Guest-Posting at Sew Ready To Play Today

Do you remember my good friend Louise from I'm Feelin' Crafty? Ya, you met her in person back here? Well... she is hosting a merry event this month called "Sew Ready To Play".  In Louise's words, the idea behind the series is this: "You pick a game and sew anything that is inspired by that game". The event is in its 3rd year (check out all the goodness from previous years HERE) and guess what... this year I get to "play" along!

Nifty, eh?

Sneak a peek at what I made...

Hmm, can you tell what it is?... To see more, hop on over HERE!

♥M

My Dear Friend...

August is freedom! Details here.

♥M

In A Dark Time...

No crafts and no computer. I'm on a break for the entirety of August. Details here!

♥M

The Privilege of a Lifetime...

This August I am putting my feet up and doing nothing! Find out more here.

♥M

Anything That Is Unrelated...

Needed to chillax, so I took the whole month of August off. Find out more here...

♥M

It's A Funny Thing...

August is break-time baby! Details here.

♥M

You Will Do Foolish Things...

I'm taking some time away from all things bloggy at the moment because it's August Break you see. Find out more here!

♥M

I Dream...

This August I am taking a bloggy break to spend a few lovely work-free weeks with my sweet family. The blog is on auto-pilot. Details here!

♥M

Life is Full of Misery...

It is August and I am being lazy and slothful indeed. Details here!

♥M

The Little Reed...

I'm off enjoying some computer-free time this August. I'll return at summer's end. Learn about my August Break here...

♥M

Life Shrinks...

I'm off enjoying a work-free August with the fam. Details here!

♥M

If The Path Be Beautiful...

This August I am taking a bloggy break... Details here!

♥M

Let Us Dance...

It's August and I'm taking a break, yes. Details here!

♥M

The August Break 2013

Last year I did something a little different during the month of August. I created a bunch of simple posters using my photos, set the blog to automatically publish them throughout August, and pretty much took the whole month off. It was wooooonderful! To be able to step away from the computer and the crafting like that, and let my auto-pilot do the flying, was such a welcome thing. I've decided to do it all over again this year with a slew of brand new michele-made posters.

I want to acknowledge Susannah Conway for planting the August Break seed last year. I'm so grateful to her for expressing out loud that resting and re-fuelling are necessary for bloggers like ourselves. Had I not had her example, I might not have taken that time off last year even though I really needed it. Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom Susannah!

I hope that you will find time this August to rest and relax and enjoy the remnants of summer too. We work hard, don't we? We are so busy! Let's listen to our weary minds and bodies, take care of them, and permit ourselves a time of recovery. I think you deserve it. I think I deserve it, darn it... Jeepers, it feels good to say those words out loud!

I wish you a beautiful August. Take care of yourself and stay safe, okay?

♥M

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 3

Today marks THE END of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along"! I'm so glad I did this. You know what? I quite enjoyed the easy-going pace of this little event. No hurries, no worries... And, in time, something pretty gets made. Joys! I will definitely be exploring the craft-along idea again in some form... Oh yeah baby.

As of last time, I believe we had made the birdie family which we set aside for the moment. And we had attached the lettering, like so...

So let us end our spring recraft-along on a high note. Let us build a nest for our chicks, get our mama bird settled in, and grow blossoms on our tree! You with me? Walk this way...

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 3

Nest-Building

Step 1: Start with my secret little move, which is to remove that shiny layer of paper from a section of cracker or cereal box. Just stick your fingernail (or you could use a craft knife too) under the layer of shiny paper in one of the corners of your piece of cardboard and peel away that paper. You'll want to prepare a few differently-shaded pieces of cardboard in this way.
Step 2: Now cut your pieces into tiny strips. Mine are quite narrow, about 1/16"( 1.5mm) wide. Cut some of these tiny strips from the differently-shaded pieces of cardboard.

Step 3: Now, between the two major shoots of that bottom branch, start glueing on the strips every which way without going too far beyond that top branch. What I do is I round each strip between my fingers, apply glue to the center of the strip only and glue it on randomly. The ends of each strip should curl up.
Step 4: Continue adding strips until you've added about 20 of them, rounding each between your fingers and attaching them to the box to form a very rustic nest shape. Don't worry about ends that stick too far out. We will be trimming them once we've glued everything in place.
Step 5: Once you've added roughly 20 strips, it's time for the chicks to move in. You made those last time remember? Apply glue only to their bodies, allowing their heads to stick out freely beyond the upper branch. Continue glueing on the tiny strips behind, beside, below, and even directly onto the chicks themselves (to hide the bottom half of their bodies).

