Make it Great Monday

Well, it was another great week of awesome projects!  Here are a few that stood out:

1. Amber from SaltTree hollowed out a book to carry her e-reader in.  Make sure to visit her to see the extra features she added to make it extra special!

2. Jennifer from Pieces to Treasure made a faux tin welcome sign that really does look antique!  Check out her blog to see how she did it!

3. Kelli from Bella's Crafty Mom showed us how she transformed all of her thrifty finds.

4. Kristin from Just Wanna Party renovated her front yard, all by herself!  Make sure to go see the before shots, it's a great transformation! 

If you were featured, please grab a button from the sidebar~

Now for this week! I can't wait to see what other amazingly creative projects you've all come up with!

Please only link:

1) To your Family Friendly Project Post that you've made yourself, not your main blog page
2) Maximum of 3 projects/party that you haven't link up before
3) Please, no shops, giveaways, round ups, or commercial sites
4) Feel free to hit one of those Follow buttons on the sidebar ;)

And, not really a rule, but something you won't regret if you do....go visit some of the other links and leave a comment, we all love comments right? And you never know what kind of goodies you'll find!

If you link up, please post my button somewhere on your blog so more people can come join the fun:

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Let's see what you've been working on! (If you link up you are giving me permission to tell the world how great you are and possibly post a picture or a link to your awesome project either here, on Facebook, or on Pinterest. Make sure you're OK with this before you link up.)

Make it Great Monday

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Motivated Monthly

Did you take the time to read the post above?  Did you link to the right party?  I had to delete 8 projects last week that didn't follow the guidelines!  Yikes.  Don't let your project be one of them. 

Bead Buster Garden Ornament

I am determined to use up what I have.  I have so many crafting supplies and fabric in my stash that it's a little out of control.

So today's project is a great way to use up all of those left over beads that you don't know what to do with (even the wonky ones!).

 

Here's what you need:



-wire coat hangers
-assortment of colourful beads, all shapes, sizes, and colours
-medium guage wire
-heavy duty wire cutters, jewellery making pliers/cutters

Steps:
1)  Using your heavy duty wire cutters, cut the top of your hanger off.

2) Straighten out your hanger and bend into a shape you like.

Look at the gorgeous blue sky!
I couldn't possibly sit inside crafting today~

3) Cut a piece of medium guage wire about 18" (46cm) long.

4) Make a small loop at one end to make sure your beads won't fall off.

5) String on your beads.  Don't worry about design or pattern, just have fun and throw them on willy nilly.

6) When your wire is almost full, make another small loop at the other end to make sure your beads stay on.

7) Wrap your beaded wire around the hanger wire shape that you made.

8) Repeat all of these steps using your second wire hanger.

9) Hold your two pieces of decorated hanger together and bind together with the medium guage wire.  I bound mine in two places but you can do as much or as little as you want.

And there you go!  Beads used up!  Ugly wire hangers recycled!  And a pretty ornament in your garden to catch the light.

I know, it sort of looks like something that my five year old niece made at day camp but, I love how the beads sparkle in the sunshine.  And...it almost looks like a butterfly, don't you think?!?!

This would be lots of fun to do with kids!  Add beads that hang or glow in the dark! Give it a try and let me know how yours turns out~

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Top Hatter Auctions

Have you guys heard of TopHatter? It's a live auction site for all kinds of crafty things.  You can buy or sell supplies, jewellery, art, etc.  If it's something you could find on Etsy, you might be able to find it here too!

I came across it in one of the Google Ads at the bottom of my posts and just had to go check it out.

It's a very fun atmosphere and it seems like there are auctions going on all the time.  The craft/jewellery supply auctions at night are very interesting with all kinds of neat things coming up for sale constantly (most lots seem to go for less than $10!).

The first night I signed up I even got a $5 credit!

Now, I have to admit, I haven't actually purchased or tried to sell anything but Myra over at Team Eco Etsy has, and she's written a wonderful post telling you all about it.  For the real low down, make sure to go read her post.

This is not a sponsored post and I'm not recieving any remuneration whatsoever.  I just think this is a really awesome tool for all of you Etsy and supply sellers (and buyers) out there. 

Take a look and have some fun.  But be careful!  The auctions move fast and they're addictive.  Enjoy!

Mini Me Shirred Dress

A few weeks ago I showed you how to make your own Shirred Summer Dress.  I didn't have it completed at the time, but I also made a mini me version for my niece:

I think what she likes best about me making clothing for her is that she gets to model it for me.

I usually direct the first half the of photo shoot and then she takes over with her own ideas. Here's her version:

She's even cuter when she's being a goofball~

Well Crafted Home

Head on over to the Well Crafted Home to visit my friend Lauren!

Make it Great Monday

Thank you to everyone who linked up to last week's party!  So many fun projects.  Here's just a quick sample of some special ones that caught my eye:

All of these wonderful projects have great tutorials so you can learn to make your own!
1. Natalie from North Shore Days was inspired by the beach and created this beautiful bracelet.
2. Wesens Art shows you how to make this ingenius little belt for little ones who have trouble getting their belt off in time.
3. Dana from Saturday Mornings also had what I would call an ingenius idea...book shelves from rain gutter materials!
4. Andrea from Shabby Kitteh made her own make up palette to hold all of those pretty eyeshadows.

You ladies are such smart cookies!

If you were featured

 you can grab a button from the sidebar~

Now for this week!  I can't wait to see what other amazingly creative projects you've all come up with!

Please only link:

1) To your Family Friendly Project Post that you've made yourself, not your main blog page
2) Maximum of 3 projects/party that you haven't link up before
3) Please, no shops, giveaways,  round ups, or commercial sites
4) Feel free to hit one of those Follow buttons on the sidebar ;)

And, not really a rule, but something you won't regret if you do....go visit some of the other links and leave a comment, we all love comments right?  And you never know what kind of goodies you'll find!

If you link up, please post my button somewhere on your blog so more people can come join the fun:
<center><a href="http://www.etcetorize.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k554/Etcetorize/2012PartyButton150.jpg"/></a></center>

Let's see what you've been working on! (If you link up you are giving me permission to tell the world how great you are and possibly post a picture or a link to your awesome project either here, on Facebook, or on Pinterest. Make sure you're OK with this before you link up.)

Make it Great Monday!

Motivated Monthly

Handmade Jewellery Projects only please

(next month's theme is Oh Baby!-Baby related projects)

Did you read the post above and link to the right party?  I've already had to delete 8 projects that linked up incorrectly :(  Please don't make me be a meanie, I really don't like deleting entries.