Category : Crafts

148 posts

201604/02201604/02201604/02

A second look: Upcycling Projects

Since it’s April and this month is Earth Month I thought I’d share a second look at a bit of upcycling from a few years ago.

Oct 6, 2013

Upcycling Projects

We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately. Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out. Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.I showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk. I think they turned out really cute.

I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two. As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)

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If you’d like to see more recycling and upcycling projects please use the tag cloud on my sidebar.

Art | Blog | Crafts

Christmas, fabric, greeting card, scraps, Second on the 2nd, sewing, upcycling, wine corks

6 Comments

halleday

201603/02201603/02201603/02

A second look: Productive Wednesday

Let’s take a look back at a post from 2 years ago. Typically I go back further for Second on the 2nd but as I was looking back through posts I remembered how much I liked (and still do) this journal page. I also remember that my creativity was running in high gear at the time. I was loving every moment of it.

4/24/2014

Productive Wednesday

I had so much fun making the first journal spread yesterday, I went back for another.

Once again I worked in my white journal. Boy, I just realized that I have 4 journals going at once. And I have an idea for yet another. I should probably wait on that idea at least until I fill one of the currents to capacity.

Tissue paper was used as a start for this page as well. It had been crumpled over and over again. Lots of tiny little creases. It started out very purple…or maybe violet. The color was a little too “in your face” for my taste. I used a couple of mists around the edges to tone it down to a dull roar.. The aqua washi tape begged me to use it with the new deeper shade of purple. The black and white just helped everything else pop on the page. I have this thing about circles…I use them all the time. They just make me happy I guess.

So last evening I still hadn’t had enough creativity for the day. My sewing machine was still calling me. I grabbed bits and pieces of fabric, paper, fiber and trims to sew together for collage cards. I didn’t give it much thought…just went for it.

I made 21 mini collages that will eventually become greeting cards. Some will be left blank…others will have sentiments…some collages may not make the cut. Who cares…it was all scraps and bits laying around.

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Some of these mini-collage cards led to being asked to write an article for Sew Somerset magazine. That could be another reason I like this post so much.

Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me today. Do you have a favorite project from the past?

Art | Blog | Crafts

art journal, greeting card, Second on the 2nd, sewing, white journal

5 Comments

halleday

201602/23201602/23201602/23

T Tuesday: stacking and painting edition

Today’s version of T stands for Tuesday will be short and sweet…hopefully.

I’m continuing my effort to eat a good healthy breakfast in hopes of making better choices throughout the day. Especially now that I’m finally. *knock on wood* better…with the exception of a little cough.

I made a few more of my button pendants…

Now if I’d only get around to listing some in my etsy store. As much as I love creating, I hate the time and effort the listing process takes.

I’ve also been working on painting a set of tiles for Settlers of Catan. Here’s a sneak at the work in progress.

I’m trying really hard to remember to take photos as I go with my phone…there will definitely be more to come.

I haven’t forgotten about art journalling either…

You can see the entire post here.

That’s it for today! Time to go shovel. This time I’m determined not to fall. Yikes! My knee is still slightly off colored and that was 2 weeks ago. At least my brain didn’t get scrabbled as well…although I did see stars. ? ? ?

What are you doing today?

Art | Blog | Crafts

art journal, buttons, games, necklace, paint, pendant, T Tuesday

10 Comments

halleday

201602/15201602/15201602/15

T Tuesday: no name edition

It’s Tuesday again…time for T stands for Tuesday hosted by Elizabeth. Grab a cup and stay awhile.

The past week is one of those I’d like to forget ever happened. Instead I’m going to talk about some pleasant things like what I’ve been doing with the 3D printed items Mr. G has been creating. There is a fantastic resource out there called Thingiverse. It has CAD files for 3D printing for an ever growing number of things anyone can imagine.

Anyone familiar with Game of Thrones??

Hand of the King…just after I started the sanding process.

a little more smooth…nearly ready to paint.

