Christmas Sale Almost Over?

Listening to "Animal" by Miike Snow

If you've visited my store in the last few weeks then you've noticed that every week I've put some items on SALE. As part of my 25 Days of Christmas SALE I'm trying to make gift giving a little cheaper. Every Tuesday I am selecting a few items to reduce. These gifts are great for more than just Christmas. Birthday? I also have some fantastic gift cards. ;) Almost everything is under $13 except for one item that I'm very sad to part with. (see below)

This is my recycled bib necklace. I handmade this one and I am very sad to see it go. OOK definitely.

Thinking about something? Well then those gear are definitely turning.

Handmade copper piece strapped to a soft leather belt... cuff!

Small, wooden, lucite mum, and nice olive creamy button underneath. $5??

I'll be continuing the sale until the end of December even after Christmas for those late gift-givers and such. Please continue to watch for my sales that I'll be posting on here and a giveaway at the end of this month! I'll make sure to send a post out before I post the giveaway! Cheers!

Etsy Spotlight

Listening to "Against Me" by Thrash Unreal

If you're like me you have to absorb Etsy's homepage every now and then. The picks they display on their mainpage vary in everything. It's almost like eye candy sometimes and when I find that one piece that catches my green eye, HEART IT! For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy.. Literally, I click on it as a favorite item and I "heart" it.

Today I viewed Etsy's page and this canvas popped out at me. I know I've seen this artist's work before on Etsy but I must have been in some kind of food coma not to heart her. Her shop is GollyBard, http://gollybard.etsy.com/, and she is quite the artist. Her drawings are simple but aesthetically pleasing to my simple eyes. Above is the drawing that caught my eye. Fortunately for me I love texture and shapes... and that watercolor hits the right spot.

I encourage you to check out her shop. She has quite the array of artwork. I'm hoping that after Christmas to add one of her pieces to my wall. Hmmm... maybe this is when a gift card to an Etsy shop would be perfect. See my last post! ;)

Cheers!

Gift Certificates!

I know, I know. I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner. Sometimes you have that person that you know would want something from a particular store but what? That's when the ol' gift card comes into play.

I've had a few people ask me about these. I finally have been able to design and add them to my store. Right now I have simple denominations of $10, $25, & $50. I can do a custom amount too. Just ask. Took me awhile to create the PDF form but it will be a direct download. I can mail it free too.

Yay!

New Selections

In the last month I've ventured further into my Etsy shop and opened up more doors to accessories. I've always been a fan of the bib necklace and decided to try my hand at it with an up-cycled sandal. No it does not smell like feet. I guarantee it but it does have some beautiful sequins on it. From there I began dabbling necklaces. Of course, the button side of me took over and I began accentuating rings and bibs with these loves. I'm in the process of putting up a mini bib necklace up in the next week full of buttons and handstitches. Keep your eyes peeled for this beauty. I'm still working on it so no picture yet.

I've been using my best friend Bria as my model. She is so gorgeous. We've been using an old warehouse next door to my house to take pictures and they are turning out fantastic. Unfortunately, I left my camera somewhere and have had to use Bria's. Once I do find mine I'll redo some of the pics, especially close-ups on the rings and coaster necklaces.

I will be doing a giveaway shortly on my blog so please keep following. You can win items from my store! :)

Until tomorrow, adieu!

Wedding Delightness

Listening to "Hold On" by Neko Case.

Ok, first of all I cannot believe it has been over a month since I've posted. The Etsy shop has taken off and kept me super busy this past month. Very exciting.


Secondly, I had to make sure that delightness was an actual word- it is. Paired with certain words it elicits a sort of satisfaction- wedding blues. It's been very busy these last few weeks. I'm getting the invitations together to send out. I cannot believe we are almost 4 months away. Christmas AND the wedding right next to each other. We're getting down to the wire soon.

