How to Make a Pop-up Valentine Card

Looking for a way to make a personalized valentine, I came across this video; the two cuts that are the beginning of any pop-up card are the key for a three dimensional look.



Using recycled Christmas cards (many are red in color), "thinking of you" sentiments on all occasion cards, and a pair of scrap booking scissors with a decorative edge, you can make many different kinds of cards for your valentine.

Here is one re-made from a get-well card with the Bible verse included: I am overcome with joy because of Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles." Psalm 37:7 -- That verse is on the inside of this little recycled note card.


A bit of confetti or excelsior used in packaging adds a decorative touch. Knock yourself out, and give others a lift with a hand made card for any occasion.

Possum Fur and Wool Fiber Blend for Knitting

Who knew that knitting with possum fur was a rage? In Dunedin, New Zealand, I picked up five skeins of wool that was manufactured there and is indigenous to the region because it consists of 40% possum fur, 50% Merino wool and 10% silk. It is soft, warm, and light weight.

When I got home, I looked up properties of this type blended wool and found a website Handknitting Possum Wool Yarn that stated the following:

Hand knitting Possum-Wool Yarn... Possum fur blended with merino wool makes a variety of yarns that are very special. Possum-wool yarn has all the properties that a 21st Century garment demands:

Feels like cashmere...
Is hard wearing...
Is light weight...
Is warmer than wool in winter and cooler in summer...
Breathes...
Has an angora 'glow' or halo to it...

NZ Nature says:

Possum Wool is luxuriously soft, incredibly lightweight, exceptionally warm and easy to wear. It won’t pill, it won’t wrinkle, it’s anti-static and is a market solution to an environmental challenge facing New Zealand. Once you’ve tried it nothing else will feel as warm and soft.

This yarn will be made into a shawl from a pattern I have used previously, written about in this prior posting found here, with the pattern from Knit Picks that can be found here. It may take a while to work up this possum fur, since I am making a wider shawl.

Not only can we knit with doghair, but we can also knit with possum, thanks to our furry friends.

I can't wait to start on the possum project!

Join me over at Kellis House for Show and Tell Friday. There is a lot of eye candy to behold there.

Glass Beads, Wool Yarn and Wooden Buttons

Q: What favorite souvenirs did I bring back from New Zealand?
A: Anything from the Christchurch Artisan and Craft Galleries.

This artisan center (map shown above) houses several dozens of working artisan shops. Their website says:

Once the University of Canterbury, The Arts Centre today is a unique and colourful complex that promotes community education and the growth of arts and crafts in Christchurch. Located in the greenest and architecturally most harmonious part of the city, The Arts Centre is only six minutes walk from the central city, and 15 minutes drive away from the Christchurch International Airport.

West on Worcester Boulevard, The Arts Centre’s role as a venue for cultural recreation in the heart of Christchurch is enhanced by it’s immediate neighbours; the Canterbury Museum, the Christchurch Art Gallery and the Botanic Gardens.

Here are some glass beads from one of the largest bead stores where I have ever shopped, the Beadz Unlimited store. (Photo courtesy of Beadz Unlimited.) Aren't they gorgeous? I found some unusual glass beads in colors that are difficult to match, and also purchased a few beading staples.

This is NZ wool fibre from Fibre Artisans located within the gallery. It is a "Kid Mohair/Merino" blend, produced by Touch Yarns in New Zealand. The quantities and selections were vast, and I had a hard time choosing from their inventory.

Hand carved buttons made from prolific rhododendron branches were another souvenir. An artisan there makes buttons from about a dozen different native woods. Each button in each set was unique. Unfortunately, this artisan is retiring soon. Maybe someone else will take over his trade.

That gives me an idea...Grand Junction is in the heart of wine/vine country in Colorado. Perhaps cutting circles from grape vines and using the Dremel tool to make tiny holes could result in making some grape vine buttons. Hmm...that does not sound too difficult.

Making Knitting Markers Using Beads and Acorns

In a previous post about making knitting markers from beads, and with references given on a previous post, these colorful markers were made with beads and wires.

Having recently returned from South Carolina visiting with my daughter and her husband, we picked up lots of acorns from around the area. Many acorns were perfectly separated from the seeds, and looked like little leprechaun hats.

Although it is not a new idea, I decided to glue several atop a few wooden knitting needles, using Sculpey or Fimo clay and regular craft glue to hold them on securely.

The steps to making the acorn topped knitting needles are:

1) Choose your needles (NOT double points);
2) put a bit of malleable molding clay atop the end of the head, ensuring the acorn cap will easily fit over it after baking;
3) bake the clay on the needles according to directions on the clay (about 25 min.);
4) let the knitting needles cool, then adhere the acorns atop the clay with any good crafting glue.

Here is a pictures of the finished product using size 11 knitting needles :

This is an inexpensive craft, and one children will enjoy. You can read about a first grade teacher's project she accomplished several years ago with her students at Burrobird Blogspot. The children even made their own bamboo knitting needles. By now, some of them are possibly accomplished knitters, having been inspired to make their own tools.

Good job, Burrobird!

How to Make Japanese Knotted Bags (borrowed instructions)

A few months ago, I was looking for a quick purse to make from fabric and came across an excellent tutorial created by Helen in New Zealand. Her complete instructions, including nice photos of her Japanese print bags, can be found at Japanese-knot-bag.

Only two fat quarters (if you are not a quilter, one fat quarter equates to very little fabric) are required to make this bag (photo courtesy of Helen):

She says about her shop where she sells hand crafted items:

Welcome to Show Your Workings. I like to recycle and re-purpose. I mostly work with fabric but also collect and sell vintage patterns and haberdashery. I'm trying to live a sustainable life in New Zealand with a small footprint, craft is a way of living sustainably and inventively (that's my excuse anyway!). I also write and blog at http://showyourworkings.wordpress.com/
Thanks for stopping by and supporting NZ handmade.

Her online shop can be accessed at Helen's Etsy Shop.

The process for sewing the purse looked so intriguing that I just had to try it. I am not finished with my Japanese knotted bags, but here is a photo of three sets of coordinating fabrics that will be used to make three different bags:

A couple of coordinating face pins in my jewelry stash will be added to the sides of the purses when the sewing step is completed.

One idea that I added to Helen's instructions for making the Japanese-knot-bag is this: use the plastic that comes atop any 2 lb. coffee can as the insert for the bottom of the bag. You will not even have to cut the plastic, because it is exactly the same size as the pattern piece. And you will be recycling plastic and going green.

If you are looking for another type bag to sew, you can go to another quick tutorial on making shopping bags at Free Crafts:Shopping-bag.

The entire cost of making one Japanese knotted bag was less than $5, including newly purchased fabric. They are the perfect size for holding a small knitting project, or just your car keys and a lipstick.

If you make one of these bags, please send me a picture of it, and I will post it on a future blog. Thanks!

Paper Beads used in Earrings

In yesterday's posting about making paper beads with instructions given by Instructables, I wrote about how to use magazines for cut-outs and showed pictures of the glued papers.

Here are pictures of some of the completed earrings made with paper beads, glass, spacers and wires.







These are some of the earrings now sold at the Wooden Horse Gift Shop

...managed by the St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary, the Wooden Horse Gift shop features a variety of "get well" gifts including flowers, cards, stuffed animals, and novelty items. The gift shop is located on the hospital main floor across from the Columbine Cafe.

Proceeds from sales of gift items go to St. Mary's Hospital. They are priced at $10 a pair.

How to Make Paper Beads (for Earrings)

This YouTube video is an excellent "how to" regarding making paper beads. But wait, there is more information below!

The instructables website gives written directions on paper bead making. This source says to use archival paste for making the beads, which sent me on another search of how to make archival paste. I found a good source here at handboundbook paste. So I gave making the paste a try, cutting down the ingredients to 1 Tbsp. of wheat flour sprinkled atop 1/3 cup of water, whisked it together until the lumps were gone, and then cooked it for about 10 minutes until it had a glue-like consistency.

But you know what? This glue was not as good as Elmer's white glue which has been around for generations, and was what I ended up using instead of the flaky archival wheat glue. So much for that little experiment in making glue. I'm sticking with Elmer's.

Another website for making paper jewelry can be found here at Craftside.

And just in case you need to make a wrapped loop for holding the paper bead, michondesign.com will give you a quick tutorial on using wire or a T-pin for a wrapped loop.

