project #2: 3 items!

I actually made this button wreath before my 25 Day Challenge, but I wanted to share it here. It's so adorable, and I think I may keep it for myself... it basically used up the last of my red buttons (still have some green ones left for buttons on cards, etc.).

Since yesterday's CD holder was a little pathetic design-wise, I decided to take a piece of dark jean material and add the image of an angel from some store-bought garland. My sewing-machine-skills are not top-notch yet, but I'm getting there. Practice makes perfect.

A side project I decided to finally finalize today was to mod podge a wine bottle, so I could it as a bracelet holder (saw this idea on Pinterest, of course!, yet my sister said, "Why not use it as an air freshener, too, and put potpourri in it? Genius!). The moose paper was made by our Copy Center; I sent them a document that had a small moose image duplicated on it. They then just printed off a bunch of pages for me on TAN paper. Yeah. I think each sheet was TEN CENTS or something crazy like that. I used this paper to cover our outlets, too, in the house instead of buy white ones (because the outlets the last owners left us were of the off-white variety).

Did you know that mod podge is basically glue and water? Yes, someone posted on Pinterest a DIY recipe for the stuff, and that's what it is. Crazy, right? Those people are making a lot of money off of lazy people.

In fact, that may be a side thing I've learned in becoming more "craft-sy" or more of a DIYer = If you want to save money, just start rethinking objects. My sister & I went shopping at little vintage shop yesterday in town, and at one point she said, "I could MAKE this," pointing to some stuffed Christmas tree that had a post on the inside of it to make it stand up, "But I know I won't."

A woman who we didn't know even smiled & nodded when my sister proclaimed that.

So, I guess this Christmas - since who knows where I'll be with this craft obsession next Christmas - I will be giving more of my time and thoughts to all this.

Side Project Idea:

When I went to our basement to get my mod podge and the moose paper, I found these paper beads I made using newspaper (again, it was all about watering down crumpled newspaper strips and adding glue to get them into a ball shape).