Button Wreaths

My sister Sue and I got out the button jar today and made these little button wreaths for the Christmas tree.

 

The only supplies needed were BUTTONS, chenille stick, ribbon and cord.  This was the mess, and the quality of the photo is bad, because we were sitting outside in the sunshine crafting.

 

 

You can finish off each wreath differently .. a couple of examples are:

 

With just a bow

 

 

Or with a accent button

 

 

Lots of fun, and a good use of your button jar.

 

Judy

 

 

 

Paper Straw Tree Ornaments

I received an email from one of my suppliers with this cute little project for Christmas. 

Paper Straw Christmas Tree Ornaments.

 

I had the supplies required, so I decided to give them a go ... quick and easy and I think an ideal project for older children.

 

For each tree you require, 1 1/2 paper straws, 1/2 chenille stick, 7 pony beads, 1 star bead, and a little piece of cord for the hanger.

 

As I could not find any green paper straws, I thought I would try it with plastic straws.  The colours are not as deep, however it certainly does work the same.

 

 

This is a start on my handmade Christmas tree decorations for 2013

 

 

Click on the "suppliers" link above for the instructions to make these little trees.

 

Judy

Halloween Pegs

A quick and easy Halloween craft for you

 

Place some Halloween themed or coloured washi tape on one side of your wooden pegs.  Then using stickers, glue them to the top of the pegs.

 

I have used some free graphics, and my apologies to the originator as I downloaded them a few years ago, and I cannot remember where from.  I just printed them on cardstock, punched them out and then glued them to the top of the pegs.

 

These can now be used to close off treat bags, place a magnet on the back and place on the fridge to hold your children's Halloween projects.  Easy and many uses.

 

 

Judy

 

Orange Sculptures at Griffith

Every year thousands of people head to Griffith NSW to view these citrus sculptures.  The 3D sculptures are created using more than 100,000 oranges and the same number of rubber bands to hold the fruit in place.  My sister Sue and I were one of the many visitors yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Each day the volunteers replace any damaged fruit.  It really is a most impressive and unique display.  I think my favourite is the Kentucky Chicken display - it was huge.

 

This is my first attempt at using Picaso to generate a collage and I wonder why I have not used this free software before?  It was so simple to use, although I should probably straighten each photo in the collage!

 

What did you get up to at the weekend?

 

Judy

Did you know I am a "GREAT" Aunt?

I love being called Great Aunt Judith, doesn't that conjure up a ancient old lavender smelling person that you have to visit and let kiss you ... it gives me quite a giggle that these two little rascals call me "Great Aunt Judith"

These two are my eldest sisters', youngest sons' children, Clay & Brooke

Ann (my sister) has dressed them up for a 1920's birthday party, and she sent me the photos which I had to share.

 

 

Don't they look adorable?

 

 

Lots of new products being ordered for my online store for Christmas, so I am being busy, although I would love to take time to make something for Halloween.

 

Judy  (aka Great Aunt Judith)

 

 

Pink Ribbon Gifts and Birthday Party

As mentioned in my last post, I finished off my guests pink ribbon gifts .. now I am not going to show you what I made until after the dinner as I know a couple follow my blog, he he

The first photo is a easy one - Pink Ribbon Water Bottles

All I have done is here, is printed out the pink ribbon graphics, and just wrapped it around the bottle. I think it looks effective.

Next is the mystery bag of gifts

I can tell you there are three little gifts inside these cute pink candy striped bags tied off with pink tulle.

All Done ...

Then last weekend, we went to Tumut to celebrate my nephew Thomas's 9th birthday.  I have to tell you after playing a game of soccer with the family, I am absolutely sure I am not as young as I used to be ... boy, I ached the next day, and that is not just because I had football stud marks in my ankles, ouch!

  

Close-up of the cake, I did not feel at all guilty having a slice with all that fruit on top .. it was delicious.

Until next time

Judy

Busy, busy, busy

I have eventually found time to get back and update my blog.  Life at the moment is extremely busy.
My Red Carpet Market Day was extremely successful, not just for myself but for all staff holders, which was fantastic.  It was very well promoted, and I think this is one of the reasons it was so successful.

The annual Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer dinner is coming up, and luckily I have finished the 120 small gifts for all the participants.  Little mystery boxes... I know what is inside, do you?

 

Now all that is left to make is the little thank you gifts for my table of guests. I have all the supplies ready and I have dedicated this weekend, to getting them all finished.

 

 

Do you see that little rotary cutter in the bottom left hand side of the photo.  It is one that I had in my online store, and it is the most fantastic cutter for paper.  It also means that I do not grab my fabric cutter by mistake. 

 

The Pink Ribbon dinner is being held the same weekend that I have a trade table at a Quilt Exhibition in Ganmain, so I will have to be extremely organised to be able to attend both functions.  I will have all the pink ribbon gifts finalised this weekend (fingers crossed) and then spend next week getting product organised for the Quilt Exhibition.

 

The following weekend, I will be in Tumut, with my nephew celebrating his 9th birthday, they are growing up so quickly, and I adore spending time with them.

 

Then the next weekend is the Pink Ribbon dinner as well as the Quilt Exhibition, so you can see the reason I have to be organised, and can I also use this as an excuse for not updating my blog?

 

I know it is not really an excuse, as everyone leads such busy lives, but the time just seems to be moving quicker than normal lately

 

Have a great weekend

Judy

Leeton Red Carpet Market Day

 

I am getting excited about this market, lots of great stall holders.

 

 

AND a giveaway as well - local participants only unfortunately.

