Dying with Kool-Aid

Stovetop Kool-aid Dying using Alum as an modant - More DIY How To Projects

Purple

Some of my favorite Purple items off of Etsy!

Small Round Fuchsia Bubble pendant

 

 

 

Purple Passion Amethyst, Ruby and Silver Necklace 

 

 

 

Barely There Fabric Summer Scarf in Lightweight Plum Purple 

 

 

  

Black Raspberry Vanilla Soap 

 

 

Lavender Earrings

 

 

Starting College

Post Options

I am Starting college today, wish me luck!
In honor of school starting back up (even if it's a little late for most people) I decided I would do a back to school related tutorial. I've always wanted to learn how to make my own notebook so I went on a search to find a good tutorial. Rachel Simonsen provides a neat hand drawn one on her website that you should definitely check out! but if you're into the more straight forward thing check out this instructables article.

Harry Potter Crafts

From the Leaky Cauldron Website:
Are you so good at knitting, sewing and/or cross-stitching that your relatives are sure you are a witch in disguise who uses magic to conjure up wonderful things? Have you read the Harry Potter books so many times you can quote them to all the Muggles of this world? If so, why not combine the two and make some Harry Potter Crafts? This section of TLC will bring you pictures, tutorials and patterns so you can potterize your favorite crafts and Harry Potter costumes.

Beaded Bangles

These bangles look so fancy and expensive but they are so easy to make! You have Danwei over at Craftster.org to thank for this tutorial!

Owl Sweater Knitting Pattern

I thought this sweater was so cute! But it's a little over my head. Maybe I'll tackle it someday. For now, enjoy your own!

Tutorial

Simple Tote Bag

I just LOVED this tote bag and plan on making it myself soon. I thought I would share this tutorial with you so you can make it youself!

Tutorial

How to turn a Tee into a Shrug

How to Turn a Tee into a Simple Shrug

Knit Ferrari

Seen on Craftster:
Posted by by sweets4ever

What does a 22-year old do when she wants a Ferrari? She creates one. She knits one, to be exact. Crafty Lauren and 20 of her family members and friends created this Ferrari out of 250 squares of garter stitch. The full-size car was created in 10 months and is crafted from nearly 12 miles of yarn.

You had better get knitting, if you plan to give these bad boys out as holiday presents this year!

Resin Knitting Needles

I recently ordered a resin kit off of Etsy and was looking around for crafting ideas. I came across this on Craftster.com and decided to share this idea with you!

Tutorial

Goodreads

When I'm not crafting, I can usually be found sleeping, reading, or online. With this blog I combine crafting and online, but now I've found a website that lets me combine reading and being online!

Goodreads describes itself as:

"Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. We have over 2,400,000 members who have added over 57,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more. Goodreads was launched in December 2006. "

I get so much more out of it though. It pushes me to read books to raise my number o books read, allows me to find good books to read, and lets me discuss good books with a wide array of people.

If you get a Goodreads account Add Me

Green Friendship Necklace

Post and Images by:Tiffany Threadgould

Puzzled by what to do with that 999 piece puzzle piled in the back of your closet? Brush it off and put a new twist on those split-heart friendship necklaces. When you use two connecting pieces, you can keep one for yourself and give the other to your better half.

Here's a great green and crafty way of making beautiful earrings out of plastic cups!

Post By: Elizabeth Seward

With every celebration like this, plastic cups are left throughout the house, waiting to be recycled or reused the next day. While plastic cups can be recycled, thankfully, you can also make some pretty nifty earrings out of them, too. Making these funky earrings from your used plastic cups is easy.

1. Locate Your Plastic Cups

Image courtesy of Elizabeth Seward.

Clean them out thoroughly.

2. Make Rings

Image courtesy of Elizabeth Seward.

Cut them into rings by simply cutting straight across the cup.

3. Assemble Your Earrings

Image courtesy of Elizabeth Seward.

Tie the rings together with string and attach that string to earring backs.

Enjoy! This project is a great way to reuse those pesky plastic cups from your party and be fashionable while you're at it. We also recommend opting for reusable cups instead, but if these show up, here's a way to reuse them.

Eyeglass Pendants

Here's another repost from the Planet Green Website (I just love them!)

Credit Dawn Anderson/Lark Studio

Post By Blythe Copeland

We've talked before about how to donate old eyeglasses, but if you'd rather reuse than recycle, turn your lenses into pendants with simple chains and one very unexpected material.

You might look at a security envelope and see junk mail, but Dawn from Lark Studio sees "phenomenal" prints. Save your next leftovers and cut them to fit eyeglass lenses from pairs of your old prescription; then pair with simple chains, exotic beads, or classic clasps for a pendant with a modern shape, graphic pattern, and chic silhouette.

Pair the clear version with a simple black tank; the blue with a strapless cocktail dress; and the green with a basic sweater--and no one needs to know that you're wearing your junk mail. Or collect your own envelopes and see what other combinations you can come up with. Don't wear glasses? Use any clear, flat pendant to make a design of your own.

