Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Thrift category.
Die Cut Fabric easy
Are you a scrapbooker that has invested in one of the die cutting systems like Sizzix or one of the others? Are you looking to stretch how you use this equipment? Wow, I am starting to sound like a company rep!
Ok, I have a couple of these die cut pieces of equipment and I love them. I found out recently that the quilting world has one as well for cutting fabric. This made me wonder if the one I have for paper would cut fabric. It does. It opened a whole new world for me, it made me think about how I could use fabric instead of paper for projects.
Now here is the disclaimer, that I do this at my own risk to damage to my dies. If you choose to do this and it results in damage to your dies etc, I am not liable. It is your choice to do so.
First iron a sewable fusible on the back of your fabric. Cut the fabric into pieces the size of your die. Run it through your machine. VIOLA! you now have a pre-cut fusible that you can iron onto any other fabric.
I used sewable fusible because I wanted to be able to sew through the applique after it was applied, without gumming up my machine needle.
With some of the letter embroidery sewing machines out there, you could embroider the fabric, apply the fusible, then die cut out any shape you have on hand.
Too much fun!!!
Easy Charm Bracelet for the holidays
Easy charm bracelet that you can make as a gift or bedazzle it for your own holiday attire. All you need is a chain that you like with links big enough for fit a lobster clasp in the links. Here are some sources for the supplies (its also a good way to see what each item is):
Lobster Clasps – These Open and close and you will attach to your chain
Hanging charms – 5-12 charms that you will attached a split ring to.
Chain – This is the base of your bracelet to which you will attach the open part of the lobster clasps.
How to:
Now that you have all of your supplies.
Put one charm on each Split ring.
Attach the split ring to the round portion of the lobster clasp.
Attach the open portion of the lobster clasp to a link on the bracelet chain.
(if your bracelet chain is not already equipped with a closure to hold it on your wrist. You can attach a split ring to one end of the bracelet and then attach that split ring to a lobster clasp. )
The open end of that lobster clasp can then be opened and attached to the other end of the chain when you wear the bracelet.
The great thing about this type of bracelet is that you can switch out the charms as easily as you can undo a clasp.
Give it a try!!
Happy Holidays!!
Sharon
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonOrella
If you would rather have someone make it for you, then send me a convo on Etsy with 2 week lead time and I can make you a custom bracelet or a bracelet kit. I will just need to know what theme you want and the size of your wrist.
Easy wrap bracelet for the holidays.
A wrapped or memory wire bracelet is one of the easiest pieces of jewelry to make for a beginner. You will need one package of memory wire sized for bracelets. You will also need beads of your choice with holes sized large enough to fit the diameter of the memory wire. Many seed beads will not work for this unless they are the larger ones. You will also need a pair of Chain nose pliers. (Click for memory wire source) (Click for source of Pliers)
To start locate one end of your memory wire, then using your pliers bend the end back onto itself. (you can also purchase memory wire bead caps. Click here for a source) It will form a bit of a loop. This will stop your beads from coming off the end.
Your typical package of memory wire will allow it to go around your wrist several times. Take a look and decide how many time you want your to wrap around. Once you know, cut the memory wire at that point (please don’t use your flush cutter for this, the memory wire will damage them) I use a pair of cutters meant for memory wire. (Link to Memory wire cutters)
Now that you have your length of wire, start stringing beads onto it, use your imagination, if you don’t like a combination then slide them off and re do. You can make this total random or in a pattern with the same size and type of bead. (click for bead source)(Source for lovely Crystals) It is all about what appeals to you.
Once you have them all strung, use your pliers and bend a loop into the end where you were stringing. This will hold all the beads onto the wire.
Presto a bracelet!!!
What a great gift! Or if you used those lovely crystals you have a lovely holiday sparkle bracelet….
Happy Holidays!
Sharon
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonOrella
P.S. If you just would like to have a lovely Memory Wire Bracelet made for you, I know just the person. Give her a call or visit her shop on Etsy. Click here to visit her shop and contact her via convo Jewelyett
Upcycle? Recycle? Reuse? Repurpose?
What does this all mean when you’re a creative person? Well, for most it means instead of throwing something away, either find another way to use it or put it in the recycle bin. That is if your community will recycle it. In some areas of the country there are community reuse places that you can take your, still useful items in hopes that someone else will find your trash to be a treasure.
