How To : Denim Barrette and Flower

Hello there! I am just pleased as punch to show off what I made last week!This post has been like money burning a hole in my pocket!



You might recognize the fabrics from a little outfit I made?



Well, the colour combination of lemon yellow and over-dyed blue denim was just, well memorable. And when I was contemplating what hair accessory to make to go with it, it was a natural choice of the same denim and yellow.



So I scrounged, and I mean scrounged for the last remaining pieces of those blue jeans. And let me tell you, toddler size skinny jeans do not render much scrap fabric! But, I managed to find two pieces big enough to cover a few barrettes. And they really do look wonderful don't they?

I looked around at some tutorials, but nobody seamed to make their barrettes the same way I did, so I am posting my process photos as a tutorial. Seriously, I love these and I couldn't be more happy with the result.

Materials:
Snap clips (I used 2")
Scrap fabric (I used denim and a vintage sheet)
Buttons
Coordinating embroidery floss
Mod Podge
Hot glue








And there you have it folks! Pretty and simple one of my favourite combos! But, I do have a couple things to add as a kind of afterward.

• Stitching through wet Mod Podge will gum up your needle a bit but it is a little easier than stitching through hardened glue. You can try to use hot glue in place of Mod Podge but I cannot tell you how easy (or not) it is to sew through.
• I did add a piece to the back with Mod Podge, I added it as an after thought right before I stitched it, that is why it has a flower on it in the photo, I didn't take a picture of it until the end.
• If you need bigger pictures with bigger print you can always either click on the photo to be taken to a larger size or you can visit the Flickr photo set here, also done as a tutorial.

Thanks so much for taking a look! I hope you like it as much as I do. Cheers and happy crafting!

My Crafty Weekend : K is for Korker Edition

 I am really taking advantage of this scheduled post feature this week. We are supposed to be renting a cottage for a couple weeks so I am trying to do as much as I can ahead of time so that I can just craft and cottage in peace! So, without further ado I will show you what I worked on last week.

Among other things, I was testing the Korker ribbon waters. And, I must say, I didn't do too badly. I took a lot of photos because I thought about doing up tutorial, but there are already some great ones out there and even though I had to fill in a lot of my own blanks when i was done I found some answers. So instead, I'll just elect to answer any questions you may have and if there is enough interest I'll do a links post to share with you the goodies I found.Capiche? Capiche.



And if you would like to learn how to make these beauties, you'll come back and visit me tomorrow!

♥♥♥

Now, on to you! Last week, we had nineteen entries. So awesome. A far cry from the hundreds at some other blogs, but I like things small and simple. It means I can actually visit each one! A few of my favourites from last week were:

I'll tell you a secret, make something fabulous out of recycled denim and you can bet on me loving it. That easy! In this case, it is a gorgeous bib necklace made by Allie of More Than Just "Mom". It is fabulous right? And the patience it must have taken to make all those denim rosettes? Seriously. I almost don't even want to tell you she is giving it away at her blog, I don't want the competition!

Have you seen this t-shirt by Nina of Mama Go Round around the blogosphere? If you haven't, don't worry I barely caught it through a link up. I loved it so much I asked her to link up here. It is one of the nicest 'knock-offs' (J-Crew) I have seen yet. You can make your own too because she was swell enough to do it as a tutorial. For kicks, check out her other great t-shirt tutes!

As a vegetarian, I constantly come across great recipes that have meat. Seriously my favourite recipes mags always seem to forget about the vegetarians/vegans in the world. So, when I find a super simple and super tasty meat free recipe I am nearly ecstatic. Enter A Little Bit of Everything's stuffed mushrooms. So good, I am going to the market this weekend and buying the goods to make them.

There you have it, a sample of your fabulous links from last week. Thank you so much for linking up and I hope you continue too! As always, I have some buttons but posting them is not a pre-requisite for playing a long! Also, I do not have a featured button but you are welcome to put one of these two in your featured section. I'll whip one up this week hopefully!



     
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Gone Cottagin'

Gone Cottagin'

We are off to a cottage for the remainder of the month and then some. There is no internet, but I have scheduled next weeks posts to post daily. I will be checking email periodically when we venture into town, so please, feel free to email me with comments or questions, I just may be slower to respond than usual.

Cheers!

Sew What! (Long Overdue) Reader Showcase!