The project at Lark Studio was inspired by a similar idea from Naughty Secretary Club, where out-of-date or expired lenses are decorated with petite charms and vintage photos. There, you can find step-by-step instructions for separating the frames from the lenses and attaching the background with decoupage.

Bird feeder

I found this blog post on the Planet Green Website and just couldn't resist sharing it with you. One of my favorite things to do is feed the birds in the winter, so here's an eco friendly way to feed them, while getting your kids involved!

Birdseed Ornaments

These are best for cooler weather because in the heat they just melt into seed filled puddles of fat. They are great cheap, Christmas gifts that kids can make for grandparents and teachers. Use organic ingredients in these. It's healthier for the birds, too.

Materials:

• Organic wild birdseed
• 1 cup organic peanut butter (crunchy works well)
• 1 lb. of vegetable shortening
• ½ cup of oatmeal
• ½ cup of cornmeal
• ½ cup of raisins
• Metal cookie cutters or molds (Tuna cans with both ends removed work fine.)
• Twine

Instructions:

1. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment, waxed paper or a silicon sheet like Sil-pat. Set aside.
2. Melt the vegetable shortening and the peanut butter over low heat, stirring constantly.
3. When the mixture is completely melted and blended add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat.
4. Spoon the warm mixture into the molds.
5. Let cool and then chill in the refrigerator or freezer until firm.
6. Remove the cake from the mold. You may need to warm the outside of the mold a little.
7. Poke a knitting needle through the top to make a hole.
8. Insert twine and knot into a loop.
9. Hang outside for the birds to enjoy.

These yarns are some of my favorite not only because they are Eco friendly, but because the colors are so intense. I have made several products out of this yarn and have never been disappointed. The Caron website boasts

"Every 10 skeins of Simply Soft Eco saves 6 plastic bottles from America's landfills."

And

"Caron has saved nearly 1,500,000 plastic bottles from America’s landfills, recycling the bottles as fiber in Simply Soft Eco."

And even though you would think that the yarn would be rough from having plastic made into it, it is some of the softest and silkiest yarn I have ever used.

So why not give it a try?

Going Green

It seems to me that the crafting and living a green life should go hand in hand. Going green is a lot easier than you would think. In the next few days I want to share with you some simple ways to make your footprint just a little smaller.

On the Planet Green website they have tips and tricks to living a greener life. Here are just a few:

1. Bring a reusable bag wherever you go. Excess bags just add to the landfill and you don't need them in the first place. There's no reason not to do this. Try an easy Chico bag you can carry with you.

2. Ditch the processed food. It takes unnecessary energy to produce it, as well as tons of packaging.

3. Make your own cleaning products. Cleaning products (even eco-friendly varieties) often come in plastic bottles and they are trucked in from who knows where wasting tons of fossil fuels.

4. Calculate your water footprint. How can you know where you need to cut water usage if you don't know how much you're using and where you're using it?

5. Don't drink milk. Livestock consumes much of the land on the planet, whether for meat or dairy, and creates literally tons and tons of pollution, estimates are in the 1/5th of all greenhouse gases range.

6. Wear less makeup. Using less makeup will save us on resources and money, and you'll look better too.

7. Drink less bottled water, try to drink none. The U.S. sends two million tons of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water packaging to the landfill each year. Just drink the tap.

8. Wash your clothes in cold water. About 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water.

9. Pass up the fast food joint, bring your own grub. Let me count the reasons why. There's the immense shipping programs emitting harmful gases, the millions of tons of waste generated annually, and not to mention the total lack of nutritional value in fast food restaurant's most popular menu items.

10. Skip Starbucks and brew your own coffee. Once we factor in the cost of the gourmet coffee and the cost of driving there, each time we brew a cup at home, we save about the equivalent of a gallon of gas.

11. Shut down your PC. If every American worker remembers to turn off their computer at night, the nation's companies would prevent the release of 39,452 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions, save $4.7 million in utility costs, and reduce energy consumption by 54.3 million kilowatt-hours per day.

12. Skip the store bought cereal and make your own granola instead. Cereal usually comes in a plastic bag within a cardboard box that all gets thrown away at least once a week if not more.

13. Become a weekday vegetarian. By cutting meat out of your diet entirely you save 5,000 lbs of carbon emissions per year, so even reducing your meat intake to two out of seven days will still make a big difference.

14. Grow some of your own food. This way you don't have to buy it and it's about as local as possible.

15. Add insulation to your attic. The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates it will save you 2,142 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions--through the heat your home retains in winter and doesn't gain in the summer--and hundreds of dollars in lower energy bills.

Counterfeit Handbags

No, not the illegal kind.



For tips and tricks on how to make your own visit the Craftzine Blogpost.

Fall Favorites

A collection of my favorite fall things off of Etsy.

Double Leaf Necklace

 

 

Oak Leaf Painting

 

 

Soft Brick Scarf

 

Leaf Of The Fall 

 

 

Night Owl - Reversible Picturebox Necklace

New things on etsy!