Foliage Centerpiece inside Centerpiece

Back in the spring, this centerpiece was begun by purchasing a large container at a Big Box Store, and embedding a bowl inside the container. Then the inner bowl was surrounded by an inch of potting soil tamped around it, making a circular ring of soil.

After the soil was watered, transplantation of blooming grape hyacinths and ajuga ground cover completed the task. Then it was time for Mother Nature to take over, helping roots to establish and the plants to begin flourishing.

In the middle of the container, I placed this plant to take up the negative space:

Then all that was needed to finish off the project were some silk fall foliage.

Supply list: One large decorative container; one smaller container to fit inside the decorative one; potting soil, perennial plants and silk flowers to dress up the project

It is outside on the patio table, still blooming and looking "fallish". It was an easy project and fun to complete. The plastic pot inside the larger teacup container is a bit too high for this particular centerpiece, but you get the idea of how this can be finished off.

Classy Comic Pumps - CraftStylish

Classy Comic Pumps - CraftStylish
Posted using ShareThis

Using Vintage Crochet Today

Wonderful friend Dorothay sent me a HUGE box of vintage embroidery, crocheted collars, laces, hankies and table runners she had garnered from her late sister's priceless hand made needlework. Some pieces go back over 100 years to grandmothers and great-grandmothers on both sides of the family.

Talk about a pig in heaven ... I was thrilled!

Now what to do with this beautiful box of goodies. An internet search came up with over two million websites relating to vintage crochet. Here are a few I found especially interesting:

Craftown

vintage-crocheted-edgings

Anything with an edge is a candidate for adding some crochet to it. A nightdress with crochet edging at the Purl Bee showed this idea of using an I cord to attach a piece of crochet to fabric to create a shoulder strap. The original owner of the idea could not be tracked down (her name is Leah). So there is no website to visit for her idea, but what a cool way to create a feminine touch to any sleeveless blouse.

I am using this idea to add a unique touch to an existing ivory colored camisole. (pictures tomorrow if this works out!)

Thank you so much, Dorothy, for passing this needlework on to me.

Using Paper Doilies for Sachet Flowers

This time of year, lavender is in bloom. Gorgeous! I was fortunate enough to see fields of lavender in bloom in both the state of Hawaii and in Provence (France) while on vacations. The sight of those flowers was breathtaking with surreal colors of purple waving across cultivated fields.

One way to preserve the scent of lavender is to capture the petals between paper.
The picture of a doily sachet and information about making easy paper sachet packets was first published by All Freecrafts. Here is what you need to make the sachet from paper:

2 Round paper doilies [5 to 6 inches]
Rose pattern rubber stamp
Heart pattern rubber stamp
Gold stamping ink
Gold paint pen
Clear drying craft glue
Cotton balls
Red and green pencils

Making the sachet:

Rubber stamp images on each of the two round paper doily with gold ink. Allow the ink to dry. Using colouring pencils, colour the rose and leaf areas of the stamped images.

With wrong sides of the paper doily together, glue together around the outer edge, leaving an opening of approximately two inches. Allow the glue to dry completely. A glue stick will work for this as well as any clear drying craft glue.

Spray a few cotton balls with cologne or add a few drops of essential oil. Place the cotton balls inside the doily sachet and glue the opening closed.

Because I am now a pig in heaven with wonderfully scented Colorado lavender, courtesy of my friend Ronn, I added lavender to the sachets. They are tucked away ready to be used for little presents for friends, while currently bringing back memories of prior vistas of lavender fields.

This was a quick, easy project completed in less than an hour.

Easy Crochet Flowers

Needing a specific color button, and wanting it knitted or crocheted, I looked for directions on how to make a button ornament. Here is an excellent tutorial video showing that within six minutes, one can be created:



So I got out my yarn stash, reviewed the video several times for accuracy, and made four buttons with beads as centers. I used a size G crochet hook and various weights of yarn in differing colors. Depending on the size crochet hook used, and the weight of the yarn and number of stitches, the flowers can be made as large or as small as desired.

Here is a picture of four of the completed flowers:

The center of the magenta colored ornament at the lower right of the picture was made with a small crochet hook and sock yarn, again using the same technique. Then the small pink rose was sewn into the center of the larger crocheted flower. If made about the size of a US quarter, they will look cute on a baby sweater.

Microwave Baked Potato Fabric Bags

Have you tried a cloth bag for baking potatoes in the microwave?

Potatoes baked in the fabric really are delicious, and have a different texture than the usual baking process from sticking a naked potato in the microwave.

