Thursday, September 30, 2010

$3 Thursday – pickled skulls

Where did the time go.   I can’t believe that I haven’t had any craft to share in the past week.   I’ve completed a couple items but nothing new.   I made a couple more frames with Halloween rub-ons and been busy painting some frames while the weather is nice but nothing finished to share yet. 

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And so…. pickled skulls. 

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I got this idea at the Junk Bonanza I went to earlier in the month.   I did fill my jar all the way and had left over Spanish Moss.  I have them displayed on top of the antique scale on my pie safe.  

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A bit of a glare but a close up shot of them.

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Close up of other items on display.  Framed rub-on art.

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Baseball jack-o-lantern.

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Pickled skulls  - $3.00
Bag Spanish Moss from DS  $1.00
2 bags of skulls from DS  $2.00
Large jar – I had on hand.
Total cost: $3.00

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I did have some left over moss for another project. 

Linking to some of these parties:

Thursday, September 23, 2010

$3 Thursday - Halloween frame – subway art style

I have not been feeling very crafty this week and I wasn’t sure what I would show for $3 Thursday and then I saw this post and knew I had to make one.

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I don’t know how I missed these Halloween Rub-on’s at Target.  I seem to be shopping there all the time and usually check out the dollar section.  I guess I have skipped by it a few too many times and didn’t see these get put out.
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I wasn’t as creative in cutting apart the Rub-on’s as Jane of all Crafts was but I liked my results.  I didn’t realize when I picked out this package but there was a slight blemish on a few of the pieces but I think it adds to the character of the piece. 
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I think the blemish helps give it a slightly worn look and it goes great with the worn look frame I put it in.
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I set up a small display of fall and Halloween items to display this frame.   I still have not decorated with all my fall items but I think they will be up soon.  
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I didn’t remember that I had this Spook book but I love the look of it next to my framed Rub-on’s. 
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I had everything but the Rub-On’s that I bought at Target for $1 so this project was definitely a $3 project.  I buy frames to revamp and probably paid $.50 or $1 for this one.   I had the paper, ribbon and paint so this was a quick and easy project.
I spray painted the frame with white and silver paint.  I used white as a base coat and then sprayed splotches of silver around it.   I sanded the frame a bit to give it a more worn look and love the combination of the silver splotches and the sanded edges.
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Supplies used:
Frame – on hand, probably $.50 at garage sales
Rub-On’s – Target $1
Ribbon – on hand, $.99 spool and I used less than 1/2 of it. 
Silver cardstock – on hand, (thank you Gail!)
White and Silver paint – on hand
Time – less than an hour plus drying time for paint.
Total cost:  Under $3
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Linking to these parties.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Junk Bonanza – jewelry finds

I found lots of wonderful unique jewelry at the show.  Some of it was true junk pieces made into jewelry and others were vintage pieces upcycled into new pieces.
I didn’t end up buying any but I sure loved looking at it all.
I loved this sign in one of the booths.
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Yep, we all need continuous small treats.  I think jewelry is just the thing. 
Some of the vintage jewelry pieces were made into magnets – jewelry for your memo board, fridge or any metal surface you have.
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Some of the unique pieces I found.
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I’m not sure what the bases of these pieces were at one time but don’t they look great now?
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Now this is a lot of bling for a wrist.
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These are belt buckles with a lot more personality than I think I could pull off but they sure were an eye catcher.
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Jewelry for your hair.  Too bad I don’t wear hear pins.
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What a great for vintage or new scarves – watch bands.
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These are earrings made from vintage film strips.  Talk about being the star of the show.
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These had to be my favorite pieces…. They brought a big smile to my face.  Boy do I remember playing with these Little People.
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I’m not sure I would wear one as a necklace but I sure would use one as a key chain – they had them too.
I guess I’ll be on the look out for these little guys or something similar to make one for myself.
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I’ll have a few more pictures to show you later in the week.

If you are searching for some wonderful upcycled vintage jewelry pieces please check out my friend Shellie's  Etsy shop Wings of Flutter.  She makes wonderful jewelry from vintage and recycled pieces.
I had her make a ring for me from some earrings I bought this summer.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Junk Bonanza – part 1

  Thursday I was lucky enough to go to the Junk Bonanza at Canterbury Downs in Shakopee Minnesota.
 
