some craft projects are whack..

in REAL life.

they look all good on the inspirational websites and they don't tell you how annoying the whole process is gonna be.

this is an example of one of those whack projects..

yesterday i mentioned that some craft projects suck.
yea.. it's that SAME one that i started like FIVE days ago..
when i'm workin' on sumthin for that long, i wanna see BIG results. and each day this thing looked the SAME way.

corny.

it's not a complicated craft at all.. it's just ANNOYING. i didn't think crafting could be annoying..

this one proved me sOoo wrong.. o_O

that lil' bowl in the center took about FIVE days to make..  o_O
ALL that paper was left & i was DONE.

all you do is cut strips of magazine and wrap them up in a lil' wheel shape..

you know how most times when you start a project you can't WAIT to see the finished result so you work on it day & night?

not this one.. it's boring. lol

BUT.. there is one good side.. it's an eco-friendly craft project.. i saved at least .999999 % of the environment.. o_O

whatever. 

i painted it.. cuz i didn't like the way it looked with all the magazine writing.. it looked junky.

but then it looked lonely to me.. like it needed some shtuff. ;)

i think i need to podge it!  but for the record.. it's definitely NOT gettin' anymore magazine strips!

DON'T try this at home.. it'll drive you nuts. ;)

Quirky lil clock toot..

i needed a new clock... turns out that one of my clocks that had been reading the SAME time forEVER was that way cuz it was BROKE.  haha!  :D

sOoo.. i decided to buy a new one.. but just a cheapie..  it looked *okay* online..

o_O

honestly, i could NOT in good conscience put this up.. reminds me of school..

sOo, i decided to go fancy.. cuz, well.. u know me.. lol

i broke out my stash of modpodge, magazine cut outs & a brush & went at it!

i used old Anthropologie & Free People catalogs..
they have awesome texture & prints..
:)

Step 1: remove the clock glass *face thingy* before you begin..

Step 2: paint your lil' magazine papers everywhere!

Step 3: put the face thingy back on before the podge dries completely.. (to make sure you don't jack up  ALL your hard work.. podge dries hard.. you want the paper to give a lil' as you put the face thingy back on)

Step 4: enjoy all your hard work!

okay.. sO, i know we're all different, but i appreciate a lil' bit of quirkiness..
sO, i let the numbers below the podge peek out a lil'
for dimension..
& quirk's sake..
;) 

i warn you before you do this one.. modpodge is a LOT like kindergarten glue projects..

i started havin' flashbacks of when i had to peel the *skin-like* layer of glue from my palms..

good times.. good times*...

<3

toot time!!

this is my FIRST ever tutorial!!
how exciting!!  ^.^

i decided to create a wreath... got pretty inspired the last few days lookin' at all these different ones that are available thru crafty folk...

i think it turned out sOoo adorable.. & so, i thought i'd share a lil' toot with you so you could make one, too..  :)

shall we begin??

FIRST:
grab a WIRE hanger.. (if you don't have one, go get sumthin dry-cleaned again..)
stretch out the wire until you've got a nice roundish sumthin..

THEN:
find a rag or two & cut it into strips.. (i used an old towel..) wrap it around the hanger over & over & over again until you've got the WHOLE thing-a-ma-jigga covered in rags..  lay it flat as you go so the strips don't shift.

NEXT:
you wanna get some fiberfill (the kind that's used for quilting cuz it's a long one piece thingy) cut a strip or two of that about 3 inches wide & wrap that around the strips of rags..

THEN:

wrap with yarn.. (honestly at this point, i didn't know what i was doin', but this seemed *right* lol)

turns out the yarn will kinda tie the other stuff together..

NEXT:
collect *stuff* to prettify your wreath.. i wanted mine to be made of mostly felt, so that's what i used.. as a base, i chose one color (i found this cheap sweatshirt poly-sumthin to use as the base color & wrapped it inside out so that it would have the same fuzzy texture as my felt decorations)

i discovered that my glue gun was my best friend (who knew?) i cut lil' leaves & flowers out & just played with the pieces until it felt *right*. i added embroidery floss to give it a lil' more
definition..

i think it turned out pretty cute.. you? :)

fuzzy leaves..

i discovered these sweet wreath concepts that are very pretty.. thinkin' of makin' one, but it's way more complicated than just choosing one.. turns out i'd like to make sumthin a lil' less perfect..

irregular makes a wreath look a lil' more realistic, no?

sOo.. i went thru the wreaths and grabbed my picks that i thought combined would make the *perfect* door adornment..

leaves! sweet lil' idea.. but they need to be more than one color.. in *my* opinion.. 

sOo.. add pops of color like this one has!

& these flowers in varying sizes would be awesome...

 i'm gonna give it a shot.. wish me well.. this should be fun!  :)

the lil' things..

yea.. sO, if u read my last post about enlightenment, passion and all that good stuff, you now KNOW that my joy/passion (wutever u wanna call it) is to work with youth.

Assata asked for a lil' handmade gift... for her birthday.

anyway, i made this lil' box for my cute friend Assata.. one of the junior high girls that i work with.. and she let out a VERY high-pitched squeal!! talk about makin' a girl's day..

i told Nadine that i don't make things for my own gratification, but as i write this, i can't help but wonder if there's a slight bit of joy received when we GIVE from our hearts. needless to say, Assata liked her lil' presents. =)

coasters!!

i have "inherited" a HUNORMOUS amount of magazines.

yes, i know hunormous is not a word, but ever since J-boy #2 started saying it when he was five, it's stuck..

anyway.. don't distract me..

as i was saying, i have a hunormous amount of magazines.. the thought of getting my fav mag subscriptions for 5 bucks sounded awesome at the time, but when ur in danger of embracing your "inner packrat," all you end up with is more JUNK.