Near where I am we have a place called Scrap (School Community reuse action program) it is not all that near to me, but I will make a special trip to get there. Most of the time though I am a shopper there, but thankfully, there are many that make donations to them. For example they have lots of fabric, upholstery and wallpaper sample books, yarn, tiles, paper, envelopes etc. All of which are very reusable to make useful and decorative items. I have picked up many a large fabric sample to make pillow or handbags. For the longest time they had a barrel full of corks. I could never figure out what I could make from a cork, but others did because they dwindled down to nothing eventually.
Perhaps one of my favorite spots is the book and magazine corner, where you can find books and magazines for pennies. Or the paper corner where you buy office paper for 25 cents an inch. (measured by the height of your stack) Sometimes you can find envelopes with no return address, those are great! But they also have some with a return address which are easily upcycled by sticking your address sticker over theirs. Scrap keeps so much stuff out of landfills each year just by redistributing it, that they deserve a recycle award! Besides I have no idea where I would find a barrel of corks or belt blanks to be re-purposed. Would you?
Just recently I incorporated some glossy cardstock from Scrap into my gift tags. The original sheets were 8 1/2 x 22, so required some cutting down before I could punch them. It took longer to punch them as they are pretty sturdy, but it was worth it. The paper is wonderful with my tags. It embossed beautifully and I am very happy with it.
I encourage everyone to donate to their local reuse program and to shop there. You just never know what you will find…
P.S. I found one in San Francisco too.. Scrap (Scrounger’s Center for Reusable Art Parts) Love it!!
To see more please visit my shop on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonOrella
Have a great day!
Creating, Creating, Creating…. with Paper
I have always loved paper, I love the feel of paper, I love the smell of paper and I truly love the versatility of paper. Paper can become so many things and mean so much. I always wonder who and how the first bits of paper were made. I know that as far back as Egyptian times they were we writing on fibers and making papers. I have dabbled in making paper several times and enjoyed doing it. My favorite was when I decided that I was going to make use of all of the junk mail I kept getting. I began shredding all of my junk mail, envelope and credit card applications and sales flyers etc. It was not long before I had bags and bags of shredded paper. I than began throwing it in a blender with some water and unflavored Gelatin. I had read that the gelatin would hold everything together along with the fibers all interweaving together. I wound up with some pretty amazing paper pulp (after a LOT of blending). I made several batches of paper but my fave was the one I added a tiny bit of green food coloring to. In that batch I threw in some dried flowers, some green food color, and some other twiggy like fibers I had lying around. All of my 8 x 11 sheets came out a pale green with lots of texture. I thought they were fabulous! I little hard to write on, but they went through my inkjet printer rather nicely. I will have to do that again, perhaps next summer would be good. I found it best to do this outside, that way I did not worry about spillage or mess. Memories of my handmade paper are good ones and fit right in with my latest endeavor of paper creations. I discovered (drum roll puleeze) embossing! I have gone a bit overboard in collecting little embossing folders that I put paper in then crank through my little roller machine. I never get tired of seeing the end product! I have made tags, lots of tags, many experimental and some that have made it to my Etsy site. Did I tell you I also love to package these up, and make then pretty so that when people get them I hope they will like them as much as I do. I only wish I could give as many gifts as I make tags for because then I could gift wrap with paper too. Ahhh…. so much paper and so little time!
Of course I must share some pictures of my paper creations!
Such Opportunity and Crafty Corner!
It is truly remarkable how much is available to us in this day and age to be creative and market our wares. This is powered by the Internet access, that allows anyone to find components, to be inspired, and fuel the creative individual. A search of the internet with a simple word can net you a barrage of information about what you are looking for. Some relevant and some maybe not so much. The same search of the internet on a site such as Etsy can net you a list of choices that can be more easily digested and perused and sometimes more applicable to your creative spirit. I have found it to be both informational and inspirational.
For example the other day I was searching for supplies of roses, the internet search engine told me about every flower type, several business that would sell me flowers and a list too long to reveal here of items I was not interested in. The search in supplies on Etsy, lead me directly to a rose lampwork bead, rose-colored yarn, a digital collage sheet etc… Much more in tune with my creative side. It provided me with both a physical source and inspiration that could carry me forward work with my creativity. I bet this happens more times than we could count, and what a gift it is. It always makes me think that the possibilities are endless (which they are) when you open your mind and use past experiences to bring together a creation you can be proud of.
