Organizing my craft stuff

(Tree picture disappeared)
This is the tree I am using on all of my craft tub labels. I am labeling black dishpans and other containers with tags such as: yarn and crochet hooks, fabric scraps, and ATCs and Supplies

Things to Look Forward To

As I lazed about all day on the sofa, I reflected on how I should finish some unfinished craft projects. Here are some things you can look forward to seeing from me as I work on them in the coming weeks…months…

- More of the quilt for my brother and sister-in-law
- A completed set of dotee dolls
- More ATCs
- Possibly some baking
- Another set of pillowcases
- Some baby blankets for my friends who are about to pop

Jury Duty

Tomorrow, I go to serve my country as a juror.  From what I hear, there could be a lot of waiting.  What should I bring with me?

A book?

Crochet?

Needlepoint?  Do they allow needles and scissors into the waiting room?

Wow! Look at all these ATCs!

ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards, are my latest crafting craze.  I’ve discovered clear unmounted stamps that cling to an acrylic block (also clear), and I’ve been playing around with these things all weekend.  You gotta love the three day weekend!

So, here they are!    Click on the pictures to see larger versions.

Love You With a Cherry On Top

Hello flower

Too big

The first Valentine’s

Smitten

Another Sweet Card

Sweet Nothings

A Little Easter

Cupcake

So irish

You’re So Sweet, The green version

Great Minds

Love those green stamped images.

Happy St. Pat’s Day

Sugar Rush

For You, My Valentine

Cherry Sweet

Good Ole March 17

Cheers

Laugh Tag

Lucky Me!

Hello!

Valentine Tag

So sometimes I sign up for swap tags in the Swap-bot forums. It’s a fun little way to do a quick swap and know what you are sending or giving right away.

Tonight I signed up to send someone a Valentine. I wonder what I should send?

Here are some ideas: a scarf, a handmade card, a Valentine ATC, a little Valentine dotee doll (although I’m not sure I’d feel right about that with a dozen unfinished ones waiting to be shipped off), chocolates…

Feel free to comment with your ideas.

Crochet Hook Holder Swap

Click on the tab above or on the link below to see my new swap.

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/28071

My WebCam + A New Green Scarf

It’s like I’m addicted to crocheting.  I can’t stop.  Christmas is over, and here I am making another scarf.  It’s a little skinnier and a little less chunky than the one that I made for Mom for Christmas.  I like it.  But, I guess I’ll try to sell it on Etsy.  What else am I going to do with it?

I decided to try using my web cam to get a picture of the scarf.  We’ll see how it turned out.  I tried to adjust the colors so you could tell that it really is hunter green.  But, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Easy ATCs

First of all, a disclaimer. I’m not an expert. This is just a log of some crafty things I do. Read at your own risk.

But, with that said, I understand ATCs to be Artist Trading Cards. Small 2.5″ x 3.5″ cards of artwork meant for trading and not for sale. They can be almost anything. The ones I have received that I like best are embellished with stickers or brads or beads or things like that, so I like to put a little extra into mine. Since I’m not a natural artist, I like to use photos that I have taken or royalty free clipart from my collection as a starting point for my ATCs.

I have made this a little easier for myself by creating a table in Microsoft Word 2007 template where the cells of the table are the desired size of the cards. Then I insert my art work, and crop it, and center it within the cell to create the look I like. I have also created a ATC back template that looks like this.

That way I can take a random piece of cardstock (like a cut up piece of greeting card) and glue the front and back to the card.  One more way to recycle and be green.  Either that or how to save on buying expensive cardstock.

The trick is finding a classy way to embellish a photograph without making it cheesy.  So far my favorite thing was taking a gorgeous view of the Pacific ocean and using those fancy rub-on transfer letters to spell out “oregon” on top of it.  We’ll see what I can do with a few Yellowstone pictures.

Where am I trading these cards?  Why, on Swap-bot.com, of course!

Using My Yellowstone Pictures to Decorate My House

I kept reading about how to decorate in a woodsy theme. I am now thinking I’ll decorate the whole home in this theme, and not just the living room. I don’t want to go crazy with it. But the fact is that our house is pretty small and one idea can go a long way.

I’m ordering some prints online of pictures we took on our trip to Yellowstone last summer. I plan on using the hot springs pictures in the bedroom and the trees and wildlife pictures in the living room. Here are a couple pictures to give you an idea. I’m ordering 8 x 10 prints and plan to mat and frame them in thrift store frames. If I can’t find frames that I like, I can refinish the frames to all match eachother.

Wallpaper Switchplate Cover

Visiting friends and family over the holidays made me realize that I want to make my home a little more comfortable and cozy. There are some things that might make it difficult to decorate my house, but I probably have enough resources to make an inviting place to live.

I currently live in a rental, so I am not going to paint the walls or do any major remodeling.  I also am not going to spend a lot of money, because, frankly, I don’t have a lot of money to spend.  However, I know that there are a lot of little things that make a house a home, and I figure that I can use the internet to research some inexpensive special touches to make our house more friendly.  I also plan on using some of my talents (sewing, crochet, and embroidery) to help pull some kind of theme together.

Here’s my first idea that I’ve found.  Click here to go to the instructions on how to cover a light switch plate.  Basically, unscrew the switch plate, cover it, and screw it back on.  Now why didn’t I think of that?

Next step, wallpaper.  Since I only want a teeny tiny piece, I think I’ll ask my swap-bot friends for some.  I’d like a woodsy theme for the living room, blue or books, or ocean for the bedroom, green or spa  or ocean for the bathroom, green check for the kitchen, and what should I choose for the dining room?  Food for thought.

Do you think contact paper would work just as well?  Why not?