I'm adding more things as I type. I've reached out into my treasure chest of buttons and brooches to pull out a new line a jewelry in my store. Inspired by vintage commercials/products, I've aligned myself with the dark side of the empire. My focus is visual aethetics. I know people love to match their jewelry with that perfect outfit but I prefer to match an outfit with my piece of jewelry. Something you can wear with anything. I'll be displaying my work pretty soon before Christmas *crossing fingers* so keep a close eye on the shop.

In other news, I've officially gone retro. I picked up some old vinyl records for free from a neighbor and am now deciding what craft I should use them for. Serving platter? Clock? Mosaic vase? Display? Hmmm...

I'm also looking for any tanneries around the Florida area- central or west? I feel hopeless..

to be continued.. I hope for the sake of tanneries.. ^..^

Leather, Leather, Leather!

Listening to "Abe Lincoln" by Best Friends Forever

I can't say that post enough.. LEATHER!!!!!

Anyhow.. It's been a little bit... ok, maybe a bigger bit since I've last posted. Things have been really moving with my leather projects. I know I posted an ambiguous picture last week of one of my bracelets. I sold that bracelet right after I displayed it and it gave me new cheer to move on to vintage inspirations. This time I have another picture...I've been wanting to do something subtle... yet me.. Took me a few hours and some buttons!! and the bracelet below is what I found in myself. I think I may keep it... shhh...

Good news. I have another belt chair I'm working on as I post this. I should have it finished with before and after pics for you to look at soon.. ok it's raining now so that will have to wait. I can't paint in the rain... :(

I went on a calming re-photo shoot this morning and was able to post cuffs to our store. We are now open. My sister should be adding her cuffs to the store this weekend so the number will double tremendously. :) Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. Cheers.

And then there were trumpets...

Listening to "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver.

It's been a few days since I last posted and I wanted to fill you in and what's been happening. It's a tornado of fantasmic proportions!! I have cuffs finished. I don't want to show everything I have finished but I did want to give a sneak peak to my faithful followers so that you can see what's coming out. I opened up an Etsy store with my sister- Hide & Moore. A little play on words but I love it. The Hide is the leather we use in everything we make. The Moore/More pertains to what we use. I love buttons and she loves sterling silver so each bracelet is different. And there is definitely more than just buttons and sterling.

So just a little breakdown...

1. Etsy store up but not quite open. I'll have it on the blog here once we have it open. So keep checking back. :)

2. I have accessories finished! Yes.. And for a sneak peak I give you.. "Hera's". This has already been spoken for by someone already but I just wanted to show you. If I show the color then I give way too much away. Take my word that this heavy cuff is awesome. ^-^

3. I also did some thrift shopping this weekend and wanted to clue you in on some of my button finds. I'll post those tomorrow with pics and separate info... I am so psyched that everything is finally coming together... :) Cheers.

Craft Envy

Listening to "Walk On" by The Hidden Cameras

I've had little time lately to peruse craft supplies but thankfully today I made a jump. I found this button in a store called Brazen Buttons and thought it was practically biblical. How great it must be to have pieces of art on your clothing like that button.

Which reminds me... I'm heading to the hometown this weekend to experiment with gum paste for the wedding and continue our leatherworking. I will definitely have some pics because now that I have supplies we should be able to produce some piece of exquisiteness. I will also be hitting up the local thrift stores and I can divulge my treasures found there. :)

I also found this pattern which was really neat. Isn't this something you'd find in a thrift store or a flea market box? I thought so. The bonnet-laden girl next to the peacock chair is quite simple. I good chaise would help this stitch.

I'm a sucker for the Pearl and Hobby Lobby stores which of course are not even in the St. Petersburg area. Why is that? I'm not really sure but I wrote a few emails to their customer service department letting them know how "unfortunate" it is not to be able to shop there. Their reply? Coming soon. Of course, of course.

Until Sunday? Cheers. xoxo

Branching Out in Buttonland..

Listening to "Bella" by Angus & Julia Stone.

I am so sorry. I have no idea why I blanked out on this post. I promised to show the buttons I recently purchased and I blanked out... wow..