There is no trick to it (other than using the bag); just wash and dry potatoes. Then wrap them in a paper towel. DO NOT PIERCE SKIN! Place potatoes in bag and microwave, as usual, for about five minutes (for one potato) or until done. You can put up to four potatoes in one bag. Remove the potato(es) from the bag and fluff with a fork, applying your favorite slathering of fattening delicious toppings. They taste like those slow roasted stuffed potatoes popular on restaurant menus.

If you want to get one for yourself or as a gift, you can purchase a baked potato bag here at Country Collectibles Microwave Bakers on the internet.

Or make one yourself with directions from Garden Web.

I was lucky and received one from a relative. This is the one she made: Baking potatoes in a bag is a novel idea, and the potatoes are delicious...there must be some magic in the process!

Do It Yourself Mosaic Table Tops

Here is a current picture of the completed small mosaic table topper. A week ago, its beginning was written about here at making-mosaic-table-top. Grouting has been completed and excess grout has been removed with water and a lot of elbow grease. Note to the wise: a manicure after the grouting process is recommended, as it takes a toll on the nails.

This site on E-How basically explains the process in making a mosaic. Ensure that the thickness of the ceramic tiles used by breaking up with a hammer are all the same if you desire a flat surface.

Ceramic tiles are less expensive than glass tiles, although both types of tiles have sharp edges when broken. The glass tiles give a bit more luster, so choice of tile material is a matter of personal preference. The small blue tiles shown in the above picture were made of glass, so the contrast was preferable not only in color, but also in textural effect.

The larger table top (44 " round) is almost finished. It still needs to have excess grout removed from the tiles. A picture of the larger table top (using same motif as smaller table) is shown below.

A Dremel tool to sand the edges will finish off the sides more smoothly.

While doing a bit of research on mosaics, I found this type craft goes back several thousands of years. One reference, found here says:

The history of mosaic goes back some 4,000 years or more, with the use of terracotta cones pushed point-first into a background to give decoration. By the eighth century BC, there were pebble pavements, using different coloured stones to create patterns, although these tended to be unstructured decoration. It was the Greeks, in the four centuries BC, who raised the pebble technique to an art form, with precise geometric patterns and detailed scenes of people and animals.

The mosaic here shows the god Neptune with Amphitrite (on the right) and is in Herculaneum, Italy. It is a wall mosaic which uses pieces of glass to give the vivid colours and reflect light. Glass was not suitable for floor mosaics.

Some mosaics from the Byzantine era look very similar to how they appeared over 4,000 years ago. So my table tops should hold up well outside under the patio roof, at least during our lifetime.

Making a Mosaic Table Top

Pier I Imports has some attractive outdoor tables with mosaic tops. Depending on size, the prices range from $99 to $399. After some discussion about a possible purchase of one of these pricey tables, DH suggested we "recycle" two of our table tops. He encouraged me to make a mosaic pattern atop each table and to do it myself. That way, the pocketbook would barely be impacted, and the back patio would have a new look without purchasing a ready made item.

After some internet research, including this site on E-How and here at Homemade Simple, I decided to take the bait and try to make at least one mosaic table top. (Am aiming for a bigger piece, but learning on a small wooden circle...)

This is where I began the project:

1) Finding a design: often, coloring book pages for children have simple lines relating to a particular motif. The simpler the design, the easier it is to fill in the design with tiles. My first thought was to use a sunflower, so I sketched one using this design:

But, it was too complicated with too many lines in the design of the petals.

I redrew a sunflower using the design that a new blogger friend, Michele at Extremely Crafty in the UK, has on her blog. Check her out. She was so kind as to send her tutorial for this bag. You can receive it, too, if you email her with your request.

So Michele's flower looked easier to draw for a table top flower design (picture is courtesy of Michele, and her blog website is extremelycrafty.)

Step 2: Drawing the design on your work area. Here is a picture of a similar flower design on a wooden table topper that I drew yesterday:

3) Purchasing necessary materials

Home Depot provided three colors of ceramic tiles (reasonably priced at 39 cents apiece). And a sheet of 1 inch blue squares in glass was also purchased. Yellow, blue, and autumn brown tiles were broken by hitting with a hammer, and each piece was then loosely fit onto the table as shown in the picture below:

4) The next step is to adhere each broken piece of ceramic tile to the wood, then grout and cure. But that is a post for next week when I return from Dallas!

Tee Shirt Purse - Easy!

Previously, I blogged about making tee shirt purses and got lots of inquiries on "How to Sew a Tee Shirt Purse" from Google.

So, it must have meant people were looking for easy ways to make purses from retired cotton jersey shirts.