(did i just say junk?) i meant treasures.. *heh heh*

and just as i was having an epiphany regarding throwing them out so that i could become more organized, along comes the EVIL plot against me to create coasters! *gasp*

i was sO NOT lookin' for this.. but, honestly, i cannot resist at LEAST trying this tutorial for coasters as attractive as these..

i'll put up my finished projects.. one of these days.. summer is here and that means i need to put my creativity to work or i'll go crazy with regrets when the season is over..

wish me luck! =)

wallet #2

j-boy #3 is cute..

and funny.

he just wanted a wallet. he could care less about how his monster looked.. i think his thoughts went sumthin' like, "mommy, u know what it's supposed to look like, right?"

let's just say, his monster is slightly embellished.. heh heh..

there's fire coming out of his mouth, but it's not supposed to be like that on his wallet..

i felt that he needed some accessories.. sO, i hooked him up with a military-style vest.. =)

i confess.. my craftsmanship is lacking. i needed to get these done quickly.. tomorrow we go out on the town.. with lots of cool cash.. the j-boys will be needing their wallets.

;-)

wallet #1

my hunny & i have been giving chores to the kiddos so that they can earn their own money.. learn how to save.. AND learn how to give.

well.. now that they're rollin' in the dough, they've decided to take some of that cool cash with them on their outings for some goodies..

my hunny allows this. on ONE condition..

that i make wallets pronto.

sO.. without further adieu, here's wallet #1..

handmade with love.. and a little of his own personal touch..

my 2nd j-boy. (cuz i have three of 'em... j-boys, i mean)

he wanted a monster on the front, cuz monsters are cool...

i used an old pair of denim and a few old worn out shirts for the outside.. you can't see from the pic, but his tail wraps around to the back of the wallet. =)

some old pjs for the interior..

yay! :D

nuthin' like completin' a fun project.. *sigh*

my own lil' birdie..

sOoo... this one of my most recent birthday card designs. made for a friend. the outside says, "it's your birthday!"... the inside of the card read, "a little birdie told me."

=)

fuzzy birdies!

i'm not really into the concept of needle felting.. i guess to me it seems a bit too fragile.. but these lil' birdies are pretty cute..

maybe i'm on an animal kick this week.. who knew?? =)

you can see more here..

fruits and veggies...

they're good for you! ...and these particular ones are delightfully fuzzy!

=)

you can see more HERE..

more inspiration!!!

i wanna try to make stuff like this!!

sO fun & colorful!! you can see the flickr site here..

inspiration!!

call me inspired! i can appreciate this article... it's pretty amaZing to hear a success story of someone who's still doin' it the "old fashioned" way! according to the article, she still does ALL of her crafting by hand.. unless of course, i missed something..

makes me wanna go "make" something..

=)

you can see more of her work HERE..

Merry Christmas!!

haha! sO.. i'm late, big deal.. no one REALLY knows the day Christ was born, sO.. i figure i'm safe saying it any day of the year! ;-)

anyway.. i thought i might share some of the goodies that i made for gifts this year..

if you're interested in any of the items, post a comment.. i'll see what i can do!

;-)

sorry about picture quality.. i'm new at this..

funky dolls!

call me crazy, but i think this doll is pretty swanky! what a mature face! LOL.. only question is.. WHO do you give a doll like this to?? i mean.. she's gotta be at LEAST 21!

haha!

anyway.. i think the artist is pretty creative! =)

you can see more of her work here..

i NEED modpodge!!

or something like it.. i feel sO deprived! LOL

apparently this stuff is GOLD.. and i'm missin' out! i mean.. look how amaZing this frame turned out.. you can see more here..

i bought the "spray" kind of acrylic stuff..

i get the heebie-jeebies just thinkin' of sprayin' that stuff and breathing in all of the noxious fumes..

sO.. why didn't anyone tell me sooner that i could just use modpodge and a sponge brush.. to decoupage my ENTIRE world!? is it that you just don't know... or are you like me, holding out so people don't steal your ideas?? :P

either way, i want a BIG container for Christmas.. the stuff that GOLD is made of.. ;-)

handmade wreath!

i would abSoLuTeLy LOVE to make this wreath.. i REALLY wonder if i'll have time to make all of the holiday goodies that i desire to! only time will tell..

there's such an excitement inside of me... i'm really trying to make all or most of my gifts this year, so finding neat ideas here and there to inspire me REALLY keep me motivated..

you can find this wreath project HERE... have fun! =)

art!

"A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing." ~William Dobell~

i agree with this guy!.. i mean.. ART should come alive! =)

and this guy... Guido Daniele

has a very unique understanding of this "philosophy"

amazing paintings, totally created on hands as canvas..

enjoy a video HERE.

aprons.

sO.. i've decided that i need a couple of cute aprons! these make cooking seem sO fashionable.

they really are pretty enough to wear!

just what i need to make cooking for my four favorite people a little more enjoyable..

maybe. =)

buy these cuties here and here

cute apron HERE

and another one HERE