French Mood Purse

The fabric embellishment on this "French Mood" purse is so beautiful, I had to feature it for future inspiration for myself and other sewers who love to create new fabric from scraps and those who love to create unique purses.

The link to the original article does not include a tutorial, just lots of inspiration through photos.

Click here to go to the article!

How to Make Bead Dangle Embellishments

Fabric embellishment along with beading is one of the most therapeutic things that I have found to do.  A "Manic Monday" was always a good time to get behind the sewing machine and manipulate fabric or take that fabric and bead it.  Seems like the days that were the most stressful were the days I created my most beautiful pieces of fabric.

If you are not familiar with fabric embellishment, basically it is anything that adds design interest to a piece of fabric, done by sewing machine or by hand. There are so many techniques that I can't go into this one post.

The fabric pieces can be included in any type of sewing project, even a piece of artwork to hang in the living room.  

My favorite type of fabric embellishment is using denim, lace, rhinestones and beads.  Many of my designs were used as appliques for t-shirts, jeans jackets, purses, tote bags . . . yes, the possibilities are limited by your imagination!

Most of my creations were already sold, but I do have some left in the storage shed that has a big tree limb on it, so I can't get to them and don't know if they survived the accident . . . along with so many other treasures and supplies. Honestly, I'm afraid to know . . . but that is another blog post!  They were sold in my retail boutique and not online, so I unfortunately have no photos :(

Linda's blogs, starting with Love to Sew takes you into the world of fabric embellishment and manipulation.  Her work is exquisite!  It is an awesome place to discover the creative world that I love so much.

Click here to go to the tutorial on how to make beaded dangles for your creations.

DIY Rhinestone Statement Necklace

I'm back with another DIY jewelry project from Rebecca at My Girlish Whims.

Love her creations!

She made this gorgeous necklace with new jewelry components, but, as usual, you can use broken jewelry that needs new life which is what I love to do.  I have some beautiful new vintage stock cabochons that would look awesome mixed with some rhinestones.

Click here for the tutorial.

DIY Jeweled Clear Clutch

How cute is this blingy clutch??  I love it!!

When I first saw this jeweled beauty, I thought that it would make a very cute case for a laptop, notebook, Kindle, etc.  Seems like it would be easy to change the pattern in Naoko Asano's tutorial.

I love bling so much and especially love the jeweled piece!

Click here for the photo tutorial and lots more photos!

Hubcap Flowers Yard Art . . . Awesome DIY Recycle Project

Love this recycling yard art project!

I'd love to mix the pops of color in my garden from the different flower yard art DIY projects I have been finding online lately.

At first glance, you would never guess these are hubcaps.  I'm guessing they are easy to find relatively inexpensively.  You pull-em salvage car parts businesses come to mind.

Click here for the awesome tutorial to make these beautiful Hubcap Flowers.

Click here for another blog post featuring many examples of DIY Yard Art Flowers made from various materials with lots of ideas and inspiration.  Very interesting . . . love these type of blogs!

Pearl and Rhinestone Leather Bracelet

Bev at Flamingo Toes has come up with another awesome beaded bracelet design!

As with all jewelry designs, you can use new or vintage components or a combination of both.  Vintage rhinestones is my favorite and I have boxes and boxes of components and broken jewelry that I can use for these type of bracelets.  Can't wait to start creating!

I have some ideas for coming up with a different base for the bracelet instead of leather.  Keep checking my blog . . . I'm almost ready to start getting creative again.

Thanks Bev!  You can go to her tutorial for this bracelet here.  Check out the rest of her blog while you are there . . . she is amazingly creative :)

DIY Beaded Wrapped Bracelets

I love these beaded wrapped bracelets that I've been seeing all over the internet for quite some time.  

There is a huge amount of purple suede wider cording sitting in my craft room that has been in need of a project for so long.  It was part of a barter trade I made at least a decade ago . . . I have lots of that kind of stuff hanging around my craft room.  Anyway . . . I think it would make beautiful bracelets with a bit wider cord including some bigger beads for something different.

When I found this tutorial on Life of Charmings, I thought it was time to get serious about what to do with that purple cord!

Happy beading!

DIY J. Crew Necklace

WOW Lots of inspiration here!

Do you love the trendy statement necklaces, but hate price tag that can be as high as a couple of hundred dollars?  Here you go . . . some inspiration and a tutorial on how to make one for a fraction of the price!

Get out those boxes of broken vintage jewelry and design away :)

Click here to visit the tutorial at Style on Target . . . you won't be sorry!