The references from the September 2008 posting about how to make the satchels were this website and the Craftbits website and the Curbly website.

Then I received a comment from a reader (Fenna), who said an even easier way to accomplish making a bag from a t-shirt was to:

1. Cut off the arms (she says to feel free to make a big arch for a more dramatic look)
2. Cut a large scoop out of the neck (this will vary depending on design of the t-shirt)
3. Turn it inside out and sew the bottom of the shirt together.

Fenna was right on!

Here was an old tee shirt from Hawaii that just begged to be used for a craft project, along with some scrap ribbon that was forlornly lurking in the knickknack bin in my crafts closet:

Following Fenna's directions, the sleeves were cut out and the neck was scooped down with scissors. The only sewing involved was turning the shirt inside-out and seaming the bottom closed. It was gussied up with ribbon around the raw edges overlaid with a buttonhole stitch, but that step was not really necessary.

The Maui t-shirt bag is now holding my hand made sock stretchers purchased from the Etsy Squire Country Craft Store, along with some yarn for the next sock project. These sock blockers are a very nice product for knitters, entirely made by Montana crafters.

Here is a picture of all the craft filled bags in my catch-all closet. They each hold a UFO (unfinished object) that I'll get around to finishing sometime (maybe).

Note that the black mice with their tails wrapped around the hangers stayed over from Halloween. Maybe they were sniffing around for an overlooked scrap of yarn or material to take back to their own sewing burrows.

Using an outgrown baby sized t-shirt with a whimsical motif on its front would make up into a darling little baby bag (bottle warmer?). You can think of many applications from this easy method of recycling t-shirts.

Oil Paints on Wood Furniture; Minwax Wipe-On Poly

Last summer, I posted about painting a wooden table top with fine art oils. You know the type of medium: the small tubes of paint found at craft stores for canvas work. The individual tube of oil paint costs about $5. Compared with buying a new quart of paint for repainting a small project, this type refinishing product that you can mix up yourself is less expensive, and gives a stained result that allows the wood grain to show through the color.

A wooden rocker, painted for donation seven years ago for Hospice of Western Colorado, needed a face lift. It had set for about 2,500 days in a sunny east window of a business owner who generously purchased the rocker for the Hospice CHAIR-ity Fundraiser. He proudly shows off the CHAIR for CHAIR-ity in his waiting room, where his clients made good use of it. However, after seven years of strong sunlight exposure, the back slats were VERY washed out, as shown below:

So it was definitely time for a quick face lift to freshen up the red color. DH picked up the rocker from our accountant's office and carted it home so I could do a little color tuning on it. Here is how it the colorization was done:

Gather materials of oil paint, mineral spirits, rags or paper towels, a container for mixing the stain, a disposable stirring utensil, linseed oil, and rubber gloves for skin protection.

Squeeze out about a two inch ribbon of paint from the tube and mix it with about a 1/3 cup linseed oil and 1/3 cup minerals spirits. The mineral spirits will help dissolve the oil and allow the paint to spread more easily.

Spread the mixture over the wood (first primed with a light sandpaper brush to take off that old and faded top layer). Use several coats for thorough coverage. Let it dry for several days and then apply a polyurethane gloss for durability. I found a clear gloss product, Minwax Wipe-On Poly, that worked very well on the rocker. "Hand rubbed beauty with polyurethane protection" is labeled on the front of the can. It was accurate; truth in labeling definitely applied to Minwax.

Here is a picture of the rocker with its original colors (the yellow flower was not repainted):

Refurbishing it made a HUGE difference in the looks of the rocker, and its backside is a bright new red. It is again ready to face the sun with a shiny new finish.

Now this rocker, donated and painted with butterflies and poppies in 2003, is the next one up for a face lift:

Easter Craft - Edible Decorations

Do you need a new Easter project for the kids, or perhaps one to put in Easter baskets? How about one to use as a dining decoration? Try this edible treat for an easy, sweet craft that can be served several ways.

Start by making Rice Krispie Treats, modified with using chow mein noodles instead of cereal. The recipe can then be used to make little bird nests, a perennial spring time favorite and especially appropriate for Easter.

Use the standard marshmallow recipe, but substitute the cereal with chow mein noodles, and create a unique, sweet treat that looks like a small bird nest. Add a few jellybeans or chocolate eggs, and even the birds might go for it!

This idea came from Kendra, who has an insane amount of cool crafting ideas at this website.

From The Old Stand-By Rice Krispies Treat Recipe:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2 inch squares.