Altered Paper Jewelry: Artful Adornments from Beautiful Papers (Paperback) by Jenn Mason (Author) is a book on my wish list. She has lots of good ideas in that little gem of a book. So check it out if you want to go further into paper embellishments.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the beads I made, both with archival glue from the directions given at handboundbook paste, and with using Elmer's white glue. The more uniform colored green beads were rolled from patterned wrapping paper, and the rest were made from colored magazine photos.

The last step in the finishing process will be to cut the beads at both ends to make consistent sizes for each pair of beads, and then spray them with an acrylic finishing spray. Tomorrow's post will show pictures of the finished beads made into earrings, complete with glass beading.

My Life is But a Weaving (by Grant Colfax Tullar); A Crown as a Visual Aid

Through an exciting exchange of emails beginning in October with Lynda Jones, a lovely young Christian mother living in Ireland, I was introduced to Pam Rosewell Moore, a Christian author of five books, artist, and public speaker. Lynda found me through a prior blog posting and asked that I create a new visual aid for Pam Moore's Christian ministry.

Please visit Moore's website at PamRosewellMoore to read more about her background in the UK and caring for Corrie ten Boom during the last years of her life when she lived in the Netherlands. Moore's current ministry, book excerpts and a calendar of her speaking tours are also found at Pam Rosewell Moore's website.

Mrs. Moore, in a recent email, asked me to create a similar work of an embroidered crown as a visual aid to be used when she provides a testimonial and speaks about her experiences as companion to Corrie ten Boom. (Mrs. Moore as a companion and care giver to Corrie ten Boom during the last seven years of ten Boom's life.)

In part, Moore's email said:

Tante Corrie used the visual aid (of an embroidered crown to great effect ... it is not a tapestry, but a soft pliable, able-to-be-folded embroidery.

I am sending to you ... small pictures which depict the crown embroidery which Corrie used at the end of her speaking days. She had travelled all over the world for more than three decades and this was not the only crown used. She wore the embroideries out, I am sure!

The back of the crown, as you will see on the picture, is a muddle of threads, made even more muddled by Corrie who when she received the crown from whoever had undertaken to embroider one for her, would add extra threads to make the visual picture as confusing as possible … so that the upper side was given the more clarity. Corrie turned the embroidery several times from upper to underside as she quoted the poem “My life is but a weaving…”

Here is the original wording of the poem, supplied by Moore:
The Weaver

My Life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the underside.

Not 'til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who choose to walk with Him. (Grant Colfax Tullar)

These are pictures of the process I undertook to make a replica of a crown embroidered piece which Pam Rosewell Moore can use in her current speaking ministry:

1) The project starting with an antique, hand made, crocheted, heirloom doily with cream color tatting. I only wish I could give credit to the creator of this fine piece of handwork, but it came to me through a friend who did not know its origin;

2) And then adding a few supplies of yarns, threads, buttons, beads, threads and other embellishments and needlework, the work began;

3) I completed an embroidered crown, complete with beading and shiny glass embellishments on the top side of the visual aid, along with a tangled web of gold and silver threads on the underside, symbolic of the poem and God's unrevealed plan for those who choose to walk with Him.

This finished visual aid shown below will be sent to Pam Rosewell Moore.

The project was a bit daunting at first, but quickly completed once the ideas jelled. It will hopefully be what Mrs. Moore requested.

How to Make Chocolate Dipped Spoons

Isn't it odd that we often do not take our own advice? Case in point: my motto (sorta) is to "Make it Yourself", yet when it came to finding some chocolate covered spoons to give with my coffee mocha unique-edible-gifts-in-jar, I had a dickens of a time finding any.

Why did I not think of making them myself? When I did not find any readily available through my usual grocery and online sources, I found a website that explained how to make the chocolate spoons. It was quick and easy, and will be fun to give with the gifts.

Here are a few spoons with colored sugar atop the chocolate. One cup of chocolate chips covered about 25 spoons, whereas the directions below said it covered 40 spoons.

Just go to chocolate-covered-spoons for their easy instructions, copied here:

SUPPLIES NEEDED
12 ounce package of chocolate chips. You may use semi-sweet, white chocolate, raspberry flavored, or any other kind of baking chip of your choice.
40 heavy plastic spoons
Shortening
Deep glass measuring cup
Colored cellophane or Saran Wrap
Waxed paper
Thin Ribbon

Pour the chips into a heatproof container, such as a measuring cup. A deep cup is the best for this project.

