Off-Season Scores ~ Birds & Baubles

Wow, I had no idea I'd get so caught up in the after-Christmas clearance craze. There's so much to share, but I'll just start with a couple of teasing tastes. Come back later for the full rundown!

There's stuff you don't need:

There's stuff you do need:

There's stuff that reminds you of you:

There's stuff that reminds you of other people:

And there's even stuff that was actually on your "to find when it's on clearance" list:

MUCH more to come, so bookmark this post and come back!

Upcycled Sweater-into-Stocking

My brother brought his rockin' girlfriend (K) home for Thanksgiving, so they won't be able to be with us for Christmas. Therefore, we did a little Christmasing while they were here. Since I'm always looking for a valid excuse reason to craft, I thought a homemade stocking would be a welcoming gesture. K's favorite color is purple, her style seemed to be a little eclectic chic, and she loves high heels, so I set out to create a high-heeled stocking in purple. (And any high heel "worth having" must come with a red sole, right? :)

MATERIALS
$1.00 ~ Gap Wool Sweater, Habitat for Humanity ReStore

$0.13 ~ Red Sparkle Felt, Hobby Lobby (after Christmas 2009)

$1.99 ~ Bag of Assorted Craft Thread/String Stuff, Salvation Army Retail Store

$4.79 ~ 30" Plume of Feathers, JoAnn

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BUT I still have 3/5 of a sweater, 16/17 of the felt sheet, 99% of the craft thread, and 5 feathers left over. So instead of $7.91, it's really more like, 40¢ + 1¢ + 2¢ + 80¢ = $1.23! Oh, plus a pin back and some SuperGlue, which I already had.

Tutorial to come — just wanted to get the pics up first!

Halloween 2010

When Caspian saw the colorful wings at Dollar Tree in September (or was it August?), he immediately declared that the entire family would be faeries: green for him (grass/-hopper faerie) and orange for Perrin (pumpkin faerie). Since I actually OWN a sewing machine now, I was excited to combine crafting with thrifting to create some boy faerie costumes.

I made my own "Asian green jewel beetle" faerie wings using wire hangers, pantyhose, and craft paint. Caspian's leggings were from a thrift store, his tunic used to be an Indian costume from the Peddlers' Mall, and his leafy headdress (also seen on Perrin) was made from elastic and craft leaves. Perrin's tunic used to be a pillow case from Goodwill.

Eventually, I'll get the full step-by-step tutorials up. For now, here are some action shots. (And yes — when the day finally came, Caspian refused to wear the wings that inspired it all.)