Stop looking amnd start doing . . .

I really wanted to go to the flea market this weekend. But when Sunday rolled around I just wanted to stay home. I'd been out most of the day on Saturday and really want to spend some time on the sofa. Then I thought I'd just head to the thrift but I couldn't seem to motivate myself to do that either. So I fretted about for awhile, thinking about what I was missing. Wondering if there were some fabulous craft supplies out there with my name on them. Then it hit me. I have PLENTY of supplies right here from countless trips. Why not just use what I have?

When I cleaned my sun porch this weekend (which was sadly over due) I found two cloches I picked up at the thrift YEARS ago. They aren't really cloches, I believe they are meant to hold candles in some sort of holder thing. Hard to explain but I thought they were cute and planned to use them to cover a few seedlings back when I was trying to cultivate a green thumb. Looking at them on Saturday I was struck with a different idea.



I have purchased several ornaments that are small glass cloches or jars that have little scenes inside and thought I could turn my little containers into something just as cute.



This project turned out even better then I thought it would! I only used things I had (which isn't much of a feat considering my hoarding tendencies) and am very happy with the results.



I had a huge pack of bottle brush trees picked up at an after Christmas sale for pennies and a big jar of Martha Stewart mica type glitter.

 

I used some beads I cut from picks that I thrifted earlier this year plus some other little odds and ends in my scrapbook supply bin. I piled up glue around the bottom of the trees to make it look like snow drifts and poured on the glitter. Then I glued down the cloche and added a sparky pipe cleaner hanger and tag with the year on it.



I love them! And now I want to make more Christmas things even though I have all of my fall and Halloween stuff out on the desk to work on. :) I'm very easily distracted.

Stop by the my page at The Examiner for my latest articles. If you click HERE you can read about  CricutSearch.com, a free online tool that has a searchable data base of ALL Cricut cartridges. A fabulous tool when you are looking for a certain shape and aren't sure which cartridge you saw it on. You can click HERE and see a great holiday DIY gift idea on making a stylish cuff from an old belt. It's clever and quick and will give you a great head start on your holiday gift crafting. Thank you so much for your support! Don't forget to send me your projects and ideas.

I'll also be having a give away this week. When going through my supplies this weekend I found a lot of Halloween items that I'd like to share. Come back soon!

Hat Time

I love making hats for gifts. I've already made a few with a long list still to go. I hate that I don't have as much time to knit and crochet now that I'm working full time but hats are pretty easy and portable for when I can take them with me to sneak in a little work here and there.

I recently finished up this beauty:



I really need a foam head or something to show off my hats! I remember seeing them in abundance at the thrift "back in the day" but I don't recall having seen any lately. This hat is from the winter issue of Knitscene magazine (I think) and is made with Paton's silk angora. It came out a bit too big for both my head and the friend I made it for so I need to adjust it or start a new one and give this to a big headed friend. ;) (Actually, my friend and I have peanut sized heads.)



I know that looks like a silly black circle on the right there but I swear that is a hat, too. Sort of a newsboy style, it's a pattern from a vintage crochet book called "IN Crochets" which is pretty funny don't you think? You see the lady in the snazzy big glasses? She's wearing this hat.



I received it in the mail along with a few other books from Vallen, her majesty of all things good. It was a fabulous surprise! Very fun funky 70s patterns. I tried to get a few good shots of me wearing the hat (it really is cute) but no luck. I am so not a hat person. This was a gift for my sister so maybe she'll take a photo of her wearing it. (HINT HINT MANDI)



This is a puff stitch crocheted beret that is my own pattern. It's cute but a little heavy so I'm trying to incorporate a wide knit band to make it stay in place better. Trial and error!

In other news, remember Ms. Felicity Foxity?



I've entered her in a contest to be a part of the Interweave Crochet Amigurumi 2012 calendar. Wish her luck! I'll need to write out her pattern and if she doesn't win I'll publish it here for everyone to enjoy. She's one of my favorite toys to date.


Please visit me at the Examiner. I have two articles up about getting ready for Halloween Crafting. You can find them HERE and HERE. I'll be featuring some fun Halloween crafts, including my cracker party favors, so please subscribe to get all the fun updates and projects.

Cricut Goodness

Hello all, enjoying the on set of Fall? I am! :) So I was wondering if anyone out there has a Cricut machine and what types of projects they've made. I'm going to start a series at the Examiner on Cricut projects and would love to feature some of yours. I make mostly paper crafts but I know you can cut vinyl and make cake decor and I'd love to see some of the different options. So if you or someone you know is using Cricut (or even if you see it on a blog somewhere) let me know!

I just won these two cartridges on Ebay:





I got From my Kitchen for $22 and Pagoda for $15 both with free shipping! If you know anything about Cricut cartridge prices you know these are really good! They are brand new and I can't wait to use them. Check out Mom's Home Made Crafts on Ebay, she lists loads of Cricut items and often has free shipping.

What would you make with these two cartridges? 

So please, get in touch! I'll be cranking up the machine this weekend for some fun crafting with my friend Nine. Can't wait!

OBX

Hello all! Where did the summer go? As you know, I'm sooo ready for fall but it was nice to spend a week in the Outer Banks soaking up the sun. Now it's back to reality and already I feel overwhelmed. Don't you hate that? All that relaxation just washed away but the rigors of day to day life. Sigh . . . so let's reminisce, shall we?



The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was just half a mile from our beach house. It's located in a lovely little park with a gorgeous view of the Currituck Sound and some sweet little shops. Luis climbed up the 216 steps to the observation deck. I stayed safely on the ground once I heard you had a sign a waiver that the light house wasn't a sound structure!



We also went to Kill Devil Hills to see the spot where the Wright Brothers made the first flight.



We climbed up to the monument where you can see the sound and the ocean plus the field with markers of the flights.

On our last day of the trip we rented a jeep and went on a tour of Swan Beach.



Luis was very excited to try his hand at 4 wheeling in the sand. :)



Oh how I love the self portrait! :) The beach houses a wildlife preserve which is home to a herd of wild horses. They are not shy and come right up to the cars!



There were a few new members and we were lucky to get to see two of the colts up close. So cute!

Ahh . . . vacation. Now it's back to real life and work. At least until our trip to Los Angeles in October. :) In the mean time I'll try to get some crafting going on. I joined the Halloween Crown swap at My So Called Junky Life. My partner is Samantha from Altered Art Junkies. I can't wait to get started!

Stop by and read my latest article at the Examiner. You can find it HERE. It features one of my favorite crafting authors, Tone Finnanger, who has a new Christmas book coming out next month. I'm so ready to start on my holiday projects, how about you?