I still have these rankin-bass trees that Ellen and I made when she was just a little kindergartener. Super easy and super cute...this one is two trees stacked on each other to make the top one tippy. Simple instructions are here in case you want to make a forest of your own.
I stood on the top of a too rickety ladder in my too crowded garage a couple of weeks ago and pulled down every vintage screen I could safely get my hands on. The plan is to make one of these like the crazy-talented Amy. In the mean time, I am using it to hold a scrappy garland I made.
You can totally make a scrappy garland. Gather some of the bits and pieces you have in your crafty "someday" pile. Tie them all to another item from your "someday" pile. Mine is vintage ball fringe. I added tags, Anthropology packaging, skeleton keys, super-clearance ornaments from Target past, ribbon. And there's room for lots more.
Then you can rush home from school while there's still a sliver a daylight, attempt to take photos, fail, drag the whole thing outside in view of the roofers next door, and try again. And then realize that they look kind of pretty. And completely capture the mood of the season...a little dark, a little cold, the sun just about the set, and the reflection from the Christmas tree lights in the window. Breathe.
Ellen and I went to the new two-story Michaels. I'm not a big fan but any store is better with an escaltor. Did you know you can get Michaels coupons on your phone? They just scan it from the screen. It's like Christmas magic.
Today is December and I'm doing a little reset on my blog; ignoring the small (mostly technical) issues that keep me from posting more regularly. I always have ideas, bits of craft, pretties, and thriftiness to share.
At least for the next 31 days, I'm letting go of the idea of a "good" photo and going with what I have at hand each day...my phone is never far out of my reach and the little square photos I make with it tell a pretty good story.
Today, it's an ornament for an exchange with my irish-crazy cousins tonight. I made it this afternoon (because, at heart, I am a hurried crafter and do best on severe time/resource constraints) and am sharing it here this afternoon. Real life, right now, glitter-covered.
I had a much-needed day off on Friday. I didn't think about school, didn't leave my house, didn't clean (much).
I did add pretty paper bits to the lids of some pasta sauce jars from Aldi that I had saved. Upcycled...and then instagrammed (don't you just love using new verbs that get flagged by spell checkers?).
I followed the directions from pinterest (just looked at the picture). They were a little plain so I added a couple of hearts and some faux stitching on the yellow flower paper.
...and added some of my vintage spools of thread (vintage buttons would be good too). Just about anything would look prettier in these jars. I plan to make a few holiday ones now...looks like we'll be eating a lot of stuff that needs pasta sauce.
This is what I made with some of the pages of my Standard Fairy Tales book. I tore out Cinderella but I was too conflicted to mess with a story that I might want to read and might want to use for another project. So I used pages from The Invisible Prince. I didn't read it but saw lots of words go by as I worked...damsel, rubbies, sly girl, rescued her. Pretty good words for a story.
I got the idea from pinterest and the pumpkin at Michael's. It's a foam pumpkin but not one of the standard (kind of expensive) ones. This one was with the cheaper fall gourds but I liked it more...better shape and a way better stem. If you try one, be sure to make the paper flexible with glue and water so it wraps around easily. Tell your own pumpkin story.
I thought for sure my students would love to make old-school book covers. They just weren't that into it in spite of (or because of?) my own covered books.
Ellen has been making friendship bracelets. She is using my haven't-touched-in-years stash of embroidery floss and youtube to find patterns she likes. I thought it was so cute to find her work in progress and pattern notes.
My pattern notes for blog posts goes something like this:
Showing June first because I like it the most...two friends drinking coffee in their swim suits on a diving board.
The image is from a thrifted book that I altered very simply using one of my best paper tricks. I wanted to highlight the one girl's crazy-cute hair so I slipped a pink doily halo behind her. I don't use a craft knife or anything complicated...just cut into the image, around the girl, and then a little farther on the diving board. Everything gets glued back down anyway and the cutting lines disappear. Try it, I promise it is easier than you think.
I painted the water with Martha Stewart glitter paint in antique silver (LOVE that stuff). I wanted to put something on the tray between the girls but didn't want it to detract from the halo. I used a pencil to write "I will paint it when I have time"...a passive-aggressive nod to an upcoming painting task that I am just not feeling.
The 5 x 5 for May is just OK.
I liked using the masking tape and the ruffled paper made a good cover for a mistake.
Instagram has turned out to be instant love. Is it the perfect square? Is it the color? For me, it tells a story in a whole new way. I took lots of pics on our trip and Ellen "instagrammed" them...sometimes asking me what square looked best.
The plan is to gather all of the shots and create a poster (found the idea on pinterest but the direct link is here). Such a cool way to remember her trip and for me to capture her at 11 years-old.
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