Note: This nest-construction process is so organic and so much fun to do. I want you to trust your building instincts and enjoy it!

Step 6: Now, I prepared a few curly strips to add extra dimension to the nest. Curl the strips by wrapping them firmly and carefully around a large yarn needle (or you could use a wooden skewer). Keep them on the needle or skewer for a few moments so they retain their curly shape.
Step 7: Apply glue to a couple spots on these curly strips and attach them to the nest in a few different places. After the nest has dried, trim it as desired. Pay particular attention to the word "Listening". I found that I had several strips obscuring it and needed to trim them up quite a bit.

Mama Moves In

Step 8: Now it's mama bird's turn! Glue her onto her branch as shown below. And as per the Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, copy and cut out a worm and glue both wormy pieces under mama's beak. Yummy.

Bring On The Blossoms

Step 9:  Using the carbon paper and the lightest colour of cracker/cereal box cardboard, copy and then cut out several flowers. I made nine flowers all together.
Step 10:  Using a regular hole punch, punch out 9 pieces of confetti from a darker colour of cracker/cereal box cardboard. Glue a confetti circle to the center of each flower. To give each flower dimension, place each flower center on the eraser-end of a pencil and firmly bend down the petals.

Step 11:  Glue the simple flowers onto the branches. Finally, into your beautiful box place two or three jars, and fill those jars with flowers or twigs or sedges or whatever your little heart desires!

And now I think we're completely done... Aaah yes... It's a very pretty thing, isn't it? With Mother's Day just around the corner, I think this will do nicely, don't you?

Now, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for action in the Loving is Listening Flickr Group to see what magic pops up over there. The intent, of course, is to feature your versions of this craft right here on the blog. I'm very much looking forward to that, so don't forget to post your photos!

♥M

Previous posts in the Loving is Listening series: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Hey, how are ya? Well, I hope!

Have you been following along with the Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along? If you've missed any of it, here are links to previous posts: Introduction and Part 1 (which includes a list of tools and materials). These should catch you up nicely. By this point, you should have a lovely box decorated with a set of branches.

Today we'll be biting off the next morsel... We'll be focussing on lettering and birds. Let's get started!

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Prepare the Lettering

Step 1:   Print off copies of the Love is Listening Lettering and the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Templates. Use the carbon paper to transfer the words "Loving is" onto a dark-shaded cereal or cracker box.
Step 2:  Cut out the letters using a craft knife or pair of scissors. Remember the big secret I shared in Part 1?... That secret comes in quite handy at this point. It makes the cutting of letters possible with scissors. SO much easier, in my opinion. If you prefer to use a craft knife, remember to protect your work surface with a cutting mat or old phone book. And once you've cut out the word "is", you can apply a light coat of paint to it. I'm using my son's cake paints for the painty bits of this project. Use what you have available!

Step 3: Take out the remaining bit of the scrunched paper bag.
Step 4: Transfer the word "Listening" from the template to the paper bag using that carbon paper of yours.
Step 5: With your trusty pair of scissors, slowly cut out the word "Listening". Don't forget to cut out the dots for the "i"s.

Step 6 Optional: I reinforced my "Listening" by glueing it onto the remaining piece of paper bag and cutting the word out a second time. This makes the word doubly sturdy, and much easier to work with. Note that it's a lot easier to cut out the innards of letters like s, e and g using a craft knife.

Step 7: Glue the words onto the base according to the Full Template. Once all letters and words are in place, I like to, very carefully, place a light book on top to make sure everything lies flat while the glue dries.

Heep! It's coming along none too shabbily now, eh?

Hatch Some Birds

Step 8: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the mama bird details onto a medium-shaded cereal or cracker box. Remember the secret? I used it here too. Cut out all the pieces. Use a regular hole punch to punch the bird's eye out. Be nice though!
Step 9: Use the cake paint (or whatever paint you have around) to paint the mama bird bits. I used the colour mauve with varying amounts of water to achieve different shades on pieces 1, 2, and 4. Similarly, I used the colour grey with varying amounts of water on pieces 5 and 6. I left piece 3 as is.

Step 10: Use a marker or bit of black paint to colour in the mama bird's eye on piece 5. Make sure that your eye aligns nicely with piece 6.
Step 11: Gather the mama bird pieces and layer them as you would if you were glueing them together. Do NOT glue them yet. Make sure they stack nicely and look good. Make small adjustments now by trimming with scissors if necessary. Once you're pleased with the look of your bird, glue all pieces together. Place a book on top to ensure the bird dries nice and flat.

