christmas. When I saw this idea I knew I had to make it!

Here is my take on it.

Large tree brunch was easy - I have plenty in my backyard.

Then we painted the brunch in black. That was a lot of fun!

and we mounted the brunch in my favorite Halloween Pot with the sign that still makes me smile"Trick or Treat Smell My Feet. I've got it 5 years ago on clearance for $7.00 at The Great Indoors. I still remember the original price was $79.00. Can you believe it?!

The first part is done!

Now ornaments.

This is half of my mirrored tree topper, which wasn't made really well but served me great for my Disco theme Christmas tree decor.

First, I have disassemble it and removed silver beads from each stem

Then I've painted spiders on one side and spider web on another using black acrylic paint. When paint was dry I glittered the spider and sides of the ornament with Black Anthracite Glitter from Martha. Here it is

Now it was time to put it all together. I've got my hot glue gun ready. I put a black bead on, then I added a black bow and top it of with thick black thread for hanging

I am so happy to see how it is all coming together, but this is not it. I am working on another set of ornaments which I will post soon

Happy decorating from

P.S. I am linking this post to

and

Spooky Goblet for Halloween out of Soda Bottle

2010-10-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

First of all, let me brag a little bit. One of my projects have been featured on two fabulous Blogs:

I am so excited! Thank you, girls!

Now, back to business. Halloween is getting closer and closer and I am getting busier and busier in wrapping up my Halloween To-Do List.

Here is another easy project: Spooky Goblet

You will need one Large Soda Bottle and Acrylic Paint in Black and Green

First, cut your bottle as you see on the picture bellow.

Then connect two parts, by cutting the bottom of the bottle through and inserting the top in the hole. Secure both pieces together by twisting the cap on

Now paint your goblet

in Black and let it dry. Then squeeze the green paint around the top of the goblet and when everything dried

attach any of the Halloween Labels that you can find here.

Have fun!

I am linking this project to

Spooky Mirrors Halloween Tutorial

2010-10-20T00:23:00.003-07:00

Another easy project, thanks to Martha. I came across few interesting ideas on Martha's web site, but who doesn't right?

First one called Vellum Halloween Table Lanterns you find it here

and the second one called Mirror Glow Eyes, you can find it here

I decided to combine both projects and here is the result

I've used templates for lanterns as Mirror Shapes, which I cut out of old cardboard box which painted black.

The center of the lantern became my mirror shape, which I cut out of old helium balloon (I know, it probably makes me sound very cheap: )) but I am sure kitchen foil will work just as fine. Then I've painted Spooky Eyes over foil part using the same black paint. I hang them over my existing frames using suction cups with hooks and tah dah!

Oh, I almost forgot - the embellishments on the mirrors (the orange circles on top) you can find here

New Halloween Decor and No Money Spend - AGAIN! Thanks Martha! Thanks Jenny!

Have fun decorating for Halloween!

P.S. I am linking this post to

and

New ATC

2010-10-19T23:35:00.003-07:00

Here is another ATC that is going to fly to Portland tomorrow morning. It's called Iris and it is for the swap I am in on Swap-bot.com called "Whats in the garden".

I love Irises for the architectural features and abundance of colors! I usually look in the center of the flower and that is what I was trying to capture in my new ATC

Have a great day!

Spooky Pumpkins

2010-10-19T10:51:00.011-07:00

It seems to me that one old black T-shirt can go a very long way. I've used it for my Halloween garland Project, Halloween Backdrop Decoration, to hang my Halloween Garland for Outdoors (coming up) and now I am using T-shirt sleeves to make some Spooky Halloween Pumpkins.

Here is what you need to create one pumpkin

T-shirt Sleeve

Cut the rounded part off to make more of a rectangular piece

Hand stitch one end together

Stuff with plastic bags

Now hand stitch the top portion together

Now, you are ready to paint. I am using interior paint that I had as leftover from my previous Faux finishing project, but I am sure you can use any other paint.

We were very generous with our paint, but you can use as much or as little as you want to, because during this phase you are creating the "look"

Let your pumpkins dry for at least 24 hours - fabric soaked in paint dries slow....

Now you can cover the top and bottom on the pumpkins with olive green fabric - in my case, corduroy pieces, but you can use craft felt.

Note: I was trying to create some ribs on pumpkins using heavy black thread, but I didn't like that look - may be because the fabric was too stiff after being treated with paint and ribs just didn't look right....

To create the pumpkin stem - I've rolled up the fabric and glue the end using hot glue gun, then I cut one end of that roll at 45 degrees and attached that end to the pumpkin with hot glue again.

Here we go! All set and done.

Another decoration for Halloween and the best part - No Money Spend!

Have a great day!

I am linking this project to

and Today's Creative Blog

and

Witch for Halloween

2010-10-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine Halloween without a Witch?! Of course not! That's why we decided to add one "real" witch to our 2010 Halloween crew. If you read my old post "Pierott" then you know the technique and materials for this creation. This is another spoon doll.

That's how it's all started

and that's how it looks when it's all done.

Face and body - old kitchen utensil

Hair - 99c Store find: braided synthetic hair

Hat - black craft felt and paper flowers

Cape - piece of old black T-shirt painted with orange polka dots

It is a very easy project promoting reusing and upcycling. I hope you will try it.

Sincerely,

New ATC - Asian Series #7 - India

2010-10-15T00:00:00.002-07:00

Here is another ATC now for the Asian Series swap #7 - India on Swap-bot.com.

This is my vision of India - bright colors, amazing fabrics, gem stones, intriguing architecture and lots of history.

Sincerely,

Plush Friendship

2010-10-14T06:05:00.002-07:00

Our Retsnom is not lonely any more - he has a girlfriend now. She is a Monster as well, very cute but very shy, her favorite color is pink. Her name is Eituc (Cutie - backwards).

Here she is

I think they like each other

We are so happy that Retsnom will have company to Trick-or-Treat

Have a great day!

Halloween Project in No Time

2010-10-14T00:57:00.005-07:00

This is probably the fastest project I've ever done. I think it could be considered as a last minute Halloween decor because it takes No time at all!

Let's begin. You will need to print images (you can get them here - thanks to Martha). See-through divider in orange color. Picture frames.

Trim your printed images and orange divider into sizes to fit the picture frames. The trick here is in a see-through divider - it gives a glowing effect to the picture, I've discovered it by an accident and I am totally loving it.

You are DONE!

Have a great day!

New Plush for Halloween

2010-10-13T15:31:00.004-07:00

We added a new team member to Our Not-So-Scary Halloween Crowd. Meet out new Monster.

This Monster had been carefully designed by a very highly trained designer.

All color combinations have evaluated and tested many many times before the final decision has been made.

Here it is: His name is Retsnom (Monster backwards:) but sounds very Monsterish....) and he is a boy monster.

Despite his look, Retsnom has a very warm and fuzzy personality. He is very playful and he likes to tickle a lot. His favorite movie - "Monsters Inc" but after the movie he feels a little lonely..... I guess he needs a little company..... We'll see...

Have a great day

Halloween Garland Out of Juice Boxes

2010-10-11T19:23:00.007-07:00

Frankenstein is one of my favorite Halloween Characters and if you share my passion for this green-faced-lonely-creature here is a tutorial on how to do Frankenstein Halloween Garland.

You will need single serving juice box (small box),

Acrylic paint in green, black and red.

Some kind of drill - to make holes for the string to go through, black shoe strings or, in my case, curl strips of old black T-shirt

(you can find how to make it here)

Paint all boxes in green color and let them dry. Then add some hair, sad face with red lips.

When dry, drill holes on each side of the head and run a black string through. Tie a big knot on each side to secure the box and create a big bolt effect. Join strings together and you are done.

(Sorry for the picture, this garland was suppose to be outside but it is raining now....)

Have a great day!

Scratching Technique or Working on Halloween Decorations

2010-10-10T11:35:00.004-07:00

I've decided to practice a scratching technique with my 3 year-old and her 2 best friends, who are 6 years old. The idea came when I saw one of my scratching board pieces, that I've done 10 years ago - just for fun. I thought it could be fun to do, plus the occasion is perfect - creating Halloween Decor. My young team was ready to go. I've used regular milk boxes. We painted all boxes the night before using black acrylic paint.

Next morning we were ready to go. Each kid received a painted black box and a bamboo skewer stick - that's it. You should see their faces when they saw how one scratch taking black paint off and reveling the colors underneath! I showed them how to scratch the spider web and then they took off.

Then we added roofs with some dry moss and ghosts (mailing pop corn). I've used hot glue gun and took care of that part.

Here is an example of their work

Brandon S. 6 years old

Dina D. 6 years old

Helpful tip: Paint has to be completely dry but don't wait more than 12 hours to start your project - the more paint cures the harder it will be to scratch

Have fun!

Spooky Fold-out Village Tutorial

2010-10-07T13:58:00.008-07:00

This project solidly based on my previous post called "Lacing Toy". I am using the same technique but in a different application.

Materials needed: cardboard (I've used old boxes),

strings to tie pieces together (I've used strips that I cut from an old old black T-shirt),

orange, black and yellow paint, and purple glitter glue. Single hole puncher.

Cut down your boxes -you will use front and back pieces.

Punch holes making sure they line up on both ends of the box and paint all pieces orange. I've used interior latex paint (my leftover from my Faux Finish past)

While your paint is drying - get your lacing strings ready - run your nail through the middle of every strip stretching at the same time - your strip will curl both ends in and will look very nice and creepy:)

After your paint is dry lace your pieces together and sketch the images of your Spooky village

Time to work with paint. Fill in the images with black paint, full Moon is yellow, clouds are black with a coat of Purple glitter to add some "mysterious" glow:) Then I dipped my finger in purple glitter and went through the sky dabbing - creating "the night look". (Unfortunately you can see my purple glitter as muddy spots on a picture but in real life it looks very pretty)

Here you have it! Your spooky village that you fold out and store easily. My piece is 36" long but you can make it longer or shorter - that's the beauty of the lacing option

and when the Moon is up villagers enjoying it as well

Happy Halloween with a recycling twist and the best part - No Money Spend!

Sincerely,

Free 2011 Calendar

2010-10-06T19:57:00.003-07:00

If you love owls as much as I do, then the gift from My Owl Barn Blog is for you. You can download calender full of art work featuring owls for FREE here. Print it and you've got a perfect gift .

Sincerely,

Welcoming Autumn

2010-10-05T22:45:00.006-07:00

I walked in the grocery store and saw a beautiful Pumpkin Bouquet. Right then and right there I knew Autumn is here. Calendar was telling me that we are in Autumn but my biological clock started to go in Autumn rhythm only then .Bright orange, burnt yellow and sage green - these colors are like music to me. Music illustrating this beautiful season.

Happy Autumn everyone.

Steampunk ATC received

2010-09-29T21:52:00.004-07:00

Remember my Steampunk ATC post? Well, yesterday I received a beautifully made ATC from Steampunk swap. Here it is.

Fun isn't it?

Have a great day.

Wizard of OZ - 2 ATCs

2010-09-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am in "Wizard of OZ" ATC swap on Swap-bot.com. As you may remember, I've dedicated quite a few posts on Wizard of OZ back in April, now it's time for ATC. For this swap, we have to create 2 ATCs for one partner. I've done my research on the person I have been assigned to and hope that these 2 ATCs will be well received.

I've selected two themes from Wizard of OZ movie (we can use anything related to Wizard of OZ):

Munchkinland full of bright colors and style inspiration came from my favorite artist - Gustav Klimt - this ATC has a combination of nail polish, acrylics and black ink.

and the famous Hot Air Balloon "State Fair Omaha". This ATC completely done in nail polish.

Another set of ATCs - who knew?! I am loving it!

Have a great day!

Suncatcher - Craft Project

2010-09-28T23:45:00.008-07:00

On a much lighter note than my previous post, I would like to continue on Butterfly theme.

I have done research on the Internet - nobody else had it done before, I guess I am claiming the Copyright on this one:)

You will need: Lid from fresh produce or cookies or anything else that comes in a clear package. By the way, soon I will have a project on how to use a bottom from the same containers....

Nail Polish and your favorite drawings of Butterflies (if you don't have any, you can get them here), masking tape.

Start by cutting off the sides of the lid to make it flat.

Put the flat plastic piece over the butterfly drawing and secure with masking tape.

Start filling in the colors. Make sure you work in a well ventilated area because of the high fumes from the nail polish, for the same reason I would not recommend this project for kids of any age.

Let the butterflies dry over night in a well ventilated area. Voila!

My butterflies are enjoying our bathroom window - it is amazing how they are changing colors throughout the day. I've used suction cup hooks to hang them but you can create a mobile as well.

If you will decide to make these butterflies, I would like to see your pictures.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly - ATC

2010-09-27T17:34:00.008-07:00

"I Never Saw Another Butterfly" is my new ATC Swap on Swap-Bot.com. This project was created in an effort to remember the children of the holocaust. The phrase "I never saw another butterfly" is from the poem written by Jewish boy Pavel Friedman, who was deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942 and then died in Aushchwitz on Sept. 29, 1944. The rule of the swap: we suppose to make 2 or more butterflies: one to send to our partner and one or more send to the Holocaust Museum Houston Butterfly Project Education Department 5401 Caroline St. Houston, TX 77004 USA

This is my card

In the beginning of the project- FRONT

BACK

DISTRESSING

FINAL LOOK

I've printed a map of Terezin Concentration Camp as main pattern of the card. The body of the butterfly carries a number 15000 - that is the number of children who went through this Concentration Camp in 1942-1944... Only 100 kids survived....

Distressing was done by real fire - even the smell of burned paper is part of this look. The card is very monochromatic. Under the butterfly's wings I have a simplistic drawings of numerous eyes - they represent those kids who never saw another butterfly. The thickness of the card has been achieved by layering seven layers of burned paper.

I know it is not a pretty butterfly but nothing was pretty about that time and our goal today is not to forget.......

Here is an original poem written by that Jewish boy:

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing

against a white stone....

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly 'way up high.

It went away I'm sure

because it wished

to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I've lived in here,

Penned up inside this ghetto.

But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don't live in here, in the ghetto.....

New week

2010-09-27T09:10:00.003-07:00

New week. New start. This morning I have made a great discovery - pictures that made me smile. Take a look!

I have few interesting postings that I am working on right now but meanwhile, have a smile and have a great beginning of a new week.

Sincerely,

Evolution of Spiders - Halloween Project

2010-09-25T15:34:00.004-07:00

This is another project in my Halloween Series. Spiders are always part of our Halloween Decor, but this year we've decided to make them cuter:)

Materials needed: 1 large bead and few medium size and smaller size beads if you will decided to do any other versions besides version #1, and 4 chenille stems. If you don't have a bead with large enough hole, you can use pieces from ponytail holders as I did in our first spider.

Version #1

Feed 4 stems through the bead hole half way. Twist each half around to secure the legs and fold them in the shape of spider legs. The ends of chenille stems are rather sharp, that's why I prefer to do a little loop on the bottom of each leg to avoid any injuries or you can do what I did in .

Version #2

The only difference in this spider is that we added bead on the bottom of each leg.

Version #3

This spider had beads on the bottom of each leg and on top of each leg.

Version #4

Or if you have enough beads in the house, you can go all fancy and make your spider like we did.

We used three different bead sizes: the largest one - for the body, the medium size for the bottom of the feet and for all knees, and the small size to cover the space between those two sizes. Chenille stems are great for this project as well: they are small enough to go through the holes and when you twist them on the bottom of each leg it gives you a nice furry effect.

Here is our spider evolution in a brief:)

Have a great day!

Silhouette Cutting Tool Giveaway

2010-09-23T20:37:00.004-07:00

The Blog Community is buzzing about this fantastic giveaway. It was done before and it is here again. But what I am amazed the most is not the item of the giveaway, which is awesome - Silhouette Cutting Tool a value of $300.00, but the most genius PR that uses the power of Blogs. Each Blog that offers giveaway is a well developed Blog with huge number of followers.

I've heard about this giveaway from Crafty Crow - great Blog that I read religiously every single day. Then I've received another email from my other favorite Blog Living Locurto - great place to find ideas for party decor, get some free printable items and etc., and then I became curious who else is offering this giveaway.... Well, here is a list

Cakespy.com

Prudent Baby.com

Little Birdie Secrets (Blog)

You know, I've visited all these sites and they are phenomenal - I already consider myself a winner just because I found these amazing places on the Internet, and I have to thank Silhouette team for doing their great research and targeting the right places (I hope to become one of their targets in the future). So, what are you waiting for - go and enter for your chance to win and discover new interesting Blog.

Good Luck to all of us.

My Take on Steampunk - or my new ATC

2010-09-22T10:05:00.006-07:00

What is Steampunk? Here is a link illustrating the meaning of it ... and here is my take on it.

I am in ATC "Steampunk" swap (that isn't even started yet) on Swap-bot.com and the reason why the Steampunk was selected because it is very new to me and I like to try out new things. I've used old wallpaper, printed images and few pieces from my husbands toolbox to embellish this card. I still need to finish the edges and put it on a cardboard.

I wouldn't say that steampunk will become my all time favorite style, but I sure had fun making this card.

Have a great day.

I am linking this project to "The Graphics Fairy" where I've got my image for this ATC

Easy as ..... a Button

2010-09-21T06:28:00.001-07:00

When I was ready to do my post on Buttons and I came across this wonderful article which is much more detailed than my post was going to be but nevertheless - we are having fun with buttons and this is our picture journal

While my daughter was exploring our button collection we practiced counting, shapes, sizes, colors, sorting, threading

It is amazing how simple tools such as chenille stem and collection of buttons, can mesmerize a brain of a 3 year-old child.

Try it - it is so much fun!

Have a great day!

Precious Memories on Display

2010-09-20T14:32:00.005-07:00

I was going through the stash of my "waiting-to-be-used treasures"in my garage, and in one of the bins I found this beauty!

The glass from this picture frame from gone, but the frame itself was in a pretty good condition

Few coats of green paint, bronze glaze, a piece of old wallpaper and some pink tulle and we have recipe for success

A perfect display for my sentimental treasures: my daughters first spoons that we've used so much during her first 15 months and they all have her bite marks.

It took a second to hang it on the wall in her bedroom using my famous flower pin and we are in business

Perfect addition to her room decor! Love it!

Have a great day!

What's in the mail?

2010-09-17T16:48:00.004-07:00

Not so long ago, I had a post on my first ATC that I've made, well this post is completely devoted to the first ATC that I have received. It is from the same swap called "Bird ATC". It is so beautiful and very professionally made.

Michelle Carrier is the artist behind this ATC, and you can see that she is a pro. The ATC came in a see-through sleeve, all images overlap so neatly and each flower on the card embellished with red Swarawsky crystals, the back of the card has beautiful floral paper-this card is so precious.

It was accompanied by a lovely Autumn inspired card,

and what touched me the most - a collection of images with vintage kids.

Michelle read my profile on Swap-Bot and she saw that I like vintage images of kids, so she sent me this amazing collection in addition to ATC! Is it sweet or what?! I am so touched. I am going to use these images for one of my next projects, too bad Michelle doesn't have a web site with her work, otherwise I would refer you to see it.

I am definitely into ATC swaps from now on!

Sincerely,

Not so scary Halloween - Pumpkin Magnets DYI

2010-09-16T23:20:00.006-07:00

I like Halloween mainly for a chance to dress up and have fun. This is the picture from the last year Halloween - I was a gypsy and my little one was a Pirate.

But I am not a big fan of super creepy things and since my daughter is only 3 years old, we decided to keep it not so scary for this upcoming Halloween and concentrate on homemade decor for indoors and outdoors that will make us smile.

This is the first project in our series that we call.... "Not so scary Halloween": Pumpkin Magnets.

Materials: lids from the jars (any size will work), orange and black paint , chenille stems in olive green and brown for pumpkin, eyes, magnets and hot glue gun or glue of your choice.

Have your lids ready

Paint them in orange color and let dry.

Fold half of the chenille stem in brown color in a half and twist together to create a pumpkin stem. Using the whole chenille stem in olive green create three loops - pumpkin leaves.

Hot glue those two parts on top of the lid. Glue the wiggle eyes and drawer the rest of the face.

Glue down the magnet to the back of the lid - make sure it projects forward enough in order to hold it. I've used folded craft foam sheet to add for the difference. You are done!

After you've mastered the first - let your imagination run wild. We did:)

Have a great day!

Final version of another Ballet ATC

2010-09-14T14:12:00.003-07:00

Few days ago, I've had a post about my experiments with different techniques on ATC for Ballet Series on Swap-bot. Here is a final take on another Ballet ATC.

Before

During

Final look.

I am pretty happy with my ballerina #2, even though the picture doesn't show the iridescence of pearl color and butterfly next to the word "FREE"" hard to see.

By the way, I already signed up for the next swap in Dance series - "Waltz"

Have a great day.

Styrofoam Stamps

2010-09-13T22:24:00.005-07:00

I can't claim this genius idea and - shame on me, I don't remember where I've seen it but here it is - very simple, easy and fun.

You'll need Styrofoam Egg Carton - the lid will be used for the stamps and the base could hold the paint during your project.

First, you have to decide how big the future stamps will be. Mine were 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" (easier for little hands to hold). Then, you need to draw an image of your choice on a piece Styrofoam pressing hard. You can use a regular ballpoint pen without any ink.

Then, let the fun begin: using a brush apply a coat of paint over your Styrofoam piece with an image and press to a piece of paper - you've got your first print!

We've done some study while printing images:

1. We watched how different amount of paint affected the final results of a print.

2. We were counting the number of prints that we could get out of one paint application

3. We were observing how background can change the paint color. For example, blue paint on yellow background looks green

4. We were discussing a practical approach of this technique - we can make Gift tags.

5. We were talking about using Halloween Images and make some cards or decorations and etc.

(Note: All these points will be illustrated but my camera just died:( I will post them tomorrow....)

We had so much fun and I hope you will try this project as well.

Have a great day.

More ATCs

2010-09-12T23:37:00.005-07:00

Here is a record of my experiments with different techniques on the same subject as my previous post: ATC Dance Series "Ballet" Swap#1

Scratching technique with less background showing

Scratching technique with more background showing

Stenciling with Silver Acrylic and Onyx Glitter

Now, I have to decide which ATC should be the one that I will mail to my swap partner.....

Have a great day.

My ATC # 2

2010-09-11T23:17:00.009-07:00

As I said before - ATCs are very addictive (which I don't mind), but most of all - fun. I am in 3 ATC swaps on Swap-bot.com for the month of September. This ATC is for Dance Series Swap#1 Ballet. Anything ballet related could be shown, and no limitation on technique - LOVE IT! In my mind - classical ballet is the ultimate symbol of beauty. I kept my card minimalistic with only two images: ballerina and the antique world map, and used the famous phrase of Dostoyevsky "The Beauty Will Save The World" (here is an interesting article illustrating this phrase)

I am having so much fun experimenting with different techniques:

Beginning of the process

Final look

It is hard to see on the final picture, but the card has tree main colors: black background, white letters and silver wash to highlight the images and distressing.

My next ATC will be "Iris" I already have an idea on what I am going to do. So fun!

Have a great day.

Monsters Inc Paper Dolls

2010-09-10T23:42:00.008-07:00

We watched Monsters Inc for the first time. I've never seen that animated movie before and didn't know what to expect (, so we've made some popcorn, got ourselves comfortable on a sofa and turned on the TV. I wasn't sure if that was the right choice for my 3 year-old and I was on guard all the time, but let me tell you, we've had so much fun! Time went by fast and after standing ovation to this brilliant movie, Monsters entered our lives....

Since TV access is a treat, we watch it no more than 30 minutes a day with rare exceptions (like this movie), we had to create a play set at home to enjoy favorite characters.

First, we found some free coloring pages on line (here is a link) and printed them out.

Then my daughter colored the Monsters and we glued them to a sturdy cardboard (old gift box)

Cut the shapes out

and we were ready to go, well.... almost. We needed THE DOOR.

It is self-explanatory, but if you'd like a template, I'd be happy to email it to you (I need to learn how to do a PDF for my Blog)

All our Monsters are paper dolls except the only "real" character, a little doll with brown hair

called Boo.

Our Monsters Inc up and running on a daily basis bringing laughter to our household.

I think it is a wonderful prep for our not-so-scary Halloween.

Have a great day.

Afiori Giveaway

2010-09-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes by pure accident we discover the most interesting Blogs. My discovery of Afiori Blog happened with regular email from Etsy, featuring their daily finds. I like emails like that - it shows what creative minds are all about and what is happening in a craft world. I was scrolling through the lines of items and then I stopped. I saw the most interesting image called "The Abandoned Amusement Park" - colors, effects, theme - everything was mesmerizing. I started to read about the author, went on her Blog, and ... became her religious follower. Now Afiori by Maria-Theresa Andersen is having a giveaway in celebration of their Second Blogoversary. Stop by to learn more about this talented Swedish girl and you may end up as a lucky winner. I sincerely wishing myself as well as all of you the best of luck.

Have a great day.

Studying Seasons with Juice Boxes

2010-09-08T14:31:00.007-07:00

In my post on September 1st, Celebrating the First Day of Autumn I have mentioned that we are doing study on full Seasons. Here is the full report.

I am drawn to Eco-Crafts and Recycling lately for two reason, first of all they are Earth Friendly and the second reason - materials don't cost you anything (No Money Spend rule), and this project on Seasons fits right in this category.

Juices in a box - one of the most convenient creation ever, you can take them with you, they are perfect on a road and they are...... beautiful.....

I have used these juice boxes in my previous project called "Emerald City" but they were covered with green craft paper, these time I am using them raw.

I cut out random shapes of leaves and sort them by color, by the way, I have never realized that inside of the juice box lined with the most beautiful silver color. Please, see "Winter" image.

I started by cutting identical tree trunk for all four seasons. I glued them on a black background (which is a backing from a fabric sample from my old wallpaper book) and then let my daughter take over.

Then we discussed the main parts of the tree (the anatomy), how leaves grow, colors of the seasons and what each season brings us.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

(Our winter Season is whimsical - the silver color was so hard to resist, that's why our winter tree has leaves, but they are covered with snow - crumbled Styrofoam )

I really liked my daughter's effort: the leaves were pretty small and after few applications of glue, fingers got pretty sticky, but she was able to master it pretty well.

Looking at the final set of pictures you can see which one was the first (the messiest), and how much better she's got at the end (the neatest). We've had a lot fun doing this project and we hope it will trigger your imagination as well.

Sincerely,

and the WINNER is....

2010-09-08T08:35:00.005-07:00

Hello, everyone. Yesterday at 7 PM we had drums playing, hearts pounding and hands shaking - all of this to pick out who will be the Lucky winner of my first GIVEAWAY. I have decided to give a chance to all my Blog Followers and the lucky name that appeared out of my husband's cylinder hat pulled by my tree year old daughter was..... Cameron from Paint Myself Pretty. I am so excited to have my first champion. Now I need to pack the winning items and run to the Post Office.

Have a great day,

Hosting my First Swap

2010-09-05T08:52:00.003-07:00

I am hosting my first Swap, it's called "Let's step back in time".

It will be an electronic swap (via email) and we will exchange images of shoes and fashion accessories from the time period between 1810-1910.

This is my way to celebrate my passion for shoes and fashion of all times.

This is the first one in a series of swaps that I am planning to do, assuming that this one will go well. I think it is going to be fun! Would you like to join me?

Sincerely,

My First ATC

2010-09-02T22:30:00.004-07:00

Well, I did it! My first ATC (Artist Trading Card) is ready. I had so much fun, if that counts that's great, but I'll keep my fingers crossed until I will receive a rating from my Swap Partner.

This swap called "Bird ATC". Since I've never done any ATC in the past, I went on line to look what ATC with Bird could look like and after hours of research I've seen this image and it clicked.

Ancient China Bronze Bird and Beast Carving Wine Server 3000 years old

I was amazed by the craftsmanship of this piece, but the image of the bird attracted me the most. It reminded me of some ancient images of birds in Aztec art, and then I had an idea in how my ATC should look like.

Applying paper to a cardboard

Distressing edges

Outlining the birds with Iridescent Gold Deep Acrylic by Golden

After playing enough with different techniques that's how it looks like

I also included two word written in Chinese Symbols.

The word "Bird"

and the word "Happy"

It is a little bit sad to send away your first ATC but it is also very exciting. Wish me luck.

Sincerely,

Celebrating the First Day of Autumn

2010-09-01T20:03:00.008-07:00

I've decided to create something special to Celebrate the First of September. What could it be? Let me think - how about a nice cup of candle!

This cup is very special.

I've got it as a gift on my baby shower. My best girlfriend organized my baby shower in a Tea Party Style and this tea cup, (Vintage, by the way) is my precious memory about that fun day. I kept it on the shelf the entire time, but few days ago while cleaning, I've had an idea.....

I had a few bad candles in my pantry, I call "bad" any candle that drips badly while burning, these candles were in two colors - red and white. They were slightly used, right before I've discovered they were bad:)

I've decided to melt those two candles down to create a brand "new" candle.

To see the detailed process, please see my previous post

As you can see, I am reusing the wick from my long red candle and I am using a soda can tab for the candle tab.

During... (It took 2 long red candles and tree short white candles to melt down and fill up this cup)

Both of my candles had very lovely smells: white ones were vanilla and red ones were cranberry, while melting they've created their own nice blend - perfect for Autumn

I am awaiting to receive my bookmark and a tea bag from The Swap, to complete the picture and celebrate the season:)

Have a great day!

Swap-Bot Adventures continues

2010-08-31T14:00:00.004-07:00

Well, my swap-bot adventures are going with a full speed. I am sending a package to my Swedish partner in Swap called "Fall themed Bookmark and a tea bag". I couldn't miss this one, because we study Seasons with my daughter (I have a post coming up on that) and that was such a perfect example of Autumn Season. Our assignment required to buy (that is not an option for me - I have "no money spend" rule) or make (love it!) one bookmark add a tea bag and mail it to an assigned partner. Well, I have so much fun!

I had these beautiful cards with Autumn leaves in my card stash and I've selected one card that had nothing but bright autumn leaves. I've used the front of the card for the bookmark and the back with the same print but smaller for an envelope for a tea bag.

The Bookmark.

I folded the frond of the card in a half. Punched the word "READ"and set the blue background to highlight the letters, then I glued the bookmark together. Then I've outlined the contours of the leaves on the card with Glittering Glue by Martha Steward and sprinkled with Orange Glitter. While the card was drying. I cut out two sets of different sizes Autumn leaves from Craft Felt in orange color. The larger leaf was hand stitched to create the veins. The I punched a hole on the top of the card, then I fed through the ribbon in dark red/brown color and glued the ends of the ribbon inside the large autumn leaf. Set it dry.

The Tea Bag Envelope.