I went this past weekend with my mom to a few thrift stores and came away with some great finds. And by great I mean paying a nickel for a handful of buttons. My kind of day.


I'm also including the Joann clearance I found too... Grrrr... I plan on using these in the leather projects I'm currently working on. It'll be neat to see how I fit these in to different ideas.

This is what a change jar is for.. a quarter.. :) Cheers.

Home Envy: Curtains

Listening to "Piano Man" by Ghostland Observatory.

In my absent mind, I began meandering down the road of furnishings. Stay away. BEWARE! I hate going down this path because you see things you love and it drives me crazy. It's addicting at times. Ok, all the time. I've started a little journal for the house we're saving up. "Things I want, need, and salivate over." Time will tell when we get to that point.

For now though I leave you with my home envy today- curtains. You can never have enough curtains. The outfit of any room. I love the colors of that first curtain. Would brighten up any room. Since my favorito color would go perfectly with that, green, I would jot down a "S" for salivating. ^-^

I could eat that fruit. Actually, one the cats would knock it down first after putting their paws all over it... *sigh*. The sheer white is an addicting color for any kitchen. Simple yet chic. A "W" for the kitchen.

I love the bubbles on this. Very cute in a kids room but I would love this in my craft room. Yes, Tim we are molding a CRAFT room.. ^-^

I love everything about this photo. The clean lines. The simple table. The French Country curtains. That floor looks gorgeous! Salivating... xoxo

Tutorial: Junk Drawer Organizer

Listening to "Sunday" by Sia

It's happened. Your remote is dead and you need a battery. Oh no... to the junk drawer. Yes, we all have one. It's where we throw that fortune cookie from last year or even floss (seriously, I saw it in someone's..). I hate the drawer and I make Tim get stuff out of there because I'm scared something might live in there. Unfortunately, because he and I both THROW stuff in there it's cluttered and we have to dig to find things. LIGHT BULB. I should organize our drawer. Late one afternoon I took to this easy yet productive project to organize the dirty deed.

Junk Drawer Tutorial:

What You Need:

It's easy. All you need is an empty box. I used empty tea and plastic baggie boxes. Try envelope boxes. You'll have different sizes to fit your need.
Tape
Scissors
Straight Edge Cutter
Glue (I used Modge Podge)
Patterned Paper (I used a 12"x12" paper)
Decorations
Now'n'Laters (they help with tension ^-^)
Paintbrush
Exacto Knife



1. Take your patterned paper and measure it out to a good length to cover the box all over. It depends what box you use and what paper but I taped (above) my paper to the box to help me start and rolled it through to make sure it could cover all of it.


2. Once you've figured out that the paper will cover the entire box then using a brush you can start laying that glue on the box. Don't wipe it on the paper because if you're like me and you used a plastic baggie box then you'll waste glue where you have to cut. Slowly roll the box (above), covering and gluing the paper all over the box.


3.You should have some paper sticking out on the edges. You can attack this anyway you want but I think the "gift fold" looks pretty nifty. You can cut the side pieces sticking out to the length you feel will cover the sides. About an inch will work depending on how big your box is. Start applying glue to the side of the box and begin folding in the side pieces. Then apply glue again to the top and bottom pieces and press them down. Now, depending on how much paper you cut you might have a gap (above). I did this on purpose because I wanted to put a second piece of paper there. You don't have to obviously. Repeat on the other side.

4. Now depending what box you are using you will need some sort of hole or opening to put your knick knacks in. With the plastic baggie box I used the exacto knife and slowly cut out the hole where you pull the bags out. Easy. Don't cut the hole out exactly but instead leave half an inch of paper so you can fold it under and have smooth rounded edges. Always a nice round edge. :)


5. Glue the hole's edges down and take a gander at your box. Now, at this point you could add paper inside the box to cheer it up a bit but I figured I would be filling it up with everything dirty under the sun. My first box was going to hold Tim's "tools"- drill bits, nails, screws, anchors, etc... So instead, I decorated the outside. I love buttons so they took over this box. Feel free to use anything you can think of- yarn, eyelets, more paper?!, etc... Also, I sealed the papers in with another coat of Modge Podge once I was done. Go crazy!


