How Have I Never Blogged About These?

I cannot believe I neglected to mention these. Several months ago (maybe even a year prior) a friend had a birthday. Low on budget, but wanting to bring a gift, I made one of my first jewelry revamps. I also made really cute wrapping (and protective packaging) out of a nice pill package, two pieces of decorative paper and some left over tissue. (You have to love a festive upcycle).

The greatest upcycle trick is all the wonderful things you can do with scraps. Look at the "bow" I made with them. In the bottom picture, you can check out the gift tag I made with a larger scrap. Just punch a whole in it, write your message, and use a metallic twist tie.

As for the bracelet, you can find the tutorial here.

Sticking to It

I recently made some magnets for my friend, M. They were like the My Little Pony magnets I made last year, only I used glass pebbles and origami. I met M in Japan, so the origami felt quite appropriate.

Wrapping them was a challenge. I wanted them to look nice when opened, but the gift was going to be shipped across the country. They were going to end up all over the place in the box while shipping.

 I tried using 3M Removable Mounting Squares to affix them to cotton lining the box. They stayed put nicely, but still fell if I turned the box upside down.

I glued the cotton lining to the box next. Perfect. Much to my surprise, even when I flipped the box upside down, the magnets did not move.

They're not falling!

This is my Martha Stewart moment. Wrapping this presentably and functionally may have been my finest crafting move yet. (Of course, I will never attain Martha's level of perfection, but trying is a good thing).

Nail Art is Hard

Bert and Grover

This is my first try at character nail art. I have not painted since elementary school. Moreover, I have the tiniest nails imaginable; not a great canvas. As such, I am thrilled they turned out as well as they did, especially considering it was my first time making the effort.

•Bert and Grover turned out the best. Oscar was decent, too.
•Ernie did not work out... at all. He's a sad mix or orange and black smudges on my pinky (situated next to Bert).
•Snuffy was less of a disaster, but not photo worthy.
•Cookie Monster actually turned out well, but I did not get a great photo. I was especially pleased with Cookie since that sweet-toothed devil is on my right hand. (Quite hard to do this with my left).
 •Poor Big Bird never got past the idea stage.
 •I got Telly's features correctly, but he ended up looking more like Mimi from the Drew Carrey Show.
 •And to my surprise, Kermit actually ended up looking pretty okay, too, especially for my right hand.


         

Oscar

If I am not saying "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" like a Muppet, why did I post my work? Here is the lesson: sometimes, when starting a new hobby, whether it's crafting, learning a new instrument or what-have-you, we are unsatisfied with the results. So it goes. It is a challenge, but keep working at it. This serves as a reminder.
I hope to get back to all of you with better looking character nails                                          in a few months. I will try to work out a few other things, too.

Kermie!

10 Minute Necklace

  I had a few agate beads left after making my agate beaded stretch bracelet. What could I do with 3 beads? I made a great necklace. It probably took me less than 10 minutes, and I love the result. Simply thread the beads on the cord, knot them on either side, then do a simple slip knot in lieu of a clasp. It is a great solution to a few leftover beads. Try it when you have a material surplus!

Store Launched!

I'm on Etsy! :D

I am so excited to announce that I have created an Etsy store! If you liked the items in Beaded Peaces, you can find them there. I will be adding more in time. Thank you so much for continuing to read my adventures in crafting.

Shop Link

Beaded Peaces

 I found these little peace tags and had to work with them. I love having an armload of bracelets, especially during spring and summer. They are perfect for the ever returning bohemian aesthetic. Now if only spring would come back to us...

Ring Around the Washi

I have a lot of ribbon tape. The little individual rolls are messy to store once you have opened them. I found a brilliant revamp online recently. I cannot find the link, but someone had taken a multi-rung pant hanger and used it for their ribbon tape/washi tape collection. I was in awe.

When I could not find a budget-friendly pant hanger and did not have one somewhere in my own house, I decided to see what I could throw together. The results were wonderful. First, I sought out shower curtain rings. The cheapest ones I could find at Target were $1.24. I nearly bought them, but decided to check Dollar Tree instead. I thought that saving 24 cents would not be worth my time. I was wrong. They must have been having a close out, because the same type of shower curtain rings I almost bought for $1.24 at Target were 1 cent. That's right, I saved 124%.

The result did not look as nice as if I had used a multi-tiered pant hanger, so if price is no object, get one of those. They are still not very expensive. If you want something functional which costs as little as possible (only a penny in my case) this works very well. It is functional and space saving, and now, safely in my closet.