Friday, January 28, 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

Day 24 - Christmas Bow Ponytail Holder

I have several of these Christmas yarn bows sitting in a bowl. They came from the store Anthropologie a few years ago. They put them in to wrap presents with. I never used them but always thought they were pretty. I just attached a ponytail holder to the back of this one. It will look beautiful in my daughter's hair. I will try to get a picture posted of her wearing it; right now she is in bed!


Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day 23 - Bridal Gown Shawl

I will post the picture of the wedding gown when I get a chance, but I made this shawl from part of the bustle.


Saturday, January 22, 2011

Day 22- Doll Scarves

This is more of a using up scraps project than a redo. I used some of the left over fleece from yesterday's pillows and made doll scarves for my daughter's American girl dolls. I made several with just a few scraps of fleece. All I had to do was cut.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Day 21 -Finished T-Shirt Pillows

Here are the finished pillows!


Day 20 - More pillows

Okay-So today and tomorrow will be a replay of my t-shirt pillows. Because I am going to donate them to a fundraiser at my daughter's school, I needed to finish all the pillows. So here is what I worked on today. I basically got them all ready to tie together.


Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Day 19 -Sweater Arm Leg Warmers

Cut the arms off an old sweater, hemmed the cut edge, added a ribbon and a few buttons. Instant leg warmers for my daughter! (Of course we live in Arizona, so they are from a lightweight sweater!)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day 18 - Cigar Prayer Box

I made 6 prayer boxes for my kids' teachers this year for Christmas. (They go to a Catholic school.) A friend saw them and asked me to share my how-to with a mom's group at the school tomorrow. So, here is the example I am taking with me.

I love the cigar boxes, I have made so many different thinkgs with them.

And I have no idea why this picture is upside down. It did not download that way to my hard drive. I'll try to fix it!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 17 - Valentine Plates

These fun plates were made from plain white plates that I got from Goodwill for $2. I used ceramic paint and voila! The project took about 1 hour. I wiped them clean and started over several times!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day 16 - Plastic Bag Holder Finished

Today I finished the bag holder with a little help from my friend TJ. She cut some of the bags and crocheted the top half.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day 15 - Plastic Bag Holder

Here is what I have finished today on a plastic bag holder, made from plastic bags crocheted together. It has taken longer than I expected, so it isn't quite complete. I will finish it tomorrow while I am watching football.

Go Bears!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Day 14 - Keepsake Cigar Box

I love converting cigar boxes into keepsake boxes. This one took about 30 minutes.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 13 - Lamp Shade Organizer

I bought this crazy lampshade for $1.00 at Goodwill. The colors caught my eye, but it was all folded up. It took me a while to figure out what it was. I had all kinds of ideas on how to make it into an organizer, but I went with the simplest. I sewed the edges together to make 3 pockets and embellished it with decorations. I have a load of saint cards, so I put those on. I think it turned out beautifully.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Day 12 -Beer Cap Magnets

Tonight my project was a family affair. My mom is visiting from Wisconsin, so she and the kids helped with the magnets. The kids picked out the paper and punched out the circles, Nana helped with the punching and gluing, I glued on the magnets and coated the paper with resin. We had a lot of fun, and they turned out great.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Day 11 - Button Necklace and Earrings

The buttons are back! I made this necklace and earring set with my button stash. The color isn't great in the photo, but they are all shades of reds and pinks. The project took about 1 hour.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day 10 - Game Piece Necklace

This is another project that I have been wanting to try. I put the epoxy on a little late in the evening, so I will have to add the necklace and findings in the morning. But the tile turned out great. It is an old game tile from a game called Rummikub. I glued on a piece of scrapbook paper and added the epoxy on top. I think it turn out well. I'm a bit of a paper nut, so I have loads of paper to look through for more ideas.

And yes I know my photo skills suck. Leigh-I need help!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Day 9 - Vinyl Record Album Bowls

These vinyl record bowls turned out great. I have been wanting to try this project for a long time. I have seen them pop up often on craft sites. So, today was the day. I made several, some in squares and some in triangles. I will definitely be giving these out for gifts. Rock on! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Day 8 - Ugh!

So today I did not get around to making anything. Super disappointed, because I thought it would take a lot longer to miss a day. But then I decided not to beat myself up. Day 9 will be great!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Day 7 - Record Album Notebook/Journal

Today I made a notebook/journal from a Neil Young record album cover. I cut out the front and back cover for the notebook to the size of my paper. I used the rest of my step-grandmother's graph paper from the journal on day 4 for the inside. Then I tied it all together with scraps from a pair of jeans that I had cut up for a girl scout project. On the inside cover I used the liner notes and a scrap of patterned paper. The project took about 30 minutes. (Longer is you count the interruptions from my 4-year-old!)

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Day 6 - Costume Jewelry Redo

This afternoon I was on the phone with my stepmom. She has a friend who was trying to think of some ways to use some old costume jewelry. That made me think of the costume jewelry I have in a drawer from my grandmothers. I never wear it, but I would never get rid of it.

So I did a little redo with two pieces and some necklaces that I also don't wear. The first piece is made from an old strand of cheap pearls and a brooch from my Nana Freddie. The other piece

is a cloth necklace that had an ugly charm on it. I switched the charm with this pretty blue-stoned clasp earring, also from my Nana Freddie. The jewelry took longer to think of than to actually make!

I still have another blue clasp earring and a brooch that matches. Expect them to show up at a later date.

Day 5 - Seashell Soap Dish

Yesterday was an incredibly busy day. I was only home for a couple of hours and even then I had a million things to do. I got home at 10 pm thinking that I had already failed in my attempt to make something every day!

But as I was going to bed I stopped in my kids' bathroom to pick up a towel, and I had a thought. The bathroom has a seaside theme with shells a sandcastle, etc. I remember that on our Thanksgiving trip to Florida we collected a ridiculous amount of shells, and some were very large. I pulled one out and flipped it over to use as a soap dish!

I was very proud of myself!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 4 - Vintage Photo Sleeve Journal

Today's project started with a vintage photo sleeve that I found in a pile of old family photos from my grandmother. The pages are made from a pad of graph paper that was sold in my step-grandmother's yarn shop for designing cross-stitch patterns.

I punched a hole through all and bound with a scrap of ribbon. The clasp on the back and the paper embellishments are from my supply of scrapbooking odds and ends. I bought them up planning to scrapbook and then never did!


Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 3 - Vintage Button Earrings

Happy Monday!

What a quick, beautiful project this turned out to be. The earrings are made from vintage red buttons that I found in a box of loose buttons from a thrift store. They took about 15 minutes to make. This is the first time I have ever made any jewelry, so I already learned a new skill!


Sunday, January 2, 2011

Day 2 - T-Shirt Pillow

Today I made a pillow from a leftover t-shirt from an event at my daughter's school. We had several shirts that were too big for anyone to wear, so I cut out the school emblem and made this pillow. I found the white craft thread in a box of extras that an aunt gave to me when she was ready to stop sewing. The pillow form and fleece are new materials. The project took about 2 hours.

I was so happy with the outcome that I am going to make several more to donate to the school's fundraising auction in the spring. I hope someone likes them enough to buy them and make a little money for the school.


Saturday, January 1, 2011

Day 1-Buttons and Bows Barrettes


I was so excited to get started on my year-long quest. I set up this blog today and finished my first project! I created barrettes for my daughter Ella from flea market ribbon and buttons from thrift stores. I started with buttons because I have jars and jars of them. Working with the buttons gave me a lot of ideas for future projects, so you will see them again and again!