Crafty Creatives

I inquired on Twitter yesterday what everyone's favorite crafty business books were in terms of running your own business, financial plans, etc, and I had an overwhelming amount of people point in the direction of these books so I snagged them up on Amazon yesterday for cheap! I also love the free Amazon Prime 2-day shipping so I might have 3 of these as early as tomorrow! Woot!

Have you read any of these? Love them? Hate them? Recommend any others? 

I'd love to hear your feedback!

As seen above:
Craft, Inc. Business Planner, Craft, Inc., Creative, Inc., and The Handmade Marketplace

PSST! These could make a great Valentine's gift for the crafty person in your life! Jump on the Amazon Prime shipping and you'll have it in time for the lovey dovey holiday!

Guest Post: LindsayHarmony DIY Felt Penguin Ornament!

Hello everyone! I just got my Christmas tree a couple of days ago, and I don’t know about you guys but I love handmade Christmas ornaments! They don’t have to be too complicated either, here’s a tutorial for an easy and fun penguin ornament made of felt and some fabric scraps.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Some felt in a few different colors (one main color for the body plus a few scraps for the beak and bow tie), some fabric scraps, buttons, some ribbon or rick-rack, a needle and thread, some glue, and optional polyester fiber-fill (or other stuffing material).

First, print and cut out the pattern pieces attached, then trace and cut out all your pieces. Part A will be cut from your main color of felt twice, this will be the front and back of the penguin. Part B will be cut from your fabric scraps, this will be the belly. And the bow tie and beak can be cut from other scraps of felt.

Next, you’re going to want to sew or glue the belly piece onto one of your pieces of felt. Line the bottoms of the pieces up. If you’re choosing to sew it on, you only need to sew the arch part, as the bottom will get sewed together later when you sew the back and front together.

Next come the eyes, you can again either sew or glue on the buttons. Then glue on the beak and bow tie. I prefer to glue these rather than sew because they’re so tiny. If you’re using tacky glue, don’t worry about getting any on the felt, it will dry clear!

Now you have the front of the penguin done! If you wanted to make this a no-sew project, you could easily glue on some ribbon to the top of the penguin and he’d be all ready to hang. But if you’d like to stuff the penguin, it’s time to stitch him all together! We’re going to stitch this front piece to the other piece of felt you’ve cut out. Lay the front piece on top of the back, and start to sew a running stitch all around the edges.

Once you get to the top, fold a piece of ribbon or rick-rack and lay it in between the front and back of the penguin. Sew over this to secure it.

Continue sewing all the way around, until you have about 2 inches left to sew. Stuff the penguin as little or as much as you’d like. I personally like mine a little plump =]

Finish off the stitching with a knot and you’re all done!

I love to make these little penguins in all kinds of color + fabric combinations. They make great gifts and look perfect on any tree!

Happy crafting!

-Lindsay

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Be sure to stop by Lindsay's etsy shop to see her cute little pieces of felty-goodness! (The shark is my favorite! Followed close behind by the Sweet Autumn headband!) Thanks Lindsay! Stay tuned for a magical metallic foil wreath by SusannahBean coming up later today!

New Etsy Update!

Since all of my Etsy inventory was ruined thanks to the flood, and Georgia has to have her third eye surgery (this time it's a double-eye surgery!), I've decided to craft my way through it :) I've made some floral rose barrettes, brooches and headbands, along with lace bows and things of that nature. I've priced them all very modestly (at least I think so) so hopefully some people would be interested in buying some. Georgia's surgery is not going to be cheap, so 100% of the proceeds will go directly to that. Her vet appointment is tomorrow so we will schedule it then and find out the damage. The most important thing to me is that she's happy and healthy.

Her surgery is due to the fact her eyelids are rolling in as she grows, thus causing her hair to scratch her corneas. This happens to a lot of dogs so I'm sure the surgery will go smoothly.

I will be taking my craft supplies with me to NYC so I'll be able to keep up with it while there as well. Any and all support would be more than amazing. She's my little sweet pea so this is all for her. I hope you enjoy the update!

There are 30 new items to choose from. I am happy to do custom orders, both in quantity and look. Any fabric you see can be paired with any other for a double or triple headband, as well as any kind of brooch and barrette.

CLICK HERE to see my Etsy. :)

xoxo

PS; Karlie is selling some of her clothes. Check out her stuff and see if you're interested!

PPS; Thanks for the sweet responses to my video tutorial! A lot of people have asked me to make more videos so please suggest things you'd like to see! I'm bad at coming up with stuff. Someone in my FormSpring asked me to do a relationship advice/positivity video, so if you have anything you'd like to ask or add, please leave it in a comment below or head over to my FormSpring! Feel free to suggest anything! xoxo

What a Wednesday!

