Primitive Quilt Top

Recently I remembered a quilt top that I made about eight years ago with the help of my grand daughter, who was ten years old at that time.  She was spending some time with me and whenever she was here for a day or so or a few days, she and I would always find some type of craft to do as she always enjoyed doing crafty things. For this project, I would print out a primitive pattern and she would look at it and draw it on the squares for me with a quilt marking pencil.  On one of the squares she traced around her hand and wrote her name and birth date.  That made it more personal to me. I stitched around all the drawings that she made on each square.  It really has a primitive look which was the look I was wanting.  I sewed the squares together to make a quilt top but never completed the quilt.  It has been packed away in a storage box for 10 years as she is eighteen years old now. I'm thinking seriously I need to completed this project!!!   Here are some camera shots of the quilt top.  My camera ran out of battery so I didn't get a close up of all the squares, but you get the idea.

More Pop Top Tab Bracelets

Yesterday I made bracelets with my 15 year old Grand Daughter. She loves these bracelets so I was thinking that maybe we could try putting some beads on one. I have a variety of colors in the pony beads which I thought would work with the larger holes that they have. Purple is one of her favorite colors so this is what we made.
To make these bracelets with the beads, simply follow the instructions given in the links of my previous post.
http://craftythisandthat.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-pop-tab-bracelet.html
The only change in the instructions would be to add the bead as in the third photo below. Easy!!
We were also thinking that different colors of elastic cording would be pretty to use on these....but where can we find the colored elastic cording? I really would love to find it in black and colors.
Anyone know?

Quick Bracelet

I made this cute bracelet and decided I would show it off. It was real easy to make and didn't take long at all.
First I rounded up the beads and crystals I wanted to use and a kit that included the wire and the clasp ends. One clasp end was already hooked to the wire so all I had to do was to slip the beads and crystals on the wire in the order I wanted them and fasten off the other end. It is so cute and dainty.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Making a Birdie Toy

It has been a while since I actually put together a craft, so I decided to get back to crafting. I've been thinking about making a toy for my little pet parakeets. Since I posted about Sunny and Sugar, my Lutino and Albino, I have gained another parakeet to keep them company. I purchased a very young one, and I named it Sassy.
Since I have the three birds, I've been hanging out at the Talk Budgies forum to learn more about my keets. They have some very knowledgeable members there and I've found out many things I didn't know about my babies.
The main thing I learned is that my Sunny and Sugar are likely females and Sassy is a young male. Just the opposite from what I have been thinking lately. I guess only time will tell. Maybe I will know for sure if two of them decide to mate or one decides to lay an egg.

I saw a bird toy at a pet store that was made of craft sticks of different colors and beads. I was thinking why would I buy that when I have everything to make it at home in my craft room.
That was about a week ago. Today, I decided to give it a go.

EDIT: 7/25/09
For anyone thinking of making this toy for your pet, I feel I need to point out safety..... always put the safety of your pet first!
1. If you are in any doubt about any product for you pet, do not use it!!
2. Always use common sense and never, ever, let your pets have any toy that might be a safety hazard such as possible tangling, choking, or anything that might be toxic or may cause other bodily harm. Make sure if you tie knots, that your knots are very secure. Keep an eye on your pet's toys. If the toy becomes damaged to the point of being a hazard, remove the toy and discard it.
3. While I do not believe the US FDA approved food coloring is harmful as a toy coloring, if you have any doubts about using food coloring in the US or your country, do not use it. This same toy can be made from uncolored wood sticks. I do not have a source for uncolored wood beads but I am sure they are out there, probably in craft stores.
As I said previously, use a lot of common sense!

(The photos are clickable to enlarge.)

This is what I made and it took less than an hour of actual hands on time. It is very easy to make and all of the supplies can be found easily in most any craft department.



I used Popsicle sticks (I saved from real Popsicles to recycle), washed and rinsed. I boiled the sticks and added some food coloring to the water. I only used a cup or two of water and part of a bottle of blue and also mixed in about half a bottle of green food coloring. Since this was a try as you go and see how it turns out, I did not measure. I just guessed as I went along. After letting the sticks soak up the dye and stirring them around quite a bit, for about 5 minutes or so, I took them out into the sink. I rinsed them several times with cold water until the water was clear. I then put them on a couple layers of paper towels and patted the excess water from them. They did still stain the towels a bit but after placing them on clean paper towels and letting them dry overnight, there was no stain from handling them.

Today, I gathered my supplies:
A plastic ring to attach to the top.
Jute Twine - about 24 inches for this one.



My collection of Pony Beads - any color and number, depending on the length of the toy.


Crop-A-Dile Eyelet & Snap Punch - to punch the holes through the craft sticks. This is one of my favorite toys. A drill with a small drill bit, could be used instead.





I used 12 sticks - dyed and punched.



Making the toy was really easy. First I wrapped one end of the jute twine with clear tape to make it slide through the sticks and beads easily. This is what it looks like. After finishing, this tape can either be pulled off or cut off.



I tied a double knot near the other end leaving a short "tail". Added a small bead, one that will not slip over the knot, then tied again above that bead and added a larger bead that I think will catch my bird's eye. This is the bottom of the toy, I worked from bottom to the top.



