Yesterday On Tuesday: Crafty Goodness

Crafty Goodness

02/19/2012

Vintage YoT: Making Bracelets from Belt Material

A few months ago I scored a gigantic roll of woven belt material at the thrift store. It cost me $2.99. I was pretty pleased until I thought-- What the heck am I going to do with this?

Make bracelets.

Supplies: Woven belt material, needle and thread, fabric flowers, bracelet end pieces, jewelry clasps, jump rings, buttons, cabochons and strong adhesive like E-6000.

Measure the belt material against your wrist, allowing for bracelet clasps on either side. Sew the bracelet and belt material together.

Repeat on other side.

A blank canvas!

Attach jump ring and fastener to one side.

Now for the fun part-- decorating the bracelets. I made bracelets for 5-year old Mia and her friend Jasmine. They got to choose their buttons, cabochons and fabric flowers.

Turns out Jasmine is a pink cabochon girl. I used E-6000 adhesive to attach them to the belt material.

And for Mia, "more" is always better. She went with a red and pink color combination. I sewed the buttons on.

I went with a simple oversized fabric flower and button for myself.

Linking up.

Posted at 05:00 PM in Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (6)

Technorati Tags: DIY bracelets, how to make bracelets, making bracelets, making bracelets out of belt material

02/18/2012

Vintage YoT: Interview with Keren from FPTFY

Hi! I wanted to share a "vintage" edition of my Behind the Blog series-- with a blogger who is as genuine and sweet as the vintage images she shares... Keren from Free Pretty Things For You. She's even gifting us with a darling new image right here-- at the end of the post.

How did “Free Pretty Things For You” come about? I believe the Lord works something negative into something positive when you’re trusting in Him. FPTFY was created after I was laid off from a staffing agency—while I was pregnant. As I searched and applied for work online, I would wonder off to beautiful blogs—and long for a little place I could call my own in cyberspace. I wanted a place where anyone with a love for prettiness could come and enjoy my work.

Do you collect vintage books and ephemera? Where do you find the images? What if someone wants to send you images to share… is that ok? If so, what format would you like them in?

Favorite Vintage Image

I collect vintage greeting cards and Valentine’s Day cards. I also collect vintage and baby shower and arrival announcements. Mostly I find and buy them at my local flea markets and antique shops. But you get the best deals at the flea market! I LOVE it when fellow readers send me images that they cherish and want to share with others. Both JPEG or PDF work.

How do you choose which vintage images to post? I have hundreds of images.The only way to really do it is just scan through them and what ever speaks to me that day; I pick apart and start editing away. There’s no real science to my madness.

You’re very generous in that you “give” the images away—what’s your philosophy?
I can't draw to save my life and for a really long time I didn't know how to use Photoshop. Before then, I yearned for pretty vintage art images with a modern spin, but I could never find any. Now that I know how to create them and see how much people love them, how can I not share them?
My motto is the Golden Rule: “Do unto to other as you would have them to do unto you” Matthew 7:12

What are your favorite images?

If I had to pick, it would be my banner image. I started creating an invitation to use for my little girl’s first birthday party. By the end, I loved it so much that I decided to use it for my banner!

These are my other Favorites:
Lovely Deer

Vintage Girl Sewing

Bluebird

What makes you happiest about sharing your work? The joy that comes from reading all the wonderful comments I receive on a daily basis make it all worth it!

Are you a trained graphic designer? I always giggle when I get asked this. I just learned how to use Photoshop six months ago. I am nowhere near advanced at it! I still have along way to go. Basically, I just like playing around with it and figuring out things as I go. My next step is to take some classes to get better.

Can you share your creative process? What type of equipment/scanner do you use?
After choosing the images I want to work with, I start picking them apart and taking different pieces of images and put them all together to see if they work. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, but that’s the fun part! I have an HP photosmart Plus Scanner-Printer-Copier. It's a good scanner but not very printer friendly The cartridges are super small and very expensive. I think I have the oldest version of Photoshop known to man LOL. It has worked for me up until now, but I am definitely going to upgrade soon. Can’t wait to see what else I can create with the newer version!

Tell us about the Flickr group…
My Flickr group is called You Made It with FPTFY! Followers can upload any of the projects they have created using my images or projects inspired by any of my DYI crafts and will be featured on my blog. It's really fun and it gives exposure to your site!

Can you share any tips on how to get the best results when we use your images?
If you don’t have Photoshop, you could use Picnik, Picasa or FhotoFlexer to add text or re-size the images Then just print them.

