Make It Good with I Like Greenhouses: Old Sheets

Happy Monday, yes indeed!

Well looky here. It's another "Make It Good" Challenge. Do you remember what that is exactly? Well it's a little something Peaches and I cooked up: it's basically two crafters going head-to-head in a raging craft battle to the death. Okay no. That's a lie. It's more like two happy crafters happily creating something from some happy recyclable, swapping happy creations, and then happily passing it on. No death. No bloodshed. Just a bunch of happiness.

This time I'd like to welcome Alex from I Like Greenhouses. Who's that, you ask? Well, interesting little note about Alex. She came to me. She emailed me one day, out of the blue, asking if she could "make it good". And I? Well I did NOT have a problem with that. "Ask and ye shall receive" as far as I'm concerned. So here we are, just Alex and myself doing this...

today!

And your job (yes, you) is to check out both creations. That's it! Nary a winner, nary a loser, see?

Now since my last challenger was my little sister Ariane, it was up to her to set today's crafty recycling challenge. So here it is:

(1) Your one recycled item must be an old bed sheet.

(2) And your inspiration is Spring!

Alrighty, seems doable... Let's get ready to rumble!!!

TO SEE WHAT ALEX MADE {CLICK HERE}

TO SEE WHAT MICHELE MADE {KEEP READING}

Well to be honest, I would have loved to have one of those beautiful old vintage sheets to work with but sadly I'm not that lucky. The only old sheet I had was this blue sheet. This sheet has seen better days. It's old and worn. And blue. Very very blue.

So I decided to make a bag. A bag as blue as a spring sky... True, all seasons' skies are blue. Details. Mine is as blue as a SPRING sky. Got it? Good.

Now when Peaches and I did our very first challenge way back when, she sent me this platter as my gift. When she did, she packed it in a box with many many of these "I Dream of Falafel" bags (You didn't know you'd sent me 2 gifts in one, did you Peaches?). I loved these bags. I liked the pretty flowers on them. I liked the fact that I had a whole collection of them. And I loved their shape. Their shape was perfect. I knew that one day I would use them in a craft. And that is what I did.

I trimmed a teensy bit off the edges of three of the bags and opened them up like this. I made a 3-layer sandwich and sewed them all together.

I used them as a template for my new bag.

But I also used them as a liner for the bag. You see? It's a bag-lined shopping bag!

I call it my "Sky's The Limit" bag. Notice that I embellished it with yarn. Those are the sky parts there.

There's the sun right in there too. I hope my opponent will like this bag because it's all hers!

Now please check out what Alex made. I'm very curious! She mentioned something about clothing... Can't wait to see what she's cooked up? I'm going over there now. Join me, won't you?

Okay then, have yourself a lovely day. I'll see you again soon!

P.S. I am SO thrilled to be nominated on Babble Blogs 2011 right here! Would you consider voting for me? Thanks so much!

Make It Good with Mich L in LA and The Answer is Chocolate

I don't normally blog on the weekends but today is kinda different and kinda special. Two clever crazy bloggers are going at it in the newest Make It Good Challenge (a challenge I had the pleasure of setting for them by the way... hee hee)!

Click the following links to check out how Carol @ The Answer is Chocolate and Michelle @ Mich L in L.A. rose to the challenge of making it good. Let us go!!!

MICH L. IN L.A.

THE ANSWER IS CHOCOLATE

Have a great weekend, I'll see you Monday!

I Am a Work in Progress.

It wasn't my idea. It was my husband's birthday gift to us.

The boy talked about it for days before hand. He was super-excited. Me? NO! No, No. Terrified is what I was. At this stage in my life, careening down the snow and ice-covered slopes of Mount Pakenham while standing on two slippery sticks in the dead of winter seemed a little foolhardy to me. I didn't want to do it, and I didn't pretend otherwise. Oh sure, I'd heard all the stories. Alpine skiing is the funnest thing ever... You'll have a blast... It's easier than it looks... Blah blah blah... I assure you, I've heard those stories p-uh-lenty of times. I've also heard the story of Glen Bonsall, a classmate of mine who broke a leg in Grade 3 and had to stumble around in a cast for the rest of the year. I remember as a child seeing the 1975 movie "The Other Side of The Mountain", based on the true story of the skier Jill Kinmont who was paralyzed from the neck down after a terrible fall during a ski race. And most recently, I've heard the tragic story of the movie star, Natasha Richardson, who died after hitting her head while downhill skiing. These are the stories that did not sit well with me. These are the stories that scared the living snowflakes out of me and help to explain why it's taken me 43 years to finally do it.

