PRETTY IN PINK NECKLACE

Here is my new necklace I made for my friend Doug Alves over at Play Create Grow. March is National Craft Month and he invited me to create something for him - hope you like it. I used old jewelry and some felt plus a few interesting pieces of chain. 

Here it is.....

Here are a few more pictures of steps.  It's really easy and can have so many different looks by just changing jewelry and felt.  Hope you have fun.

Here is everything taken apart, the hardest part is deciding what parts to use.

Use embroidery floss to attach the rounds together. The stitching adds some detail and dimension.

I folded the round just past half and added a few stitches in back to hold in place.  I created a charm and sewed in place.

My jewel had shanks on the back to make it easy to sew in place.  It can also be glued if needed, making sure to use a jewel glue.

I chose the chains I wanted, determined the length then used floss to sew ends into place just in from edges. Attach closure to ends and enjoy!

This is a very easy project to do and if you would like printable instructions please go here...I would love to see what your projects look like - just send me a picture.

Ready for Fall....

Fall has finally come to Fresno....time for pumpkins and acorns. I have been seeing these on felting blogs where they used a felt ball for the acorn.....so cute, I just love them.

I didn't have any felt balls ( I wanted to give up) so I decided to create something different. I wadded up a small piece of tissue paper then wrapped it with pearl cotton or embroidery floss - they both come in so many colors - some even variegated - the choices are endless. I don't have any oak trees around but I did find these eucalyptus caps...I liked the color and they work just as well - something a little different ....... My friend Alexa at The Swell Life took these pictures for me - I just love the natural light. Thanks so much. I think these would be so cute just lying in a bowl or plate - the natural wood really enhances the colors.

I decided to create little pumpkins with some. After wrapping with orange, I took wrapped a single strand of brown to create sections. Everything was glued in place with Fast Grab Tacky Glue - it dries clear and fast. Before I glued the cap on, I drilled two small holes, inserted thin cording creating a hanger for the necklace. Small felt leaves were glued on for color. I just think these are so cute and could be worn all fall.

Here is a different necklace, plain pumpkins but with a larger felt oak leaf added to the necklace lacing. I like how it turned out. Hope you like these and will try them - please let me know if you do - I would love to see them.

12 Layer Birthday Cake!!!!

I went to my niece's wedding in Maryland that past week and stayed with my sister. We had three birthdays this month so she made us this birthday cake - 12 layers of yellow cake with homemade chocolate frosting between. It was the BEST! My Brother-In-Law Jay loves yellow cake with thick chocolate frosting - he loved this - as did we all. There was only a small slice left after we all got a slice so Jay decided to freeze it till after the wedding....Thanks Carolee for making this great cake.....Yummy!!!!!!

My niece's wedding is next weekend and this is the sweater I plan on wearing with a black dress. I just had to make something sparkly to wear with it. I really like the way it turned out. The bracelet base is from Amate Studios - they have great sterling sliver and other metal bases just waiting to be be filled with all sorts of things. I used thick lime colored felt as my base, sewed a black flat bead in the center then added rings of Black and Lime Glam-It-Up Crystals - they add such sparkle to everything. I realize now that I need to make a matching necklace....I have something in mind and will show you how it turns out.....

Wedding Cake Topper for my Niece.....

Spoiler Alert for Renee!

My niece is getting married at then end of this month. Six months ago she asked me to make her cake top for her. She sent me some ideas and this is the finished project. I think it turned out really cute - I hope she will like it too. The bride and groom are made from wood pieces, glued together then painted. I used ribbon and felt for clothes, ribbon and paper flowers, small silk leaves then added pearls. I used Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky to glue everything is place( it is the best for crafting). Plan to send out on Monday ( don't was to risk it in my luggage). I am very honored to create this keepsake for her big day - she is very special to me. I will post pictures of it from the wedding.

My Purse on a Magazine Cover!!!!!!!

How exciting is this? A purse I made as a designer for iLoveToCreate was chosen for the cover of Haute Handbags. There are alot of really cool purses in the magazine so I'm very porund that they chose mine for the cover. I found the jewlery at Forever 21 and in my own stash of "retro" jewelry that I wore in high school. I was reallly happy with the final results. I want to thank everyone at the magazine for the honor. Hope you like it too.

Crochet Necklace with Crystals

With statement necklaces being so trendy I decided to make my own. I like to crochet and thought this would be a great way to create a unique necklace for myself. It only took a few evenings to finish. I started out with a purchased necklace of metal rings. I crocheted around each ring with embroidery floss then around separate plastic rings. I used Liquid Fusion to glue Glam-It-Up Iron-On Crystals - they add so much sparkle then glued the smaller rings in place. It is a very easy project and looks like you spent a million bucks. I'm working on a bracelet now and will show you when it's finished. Hope you like it.....