What other types of crafty projects do you enjoy doing?
My followers have described my crafts as "user friendly crafts" which I never thought of until they said so. I love doing crafts that are super easy to create and very budget friendly-- and pretty! One of the most beloved by my readers are the "lasercut cupcakes wrappers” I recreated using paper doilies. So simple, so pretty and so CHEAP!

Cupcake Wrappers

Tell us about you…What inspires you? Pretty Packaging has to be on the very top of things that inspire me! I love making the person that receives my packages extra special when they see it.

My favorite places to visit are: Such Pretty Things, Style Me Pretty, A Field Journal, oh hello friend, and One Pretty Thing.

Hmm, I'm seeing a pattern that most of them have the word pretty in them…

Keren’s Favorites
Color Combo: Aqua and Pink

Favorite Movie: I have two favorite movies: Life is Beautiful (I ALWAYS cry in the end) and my big fat Greek wedding (I can’t stop laughing every time I see it. Even though I know all the words to it. So hilarious!)

Favorite Snack: Sun Chips!

Song: Lord I believe in you By Crystal Lewis

TV Show: Wife Swap (lol) can’t get enough of it.

Keren's Little Inspiration

Take us through your idea of a perfect day... Having slept more than five hours the night before and then having my baby wake up in a good mood makes a good start to a perfect day. Then getting struck by a brilliant new craft idea, having all the supplies to make it, getting at least one awesome picture of it and posting about it right away! At the end of the day seeing that everyone loved my project and want to try it too makes me smile.

Anything else you want to share? If you ever have a specific design you would like me to create please feel free to contact me. I love to hear new ideas and love the challenge of it. I wanted to say thank you to my loving husband, Joshua, for being my biggest fan He is always helping me with the baby, cooking and even cleaning up. I have the most wonderful man. Love you, darling!

Also-- thank you, Malia, for giving me a chance to share a little bit of my world with you lovely readers. Your sweet comments always encourage and uplift me.

You're too kind Keren. Give us your info…

FPTFY Blog

Google+

Twitter

Flickr

FB

Email

Check out this "new" vintage image-- a cute kitty Keren is sharing with YOT readers...

She even made a special version for me...

Thank you Keren!

Posted at 05:00 AM in Beautiful People, Behind the Blog, Blogs I Heart, Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (2)

Technorati Tags: fptfy, free pretty things for you, free vintage kitten graphic, keren from fptfy

02/15/2012

Crafty Soiree #77: Home Matters

Hi Folks! Welcome to A Crafty Soiree... I am so happy to see you. This week it's all about the home...

Elegant and feminine... this nursery by The Stories of A & Z and Little B will inspire you!

Ok this project is so touching and wonderful...Adoption Pillow created by Applestone Drive

Looking for a stylish way to display earrings? Check out this great idea from Raising Oranges

Smart and chic.. Faux Wainscoting by Laughter and Grace

Don't you "love" this? Shabby Chic artwork from The Simple Things

Thank you for linking up!

I'd love to see what else you're been working on...

Party Guidelines

1. Link up to four of your creative projects (No Etsy stores or other linky parties pretty please).

2. Add your link to the specific posts not the main URL.

3. Add a "Crafty Soiree" button to your blog or posts.

4. Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All partygoers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!

5. Your hostesses would love it if you'd follow us. You can find Katie here.

I'd LOVE to see what you're been working on... let's link up!

Posted at 05:00 PM in Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (11)

02/12/2012

Vintage YoT: We Love You Frame

Hi Friends! I have thing for chalkboards and chalkboard paint.Chalkboards don't have to be black or green anymore. There's a bevy of beautiful colors out there. You can use chalkboard spray paint or find it as an acrylic or latex paint.

Rust-oleum makes a latex paint that can be tinted in a dozen different shades including raspberry, peapod, periwinkle and garnet. I used garnet for this "I Love You" chalkboard frame project. This is a good gift the "kids" can make to give Dad for Valentine's Day *wink wink*.

Supplies: wooden frame from Michaels ($1), quick grip glue, chalk ink or white chalk, Rust-olem chalkboard paint, conversation hearts candy and a photo to put in the frame.

Paint the frame red. It will probably take two coats.

I had my kids write their names with a chalk ink pen (available at Michael's). I've found that when I am writing letters the chalk ink is easier to use then regular chalk.

