Taped and Stapled

Ever felt like sewing something without actually “sewing”.  This tote bag tutorial from Martha Stewart shows how to make a cute and stylish bag using duct tape and a stapler among other things.  The funny thing is, judging by the photo, it doesn’t come out all clunky and strange like you’d expect.  Just don’t try the same thing on dresses and stuff....

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Floral Ruffles

So while working feverishly over the last few days, I finished another dress and wore it to church today.  Nearly the same reaction as the last couple of dresses (see More Pink and Lace and Two Days Time) except that it wasn’t such a surprise to everyone that I made it.  Anyway, this one is a little more subtle, the only decoration is the ruffle at the top and at the hem of the skirt and some pin tucks. ...

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Cardboard Hearts

Cardboard is truly one of my favorite craft materials, and up until now I thought I was really great with it.  I found someone who can truly be called a cardboard genius and I pale in comparison.  This video tells the touching tale of an older man who works with cardboard to help him forget how much he misses his wife, she has been in a nursing home for the last few years since suffering a stroke.  He visits her daily, bringing along some of his creations as gifts for her and some of the other...

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Shoulder Pads Be Gone

I tackled another makeover of a thrift store shirt.   This time I actually managed to get a before photo. I got this shirt for 25 cents at the thrift store up the street.  It was too big for me, had shoulder pads (shiver), a pocket I didn’t like and buttons and beads on it that I hated. The redeeming quality is this lovely decorative stitching around the collar.  The back of the collar came...

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More Pink and Lace

Yesterday I mentioned something about wearing the shirt I redid with something else I made.    Here it is, I had some leftover material from that last dress I made (see Two Days Time), so I made another one.  This time it’s without sleeves which made it a little faster.  This time I tried to do a little shirring, never done it before, wonder if I will do it again since I had some trouble...

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Procrastinate with Lace

So yeah, I have been procrastinating lately.  What is one of things I do when I procrastinate on something?  I sew, a lot.  Here’s something I redid.  I forgot to take a before photo, before it was an ordinary polo shirt I got for 25 cents at a thrift store.  It was a little big on me and boring to boot.  So I took it in a little and added some pin tucks.  I then added lace to the collar,...

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Calling All Craft Bloggers

I found something you may be interested in, that is, if you regularly write really good articles on crafty business topics.  You know, like photography tips, marketing, tutorials, etc.  Handmadeology is looking for blog posts to feature.  All you have to do is fill out and submit their easy form, and you can do it for as many posts as you want.  They will take a look, and if all goes well, your article...

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Singing With Joy

A lot of good things happened today.  First off, I finally got around to cleaning my room, so I can actually see the floor now.  Not that it’s nice to look at, the carpet is an ugly color.  Second, while cleaning I found my taps shoes, spent a good deal of the day wearing and using them too.  It would appear that my tap skills are a little rusty.  Most importantly though, today was the first...

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Eyes, Ears, Mouth and Nose

The last project on my list is done, face magnets.  I made them by covering bottle caps with fabric and drawing on them, then gluing on disc magnets.  Each magnet is a different part of the face, so they can be moved around anywhere you please.  I haven’t showed them to my niece and nephew yet, but I’m sure they will get a kick out of them.  Especially my nephew, he loves funny faces. Here’s the updated...

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Mountain Climbing or Knitting?

Well I finished the video, ran a little late with it too.  That’s because of some technical problems.   First my webcam was on the fritz, it’s only a year old and it’s having so much trouble.  Then I had problems with my editing software, some little problem that should have been simple to solve if only the help file was a little more detailed in it’s explanation. Anyway, it’s done.  In this...

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Another Hidden Gem

Yesterday I went to Goodwill with my sister and her son,  to take advantage of Dollar Thursday.  It was an interesting day, we got off the bus only to realize that my sister had left her diaper bag on it.  We had to wait for it to come back around to see if it was still there, luckily it was.  Anyway I managed to find a couple of items.  A pair of gray knee socks, un-worn and the perfect...

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Good for Me, and Some of You Too

Good news, a few days ago Eco Friendly Freckles awarded me the “I heart your blog” award.  Cool, I’ve never gotten a blog award before.  If I understand the rules correctly, I’m supposed link to the person who gave the award and follow them, then post this cute button on my blog, and then give the award to 15 others of my choice.  Only 15?  I know way more great blogs than that.  It took me a...

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Mini Arts and Crafts

I finished a couple more from the list, and like the camera, they are also miniature props for the video I will be making. First we have some painting supplies: a little easel, two canvases, a small paint brush, and an artist’s palette loaded with paint.  The easel is based on a design I made when I was little.  I was really into My Little Pony and troll dolls and I used to make all kinds of things for them,...

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Two Days Time

A week ago I mentioned something about having something special planned for the materials I bought at Goodwill (see Loading Up).  Well, after two days on the sewing machine, here it is: This is a dress based on a certain style of Japanese street fashion with an unfortunate name, at least I think its unfortunate.  It’s unrelated, but has the same name as a certain movie that’s based on a particular book that...

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Detangled

The other day I found the cutest thing for organizing embroidery thread.  Perfect for those who are actually good at embroidery, basically everyone but me.  How About Orange now has these adorable cards you can download and print to store your thread.  Keeps thing neat and tangle-free while you enjoy your new cuter craft space.  I wonder if they would work for other things, like ribbon and lace scraps, mine all always a mess when I try to find them.  I think they would also make cute...

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Another Use for Pencils

I believe I have mentioned at least once my thing for rubber stamps, I collect them but I hardly ever use them.  I think the next step could possibly be to start making some of my own. So when I came across this tutorial for making stamps with pencil erasers from Creature Comforts, I jumped on board.  Simple to do, plus I had plenty of pencils leftover from a Back to School sale at Wal-Mart years ago. ...

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We’re Back!

Yesterday I mentioned something about possibly having an announcement to make today.  Well, all preparations have be set.  The news is……… I reopened my Etsy shop.  Several of you may be thinking "she had an Etsy shop? Since when?”  I only mentioned it in some of my earlier posts, and I haven’t really done anything with it in the past few months for various reasons.  Why open it back up now? ...

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Smile!

For those who have been here for awhile, it isn’t too much of a surprise that the video on my project list is going to be another Kailey and Boris video.  If you’re totally clueless, you can check out the last video here.  I need some mini props before I can start on the new one.  One of the things I need is a tiny digital camera.  I made this one using my usual material of choice, cardboard. ...

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Loading Up

Yesterday was a 1/2 off sale at Goodwill so I picked up some supplies. I got a baggie full of all this stuff.  A zipper, a set of wooden purse handles, several buttons including doll size ones, strap guards(?), flower appliqués, fabric roses, some unidentifiable stuff, and four different kinds of lace.  It was the lace I really wanted, the other stuff are bonuses, assuming I can find something to do with it...

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