Microwave the cup of chips at half power for one minute. Stir. Repeat in 30 second bursts until chocolate is smooth and fully melted, but do NOT over cook.

Add to the melted chocolate one teaspoon of shortening for each cup of chips. Stir lightly until just blended.

Dip plastic spoons into the chocolate to coat the bowl and about one inch of the handle. If the chocolate starts to harden, microwave 30 seconds at half power.

Lay spoons on wax paper to set. When chocolate spoons have set, put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. This makes them easier to handle when you start to wrap them.

Take squares of colored cellophane and wrap the coated spoons. Tie with a pretty ribbon.

Once you have mastered the basic technique, you can experiment! Try drizzling streaks of white chocolate over dipped spoons to create a design. Sprinkle colored sugar on chocolate before it sets for a holiday look.

A bundle of chocolate spoons set in a coffee mug makes a nice gift.

Tie a few spoons to a bag of gourmet coffee beans for a coffee loving friend.

Keep spoons on hand during the holidays to use when serving drinks to your visitors.

Beads and Sequin Ornamental Balls: Make it Yourself

Ten years ago, I came across a magazine article that gave a tutorial on making ornamental holiday balls to use either as gifts, tree ornaments, or to group together in bowls for light reflection. They looked especially nice with candles placed close to the sequin and beaded balls, because the light played off the surfaces giving a soft, glowing effect.

In total, I have made about 20 of these sparkly ornaments, all in different sizes. Not being able to track down the original source, a Google search came up with directions on how to make these decorative balls. The only difference I found in the directions provided by Thrifty Fun and the explanations in the older, previous version was that my steps included:

1) spraying the Styrofoam with acrylic paint (silver or gold being the preferred color for Christmas, ensuring a base of color which will show behind the sequins);

2) after the paint was not quite dry on the Styrofoam, I generously sprinkled silver or translucent glitter on the ball;

3) various sized Styrofoam balls make for a pleasing effect when grouped together

So here are the basic supply needs and further instructions given at the website for making these ornaments. This is from Thrifty Fun. Go there to read step by step instructions and see photographic illustrations for each step in the process.

Supplies:
2 1/2 inches foam balls
8 mm sized sequins
3/4 inch sequin pins
Beads with a hole big enough to fit on the pin and small enough that it won't slide past the head of the pin (size 9)
Ribbon, optional for hanging

Here are a few of the sparkling sequin and bead balls which we display each holiday season:


Remember to individually wrap and carefully store them away, and the balls look fine year after year.

Paper Doilies, Miniature Lights and Christmas Wreath

(Photograph courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

This wreath is lovely, unique, and easy to create from Martha Stewart:

A delicate-looking wreath that creates the magical effect of candles flickering in the snow is easy to make and surprisingly sturdy. Wreath frames are strung with twinkling lights that are nestled in frothy, doily like paper bouquet holders known as Biedermeiermanschetten...

In order to replicate the wreath according to the given directions, one must purchase German paper bouquet holders. That task was way too involved and expensive for me, so I purchased three sizes of paper doilies at the local craft store instead of the "Biedermeiermanschetten" which are available online.

In less than an hour, a table topper was created using white corded miniature twinkle lights and doilies (just punch through each doily with the tip of the light).

The complete directions for making the wreath can be found here at paper-doily-wreath.

This project was a fast way to create some extra lighting for sparkle on a table top with silver balls and Madonna and Child icons that I have been collecting for Christmas display. Daughter Heidy and I made this Thanksgiving morning while she was here to share the holiday.

And here is a picture (poorly taken) of the lighted Christmas vignette that Heidy helped create:

Prayer Shawl Pattern for Wheelchair Users and Those in Bed

In a previous post, prayer shawls were discussed. I was searching for a way to make a shawl from quilting or fleece fabric because it would be much quicker to construct by sewing, using purchased fabric.

While browsing the internet, I came across more than 200 sites about prayer shawls, but not one reference could be found on how to make a shawl using fleece or flannel material. So if you are looking for something not requiring the time and expertise commitment of using yarn in a knit or crochet technique, this pattern idea might work for you. It is especially useful for wheelchair users or for those who stay in bed most of the time.

