Pottery Kick Wheel

A great Craigs List find.
A potters wheel, an old school kick wheel but awesome just the same.

E loves it more than I do.
She could do it everyday.
Unfortunately we don't have a kiln yet so it's a bit hard to appreciate the work unfinished.
That doesn't stop little miss though.

I see great pottered bowls and such in our future.
Not for this Christmas though.
Too Bad.

Photo Prop

I love this old bike.
But I love it even more since I sprayed it blue!!

We used it in a family portrait and it now lives perched by one of our old apple trees by the garden.

Simple Fabric Crafting

Fun fabrics that I never seem to use because I save them for a "special" project.
Well I never have found that "special" project and I always seem to find more awesome fabrics so I decided to put my stash to work.

Cork trivets I bought at Ikea and I covered them with fabric and hot glue gunned it in place.
Using velcro stickers I adhered them to my wall in the craft room without messing up my walls and they are non-commital so I can change them up or get rid of them as I chose.

Then I took all my favourite pieces and cut out, stitched up and stuck on them on the table for napkins.
Perfect way to show off and use my lovely fabrics.
And they wash up perfectly and are just the right size for my napkin holder!!

With the smaller bits in my scrap book I made coasters for the kitchen table.
Love these, they help keep the school work dry from the condensation of the drinks accumulated during a morning session.

Tea Time

I love teas!!
I especially love good teas!!
I buy tea it seems wherever I go and have never been disappointed.
Davids Tea delivers.
This is a great thing in my world.

And I love this little yellow clock that sits patiently in my sewing room.
Its a simple love affair with a simple object.
I hope this becomes an heirloom in our family.
Tacky? Maybe, but I do!

Quick Crafts

Kids had fun with this old style craft idea.
I nailed a bunch of tiny nails into a shape, in this case a heart and gave each kid a spool of thread and let them mind it any way they chose.
Turned out to be a lovely travelling craft, works well in the car as its clean and doesn't need any supervision.

The next day we took some tin beer bottles someone left in our recycling.
We glued patterns and designs on and let set (although next time I think I will try the hot glue gun instead).
Once all dried I spray painted them.
That's it, that's all!!!

pyrex bowls and green glass love

I feel very nostalgic lately.
I love the vintage stuff.
A garage sale I hit up 2 weeks ago had a box full of green glass ware.
Some old, some older, some retro knock offs, but all cool just the same.
E has taken to filling every thing in our house with flowers, greenwares not off limits.

Then I was spoiled with a gift from a sweet dear friend as a thank you for minding her children for a night.
A wicked set of red Pyrex bowls.
How cool are these!?!
Can't wait for BBQ's so I can show these off.

Nightstand Re-do

K wanted, and needed, a night stand for her new room.
Since she has a white theme going on, the table had to be white.
This was actually harder to find than I thought.
Especially under $100.

I ended up taking her to the thrift store.
For $5.99 we found this amazing table, it was brown and ugly, but I could see it's potential.

SO out came the paint box from the shop.
I taught K how to prep (although I ended up prepping it) and together we painted it.
She did most of the work and was so proud of herself.

Now she has her ideal white nightstand, made to perfection.
She is one happy pre-tween.

Not so Tacky Thrift-Store Idea

As seen on Pinterest, Martha Stewart and many more sites, these necklace redo's are quick and fashionably sweet.
Take any funky, cool necklace and fold in half.
Tie ribbon on each side and bingo bango!
New up-to- date jewellery for your spring wardrobe.
Great gift ideas as well.

(Another) Tacky Thrift-store Craft

Ok?!
So who hasn't seen these tacky record bowls?
Again, I could not resist the "I did that" factor for this one.
Oven.
LP.
Bowl.
Thats it.
And now I have 2 tacky plastic bowls that I will have to pawn off.
I do know a music teacher that may find these cute for her classroom?!!!

For Forks Sakes!!

I keep seeing these fork crafts and think it's kinda kitschy but kinda funny at the same time.
For 10 cents at the thrift store it is a rather low investment so who cares if they turn out or not.
Or if I'll ever use them or not.
They are neat as coat hooks though.
This is how far I got so far and it may just be as far as I ever get.
But now I can say, "I have done that!", as if anybody would ever care.

Recycled Music

A thrifty recycled craft session and we had our own little band.
Tin can lid castanets and wooden dowel rhythm sticks.
Decorate and play.
Easy enough and a winner with the kids.

More Tire Tube Creations

I am always carrying my cellphone, key and debit card around.
I made a small tote with a key holder in the back and a little card pocket inside as well.
This is a perfect solution for me.
Can't wait to use it.

Then I tried my hand at a wallet.
It was a bit tricky but I figured it out.
This is the prototype, I think the ideas going to work.

Re-Cycling Bike Tubes.... to Make Purses!!

I am so excited to show you this.

I saw someones messenger bag... made from bike tubes.
                                         I freaked at the potentials!!

Lucky for me old friend of mine owns a bike store.
He willingly gave me a huge box of blown tubes destined for the trash.

I see a whole lot of rubber projects in my future!!

First I cut them open and cut out the valve stem.

I washed and rinsed a few to get the white smelly powder off, 

Then hung them on the line to dry off.

(The smell is almost all gone.)

                       I took a tube and cut it into 3 pieces and just started sewing.

I had no real plan but knew that something would take shape once I started sewing.
After a couple broken needles testing out how thick I could go, I got a good grasp on it.

                                               I decided I would sew a simple clutch first.
                     Something I could use right away and a project to showcase the potentials!!

                                             I am so happy and bursting with ideas!! 
                                       This is the start of a long love affair with re-using rubber.

 This clutch has a simple pocket inside for little extras that I always seem to tote around.

                                    This proves that recycling can definitely be feminine too!!

Re-cycling Crafts-Beer/Soda Can Bracelets

 This idea comes courtesy of of Pinterest.......again!!
http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/11/cool-at-home-project-soda-pop-can-bracelets/


 I feel kinda awkward but the only cans I found in our recycling were cider/beer cans.
But the colours are pretty for a bracelet.

Pop cans might be more sturdy, not too sure, but these worked quite well anyways.
I cut the top and bottom off and split it up the centre to start.

 Then I shaped it into the fashion of cuff I wanted and left 2 centimetres on each side to allow for folding over.

                                              Its not as sharp as you think it would be.
I easily bent the edges over with my finger tips then crimped down with pliers for a tight edge.

 I bent the edges over once more which made the cuff a bit more rigid and again this was quite easy to do.
The tin is very pliable, forgiving and easy to work with.
Crimp one more time for crisp edging.
Mine is not sharp in any way.

I think I will try to embroider on some beads and bling but for today this is a good enough start.
This might be a difficult  craft for kids to do unattended.

Re-purposed Trays into Chalkboards

 A cheap, quick and really effective way to spruce up dull, old school/craft trays.
A can of black spray chalkboard paint and fresh, bright cans of spray Rustoleum paint.

Spray even coats, I did 3 for good measure.
Then let the sun cured them in a few hours.

Loving the results.

A pretty chalkboard for schooling.
And 2 colourful trays for everything from beans, beads and magnetic things for learning.
Makes teaching fun!!

SaturDay Crafting

Buttons are so wonderful to work with.
Easy for the kids to handle, cheap and colourful.
Today we made a bunch of the recently popular button bracelets.
The girls love them and made with elastic string making them easy to put on and off.

Another popular thing lately is feathers.
Feather earrings are one of those things the girls keep asking for but I just can't bring myself to spend $15 on.
Not when I made these for under $2.

Today in our World

Can't tell if this is too grandma'ish or really nice.
I have yet to find it's "place" but think it will be perfect when it is found.

Many times I have walked past buskers or been at a park and heard people relaxing rhythmically to the playing of their drums.

Sharing with the world their passion and skills.

I am always drawn to the sound and the beat makes my soul nod with appreciation and joy.

Often I catch my feet tapping, my hips swaying.

There is something primal and simple about drumming.

The beat, the rhythm, the sounds.

Unfortunately I have never been all that musically inclined.

Mind you I have never really invested the time either.

When I saw this drum the other day I knew it was meant for me.

My hands patted it , my eyes instantly closed and I felt solice in its sound.

I am trying hard to learn, to teach myself the basics.

I would love to take a class, or 100.

Maybe join a drum circle and feel my beat harmonizing with like minded people.

The kids love it too and it will be a joyful part of our household for years to come.

Until I become really good, enough to share with the masses the girls and I are jamming with these new instruments and are having plenty of fun ourselves.

Forget the sheet music.

Okay, What do you think about this guy?

I love his '70's charm and cheapness.

He is the epitome of tackiness and I boldly and proudly placed him on the dining room table.

I know he will attract a lot of humorous attention.

But nobody dis him.....he is mine.

Did I mention he is a napkin holder as well.

Oh Yeah!!!

Our new neighbours (the tenants in our trailer) are fabulous and the kids have taken on like siblings.

The boys wanted a few of the lavender/chamomile eye pillows that they saw we had, so they picked out some fabric and were delighted to give one of them to their mom.

Nice boys to think of their mom.

We also made bath salts and came up with a smart idea of sewing some reusable baggies.

This way the lavender and herbs won't clog the tub and there is no waste.

Smart and fabulous.

I found this little sign and couldn't resist it.

Words sometimes say it all.

A sure sign that fall is under way.

This morning out came the toques (this one lovingly made by B) and the scarves I just made them last week.

We spent hours doing fall clean up in the garden and enjoying the coolness of the day.