The Craft Shows are Coming!! The Craft Shows are Coming!!

I have been collecting craft supplies for a lot of years.  Probably 25 years.  I use up a lot of supplies when I make things...but honestly, there seems to be no way I can "make" fast enough.

For years I've enjoyed taking old stuff and repurposing it into new stuff.  I was constantly on the look out for vintage sewing & kitchen items, baby shoes, old china pieces and bakeware, buttons, baubles, and bows....well you get the idea.  Plus I've always been quick to make a purchase at those after Christmas clearance sales...actually after anything clearance sales!! 

This year I decided it was time to use up as much of the accumulated stuff as possible.  That means no buying additional supplies unless it's absolutely needed to complete a project.

Like glue sticks or fiberfill for instance.

I'm happy to say that so far I've been successful!!  

I haven't had to buy anything yet...not even glue sticks.  I discovered that I hoard those too!!

Here's a look at some of the things I've made for my two upcoming craft shows!

There's more in the works!

The only negative thing so far....most everything I'm making is small in size.  There doesn't appear to be less of anything as far as supplies go.  But I'll keep at it!

Painted, Packaged & Priced

Craft Show time will be here before I know it...so I've been trying to get a little bit done each week.  But with the craziness that it is life these days, I haven't spent a lot of time in my craft room.  I did  manage to finish this very simple project. Sadly, it took almost three weeks to do it!  But I'm happy with the results!

I've picked up lots of little bowls at thrift stores...painting them all fun colors seemed like a good idea, as I shared in this post.  Getting the final coats of paint on all these bowls seemed to take forever.  But they are finally done!

They make fun little sets...don't you think!!?

I'm on a roll.....I hope!

P.S. Since I had the paint out, I spruced up an old bread board too!

Tweet

 

I find some great supplies during the after Christmas sales.

These musical birds were bought after Christmas 2012....and they were bought

with crafting in mind.

I picked these birds up at Target,when they were 90% off. 

They cost a whopping 20 cents each! The shredded paper is from a food gift basket we received....so it was free.  I found a bag full of these tart tins at the thrift store.

There were sixteen in the bag and it cost $1.21....that's less than 8 cents a tin.

So, each of these little birds sitting on a nest cost less than 30 cents. 

Now that's something to "tweet" about!!

Penelope is Five!

Somebody special is five years old today.

This somebody is very fond of pink!

Happy Birthday to Penelope!!!

A few weeks ago she came to our house for dinner and an evening of crafting.  

She has been wanting to make colored clay "forever"!  We took some white modeling clay and added a bit of acrylic paint to it.  Then Penelope kneaded and stretched until she worked the color through the whole piece of clay.  

Then it was time to create...decisions, decisions!  She finally decided to make a little something for each of her family members, plus Gramma and Grampa.

Look at all the pretty colors we made!

Here's what she ended up with....with a little help from me.  

A green lollipop for Daddy, and a pink one for Penelope. Fletcher gets a sailboat, and Mommy gets a flower. I love the sun she gave to me, and Grampa loves the funny face lollipop for him.

I helped her make the caterpillar, which she decided was for her "whole family"!  She decided that I need to add a magnet to each one because "they will look so cool on refrigerators"!

Penelope had one of her favorite foods for dinner...NOODLES!  

She loves noodles...she said, that "they are my very favorite thing"!

Well, maybe they're her very favorite food....but this little guy is her VERY Favorite!! 

Such a good big sister!

Have a Happy Day Sweet Penelope!

I'm looking forward to your birthday party on Sunday!!

A Profitable Weekend

Well, I had my injections and I feel a bit better today.  I slept very well and some of the most bothersome pain has lessened.  However, the weekend was rough!  Sitting was not comfortable at all, so lying down and standing were my positions of choice.  I was able to get some reading & napping done, and I also spent some time creating.  Lucky for me, I have a counter in my craft room....it's the perfect height for creating while standing!  

We just scheduled our annual Christmas Arts & Crafts Show.  It's going to be in early November...that'll be here before we know it.  I need to get busy!

I gathered together some "stuff" I wanted to create with.  

I've had a lot of this for months...a couple pieces even for years.

The porcelain electrical receptacle, and the metal wall sconce were recent 

purchases in Pennsylvania.  I found the two metal pans at a thrift store last week. 
The rest of it was tucked away right here at home.

Here's a look at what I've created with some of this "stuff" so far.

These saucers are now pretty, little wall mirrors.  I love how they turned out. 
I have lots of saucers without matching cups, but no more mirrors.
What else would you do with 'orphan' saucers?

Another quick craft with old dishes....my favorite is the one with the brown pedestal.  

Love that little plate, and the combination of the it and the pedestal is perfect!

Take a look at the porcelain electrical receptacle. I glued an old tart tin to it.  Now it's a candle holder...or whatever kind of holder you want it to be.  I'm very happy with this piece.

These two wood pieces weren't changed very much.  I added a sheet music insert to one.

A piece of "dictionary" scrapbook paper covered up the writing on the front of the brown rack.  

Now I'm trying to decide if they need a little something else.  Especially the brown piece.

Maybe a word stenciled across the top. Thoughts?

I've had this little lamp for years....the old shade frame almost as long.  I put them together with some old lace and ended up with this pretty lamp....on and off.

It's fun to take something old and turn it into something new.  

It's nice to create a bit.  It's also nice to have less pain!

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and emails!

Linking up with Knick of Time Tuesday.