But I put my fears aside. I did it. So did my son. We alpine skied. With the skis and the boots and the snow and everything. Down a mountain. Yesterday. And happily, we're still here to tell the tale. We also agree that we may just have to try it again someday.

Thank you to Peter and Miranda for teaching us how to ski. We very much appreciate you coming along and taking such good care of us up on the slopes.

And Lo, I'm glad you're brave enough to let me know me that I am a work-in-progress who still has a LOT to learn. Thank you for strong-arming me out of my comfort zone. I know I'm a bull-headed, stubborn, know-it-all sometimes. But lucky for me, so are you. ♥

Oh, and speaking of works-in-progress (WIPS), the above pictures show glimpses of a WIP that will be revealed on Wednesday when I take on my little sister Ariane from Ariane's Crafts in my next Make It Good Challenge... I'm so excited to see what she's been up to, I cannot wait until Wednesday! Eeeee!

Until then, have yourself a lovely day!

Make It Good

THIS CHALLENGE HAS BEEN RETIRED (Jan 2012).

Have you been invited to "Make It Good"?

Here's what it's all about!

Essentially, "Make It Good" is a two-person, recycling, craft challenge chain that has slowly made its way to you through the crafty blogosphere. It is a fun, invitational challenge that pits one crafter against another in a friendly battle for the love of blog readers everywhere. There are no winners; there are no losers. You will be crafting a cool creation from something that was destined for the big garbage heap in the sky. You will be telling the world about it on your blog. You will be (slap-in-the-face) rewarding your opponent with your creation. And finally you'll be seeking out a second opponent and playing a second round, thus passing the craftiness on. All you've got to do is make it good.

Let's go through the Challenge Rules:

If you are here, it's because a fellow crafter has challenged you to "Make It Good".

Now, if you want to play, you must agree to the following:

(1) Your opponent's previous challenger will set your challenge.

• That person will tell you what type of garbage or recyclable you will be using (ex. cereal boxes, egg cartons, shampoo bottles, gift wrap, etc...) to make your cool craft.


• That person will define ONE rule to be respected during the challenge (ex. The creation must be inspired by nature.)

(2) You and your opponent will jointly set a date on which to post your crafty results.

(3) You will each create a post showing your wondrous handiwork.

(4) You will link to your opponent's post in your post. Here's an example post.

(5) You will install the "Make It Good" button somewhere in your post.

(6) You will swap creations with your opponent.

(7) You will add your link in the comments section on this page to let everyone know that you have made it good. Nifty Note: If you want to create a clickable link in the comments section, type the following formatting directly in the comments box and voilà, a link is born! Here's the link format:

(8) And finally, once you've completed your first "Make It Good" Challenge, you will in turn invite a crafter of YOUR choice to join you in a second challenge, thus perpetuating the chain. Rule #1 will now read: Your PREVIOUS challenger will set your challenge...etc. Rules #2 through #7 remain the same!

So, if you accept to follow these rules, you are agreeing to participate in two "Make It Good" one-on-one crafty recycling challenges.

And if you let me know when it's happening, I will advertise your challenge here on Michele Made Me!

Sound like fun?

Go to it, then!


Pssst.... Don't forget your button!



<a title="michele made me" href="http://michelemademe.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5434983898_3f0501405a.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="PeachesMakeitgood" /></a>

Note:

As the creators of "Make It Good", Peaches and I have the privilege to do as many "Make It Good" Challenges as we like.

Acknowledgements:

My sincere thanks to Aunt Peaches and Mich L in L.A. for devising and tweaking this challenge chain with me. And to Aunt Peaches for designing the elegant "Make it Good" button! Thank you both so much ♥!