Something Small...

It only takes a small thing to remind the one you love that they are not forgotten on Valentine's Day...


My latest "small thing"

made from recycled aluminum beverage cans.


beer or soda





patterned or plain



Big enough to hold some candies, a small gift, a note, some confetti!


Your choice of box design, ribbon, cardstock heart, confetti (even shredded recycled US currency!)


use coupon code THANKS at checkout for free shipping(first class,priority mail upgrade is available for an extra fee.) Available in my Etsy Shop LizardSkins

Starry, Starry Christmas

No baskets for me this Christmas! I am busy making stars!

Make your own stars from Coke cans, here is a link to my pattern and easy to follow directions.

Some people are passionate about their chosen beverage, have you noticed? Diet Coke. Coke. Mountain Dew. Budweiser. Heineken. ( and then there are those who just love BeEr! ) For that fanatic, here they are...
Starry, starry ornaments! NOT just for Christmas, tho they do look great on a tree! They also hang from rearview mirrors and anywhere else just for fun...

I do love repurposing projects (commonly called recycling, more recently termed upcycling.) So how can i resist making shiny stars out of aluminum beverage cans?

The technique is easy, and when i could not find a template i liked, i made my own. The resultant project is simple and takes only a few minutes to render - generally two stars per can, depending on how you want the logos placed, etc. No special tools are required. The average person can find everything they need in their kitchen drawer (basketmakers will reach for their tool kit, of course!)


The stars are dimensional and reflect the light; they are lightweight and oh so eye-catching! Especially when that dedicated Mountain Dew drinker realizes what s/he is seeing------OH! They are a great tie-on package decoration...or basket tie on (just can't get away from those baskets!)


After making a buncha ornaments, i started making smaller stars into garlands! What fun.

Love the Earth. Love at Christmas. Deck the Halls! Hey, Coke loved them, my Diet Coke Garland was featured by Diet Coke Instagram on Christmas Eve http://instagr.am/p/bNEiz/

Have a fabulous holiday!

Beautiful Multifiber Basket by Lynn Hoyt

Isn't this a wonderfully textural, unusual basket? I love it! I really enjoy the way all the colors interact with each other...and it makes me want to touch it, it looks so soft!

This basket was made by Lynn Hoyt, of Blount's Creek, NC, using a pottery base i made, and a technique i recently taught the Natural Fibers Group at a guild meeting. It is a very simple technique, and I love the depth and unique look it gives to baskets.

To make a multifiber basket like this, you can use yarn and prepared fibers, but the most fun thing to do is to prepare your own, using old clothes. I really love to use clothes that are beyond wearing, but have significance to me, as i talked about in this previous blogpost, Memories in a Basket. Lynn used this idea to prepare her childhood bedspread (blue and white) for incorporation into her memory basket. I think that goes very well with the theme of sun and starry skies, don't you? What a loving way to save a little scrap of her childhood. I understand she has another one in progress, using her sister's bedspread. aaaawww.

Also added for bulk and texture were yarn and prepared dyed sisal (yellowish.) Other worn clothing was dyed dark colors to add accent (black) to this great multifiber memory bowl! I also love how Lynn shaped her basket, she accentuated little twists I incorporated into the clay, and this helped to make an asymmetrical basket, with dips in the rim, very intriguing.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful basket with us, Lynn! Anyone else who has a basket made from a base they acquired from me, i would love to show them here! Check my MakeABasket.etsy.com shop for bases to make your own unique memory baskets!

to find more baskets made with these pottery bases, click on the label pottery base below
pamela

Memories in a Basket

Yesterday I blogged about making baskets from the old mini-blinds (which may have looked just fine, by the way, but they were drawn all over by my son!) Here is the promised blog about baskets from upcycled clothes.

This basket was coiled around a pottery base that i made. It includes some yarns and recycled bits of string, but also several of my husband's old shirts, a pair of kids' pjs, some camophlage jeans from my son, and a couple of socks that had holes in them. Yes, i said socks. They are great for bulk and texture. If you click on it and look closer maybe you can see some of them.
I love the way all the fibers come together and make a crazy quilt sort of effect.

This one is also embellished with beads. But sometimes, i embellish with buttons cut from the clothing, as in the bowl at right. This one is upcycled from an old long playing record album. I poked holes in the rim after distorting the album in my oven. After coiling with assorted recycled cloth strips, as well as yarns, i layered the buttons as embellishments. (click on any picture to see a large version.)

For more upcycled/recycled baskets, see my etsy shop. Some of them are coiled 'round recycled bits of plastic, as well! One is also twined using my husband's favorite old shirts, the yarn i showed you yesterday. Another has bits of sisal twine that have been unwound to make fringes. I would love to see what you have made of recycled materials!