vacation

I'm on a little hiatus from copy-crafting as my hubby has the week off from his crazy work hours, and we're taking a needed rest & relaxation time away.... Though I just might have to take along a big stack of papers and make about a million of these while we're sitting around relaxing:

How adorable are these rolled paper flowers from Jones Design Company? Check out the tutorial here, and you can whip up a long-lasting bouquet for Mother's Day!

mosaics

In high school and early college I was really into making mosaics - I plastered my cut up glass onto everything from birdbaths to flower pots to mirror frames to birdbaths to table tops. When I was home recently, I helped my mom lead a ladies' night out where we did mosaic flower pots, and it made me start scheming about some flower pots and a bird bath for my yard....

[cut glass]

Mosaic making is fun, but it does have a bit of a danger factor with the shards created from cutting up the glass, so ideally you need a separate space (where people don't walk a lot, preferably not carpeted), and accumulating all the necessary supplies can be a little pricey. But all those pretty glass pieces are tempting me.... Especially because they can be turned into these fabulous things:

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bow projects

I'm kind of in love with my bow tee right now... If you like big bows too, here's a round up of projects for you:

Wearable:
A while ago I made this jaunty bow necklace out of a piece of leather and a chain.

Momtastic sewed this cute fabric bow belt.

I Still Love You has a tutorial for a fun leather bow cuff.

And of course there are lots of ways to make a bow headband - here's a simple ribbon bow headband from M&J Trimming plus a genius bow headband from ripped tights idea from Megan Nielsen.

For the home:
Say Yes to Hoboken made this adorable bow pillow; the bow is a modification of the tutorials I followed on the tee - i.e. it's achievable for beginner sewers! (Also, while we're on the subject of bow pillows, you have to check out this adorable one on Etsy.)

 How easy and fun is this bow napkin from Martha Stewart?!

 [all photos from source listed above them]

paint makeovers - inspiration & befores

I have long admired other bloggers' painted furniture makeovers. Such as:

Pretty much everything at Life in the Fun Lane, including this dresser.

And this bench and mirror from Young House Love (lots more projects here)

 

Also this mirror from Little Green Notebook (see before and after, plus lots of others for this same room, here)

 

And this credenza she did:

It takes a good eye to pick up something kinda hideous at Goodwill or a garage sale and turn it into something great. I'm working on developing that skill - but mostly on figuring out where to get the stuff! Where are all these great thrift stores anyway? The closest Goodwill we have is tiny and expensive (they're trying to go upscale - makes sense, but not a place to find cheap furniture/frames!).


But now I've got a couple items of my own lined up to refinish:

I was wandering through a furniture consignment shop recently, and while most of the items were priced higher than would tempt me for a redo piece, I happened upon this oval mirror, originally $25 but marked down to $8, presumably because of a few cracks in the frame.

I loved the frame and the oval shape, so with a few little fixes and a new coat of paint, I think this will be great for the art wall I'm working on in the living room.

And with this next one, I'm totally joining the official ranks of furniture makeover-ers: I pulled it from somebody's trash. Ginger and I were on our morning walk, and I spotted this huge frame sitting with someone's trash at the curb. Throwing out a perfectly good frame that just needs a little paint (and some new art inside), when I have a guest bedroom with no art in it?!

So I picked it up and hauled it home. Unfortunately we still had a ways to go, so my arm got a little tired...

Stay tuned for how these turn out!

t-shirt refashions

Since I'm kind of into shirt refashions/embellishments lately, here is a roundup of some great ones I've seen, for those unused tees, tanks, and cardigans you have around.

1. Pleated tee (Anthropologie inspired) from Welcome to the Good Life
2. Sequin striped boatneck (J. Crew inspired) from Welcome to the Good Life
3. Striped bow tee (Anthropologie inspired) from Welcome to the Good Life
4. Ruffled bib tank (Ann Taylor Loft inspired) from Ruffles and Stuff
5. Bow tee from I Still Love You
6. Lace strip tee from iCandy Handmade
7. Ruffle flowered top from Welcome to the Good Life
8. Embellished tees (corsage tee, ribbon necklace tee) from Academichic
9. Tank dress (adding a skirt to a tank) from Academichic
10. XXL tee skirt (simple skirt from a men's tee) from I Still Love You
    

Store offerings seem to be great places to get inspirations - here are some currently available DIY-able items I came across:

1. Neck/pocket trim tee from J. Crew - I saw this one in the store (couldn't find online) and thought it would be easy to mimic by sewing ribbon on a tee.
2. Wrapped up top from ModCloth - add some lace trim and a bow to a scoopneck tee
3. Gris sur gris top from ModCloth - make a ruffle (see how here) and sew it onto a similar hued tee.
4. Girls' sequin necklace tee from J. Crew - fabric glue plus sequin trim/ribbon on a stripey tee.
   

spring fever

After a week of sunshine and above-average temperatures, I've got some serious spring fever. We're getting back to more February-like weather this week, but I'm hanging on to spring by rounding up some fresh and springy craft ideas for around the house:

Quilted coasters from A Pretty Cool Life on Tatertots & Jello

Painted acorn wreath from MADE

Spring napkins from the Purl Bee

Grass candles from Martha Stewart

Eggshell votives from Martha Stewart

Colorful silhouettes from Tatertots & Jello

other people's projects: Christmas edition

The reason this blog is named copy-craft is that I get most of my inspiration from other people's projects. There's a lot out there to be inspired by, starting with my own family. My matriarchal line is very artistic and creative - I wish I had picked up a little more of their knitting/sewing-related skills as evidenced here.

So while the puppy and I are headed to Michigan to celebrate with these ladies and more, here are a couple of my most special hand-made Christmas decorations:

Snowflake ornaments, made by Great Grandma Vander Wal
Lots of people in the family have these beautiful snowflake ornaments made by my great grandma, and when I got married, she gave me some of my own. I have the perfect amount for decorating the mini tree that is in our bay window.

Wedding angel, made by Grandma Vange
My grandma took a piece of my wedding dress (that was chopped off the bottom in the alteration process because I'm a bit short...) and made this lovely angel out of it. But even more, she incorporated fabric from her own wedding dress and items from two of my great grandmas.

Dress and cape: from my wedding dress
Arms, legs, and wings: from my Grandma Vange's wedding dress

Hair ornament: earring from my Great Grandma (Tanis) Sterken
Necklace: from Great Grandma Vander Wal's wedding headpiece

"Bouquet" pendant: purchased by Grandma Vange in Ravenna on my
high school graduation trip to Italy.

Note explaining all of the items along with photos from Great Grandma Vander Wal's wedding, Grandma Vange's wedding, and my wedding, plus Grandma Vange and me in Italy.