Morning Crafting

   Good morning Friends! I hope this week is off to a wonderful start for each of you. Due to allergies getting the best of me I got up earlier than planned today and decided to fit in a little crafting and preparing for the next Indie Market before going to church.

   What are you all up to today? Anything productive or just being lazy? I think I'm planning on a little of both :o)

Purdy Earrings to Sell

   I don't like Thursdays. They're the toughest school day of the week for many reasons. By the time recess came, despite the puddles from the morning downpour, I was going to pull out my hair if we didn't get out of the classroom for a little bit. Since the playground and track were very wet and squishy, we had a wonderful time playing on the basketball court. We all skipped, twirled, crab walked, hopped, and galloped from one end to the other over and over and ended up with only two skinned knees. Tomorrow's a field trip to some kind of petting zoo type of farm. I'll be glad when Friday afternoon rolls around.
   I was accepted to sell at the May Indie Market so I've been preparing. Yesterday I made more purdy earrings. I added a couple pairs of clip-ons this time.

My favorite pair. 

   Now I really should empty the dishwasher, scrub the shower, and put up the laundry my sweet husband washed Sunday...It'll get done eventually.

Lots of jewelry

  I've got jewelry on the brain today. I started off my day finishing some earrings (and watching Dexter since the season 4 finale left me hanging).

  Then I made some necklaces.

  And then I discovered some really great earrings at Goodwill.

   I've really lost interest in Goodwill lately. It seems like they only have crappy stuff now. Very disappointing. Today I figured I'd give the store one more chance.

  I found nothing desirable and was about to leave when I decided to give the jewelry a chance. I  was delighted to find these these three pairs if earrings. Two of the pairs were $2 each and one was $3 each. Not bad and they're so pretty.

  I plan on selling the jewelry I made and keeping what I found at Goodwill. Which pair shall I wear first?

Earring Ferris Wheel

  So is your week off to a good start? Am I the only one thrown off by the time change? I feel wimpy but...that hour we lost, oh I miss it. Other than the whole time thing my week's off to a great start. My day started off with two of my little kindergartners throwing up their breakfasts all over themselves and one of the tables at the simultaneously. Somehow I kept myself from gagging as my sweet assistant cleaned up the massive pile and I helped get the kids get cleaned up. Both the of my little sick students seemed pretty unfazed. One of the kids went home and the other stayed the whole day and seemed fine. After getting that episode over with, the rest of the day went super smoothly and was really enjoyable.
   Now after a day of school, grocery shopping with Brandon, and enjoying a delectable dinner, I'm ready to relax for just a little while. Blogging is definitely part of that relaxation :o)

   I've been hard at work making lots of earrings for that craft fair I'm hoping to be accepted to sale at. Now, I've figured out a way to display them.

   We got this metal ferris wheel as a wedding gift. It's super cute and unique, but I've been a little unsure of where to put it in our apartment. I used my mini clothespins to attach my earring cards.

   I added my whimsical earring ferris wheel to my little craft area. I like my decorated mini fair ride :o)

Really Lovely Earrings

  Good morning friends! It's Sunday again, the start of another week full of possibilities and promise. Unfortunately, my week doesn't seem to be off to a very good start. Brandon's off work today for the first Sunday in months. We had plans to go to church, but our plans were ruined by my stomach which decided to be in excruciating pain today. Ugh. So we're confined to our apartment until I feel better, listening to the rain pour down and my occasional moans and complaints directed towards my problematic tummy.
   So as I disappointingly sit here, going back and forth between chugging hot ginger tea, complaining, and working on lesson plans for this coming week, I figured I'd share with y'all the lovely earrings I made last night.

  Ain't they purdy? These earrings are embarrassingly simple, but they delight me to the point of being pretty much my favorite earrings I've ever made. I'll sell two pairs. The blue ones have already found their home on my jewelry holder.

   I've already ordered three more pairs of these flowers so I can make some more lovely floral earrings. Now, for me it's back to lesson planning and drinking excessive amounts of ginger tea...

Little Bow Earrings

  It's been a productive Saturday. I slept in a little, went to dollar store (and  sadly found nothing I was looking for), went for a walk with Brandon, returned overdue library books, went to Michael's, did some lesson planning, and I've watched at least 10 episodes of The Office. While at Michael's I, of course, scoured the clearance section. It was there that I found these cute little bow beads.

   I hadn't made any earrings in a while so I was really excited to have some new, special beads to use. 

   I used beads from old necklaces and earrings. I made a mess, but they really didn't take long. What do ya think of them?

   I'm hoping to sell some stuff at the Indie Market in April so I could sell these. I'm considering keeping the more simple ones. I had a pair odf studs with bows just like these. They were one o fmy favorite pairs of earrings but I lost them in my car. Then we sold the car. These will be nice replacements.

  Now back to The Office, and getting rid of these terrible hiccups that just took over my body...

My favorite Cameo earrings

  Today I wore one of my favorite pairs of earrings and they made me happy. 

    I made these a while ago. I'll share how sometime soon.

   Tomorrow's Friday. Again.

It's the little things in life :o)

An eclectic pendant

   Yesterday was a wonderful Saturday. Brandon and I and were both off work, which is a rare occurrence, so we enjoyed our time to the fullest. In the afternoon Brandon hung out with one of his friends for a couple of hours. His friend lives very near where I grew up so while Brandon was there, I got to go hang out with my parents. I enjoyed living with my parents and miss seeing them as much as I used to. Now, any chance I get to go and spend some time with them, I take full advantage of.
   My mom is in the process of cleaning out my old room to make it into a sewing room so while I was there we went through some of my old stuff. The biggest job was going through a big drawer filled with all kinds of crap I'd stuff in it over the years. The crap in the drawer ranged from pictures and birthday cards to Happy Meal toys and jewelry. The best stuff we found were some old earrings missing their match and some old necklaces. Last night I set about putting those old earrings to good, and pretty, use.