Front

Back

I have traced the shape of the Lipton Teabag 1/4" large on each side to allow for the seams to be glued. Then I've hand stitched the top of the envelope using Craft Thread in Orange color. I've highlighted the shapes of the leaves the same way I did on my bookmark and attached a smaller Felt Orange leaf to a tea bag. I let dry overnight and in the morning I put the whole set together and I was done.

I want this package to be extra special, because I love Autumn and what could be a better way to celebrate it : a good book, a good cup of tea and beautiful Autumn Leaves outside.

My Swap-bot adventures to be continued......

Sincerely,

Why ATC?

2010-08-30T13:46:00.006-07:00

First of all, don't forget about my GIVEAWAY (here is a link)

Why ATC? Just in case, if missed my last post ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. It is a tiny original piece of art created with the intenion of swapping or trading it with another artist, not selling it. The one rule an artist trading card must adhere to is the size. An ATC usually 2.5" x 3.5"

I think I am drawn to ATCs because they are the opposite of everything I've done in the past. I always worked with large sizes

This one inspired by Klimt (my favorite artist) is 36"x48"

This one is 36"x36". I was experimenting with glazes.

This one, in my daughter's bedroom, is 27" by 39"

These two are sitting on top of my pantry cabinet and hard to get to, but they are 18"x27"

These two in my Master Bedroom are the same size 18" x 27"

and these are smallest of anything I've done so far: 5" x 8".

and ATC gives me a chance to explore a new territory. I am learning more about ATCs and looking forward to this challenge!

Wish me luck.

Sincerely,

I am in Swaps on Swap-bot

2010-08-29T15:57:00.002-07:00

Oh, my. Life is full of surprises. Back in April. I had no idea what blogging was about and now I have more than 70 posts behind me, recently I have discovered Swap-bot.com and now I am in Swaps.

Besides 2 swaps that I have completed in the past (I am a Blogger Follow Me and Blog Me Up Baby) where I've met so many wonderful people, I am participating in Vintage Ephemera E-Swap and signed up for Bird ATC Swap.

I swap with Swap-bot!

Vintage Ephemera Swap brought so many vintage images in my collection for FREE and trust me, I already have few projects in mind, where I can unleash my creative beast. I was the last to sign up, I think, and this Sunday we already swapping images and my collection of Vintage Ephemera is growing as we speak!

Bird ATC is a new Swap, the dead line to sign up is August 30. Just in case if you don't know, and I've discovered this just recently, ATC stands for Artist Trade Card. It is a small card 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" and it features an artwork created by an artist in mixed media, on a certain subject, in my case "Bird". I will learn more details and will keep you posted on my progress as well. This is all so new and exciting that my heartbeat goes through the roof.

Summer is over and I am ready to take my craft (no money spend) journey on the next level.

Sincerely,

Discovering New Blogs - Reviews Part 3

2010-08-27T14:24:00.004-07:00

First of all, don't forget about ongoing GIVEAWAY- Lucky Number 7. I just read about Giveaways and how to do them right, well according to the Pros I've done everything wrong, or well - nevertheless. The second one should be better. Now.....

Reviews. I am very happy that I have participated in a Blog Swap and I am very grateful to all those people who signed up, because if it's not for this lucky coincidence I would probably never discovered so many amazing Blogs and Bloggers.

Here is the final group

Stop by Pariah's Blog to get a glimpse on vegan cooking, read about homeschooling and take a pick at Pariah's life style.

Michelle invites to her Blog and all you need to have is a great sense of humor and some knowledge of Spanish.

Crea Bloempje666 (try to say that 3 times:) by Rozemarijn from Netherlands talks about food, cats and SWAPS. Take a look at some of her latest treasures.

Speaking of being busy, my another partner from Swap-bot -Monique has 2 Blogs, 1 magazine and a stream of images on Flickr. Take a look, it will not a waste of time.

"Color me grateful" by Camille. New post with illustrations by this talented young artist

Another touching Blog with a single post "Wishing for a Baby..." by Mindy and her husband. They are looking for private adoption. I wish them the best of luck. Please, stop by to learn more.

Flying without Feathers" by Raye. I think she has a PhD in Swaps. You can learn so much just by stopping by.

"Jilly's Stuff" by Jill is a great Blog that will lead you to the shop owned by this amazing talented Lady. By the way, they are having a sale of 15% off. Prices are great - take a look.

and finally the last but not the least "Thrifty Crafting" by Allison. What a Crafty Mom. Her Blog filled with lovely projects and great tutorials. I am so excited to come across such a treasure.

What a great journey it was. I am so thankful to everyone who decided to participate in this swap and open doors to their amazing Blogs. You've made my life richer.

365 days 365 Do It Yourself projects (No money spend): GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

2010-08-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Don't forget about going on Giveaway!

365 days 365 Do It Yourself projects (No money spend): GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

2010-08-26T16:30:00.001-07:00

Thursday Morning

My daughter is having fun with mirror and her blue flower barrettes. Similar flower is part of my ongoing Giveaway.

Have a great day,

GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

2010-08-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

GIVEAWAY is here! It happens sooner than I expected. Everything came together at once and here it is!

When I started my Blog back in April, I had no idea where will it take me. My main goal was to stay busy in bad economy and challenge myself to 365 days 365 D.I.Y projects. I had neither agenda no written plan but what I truly had was the urge to create. "No Money Spend" rule made me look around and rethink my lifestyle. It was hard in the beginning not to rush to my favorite craft store to get a thing or two (God knows how much I love those places). I had to put myself in the box in order to start thinking outside of it. Then I came across Theodor Roosevelt's phrase "Do what you can with what you have where you are" and it instantly became my motto.

I change my habits and as a result I started to change as well. My Blog became my journey to self-discovery. I was able to awake my hidden skills that I had but never had a chance to use and now 70 posts later (which is still a baby age for any Blog) I started to see better where I want to be.

Well, my first GIVEAWAY is my way of saying "Thank you" to all of you. I called it "Lucky Number 7" Why? Because I have 70 posts, I am starting this GIVEAWAY on August 25 (2+5=7) at 7 PM (Mountain Time) and it will end on September 7 at 7 PM. You will have a chance to get 7 entries and I am giving away 7 items. Here they are

2 strings of seashells (36" long each)

1 white flower Brooch (4" )

(this brooch look great clipped to the seashell strings listed above)

1 Blue Flower Barrette (4 ")

1 Pink Flower Barrette (4")

1 Seashell Whistle

(because Bloggers are not afraid to toot their horns)

1 Big (3 oz) Lolly Pop which my daughter decorated with smiley faces

(just because it is something sweet)

Rules to Enter:

Follow my Blog - 2 entries (if you are already on a list of my friends - that's great)

Blog about this GIVEAWAY - 1 entry

Twit about this GIVEAWAY - 1 entry

Tell me, which of the projects on my Blog you like the most and why - 1 entry

Tell me about your "No Money Spend" projects that you find interesting - 2 entries

You have a chance of 7 entries!

The drawer will take place on September 7th at 7 PM. I've decided to do it in old fashion way:

My husband holding a hat full of names and my 3 year old pulling a lucky winner.

Thank you all very much and Good Luck!

Sincerely,

Discovering New Blogs - Reviews Part 2

2010-08-26T00:04:00.005-07:00

Here are few more Blogs that I was able to visit. I wish I could have 48 hours in a day, because 24 is not working for me anymore.

“ElizebethMD” by Elizabeth. What a gem! Literally, I mean it. She is a very talented jewelry designer and Blogger. After you are done reading her Blog, don’t miss an opportunity to stop by her Etsy Store – I bet you can find something for yourself, or get a great gift for someone special.

“It’s gonna be a lovely day” by Faiza. This is a Blog of happy person who wants to spread her joy. She has lots of interests in life but one thing amazed me the most – her knowledge of a baseball game. You want to have her around when you are betting on baseball in Vegas.

