Saturday, July 24, 2010

Stash Busting

I was inspired by the children. Some friends of ours visited recently, and their daughters are nine and 13. They are into the friendship bracelets that I used to make...ahem...over 20 years ago. The oldest had 12 bracelets on one arm and 13 on the other, but she didn't know how to make them! She was relying on friends to make them for her. She saw my box of embroidery floss skeins and asked what I do with them.
Well, I explained how embroidery works, and then I pulled out a friendship bracelet that I had begun a very long time ago and had never finished. I then used that start to refresh my memory of technique, and then I taught them both how to make a basic 1/2 chevron stripe bracelet.

I was so refreshed that I came home on Friday and made myself a bracelet and a necklace. I pulled out my stash of hemp twine and glass beads and have decided that, in addition to knitted items for Christmas, my younger recipients might also be sporting some handmade arm and neck embellishments.

This has been a hoard de-stash inspirational anecdote...
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Saturday, July 17, 2010

SORRY FOR THE ABSENCE...KIND OF!

Hello fellow Hoarders! I've been away for quite some time and have had no computer/Internet. So I've missed out on posting here and in my own personal blogs.

I've been living at the beach, Oregon Coast to be exact. We are renting a house there and I live there and hubby comes to stay on the weekends. Up til now he's had every Friday off so he arrives late on Thursday nights but now he has to work every other Friday so will arrive on Friday nights that week. I will miss having him there for that one day, but that's life!!

My crafting has been minimal, almost nil. I did make the wedding favors for our daughter's wedding, which was right there in the town where I am living. I put a sand dollar in a square of tulle and tied it with a ribbon. Each ribbon had a little square of ocean blue paper and a sticker with the bride and groom's name on it and the date of the wedding. That was June 26, 2010. The sand dollars were already boiled and clean. When I ran out of sand dollars I used several small seashells. They were a hit! 

I bought a sketch pad to doodle in, but drawing has never been my strong suit and I was not happy with the results of my efforts. I guess I'll stick to what I'm good at! Or think I'm good at, I guess!
I'm at home now in Eastern WA but going back to the beach house on Tuesday. I'll take some of my hoarded craft items because quite frankly, I'm having withdrawals! I want to make more cards. I used up a lot of my stash for the Spirit Jump Cards for Cancer event in April and have not replenished it. I've been buying cards to use to send to Spirit Jumpees. If you don't know about Spirit Jump, click here for the website and info about it: SPIRIT JUMP

So how has summer been treating you? Are you still working on crafty items and using your hoarded craft/sewing supplies? Or do you take the summer off and spend it traveling, picnicking, etc.? A lot of people start working on their Christmas items in July? Are you one of them?

Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon. I've made it very clear to hubby that I MUST have my computer and Internet access after being without for about 5 weeks...I'll be able to post some photos of the items I will be working on!! But for now, here are a few images you can snag for your own creations. They are from vintage cards which I scanned and uploaded. If you like these, let me know, I do have more.

~NANCY~