DUN.

The gifts are DUN. Wahoo! I just sent them off yesterday!

My husband has finely asked me to take a break from projects. I knew this day would come. The poor darling. He hasn't seen our kitchen table for weeks. But don't fret-- he's agreed to let me finish what I've already begun... ( ie the five fab. free gifts..... eeeeee!!!!!).... and, he only needs me to not craft for a week-
OH sigh. I have not posted any recent projects-- my apologies. It's just that these gifties are consuming all my time- I would of course post about the entire process, including all my hangups, but I don't want to give anything away. You understand I'm sure.
But, I did make some EXTREMELY easy vintage button danglies with a hot glue gun the other day... here they are. And.... a sneak peek at my table. Yikes. How embarrassing.
Hummm... I'm a little worried though-- if you look at my table too closely you just MIGHT get a clue about the freebies..... so DON'T. At least don't if you are one of the lucky five.
Well.... I think I'll be sending the gifts tomorrow, and then it's back to life as usual. Sniff Sniff... the end of projects are always bitter sweet for me- especially when I must say goodbye.

Gifts officially in progress!!!!

To my lovely ladies who commented on the free-homemade gift post (Mama Corleone, Michelle, Laura, Lorren, and Kara Denise... I have officially begun your gifts!!!! Hooray! OH cheer! I am working with something TOTALLY new to me... and of course, things are never as easy as they seem.... but I am already THRILLLLLLLED!!!!! Oh they are going to be GORGEOUS! A new obsession has begun, and new ideas keep filling my mind, ways to make things more unique- more personal to each of you.

Who knows... you might not think they are even that great once received... but I'm really having a good time with this. You five have inspired me.

So.... I hope I have not revealed anything- my only wish is to put your minds at ease- I have not forgotten my promise of a personal gift within the month- the little beauties are on well on their way!

Now, for me to send them to you, I'll need your addresses..... hummm.... how should I get them? Perhaps in a message on facebook? We're all friends there right? I think so. Just let me know there or wherever. Thank you ladies!

Not for the faint of heart.

Seriously, this project is not for the faint of heart. I got this idea from a link on greenliving.com, which lists ways to reuse plastic bags.
So, from an idea there, I decided to make a little raincoat or windbreaker out of my grocery bags.
To do this, first you need to fuse your bags, (there are a TON of tutorials out there explaining the process ), and then you can use it like any other fabric supposedly-- the process sounds simple enough-- but for some reason, half of the time the bags I was using would just shrivel up, bubble, melt, etc. etc. etc... and I would be doing the same thing every time! SO frustrating! But still, I love the idea, and would especially love it if someone else out there could master the bag-fusing technique and give me some pointers. :)
A HUGE thanks goes out to my mother for all her help with this project. She created the pattern for the coat from a hoody.
The actual bags I used come from three places.... Meijer grocery store, The Art Museum of Columbus ( the neon yellow bag), and The Dispatch (the orange bag our Sunday papers come in).
Also, a huge thanks to our friends who bribed their son to wear this super crinkly coat for some pictures. He wasn't too happy to do it, but I am SOOOO grateful. :)
Honestly, I was surprised at how fabulous the coat turned out.
As for some other details, I tacked in a hoody to make it a little more comfortable, and added some snaps to the exterior.
As always- nothing is a science. I share these things to help give others ideas-- change it how you will. But, if you do have specific questions about this, or any other project, don't hesitate to ask them! I love to share! Thanks all!

Homemade gifts giveaway!!! as in FREE-E-E-E!

I got this on my friend's blog. In order for me to recieve a handmade gift from her, I have to post it on my blog as well. I am a little excited to play this game!
So if you want to play, leave a comment but read the whole post first, because there is a condition.
The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me to you. My choice. Made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.
2.What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done sometime this month...( my friend said 1 year but like another friend said, I don't want this hanging over me all year...)
.4. You have no clue what it will be. I promise it will be made with love!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is you must post this on your blog and offer the same to the first five people who post it on their blog. The first five people to do so and leave a comment letting me know they did will receive a homemade gift from me!!

Altered art journal

I got this idea in the beginning from the journals at www.littleblackkitty.typepad.com/ but had NO idea how to actually make one-- bind it etc... so looked around, and found this altered art journal idea at artfulcollections.blogspot.com.
Anyways.... a lot of work, but the long and short of it is this- I found a book with a cover I liked at the Goodwill. Then, I glued every other page together with a regular glue stick, to make the pages stronger. Then, I did a bunch of different things.... I painted most of the pages, glued in other paper, glued in ribbon, lace, and doilies I liked, and even ironed in fabric I liked using fusible webbing.
On the cover I also ironed on a cute cross stitch picture I found at Goodwill, again with fusible webbing, and put a pocket in the front of the book, for pictures, pens, whatever.
The deal is that you can do whatever you want-- so come up with your own ideas.
This isn't really an "art" journal I don't think... but rather a journal of sorts, which could be an art journal if you wanted, but for me I liked the idea of painting and embellishing, but still leaving room for other stuff.... it's just nice to have some things already there to act as inspiration for the future.
I gave this to my sister.... though admittedly, after all that work, it was hard to say goodbye!
P.S. if any of you ever try this, WAX PAPER IS YOUR FRIEND! It is the thing to use to protect the pages you've already worked on as you begin other pages.
Leave questions if you have them! And as always... I LOVE comments and other ideas!!!! Thanks!