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Monday, February 28, 2011

Follow My Friends

Today is my first Follow My Friends Feature!  I'm so excited.  Teri over at The Pursuit of Scrappyness was the first one to add her blog button, so I thought it was only fair that she gets the first feature...besides I love her blog.
    the pursuit of scrappyness

Teri is teacher by day and an avid scrapbooker and all round crafty crafter by night.  She shares examples of  scrapbooking pages:
       
 Card making and other fun paper crafts like this wall art:



And she even picked up a little Spool knitting scarf  project from Etcetorize!


Oh, and did I mention she makes me laugh, all....the....time?  You must check out her post on her mother's ceramic Christmas village .  It's scandalous!



Teri doesn't know this but, she keeps me in line too.  Whenever I want to complain to everyone about how freaking freezing cold it is here I stop myself, because I know it's even colder where Teri lives.

Head on over to Pursuit of Srappyness, you never know what you'll find.  But I promise you, it will put a smile on your face~

Friday, February 25, 2011

Butterfly Bookmarks

The weekend tutorials for the last two weeks seem to be pretty popular.  Last week I showed you an easy sewing technique to add Fluttering Butterflies to a top.  And the week before that we made some pretty Book Jewellery .  So I wondered....hmmm, what would happen if I put the two ideas together???

That means today we're going to make Butterfly Bookmarks!!

Here are the supplies you'll need:


Round nose pliers are optional.
Steps:
Body
1) Cut 1 piece of wire approximately 5" (13cm) long and gently bend it in half.


2) Thread two medium size beads onto the wire, meeting at the bend.  Now create a loop in the bent end by twisting the wire.

This is the head of the butterfly.

3) Thread 6-10 medium size beads onto both wires to create the body.


4) Twist the wire at the bottom of the beads, creating another larger loop.  Secure the wire by twisting and winding.

Wings
1) To make the wings of your butterfly cut 1 piece of wire approximately 12.5" (32cm) long.  Gently bend it in half and secure onto the butterfly body approximately 1/3 down the body.


2) On one side, thread approximately 40-50 small seed beads onto your wire.


3) Gently bend the wired (with the beads) to make the top wing.  Twist the bottom of the wing near the body to secure the beads.


4) Now thread 30-40 more small seed beads onto the remaining wire to create the bottom wing.


5) Again, gently bend, twisting at the bottom to secure the beads.  Make sure to leave a small bit of wire as a tail to secure the two wings together.



6) Repeat these steps on the other side.



7) Twist and wind the tails of wire together until you feel like everything is secure.  Make sure to flatten out any sharp wire edges with your pliers.  Cut off any excess.

Bookmark
1) Cut some ribbon approximately 25"-30" (65cm-76cm) long.

2) Thread your ribbon through the bottom wire loop of the butterfly and knot at the halfway mark.



2) You can stop here, but if you want to add a little extra pizazz, add one or two large beads and knot.


Make sure your beads have a large enough hole to accommodate your ribbon.  If you have problems you can try twisting the ends of your ribbon together so it will fit through.  Or, wrap the end with tape and cut it into a sharp point.  If that doesn't work, you'll probably need to find larger beads.



3)Near the bottom of your ribbon tie another knot, add another bead, and then knot again.


And voila!  You now have a very pretty Butterfly Bookmark!


It looks like alot of steps, but in reality it's very easy and goes by quickly.

You can get super creative and try different combinations of beads and ribbons.  If you're a super perfectionist or true lepidopterist (someone who studies moths and butterflies), you may feel the need to get alot more symmetrical and colour accurate than I have.

Here are some other ones I've made:


Butterfly Bookmark, DIY Bookmark, Butterfly, Bookmark Craft, Beaded Bookmark, Beaded Butterfly, book jewellery, bookmark jewellery


So pretty, don't you think?  They're a great handmade gift for book lovers.  Leave a comment and let me know what colours you would make, or how you would add to this fun craft.