Did you know that a red base layer makes gold deeper and richer?

What do you think? I think it looks pretty awesome…aw crud… except….

that the photo should have been taken in this orientation. Such as this. DUH!

Oh well…no one is perfect. I blame my everlasting cold virus for my lapse of clear thought.

That’s it for today…more projects to come.

What are you doing today?

3D printing | Blog | Crafts

3D printer, paint, T Tuesday

18 Comments

halleday

201602/09201602/09201602/09

T Tuesday: pattern making edition

Good morning and welcome to T stands for Tuesday.

I finally caught the cold/virus that Big J was suffering with all last week. Bummer! Hopefully we won’t continue to pass it along to the rest of the family.

Before I started feeling cruddy I was asked by Mr. G to make a cover for his new gadget…a 3D printer.

T Tuesday: a second look edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday AND Second on the 2nd…both hosted by Elizabeth. Hmmm…I wonder how she’s planning on keeping these links straight. :) Anyway…lets get on with it, shall we…

long shadows tea | Halle's Hobbies

First I have to take care of a bit of business. I apologize to my T Tuesday friends for not getting around to visiting. I had to abandon sitting at my desk with the exception of short bursts. Sitting for long periods just does a number on my body. I need to stay active or everything sort of cramps or gets stiff or all crunched up. I’m sure it’s my posture at the keyboard. I’ve started doing yoga every morning and stretches throughout the day. It’s really helping. Of course, since I didn’t get up early enough do my yoga over the weekend (I’m too embarrassed to do it in front of my family since I still really suck at it) I’m a little stiff today.

vintage button stack pendants | Halle's Hobbies

I also wanted to show the pendants I posted about last week. They turned out quite nice. I’ve a bunch more set aside to create more pendants. I’ll be listing some in my etsy store soon.

Now on to Second on the 2nd… I looked back through my blog and realized that I started what I would call an art journal now way back in 2007. I considered it a “no theme” altered book then. Really they are sort of interchangeable terms to me unless you are literally journalling in one. This post kind of cracks me up. I was very critical of myself. Looking back I still know which pages I wasn’t find of but now I can appreciate them all and truly like them!

Take a look at the post from November 10, 2007…

I picked up a this book at a local thrift store the other day. I had originally intended it for something completely different but decided since it was small that I should just dive in and play!!

I really like 3 of the 5 pages. The other 2, I am not so pleased with. I don’t actually hate them enough to cover them up but may go back and revisit them later to see if I can make any good changes.

Can you guess which ones I like??

I still have plenty of room to play some more in this book. It’s very freeing to work without a theme…at least for today. :) Sometimes I need a theme to get me started. In fact this book was planned to be a book in which each spread dealt with one of the senses. Yeah…that changed pretty quickly.

Art | Blog | Crafts | Creativity

Altered book, art journal, jewelry, necklace, pendant, Second on the 2nd, T Tuesday

15 Comments

halleday

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Vintage button stacks

A few months ago, one of the knitting ladies casually asked me if I could use any buttons in my art. She had come across her mothers collection while cleaning out the attic and wanted them to go to someone who would appreciate them. The next time I saw her she had the ~~stash~~ hoard with her. I was shocked! It was a huge box. Over the past few months I’ve slowly sorted through… cleaning and throwing out broken bits from the several pounds of buttons.

vintage button stacks | Halle's Hobbies

This is just a very small fraction. Seriously.

vintage button stacks | Halle's Hobbies

I thought it may be fun to make some necklaces so I turned on Netflix then started sorting and stacking.

vintage button stacks | Halle's Hobbies

I kept auditioning different buttons until I found a stack that that spoke to me.

vintage button stacks | Halle's Hobbies

I used E6000 to adhere a bail to the back of each stack as well as gluing the buttons together.

I also saved out a few fancy mother of pearl buttons to try out some wire wrapping. So far my results are less than pretty with that endeavor. Practice, practice.