“Ichigo Shortcake” by Mimi. Originally from Thailand she is a fashion student in London. If you want to get a glimpse of the latest and the greatest in fashion, make-up and Mimi’s life pay her a visit and you may become one of her strawberries (??? Find out for yourself what it means)

“Hanging off the wire” by Hayley. Great family of 4 Bears: Papa Bear, Mama Bear and 2 adorable kids. They are trying to Potty Train the oldest Little Bear and have trouble with it (Don’t we all?!) If you know a secret, please share it with Hayley, I know how stressful that time is and it is twice more stressful if you have another 10 month old Little Bear. By the way, she is doing 30 day challenge, which is on my To-Do list for September. Stop by her Blog to learn more.

“Saturday Mornings” by Dana. Listen to her Blog description: “Creations, revamps, handmade gifts on a dime!” Doesn’t it sound familiar? Yes! I found my Sister Blog. Same idea, but this gal thinks big. I have to learn from her, because sometimes my little inner voice is stopping me from taking on something huge, but not anymore. Thanks to Dana. Stop by her Blog to see the amazing results of her revamping.

Have a happy Blog discovering day,

Discovering New Blogs - Reviews Part 1

2010-08-25T11:40:00.004-07:00

I was so naïve, when in my previous post, I said that I set aside an afternoon to indulge new Blogs assigned to me by Swap-bot.com “Blog me up, Baby”. Boy, was I wrong.

All new participants are so amazing and talented that you don’t want to leave their Blogs until you finished reading their last post. Some Blogs are brand new but nevertheless, they all have a message.

So far, I was able to visit half of my Blogs and the remaining half is on my To-do list.

These are the first five Blogs that I visited and was able to summarize

“Ladies Lunch” a girly girl Magdalena invites you in her fun world to experience things that Ladies like to talk about during their Lunch, you may also find a list of Interesting Blogs or listen to a music mix. Have fun visiting her Blog

“Goody Goody Gumdrops” by Simone showcase her fabulous handmade cards, after reading few posts you feel that you want to start making cards yourself. I absolutely adore one of her cards – It’s a Birthday Card with green turtle. I think it will be great for a Belated Birthday Wish (not that I ever miss someone’s Birthday!)

“The Neat Get Neatter” by Beth, self-admitted “neat freak” and by visiting her Blog you may get few great ideas on how to clean a thing or two, but that’s not it! She is having a GIVEAWAY – to give you a clue-it is something that helps you clean! Hurry! Giveaway ends soon.

“Paint Myself Pretty” by Cameron swept me off my feet – she is amazingly talented and her Blog is an open door to her art studio. Pay her a visit – there will be no disappointment.

“Adventures with Mrs. W” by Mrs.Whiffin. What can I tell you – writing is her natural talent, add a great sense of humor and you have a recipe for success. She is that girlfriend that you want to meet for a cup of coffee and share few good laughs with. By the way, she is a coordinator for this swap-bot adventure that some of us sharing – many thanks to her.

Sincerely,

P.S. I am working on my first giveaway - it will take place in a day or so. I am a little bit nervous…..

Peace Through Art

2010-08-24T08:34:00.008-07:00

I follow on Reader a great Blog called "Artful Parent". Today they have a very interesting guest speaker featured in a new post called "Peace through art?". Please, follow this link to learn more about it.

I love the approach and philosophy of this fabulous organization and hope you will as well. You can read more about International Child Art Foundation here

Look at this work of a young artist from Philippines, Bhea Vacio, age 11

I am saying "Yes" to Peace through Art

Have a great day!

Stickers into Paper Dolls -DYI

2010-08-23T23:21:00.008-07:00

What do you do with an old book of stickers?

This book served us well during our trip to Monterey, my daughter loves horses and this book was godsend: great stickers of ponies and pages of beautiful sceneries in amazing quality. It kept her busy for hours but now all blank spaces are filled with right images, and there is nothing else to do...

Well, I've decided to extend the life of this book, well at least some parts and pieces will serve us for a bit longer.

I've got some stickers and put them on a cardboard (I've used a sturdy, thick cardboard from a recent packaging that we received, because you may know how kids are playing)

Then, I cut up all the images

and on the back of each cut out shape glued a piece of magnet

(I have a bowl full of mismatch pieces that we received from one of my friends - recycling:)

Because cardboard is very light, I set all ponies on a magnetic board to dry overnight

and in the morning, as soon my daughter got up, our ponies got really busy

They started on a magnetic side of her easel

then they run to the fridge...

Soon after, they've discovered a wonderful meadow (this is a page from the same book,

that I put on a metal message board and used as a background)

where they all played until lunch time.

Something tells me, that tomorrow morning ponies will be very busy again

Sincerely,

Discovering new Blogs

2010-08-23T21:29:00.003-07:00

Discovering new Blogs is always so exciting – it is like entering the new Universe full of feelings, ideas, thoughts and points of view, and thanks to www.swap-bot.com, and Blog Swap “Blog me up baby” makes it possible for many of us.

I’ve had a pleasure of participating in a similar swap recently (I am a Blogger Follow Me), where I’ve met lots of interesting people, and now for the second time I already know what to expect.

I am about to have the most wonderful evening, which I blocked to myself, and dive into the wonderful number of Blogs that I have lined up

Ready, set, go!

Sincerely,

Playing Pirates or Our Friday Songs

2010-08-20T06:10:00.001-07:00

Ahoy, everyone!

What can be better than playing Pirates on a rainy day?

But today we are not only playing Pirates, but we are doing a multicultural research on Pirates and their Songs on YouTube. It's a lot of fun, to see and hear Pirates singing in different languages.

English

Spanish

French

German

English (Backwards)

Yo Ho Ho and Have a great weekend

Sincerely,

Playing with Fire

2010-08-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

On my favorite web site Cut Out + Keep" I found this beautiful tutorial on how to make chiffon flowers.

I didn't have chiffon but I've decided to try out different fabrics and see how it works. This is so easy and so addictive - please, be careful :)

You want to make more

and more.....

I already made few flower barrettes for my daughter. Here she is - modelling.

(You can still see some pizza marks on her face).

What do I do with the rest of the flowers? Should I have my first giveaway called "Just Because"? Would you like to receive a pretty silk flower as a lucky winner? Let me know.

I am very grateful for all my followers and that would be the least that I can do.

Sincerely,

Our Weekend Trip

2010-08-18T14:19:00.001-07:00

We went to the lake last Sunday and it's been the most unplanned and spontaneous trip that I've ever had, but you know what sometimes unplanned and spontaneous is good. It's a little bit unusual for me to say, because a person who is always on time, never skips or forgets an appointment and unplanned trip don't go together, right? WRONG!

I've had an amazing time. The weather was nice,

the lake was cool,

the chipmunks were everywhere,

we saw a very interesting bird ( I need to do my research on what it's called)

and we left with 2 baskets full of delicious wild mushrooms.

What can be better? I started to think that may be some of our stress and problems in life are in our desire to plan and schedule everything and then follow that precisely....

Well, in my organizer from now on there is one phrase written across: Hurray to unplanned!

Lacing Your Way into 3D

2010-08-18T08:26:00.006-07:00

My last post on shoe lacing made me think of more ideas on where else this technique could be used besides shoes ....

Here is an idea: recycling old children books.

I think we all know these series.

Well, let's do hole punching and lacing again but a little bit more this time.

Where will it take us?

I think this new storage container will find a good use around the house.

What will be your lacing creation?

Have fun!

Sincerely,

Shoe Lacing - or The Most Simple Toy

2010-08-12T19:36:00.009-07:00

We are learning some shoe lacing technique with my 3 year old. May be she is too young to master that skill and besides, all her shoes are having Velcro strips, but nevertheless!

I my mind I've had a design on how the shoe lacing toy should look like with different colors, magazine cut outs and etc. but it never materialized. I guess some things are meant to be simple.

