Photo Frame Pendants

Vintage Glass Beads

(Notice my props in these photos? Another part of my big summer DIY project, which I’ll be sharing in bits and pieces until it’s finished…)

My son has been entertaining my facebook friends with his antics for several months, so I compiled a list of some of my favorite “Andrewisms” over on my new blog, MommyCraft. If the funny things kids say crack you up, check it out.

Princess Sock Monkey Print by Elegant Snobbery

I already have a few boy-themed prints from her shop, so this will balance out the testosterone a bit for my little girl.

Then, I won a blog giveaway on Studio MME for a pair of gorgeous flower earrings by Wearable by Design. If you haven’t seen her lovely silver jewelry made from metal clay, you are missing out. She recently won a prestigious design award from Saul Bell, so it’s not just me — she is good!

These are the earrings I won:

Silver Flower Earrings from Wearable By Design

And THEN, on Valentines Day, my amethyst rough crystal necklace was on etsy’s front page, and I got about 1000 views in my shop! Thanks etsy!

Etsy Front Page, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentines Day

To all my blog readers:

I *heart* You

And one more:

Love

Feel free to use these three graphics for personal use (as long as you give me credit for making them). Not for commercial use.

If you are like me, you can use all the organizing help you can get. This article on organizing your supplies for crafting on the go has some great ideas.

Via craftzine, I found this tutorial for how to get acrylic paint off of clothing using rubbing alcohol.

Good news for you – I hoard craft supplies, [especially beads, but I also have a fairly impressive yarn stash]. And I need to destash some of these perfectly lovely items because, well, there’s no more room in my house and I would really like to reclaim some of my space.

so…..let’s have a giveaway! All you have to do for a chance to win some of my crafty supplies is tell me in the comments what supplies you want me to give you. The answer that most closely describes my mystery package wins it!

Here’s a hint: the prize involves BOTH yarn AND beads. So double yay if you like to knit and bead!

Tweet a link to my giveaway & post a copy of your tweet in the comments to be entered in a random drawing for a *second* package of crafty goodness.

I’m gonna be VERY busy for the next week or two, so keep guessing, and I’ll announce the winners (and post pictures of what they won) on July 15th. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you in case you win – I’ll need an address to ship the packages to.

My New Old Typewriter

Okay, so maybe it’s just vintage, not an antique (I’m not sure how old something has to be to be an antique…) but this is a very old, very broken typewriter. I’m estimating the date of manufacture as 1922, since the patent information on the back has dates from 1915 to 1921, and states that other patents are pending (and patents in foreign countries too!)

Tyepwriter Patent Info

Why would anyone want a broken typewriter, you ask?

Besides the fact that old stuff is cool, and typewriters look cool, you can make really cool stuff with the parts.

Jewelry makers are likely familiar with the typewriter key jewelry trend – which is admittedly a few seasons old now – and ever since it got started, I’ve been craving some genuine typewriter keys from an old typewriter – not the new-but-vintage looking beads you can buy from craft supply companies, but *real* old typewriter keys.

Typewriter Keys

I never thought I’d get a complete set – and the best part is, it was free!

It had been rusting away in my neighbor’s garage, collecting dust, and apparently taking up too much space.

I noticed that the keys aren’t the only part that could be put to good crafty use. The part that actually types the letters on the paper (what *is* that called?) are like tiny little stamps:

Tiny Stamps?

Part of me wants to start taking this thing apart right away, but another part of me just thinks it’s such a cool thing all by itself that maybe I need to take 500 more pictures of it and display it somewhere for a while first…

So, today’s inspiration tip: go to garage sales and flea markets, you never know what cool art/craft supplies you might find for very cheap or even free! Perfect strategy for people whose inspiration is on hiatus due to worry about the economy. I saw some other crafty stuff that I didn’t buy: for $3, a big box of “beading supplies” (would have snapped it up, but most of it was stuff I don’t use), and for $1 per bundle, 3/4 yard worth of fabric scraps appropriate for quilting (I was tempted, and I don’t even quilt…she had some great fabric!)

Check out Monday’s Muse for more blog posts about inspiration!

My Son in his Suit

I’m also looking forward to taking him to an Easter egg hunt for the first time. Of course, he will probably want to pick up pine cones and cat poop instead of the eggs, and then get in a fight with another toddler because they both want the same pine cone, but I think it will be fun anyway.

Enjoy your weekend, whether you are celebrating a holiday or not!

Oh….and another thing I’m excited about…. Artbeads is sending over a couple of product samples for me to test and blog about! Definitely looking forward to that!