Cute Cupcake Ornaments

Sorry - this is alittle blurry - I am getting used to a new camera.....I had to make a quick gift for some lady friends of mine so I decided to make these cute cupcake ornaments.
I got this cute cupcake stand at Target - just had to have it - it's red.....couldn't resist and I just love how the ornaments look on it. Here is a closeup of the cupcake. I rolled ribbing from a sweater for the base then added a gathered and stuffed circle for the top. A thin strip of sweater was rolled for the cherry then added a few felt leaves. A few beads sewn on were the finishing touch. Everyone loved their ornament - they said they were cute enough to eat......

This is a view from the top - ready to be wrapped. Let me know how you like them and if you would like more detailed instructions. Wish I had made one for myself - maybe next year!

Wrapped Up Wreaths for Christmas

Wanted to show you what I have been up to lately. I just love both of these Christmas wreathes. Old sweaters were cut up and wrapped around foam wreaths. On one I added wool fabric leaves and rolled sweater berries. On the other I used the ribbing from the sweater and felt snowflakes I picked up in the $1 section of Joann's. Felt holly ribbon was cut apart for the leaves. Everything was glued with Fabric Fusion adhesive and once dry were ready to hang. These were for a local store - I just hope I have time to create some for myself. Let me know what you think and if you would like more detailed instructions.

Warm and Cozy Pumpkin Pillow

Here's my warm and cozy pumpkin pillow. I made it for my sister - her birthday is this month and she likes to decorate for the season. I found this sweater at our local thrift shop - I was lucky to find orange - it a hard color to come by.....I basically cut out a pumpkin shape , sewed it together then stuffed it. The leaves are made from a sweater and blazer that I also found at the thrift shop. Hope she likes it.......
Here's a close-up of the top of the pillow. The sewn leaves are glued in place with Fabric Fusion. I lightly stuffed the stem before sewing into place. The stitching on the pumpkin is embroidery floss just slightly darker than the sweater.

Here is a close-up of the bottom of the pillow. I sewed on an oval base to the ribbing of the pillow then glued the sewn leaf in place. Let me know what you think.

M-I-C-K-E-Y Coasters

Aren't these great? My sister and I went to Disneyland last weekend - had a great time on all the rides - but the best part is going through all the stores.....I found a box of dominoes and just had to have them - I don't even play dominoes so had to come with another reason to get them....I decided to make coasters. I just happen to have the perfect glass to accompany them....don't you think?

Here they are out of the box - so cute! Now I have to figure out what to do with the box.....any ideas? Here's how I made them.....

Place pieces on a non-stick sheet or shiny side of freezer paper for easy release, just in case some glue may seep through. Assemble pieces as desired - I used eight for each coaster - with amount of dominoes in the case I could make three large ones with 8 pieces or four smaller with 6 each. I opted for the larger size - with three left over for future use.

Place sections together. Lift up one domino then apply a very thin bead of Liquid Fusion Glue only along edges where it touches another. Press together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Any glue that shows can be carefully wiped off with a damp paper towel. Let dry overnight.

Now that the coasters have dried overnight, cut a piece of black felt slightly smaller then use Liquid Fusion to glue in place. Let dry then they are ready for action.

Hope you like them as much as I.....

My Ad in Crafts and Things Magazine

How exciting is this - I have had many projects in Crafts and Things magazine over the years(Thank you Abby!) but how cool is it to have an ad. iLovetoCreate - Duncan Enterprises new name - decided to put all of their designers in ads - how great is that. I love the pillow - the colors are so me......just thought I would brag a little.....it's not often I pose for an ad.....this may be my first and last time......

Here is my new toy - a video camera! Now all I have to do is figure out how to use it......I would like to add videos to my blog. I picked it and the tripod up at Target last week. Haven't tried it yet - hopefully this weekend....anybody know a kid that can help me? - they have a mastery of these things without even reading the instructions.....hopefully the instructions have good pictures.....just what does "mode" mean? One of my goals this year is to learn more about my camera and create videos - so I guess I'm on my way......Wish me luck!!!!!