Here is some background on prayer shawls before I get on to the quick pattern I devised below:

The Prayer Shawl Ministry was started by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo in 1998. Susan Izard and Susan Jorgensen wrote Knitting Into The Mystery which is an excellent introduction into the rituals of prayer shawl knitting. A very good introduction into the process and a good reference for starting prayer shawl ministries. But, there was really only one pattern so it was a bit limited in terms of yarns that would look good with that pattern.

This reference to the Prayer Shawl Ministry was found at Kelly Petkun's site. Kelly has a weekly podcast that her dog Xena helps produce complete with voice-overs.... I mean bark-overs in the background. You can listen to the Knit Picks podcast here at KnitPicksPodcast.

Kelly talks about knitting, products, and interviews guests discussing recent knitting designs and life, in general. Kelly and her company are virtual friends by way of download! And every bit of yarn that I have purchased from the Knit Picks website has been of good quality and arrived quickly.

The above picture is a shawl used as a prototype for the pattern I cut out this morning. The original outside dimensions are 63" (length) by 50" (width).
To make this shawl for someone who stays in bed, the fabric was cut down in the back so that the shawl will drape across the shoulders and warm the front of the body. Cutting out extra fabric from the back makes it easier to maneuver in a wheelchair, and also decreases bulky fabric while using in bed.
Here are some easy directions and a picture of the work in progress:

PATTERN FOR PRAYER SHAWL (using fabric):

Fabric requirement: 2.25 yd EACH of two contrasting fabrics (fleece, flannel, old quilts, etc); or a total of 4.5 yd of 45" wide fabric from the same fabric bolt
Notions: thread

Directions:
1) Cut two pieces of fabric 39" long (includes 1/2 inch seam allowance). The total width will be 50", most of which will be used for the front of the shawl. You will need to piece these two cuts of fabric together, making a seam down the center back, ensuring the width of the cut pieces, when sewn together, is about 50" wide. Press pieced seams flat.
2) Cut a "U shaped" window from the fabric from the bottom up, leaving about 8" at the top for neck and shoulder placement (the "U shaped" cut out should be about 8 " wide and 29" deep and will be placed behind the neck).
Repeat the above steps for the second fabric side.
3) With right sides facing each other, sew the two fabric pieces together, leaving about a six inches opening for turning the shawl right sides out. Press seams flat.
4) Hand sew the opening together using a slip stitch.

Here is a picture of a finished flannel shawl using the same fabric on the back as on the front. It looks warm, will be easy to use in bed, is washable, and will be more comfortable because some of the bulky fabric has been eliminated in the back. This is for daughter Julie while in the hospital, at the nursing home, or in her wheelchair.

Good luck in making some of these for people you know who might need a little comfort, with a prayer sewn into them.

Leave me a comment if you have questions.

Quick Halloween Costumes for Dogs

Want a fast, easy way to dress up that pup of yours? How about a simple scarf cut from a 1/4 yd. of Halloween or (insert appropriate holiday time here) seasonal fabric? Cut a triangle on the diagonal of the grain of fabric, put the fabric piece around the dog's neck and tie under his chin.

Or, go a bit fancier and make a double sided scarf with two coordinated fabrics, sewn together right sides facing one another, leaving a few inches gap for turning the fabric right side out. Attach a button or velcro for closing the scarf, and your furry dog friend will not be bothered by a heavily knotted piece of fabric under his chin.

A paper pattern is shown here and looks like a modified bell curve, with the length of the pattern at the longest end being about 20 inches for a small (10 lb.) dog.

Therapy International Dog Libby Sweetpea is shown sporting her Halloween scarf. This tie was made by cutting out two coordinating fabrics in the shape shown above, sewn together, turned, and a buttonhole and button added on each side of the rounded triangular shaped scarf.

Another idea for making dog clothes from the ever popular onesies for babies can be seen here at DIY Quick & Easy Dog Clothes. If you click on the link, a darling tiny Chihuahua will be shown sporting a pink onesie easily made with directions given at the same site.

My DH does not like animals in sporting outfits, and will not walk either of our pups with their pink leads, but once in a while he goes along with a themed scarf around their necks. What compromises we make for family harmony!

Halloween Luminaries and Black Mice

You, too, can make a Mouse Motel just like Martha Stewart's. Her zine gives good directions at Good Things.

