Recycled Envelopes

Hi all!

Firstly, I apologize for being gone so long. College is really busy this time of year! But, I have done at least one crafty thing since I've been here. I got tired of sending those blank white envelopes through the mail, they were boring. So I decided to make my own!

First, I used the extra map that my dad had printed of my campus in the first few weeks of school to get around. Needless to say, everyone was coming to my room asking if they could look at the map for directions! I wanted to use something recycled that I didn't need anymore and this was just sitting at the bottom of a box in my room. It's also quite large, so I can easily make lots of envelopes out of it.

Then, I drafted my own pattern. I know it would have been easier to just take apart an envelope I already had, but the only ones I had were an unusually small size. The pattern I made easily fits half of a regular 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

Trace it onto the paper of your choice (hopefully something recycled)!

I then folded up the edges of the pattern and traced around that so I could see where to fold the edges in.

Cut it out and fold the edges in. Put glue on the edges of the bottom flap so it sticks to the other edges of the envelope and not to the inside.

Glue it and you have yourself a unique envelope! You can do this with magazine papers, newspaper, old books, anything really. It's a really simple project that let will let the recipient know you're thinking of them.

Happy crafting!

The Glitter Season

 

Seems a bit too early but a girl has got to get out the glitter and make some Christmas magic.  These little trees are made out of large thread cones (thanks Janie), a little burlap (thanks Mark), lots of glitter, some ribbon and tiny ball ornaments (thanks Jeanne). 

 

At Rosey  Josey we have many friends who are sympathetic to our crafting needs and often pass on items that are destined for the landfill.  We love those bags and piles of stuff that are dropped at our door step.  Keep it coming, who knows what will come of it. 

 

Seeing all of those little trees lined up on the tray was so satisfying.  A quick vacuum and wipe up we were even able to eat at the dining room table!  I was so smug finished trees, cleaned up and dinner at the table with my husband until I saw one shiny piece of glitter on his forehead.  Bless his heart!

The Carpetbagger

Rosey was home from college this weekend, what a whirlwind.  In between friend visits, a trip to get our hair done and a great movie we were able to carve out a bit of time for a new bag.  We are calling it the Carpetbagger.

We used a rug from the clearance shelf at our local TJMaxx! It was ripped at one end, which made it perfect for our bag.

 A long zipper and a couple of brown belts completed the supplies. 

 I lined it with some great fabric Rosey chose from my stash of goods. 

 And there you go a great bag to take all of your treats from home back to college. 

Our next sale is almost here.  The carpetbagger will not make an appearance (maybe next month) but check out lots of fun upcycled goods at Occasionally Yours, 308 Oak Street in Farmington.  Visit Thursday through Sunday 9-5 and 11-5 on Sunday. 

Photo Pillows

I originally made these pillows as a 50th birthday gift for my girlfriends.  They were a big hit.  Since then I have sewn up pillows featuring families, new babies, and even newly married couples. 

To make your own you will need to purchase fabric, ball fringe and photo transfer paper.  Make sure the transfer paper is colorfast.  This will ensure the image will not run if it should get wet.  Follow the directions to transfer your photo to fabric then add your favorite fabric to the top and bottom of the photo.  Next sew on the ball fringe and finally add the back.  Put the pillow form inside your masterpiece and you have your very own photo pillow. 

Our next sale is October 20-21 at Occasionally Yours 1850 East 121st Street, Suite 106 in Burnsville (www.occasionallyyoursstore.com).  If you love this idea but don't have a sewing machine or don't have the time to put it all together we will be taking orders.  Send us your favorite sepia tone photo-family, friends or man's best friend and we will sew up a gift everyone will love. Fabric choices are either burlap and black ball fringe or leather/fabric and off-white ball fringe. Sizes are small (12 inches by 16 inches) or large (20 inches by 26 inches).

Hope to see you at the sale!

Craft Show

For the past five weeks we've been preparing for a craft show in our area. It was a lot of hard work, but it was also a lot of fun.
This was our tent that we set up and took down ourselves (we're all about DIY here). We barely managed to cram everything into our 20x30 space.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was catching people staring at my pink hair. :)
These were all of the things we had been making over the past month. Etched mirrors, headbands, shadow boxes, etc. If you particularly like anything that we haven't already done a tutorial for, feel free to request one.

This is our new best friend, Sarah, who bought one of Josey's quilts. Thanks again, Sarah!

And thanks to everyone else that came and said hi and complimented (or even bought) our stuff. We hope you'll continue to read and keep up with this blog as we continue to craft.
We also have an occasional sale coming up in October! More details on that as it gets closer. 

Rosey


P.S. This was our favorite part about our neighbors across from us. :)

Garden Fence Chandelier

I saw this chandelier at a friends house and knew I wanted to make one too.  I completed this project earlier this summer before we started our blog so there are no step-by-step photos.  It's easy so just go for it!

Materials

Garden fence
wire
chain with hook
Battery operated candles

First decide how big you want your chandelier and cut the fence.  Wire together the ends and attach the chain.  Use the same wire to attach the candles, turn on, and invite your friends for a garden party!

Etched Mirrors

We saw the idea for these mirrors in Flea Market Style magazine recently and decided to make them for the craft fair later this month. The process is super easy, but scraping the silver off the back of the mirror can be a little time consuming.

Materials
- old mirrors (glass with a layer of silver on the back)
- stencil of your favorite word
- x-acto knife
- pencil
- putty knife/razor (something to scrape off silver)

Print and cut out a stencil of your favorite word. I didn't have letter stencils that quite fit the frame, so I made my own.

Invert the stencil (because the word will be reversed when you turn it around) and fill in with pencil.

Scratch out the silver underneath the pencil lead to reveal the glass. Don't worry about scratching the glass as the mirror will most likely already have a distressed look, which you're aiming for!

Flip over the mirror, hang, and enjoy!