I thought I would share some of the shops that provide supplies that also inspire me…. and how to make a flirty ric rac flower in the crafty corner.
Mermaids Dowry (this shop has wonderful components, I did not get away without buying from this shop)
Beautiful Additions Source for Ric-Rac
Crafty Corner!!
Here is a link to a video on how to make Ric-Rac Flowers
Memorial Day Weekend – Jewelry 101 Open Studio
It hardly seems possible that Memorial weekend will arrive in a couple of days. I look outside and today was all rain and dark clouds and I wonder how much rain we can take before we start growing flippers here in the Northwest. There is one good thing about being inside and staying dry, and that is all the little fun projects we can work on and get into, instead lawn mowing and flower watering and all those other things we would normally be doing this time of year. So many projects and usually so little time.
I have several things in the works and they run the gamut. First there is the summer dress that has the pattern cut out and just needs to be run through the sewing machine. Of course the sewing machine is buried under a pile of stuff that I threw into that corner when I started organizing my books. Mind you the corner is a tiny one so it doesn’t take a lot to clutter it up but I plan on clearing that up this weekend.
Then there are those signs I volunteered to paint and I have partially completed, those are destined to be worked on at the next artists gathering.
Then there is the jewelry ( I create and sell my jewelry and I host the Jewelry 101 Open studio the last Friday of most months). I absolutely LOVE creating jewelry, it is a very close second to to my metal work. I love finding components and beads, doing wire work, hammering metal using all kinds of materials. I am really attracted to tools, and jewelry making really feeds that need.
If you were to visit my studio, some people might wonder, why I have yards of copper tubing?
I say, Doesn’t everyone?
Well the copper tubing when hammered makes wonderful bracelets and rings, and if you apply heat, well beautiful things happen. Things like reds, and blues and pinks and browns that really make the copper pop.
Now don’t everyone go get that copper tubing off the connects to your ice maker on your fridge, you can pick some up at the hardware store. Don’t worry if they give you funny looks or even if they ask you why you need so much. But I bet while you wait you will find other items at the hardware store that make cool jewelry. It just depends on how adventurous you are.
I am still experimenting with clear plastic tubing and what you could fill it with to make snappy bracelets or necklaces or even a hair band. I admit that last bit about the hair band came to me just now. You could fill the tubing with beads or glitter or fabric and the cork up the ends and attach a elastic to either the corks or to the tubing itself and Wha-La a new head band to hold you hair back! Or if the tubing was very small you could pop holes through it and attach beads on headpins and have danglies that hang from the tubing.
You could even run a ribbon through it to tie in the back of your neck for a necklace.
Maybe it should really be, so many idea’s and so little time. . .
Peace.
Saturday in Sherwood
I am off to the Gallery today for our annual refresh/maintenance. We will fill all the holes we made in the walls this past year. Work on touching up the paint. Swab the decks, rearrange the furniture and generally make everything feel new again. Of course doing this in an 130 year old building that used to be a tavern in the late 1800′s is always a challenge, but also a labor of love. Hopefully, (keep your fingers crossed for us) we will be able to open up the backroom as Odges Closet for Vintage clothing and linens etc. I think I will take my measuring tape, because as I type this I am thinking of idea’s for some of the doorways. Maybe this year is the year I make the quilting windows coverings for the front windows? Hmmm all I need is measurements… I know I must have them somewhere! If I make this happen I will definitely post it here. Peace.
Friday is almost here…
It is almost Friday and not a day too soon! It has been a busy week, with lots of changes going on. Change is usually a good thing and I enjoy it, as long as there is not too much change at once… So as usual to reduce stress and use my creative mind, I continued to to work on another bracelet (I sure hope these are not becoming boring). I need the practice and somehow posting it here is helpful to me. I was thinking today that I need to practice doing some resin pendants. A few days ago I ordered some copper pendants from Annie Howes on etsy and they arrived today. I am so happy and now I just have to figure out what I am going to put into the pendants that I will fill with resin. That is truly the creative part. Watched Oregon Art beat tonight, always a good show, the Raku was beautiful. If you haven’t seen it before, you can watch current and past episodes on line.
