MSCE April - Wrap Up

Wow - where did April go?!

When I first signed up for Dabbled.org's challenge to "Make Something Cool Every Day in April" I didn't have high expectations for myself. I figured it would just be an extra little kick to get me off the couch and into my craft studio - not that I usually lack the motivation!

As it got going, it became my own personal mission. Could I, really, do this EVERY day for an entire month? Apparently I can! It was stressful at times, and tiring after a long day of work, but the majority of the time it was great fun - and actually a good way to relieve some tension from the day and focus on something non-work.

I learned through MSCE April how many creative things I do on a daily basis without trying. Everything from a few rows of knitting at night to work projects, to kids art classes, and beyond. It's been very interesting.

I'm a little sad that it's over, and a little relieved as well - it was a lot of work! I look forward to continuing to make great stuff, just maybe not EVERY day... : )

I'll leave you with a look back on my MSCE April projects - ENJOY!

MSCE April Day 25 - Alison's Wedding

So my photo taking abilities aren't great. Unfortunately I don't yet have an SLR. Well, that's not true, I have a film SLR (remember that stuff, when we got photos developed with negatives??!) but haven't sucked it up and purchased a digital one yet. And while my point and shoot digital is great for what it is, I just can't take great photos with it.

BUT, I try my best. Here are some candid shots from Alison's wedding weekend, my MSCE April for Saturday April 25...


Oh, and in case you were wondering, I was so tired from the big wedding weekend on Sunday (MSCE April Day 26) that the only crafty thing I did was work on Heather's never-ending scarf. Ha! And it's still not done... : )

Shout Out for Ideas!

Just a quick note for now... I'll have some projects and photos coming tonight so check back!

Special thanks to Dot for posting my pinata to the Dabbled Facebook group, and a special "Hi, Howdy, Hello!" to those of you that have surfed over here after seeing it there. I'll be working on a tutorial for it very soon, and I hope you'll stop back by!

And now I need to pick your brains! (isn't that phrase so gross sounding?!) A colleague of mine is teaching two five-week "Recycled Art" classes over the summer for boys and girls ages 7-12. She's pregnant and has a lot of other things on her plate as well, so I said I'd help research some project ideas. That's where YOU ALL come in! Leave me a link, photo, or comment with your ideas for green projects for kids (I'll need 10 total) that can be done in hour class periods. We'd both appreciate your help!

Happy Monday - I hope it's sunnier where you are than it is here!

MSCE April Days 20-25

This past weekend was Alison's wedding. I've been posting about crafty projects revolving around her wedding for some time now, and it's hard to believe it's all over! It was a whirlwind weekend, a lot of fun, and I was honored to not only stand up in her wedding, but also to share some of my handmade love with her as well.

MSCE April Day's 20-24 were spent working diligently on the pinata. Making this from scratch was such an interesting experience that I'll be posting a tutorial sometime soon. I learned so much while doing this and want to share my tips and tricks with you all. I should have started on the final product more than a week out, but I managed to get it done on time. Hubby was a huge help, he rigged a drying station upstairs in our office where we hung the pinata directly above two fans pointed upward. This meant that I could get two layers dry in about half a day. Genius!

First layers of paper mache are on balloon, then the points were added.

The finished "body" spray-painted pink...

Tissue paper flowers cut and ready to affix...

The completed pinata, ready to hang...

I should also note, that although he may not admit it if you asked, Hubby helped assemble the tissue paper flowers when I was stressing the day before the wedding. What a trooper!

In the evening of MSCE April Day 24, which was the day before the wedding, I had to finish up some last minute gifts for the lovely bride. Mum and I made her a tote bag with her new initial. We made it in the wedding colors, in the same way we made the Spring Tote Bag.


I also made her a mini-scrapbook with photos from all of the events leading up to the wedding.



Check back throughout the week for MSCE Days 25 and 26 (wedding wrap up) and for a boatload of new projects now that the wedding is over, and MSCE April is coming to a close! Oh, and don't forget that I'm looking for folks to participate in the Jump In! Challenge with me. Go HERE to see the original post, and sign up! I'd love to make something for you, and for you to pass the homemade love to some other folks as well...

Catching Up: MSCE April Days 15-19

So I may be a bit behind on the posting side of things, but I'm certainly not behind with all things MSCE April. I've been doing surprisingly well with the challenge - even though I may not be COMPLETING projects everyday, I'm certainly working on something daily. I'll show you!

(Click on photo to enlarge and see projects a little clearer...)


MSCE April Days 15 & 16: Heather's purple scarf!
Heather's birthday was LAST MONTH - and it's taken me this long to get it even close to being done. Another six inches or so should do it. It's made from really interesting yarn with fuzzies and pieces of fabric woven in. You can hardly see the actual stitches once it's knitted up. Good thing Heather is patient! : )

MSCE April Day 17: Black beaded necklace
All of these beads came from a store bought necklace that broke - months and months ago. I salvaged everything I could, bought some extra seed beads, and have started putting it back together - my way. I'm being ridiculously picky about it, and have started over numerous times already. Plus I know next-to-nothing about jewelry making, so I'm working on he fly. It's less than a quarter of the way finished...

MSCE April Day 18: Sidewalk Chalk Flood!
There was a phenomenal event downtown on Saturday - one in a series of "urban experiments." Essentially, the Sidewalk Chalk Flood was organized by a college guy, promoted by the media but mostly through Facebook. Hundreds upon hundreds of people showed up, received free sidewalk chalk, and went to town! We went with friends and had a blast - it was a BEAUTIFUL day.

The local newspaper did an article on the event the next day and amongst several quotes from participants was this one... "It's both kid friendly and artist driven. In the current economic climate, it's almost as if you're seeing people embrace life and play. It's not about consumerism. It's about people." -- Boy, I just LOVE that. I'm not sure if anyone could have wrapped it up better.

For more about the event click HERE.

MSCE April Day 19: The Pinata
Remember my friend Alison? Remember her wedding? Remember the pinata I was making for her wedding reception? Weeelllll.... her wedding is this coming Saturday! So, after the prototypes earlier this year, it's time to get down to it for real. I got the first two layers done today, and rigged it so it's hanging from the ceiling in my studio to dry. I also cut out and scored the cones to make the points of the pinata - but I forgot to take photos of those. You'll see them in a later post I'm sure, there will be a lot of pinata-ing this week!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Basket Roundup & Flower Pen Tutorial: MSCE April Days 9 & 10

Yesterday I finished what will be my final Easter basket for this year. It was my first attempt using felt - and didn't turn out badly for a first go around. I modeled it off a $1 tulip felt basket I saw once at Target.

If I were to do this again, I'd use thicker felt, and bigger petals. I'd make the petals all the same color too so that it looks more obviously like a tulip. The only reason I used two colors of pink, actually, was because I didn't have enough of one color in my stash and didn't want to go buy any more! Ha!

Here's a little round up of the four baskets I've made over the past few weeks, with the new tulip basket taking center stage...

For today's project (MSCE April Day 10!) I'm happy to share the Flower Pen Tutorial with you. I used the supplies I had left over from the workshop I did last week to make a handful of pens for my office. It took me all of ten minutes, seriously!

(click on photos to view larger)

1. Supplies: Floral tape, faux flowers (cut them off from the "stem" leaving about 2 inches,) and ballpoint pens.

2. Hold the flower stem next to the pen so that the base of the flower is lined up with the top of the pen.

3. Begin wrapping tape about a 1/2 inch below the top of pen. BE SURE TO PULL THE TAPE TIGHT AS YOU WRAP! The tape will only stick if you pull it as you go, so wrap tightly!

4. Wrap all the way down. No worries if the tape rips, just stick back on where you left off and keep pulling and wrapping.

5. Tear off a small piece to cover the top 1/2 inch of pen. Get as close to the base of the flower as possible so that no pen is showing.

6. TA DA! Beautiful flower pens to brighten up the office, or give as gifts! ENJOY!

I finally have a weekend without much structure to it, so I'm taking advantage and heading down to my craft studio to do some more creating! Oh, and stay tuned for my adventures in egg-dying, with a special guest appearance by my hubby!

HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!

MSCE April Days 7 & 8

So the last few days have been hectic, and there hasn't been much crafting around here. BUT - there has been some "creating" or "MAKING" (hence MAKE Something Cool Everyday in April) that I'll share with you...

I started transplanting my seeds from my starter greenhouse into individual pots. I left it later than I should have (again, I've been busy...) so I'm hoping they make it. If nothing else, my green beans are growing STRONG.


My apologies for the crappy photo... it was late at night... obviously... : )

Today I'm cheating a little bit... it was hubby Travis who made something cool. We're working together to lose some weight before the summertime (ah, the contentment pudge gained from our almost first full year of marriage...) by eating better and exercising. Trav cooked up a Weight Watchers lemon herb chicken recipe with asparagus that was delicious, filling, flavorful, AND healthy. I'm lovin' it!


I have a big event I'm hosting at work tomorrow -- wish me luck! Then I'm looking forward to the weekend for some quality time in my craft studio : )

MSCE April - Day 6 - Frustrated Chick!

Yesterday was the first day of MSCE April that I found frustrating.

Although MSCE April is teaching me to be creative in all aspects of my life, and allowing me to take some time for myself, etc. etc. last night I felt a little pressured to make *something.* I put the pressure on myself of course - since the rules of this game are very loose...

That being said, why I chose a project that involved sewing I have no idea - since I am *such* a novice sewer and really don't know what I'm doing.

Anyhoo, I made a little Easter chick pencil topper using felt and embroidery floss.

I got frustrated and threw it down several times, but by the time I was finally done - I was tickled pink. It turned out pretty cute I think -- and my thrill with creating something on a whim far overshadowed the frustration and pressure I put on myself to make it. Hm... I feel like there's a moral in this story somewhere...

Anyways, enjoy my little chicky friend! : )

Make Something Cool Every Day in April -- Days 3, 4 and 5

What MSCE has taught me so far is to realize the creative things I do every day - even when I don't realize it! I've been working a lot with kids lately, teaching classes and encouraging creativity. I'm working on projects without even realizing it - and sharing art and crafts with kids is not only rewarding, but great fun!

On Friday - MCSE Day 3 - I worked with a group of elementary school students at the YMCA. We made flower pens. These are super quick and easy, fun to make, and perfect for gifts. I have a tutorial coming for them later in the week.

The same afternoon, I headed over to the Cook Library Center to work with the kids there. We made handprint lily flowers, to be given to some of our donors at a luncheon this week. The kids were so focused! Find the how-to at Family Fun HERE.

On Saturday - MCSE Day 4 - I hosted an all-day Bachelorette Party for my dear friend Alison and our first stop of the day was at "Paint Your Masterpiece" - a paint your own pottery studio in Lambertville, MI. We each painted a dessert plate for Alison - which she will get to keep. We used the same color palette, but were free to do whatever we want.

I used flower stamps on a sponged background. We also painted personal messages on the back of each of our plates.



I was exhaused on Sunday - MCSE Day 5 - from all of the weekend festivities, but the crafty work continued! My mother and I (who is a fabulous costumer and seamstress) are making the costumes for a dance recital at the YMCA. We have almost 100 girls to costume! They are providing their own tights, shoes, and leotard - and we are making the rest - on a very limited budget.

We headed to JoAnn Fabrics to get started with patterns and fabrics. The theme of the ballet portion of the recital is "Secret Garden" and we're going to work with these patterns for the most part, in a variety of colors and patterns...

(top left corner, no wings)

(far left)

(top three)

I'm working with my dance instructors to determine thematic colors and elements for each class, and then we'll get to work!

Phew - what a long post! If you made it all the way through - great job! Thanks for reading! : )

Make Something Cool Every Day in April - Day 2

I subbed for one of my art instructors at the YMCA last night, and while I wasn't responsible for the project plans themselves, I had the privilege of creating them with the students. My camera battery died, of course, during the classes - so I don't have any photos of the kids in action, but here are some photos of the outcomes...

Easter chicks in eggs, by the Kindergarten Explore Art class. They cut their eggs open and I attached them with a brass fastener so that the egg would open and close.

This was actually their project from the week before with another instructor, but they were just so cute and vibrant I had to post it as well. I love projects including kids' hands - even if they ARE a tad messy!


The youth Multi Media Art class worked on abstract circle drawings using sharpie markers - another of my favorite things for kids to use.

Today I'll be "making something cool" with some kids from a local elementary school, and stopping by the Cook Library Center to "make something cool" with them as well. My camera battery is fully charged - so check back later this afternoon for "Make something cool every day in April" DAY THREE!

Baskets and a CHALLENGE - Ain't No Foolin!

Here's one of the latest in the Easter Basket series. I've worked only in paper so far (isn't it amazing how versatile a single sheet of paper or cardstock can be?!) but will be moving on to other materials next week. I used two colors of cardstock on this one and weaved it - elementary school style! - to form the basket base.



Yesterday I was reading Dot's post at Dabbled - and not unusually - was inspired! Dot has set herself a challenge to create something in some way every day for the month of April - and she's inviting us to play along! And well, you know how much I like playing : ) Sooo... I'm doing it too! I'm going to try my hardest to...

Now, do I truly believe I'll be able to do something EVERY SINGLE day? Nah... but it's the concept that I love. I just need that little push to spend a little "me-time" each day and be creative. In fact, I truly believe that doing so will make me better and more productive in the other daily areas of my life.

In light of this challenge, I took the time last night to use some of Lolly's wonderful free templates to make another variation on the Basket on a Budget - can you tell I'm liking that basket? Anyhow - Lollychops is fabulous, and so are her templates and so was her Big Time Bunny Week - and I've been meaning to make use of her templates for awhile now. I really like the way this turned out...

Joanne at Craftpassion - who I just did a fabric swap with (project coming soon - thanks, Joanne!) used those same templates to make BEAUTIFUL appliques for some baby PJ's. I'm in awe. So talented! Check them out HERE.

Phew! That's it for now! I encourage you all to be creative this month - even if it's not every day - and feel free to share your project ideas with all of us here!

Happy Thursday! : )