I've started with simple cardboard piece with the size comfortable enough to hold in little hands.

Using simple hole puncher - I've made two rows of holes.

Then I run a long shoe string through to try on and then my daughter took over.

This is her first attempt to do lacing on her own.

It is amazing but this simple toy kept her concentrated for 40 minutes. She was doing it over and over.

By the way, I went on line to look similar toys that are teaching lacing technique and they are all around $14.00. Well, we definitely score - no money spend(again)!

Sincerely,

Pierrot - My New Spoon Doll

2010-08-10T07:15:00.001-07:00

Please, meet my favorite character! He is a "romantic with the temperament of the tormented artist, a stoic who hid his pain from others except for perhaps a single teardrop..." (Gwen Bruno)

Pierrot (pronounce /pjεro/ ) character in French pantomime

His face painted white

His baggy white clothes are hand-me-downs and too big for him, sometimes even with sleeves too long for his hands to be visible.

Loose tunic with big buttons has pocket to keep a variety of small objects, usually only of sentimental value.

May be a scroll with romantic poem to Columbine?

Or, by the way, that's how Pierrot looked before:)

Sincerely,

Note: If you like to read more about this character, please follow this link

New Craft Tray from an Old Drawer Box

2010-08-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, I've had a post about Blog Party called "Where Bloggers Create", I was drooling over some studios and crafty places, but since I am not as lucky and I don't have my personal room dedicated to crafts (at least not right now), I've decided to start small: a Craft Tray, for example:) I used to do my projects in so many different places in the house and it is always a big deal to clean up when project is not completely finished yet. Not any more, now I can put my project away at any time and start right away, when time allows.

Well, here is my little opening story. I am a Kitchen Designer, and in the beginning of my career, many years ago, I've ordered a wrong cabinet as a Sink Base, it came with the drawer :). Well, that problem was fixed very easy, but that drawer was sitting in my garage ever since. I treasure it as a memory of my first learning experience, but now I am going to put that monument to a better use.

This is a 5 minute project.

Drill holes for the handles (rope, in my case).

I wanted my handles to look rustic, to add some personality to a very Blah drawer box, and I have used a very rough rope

Feed the rope through the holes and

tie the knots. Secure them with hot glue (if needed).

That is it!

Not for me though. This craft tray is my practicing arena for a Set of Hot Marks that I've got as a gift last Christmas.

Here is my experiment with hot marks - letters. I decided to try out my favorite phrase by Theodore Roosevelt,

slightly modernized:) - my tribute to texting era, I hope Mr. Roosevelt will excuse some of my abbreviations.

Here it is my personal little island for my Crafty Adventures, but some day I still hope to have my own Craft Room. We have to dream big, right?

Sincerely,

A chance for my Cinderella

2010-08-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

Recently I've learned that all those cute dress-up shoes are made only for the girls with narrow feet. What do you do when your feet are not narrow? Do you tell your child that those dress-ups are just silly? Do you teach her to play Dinosaurs and stay away from Princess pretend play? Do you tell her that Princess doesn't need any shoes? or... do you give her a chance? I am a Pro-Chance kind of person.

These shoes came as a Birthday Gift in a set along with Crown, Magic Wand, Beautiful Necklace, set of three rings and a purse. Out of all the pieces in the box, my daughter grabbed her shoes first (she never had a pair of "real" Princess shoes before) just to discover that they don't fit. Can you imagine her disappointment? After discovering that stores couldn't offer me anything different, I've decided to take a closer look and see what could be done.

See the screws on the bottom, what are they for?

Now, I have an idea!

Old Headbands + Narrow Shoes = Recipe for Success

Unscrew 3 out of five screw to open up a bottom (like you see above)

Feed the headband through the bottom opening (making sure you are not blocking the holes for the screws) across twist the headband and feed through the top opening. You are creating - 8 type shape.

Put the crews back. Secure the twist point in the middle with matching color thread

Apply the same embellishments using hot glue and voila- Cinderella is ready to go!

Oh, precious first heels!

They are just perfect:)))

Well, if your girls are lucky and all dress-up shoes fit them well, then for you this is probably the silliest tutorial ever, but if you are a member of our wide-feet club you may find it useful. Who knows!

Sincerely,

Something Silly - "Mary had a little Lamb"

2010-08-07T20:14:00.004-07:00

We recently got a Karaoke Machine and the only disk that we have (that came with it) plays only kids songs (100 different songs to be exact). Our entire house filled with "Wheels on the Bus". "Twinkle twinkle little star" and now "Mary had a little Lamb". With every song, my little one gets out the toys that can illustrate the song - so... you are looking at a picture with a cute Lamb but I don't even dare to show you our floor full of buses, stars, farm animals and everything else! We are like Cirque De Sollie acrobats when crossing the room... Is it wrong to tell her tomorrow that Karaoke is not working any more? (Just kidding!)

Mickey The Pilot - Canvas Painting

2010-08-06T09:00:00.005-07:00

I have finished my Mickey last night. This is a gift to a baby Aaron who will come to this world sometimes next week and his parents are my dear friends. This is their second child. I did my first painting for their first-born - Jacob, who is 2 years old now, and I was so touched when they asked me to do another one for Aaron. They picked Airplanes as a theme for a Baby Room and that's why Mickey is on The Plane. I hope they liked it.

Here is a work progress. I started back in July and worked on it for a week, when time allowed.

Note: I took so many pictures of this finished work and I am not happy with any of them. This is a large canvas, and I was trying different spots with different lighting - the final shot that you see was taken on my sofa, but I still get some glare from acrylics

and the flash light brings out the lines that you don't see.

I need to improve my photography skills:( !!!!

Humpty Dumpty - soft toy

2010-08-04T16:51:00.007-07:00

Who doesn't know the "Humpty Dumpty" story? My 3 year old is in love with Humpty Dumpty song that we found on YouTube, they have lots of different versions but this one is her favorite...

May be because Humpty Dumpty magically repaired at the end?

After watching it over and over, she looked at me and said "Mom, can we make Humpty Dumpty?" I loved her question! You see, she didn't ask me if we can buy, she asked me if we can make it? My heart filled with joy, it means all these projects that you see on my Blog are working! She already knows by now, that with imagination you can do a lot!

Now, how do you make Humpty Dumpty? In my case, inspiration sometimes comes from a trash bin :) It worked again. We found an old lonely sock:.... The rest was easy. 2 hours lately we had our own Humpty Dumpty:)

Body and Legs - Old white sock stuffed with grocery bags

Hat and sweater - my daughter's old socks

Pants and sleeves are out of craft felt

Shoes - toes of the socks that I've used for hat and sweater

Face - hand drawn using sharpies in Black and Red

Ties on hat and shoes - leftovers from my old T-shirt

A little confession - I never use patterns, I cut using my eyeball judgment and then make it all work, this time I've done the same, but... if you think you would like a pattern or a sketch, please let me know. That would be a good challenge for me:)

Sincerely,

Message Board Out of Old Cookie Sheet

2010-08-03T07:00:00.001-07:00

Today I am rediscovering America:) Internet has so many versions of this idea - how to re-purpose an old cookie sheet, and I have decided (why not!) to join this crowd, especially when I have everything I need. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proudly presenting MY version of this fabulous idea!

Materials needed:

Old Cookie Sheet

Paint for metal

Old wallpaper or any cute paper

Glue that works with metal

Magnets

Bear/Soda Bottle Caps

Any light weight container,

to be used as pen/pencil holder on message board

Wine corks

2 Screws with loops

Rope or I am using a chain from my old necklace.

Step 1. Paint or Spray paint your cookie sheet. Let it dry per instructions.

Step 2. Cut down to size and glue down the paper of your choice to the bottom of the tray and let it dry.

Step 3. Do the same with your container

Step 4. Attach magnets to the back along the seam

Step 5. Glue magnets to the top of the bottle caps. Glue wallpaper to the inside of the cap.