(   For the record...next week we will not make anything with butterflies or bookmarks  ;)    )

Check out the great linky party tab up top. I've been trying out some new parties and am so happy that I'm getting lots of new visitors!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Inspiration Shot: Secret Garden

Can you imgaine how wonderful it would be to live in this apartment with a secret garden growing on your roof?  What a way to get away from it all.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~

Nice, France
 Leave a comment and share where you go to get away from it all.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Show and Tell: My Studio

On the weekend I tackled a DIY project that I've been putting off for a very long time.  I had to reinstall some Ikea floating wall shelves.  Many months ago I got overzealous and placed way too many books on the top shelf.  Of course, it didn't take long for the shelf to try to break free from the wall, sending all of my books sliding to the floor.

Since then I've been able to push it back in and balance just a few items on the precarious perch.  I finally had enough though and reinstalled the whole darn thing.

Anyway, once I did that and cleaned up the rest of the studio a bit, I thought I might as well take a few shots and share my entire space with you.  Now you'll know where I spend the majority of time, when I'm not sitting at my computer patiently waiting for Blogger to upload photos~


I like having a TV in the room.  It's not always on though.  It's helpful if I have instructional DVDs...or if Project Runway is on!  Underneath the TV is my collection of Vogue magazine's from the 80's.  Someday they'll come in handy I'm sure.
  

This table is one of the most useful things in the whole room.  Unfortunately for me, it belongs to my mom.  She lent it to me because her sewing room is too small to allow her to expand it.


When I'm doing a small crafting project I can open one leaf.


And when I'm cutting out fabric I fold out two leaves!


The infamous floating shelves.  And one of the first projects I shared, the Super Hot, Super Easy Ironing Board Cover .


 This cabinet is another Ikea purchase.  They no longer sell it, which might be a good thing.  See that middle vertical piece?  All of the holes on it are about a 1/2 inch off from the holes on the other sides.  So, even though the two middle pieces should have lovely shelves, they don't, because they'd all be crooked.   I couldn't bear to pull the whole thing apart to drill new holes in so I make it work and just keep piling more fabric in there.

(I probably shouldn't admit this but there's more fabric in the room next door.) The drawers hold my collection of vintage sewing patterns.


 And this is where you'll find me.  Surrounded by inspiration, hopefully creating something that's beautiful, and useful.

Where do you create?  I've had to use everything from a closet to the kitchen table to the wonderful space I'm so lucky to have now.  Leave a comment and tell everyone what you love about your creative space.


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Hidden Treasures: A Moment in Time

If you're not part of the Etsy community (yet), you're missing out on an incredible place that is totally committed to the art of the handmade.  It's a wonderful place to find everything you need, or just want, while supporting fellow crafters and artists.  It's also just a treasure trove of  great ideas and inspiration.

For something new this year I thought I'd post a treasury of various Etsy sellers each week.  Click on the thumbnail to visit the shops and see what else you can find.  And while you're hanging out at Etsy you can feel free to visit me at the Etcetorize etsy shop~

If an item doesn't have a selling amount below it just means that it's already sold.  Check out the seller's store for similar items, you never know what you'll find!

'A Moment in Time: the 50's' by Etcetorize

Everything you need for a night out...in the 50's~

Vintage Cat Eye Glasses Silv...

$60.00
mad men inspired joan dress ...

$140.00
Vintage Green Rhinestone Bra...

$68.00
Vintage 50s Stiletto Shoes S...

$65.66
1950s Marilyn Monroe Style P...

$38.00
1950's Vintage Olive-Gre...

$390.00
Ceramic Smoking Station with...

$95.00
Vintage Black Purse

$15.00
Vintage 1940s Gloves: Greate...

$9.00
gold brocade mules, c. 1960

$10.00
Pale Teal Mesh Coiled Vintag...

$21.00
Vintage 1950s Whiting and Da...

$59.99