I alternated a bead and a craft stick until I used up the sticks, then added a few more beads at the top for detail. I tied a plastic ring to the top (recycled from a package of blank CD's). After taking this photo, I found a clip and attached the ring to the top of my birdie cage.



The birdies can chew on the sticks, swing it around and just have fun with it. Before long they will probably be climbing it.
My trio are looking it over really good now as I have just hung it in their house. I think they are trying to decide which bead is the prettiest or which stick they will chew first.

More Do It Yourself Jewelry

This is the same type kit I used to make the silver color with black earrings and a pendant a few weeks ago. You can see the other set here at this link. I found the kits in WalMart Crafts/Beading section. I really like the turquoise and silver color together.
The kit contained six sections already fastened together. I separated four of the sections then added the end fasteners (purchased separately) to make the bracelet. Then I separated the other two sections and added the ear hooks (also purchased separately) for the pair of earrings.

This is about as easy as it gets to make your own jewelry!

Click photo to enlarge the view.

Another Pop Top Tab Bracelet

I made this bracelet from a tutorial that I watched on a YouTube Video. You can watch it HERE.
I also found the written instructions with photos HERE on this page of the wonderful Creative Origins blog.
I found these instructions to be very easy to understand.
Thank you Creative Origins for these easy instructions!
I used silver colored wrapped elastic cording and it looks nice with the tabs. I pulled the elastic so that I didn't leave any slack between the links. When I finished and tied it all together, there is just enough stretch so that the bracelet slides over my hand. I used 26 tabs and the bracelet is 8 inches.

Click on photos for a larger view.

Pop Top Tab Jewelry

Thank you for all the comments and suggestion on the pop top tabs! I decided to try my hand at a little jewelry. The below photos are the result of my first try. With a little practice they can be made very quickly. These pieces took me about two hours to make. The bracelet contains tabs back to back so there is no rough side touching the wrist. I used a total of 18 tabs for the bracelet. It is 8 inches long.
I will definitely be playing around with more of these tabs and I do have a plan for donation of any that I may not use. Thank you again for all the suggestions.

Click on photos to enlarge the view.

CD Photo Album

I've been wanting to make one of these albums for a long time. I don't know why it took me so long because they are so easy and fun to do!
First I prepared my cd's by scuffing them up a bit with sandpaper and/or a metal file.
The shiny side of the cd has a raised ridge about a half inch out from the center opening so I used the metal file from my tool box to file that down. You can easily tell when it it smooth by running your finger across the surface of the cd. I wanted this smooth because I planned on covering both sides.
After scuffing the cd's, I opened my pictures in my digital image editing program and started with a 4.75 inch circle. I then added and cropped my photos and added text until I got the look that I liked. With these photos I chose words that I think are suitable for the three young family members in the photos. I think they were just playing with the camera and having fun taking these photos.
Next, I printed out my circles on card stock, laminated the front side only, sprayed adhesive on the backs and stuck them to the cd's.
Next I measured and cut out circles from scrap paper that was suitable for writing on for the back sides of each photo cd. I did not laminate the scrap paper because they will be used for personal journaling.
I also used the spray adhesive for these.
The last step was to punch the holes with my crop-a-dile and add a 1 inch notebook binder ring and embellishments.

Another Altered Vinyl Record

This is a 45 RPM record. I got the idea of making this with the owl saying from browsing the internet several days ago. I can't remember where I saw it but I decided to make my own graphics in my Digital Image program. It took me awhile to give it this look since I am not a graphic artist! As far as I know, there is not a copyright on the saying as it is a very old saying and I found several versions of it with a word or two changed here and there.
I printed this on white cardstock, laminated it, sprayed adhesive on the back and stuck it to one side of the old 45 record. I also used the Crop-a-dile to punch a hole and an eyelet for hanging it.

Front view of the 45 record.

Back side of the 45 record.


After making this one, I decided to add some shadows to the graphics and I think they look even better.
I'm giving away a copy this the cover for free download if anyone would like to have it. Please use it for "Personal Use Only". Do not claim this graphic as your own or use it in any way to make a profit.

My download includes 2 sizes. I made one for a 45 record and one for a CD. Download here.

Do It Yourself Jewelry

I found these pretty do-it-yourself jewelry pieces in the beading section of WalMart.
The top photo shows three of the sections, but before I used part of the set, it originally had 6 sections of connected beads.
I think it would have made a nice bracelet by just adding the closure to the ends but I decided to make earrings and a pendant on a chain.
The set turned out pretty and I still have enough left to make a second set.





Close up view:

Wooden Jewelry Box

I bought this little wooden unfinished box at Michael's Crafts about 2 years ago. I painted it and put it aside because I couldn't decide how I wanted to finish it up.
I was recently looking through the scrapbook section at WalMart where I came across some word stickers that I like. I was wondering how I would use them when and a light bulb went off in my head. I came home, took out the little white box from my craft cabinet shelf and decided the stickers would look cute on the box.
After placing all the stickers on the box, I sprayed it with several light coats of clear acrylic.
I will finish the inside of the box with some felt and then it will go to my Grand Daughter.

Click photos for a larger view.