I've never made a bag before, and thought this was a great idea. I made some mistakes, but feel like trying it again. Here's my first try:



I haven't decorated her toy bag yet, but did manage to get the elastic on to hold her doll accessories and Leapster cartridges. I couldn't justify buying the Leapster bag and the jean purse seemed like a great solution!

Ok, so we got three costumes completed for less than $10! On Halloween, I whipped up two more costumes. Next year, I'll plan a bit better so my costumes look more polished.

I pulled out old quilting materials (batting, scraps, ribbons, etc.) along with cardboard from our recycling bin and created the hat and vest for hubby. I sewed my retired sewing equipment to the vest. For the hat pin, I took a rusted pin and glued a bead to it, then glued it to a photo-card that I wrote measurements on.




For my card costume, I used a black robe from a grim reaper costume that I found at a "free-store". I formed the hoodie into a spade shape, cut up an old sheet and used that as my card. Removed a broom handle, cut up the rest of the cardboard from our recycling and made my spade.



Lastly, our baby-girl really wanted a Cheshire Cat incorporated (as did I) so we added the biggest smiley face possible to a pre-made tote that was given to us.

Nothing too fancy, but I am actually quite proud of the fact that I used old materials that would otherwise be trash! Thanks for looking.

This is my first time sewing a dress. Scary stuff! The wig was created with fat yarn, a crochet needle and a produce bag mesh. She loves it, it hurt less than I thought it would, and I do plan to try my hand at more difficult patterns in the future, now that I have the basics under my belt! Now all I have to do is STYLE the wig and we are good to go.



For anyone who wants to learn to sew from a library book, like I thought I would, I say skip it and call in an "expert"! My mom came to the house and showed me all her little tricks. (Like single stitching, but in several segments, to get an even gathering.) I put the book away and enjoyed the project.

This one is a bit easier to see. The rain is already wreaking havoc, but you can see what we managed with our "hand-me-downs". I have a young husband-wife team who work for me and between those two and our mothers-in-law, I think we are a formidable team this year! (I wish the rest of my staff would have pitched in but they are the ones who lost out on all the fun!)

I'm needing a bit of advice for a "competition". Every year for the last 24 years, our local families and businesses build pumpkin people and let the tourist vote on who has the best. We go ALL OUT. This is top secret, so SHHHHH. Don't tell my neighbors what our theme is!

On Tuesday, I am gathering my employees with their miscellaneous "throwaways" to create the Little Shop of Horrors. We have windows, partial walls, doors, flower boxes, the large pot, and of course the pumpkin. We are using a stake through a dryer tube for the Audrey Plant's base. Below is a neckless Audrey, ours will have an actual stem!


Now that you have a vision of what we are up to, here is my question:

How do we create the leaves (cabbage-like) around Audrey's head? This has to be made out of a material that will withstand rain, stay sturdy for a month, and can be left out in hot days or cold nights.

I was thinking of cutting and painting yoga mats, then using glue and wire hangers to create fronds, then stabbing them into the pumpkin. Any other, better ideas you have are most welcome. By the way, in case you missed it, my Pumpkin People Assembly Party is in two days!

I volunteer at a free clothing depot and really feel the need to organize. It is not a great feeling to see people who really need something have to waste time searching through the wrong areas. (Yes, I help them but they sometimes put things back in the wrong spot when they can't find the correct section again.)

My question is twofold. What can I use (REUSE) to create new ones and what can I use these old ones for? I would like to make all new ones so they are uniform and well...PRETTY.

I am sitting here, looking at my old license, thinking it is the right shape and texture, but too short and too personal. Who wants to see my mug on a clothing rack? 

Well, I used some of them already. For work, we are running Polar Express Packages and one of our "extras" is a mailbox to send in a letter to Santa. Since the program is sponsored by Believe in Books, I decided to incorporate them into the post of the mailbox. Check it out:



I do have to confess, one of my employees took the materials my mother-in-law and I left her and decorated it. For someone who claims not to be crafty, I think she did very well! We made a great team.

I still have more books to go through and re-use. I now have some leads, thanks to you all!

May have been done in here but I did look around a little and saw pillow pumpkins and carved pumpkins but not styrofoam.



I am getting ready for a kiddie party for work and this is our craft for that night.

1. Gathered arc. paint, glitter glue and feather yarn as well as pipe cleaner, paint markers and google eyes.

2. used a pencil to push grooves into a styrofoam ball

3. used felt and pipe cleaner on a painted ball as the stem and leaves

4. glammed to my heart's content

I am thinking if I have the balls painted and grooved, the kids could go nuts. Anyone else want to share faux pumpkin crafts? I plan to do other things that night and could use ideas for all skill sets/age levels for these kids.

I love all the ink. I have been with DH for almost 13 years. After 10 I decided he put in enough time to warrant ad space. I mean, you do less time for manslaughter! hahahaha



I found tribal art as the background of a goth art site and revamped the "arms" of the tattoo. Then, I added an orb with his initials. We had a baby girl this past February. Hubby, being the cool guy he is, bought me a gift certificate for another tattoo for Mother's Day.

I want to do the same design going vertically and shape it into a cross of some sort, adding my baby's initials. 

When I get a few free hours (hardy-har) I'll go for it and post the updated ink.