Step 6. Glue wine corks to the back of the tray.

Step 7. Attach screws with loops to each end.

Step 8. Feed the chain through and lock.

Step 9. Congratulate yourself on a brand new message board:)

Step 10. Now, put it to a good use - start posting important messages.

Happy re-purposing everyone!

Sincerely,

P.S. I would love to know the name of the original author of this brilliant idea

Ugly Ducklings

2010-08-02T21:15:00.007-07:00

How many packaging containers, shoe boxes or dated office belongings have you tossed to a recycling bin? I have been one of you for many years, but recently I have changed my look at trash and now I am seeing all these items as Ugly Ducklings and trying to give them a chance.

Ugly Duckling?

not at all!

Have you seen this "beauty" before?

How about this?

and finally - shoe box into gem.

All these transformations have been done with my old wallpaper samples:)

Score!

Sincerely,

Saturday Morning Organizing

2010-07-31T07:34:00.006-07:00

This morning I got up very early and after reading new postings on my favorite blogs from yesterday with my cup of coffee, I've decided to treat my family to a nice bunch of homemade cookies from scratch..... (Ha ha ha!)

If you ever were baking "from scratch" like me, you know it doesn't take a long time, but it was enough to reorganize my ribbon stash (which I am so embarrassed to show). Here it is.... I know.... :(

but not for long! Cut up cardboard box (do you recognize the box?) into spool type shapes, use two sizes large and small. You've the idea! Use small spools for longer ribbon and use large spools for ribbon that you have in shorter length. Secure the end of ribbon with pins.

Stack them neatly in a container (I am using a packaging box for Maracas from Michaels, that my daughter got for her Birthday)

and ... you are done! The good thing - I've organized my old ribbon stash the bad thing - now I can see that my stash is running low...

Well, cookies on the morning table may do the trick and my family may let me run to the local craft store to get more ribbon:) Looking for coupons already!

Have a nice weekend

Sincerely,

Fairy Cottage in the Woods

2010-07-30T22:16:00.006-07:00

These are our favorite books of all times. Their written by Cicely Mary Barker and full of wonderful pop-up images. If you are familiar with art and books of Cicely, you may know what I mean, but if you are not - please, do yourself a favor and explore magical world of fairies created by this talented woman. We love to read these books in a dark room with a flash light: it makes it very mysterious and magical. All images coming alive and every time we are discovering something new.

Now we have our own Fairy Cottage hidden in the woods :) (I've used old birdhouse, hot glue gun and artificial flowers, or and my new image editing software)

and if you will look closely, you might see fairies living happily in this tiny cottage! Oh, here they are

Happy fairy searching!

Sincerely

The Wizard of OZ Friendship Party

2010-07-29T14:00:00.002-07:00

Lindsey from Filth Wizardry Blog, which I follow, made a wonderful post about their Emerald City project and since we also have been bitten by Wizard of OZ bug, I went back to my Blog to revisit my postings from April and discovered that I have never reported on The Wizard of OZ Friendship Party that we had at our house (?!). Where we celebrated friendship, creativity and recycling (we did it on Earth Day).Well, here it is!

Everything was green, and our Emerald City was a huge success!

Upon arrival each guest had to make a Friendship Bracelet out of “real” Emeralds

Special Glasses (here is a pattern)

And a special Friend TOTO (origami project – here is a pattern)

Then they were greeted by the Guardian of the Gates (my dear hubby) who let them start the party.

All kids were facing difficult tasks:

Pass the meadow of Poppies. The rule: the winner is the person who is able to lay still the longest time with eyes shut.

Walk through the dangerous pass (our hallway) filled with snakes and spiders stepping on marked tiles only to the Bad Witch Castle

Shoot the flying Monkeys (magnetic darts game, which I’ve embellished with Monkeys)

and here is my little monkey

Outside we were collecting water to melt The Bad Witch by bringing water in spoon from point A to point B and dropping it to a glass. The winner is the one who collected more waterJ

And we finished our party by making Yellow Brick Road Dangles (here is the idea)

and coloring a rainbow. Here is a free printable page

Each participant received:

Coloring book “The Wizard of OZ”

Rainbow Crayons. Here you can find how to make them

Patterns to make characters from Wizard of OZ using toilet paper cardboard tubes

Lion (Here is a pattern)

Tinman (Here is a pattern)

Scarecrow (Here is a pattern)

And they were keeping everything they made during the party. We had so much fun and on the way to Emerald City new friendships were bornJ

Sincerely,

My New Signature

2010-07-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed my new signature that I am using on the bottom of my postings now. I love it, and the best part of it - it's FREE.

You can create it at My Live Signature . I am planning to use it on my pictures as well, I just have to learn how:)

Have fun!

Sincerely,

Where Bloggers Create II

2010-07-27T10:47:00.004-07:00

Hi, everyone. Did you ever had a moment when you think of something and then it happens?It's a little freaky... Well, it happens to me very often lately. Here is an example: I am reorganizing my office and few of my next posts on my Blog should be showing what I've done so far, but the thought that I had in my head was to find out how other creative places are organized and how people come to their creations. Guess what, I came across a fabulous blog by Karen Valentine from Scottsdale, AZ called My Dessert Cottage and there she had a fabulous Bloggers Party that she hosted for the second time called Where Bloggers Create II. Hundreds and hundreds of Bloggers opened their doors to show their studios! Can you believe it!!! But be careful what you are wishing for, because last night I went to bed around 2 AM after visiting so many fabulous places, and I am on letter C only (all participants are alphabetized). If you have time, stop by and take a look some studious will make simply green with envy:)

Here are few of my favorites so far:

http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/2010/06/gathering-place-in-making-where.html

http://astorminsidemyhead.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-bloggers-create-ii.html

http://createbreathe.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-we-create.html

I am having such an amazing journey so far, filled with inspiration and lots of new ideas.

I hope you'll take a look and may be will discover a pal that you may want to follow! Who knows but it's definitely worth your time.

Sincerely,

A Book End Made Out of Milk Carton and An Old Book

2010-07-26T20:30:00.001-07:00

Me and houses..... While back in April I've had an Emerald City Project, where I went a little bit crazy

It's been built out of 32 boxes in different sizes and you can read more about it in my April posting "Emerald City Part 2"

The project today is much more modest:) We are going to be making a book end out of milk carton and an old book cover that I am using as a roof.

Materials you will need: milk carton, zip lock bag filled with sand to serve as weight, an old book cover (I am using my daughter's old book with shapes) and old wallpaper to cover it all.

Before:

After:

I think it is kind of self-explanatory, but if you have any questions - please, let me know. I am here to help:) By the way, this Book End is part of my upcoming collection on how to organize and recycle....

Piggy Bank Out of Large Soda Bottle

2010-07-26T13:59:00.005-07:00

Here is another great project from Disney Family Fun that couldn't resist: Piggy Bank out of large soda bottle.

I think with school starting soon or in some cases already going, Piggy Bank can serve as a great motivational tool:)

You will need a soda bottle, tissue paper ( in my case I've use 1 1/2 sheet), two toilet paper tubes cut in a half for the legs, chenile stem for the tail, button for the nose and two wiggle eyes. Web site suggests to use toilet paper tube for ears as well, but I decided to go with craft felt, Mod Podge to apply a tissue paper and Tacky glue to attach the rest. Very simple! Me like it:)

I will skip a picture of soda bottle:) Here it is after two coats of freshly applied tissue paper:

After it is dried (usually overnight), time to start the assembly line going: glue button as a nose, add wiggly eyes, form and glue down the ears (if you need a pattern that I've created, let me know and I'll send you one). Glue the legs down and a tail. Let it dry, cut out the coin slot using craft knife and you are done! or.... if you are as crazy as me you can take it a step further and have fun with paint:) That's how it looks like when it's all finished

Happy savings!

Note: for more detail, please go to Disney Family fun recycling craft:)