 

It is getting close - I hope to see you there.  It means that I had better get organised.

Judy

Magnet Necklaces

Remember this pack from yesterday?  They are actually magnets!

 

                          

 

Well look at them now?

 

 

They have been made up into the cutest little necklaces.  This is so easy to do, that it would be an ideal craft to organise for a child's party.

 

The magnets are already flat on the back, and sealed, so all you need to do, is glue a bail on the back of each magnet

 

 

Be patient, and wait for the glue to dry, and then  just thread a ball chain through

 

 

 

 

 

Did you happen to recognise the pictures on the front of all these magnets/pendants?

They are the symbols that you find on your "Apple" device, eg iPhone, iPad

 

I love how they turned out

 

Judy

Making a Start!

I have made a start on my handmade products for the upcoming Red Carpet Market in Leeton

I finished two little notepad holders .. yes that is all, however it is a start(!)

 

I especially love the colours of the blue and brown one.  Here is the inside, with a little pen already placed in the pocket

 

 

They are so quick and easy to make.  See original post here with link to instructions

 

I then made my sister Sue, a bag by recycling a pillowcase. 

 

 

There is no wastage in this bag, and it is quite strong as it is lined by doubling the fabric back inside.

The original post can be seen here

 

This is what I am working on now, can you guess what I am going to do with these?

 

 

A hint, it will be a great children's craft project.

 

Until tomorrow, when I have completed photos to show you

 

Judy

Fabulous weekend

I had a fabulous weekend away, visiting friends in Yass NSW.  The drive down was beautiful with the wattle trees giving a beautiful show of colour along the highway, and with the canola crops displaying fields of yellow.  A fabulous time of the year.

A lot of chatting, eating, laughing, crying, and a little bit of drinking was on the agenda for the weekend.
It is always nice to catch up with friends especially when they live away from you ...I know I came back home refreshed and ready to start a new week.

Not a lot on the craft side, however I hope to have some things to show you shortly.

Just a note about a couple of shows, markets that I will be participating in:-

Saturday, September 28th - Red Carpet Market Day - Leeton Visitors Centre - 9:00am - 2:00pm
Only handmade goodies for sale, this market will be featuring regional crafts and also the Junee     Licorice Factory will be visiting (yummy).  Is it too early to have some of my Christmas items for sale?

Saturday, October 26th - Ganmain Quilt and Craft Fair - 9:30am - 4:30pm
I will have my buttons, patterns and craft supplies for sale as well as some handmade items
   
If you are in the area, pop along and say Hi!

Hope you all had a great weekend as well

Take care
Judy

Little Finishes

 

A couple of little finishes for today

Lavender Eye Pillow and two notepad holders

 

Cute fabric used on these notepad holders, and this time I used the same fabric for the inside pocket as I used for the outside. 

 

 

 

The new lavender eye pillow was a necessity for myself for my yoga classes.  My old one seemed to be a little short across the eyes, so I made a new one.

 

I did not make a removable cover for this one, see previous post here, I just used a cotton fabric for the top and then a satin fabric for the reverse.  This feels really great against the eyes.

 

 

 

The remaining Rat Trap is still waiting to be finished.  I cannot seem to find the right embellishments for the look I am after.  Maybe this weekend?

 

Hope you are having a great week

Judy

Rat Trap - Altered

Do you see objects when you are shopping, and think "I can do something with that?"  I seem to do it all the time ... I was in a shop purchasing some notepads when I saw this packet of Rat Traps

 

I had some notepads in my hand at the time, and thought - Notepad Holders!

 

 

Can you see it, the snap, used to hold the notepad securely - easy to access

 

I removed a couple of the fittings, and just left the spring and snap.  Then I base coated it, just in case the rat graphic showed through the paper.

 

 

The paper I chose to cover it with, has a fabric type feel, and in the retro 1950 style ..I just used mod podge to glue it down and then sanded the edges.

 

 

I painted the edges black, and then attached some very strong magnets to the back .. I think I overdid it with the magnets, but it certainly will not fall off the fridge

 

 

 

Now to take it into the house for the test on the fridge - all good! 

It looks great just by itself without anything clipped onto it, nice piece of art of the fridge

 

 

Add the notepad to the clip

 

 

 

 

It will also be great to hold artwork, invitations, bills, reminders etc

 

 

 

Now I have one more rat trap left, and I am going to try a totally different look for this one.. same principle but maybe a vintage look with lace, or a floral one with artificial flowers ... I will see where it takes me.

 

Have a great weekend

Judy 

Where have the days gone?

I cannot believe that I have not updated my blog at all this month, and it is already the 15th?
What have I been doing, you may ask?  Well to be truthful, not much! Obviously... although that is not entirely true, as the online store has been keeping me very busy.

I did get a chance to make a couple of little Notepad holders, based on a tutorial from "The Art of Homemaking"

 

This was the first one I made (for myself) - as you look at the photos, try and see an obvious mistake.

 

The inside contains a little pocket for a pen or business cards or coupons and two elastic loops to slide your notepad through

 

 

I did fix the problem after these photos were taken, however with the next set, see if you can find it?

 

Another one was made for my sister, Sue

 

 

The inside

 

 

Did you notice the difference, yes the loop was on the wrong side on the original one.  I was trying too hard to ensure that the printing was the right way up ... oops

 

The original instructions were for a 4" x 8" notepad, and the ones I had on hand were 3" x 5" so a little bit of playing was required to ensure I got the sizing right.

I have already put mine to use, and I love the convenience of it ... more little gifts to add to my gift box.

 

I hope to make a couple more very soon

Judy