When I saw this photo in the latest issure of Martha Stewart, it delighted me to the point of actually trying to find some realistic mice to use in decorations this fall.

(You can read about how to make Martha's Mouse Motel here at Good Things, and directions are given also.)

Look what I found at WalMart for One US Dollar per mouse!

These mice are black, felted, and just the size of a well fed rodent.

I put one in the cupboard next to the spices and got a chuckle when DH opened the cabinet; yeh, it does not take much to amuse me.

(ghost picture jars courtesy of Family Corner)

And I even tried making Craft Style luminaries with paper lunch bags discussed here at Halloween crafts. Target was my shopper's paradise for lunch bags at a reasonable price of less than two dollars for 40 red paper sacks.

A picture of luminary supplies:

The first attempt at spraying acrylics on the paper bags was not successful because I thinned the paint with too much water. Starting over the next day with a clean spray bottle (be sure to soap out the acrylic from the spray nozzle or it will never spray again!), the second try turned out better. Instead of votive candles, I used battery powered tea lights.

But for Halloween Night, because there were so many bags in the package, I will go ahead and use all 40 sacks and put votive candles in glass holders inside them.

How to Make a Fabric Broach (Christmas Flower)

Molly at Mollychicken gave an easy, fun tutorial on making fabric broaches. That tutorial is complete and easy to read, with great pictures. It gave me an idea for making a broach that I could wear with black and red colors.

Naturally, Christmas comes to mind with the reds and greens traditionally used for the season. I had lots of scrap fabric on hand, so the only fabric I purchased was 1/4 yd. of tartan plaid flannel. Total cost of the project was under $2.00, including the plaid fabric.

Molly says to use hessian backcloth for the broach. Not having any hessian fabric on hand, I resurrected an old piece of needlepoint backing for the broach base. It worked just fine.

I did not pull through the fabric strips, but instead, sewed them onto the pencilled-in concentric circles. Instead of using felt to cover up the stitching on the back, I recycled a plaid collar from a vest previously scavengered for fabric and trimmings. A circle of the plaid fabric was cut out to fit the back, then a clasp was sewn onto the circle, and the completed back was hot glued onto the backing. A more finished plaid backing was the result.

The other finishing step was cutting the ends of the fabric strips at a slant. This was done haphazardly with scissors, but pinking shears could also be used to make the ends look prettily frayed.

I also researched this site for information about making rugs with rag strips. It was a good read and gave me some more ideas about out how to make the Christmas flower broach.

Here is a picture of the back and the front of the broach, using red, green and coordinating colors in the fabric scraps:

The project was an hour well spent, and a different type of craft using old methods incorporating rug making and recycling.

How to Make Air Fresheners Yourself: Go Green

Home-and-Garden says

Few people realize how easy it is to make your own air fresheners and how much safer these alternatives are compared to the store-bought versions that are full of chemicals. There are a lot of options when it comes to freshening your home for less money and with all-natural ingredients. However, figuring out where to begin can be a little bit confusing. You can make a great air freshener and linen spray very inexpensively.

So I went on a hunt for home made air fresheners that were cheap, effective and Green! Here are a few sites and recipes that I found:

Ehow gives this recipe:

Step1 Heat 1 c. water.
Step2 Add four packages unflavored gelatin.
Step3 Stir until dissolved.
Step4 Remove from heat and add 1 c. distilled water.
Step5 Add 10 to 20 drops of scented oil.
Step6 Add a few drops of food coloring (optional).
Step7 Let the mixture cool, then pour it into clean baby-food jars.
Step8 Let gel set overnight.
Step9 Decorate jars with fabric, ribbon or stickers.

Or, how about this one:

Things You’ll Need: Witch Hazel, 30-40 dried bay leaves, 4 tbsp. dried sage

Step1 Gather the following ingredients: 4 tbsp. dried sage; 30 to 40 crumbled, dried bay leaves; and 1 c. witch hazel (liquid)

Step2 Combine ingredients in a medium-sized glass jar.

Step3 Mix well and cover with a lid.

Step4 Let mixture sit at room temperature for three days.

Step5 Mix again.

Step6 Strain herb leaves from mixture.

