Upcycled photo frame pin cushion project

Here's a cute little idea for old, tiny picture frames.  My mom had given me a box of stuff she was cleaning out of her craft room and inside were these little picture/mirrors things:

Cute right?  I suppose the lucky person would find these and the backs would easily pop right out so you can safely remove the glass without too much drama.  Me, I live for drama.  My backs were glued in.  So a little exacto knife carving, a little prying and a little swearing, I managed to...

Ahhhhh, break the mirror   Seven year's bad luck?  I think not.  I'm recycling.  And...I'm too awesome.  I repel bad luck. Stay strong and keep prying.  

Ta da!!!!  Now choose your fabric.  Not only am I recycling the old frame, but that fabric is left overs from another project somewhere out there.  

Sorry the picture quality is kind of meh.  It's like, 5:00 a.m. and I'm trying to do this in low light, all stealthy so as not to wake up the spawn.  

So anyway, you want to cut your fabric a little bigger than the back plate thingy.  This isn't an exact science.  Just follow the general shape of your backing thing and make it a little bigger.  

Start hot gluing it down following the edge of your fabric.  Pleat it with your fingers to keep it all even.  You want this to pouf out the front of the frame.

See?  Like this.  all glued.  

Now, your back plate thingy was not made to allow for fabric.  Usually these things consist of some kind of cardboard, so take your utility knife or scissors and carve it down a bit so its a little more frame friendly.

Your going to want to get some fiberfill.  You don't necessarily need to spend money on this either.  I like to visit the dump weekly and see what I can find.  An example would be leather chairs.  Always carry utility knives with you so you can harvest the free.  Within those leather chairs is an endless supply of perfectly usable and clean fiberfill.  WOO!

Pack that inside the fabric pocket while hot gluing the back thingy (I'm sure this is the official name for it).  Use a pencil or something to get the fiberfill under control while gluing in your back thingy.  

This is going to be under a little stress, with the fiberfill all packed in there, so run a bead of hot glue around the edge to neatly seal everything up.  

When your done, you have a cute pincushion.  I left the hanger thing (yet another official term) on the back so I could hang it up on the wall next to my sewing area.  

You can use any frame to do this.  I happened to like the antique look, so I kept it pretty original, but you can spray paint your frame or embellish it any way you want.   Have a friend who likes coffee?  Make one with coffee theme fabric and embellish with coffee buttons.  Sewer?  Wine drinker?  Pirate lover?  Trust me here, they have a fabric for that.  Go nuts. 

Paper wasp art natural pendant

I just wanted to share real quick a little something I discovered today.  I really wanted to make an original, never-been-seen-before kind of necklace and after digging through some supplies, I think I managed something  neat-o.  I found this huge wasp nest.  You know, the kind of hive thing that you see hanging from trees?  One of these:

 Photo from http://securitypest.com (thank you!)

Anyway, I took that little awesome thing (obviously abandoned as they usually are in the late fall/early winter) and had it sitting on a shelf for a while wondering what to do with it.  Today, I moved it and a little bit of the "paper" fell off.  I had one of those keepsake pendant kits and mounted a bit of the paper into the pendant.  From that, I got this little number: 

Super pretty right?  But that's not all!  While this screams earrings, I had this cool bead I have been just aching to use in a pendant situation.  So, with some general fanageling, I now have this final product: 

I love it!  It turned out so awesome.  I hung it from a simple gray leather thong to continue with the natural bohemian look.  I almost don't want to sell it...sigh, but alas, I am poor and mama needs a new bra ASAP. So, If you love this, and feel sorry for my unsupported bosoms, please visit my Etsy and make this little guy yours.  It wants to be on you.  

To bead or not to bead, that is the question.

I am stagnant. I honestly don't feel creative. I always saw an artist as this beautiful, free spirited, wild haired tree hugger with paint stained, gluten free bib overalls and a cool tribal tattoo around her upper arm. Someone who hugged a lot, stood up for the little guy and smoked the occasional clove cigarette after sex and a good long day of art stuff. It might be the weather and the fact that I don't own any bib overalls any more that I have lost my mojo...I'm pretty sure I have a cool tribal tattoo left in me somewhere under my pajamas and saggy boobs. Sigh.



So it's winter in Wisconsin and the long cold days are dragging. I have cabin fever and my studio is too cold to venture. And...I have 4 kids, meaning, there will be no creativity in this house outside the realm of pipe cleaners and dollar store felt. Of course, there is the occasional googly eye...



Anyway, I have taken to indoor things. Amigurumi, hats, I painted some safety eyes to add a little life to said amigurumi--they make safety eyes so plain you know. Last night I found some sunflower spacer beads (sunflowers being my favorite flower ever) and decided as a midwinter blues present, to make myself some stitch markers. They are pretty friggin adorable.



I then decided to visit my old haunt Swap Bot. I soooo needed something...different to occupy my spare time. I have so little of it, why waste it you know? So, I signed up for a couple swaps and for fun, made up a few more stitch markers as extras, should I get paired up with a fellow crocheter. I'm starting to worry though, that I may have made them too big and bulky. Not heavy, just...in the way?

I can't wait to see the snow gone. I need my scroll saw and my kiln and my welder and my drill press. I miss my table vice. I want to open the double doors of the loft and let the sun in. I couldn't be more ready for summer...

Business cards

I finally took the plunge and got myself some business cards. I think they are darn beautiful.



This is the back side:


And this is the front side: