LOOk what I JUST made!! (Bib Necklace)

 

I have been seeing these kinds of necklaces EvErYWhERe!! I have been wanting to make one for a while. I think I finally got the push to do it when I saw it on Welcome To The Good Life.

So...I finally made one this morning! YAY! =)

It was so easy! (which I like)

I searched for odds and ends I wasn't using...and pieced it together like a collage. I then hot glued everything to a piece of felt...and when I like the way it looked, I cut out around everything. I glued the entire thing to another piece of felt and then glued on some ribbon. I mixed lots of colors on it because I wanted it to match with all kinds of things. I think it looks really....fun! Anyway....I am off to work. Lets see what people say about it!

I linked to these parties:

Mother's Day is a Comin'.....

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have been working on a few projects and busy at work. But I have still been making things. Just need to catch up on posting them!! I also am working on rearranging my Craft room. What a JOB!

I have also been working on a few crafts for my mom! I had to keep in mind that she is living in a tiny apartment, so she doesn't have room for much, PLUS....she has eVeryTHinG  anyway! Shes the mom that always says: "I don't need anything...save your money!"...blah blah blah. I am STILL doing something for her, I always do =)

So today I gave her these things (yes, I know early--but I probably won't see her on Mothers Day), along with a few things and I took her out for lunch, just the two of us and then we went shopping! FUN!

 

I had bought a few GIANT clothespins from the dollarstore, and have been wanted to make these photo holders for a while now. I finally made one. When I started it....I had the letters for MOM in individual squares....and I had it upside-down! Oops! So....I covered it with the purple paper...and kept on going. Turned out cute.

My Mom LOVES Penguins.....so I came across  this idea at Tina's Place.....and found the instructions here. She LOVED it (of course!), and she said she couldn't wait to wear it to work. It was very quick to make.

 

I also made her a Rice Pack. My husband and myself each have one, that I made a couple years ago. I use mine all the time. I was trying to think of things she could use.....and so....I thought, why not a rice pack?! It's nothing fancy-smancy or anything. Just a simple rectangle sewn....and I poured non-instant rice and sewed it shut in sections, so that the rice didn't go all to one end. It's not that easy sewing a line and trying to not let the rice get under the sewing foot. Then you pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes....and VOILA.....soothing heat!

So what are YoU guys doing for mothers day?? I think handmade gifts are the best. My mom even told the cashier at Wal-Mart today about her gifts...and how she preferred handmade items over anything else....(awwww, thanks mom!)

Buttons, BuTtOnS, BUTTONS!!

 

BUTTONS!! Who loves buttons?? I do! I DO!! (I'm such a weirdo) Such a funny word....buttons....BUTTonssss....buttONS....haha.....anyway.

I have been collecting and playing with buttons....since I was little. I used to like going through my moms button containers and making a game out of sorting them. Haha...kinda pathetic for a kid, but hey...they fascinated me!

So....even though my collection isn't that large....I do like collecting them and sorting them buy color family. Makes it easier to find what I want later. I just acquired a jar of buttons. So...time to start SORTING!!

 Where do you guys get your buttons? I have a hard time finding interesting ones....We don't really have any craft stores around. I have to rely on Walmart and Marden's (a surplus store). (thats why I don't have a lot)

More Jewelry!!

Here is some jewelry that I have made in the past few days!!

 

Here is a necklace made with a strip of fabric and some big wooden beads and a piece of ribbon. I have been seeing these all over the place, and wanted to try to make one myself. Not too bad if I say so myself. I think I'm going to wear this one today!

 

I have also seen these necklaces EVERYWHERE! So I tried this one also. Instead of weaving between every bead, I went every other. Cute, Cute!

 

I've also seen a lot of these bangles. So I made some for myself and the girls at work. I think they might likeeee these! I glued some mini pearls to them to add a little something extra.

I can't remember where I saw this idea....I have so many blogs bookmarked and followed. When I find the link, I will add it. =)

Anyway, it's lunch time, then off to work!! Going to bring the girls their goodies.

I'm Slacking....;P

 

So...I'm a little behind in posting! OOPS! Forgive me. I've been a little busy with a side project that I just started. I can't give away too many details at the moment, because it is for a contest. But I will post things about it as soon as I can.

Here are a few photos I took from the rainy day last week. See the pigeons and the black bird sitting on the wire!? All the photos are from our my craft window from my apartment. Anyway...I will post some projects that I have been working on lately!

shoes, Shoes, SHOES!

Today was a rainy, gloomy day and I was in the mood to work on some 

boots & shoes 

that I got inspiration for online.

 

I found a tutorial for Wellie Warmers from Sabbe Interior Design's Blog. I tweaked my version up a bit. My boots are already snug to begin with, so I didn't want to use anything too thick. I ended up using some fabric I had that is kind of like fleece, but only on one side. Does that make sense? So its thinner. I also decided not to add different fabric on top. I just made them a little longer to fold over, and I skipped the elastic. I put a contrasting zigzag stitch and sewed on some buttons to add a little more...cuteness! I think they turned out cute!!

Check out some photos I had of my boots in use....before I added the warmers. This was taken last summer.

 

 

These are a pair of sneakers that my niece, Kayla & I worked on. She has an identical pair, except her's has her name/initials. We just bought these from Pay Less Shoe store and doodled on them with fabric markers. We also glued on some rhinestones. These were FuN to make!

 

Here is my niece modeling her pair!

 

Then I worked on these this afternoon. 

I call them my Shabby Chic Booties. 

I got this neat idea over at Emme. She had a nice tutorial.

I used a pair of ankle boots that I had, and cut them down a bit. Then I made some ruffles. I used some strips of black fabric in varying widths. The fabric was matte on one side and shiner on the other, so I did one ruffle with one side, and the other.....with the other side.