Potholder/Oven mitt

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Pot holders and oven mitts are one of the best projects for using up fabric scraps.  I don't know about you, but I can never have enough pot holders . . . they seem to disappear.

They also make great gifts when matched with coordinating napkins and placemats.

Don't you know I love using denim for these projects . . . so durable and strong!

I love the website About.com for learning how to do just about anything . . . click here for their tutorial!

DIY Glass Garden Flowers

Love this colorful recycling concept for the garden from Birds and Blooms.

Having said that . . . I am cringing at the thought of using vintage glassware that I love so much!! 

What I would do is visit dollar stores and use inexpensive glassware to convert to make these beauties.

Click here for instructions on assembly and painting glassware.

Recycled plastic flowers

What a colorful statement for your garden!

I love those recycling projects that have such a pretty use.

This project comes from Birds and Blooms, one of my favorite magazines. Check out their website for more projects, gardening and birding tips.

MATERIALS:

• 2 or 3 same-size plastic soda bottles
• Waterproof permanent adhesive
• Gloss spray paint for plastics
• Small scrap of Styrofoam block
• Scrap of colored foam for backing
• 3/8-in.-wide x 24-in.-long wooden dowel rod
• Opaque permanent paint markers
• Paper-backed duct tape sheets (optional)
• Scissors or craft knife for bottle trimming
• Flexible ruler

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1

Wash the bottles and let dry. Use a flexible ruler and permanent marker to make an even circular line as a cutting guide about 1/3 of the way down from the tops. Cut and discard top portion of bottles, keeping the bottoms to make the flowers.

STEP 2

Place bottles upside down on scraps of cardboard or newspaper in a well-ventilated area. Stand the dowel rod in the Styrofoam block to make it easier to paint. Following manufacturer’s instructions, spray-paint exterior of bottles and dowel rod. Apply as many coats as needed for complete coverage. Let dry and remove the rod from the Styrofoam.

STEP 3

Using a permanent marker and flexible ruler, lightly mark sections evenly around perimeter of each bottle for flower petals. For small bottles, mark about every 1 in.; for larger bottles, mark about every 2-1/2 to 3 in. Use scissors or a craft knife to cut vertical slits on marks, making several flower petals. Stop cutting each slit at the ridged base of bottle bottom. If desired, trim ends of petals into rounded shapes.

STEP 4

Bend the petals forward so they’re at right angles to the center of the flower (the bottle bottom), creasing each one at the ridged base of the bottom. If needed, bend and press firmly several times until the petals stay in place.

STEP 5

Using permanent adhesive, attach the bottles by stacking bottoms with petals outward. Stagger the placement of petals. For inner bottles, bottoms may have to bend slightly to fit inside outer bottle. Let adhesive dry.

STEP 6

If desired, cut a 1-1/2- to 2-in. strip of duct tape to fit the perimeter of the top flower’s center. Decorate the center of the flower using the paint markers.

STEP 7

Attach the dowel rod. For larger stacked bottles, cut small crisscross slits through the side of the middle bottle. For smaller stacked bottles, cut a small V-shape slit from the back edge of the last bottle. Put one end of dowel rod through slit, running it across the width of the bottle bottom until it meets the opposite inner side. Use permanent adhesive to glue dowel rod in place at both sides. Let adhesive dry.

STEP 8

Cut a circular piece of colored foam slightly larger than the opening on back of flower and secure it with glue around the edges. Let it dry.

Stick your soda bottle flower a few inches into the dirt, indoors or out. No need to water it!

Felt Crafts

These cute little felt bookmarkers were on Pinterest with a link to a blog that is open to invited readers only. They have provided me with tons of inspiration . . . especially for hair accessories.


Here are more cute felt crafts for your crafting inspiration.  They happen to come from a website that also sells supplies for felt crafts.  Click here to go there.

Here is a cute idea for making hair accessories.  Click here to go to the tutorial.

Another website that features lots of felt flowers!  Click here.

What a cute craft!  I love the simplicity of their cuteness :)

DIY Beaded Dangle Necklace

Rebecca at the blog My Girlish Whims has the most gorgeous jewelry designs I have ever seen!  It was such a treat to discover her blog :)

I just love this beaded necklace!  It would be very easy to make a bracelet and earrings to match.  How about a beaded hair barrette?  You are limited by your imagination!

Rebecca made this necklace from new materials, however, like any other DIY jewelry piece you make, it is up to you . . . I would love to use old jewelry I already have that need repurposing.

Click the button to go to the tutorial.  
If you are like me, you will get lost in Rebecca's blog!

DIY Mod Podge Closet Hangers

You all know how much I love Mod Podge . . . one of the greatest crafty inventions ever!