I made a necklace, of course.

  This is one of the  old clip-on earrings we found. I used pliers to take the clip part off the back.

  We also found this other pretty clip-on and I did the same to the back.

  I used wire to attach the two earrings and some random beads to make a sort of collage.

  I made sure the wire was secure, cut off the excess, and to keep it all together I cut out a little piece of cardboard from a cereal box and glued it on the back.

  I used some super glue to attach a few more beads and a gold pearl earring to the front of the piece. While I was in the process of gluing, I somehow ended up with the super glue package glued to my leg. Removing the package was painful, but quick. I still have a huge spot of super glue on me though.

  I added some chain from the craft store so I could hang my creation around my neck. I didn't have enough chain though, so I used ribbon to finish it off.

   I like that it's eclectic and has some antique elements. Definitely can't wait for a reason to wear it. 

   I hope you all enjoy the rest of this weekend. I'm about to get to work on lesson plans.

"The 25 Posts of Christmas" Gift No. 5

   Today was Saturday and gosh it was wonderful. I slept, I exercised, I shopped, I cleaned and finally, I CRAFTED. Another Christmas gift is finished (I can't believe how ahead I am!) and I'm so excited to share it. So without further ado...

Decoupaged Jewelry Box

You will need:

• Some sort of box 
• Mod Podge
• Pictures, pages, or anything else you want on your box

Step 1. I found this nice little wooden box at the craft store.

Step 2. I covered small sections of the box with Mod Podge (more detailed instructions here), placed the pages and pictures on the wet Mod Podge, and then covered them with more Mod Podge. To decorate my box I used some sheet music and a lovely vintage flower I printed off from The Graphics Fairy, and some pages from my trusty $2 Goodwill dictionary I have gotten so much use out of. 

Step 3. I made sure that the lid stayed open while I let it dry. A jewelry box with the lid glued shut would be useless. 

   I love how it turned out. I might Mod Podge the inside of it with a note or something but I haven't decided yet. 

  

   I might also include this necklace I made. 

   

   Now, you make one, wrap it up, and give it to someone you love :o)

"The 25 Posts of Christmas" Gift No. 4

  Hello blog friends, I feel like I haven't posted in so long and come to think of it, I really haven't posted in so long. It's been a busy, long week but I survived. Thanksgiving is almost here and though I truly love, love my job, I am excited for some time off. Next weekend will be filled with lots of eating, obviously, and lots of crafting.
 I know I've mentioned that lately I've become interested in making jewelry again. In light of my new found interest,  for today's installment of the "25 Posts" I decided to show you some pretty Earrings. Sound good? Good. Here we go...

Simple Button Earrings

You will need:

• earrings studs 
• earring backs
• buttons
• super glue

Step 1. I found the earrings studs and backs at a craft store as well as a big bag of assorted buttons. I found my super glue at Dollar Tree (I can't seem to have a post without using some sort of $1 supply). 

Step 2. Squirt some super glue on the flat part of the earring stud and place it. glue side down, on the back of the button.

Step 3. Let dry for the time given on the super glue bottle.

   So was that easy or what? And aren't they cute? now that you know how to make the basic button earring, you can get a little more adventurous and creative. 

   You may be wondering why I went crazy making earrings and then put them on card stock. I was hoping to make some mula off of them. Remember that indie market I've been making all those necklaces for in hopes of selling them there? Well I won't be selling them there now. It fell throw. I'm sure I'll find some use for all my creations though, and after all, I did really enjoy making each piece. Crafting really is as much about the creating process as it is about the finished product.

   Well, now that you've made an adorable pair of button earrings, wrap 'em up and give 'em to someone you love :o)

Ribbon Roses

   It's Veterans day and I am so thankful for it. I'm thankful for the day off, but more importantly I'm thankful for the brave men and women who leave, and have left,  their homes and loved ones to protect our freedom.  God bless our the troops and their families.

   On a less serious note, a day off definitely calls for some crafting. One of my friends has been wanting to know how to make the ribbon roses I've used on so many different projects. I figured that perhaps other people would like to know as well so, why not share a little tutorial on here?

   I actually learned how to make these roses in Colonial Williamsburg. Sometimes in one of those old, historical houses there will be a craft going on and these roses seem to be a favorite. I used the technique I learned there and then added a little of my own spin on it.

Ribbon Roses
You will need
-ribbon (about a yard)
-thread
-a needle
I found all of my supplies at Dollar Tree

   To begane unroll the ribbon but do not cut it. Not cutting it helps you avoid coming up short while you're making your rose. Now sew a knot at the end of the ribbon and began stitching down the middle. I used a contrasting color of thread for this tutorial but it's best to use thread that matches your ribbon.

   I've found it's best to stitch a few inches then push the ribbon down the thread to gather it and then repeat.

 

   Now that you have enough gathers, sew the two ends together so that it forms a cute, little circle and cut off the extra ribbon. Although it's adorable at this point, it looks more like a wreath than a rose so you'll need to make another using the same technique except much smaller so it will fit in the middle of the large one.

  Finally, insert the little one into the middle of the large one and sew them together from the back. Now you're do and should be so pleased!

   These little lovelies can be used in so many ways. so far I've used them on my wreath,

   I've used lots of them on my jewelry,

and I'm sure I'll find many other uses for them. Enjoy!