6. Now fill 'er up! :) Add this box into your junk drawer to make organized space. I have several "boxes" in the drawer holding batteries, sewing thread, keys, etc... Email me if you have any questions. Cheers. x0x0.


p.s. the kitty is Abby ^-^

Leather Burning on the Dancefloor

Listening to "Paris" by Friendly Fires (Au Revoir Simone Remix)

The leather practicing/doodling has been going fantastic. I have a few belt cuffs/bracelets started but not finished due to the snaps. A few cons have been the gun metal snaps I'm using. The leather punch I bought does not have the same size punch as the snaps. Looks like I will be driving over to Harbor Freight to check out a different punch.

So my sister is officially hooked on the leather bracelets now. I gave her one of my leather punches and we shopped for beads together this weekend. We experimented with a few bead themes and she came up with a really neat cuff. Maybe she'll send me a pic and we can post it.

I also spent a good chunk of the weekend "cleaning out" my mom's vintage knick knacks. Buttons, buttons, buttons... oh it's on like Donkey Kong with buttons. I'll post about that later tonight.

I thought I'd share a few finds with you that I will be using on my cuffs. I especially love the first stone and might even keep it for myself... ^-^. I know.. I'm shellfish. :p Cheers!

Upside Down Frowns

Listening to Sad Songs by Elton John

I can't tell you how psyched I've been this week. I ran into a bead shop on St. Pete Beach with a friend and snatched up some nifty beads. The majority were clay and bone. I also ordered a few from a shop local here in town- Primitive Earth Beads.

The leather doodling has been going fantastic since I've figured out how to remove the points from my heat tool. That actually took Google & a customer service email to the company to figure that one out. In the meantime I had incurred a papercut on my finger and a nice strawberry bruise from trying to remove the points with my fingers... Thank you to Judy Meyers at Walnut Inc. for emailing me back with a pdf creative form to remove points and an apology for cutting my finger... ^-^ I wish I had a photo of my doodles but Abby(our newest kitten) ran off with my leather scraps and I have no idea where she hid them...

As you may know, I'm not one to buy brand new things but Lowes has this awesome bench that I am in love with.. Unfortunately the price tag is out of my budget and I'm hoping a clearance slash will bring it down. I just love the detail. It's heavy and beautiful. I know exactly where I'd put this baby.
Thanks to my mom for helping me start our side garden. I've cleared out a huge patch in the side of our yard. Unfortunately the previous tenant before us used this patch of yard to create a "bonfire"... I won't go into extensive detail but they took termite infested wood and laid a fire pit on top of it. Wait.. there's a tree that hangs 4 feet above the fire pit. I have no idea how the house did not set on fire but we're there.. So Tim and I cleared all that out and now have rich soil ready for a garden. I will grace pictures once we have something worthy.

I will have a few things up tonight. Watch for them... ready... steady.... xoxo. Cheers.

Dusty Dresser..

Listening to "In the Hospital" by Friendly Fires

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. It's been an awful few days for me. I was deliriously sick for a couple days, missed a great wedding, and ended up with the worst food poisoning money could not buy. I even got a charlie horse.... *sigh* But I'm back to posting and to let you know the high notes of my weekend.

Sunday I was able to finally work on a dresser I bought a couple months ago. Before you scroll down I encourage you to jog your imagination. Eyes open? Good. Now think of a beautifully crafted piece of furniture such as a dresser. Got it? Now add butterscotch paint all over it. I know. Ok... now take the drawers and add a metallic shimmering gold paint onto them. Yes, I know. Now breathe in that aroma of cigarettes because this baby is coated with it. What? More? Oh, yes. Don't forget the cat pee or the other stains left all over it... Finally. I didn't have my camera with me when I did this project so I only have the after photos but that is exactly how the dresser came. Absofruitly dreadful.

After 4 hours of intense cleaning, sanding, painting, refinishing, and distressing this is the end project....