To make the bird nests, substitute chow mein noodles for the cereal, and carefully mash the sticky ingredients into large muffin tins. Use a greased piece of waxed paper for forming nests, and make a depression into the chow mein noodle mixture while in the muffin cup so the eggs can be placed there.

While the mixture is still malleable, you can form it into the desired shape. Don't worry about breaking up the noodles; remember that birds must tweak their long twigs into workable pieces to finish up their habitats.

Here is a picture of the finished product before complete drying time elapsed.

The marshmallows in the mixture looked a bit too white at this point, so you could use some Wilton's Color Mist Spray in brown and spray all over the entire confectionery nests. (The white does get darker as time elapses, and the nests looked more realistic later in the day.)

Lauren Whitney, local morning television anchor at Grand Junction's KKCO TV (see her blog page here), will talk about this project on air April 9, 2009 during the 6 AM News.

Have fun making these edible treats!

Easter Craft eBook Source

While blog hopping this morning, a thoroughly referenced eBook (FREE!) crossed my computer screen. It was too good not to share, and was found at this website hosted by Jamie.

This is a great resource for Easter Craft Ideas, including:

* 130 Pages of Craft Ideas for Easter
* 12 Easter Egg Decorating Projects
* 20 Easter Table Ideas: Centerpieces, Napkin Rings & More
* 10 Easter Chick Craft Projects
* 20 Easter Bunny Craft Projects
* 10 Easter Recipes

These Easter Craft Ideas can be found at Easter Craft eBook.

Another craft will follow for a spring dining table centerpiece next week. (But first, I have to get busy and work on a few.)

Beading Knitting Markers and Copper Wire

While taking a break from closet reorganization, I started another lace shawl (The Beginner's Triangle from the book A Gathering of Lace.) The shawl is made from a brownish golden DK weight wool. It was the dickens to start, but thanks to knitting friends with savvy, it is off and running.

The only minor glitch in knitting the project is that it requires many, many marker rings for clear delineation of repeat designs.

And I had only a few (maybe 15) rings on hand that I had made last year. The photo below shows those rings already in place in another project.

If you are interested in making some of these markers, hop back to the post a year ago (using jump rings and directions for making them explained there) .

So now it was time for more markers and a new technique. The finished markers were made with beads and 20 gauge copper wire, shown below.

Supplies: a small roll of 20 gauge copper wire from any craft store, beads, crimper beads, wire cutters, a round nose pair of jewelry pliers

Directions: I doubled up on the wire, making the strands stronger, then twisted the wires together, added beads, and closed up the ends with crimper beads. This is an easy, quick project (several pink ribbon markers are going to knitting friends). Be sure to crimp the wire together closely so that the ends will not nick into the yarn fiber while knitting.

If you make some of these beading markers with wire, please show me your designs (or just email me) and give hints on improving them.

Tea Party in Grand Junction - Wear Tea Bag Protest Jewelry

Are you gearing up for the April 15, 2009 Tea Party to be held in Lincoln Park at UPDATE: NOON at the the southwest corner of Lincoln Park near the intersectioln of 12th Street and Gunnison 1:30 pm? (See Dennis White's comment below)

From the local Grand Junction Sentinel:

The theme is similar to the Boston Tea Party, in which colonial Americans protested British taxes on tea by dressing as Indians and dumping tea overboard from ships anchored in Boston Harbor. The events have sprung up in the wake of the economic stimulus package and President Obama’s budget proposal.

You can dress up and attend your local Tea Party with a pair of newly minted GENUINE TEA PARTY EARRINGS like these beauties below.

Make your own protest earrings: buy a package of silver wires, open a tea bag from your kitchen cabinet and remove the outer packaging, tie the paper string onto the earwire, perhaps add your personalized slogan to the outside of the teabag.

You will surely want to wear a pair of these bold symbols of your conviction that you want to be heard and that you protest the slogan of CHANGE CHAINS WE CAN BELIEVE IN to your local Tea Party held next month. Make a few extra and hand them out. Sporting these aromatic earrings will show your protest over the national stimulus package that will cost you hard-earned dollars.

Maybe the national press will get hold of this idea to bring extra attention to the several trillion dollar stimulus package.

Try Decoupage with Wood Picture Frames

That useful product Mod Podge is a favorite medium when decoupaging. It is fast drying, and tough as nails. A little goes a long way with this finish, and sanding between coats of the varnish is not necessary.

In just a bit over two hours, I created two picture frames from unfinished wooden frame blanks purchased at the craft store. The frames cost between $1 and $2, depending on size.

There are many sources to learn how to make a picture frame using the decoupage technique. Check here and here for complete, easy instructions.