What is this? A sew what button? Is it starting again? Not today, maybe soon, maybe a holiday edition? This is in fact, some long overdue reader submissions. The first is from Steph of Mon Petite Poppet who chose to use recycled denim like I did.

For challenge number two (Bag with words) Steph made a crochet clutch for a friend, love it. The pop of red is great! For challenge number three (Filled form with reverse applique) Step created this gorgeous cat stuffy with complimentary colour coasters for her little Bijou.
And lastly, for challenge number four (Carry it!) She made a library bag for her little one again. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love that mushroom! Maybe next time we have a sew along she will sew something for herself? ;)

♥♥
The next collage is not from the Sew Along per se, but a reader named Debra sent me these before and after pictures of her camper that she re-did using a lot of recycled denim. I love it and meant to showcase it back during my Denim-Stravaganza!



Didn't she do just a fabulous job? I love the colours, red white and denim blue. I used to have a couch upholstered in denim and I didn't really like it. But I think a different styled couch re-upholstered in recycled denim would better appeal to me. I cannot really explain why, it is what it is. And this re-do is wonderful. Thanks Debra for submitting it!

Thank you everyone who participated, thank you everyone who encouraged us along! I loved it. Next time I won't try to do two monthly features at once though. But, it occurred to me as I typed it above, maybe a holiday edition, using completely upcycled materials. I like it. I think I'll do some brainstorming this weekend and see what I come up with. Anyone who would like to join me in said sew along please feel free to comment or email me with your interest. ♥

Wednesday on Wednesday

Well, here I am not only on time but a little bit early! (I writing this as a scheduled post, lots to do this evening!) Here are a few select pictures from an impromptu business/fun trip to our nations' capital and surrounding areas.


Sunday morning in Ottawa brought us torrential rains. Rains that sucked to get caught in two streets from where we were eating breakfast! But, with the help of a brand new yellow umbrella,Wednesday's spirits were instantly lifted while waiting for Daddy to bring the truck around.


Later on, in at the hotel she just had to go for a walk in her new shoes. because who wouldn't want to show off shoes that look like that? Satan maybe, but he probably only wears sensible shoes.


The next morning, we found a city park in Pembroke, Ontario that was just what we needed after a day in the truck driving around chasing thunderstorms.


It is moments like these that make it all worthwhile yes? Indubitably.


And what day is complete without being swallowed by giant plastic playground creatures?


We played this great game where I was the troll and she wanted on my bridge but she had to answer riddles about Daddy's favourite colour and what comes after five and such. She loved it!


Sometimes you even get a near perfect family photo out of the affair!

It was a most wonderful weekend, rain and all.

My Crafty Weekend : Reader Showcase.

Good morning fellow crafties! This edition of my crafty weekend comes to you a day late due to a spur of the moment weekend away to our nation's capital. It was an adventure, I'll be posting about complete with photos tomorrow for Wednesday on Wednesday.

Today though, is My Crafty Weekend, reader showcase. Since I have no finished projects to share, or a tutorial to link up I thought I would show off your creations from last week. We had some seriously great links added!

This gorgeous Denim Disc Tree Mirror was made by fellow Canadian (almost local to me in Kingston, how exciting!) Michelle of Michelle Made Me. I was drawn to it because of the use of recycled denim, (my second favourite material to work with) but after careful inspection of it I just love it. I cannot wait to make my own. You can to by clicking here.

This most adorable lady bug pouch was made by yet another crafty Michelle from Kingston even but WA not ON, this one of Falafel and the Bee. I just love the freehand sewing of the lady bug image don't you? And really, who is not a sucker for polka-dots? Satan maybe. But, if you are not Satan and you would like to make one of your very own super cute lady bug pouches click here for the tutorial.

This absolutely gorgeous number was sewn by KJ of Let's Go Fly a Kite, coincidentally another fellow Ontarian blogger. I just love the fabric don't you? And if you click here, you'll get to see some seriously fabulous robot costumes a la Dad in 1979. Totally worth the click!

And now it is your turn once again folks. Add your links. Show me what you are sketching, sewing, baking, gluing, painting, roasting and/or building. I am hoping to add a new tutorial this afternoon. Until then, I'll add a couple from the archives. Also, I have buttons that would be fabulous to share but don't feel like it is a requirement for playing along. Cheers and happy crafting!


