Bamboo Sunburst Mirror

I'm getting ready to make something that I hope will be really great.  I have seen so many beautiful, hand-crafted, sunburst mirrors on the web and in magazines.  HGTV has a cute one made from twigs (check it out).

I have tons of bamboo in my yard.  My husband and I are always trying to think of uses for it.  He's made flutes and uses it to tie up the tomatoes plants.

So today, my husband cut some stalks down for me.  Now I just need to go to Michaels  to find a round mirror, cut the bamboo into 15-18" pieces, then start gluing it to the mirror.  I'm putting some pictures here to prove that I really am starting the project.  We'll just have to see how long it takes for me to do it.

Consignment Store Shopping Day!

My good friend is in town and when she's here we always hit Goodwill, yard sales, consignment stores, etc.  We started out this morning at an estate sale.  After digging thru china cabinets, shelves, tables, and cabinets all filled with Hummel's, I did find some little crocheted doilies that I plan to dye and use to make some lovely cards.

Next stop - Goodwill.  I found a picture frame that I plan to paint and turn into a jewelry holder, and a mirror, that I also plan to paint, and use in my bathroom. 








Then to Sandy's Consignment Shop where I found 2 chairs that I plan to paint and reupholster.  I have been looking for some cute chairs that I could paint white and cover with the perfect blue and yellow fabric to put in my bedroom.  The photo only shows one chair, but there are two.



Now my friend lives in St. Thomas and travels all over the world, but she buys her clothes at Goodwill and yard sales.  She finds the cutest, designer, things.  Today she found lots of pretty tops and a pair of leather, thigh high, boots.  I never find clothes at Goodwill.  I really try but I never find anything.  She tells her tales of Ann Taylor pants and Bebe Tops with the tags still on and I swear, all I see are faded t-shirts.

But, it was a fun day and I have several projects that I plan to work on. 

A Great Blog

I just found Scraphacker.com.  I love this blog.  I've been on it for the past hour and a half and I still haven't made a dent in seeing everything.

There's so many great ideas and photos.  Basically, it has tons and tons of projects that "I plan to do".  "No really - I'm going to do some of these."

I'll let you know when I get started.  LOL

Felted Crochet Doily Potholder

Crocheting is my favorite thing to do.  This was so easy and it's so cute.  It is not my own pattern.  I got it from a magazine last month (I'll let you know which one, if you are interested).  But, basically it is just crocheted in the round for a while, then you start adding some shells.  You have to use wool (or some other natural fiber yarn - acrylic will not felt!)  When it's finished you place it inside a mesh bag and throw it in the washing machine with a pair of jeans (for agitation).  Set the washer on super hot, then rinse in cold.  Check it out and if it's not felted enough, run it through another cycle.  Also, add about a quarter cup of laundry detergent.  Some people like to use dishwashing liquid when they felt, but laundry detergent has always worked fine for me.

If you've never felted before, you really need to check it out.  In the potholder, you can still see the stiches because it was crocheted with shells and popcorns, but when you felt in single or double crochet, and run it through the washer 2 or 3 times, you can no longer see the stiches.  It's just nice and thick and wooly.  You can cut into the project and it will not unravel.  I love it.

You could make smaller ones for coasters and a larger ones for placements.  They are very cheery and have a great texture.  AND, this one only took about an hour to crochet!

Really Quick Framed Doilies

Here's one that I was able to complete.

I found plain black plastic frames at Michael's for 50 cents.  (Whatta ya gonna do - when something's .50, you buy it.)  4 sheets of linen scrapbook paper for .12 a piece, and 4 doilies for $1.00 a piece.  The doilies were in the dollar bins.

So I just trimmed the paper to fit inside of the frame.  Used some double-sided tape to attach the doilies and VOILA.  As you can see by the pictures, I could have done a little better job with the doilies.  If you iron them before you tape them, I'm sure that they would be more even.

So, let's see $1.72 times 4 is $6.88, plus tax.  Not bad and it only took about 30 minutes start to finish!

The Beginning..........

I do realize that my blog is not really visually appealing.  I promise that I am a little more creative than this, however, I just can't get the hang of this Blogspot (Blogger).  I've used Wordpress in the past and I thought this would be easier.  So, be a little patient (or don't) while I'm figuring it out.

Then again, I AM A PROCRASTINATOR, so it could take me quite a while to get this thing looking decent.  But, things are going to change, right?

Cyndi's most common sayings -

• I love that - I'm going to make it!
• Look at how much that costs - I could make that!
• I just need a couple things from Michaels, Joanne's, etc.
• I've started collecting......................
• I'm going to start sending out only hand-made cards.
• I'm going to make all of my Christmas gifts this year.
• So and so is having a baby.  I'm going to crochet a lovely blanket for her (then she ends up getting a tiny crocheted hat along with a purchased gift).
• I'm getting bored with this, I'll just work on that for a while and come back to this.

I know myself so well, yet I really believe that every single time is going to be the time that I change.  C'mon Cyndi.

I'll bet that every one of you out there sits down at a nice clean work space with all of your supplies neatly placed in the order that they will be needed.  Then you begin carefully cutting, gluing, stamping, painting, glittering, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, dying, felting, embossing, sewing, and whatever else is involved, until your project is finished.  Then you probably take a picture of it immediately, make careful notes of the different results that were achieved with different dyes, pack away all of your scraps, labeling them for future works of art, then lovingly wrap the gift in homemade paper and ribbon, attach your stamped and embossed tag, then immediately run out to the post office to get it in the mail.

Why oh why can't that be me?????  Someday????