Step7 Pour the liquid

But, MY FAVORITE air freshener is this one from Green Living:

The vanilla bean has properties that reduce odors. Try this trick to remove unwanted smells and make your home fresh and sweetly-scented:

Just put 1 to 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract in a small cup anywhere you want air freshening. That’s it!

Sewing T Shirt Purses

From 10 Easy Steps to a T Shirt Purse, you can read about how to make a purse from a T shirt. However, it seemed pretty complicated to me, so I kept searching the internet for an easier way to make this little catch-all.

Here is another site with easier directions for making a T shirt purse: Craftbits.

Finally, my favorite, and the EASIEST way I found to make a T shirt Bag was found at this site. Go to How-to-Make-a-Sporty-Grocery-Bag for the directions.

I swear it only took me ten minutes to make this one. An old blue Hawaiian keepsake T shirt, overwashed and overshunk, was crying to be used for this project.

With a few modifications and a black ribbon sewn on for handles, here is my NEW t shirt purse which holds a sweater knitting project:

If you want to PURCHASE a T Shirt Purse, over 420 ETSY SHOP OWNERS ("everything hand made") will sell you a refurbished and/or new T Shirt Purse for prices ranging from $8 to $35 each.

Repairing a Beaded Watch Band

Wouldn't you know that the watch band I made here at beading-watch-bands a few months ago broke? Luckily, most of the beads were recovered from off the floor. (I hit my wrist against a heavy suitcase, and only injured my pride instead of the watch.)

No worries; a simple repair put it right. This time, however, I used fishing line (black, 14 lb. weight and thin). The fishing line is sturdier than the stretchy bracelet cord I previously used for the watch band. It is also smaller in diameter than lots of the plastic types of threads used in beading. Even very small beads can be strung on fishing line.

Then the beads were re-strung on double strands of the fishing line, knot tied between beads, and finished off with a circle and arm closure link from the craft store. A dot of jewelry glue at the junction of the last bead and the end link sealed the deal.



Ta da! Fixed! And it should be even stronger than the first watch made with stretchy plastic cord.

How to Make Altered Beaded Broach Jewelry

In Friday's blog post, Carol's Pin Swap was mentioned. Over the weekend, I made two altered art broaches for this exchange. One piece was made from a silver heart broach, and one from a polymer based "sun face" pin.

The two broaches are altered art projects. Heavy cardboard was cut from scrap material to make the backing, and also for stability of the pin. On the back of each broach, coordinating fabric was cut in the shape of the back base, glued to the cardboard and trimmed when dry.

Black, white, blue and green were the predominant colors in the sun faced broach, surrounded by coordinating colored glass and polymer beads threaded onto head pins; those threaded beads and more tiny green seed glass beads were glued to the plastic backing around the sun face.

The silver pin was a heart shaped broach which I altered by using a photograph of my mom, then embellishing it with gold leaf and the burnished photo cut to fit the inside of the heart. Beads were threaded onto headpins, turned for closing with needle nosed pliers, and then attached to the silver base heart with jump rings. Further embellishment with gold colored glass beads were then glued onto the photo face.

Again, the The Sassy Art Goddess' rules for this swap are:

Create a brooch/pin no larger that 2 ½ x 2 ½ inches. Anything goes for the faceas long as it implies a human face and has some beads. Polymer clay, buttons, paper, clay, felting, image transfer, bead or regular embroidery, what ever strikes your fancy. This is a 1 -1 swap. Due to me by September 26th. You must include return postage of $5.00 or a Priority Stamp and return mailing label. If you do not send return postage, your pin is mine. International swappers welcome and encouraged. Please include a note with your real name and screen name, mailing address, title of your piece and any other info you think might be nice to know about your piece. All pins/broaches will be swapped and mailed the first 2 weeks of October. This is a fun, fast swap and great opportunity for all you newbies to try your hand at creating something.

Can't wait to see what comes back to me in the mail in October!

Beaded Pins and Broach Contest

The Sassy Art Goddess is having her fourth annual beaded face pin contest. Click on her link and see the darling entrants from the 2007 exchange. All you need to do is send in one "faced object" of any medium and $5 in return postage, and you will get back a whimsical piece of art someone else has created in exchange for your own.

This is such a fun idea. More information about this contest can be obtained here; then click on the Yahoo Group to join.

Here is one broach submitted by Maggie Robinson last year that would be fun to wear: