• Blog

    T Tuesday: a second look and goodies edition

    August 2, 2016 - By 

    Two posts are colliding this week as T stands for Tuesday and Second on the 2nd fall on the same day.

    collage

    Thankfully Elizabeth gave a little heads up at the end of her post that reminded me before I finished writing up my post. Time to switch gears.

    We’ll start with the fun packages in my mailbox from two fellow T stands for Tuesday bloggers.  So fun to get mail…friend mail, not so much on the bills or junk mail. A little while back I had commented on Krisha’s blog about the winery she had visited. She was so kind to offer me some extra wine labels they picked up as collage fodder. I was so delighted to see an envelope in my PO Box the other day. Look at the great craft fodder and lovely card. Really love that card!

    happy mail day

    This package helped inspire this journal page.

    beginning to blossom

    Thank you Krisha!

    I also received a box of goodies along with a 3rd anniversary ATC for T stands for Tuesday from Patty @ Magpie’s Nest.

    happy mail day

    She knows my love of bottle caps.

    happy mail day

    So many fun bottle caps and a bunch I’ve never seen. Too fun. Patty also included some bits of collage fodder as well. Can you see the beautiful ATC that precipitated the package in the first place?

    happy mail day- patty's atc

    Isn’t she lovely?!?  So many tiny details. I keep noticing more and more little things that I didn’t see the first time around.  Thank you Patty!

    And now for the Second on the 2nd portion of today’s post.

    Three years ago I took a quick photo of a hostess gift I was bringing to our annual Independence Day gathering. Little did I know this post would eventually become the most visited post on my blog. (More on the at the end.)

    Take a look…eyes

    July 5, 2013

    We spent Independence Day, as we have the past several years, at a friend’s house along the parade route in town. It’s always a great time.

    I wanted to do a little something extra for our hostess who puts so much time and effort into making sure everyone has a good time. She’s a big fan of Rum and Coke. It ended up being a centerpiece on the buffet table.

    Rum and coke

    “““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`

    I’ve seen over the years that the re-pins of this image on Pinterest have multiplying but it wasn’t until an update in their software did I notice that all of the re-pins now count up on the original. Check out this screen shot I took last night.

    run and coke cake

    Amazing! When I look at my blog analytics it definitely shows that people are visiting from that pin as well.  Not 24,000 pages loads but a significant amount especially given the fact that this is a 3 year old post.

    For today I’m going to try and stay cool while running an errand or two. I really need to do some baking and canning but…ugh…not in this heat!

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog - Creativity

    A second look: 1000 Jewelry Inspirations

    July 2, 2016 - By 

    Today for Second on the 2nd I’d love to share a second look at my very first published item. Strangely enough, it was jewelry not paper arts.

    On a whim I created a charm bracelet in response to a call for items for an upcoming book. I didn’t even really dream that my work would be chosen but was over the moon when it did. My bracelet ended up in two sections of the book, including one full page spread.

    bracelet second look

    Take a look at the original post from 2008

    eyes


    I just got word that the book my bracelet is published in is on Amazon for pre-order.

    As far as I can tell my bracelet didn’t make the cover shot. It was sent off with 49 other pieces as to be photographed for possible cover shots. Bummer. I’m certainly not going to complain though!! It just would have been the super sweet icing on the cake to be on the cover as well!

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    I find it interesting when I look back at posts from the start of my blog. They are so short, tiny photos and frankly, a little boring.  It’s a wonder that I had any readers at all! Oh well..style definitely develops over time. Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me.

  • Art - Blog - Crafts

    A second look: Upcycling Projects

    April 2, 2016 - By 

    Secondlook

    Since it’s April and this month is Earth Month I thought I’d share a second look at a bit of upcycling from a few years ago.

    eyes

    Oct 6, 2013

    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. 🙂

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    If you’d like to see more recycling and upcycling projects please use the tag cloud on my sidebar.