I thought I would share some of the wonderful ‘junk’ I found there.
 
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I thought these light bulb bugs were very cute.
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Hey, this looks familiar…. I have it on my patio.
 

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Luckly I didn’t pay this much for it.

Anyone want to buy mine for $39??

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I think I just picked up these same skulls at the dollar store.  Now all I need is some moss to make this display.  I already have a large pickle jar.

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I have lots of game tiles – I think I’ll make a Halloween display with them.  I like the mis-matched pieces that were used here.

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What a great idea- I think I’ll make some notebooks with the old Little Golden books I have.

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Oh, I have game boards too that I would love to make into notebooks like these.

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I absolutely loved this loveseat.

I could not have imagined a tub made into a loveseat.

What a great retro look.

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Aqua, black and white.  What a great look.

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I’ll share more pictures later this week.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hunting for junk today.... good junk that is

I decided to take a trip to Shakopee today to visit the Junk Bonanza.




 
I've never been before but I can't wait to see what there is.
Since it is less than 2 hours away I'm taking a mini road trip.
None of my friends or sisters could go so this is a solo trip for me.
I'm sure there will be hundreds, no thousands of people and tons of junk to dig through.
Stay tuned for pictures.
Well, I hope I'm not too overwhelmed to take some pictures for you.
 
 


 
See ya....I'm hitting the road.
 
 

$3 Thursday – Faux Feather Halloween wreath

I took a trip to the Dollar Store this week to check out their Halloween items.  I have seen lots of thrifty ideas and wanted to get some supplies to make a wreath.
I knew I wanted to make a black wreath if I could similar to the white bag wreath I made here.
I found a wreath, a black table cloth, a glittered skull and some smaller plastic skulls.
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I had thought of spray painting the wreath black but I didn’t have any on hand so I cut a long strip of the table cloth and started wrapping.
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I didn’t glue the end of the strip, I just made sure to wrap over it.
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Once the wreath was all wrapped I cut it off leaving a few inches.

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I cut a strip about 12” long and tied it over the end of the strip to secure it.
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Then I cut the rest of the tablecloth into strips about 2 1/2” x 13” and started tying them on.
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I just kept tying trying to tie one towards the inside of the wreath and the other a bit towards the outside.  This gave me a full look like I wanted.  I kept tying until I used up most of the tablecloth.
Then I tied a knot in a strip to make my hanger.
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I attached this by tying another strip through this.
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I wanted to attach the glittered skull to the wreath so I got some wire and poked a hole in the back of the skull with a pen I had laying around.  I’m sure there is something better than a pen to do this but I used what I had. 
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Then I cut the wire to about 12” and ran it through the hole in the skull and attached to the wreath.
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I took a step back and looked for spots in the wreath that needed a few more strip and used up the rest of the tablecloth strips I had.
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Here it is on my front door.
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A close up of the skull.
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Here it is outside on my wreath holder.
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It really isn’t all the deep of a wreath even with the skull.
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It reminds me of a feathered wreath I saw in the craft store and drooled over, until of course I saw the price.   At half off it was still $30.  That is a lot more than my budget can handle for a seasonal wreath. 
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I think I need to wait until October 1st to hang it up for good.
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Total cost:  $3
Dollar store supplies: 
Wreath  $1
Tablecloth  $1
Glitter skull  $1
I did use a piece of wire I had in my supplies but that was it from my supplies.

I decided not to use the smaller skulls I bought on the wreath.   I think I’ll display them in a glass jar.
If I made a second wreath I might do a couple things different – I would either get a slightly smaller wreath or pick up a second tablecloth to make the wreath just a bit fuller.
Please let me know if you make one.  I would love to see what you make.

Linking to these parties.
Feature Yourself Friday at My Repurposed Life
Frugalicious Fridays at Finding Fabulous
Creative Chic Parade
Fabulous Fridays at Frou Frou Decor
Flaunt It Friday at Chic On a Shoesstring
Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk's
Making It With Allie at What's Allie Making Now
Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios
Talented Tuesday at My Frugal Family