Don't Throw Away... Old Calendars

 You can use old calendars as wrapping paper for small gifts.  I like to find a theme and chose a month that matches the recipient.

I turned my office at work into a beach retreat!

 The cylinder in the corner is actually a light fixture made from recycled materials.  Sadly, it doesn't photograph well. 

The sarongs (fabric) on the wall were purchased, but pretty much everything else is homemade or embellished.  I even made the window, as, sadly, my office doesn’t actually overlook the beach.

Black Top from Old T-Shirts

My Latest Creation!

It covers my tummy (still big after my illness and Christmas), which also hides any jean-like element of the non-jeans-so-I-can-wear-them-to-work pants.

I made it with four pattern pieces, although in retrospect I only needed two, one for the two front pieces and one for the two back pieces.

Yes, not counting the braid that connects the front and the back, this top has four pieces.

This isn't a tutorial, but someday I'll make one.

The photo above was the muslin I made, which actually worked on the first try.

Don't Throw Away.... Used Christmas Cards

Give them to me instead!

I'm still collecting used Christmas cards to make stuff with:

Cutting a Rug

Done! 

This was a custom rug for Mom and Dad, for a particular spot in front of a fireplace between two rocking chairs.

I’m not planning on making another one of these because it was so tedious.  If you find it soothing or pleasant to put music on and do something mundane, the project is very simple.  It’s easy.  It’s cheap.  It’s incredibly forgiving.

You need a pile of T-shirts.  (10 or 15????  I didn't count.  Maybe less.)

You need an old towel.

That's it.

1. Cut T-shirts into long strips.

2. Cut the long strips into short ones.

3. Cut an old towel to size and serge/finish the cut edge.  (If the towel is the size you want the rug, you obviously can skip this step.)  Note that the fringe hangs over the edge so sizing is kind of approximate.)

4. Sew the short strips to the towel in long rows.  

If you sew the rows about a quarter inch apart, you get this:

If you sew them a half inch apart, you get this:

Another Good-Bye Card

As you know, I collect used Christmas cards, and sometimes people give me other kinds of cards like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day cards.  

I love roses, and they are a frequently used symbol in connection with St. Teresa, our parish patron, because she promised to send "a shower of roses" on people who pray for her intercession.  (People have received all kinds of answers to prayers that came through roses thanks to the little saint of France.)

I decided to use roses cut from cards to make this new card.  I wanted it to be nice and large so that multiple folks at the party could sign it.

Cutting roses from cards rather than flower catalog worked really well.  The cards are more sturdy, and if there is anything on the reverse side, it doesn't show when the image is wet with glue.

 I trace the saying in pencil first.

 You'll see below that "strewn" has two 'n's.  That's because one was too far from the 'w' and looked like this: "strew n."  So I slipped another "n" in between and made plans to cover the extra with a rose.

 I added a light wash over the text by mixing paint with water.  I just used regular tempura paints, the kind that comes in a big bottle for 99 cents.

It looks rather blank unsigned, but I put it near the desserts at the party so I'm sure it soon got signatures!  :)

Used Christmas Cards

I've been working on getting ready for the St. John's Craft Fair early this year.

Here are some of the circles I've been cutting out of Christmas cards:

You guessed it--that represents 721 circles.  I am guessing that over the past two or three years I have punched out approaching 3,000 of them.

Randomly Timed Round-Up

What have I been up to lately?

I’ve be working on calendar pages…..

Gen and I made a skirt.  (Here it is, not quite finished.)

I was amused by both the resolutions on both the top and the bottom of this page….  One of them belongs to my dear husband.  I love his sense of humor!

I finished this purse made from braided strips of old T-shirts.  My niece Arwen has one, and I’m looking forward to both of us rocking matching purses.  I’m testing it to see if it is going to hold its shape well at that size.

Keep on creating!

More Tiles!

I did this with alcohol ink on reclaimed tiles over contact paper petals that were then removed.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I have plans to use a border of these around a mirror, with a little help from Dad....