Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Thinking About Our Friends in the Path of Destruction




 
As I sit and ponder the devastation that has occurred in the last 24 hours to our Atlantic Coast friends, I am grateful that one day in the near future the power will be restored and lives can begin getting back to some sort of normalcy.


It seems surreal (especially to me as I sit on the Pacific Coast and only have to worry about a little chilly gray rainy day) that so much damage can occur from one moment in time.




May each of you that have been directly affected yourself or have family affected know that your neighbors across the country care and are praying for safety, health and comfort.


(I share these photos from the beach, as they remind me of starting fresh after a disaster.)
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Friday, October 19, 2012

Beach Cottage Decor Bottle Upcycle

I am a lucky gal, as my husband saved a Blue Sapphire Gin bottle for me thinking that I might be able to put it to good use and he was right. My heart was a patter, as I knew that this color would be just right for a beach cottage look.

I soaked the bottle, scraped with a scraper and finally used Goo Gone to remove the sticky label, removed the cap and used wire cutters to remove the ring that kept the cap sealed prior to opening the bottle. Unfortunately, the side of the bottles has raised print formed into the glass, but it is small and not obtrusive.



When we went to the beach (Ocean Shores, WA) a couple of weeks back - yes you can drive on some beaches in our Washington, as it is an extension of the state highway.





 I stopped at a gift shop that carries beach souvenirs and purchased a few bleached starfish in different sizes to add to my craft supplies. One of the starfish would be just right for this project. 

 
Sand was added to the bottle for a beachy look. I fit the bottle with a cork, gouged out a cavity to fit an arm of the starfish, hot-glued the arm in place and wrapped the neck of the bottle and top of the cork in small bridal trim pearls, hot-gluing done as I wrapped.


An easy peazy project. I also made one with bling; don't have a picture on that one but just imagine vintage clear rhinestone chain in place of the pearl trim. It was beautiful and sold immediately after placing in my shop. 


You can see the raised print in the glass in the picture above. Luckily, only on two sides, so it does not distract from the essence of the bottle.


Enjoy and try this, you won't be disappointed!


This week Shabby Gr8 Dane will be partying with:









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Monday, October 15, 2012

Dreamy No Sew Angel Wings

I, like others, was attracted to the No Sew Angel Wings Tutorial posted by Dawn at The Feathered Nest. 

 
I purchased the tutorial and set out to make a pair using materials that I had in my stockpile. I wanted the wings slightly larger, so I used my copier to enlarge the wings, but since I only had 8.5 X 11 inch paper, I had to be creative. I got a one side of the wing larger on the paper (the other wing was somewhat missing, as were the tips of both wings). So I cut good wing out and flipped it over on a clean sheet of copy paper and traced it. Cut the traced wing out and taped the two together to make a pair of wings. Voila!
 
 
I am a sports fanatic and made this pair of wings during a football game that I was watching on television. Oh, yeah, the Seattle Seahawks won at the last minute. A great come from behind win. And on top of it I had a romantic pair of angel wings!


 I used curly/crinkled seam binding that I created myself. When I am out thrifting, I look for unopened packages of 100% rayon seam binding (also called seam tape). Make sure that it is 100% percent rayon and not the new packages of 100% polyester. These packages come in 3 yard lengths and I can usually pick them up for under 25 cents. I take take ribbon out of the package, spritz it with water to get it wet, scrunch it up and them place it in the corner of a plastic bag. Take the bag, wad it tight by twisting the bag right above the ribbon and tie it off with a piece of twine or twisty. Let it sit overnight and then take out of the bag. Loosen the wad slightly and let it sit on the counter to dry out. Turning and loosely wadding back up every couple of hours. Easy curly/crinkled seam ribbon for a very reasonable price.


Because the rayon seam binding is vintage, sometimes the seam binding has an odor. Many times you don't notice the odor until you are spritzing the ribbon. If this occurs I take the ribbon and soak it in Oxyclean for a few hours, rinse well and wad it up and put it in the plastic bag.

 
The bling is an vintage earring, cut off the clip and hot glued to the middle of the crinkled ribbon bow.

If you want an easy, quick craft that would be an awesome Christmas gift, check out The Feathered Nest tutorial.

This week Shabby Gr8 Dane will be partying with:







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