Circus Mouse Door Stop

This guy takes less than 1/2 hr to make and he's pretty strong for his size ;)
Click on the images to save/ print - as usual it will fit on an 8.5x11" piece of paper.

hoo loves you baby!

Inspired by an old ink well I picked up in Jerusalem a couple of years ago - This valentine owl's head flips up so you can put candy or a rolled up letter in him! Click on the image to save/ enlarge - tutorial and pattern should fit on an 8.5x11" paper.

you will need:

• inner tube/ roll from a used roll of paper towels
• scissors
• glue stick (or tape)
• printer
  

bling necklaces

I was admiring the necklaces on the anthropologie website, and lucky for me there's not a store for hundreds of miles- so I went through my craft supplies.
Felt can be substituted for foam on these projects (and yes this will the last mention of craft foam for a while, I promise). Also the tutorial patterns are general placements- you can see in the photos that i had to modify the pattern slightly based on what I actually got in the "rhinestone grab bag", I suspect you would have to do the same.

Luggage Tags

More craft foam! I used the plane and technique from the silhouette tutorial for this design, but feel free to freehand your own - I've seen some awesome cherry and daisy designs on expensive leather tags! Click/save the below tutorial for tag assembly instructions.

travel gnome

Now you too can play Amelie, without having to dig through the snow! This would make a great gift post trip (because you have to include him in the photos) to that special person who just doesn't get out enough.

Although it's not likely that I'm going on a trip in the near future, I couldn't help myself when I picked up my old copy of Gnomes with drawings by Rein Poortvliet. My Gnome is less grizzled, but it brought me back to my childhood when I used to try and draw pictures from the book.

This pocket has a handy zipper on the side so it can be used for loose change or reading style glasses. The print out and directions are on the same page- they should fit on to a 8.5x11" piece of paper. Remember that you will need an additional 1/2 inch or so seam allowance of fabric all around the "cut out" area.

silhouette necklaces

Ah, my newest fascination: craft foam, courtesy of my local dollar store. You can freehand the designs on to the foam with a ball point pen, or use my tutorial for transferring a more complex pattern. Sharp scissors and an x-acto knife (for the fine detail) will be required. I also purchased this jewelry kit from the dollar store that had chains, clasps and jump rings (great deal!). I attached at least 2 jump rings and 2 clasps to each silhouette so that I can mix and match the pieces.

New Year Clean Slate

Happy New Year to all who follow the gregorian calender! A lot has gone on since I was last able to post anything, so I will just start with thanking everyone for all of their positive comments and feedback - truly, it means the world to me.

The saddest news is that the brother in law is back in the hospital (he managed to get out for Christmas). The nurses say it's still extremely serious, but they tell us he's a fighter (we already knew this ;) . It's amazing to think that I really didn't comprehend how serious pneumonia was to someone in their mid 30's. Tough stuff.

On a happier note, the company is coming along, the business plan is in full swing, and even some of the team got interviewed by local media. Well the interview was about work done pre layoff, but it's good if we stay in the public eye.

It's new year, and a clean slate! Having this new found time on my hands means I have a few new crafts that will be posted over the next few days: jewelry, travel and LOST are the themes