For the Birds

I love birds. I envy their ability to fly away upon a whim. I love how fluffy they look and how fragile they are. I love waking up to their songs in the morning.

I love birds so much that last week I got bird tattoos on my wrists to symbolize my happy little family. <3

Last Friday-- a cheerful, sunny Friday--I happened upon a "vintage linen" sale at an old house here in West Seattle. 4 older ladies gathered their things together to sell, and while eager scavengers scoured their goods, they sat on the covered porch of the home and drank raspberry lemonade. I found little bird trinkets that I made into jewelry.

To top off my bird week, I spotted a bird embroidery project in Jenny Hart's AWESOME book, "Embroidered Effects." I had the perfect jeans for this project-- old, soft, and faded. It was fun to stitch them and it is fun to wear them.

Nifty Necklace Holder

I was finally fed up. Fed up with digging through my jewelry box, attempting to pull out a necklace to spruce up my outfit, and finding it was totally tangled in earring posts, bracelets, and other necklaces. While I'd love to have a cute jewelry tree thingy on my bathroom counter, let's be honest-- I have 3 kids, and 3 kids worth of toothbrushes, toothpaste, cups, and other toiletries cluttering up my counter. I don't need another thing added to it. So while I was browsing Marshalls, I spotted this coat hanger and thought what a perfect jewerly/accessory holder it would make.

The theme seemed to match jewelry, and it was easy enough to hang right on my bathroom wall.

Best of all, it was on clearance for $5. I'm all for making crafts, but to be honest, when the finished product costs less than buying all the supplies to create something like this, I go for the finished product.

But if you are feeling especially crafty, or can't find a cute finished one at your local stores, I've seen these unfinished at Joann's for a couple of bucks. Some stencils and a can of spray paint later, and you too can have one of these hanging on your wall, holding all of your sparkly treasures.

It's So Much Fun to Accessorize

A few fun crafts I finally completed...

Why didn't I think of this a long time ago? I saw this project while exploring bunches of craft and sewing blogs-- what a great, inexpensive idea-- especially when JoAnn has buttons on sale for buy one get one free!

1--Find a few cute button pairs.

2--Clip the shank off the back of the buttons and add earring posts.

3--Voila! Super-cute new earrings!

I also made this necklace with some chain and findings I had on hand-- the charms are from one of my favorite online stores-- Antica Treasures. "Oiseaux" means "birds" in French.

Easy. Inexpensive. Fun. Three necessary components for a fun crafting experience!