Dumpster diving again!

Yup – again. And I only had to rake the neighbors yard for about 4 and a half hours to get there… With my kids… It was worth it! I got another little cart!!! I haven’t taken a picture of the one I got, but I did a little research and here is what I can tell you -

I got a REALLY GOOD DEAL!!! You know – free!!! Did you see the prices on these things? High price of $296.44 and a low price of $245.96.  OK – It needs a little major scrubbing. I can do that! I also got a couple other finds that I can show you some other time. Really, I am soooo tired. All that raking and bagging and yelling at my kids to quit being wooses really kicks my butt. (The kids were actually real troupers – just took some loud motivation from me once in a while)

Maybe I can craft tomorrow. Good night all and happy crafting!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Have a wonderful day filled with good food, family, and friends – God Bless You!

Sparkly Dove #2

Geez – this is a bad picture – but it’s been drizzly and I haven’t set up a light box yet. This dove has been painted with a metallic gold acrylic paint. Then stamped with black ink. Then glittered! The end effect looks like a glittered paper bag – ha ha! I actually like it.

 

Happy Crafting!

Sparkly Dove Ornaments

I’ve seen some dove ornaments that I really like these days. And…since I’m too cheap thrifty to purchase any I thought I’d try to make some. So I got out my pencil and paper and started drawing. And erasing. And drawing. This is the shape I came up with. (Which has been inspired by other ornaments I’ve seen as well as various clip art.)

 

Just click on the image to make it bigger, then right click on it and choose save. Then print it out in any size you want. I cut these out from chipboard (the back of a notebook would work) with scissors. Then I painted them and then coated them with glue and glitter!!! I was happy to find a use for my coarse glitter. I’ve had this glitter for years and years – always preferring to use the ultra-fine glitter. But, bigger area – bigger glitter! (And it’s less expensive!) Do you see the gray area behind the dove? Well this is the cheap thrifty way to transfer an image. I scribble all over the back with a graphite pencil and then lay the picture right side up over the chipboard and trace. My youngest son has been helping me with these ornaments. He plans to give one to his teacher for Christmas. I just cut it out for him and he happily painted, glued, and glittered to his heart’s content. I have a few (OK more than a few) hanging from the ceiling right now and they catch any little ray of light and sparkle! I’ll show you other variations in the next couple days.

I’m taking part in a craft challenge – and this is my first project. I’m a little early – but I’m sure there will be days when I don’t get anything done so it’s OK.

Happy Crafting!!

Clean your machine!!!

Let this be a warning to all of you – clean your sewing machine!!! Take a look -

Oh I know – OMG!!! This isn’t my new sewing machine – this is my original machine. I’m ashamed to say I never cleaned it properly. Oh sure I blew the dust out and ran the little brush thingy around but I never took off the throat plate and really got in there. Look closer at this -

Do you see all the crap fuzz in those feed dogs?! That is how I knew something was up. I was sewing my little draw string bags on my new machine and some of them got quite small. I couldn’t top stitch around the top because the machine was too big. Got the bright idea to try my old machine. Bingo! Just the right size. Then I wondered why the feed dogs weren’t pulling the fabric through. Even though I felt I didn’t have the time I decided to dig into the machine and give it a good cleaning. Geez. Should have thought of that a few years ago! The feed dogs were packed with fuzz. Once I pried it out and cleaned the rest up until it was fuzz free I tried to sew again. The machine works like it was/is brand new. I have to say that if that machine can take that kind of abuse and keep working it has to be a pretty good machine. It is a Brother Pacesetter by the way. I think it was $199.00 - on sale - about 5 years ago?

Here are a couple links to get you started on your cleaning -

http://sewing.about.com/od/sewingmachineindex/a/machinemaintain.htm

http://craftnectar.com/2009/03/09/spring-cleaning-for-your-sewing-machine/

By the way – I will be adding this cleaning task to the master cleaning list. I think seasonally. I’ll try to clean them more often – but at least I know it will get done seasonally! Good luck!

Easy Kid’s Art

My middle son and I had a great time cutting and gluing the other evening. It all started when I decided to start a new rule. The TV must be off until 6:00 PM. My kids get home between 2:30 and 3:30 – so this is quite a stretch of time with no TV or video games. Good! Nobody complained!!!!! Amazing. Here is what my little guy came up with -

It’s an alien. How cool! He’s excited to do it again…I can’t wait. PS: He used a magazine to make this masterpiece – cut out shapes and glued them together…

Better Picture

Aha!! I got a better picture!!!