     
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Proactive Crafting Meets Proactive Publishing = Nuno Magazine

Just about a year ago, I came across this post via Wardrobe Refashion and I began following Elizabeth Abernathy's blog  (formerly known as Absynthe & Orange). I have been reading her blog full of retro crafts from scanned pages of vintage magazines, great refashion tutorials like this gorgeous Obi Style belt and features of indy crafters. Elizabeth's blog (Now a website.) has always had a very cool aesthetic, you know like that hip artist that you don't think you're hip enough to talk to? You know the sort I mean. But instead, she is a generous crafter with a passion for both creating and repurposing.

Enter Nuno Magazine. This proactive crafter has gone the extra mile and published the first edition of a brilliant magazine. The first issue is aptly named Forest (for the inspiration and materials it gives) and it is part e-book, part craft magazine and all awesome this E-zine is a whopping 150 ad free pages! Full of gorgeous photography, ideas and instructions for execution of thirty projects Nuno magazine delivers a feast for the eyes and the idea books(Seriously, you'll want to get out your scratchpad for this). And for a mere five USD this wonderful E-zine can be yours!

For your hard earned five dollars you get wonderful how to's for projects like;

These wonderful puppets made from natural and repurposed materials. (This was the project that convinced me to buy the issue.)

This knitted fern pillow makes me wish I could knit. Seriously, I love it so much I might pay someone to knit it for me.

And seriously, woolen rock rings. That is all I am saying because I really want you to buy this issue.

The magazine is a collaborative effort between Elizabeth and her sister and her husband and their efforts are much appreciated. And I am already looking forward to the next issue!

If you would like a sneak peak at some of the projects you can visit the Nuno magazine website or check out a twenty page preview that is also good for three complete projects with photos, instructions and patterns. So if you can't spare the fiver, you can at least get a taste of what you're missing. But, I think that five dollars is a small price to pay to help support both independent publications and a fellow eco friendly crafter.

So get out your toilet paper rolls and wool sweaters, go for a gorgeous summer day walk and collect some pretty pebbles and sit down with this magazine and a mug of your favourite fair trade-shade grown-organic coffee and be inspired by both the forest and Elizabeth Abernathy.

Wednesday on Wednesday

Slushies with Daddy, originally uploaded by Cara.Mia.

This is one of Wednesday's favourite things to do...get slushies with her dad and then hang out and drink them outside.

My Crafty Weekend : Monday, August 8th

Hello fello crafters! How was your weekend? Super fun? Super crafty? Supercalifragalisticexpealidocious?! Awesome! Mine, well, thankfully I made the previously posted earring on a Friday morning, because by friday night I was in no fit shape to craft! And Saturday, oh my goodness. Let's just say I have a wonderful Mister who instead of rubbing my nose in it, chooses to help me through it...no matter how self inflicted it may be. There I said it.

But, I do have some previously crafted (during my quasi-blogging-haitus)goodies to show you.



It is hard to craft for little boys sometimes. Thankfully, I knew this little boy had a kitchen that he loved to play with. So I made him 'Breakfast for Two' (I made everything in the picture in duplicate) so that he and his mama could have some fun together.
You can see toast and jam, pancakes and syrup, and even some vegan friendly eggs bacon! It was so much fun to make and I have the patterns still so if anyone would like a quick tute and the patterns just let me know in the comment section or you can email me.

Now, what have YOU been up to you crafty little minxes? I am trying to catch up and stay atop of these things, but summer is not yet over, in fact as I type this Wednesday is asking me to please go for a walk. So, I'll just add the appropriate links and let you do the rest!

   
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How To : Peacock Feather Earrings

Good evening folks! I am trying to get a head start on this week's posts. So, I thought I would share my tutorial tonight, and we could do My Crafty Weekend tomorrow! Right on! Okay, on to the good stuff.

I made these earring last week for a family member's birthday. I had been itching to make a pair for awhile and her birthday was the perfect oportunity to try out my idea. And I have to say, it worked smashingly.

Would you like to make a pair for yourself? You would? Wonderful! I will share with you how it is done.
First, you must gather your supplies:
2 peacock feathers, similar in size
2 Earring hooks
2 Jump rings (I think the ones I used were 1/8" in diameter)
Mod Podge (Or white glue that dries clear)
Pliers

Once the sealer is dry they are ready to wear!~ Super simple and yet super fabulous! Thsi is normally where I would insert an action shot of myself or someone else wearing the goods but I haven't, so I guess I'll just have to make myself a pair! I can't wait!

Have fun crafting!