Here's what I purchased at the Bead and Button show - these are "vintage" Lucite beads. I was thinking vintage as being 40's or 50's - but then the seller said that these were from the 70's - I think I have alot of "vintage" beads, shoes, clothes, fabric etc hanging around my house. Yikes!
I liked the cording -it's not vintage - liked the combinations of colors. Now it just have to use them in something right away so they won't become part of "vintage" stash not to be used for 20 more years. I feel that if I use them then I won't have them so I don't use them - you know what I mean.......

Isn't this a cool necklace? I found it at a Forever 21 store. Unfortunately is was entirely in the gold color. I loved the dimension of it - but me being me - needed color - so I used fingernail polish. Here is the necklace while I was working on it. Several coats of polish can be layered for depth of color. I used the Opaque paint pen because I couldn't find yellow polish in my little hometown. It worked fine. It's amazing what colors of nail polish are out there. I found most of my colors in a dollar store - but keep your eyes open when shopping - you'll be surprised how many different colors there are.

Here is the finished necklace - Looks good! Not too bad for a $12.00 necklace. Now I have to make a bracelet - will show you when I finish.

A Happy Customer!

This is Lauren whom I work with at iLoveToCreate! . I made this apron for her - it is the cutest bee fabric and when added with the black polka dot - well what can I say! It's too cute. It started out as a half apron be she wanted the bib so I added it for her. Now I need to make one for myself!

I had a great time talking with everyone at Inspired at Home Radio this Sunday. It was great to hear everyone's voice especially Aleene's - what a lady - still going after all these years... a real pioneer of the craft scene. I checked in alittle late - but still had time to talk with all of them....check it out here. Hope you like it - they are a very creative and inspirational family. Hope we can all get together again to do something special soon.

Last Saturday Jen and I went to San Mateo (again) for the International Jewelry show. It was a great day - It was fun to see all the wonderful charms, beads, chain and everything else in between. Here is Jen holding a string of beads - We were told that is was $77.00 - we thought that was rather high for the strand - but then were informed that each bead had real diamonds and that EACH bead was $77.00 - Jen carefully put them down.......nothing like holding $7,000.00 worth of beads in your hand.

Here is the assortment of what I bought - I love everything here. The red bird and cherries are laser cut Lucite and the bracelet to the left has flowers and leaves made from leather - too cool - think I will take it apart and do something cleaver with it - will post when done. I thought the lampwork birds were fun - don't know what to do with them yet - just knew I had to have them....you know how it is......

Some of the things for the craft show - made some really cute pin cushions out of felt (of course)

Close up of pear apron

Thought this looked like Minnie Mouse - now have to make Mickey!

Love this little bee apron - the pockets are so cute!

My fruit salad arpons - cherries and pears......

Hello -

I'm back!!!! Have been very busy making and creating - and had lots of fun doing it. I had to clean up my studio just to see what I have to create more with. I am planning on making a vow only to use what I have already have and not to buy more - hope I can keep it.

Wanted to show you a few aprons I made for my last show - guess I'm in an apron roll - they are so fun to make - I love the feel of the fabric as the needle goes through, I love choosing the different fabrics and even sewing on the seam binding.....I love it all.

I also was part of a craft show - wanted to show what I made for it. Did OK at the show - but still somewhat slow.

Here are some of the felted purses I embellished and bottle covers made from the sleeves of shirts.

Here is an apron I made with some of my favorite fabric. The cowboy fabric in the center I have had for about 15 hears. I just love it. I could never figure out what to make with it and never made anything with it because I couldn't bear to cut it cut - then I wouldn't have it anymore - so I have kept it folded up in my stash. Well, I decided to actually sew something with it and I think it turned out very cute.

I loved this fabric - Paso Robles has a allot of cowboy's and made this for them. I thought the fabric looked like a retro bedspread my Grandma had on one of her beds. Really liked how it turned out.

Here are some of the totes I covered with fabric - I liked them all and wanted one for myself. The record purse in front was one I made when Joan Fee and I (a.k.a. Still Crafty After 50) were on our local TV show. We created lots of cute things with records - I will show at a later date. Got lots of comments. Plan to make more.

I created the aprons on the left by cutting dish towels in half and sewing onto toille fabric. I made removable pins from the remaining fabric - the one next to it is a cute Christmas apron. I like to use lots of rickrack - it really makes it look retro.

Here is how I hung the aprons at the show - they looked so cute and were great to keep the sun out too. I sold all but one that day.

Hello -

Haven't adding anything in a while - been busy getting ready for a show. When to Paso Robles for the Olive Oil Festival in the town park. Had a lot of fun and sold allot of aprons. Here are a few pictures. This shows my sweater glass cases, cherry pins, glass magnets and other assorted things.