Today was a lazy (but productive... craft wise!) day. I woke up and immediately started making fabric roses. Why? Why not! I've got some wonderful ideas in mind for these little things! I made 15 of them today (and boy are my fingers hurting!) and I made 8 the other night. I also made some organza flowers, but they didnt turn out exactly as cool. I made a run to WalMart and then back to the crafting. So lame! haha

I received some penpal packages, too! I received an adorable card, and a package from Stacey.. the package was so great! So spot on! She really gets me :P It had a cute floral apron, an anchor pin, a sweet pink bow ring, sunflower mini-pot, a shark magnet (!!!!!), a cute little heart shaped chew toy for georgia, gorgeous colored nail polish, an adorable floral pattern make-up-ish bag and a sweet note! She's the best! Then I received a huge box from Caitlin! She sent me some adorable fabrics, a thirfted dress, and some of the cutest jewelry ever (and a sweet card!) You guys really spoil me and it means so so so SO much, especially knowing where your hearts are at with it. I've started to rebuild my fabric and craft collection since I was so devastated to lose it.

Seriously! Thank you so much, guys! I will have packages out to everyone by the end of the week I hope! (Including Stacey, Caitlin, Aoife, Hannah, Susannah, etc!) Sorry for the delay, but I got my sewing machine fixed so I wanted to send everyone something handmade!

I made vegan sloppy joes for dinner as Mike got home and we just settled in and watched tv for most of the night (I made more floral roses, too). Tomorrow I have to be in Franklin at 11am for the FEMA inspector to come by what used to be my house and determine what kind of federal aid I'll be receiving (Lord knows it'd be heavensent at this point!). Also, I have to lug Baby G with me as her hairloss as gotten even more severe and she spent the entire day throwing up and having diarrhea (gross, i know!) but she's my baby and I need to take care of her. We're really really starting to worry. Keep your fingers crossed everything goes well! I'm sure they'll run some tests on her tomorrow.

The clock is ticking for my move to NYC. Just two weeks! I need to acquire and pack so much! This weekend is my last weekend at work (huzzah!) and we have Toby (double huzzah!) so I'm excited.

Earlier this week (Monday) I was going to do a "A Day in My Life" style post but of course I left my Nikon battery at home. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow? Not that anything exciting really happens but it'll push me to actually get dressed and to DO something with myself. It'll be a lot of driving and such tomorrow anyhow, but still! We'll see!

I hope you're all having a glorious week thus far! Thanks for being awesome blog readers!

xoxo

PS; My blog turns 1 year old on Sunday! And I'm so close to having 600 followers (holy cow! Never thought I'd say that!) In light of that, I'm going to post a little giveaway! So stay tuned! And send people over! The quicker that ticker hits 600, the quicker it'll happen!

DIY: Teacup Bird Feeder

I stumbled upon a crafty venture by Cap Creations the other night while I was up from a serious case of insomnia and she was making a bird feeder out of a teacup and saucer! Too cute! I knew this was something I could easily do myself so I documented the process myself and shot the photos to go along with it. So with that, I'm happy to introduce you to a DIY post!

Teacup Bird Feeder

Materials You'll Need:

• Teacup
• Saucer
• Spoon
• E-6000 Adhesive
• Sandpaper
• 1/2" Copper Cap
• 1/2" Copper Pipe (I used 24")
• Birdseed
• Water

Step One: Sand the bottom rim of the teacup that will sit on the saucer to allow for better adhesion. (I bought my teacup and saucers at Goodwill for $1!)

Step Two: Sand the inner part of the saucer where the rim of the teacup will sit. This, too, for better adhesion.

Step Three: Add the adhesive to the bottom rim of the teacup and place the cup on the saucer where you would like it to harden. (Apply pressure to the cup and saucer at this time to ensure a good bond.)

Step Four: Sand the bottom of the spoon that will rest on the saucer.

Step Five: Apply adhesive to the bottom of the spoon and situate on the saucer.

Step Six: The hardest part of all.... WAIT! You must give the adhesive the proper amount of time to dry so that it does not slip once put upright on a post. This can be as long as 24 hours, so check the back of your adhesive for drying times (I gave mine 3 or 4 hours and it was fine).

Step Seven: After you ensure that your teacup and saucer are properly bonded, sand the top of the copper cap.

Step Eight: Apply adhesive to the top of the cap and situate in the center bottom of the saucer. and then once more... WAIT! Give it just as much time, if not longer! This bond needs to be very very strong because this bird feeder is so top heavy!

Step Nine: After the cap has dried, insert the copper pipe once turned upright. Take outside and place in a flower bed or potted plant. (The deeper the potting soil, the better. It will help keep the bird feeder from tipping over.)

Step Ten: Add water to the teacup and birdseed to the saucer. Then sit back and enjoy! Your little birdie friends will love the little perch of the spoon handle and the yummy bird feed you've provided for them. It doesn't hurt that it looks awesome, too!

* DISCLAIMER: You do NOT have to use copper piping for this project. I simply did it because it looks nice! (It's very expensive, so if you DO decide to use it, be sure not to use it in places that are easily accesible by greedy hands! People steal copper on the daily because they can get a lot of money for it!)

Hope you enjoyed my little DIY post! Let me know if you decide to try it!

xoxo