Here is another awesome idea that I would love to do for my closet . . . but I need to organize it first, so I will be procrastinating for sure.  

Virginia from the blog Live Love DIY came up with an ingenious project for those ugly wooden closet hangers.  She even color coordinated them to match her painted furniture!

Click here for the tutorial.

Grocery Store Bag Storage

Love this recycled tin can painted to hold grocery bags!

Grocery bags can get so out of control and I really hate throwing them away since they will definitely get used.  There are several methods I already use to keep them under control.

They stuff nicely into toilet paper or paper towel rolls.  Easy to store too!

Turn your fabric scraps into drawstring bags.  One large sized bag will hold lots of grocery bags!

The painted can is of interest to me since I love those coordinated painted projects.

Bonnie Donahue has lots of other tips for under-the-sink storage and organization.  Click here for the original post with instructions for making the painted can.

Spice Storage Solution

I've found solutions to our spice storage dilemma and guess what . . . the spices are still disorganized in a large box, making it a nightmare when looking for a particular spice.  Not good for cooks who love to cook spicy foods.

They are actually pencil drawer holders and can be found here or they can probably be found at the dollar store.  I like how they fit in a small space.  Perfect for spices!

Ashley at Domestic Imperfection reorganized her whole pantry . . . click here to see the whole project.

Rich Layers of Color . . . Awesome Painting Techniques

I'm almost speechless . . . this is my kind of furniture finish!!

It is amazing what you can do with some paint to put new life into an old piece of furniture.  All you need is imagination, some basic knowledge of painting techniques and the creativity to come up with your own techniques.  After all, it is only paint, right?

This awesome project comes from Shizzle-Design.com . . . click on the link for their tutorial on this painting technique.

Some facts about Shizzle Design taken from their website . . . I'm impressed and can't wait to explore their tutorials and projects!

Did you know that…

• We’ve opened up a Shizzle Design Paint Studio at 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, Michigan 49428?  This is where Cathy and I paint our furniture but we want our customers to know that we’re here for you.  We encourage everyone to stop in any time to buy paint or to get your questions answered.
• We’ve taught people from all over the United States and Canada how to paint furniture Shizzle Style using chalk and clay paints?  Join us for one of our super fun workshops.  Learn hands-on in a relaxed environment. Click Paint Workshops to see a list of current classes offered.
• You can Subscribe to Shizzle Design for tips, tutorials, ideas, pictures, videos for our furniture painted in all natural chalk and clay based mineral paints.
• Did you know that you can get these sent directly to your inbox and that it’s FREE?  It is ~ what are you waiting for?  Enter your email in the right hand column of our blog to stay in the loop.
• We have a Shizzle Design Facebook Page.  We share all sorts of additional tips, ideas, photos EVERY DAY and offer special deals (which you’ll only know about if you’ve Liked our Facebook Page).
• We have numerous Pinterest Boards  Stop in and check out our extensive portfolio ~ Pin us on Pinterest
• We sell our painted furniture at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture at 2975 West Shore Drive in Holland, Michigan
• We  sell American Paint Company Paints & Supplies our of our Shizzle Design Paint Studio (headquarters) 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI  49428 as sell as several other locations in the greater Grand Rapid’s area. Click LOCATIONS to find out where we’re located.  We also ship the paint domestically and internationally through our Online Shizzle Shop.

Ready for another project?

Beth at Make Me Pretty Again used a 

milk paint technique to give new life

 to this gorgeous french vanity.  

Love the color!!

DIY Sea Glass Jar

Love the look of sea glass on these glass jars!

The simplicity of the recycled glass jars

 and flowers is beautiful.

If you haven't already, start saving

 those glass jars for some awesome

 craft projects.

Click here for the tutorial.

Here is another tutorial!

DIY Multi-Strand Chain and Bead Necklace

What a gorgeous necklace!  With the same basic techniques you could also make earrings and bracelet to match.

The jewelry designer used new materials, but you can also make a beautiful piece of refashioned jewelry from your vintage jewelry pieces that are broken or that you are just tired of.

Click here for the tutorial with lots of photos!

DIY Coffee filter flowers

Gorgeous flowers to use in so many craft projects!

I had never looked into making flowers using coffee filters, although they are all over the internet, and was pleasantly surprised to see how easy they are to make.  Coffee filters are very inexpensive . . . imagine how many flowers you could make with just one pack!

Click here to go to Jessica's original post on her blog Two Shades of Pink.  Check out her blog for many other craft projects!

Don't know how to dye coffee filters?  

Click here for Meegan's tutorial.