The neat thing about that latex paint is that if you mess up with the chalk ink, you can just use a damp rag to clean up the "oops" and redo.

Next step, mess with the conversation hearts to see where you want to place them and how you like the colors to go together.

Here's mine pre-glue.

Glue action shot.

I wrote "We heart You" at the top.

Use the little square that came in the frame as a template to trim your photo.

I'll admit I tried to find the best looking candy hearts that I could.

All ready for Valentine's Day gift giving!

Linking up here.

Posted at 05:00 PM in Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (6)

Technorati Tags: cheap valentine's day gifts, fast crafts for valentine's day, last minute valentine's day gifts, valentine's day crafts

02/11/2012

Happy to be a "Linky Follower"

Hello There!

I know many of us bloggers have been feeling bummed and confused about losing Google Friend Connect next month. Google is encouraging folks to move over to Google+ in lieu of GFC. Colleen (Mural Maker and More) has written some great posts about how to navigate your way through that change. You can find links to her posts about Google+ here.

BUT... there's also another new/additional option to consider... it's called Linky Followers. Brent Riggs is the guy behind McLinky parties... (thank you, Brent) and he is always really responsive and great to work with. Here's the deal with Linky Followers:

The Concept

People visit your blog and like it... they want to "follow" you.
They "follow" your blog by adding themselves to your Linky Followers widget that is displayed on your blog.
They can then use their own Linky Followers account to see when you've posted something and click a link to come back to your blog to read the post.
The person who has followed you, can follow other blogs. They can organize and monitor those blogs from their Linky Followers Dashboard.

(from linkyfollowers.com)

Cool, Huh? My Linky Followers is on my right sidebar. I'm excited we have this new way to connect to other blogs and bloggers and I'm looking forward to following "old" friends and meeting new ones too through this new tool.

Connect with YoT through Linky Followers and I will do the same through your blog.

Hope to see you via Linky Followers!

Floral Labels courtesy of Keren and Free Pretty Things for You

Posted at 06:00 AM in Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (4)

Technorati Tags: brent riggs, google friend connect, google plus, google+, linky followers, mclinky, what is google plus, what is linky followers

02/05/2012

Simple Scrabble Tile Pendant Necklaces

Hi Frends! I've been making and selling Scrabble Tile Necklaces for a few years now. I've tried many different ways of making them, but I think I've finally found the right combo of products... and the simplest technique-- and I want to share them with you. Scrabble Tile Necklaces are great for gift giving, for school fundraising and for selling.

Here's the easiest way to make these pretty upcycled pieces of jewelry:

If you have any questions about the products or process, send me an email at yesterdayontues@yahoo.com.

Linking Up

Monday

http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com/

http://sewcando.blogspot.com/

http://www.thegirlcreative.com

http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/

http://www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/

http://www.skiptomylou.org/

http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

http://www.lifemadelovely-blog.com/

Tuesday

http://shoprubyjean.com

http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/

http://www.rookno17.com/

http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/

http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

Wednesday

http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/

http://takeitfrom-me.blogspot.com/

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

http://gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com/

http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/

Thursday

http://www.yesterdayontuesday.com/

http://answerischocolate.blogspot.com/

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/

http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/

http://alliemakes.blogspot.com/

Friday

http://www.504main.com/

http://www.mommiecooks.com/

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

http://www.chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/

http://tidymom.net/

http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/

Saturday

http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/

http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

Sunday

http://www.flamingotoes.com/

Posted at 05:00 PM in Crafty Goodness | Permalink | Comments (11)

Technorati Tags: bails, E-6000, how to make jewelty, how to make scrabble tile necklaces, how to make scrabble tile necklaces, ICE resin, jewelry making, malia karlinsky, modge podge, scrabble tile jewelry, scrabble tile necklace tutorial, stickles, yesterday on tuesday, yesterdayontuesday

01/29/2012

Cute Felt Sweet Heart Sachets

Here's a cute Valentine's treat WITH a secret ingredient but WITHOUT the calories...

Felt Sweet Heart Sachets! My 6-year old daughter and I had so much fun putting these together.

Supplies: Felt from the craft store in "Sweet Heart" candy shades, StazOn ink in blazing red, disappearing ink pen (sewing store), heart cookie cutter, small rubber stamps, sharp scissors, FabriTac other fabric glue (and a sewing machine with red thread IF you like) and last but not least... Swiffer Sweeper cloths in Lavender-Vanilla.