• Blog

    Upcycling projects

    We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

    This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately.  Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out.  Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.treesI showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk.  I think they turned out really cute.

    sewing

    I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two.  As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

    cards

    In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

    It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. 🙂

  • Blog - Crafts

    Kraft cards

    20130926_3478 20130926_3479 20130926_3480 20130926_3475 20130926_3476 20130926_3477

    I absolutely love kraft paper but don’t use it very often.

    Today I made my kraft series of cards.

    Well…I’m not sure you can call them a series but every card had kraft paper as the base.

    Truth be told…it’s a grocery bag.

    I had forgotten to bring my reusable bags to the store this week, so I had an abundance of paper bags.

    I found a pretty way to recycle them.

    Or maybe that would be upcycling.

    I did a lot of sewing on my card bases this time. Much in part to my sewing machine nagging me to use her…well, more like screaming at me… wondering why it’s sitting out if it’s not being used.

    After adhering the sewn base to the folded card stock, I go on to add additional embellishment.

    Sometimes a sentiment.

    Sometimes random bits that speak to me.

    Collage cards are my favorite to make if you hadn’t noticed.

    Making 25 of the same thing is so hard and mind numbing for me. Partially because that involves measuring and partially because I’d need to purchase enough material to make 25 identical cards.  That takes forethought, pre-planning and again, that pesky measuring business.

    I like to mix things up. That’s why I own Fiestaware! I never set a table with all the same color at a place setting. The salad dish may not match the plate on my table. Quirky, I know.

    Quirky maybe a way to describe my card making process. Or perhaps some would say, random.

    Either way…making cards one at a time is the way I prefer.

     

     

  • Blog - Crafts

    Operation Write Home

    At craft club, I learned about an organization called Operation Write Home that provides greeting cards to military personnel for them to send home to loved ones.  They are able to provide these by donations from crafters. sketch 187

    What a cool idea!! I’m so in!!

    While browsing the site I saw that they often do challenges in the form of a sketch for cards. You can take the sketch and make any kind of card you so desire.

    The latest was sketch#187.  This is my interpretation.

    thoughts of youthanks

     

    I don’t usually work that way when it comes to cards, so this was quite a challenge for me.

    I’m thinking I’ll try and work through a few more of the sketches from previous challenges to see if I can work on my direction following. 🙂

    In the mean time, I’ll still be creating cards in my own way.

    Going with my instinct…letting it happen naturally.

    Sometimes I love the end result…sometimes not.

    The point is to keep on being creative every day.

     

    And by the way….

    thanks for stopping by.