So I had some fun over the holiday weekend. I bought this $3.00 nasty plastic, brass and glass ball lamp at Thrift World .
It has good bones but boy was it ugly but now it's beautiful. Ta Da! One coat of primer and several Coats of high gloss
silver paint and a ribbed black shade to coordinate with the ribbed glass balls. I think I'll hit it with some Crystal clear to seal it.
The before pictures are below.





You can not see in the pictures but the gold finish was peeling off the plastic base and looked really gross. There where some gooey felt pads
on the bottom that where a after thought from someone and way to big. I love Trash to Treasure!

Ok still going through the stash before I sign up so I have a proper inventory but . . . I have HUGE amount of spring green and gold leaf feathers. They are stained spring green on one side and dipped gold leaf on the other. I also have full  butterflies made from these feathers with wing spans from 4"tall X 6" high. I could probably fill a FedEx box one for each along with the regular swap box. So if anyone would want a box of very pretty expensive feathers (wings) or full butterflies let me know. I work at a very very very fancy department store as a designer and these were used for decoration. They trashed a entire industrial trash bag full of them and I have been untangling them. I really hated to see such nice material go to the dump so security knows me and approved me to have them. I used some to make a bra for bras for a cause but I have Wayyyyyyyy to many. Best to share. Here are pictures of the Bra I did and what the feathers look like. You cannot see the green but the underneath side is dip stained the green. You can see a full butterfly on her shoulder. Let me know if anyone would like just a box of these.



You can kinda see the green here.

Leee-ove it! Wonderful tutorial! One NOTE: if you create a custom size envelope remember the post office has standard envelope sizing (you can download a chart to follow from their web site)
and they will charge you extra for custom sizes. Also you really can get FREE bubble wrap at many business and shipping warehouses. I work in a large department store and they toss out in the trash and recycle bins tons and tons of bubble wrap and peanuts. Take some time and call around to some of your local stores and ask. You are likely to find a good source in your area who would be happy to
just give it to you. Then you could pre make several for later shipping. My local Goodwill in Irving Texas off Beltline Rd. Often gets Hallmark out of date or last seasons rejects. I was able to pick up some really nice double sided rolls of paper for .50 cents a roll. I bought a entire sealed bag full. Maybe 12 Rolls and had no idea how I was going to use it all but it's so pretty and very sturdy. Now I know what I want to make with my FREE bubble wrap from work and my .50 cent rolls! Two more little TIPS: 1. You can create a cardboard or acetate template so you can just lay them down on your paper and bubble wrap and quickly cut out your shaped envelope.

2. You might have heard of this idea before (you quilters might know this one) you can take your large wide clear ruler for cutting fabric and attach one of those "Grip-It" handles to it. They are the ones people use to attach to their bath tubs to keep from falling in and out of the tub. They sell them at Wal-Greens or CVS in the "As Seen On TV section. You can attach them to the clear ruler and then pick up your ruler and move it to cut quick, fast and easy over and over again.

I know you might have seen this but just a reminder.  Cassette Tape Box!
This would make a great gift box. The Tut link is on the Daily Danny

You could also use a marble for the top capper! Cute!

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?action=post;board=96.0




Happy Wrapping and Recycling

These rock. They might be a fun project in the summer to make ahead of time since they take so long. I just discovered the use of Melmac lunch trays from the 70's to help with my crafting.
I found some at the thrift store for a 1$ a piece. I have been wanting to find a beading project so I could use each little section to sort my beads, string, pins and glue. This is the perfect craft and with my new tray I can have it in my lap while a watch and listen to TV! How great is that! Here is a pic of the tray incase you see one at the GW.

I saw this little handmade ornament and I think I'm going to make some for gifts. Those are just the 2 pack of sparkle snowflakes from the $$ TREE and a Ping Pong ball painted with
Jack Skellingtons face. Then a bow was added. Easy peasy and cute! What do you think? They have several color snowflakes. Red, Silver, Green and Blue! If I could find some black and white stripe ribbon that would be cute as well!