ear bud makeover

what do ear buds bloom into??? hehehe

so, i've joined the online social thing and recently reactivated my long time deleted facebook page.....then meg invited me to join pinterest, and who am i to say no? let me warn you- pinterest is a fun time suck thing. you start looking at others' boards and clicking links and the next thing you know, eight hours are gone. *opps* (but since the holidays have made it impossible to find anything i haven't already seen on TV, pinterest has been a fun distraction)

image source

 as i was clicking around on pinterest, i saw this pin and immediately thought i wanted to try it. i made a smack load of friendship bracelets in high school, so this was right up my alley. (the link under the pic will take to all the places i went to figure this out. i already knew how to make the knot that twists like that. they call it 'chinese stair steps', but i know it as 'french twist')

i have embrodiery floss, but way back before i started LAing, i hand quilted my quilts with perle cotton. i bought three skeins of this beautiful hand dyed thread and since it's just sitting in a drawer- mize well use it...

about 8 hours later, stretched out over the course of last week, this is what i have

*drool* pretty pretty

awesome, if you ask me....

here they are with my phone...a match made in heaven.

*perfect*

so then i decided that my new fancy earbuds needed a mode of transport. i remembered seeing Erin's circle earbud pouch tutorial around christmas. this was exactly what i had in mind.

so a couple hours this afternoon and wha-la, my fancy-smancy earbuds have a new home.

the really cool thing about this- the knot-wrap around the cords keeps them from getting all tangled up.

so, there it is- my first project of 2012...

cindy used my tutorial

i recieved an email from Cindy couple weeks ago. she had made a tote from a dog food bag following my tutorial. she sent me a picture of the bag and it even included the benefactor of the food. here's her picture and her email:

Thank you!! I just finished mine, minus the handles.. (which is proving to be my biggest obstacle) and I so totally LOVE my new bag! I've been holding on to this dog food bag for about 2 years, hoping to find something like this tutorial that is also this thorough.

Can't wait to use my bag (once I hand stitch the handles on.. LOL)

Oh, I'm also your newest follower!
-Cindy

thanks for sharing your picture and pooch! i love the how the great dane is along the edge of the tote...you did a great job!

gifty goodness

OMGoodness! i am one lucky dog! looky what teresa brought me!

is it not the coolest little tote ever! now i can tote my junk in style...and in secret...

THANK YOU TERESA!

i (heart) it!

i'm going to 'hide' my travel projects in it for quilting on the go!

crafty recycling

you know that i love to make stuff from stuff. more exactly, i like to make stuff that is useful from something otherwise mundane. check this out:

yup, it's made from a dog food bag. it's that woven plastic fabric. i just made a tote from it...it needs to be washed again....speaking of, if you plan to do this; a couple tips:

1. wash the bag thoroughly with hot soapy water and let dry over night

2. use a jeans/heavy duty needle in your sewing machine and go slow...

3. do not try to iron it...(well, i had to try so i could tell you whether it worked or not))

4. lengthen your stitch length (i went to 8 per inch) and use a cut off piece to test tensions

5. use a thicker thread than normal 'piecing' thread, i used a machine quilting weight cotton

i saw this idea on someone's blog (click here for just one of many) , but they were using bird seed bags, so i can't take credit for the idea...but i think i'm the first to use a dog food bag. plus, it's my favorite color: GREEN! so, keep your eyes open for new 'materials' that can be repurposed into a nice conversation piece...