Scrapbook paper star garland

I saw these stars in an ad recently and thought they would make a fun garland. Here’s what I made.

There are 9 stars, each with a different pattern paper. I added “stitching” along the edges to emphasize the sewing theme. Since it has buttons, thread, and “stitching” I think I will hang it on the window above my sewing machine.

Here’s a close up of a star.

Scrapbook paper on the front, crochet cotton ties and buttons from my stash.

To make the star sturdy enough to support the buttons, I used left over red poster board for the backing.

The stars were all drawn freehand and I like how different they all are. This was a very satisfying project.

Fabric Covered Book

Liz and I got together on Saturday and made these books from Ali Edwards blog.

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2009/06/tuesday-tutorials-jamaica-edgell-fabric-covered-spines.html

Thank goodness Liz is better than following directions than I am or my book would still not be finished!

The book started by making the covers: mat board, book cloth, scrapbook paper and  two snap binder rings.

I’m a sucker for envelope books. It seems like all the books I’ve been making have at least a few envelopes in them. This one is all envelopes.

On Sunday, I decided to finish the book.  It’s to be a remembrance book, of people who have passed away. I’ll put a photo on the right page and tuck things into the envelope on the left.

One of my favorite books about death is “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf” by Leo Buscagalia. I’ll include lines from it on the title page.

Here’s a sample layout.

I’ll do some journaling on the left page and put memorabilia in the envelope. The rubber stamped girl is one of Alan’s stamps and one of his best sellers.

The Molly Weasley Sweater

Like most crocheters who are also Harry Potter fans, I dreamt of the sweater Molly Weasley wore in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” It was amazing! Full of colors, pattern with enormous bell sleeves.  It has become quite a hot item to make, both in wearable size and in miniature. Here’s what the original looks like.

The colors are brighter in the movie

I imagine Molly making the sleeves with the leftover yarn from each year’s Christmas sweaters. If I was going to make this, I wanted to actually wear it. Molly’s sweater has a simple double crochet pink body. Since it was the sleeves I loved that was the part I would make. I cut the sleeves off a red sweater I had and unwound the yarn to include in my sleeves. Here’s the result.

An old sweater gets new sleeves

It’s been a lot of fun to wear and quite comfortable. It is a winter sweater however, as the sleeves are heavy & warm. I am surprised at how often people recognize it as being from a Harry Potter movie, even if I don’t wear a witche’s hat with it!

Christmas Words Frame

Chrismas crafting goes on year round here. Here’s one that I made last May. The frame was a Goodwill find and very inexpensive as one corner was damaged. It made a good place to glue a large jungle bell.

Fun with fonts

Christmas Ornament Tags

I like small things and these are a good example. The images on the tags were originally vintage postcards. I cleaned them up and printed them trading card size. Choosing the right image for each person, then embelishing the cards was the fun part.

Shrunk & embelished vintage postcards

Button Tree

Okay, so I am way behind, posting Christmas items on Valentine’s Day.  Still, I liked this tree a lot and hope you do too. This is another foam cone tree, a button one.

Wrapped in seam binding & rickrack and stuck with pins and buttons

I liked how the rickrack reminded me of branches. See what refusing to use a paintbrush results in?

Recycled technology Christmas Tree

Made of tractor feed paper on a foam cone with a CD base

I’ve loved all the paper trees that I have seen online. This was my first attempt at one and it was a great way to use up the last of the green tractor feed paper. The colors on the paper were so intense, I couldn’t throw it away.

Not only is the tree sitting on a CD, I store it in an empty 100-CD spindle. It does a great job of keep the paper fluffled. I just remove the tin foil star and put the cover back on.

Turkey Earrings

Each Thanksgiving a friend has complained that she can’t find any turkey earrings. Finally, I made a pair for her. Lightweight, comfortable and silly!

Laminated clip art turkeys with duck feathers for the tail

Spooky CDs

Another recycled CD project. These were made with CDs, paper, and whatever I had in my stash.  I made two of them. This one has a bead garland as the cord and is hung in the computer lab at school. The other uses black paper twist (remember that stuff from the 80s?) and has black bats hanging between the CDs and the end of the garland.

Pipe cleaners, jingle bells, and orange spider rings finish both garlands.

I found the letters on another blog.

http://cottagemagpie.com/holidays/halloween/indoor-decorating/halloween-boo-garland/

Her garland is very cool and she has great directions. I did use the BOO letters for another garland but that will have to wait until my birthday, when I hope to get a new camera.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Halloween Shoes

I am in trouble—my 6 year old digital camera died.  For a few days, I was able to use a borrowed camera. Now, a digital camera is #1 on my birthday wish list.

Since I don’t have any new Halloween pictures to post, I thought I would post some older ones.

Here are my soon-to-be-retired Halloween shoes. After 6 months of wear over 6 years, these shoes are wearing out. Leaks, tears, and worn soles tell me that I will be making a new pair for next year. These photos were taken in 2005, a few years after I made them.