Doily Snowflakes

I have picked up crocheted doilies throughout the year. I could crochet them myself, but I just can't help myself. They just look like they need a home and they are so unappreciated. I can understand why they sit for a long time. If you don't decorate in that style or like the pattern then there are alternatives for their use. They are usually one of kind and the detail that is put into crocheting doilies is an appreciation in itself.

Today, I will be pulling out the starch and starching the doilies to make snowflakes. A little fishing wire, some starch to stiffen the doily and wah la, snowflakes to hang above my tree this year.

Sentimental Heart

I have a very sentimental heart. I have saved all those things that have brought me joy over the years. The only issue with this, is I have so much, it becomes clutter at times. This particular project is one that I have worked for about a year now, and I have only just begun. Any glass jars I buy or gifts that come in a glass jar, I save. When browsing the thrift stores or garage sales, I pick up candlesticks, stemmed glassware or sundae cups. With the jars I have saved and the candlestick I have bought, I make apothecary jars.

Have you noticed that a lot of the kitchen cabinets do not go all the way up to the ceiling as they they did in the past. I love the fact that they do not. Now I have a place to place my apothecary jars and enjoy those memories each and everyday, and that puts a smile on my face.

I, of course, have a long way to go with this process. As I decide what to put in each jar and which candle stick goes best with all the jars I have saved. The really nice thing is, these are sealed, so I do not have to worry about dust and dirt to wipe away, to what I consider precious items.

Craft Fair

The next two months are about preparing for a craft fair. I have never participated in one and I am curious as to whether my items are even desirable. I craft with trash and I do get compliments on my items but are they worth selling? Only one way to find out if I am contributing to the green. I have committed to crafting with five plastic bottles per week.

Remember the McDonald's play area, where the kids jumped and play in the colored plastic balls? Well, that is what my garage looks like, but with plastic bottles. I highly doubt that five bottles per week will make a dent in my garage, but it is a start.

I have fallen so behind with my responsibilities to my home. I don't know how others feel, but with the economy the way it is sometimes I just feel like walking. But, I am old school, so I will hang in there as I always do and I know things will work out. My house has always been an investment, and what you put inside is what makes it a home. I know it is just material, but I have always relied on my home helping me through tough times as far as credit and equity. Not the case in this day and time, so I depend upon trash at this point.

So away I go to crafting pretending like everything is ok and hopefully everything will be in balance as long as I keep the pace and pursue to move forward and be contributing in some form or other.

If you don't hear from me in awhile, you know I am lost in the garage or stuck in an enormous pile of plastic bottles. Please call for help!!!

Tussie Mussie

My most difficult challenge with the plastic bottle was to create a craft with the top portion of the bottle. I came up with the tussie mussie. The plastic is covered with old Christmas wrap. Yes, I save my Christmas wrap. If you are a scrapbook crafter, you can use your small pieces of card stock or paper that you have. I used a finner yarn and put a border around the top and also the bottom. Ribbon would be nice also. The beads are from an old piece of costume jewelry. I usually use the costume jewelry to make bookmarks with, but I think this also works as well.

I need to get through my mail today. Of course that brings a lot of paper that has the potential to hit the landfills. Hopefully, when the heat breaks, I can build a new compost and add some of my paper from the mail.

With that said, I will be working with paper today. Seed paper, seed paper bomb, paper sheets for making gift tags, and numerous other items that can be make with paper. Appears. I am on a new subject.

I bought the cutest little cookie cutters last week. With that in mind, I am making dogie biscuits for the pups. They are very much a part of our family and they like to open gifts just as much as we do. The tussie mussie will be the perfect thing to put their biscuits in.

2 Liter Bottle

I have become obsessed with making crocheted purses from plastic bottles. This is my crochet 2 liter bottle and I plan on using them to give as gifts. My idea is to put crocheted slippers, crocheted cap/hat or something to that affect, to give as gifts.

I see so many plastic bottles hit the trash cans, it has put me in a state of panic. Please try and recycle your plastic bottles. I know that the caps and the cap band left over can not be recycled, but there is someone out there that wants these, so put them in a box and save them, sell them, give them away, just don't throw them in your trash bin.

Once, I get over this obsession with the bottle purses, I am going to head on to crafting with the caps. I am also working on the top portion of the plastic bottle to make tussie mussie cones. I have listed one on a previous page but I need a smaller version for hanging on the tree as an ornament. I think I have an idea which is in the works and involves decoupage and beads and just a little bit of crochet. One can always replace crochet with ribbon.

Tomorrow I will be listing a new version of the tussie mussie.

Busy Week

This was an extremely busy week. I really didn't have time to craft as much as I would have liked. I did accomplish creating a crochet flower from the plastic ring left from the cap of a plastic bottle. This will be nice to add to my plastic bottle crochet purse. This flower can be used as a hair piece, a brooch, or just use your imagination. I still need to decide what to do with the cap, before I head on to my next project.

I have not had time to craft this week. I plan on working with the plastic rings from the cap that are left behind when you take the cap off of the bottle. This is my project for the week. Labor day is already upon us and I am way behind on my crafts. I need to prepare for the craft fair and start my Christmas shopping.