Let me tell you.....my fingers are still sore from all the hot glue!! I may have burned myself a few times....opps!

It needed a little extra somethin'-somethin'....hmmm....

I have been dying to try to make something (specifically rosettes) with zippers. I've tried a couple times....but....it just hasn't wanted to work for me. It's hArD!!

So....I tried again (where most of the glue gun burns came from)...and it sorta worked. I added a button in the center. Also...the teeth on my zippers are black..and I wanted them to show more, so I had some rub-on paint stuff...and I put a lil' silver on my finger and rubbed on the teeth. Then I rubbed a little gold on top of the silver to make it look a little more antiquish.

Voila! Not too shabby....well, sorta...because they are 'Shabby Chic'...hehehe.

To tell you the truth....I don't even know what to wear them with!! I'll figure something out. When I do....I'll get a few photos. If anyone has any suggestions....let me know!

 {I took a few photos outside my window today of some birds & the sky...I'll post later!}

Metal Stamping Jewelry

 

So last week I ordered a metal stamping set and some other supplies to go with it. I decided to take a stab at it this past weekend. It was PrEttY FuN!

I wish I got some bigger blanks. I'll have to find some online that are a decent price. Has anyone tried doing this? Where do you buy your supplies?? I usually buy my jewelry supplies from Fire Mountain Gems & Beads website. I bought my stamp set through Etsy.

I am interested in learning more about metal stamping and doing lots more with it. =)

Share your thoughts, comments, & suggestions!

Chapstick/Lipbalm Cozy

 

I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS have to have chapstick nearby. I have one stashed everywhere. One by my computer, one by my bedside, one under the coffee table, one in the bathroom, one in my purse, AND....now one on my keys!!

Thanks to my new chapstick cozy! I followed the tutorial from Tina's Place. This is a neat idea! Again....so simple and quick!! LOVE IT!

CHECK IT OUT! fLiP FlOpS!!

 

Check THIS OUT!!! I stumbled across the blog Make it and Love it, and found this tutorial on how to make interchangeable flip flops. HOW COOL?!?!

Of course I had to try it ASAP! 

This is what I have come up with so far! I will be making other straps soon. I made my flower out of scrap fabric and felt with a few Swarovski crystals in the center. When gluing the prickly part of the Velcro to my flip flops, I had to use some clips to hold them in place while drying.

Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Flower Ring

 

I found a tutorial for Rosette Rings on The Creative Crate Blog. 

So this morning I decided to try it. Instead of gluing the flower on a wooden disc like Stacie did, I just used a piece of felt. I made one for myself, my niece and my mother-in-law who loves artsy-unique things. I will definitely use the rosette technique on other things! Easyyyy!!

Camera Strap Tutorial

I've been wanting to make myself a camera strap for a while now. I have seen different version online, but I decided to just whip up my own, the way I wanted it to be. My husband uses this camera also, so I wanted to be able to easily remove the strap, just in case he doesn't feel like showing off the girly strap! So I decided Velcro would probably be the easiest.

 

You will need some pretty fabric, thread, sewing machine, a little batting, some Velcro, and I used some fabric glue (though you don't need it).

 

I am not much of a pattern follower (sometimes I do follow one, but I do a lot of eyeballing, hehe) , I tend to just make things up as I go along. I first measure my strap. It is 20-1/2 inches long and 2 inches wide. So I cut my fabric 20 inches long plus 1 inch for a half inch seam allowance on each end. I then cut it about 6 inches wide. 2 inches for front, back and Velcro flap. I then started hemming all the sides.

It should look something like this. Now I didn't end up making another ones of these, but you probably should to cover the batting. I figure that out along the way, but I improvised.

 

I used scrap batting and laying them out on my "strap". I trimmed it so that it didn't go past the hems.

 

I then "quilted" it. You can run your lines anyway you like. I felt like making them diagonal.

 

This is the back after I finished "quilting" it.

  

I then realized that I needed a backing to my batting. Like I said, I improvised and just made a strip for where the Velcro needed to be. All my supplies were things I had on hand. So I had adhesive Velcro squares, and so I reinforced them with fabric glue. If they start to come off, I can always sew through them later.

 

This is the glue I used, its Beacon Adhesives FABRI-TAC. (I am not associated with them in any way) This is a really strong fabric glue!! I got to say I am really pleased with it. I found it at Walmart.

 

This is my strap Velcro-ed together.

 

The back.

 

All DONE! It took me about, 45 minutes to whip up. I did this before I went into work this morning!! So happy with it!!!! =) Let me know if you tried making one. Show me what it looks like.

 

*Showing it off*

Floppy Flowers

Check out these flowers I just made! I got the idea from a tutorial on the Fisk-A-Teers blog.

It was pretty quick and easy! I think that the theme for the day! haha...=)

I haven't decided if I am going to use them to put in my hair or add it to something else. Probably my hair....that's usually what I do. I think they turned out cute!

Flowers & Pendants!

I made these flowers a little while back. I followed a tutorial by Flail of the Flair on the Cut Out + Keep website. Its basically origami with fabric with a tiny bit of hand-sewing involved. They are very quick and easy to do. I sewed them to bobby pins so I can wear them in my hair.

 

These are some clay necklace pendants that I have made. I went through a phase of making a lot of different kinds of clay pendants and necklaces. Basically its just Sculpey clay cut into a rectangle and then I stamped an initial into the clay. I then added flowers out of clay and made the hole, then baked it. Then I dry brushed some paint onto it and glued on a rhinestone. Then I added the while loop. Ta-da....all done. 

 Keep an eye out...I'll be adding more soon!