These two frames have an undercoating of blue acrylic paint. Then various photographs from the trip and a few post cards were used in the decoration of the frames, including maps and tour tickets as mementos. (You can tell that the recent New Zealand and Australia trip was good photo fodder for decoupage pictures.) There is even a whorl of indigenous possum and wool fiber incorporated into one of the frames that I am currently using to knit a lace shawl.

This is an easy and fun project to create for your favorite vacation photos that will incorporate even more memories preserved on the surface of the frame.

Crafting Boxes and PaperDolls

Looking for a box template on the internet, I came across a variety of sources. One especially talented crafter came up with many different designs, including a template for making articulated paper dolls.

The directions given for making these creations are given for using card stock. You can enlarge the size to make almost any small box. This being said, I looked through my file of greeting cards which I save for just such a project, and came up with a sweet little bear card which I cut out, making a small puffy box to hold gifted handmade earrings. There is no need to purchase new card stock paper if you have a few cards on hand. (This is a good way to recycle your previously received birthday or other special occasion cards.)

Here is the template for a box made from cardstock from websource Mirkwood Designs for the puffy box:
Please note the restrictions:

Copyright 1999-2008 Mirkwood Designs, a division of ruthannzaroff.com. These templates are free for your use to make craft items to give or sell, to use for teaching purposes, or for submitting projects to magazines. I would appreciate it if you provide a link to my Web site. The templates themselves may NOT be auctioned, sold, or published in any way without my permission.

This adorable template could provide hours of fun for all age groups from children to adults. One of my blogpals, Diane at Dianes Mixed Art could go to town with her mixed media talents, making a spectacular work of art from this template, courtesy again of Mirkwood Designs:

I am going to make this doll about 7-8" in height for an indoor potted plant, whimsically dangling from one of the leaves.

Here is the original template:

Embroidered Fairy

Today is "Show & Tell" over at Kelli's House, and the fairy painted, sewn and appliqued on a baby pillow case is my Show and Tell, previously blogged about here in July.

Please visit Kelli's House for more spring pretties. She has some sweet bunnies on her blog today. And have a nice weekend; maybe take a Sunday nap to catch up on your lost hour of sleep?

Needle Felting: Who Knew?

Perusing email this morning, my update from Knitting Daily discussed needle felting, a craft which has not yet become one of my crafting obsessions. Here is what Sandi Wiseheart, Editor of Knitting Daily had to say today. It spoke to me!

I made a vow with myself several years back: I Will Not Get Into Needle Felting. I figured I had enough "hobbies" (let's just be honest and call them"obsessions," shall we?) and I didn't want any more reasons to spend money that might detract from my knitting stash expansion efforts. Plus...I know myself. I love all things crafty. I just thought it wise not to add one more obsession to my already craft-crazed psyche.

My crafting interest aroused, I just had to Google "needle felting" and came up with two quick and easy tutorials on YouTube. The first video gives a textbook approach to making a more structured applique, while the second video is valuable in its approach to free thinking needle felting.

After watching these videos, I am running down to Michael's this morning to get a needle punch. All the rest of the materials are on hand (use Styrofoam for the board: much less expensive). Thus,my little needle felting project should be completed before dusk. (Libby and I do have to make a few therapy visits after the run to the craft store.)








Here is a helpful book:

Simply Needlefelt
Jayne Emerson
Paperback
Item #: 09FE01
ISBN: 978-1-59668-108-8112

Glass Jar Uses in Photo Crafts

Another tip for going green and creating fun crafts is using old glass jars.

Picture and instructions from Photojo:

It’s so simple we can’t believe we didn’t think of it before: just slide a photo into a jar, turn it upside down and display your upcyclin’ genius for all to see.

How simple is that?

It is a useful idea to use on a kitchen window sill: water splatters come off the glass in the dishwasher (but take out your photo prior to washing.....hehehe).

Beaded Earrings for Hospice Fundraiser

Hospice of Western Colorado will host a fundraiser and an appreciation dinner for their volunteers in April. The theme for the fundraiser is "Art for Hospice".

My contribution to the effort is a dozen pairs of handmade earrings , some made by using the Japanese method of Makume Game technique using polymer clay, and others with glass beads and purchased findings.

If you have any extra glass beads or earring supplies that you would care to give to the Hospice of Western Colorado, please email me at nmccarroll at mindspring dot com and let me know, and your beads will be used in making more earrings for this fundraiser. (Some of you who read this blog make lovely things, and if you have some extra pieces not being put to good use, this would be a nice gesture on your part. Please be sure and let me know your website, and I will pass that along also.)

Thanks!