Don't peak yet...




Seriously..



You have your picture of the before??



Ok..



Now scroll down...

like it?

distressed..

I hate this pic.. but it's what the top looks like...

All those lovely pieces on top were brought together by my mom and I. She's a fantastic thrifter. I'm bugging her to get a blog started because all the stuff she has.. gardening, crafting, etc... she is like the wizard of Oz- all knowing...

I hope to have some new photos up tomorrow after work. I've started the leather burning. I have ideas out the wazoo and I began doodling with some leather pieces already. Works fantastic. I should be getting my gun metal snaps tomorrow..? As soon as I get that started I'll have loads of pics. Let me know what you think and as always.. Cheers! xoxoxo

Bzzzzzy

found here

Listening to "You and Me" by Her Space Holiday

It's been at least a week since I've posted and it'll probably be another few days before I do again. My sister just had her baby, Wyatt and I am so excited for another nephew. We have a wedding (future brother-in-law) to go to tomorrow morning and my future father-in-law just got admitted to the hospital. We need any prayers for all 3 people if you can give them. It's been a very stressful week for us...

On a lighter note, I just ordered some leather supplies. eBay is such a glorious site to find nifty things. I've decided to focus my crafting skills on one thing I really do love.. bracelets.. leather cuffs to be precise. I love a comfortable bracelet that gets worn in. Mmm... the smell of fresh leather in the afternoon.

I'll be working on more belt chairs and even opening up an Etsy shop soon so please keep a look out for The Thrifty Turtle! Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers. :)

Obsessive Consumption

Listening to "Bodies and Mind" by Great Lake Swimmers.

Hmm.. I think this will be my last post until next week. My sister is having her baby Monday and we're driving up to be with/see her. It's going to be a loooooong weekend and I hope to post something over the weekend. *fingers crossed* I also have a baby shower I'm hosting tomorrow for my friend, Alli. Wish that luck.



The week has slowly winded down and I'd like to leave you by introducing a fellow designer I stumbled upon. Her name is Kate Bingaman and she's a gifted graphic designer. Her bag is "obsessive consumption". She draws what she buys and I think it is absolutely BRILLIANT. The idea is real and it works for me. I love to look at the detail she puts into each drawing. Check out her sketches on her page here. Does this work for you? xoxoxo

Upside Down Frowns

Listening to "Gone" by Thirteen Senses.


Well, if I didn't know better I'd thought I was seeing stars. A sea horse AND a hotel key charm?? Unbelievable. I found this here in MisteryMoor's stream. You really don't see keys like this anymore- heavy and uniquely crafted. The twangy brass is a beautiful touch to this charm. I'd love to add this to my collection. I think we need to be friends.

I found this here in Susanne's photostream. She really loves to take pictures of old houses- especially details. This would be a perfect part of any home. A solid door and a crystal doorknob. Who could ask for more?

Texture

Listening to "Dances Fantastic" by Neva Dinova.

Wow, 5 posts today? I am on a binge here. I really wanted to add this because after I took the picture I really loved the lines and shadows that you see. I've become more observant of textures and find this aesthetically pleasing more than before. Art history really helped. :) I love this picture of the two owls. My mom found this at a thrift store and aware of my addiction to these creatures of the night she bought it for me. A must for my wall! I hope you find it as pleasing as I do.

On another note, Molar, our turtle has lifted his home on his back and is moving it to the other side of the aquarium. A busy bee. Shhhhhhh... you are making so much noise! :) xoxoxo

Type Tray

Listening to "Lose You" by Pete Yorn

I did it! I finished.... sanding one of my type trays. :p I started adding some of my tid bits here and there including my notorious rubber stamps. I only count 3 in that picture but there are more and I am presently searching boxes for the rest..

I bought these trays off a fellow who was looking to get rid of them- fortunately for me. They have an original stamp etched into them, "The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Two Rivers, WI", I made sure I didn't sand off. They were very dirty and junky but I tried to keep the one up top as original as possible. The second one I have I actually washed with an olive green & white paint. I'm still working on it and I'll have pics up soon. Let me know what you think. :)

Upside Down Frowns

Listening to "Sore"- Wintersleep

As many of you know, I have a soft spot for animals in my heart. As so, I'd like to introduce those who don't know me as well to one of my family loves. We have 3 cats and 1 turtle together. Judo below is my beloved son. He fights for and sleeps with me. He is without a doubt my "boodle". You might notice that his nose is a liiiiiittle crooked... that would be from an accident involving a plastic bag and him running through and breaking our window... *sigh*. Long story but I can spill it... soon...

Inbox: Full?!?

My phone just tweeted at me several times... Glitch? Apparently not. I'm a bit ashamed to say this but I'm going to pat my back. "Blog of the Day" on FuelMyBlog. I just poured myself a cup of tea again for this joyous occasion. And again, sorry for the construction but it will be fixed by tonight. I have several antiques I need to go over and an idea involving a key, horseshoes, and a saucepan. Food? No. Craft? Most definitely! I will have pics up tonight as soon as I leave work... oh, and follow me on twitter if you care. :) @caretail *tweet*

Under a bit of Construction

As you may have noticed, the blog is undergoing a template change. I've lost some of my widgets and we're changing color schemes but Tim advises me he can fix it by tomorrow. So continue to read on, leave a comment, and cherish life with a cup of tea. xoxoxo

A Hasty Retreat

Listening to "Song for the Orca" by Travis Morrison.



I was just reading up on a jellyfish-doily(sp?) craft when I came upon this canvas. It just made me dwell on more ideas for projects. I'm thinking about turning that jellyfish craft into a mobile. I have a hook in my bedroom that is empty for attention. Irina's work is fantastic. Check out her other work here.



I recently came upon two printer type trays and spent this weekend sanding both and whitewashing one with white & olive paint. They both came out great and I'll have pics up soon. My camera is acting weird. On the downside, all 3 cats have had a time swatting things down.. bye-bye feathers...



If you read my tweets you might have saw that I was trying to work on a yoda beanie. Still working on it. It would have been perfect for this past Saturday. We went to the Rays vs. Blue Jays game and wouldn't you know it was "Sci-Fi" night. Would've been perfect for us to wear those then.. oh well.. there's always next year.



Well, time is short today but I leave you with another canvas from Irina.. :)

To the Past

Listening to "Just One Kiss"- Raphael Saadiq ft. Joss Stone

I have a few things I wanted to post today. I asked Tim to pull out some boxes from our guest bedroom's closet and wouldn't you know the treasures I came upon. Seeing as we just celebrated our 4 year anniversary together a few months ago I thought this was perfect. For our 1 year anniversary, in my infinite thrifty wisdom I scrapbooked a little memento for him- "10 Things I Love About You". Once I found this little knick-knack, we began laughing and reminiscing over the pictures I included.

I thought I would share this with you.. don't tell Tim or he'll kill me. :phe's going to murder me...and yes, that's a cheeto.. :)

Actually, I think I'll wait to post my second item tomorrow. Just some kitty humor. :p

Thank You Organs!

Listening to "You Got the Love"- Florence and the Machine

Usually, I can look at something and try to find the meaning behind the picture or even decipher a particular word... nah. I'm no good with those 3-D pictures where you stare at it forever and you're suppose to see a dolphin? All I ever see are swirls. Where's Waldo? How about where are my migraine meds? Anyway, I found myself circling the clouds of reality when I landed on this site:

iheartguts. lol.. the name makes me laugh. Her name is Wendy Bryan and she is the brainchild behind this site. She incorporates the organs of our body with happy notes on life and cute plush toys. This is definitely on my list of blogs to watch for. I included a few pics of some of her stuff. I even recommended we use some of the plush toys to give to some of our pediatric patients... I work at a Pediatric Surgical office coordinating surgeries at All Children's Hospital. Hey, you just learned something new today. <_> :p Enjoy and pass the sugar to your pancreas!