Tag: crafts

#AtoZChallenge | Upcycling bed risers into planters to give my spring herbs a lift

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When there are thousands of great ideas sometimes it’s hard to pick just one. This was one of the last crafts that I did as I prepared my A to Z challenge posts. I kept circling around from one upcycled craft to another. I was like a dog distracted by a squirrel my attention tenuous as I moved from one upcycled craft to the next all being brought to life with glorious possibility on Pinterest. As I veered from one craft to another, I took a step back and took a moment to breath.

I looked at my project list to identify specific things on my to-do list to see which ones actually worked with an upcycled project. Why make something that I really don’t have a use for?

When I found a pair of bed risers at Goodwill, I had my answer. I have been looking for four matching planters to use in the spring when I attempt yet another round of growing indoor herbs for the season. Last year I used various planters that I already had on hand. They worked but they were mismatched and they just didn’t have that personal vibe. Time to try and craft some new ones. Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge | Salt dough tags to up my gift wrapping this year

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Santa winning at a Slot Machine and a San Francisco Trolley Car hang in my tree each Christmas. Salt dough memories of wonderful trips that I’ve taken with my girlfriends over the years. My mother in law also gave me one with a decorative wreath and a newlywed couple where the husband was blond and the wife brunette. Not as easy to find as you would think. Trust me!

I had a phase where I loved that style of ornament. They were affordable and came in just about any design imaginable. 

Three simple ingredients and a little bit of patience while my artful creations spend six hours in the oven?  This sounded like the perfect project to do while working on other things. After a burst of creativity, I could move onto other items on my to do list. I love the idea of multi tasking even if I know it’s not really a great thing to do but in this case it seemed possible.

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#AtoZChallenge | Reduce, reuse & recycle : toilet paper roll napkin rings

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After only a few months of collecting our cardboard toilet paper and paper towel rolls, I was amazed and horrified at how many we had. It was like the classic Star Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles. They just seemed to multiple until suddenly we were overrun.

It started out harmless enough. We wanted to make a donation to a local non-profit, Ruth’s Reusable Resources. Their mission statement reads,

“Our mission is to ensure that all students, from pre-k through high school, have the basic supplies and creative tools for literacy, STEAM, and health education through the environmentally-conscious distribution of donated business supplies.”

They have an extensive list of donations that they accept in support of their programs. There are so many ways to help this wonderful organization. As part of my support local new year’s resolution, I had researched their organization and was focused on the donation section for “Things to save from the trash and recycling bin”. I printed it out and hung it on my refrigerator so my family could get into the habit of saving these items for our donation.

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#AtoZChallenge | Quilling some birthday love and a butterfly

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Q can be a hard letter for the A to Z Challenge. That is probably why this is not the first time I’ve blogged about Quilling. It does start with Q after all.

You can read that previous post here: Q is for (Mainely) Quilling | I am in awe of these amazing paper creations. I am amazed by the things Stacy creates using thin strips of paper. I’ve continued to follow Quantum Artistic on Etsy and recently purchased a beautiful bumble bee art piece from her.

I am realistic enough to recognize that her level of quilling is not something I can pull off. She is a true artist. I was looking for the craft version of quilling.

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#AtoZChallenge | Pom poms take my tea coaster from boring to brilliant

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My locally made mug with the speckled glaze and original Maine flag imagery is the perfect size. It holds exactly a cup and a half of tea which is the just the right amount. The handle has a flat spot at the top where I can rest my thumb when picking up the mug. It’s a good mug. I use it every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.

While there is no shortage of coasters in our house, I wanted something unique that would be worthy of my mug. Felted wool balls  came to mind. They are soft, cozy, and would make a safe base to rest my mug.

I’ve felted wool. I made a felted heart with some small wool ball accents. Driving the needle into the wool again and again was easy but you need to do it for a long, long time to get that beautiful felted look. It is not for the casual crafter.

I was balancing so many craft projects that I didn’t want to invested hours creating the felted balls I would need for my coaster. Fortunately, one Etsy search later and I discovered a multi-colored world full of wool balls in any color and combination you could ever imagine.

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