Step 12: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the baby bird details onto two different shades of cereal or cracker box. Cut out both pieces. Repeat this step for a second and even third chick if you like!
Step 13: Stack the pieces and glue them together.
Step 14: Add the little chick's eye dot with a black marker.

Set aside the mama bird and chickies for now... And remember if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Next up: The Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along nest-building-flower decorating big finish!

♥M

All other "Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along" posts: Introduction, Part 1, and Part 3 (finish)!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

Happy happy Tuesday!


In case you missed it, on Saturday I introduced the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". That intro is here for your perusal, btw. Now that the idea is out there, I'm most anxious to hit the ground running. If you have any questions big or small, do leave them in the comments okay? And remember that I will be answering recraft-along questions in the comments so readers can share them equally.

So today we will (1) list the tools and materials you'll need for the recraft-along, (2) prepare the base, and (3) create the branch element. You ready? Let's do this!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

First things first. Here is the complete list of stuff you'll need for the recraft-along.

Tools and Materials

• A few cracker boxes or cereal boxes in various shades (In other words, try to find boxes with a variety of neutral colours on the insides.)
• If you'll be decorating a large cereal box, as I am, you'll need a large cereal box for the base. I'm using a 525 g box of Cheerios.
• Medium size brown paper bag
• Iron
• Carbon paper (for transferring the design)
• Child's set of cake paints or watercolours
• Paintbrush
• Newspaper or something to cover your work surface
• Craft knife or utility knife
• Pair of scissors
• Regular hole punch
• Pencil and eraser
• Ruler
• PVA (white) glue
• Masking tape (for clamping)
• Black marker (I use the Sharpie brand)
• Cutting surface
• Yarn needle (or wooden skewer)
• The templates: Loving is Listening Full Template, Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, Loving is Listening Branches Template, Loving is Listening Lettering Template
• a printer to print the templates

Note: The "Loving is Listening" Design is for personal use only. Please do not make items for sale from this design. Thanks!

In Saturday's post I suggested a few ways in which to use the "Loving Is Listening" design. For the purposes of this recraft-along I will be focussing on decorating a cereal box. But do feel free to frame your finished piece, or make a gift box, or whatever tickles your little fancy!

Prepare The Base

For my base, I'll be using a large family size cereal box. If it helps, this one contained 525g (~18oz) of cereal. Let's start by removing the top edge of the box and turning the whole thing inside out.

Step 1: With your fingers, carefully pry open the box at the seam and flatten it out. With a ruler and pencil, mark a line 5 cm (2 inches) from the top of the box. Cut off the top of the box at the line with a utility knife.
Step 2: Now simply re-fold the box so that the lovely neutral inner surface is now on the outside. I apply glue to the narrow side flap and bottom flaps. At this point, I use a few pieces of masking tape to clamp the gluey flaps temporarily in place until the glue dries. Note that I don't fully flatten out the bits of masking tape. I leave the corners of the tape curling up so that it's easy to take off again. Once the glue is set, I remove the masking tape slowly to avoid lifting and marring the surface of the cardboard.

We'll now take out a paper bag and use it to finish the top inner surface of the box.

Step 3: Grab your paper bag. Cut off the bag bottom and cut it open along the seam.
Step 4: Scrunch up the bag several times. Do this carefully so as not to rip it. Scrunch and re-scrunch until it is evenly wrinkled throughout.
Step 5: Press your paper flat with a dry iron.

Step 6: Cut out a few wide strips from your paper. My strips are 3 inches wide but you could go wider if you like. You'll need enough length to go around the inner top edge of the box.
Step 7: Apply glue to the entire outer edge of the paper strip. 
Step 8: Place the gluey strip flush with the inner top edge of your box. Flatten and pinch the strip in place along the edge making sure it is adhering nicely all the way around. Beauty.

The box is now ready to decorate! 

Note: If you happen to be turning this into a gift box, HERE is a post that suggests some creative ideas for nifty handles. Now would be the optimal time to install handles, by the way.

Make The Branches

Step 9: Use the link provided in the "tools and materials" list to download a copy of the Branches Template. Print it out. Use a sheet of carbon paper to transfer the branch design to the inside of one of your larger cereal boxes.
Step 10: Cut out the branch. I used both a utility knife and pair of scissors to cut my branch out. Fine details are more easily handled with a utility or craft knife.
Step 11: Paint the branch. I used The Boy's black cake paint on my branch. Yes, I asked permission. Allow the paint to dry. If your branch curls, place it under a heavy book for a while to flatten it out again.

Now I'm about to share ONE OF MY BIG SECRETS for using cereal and cracker box CARDBOARD in my crafts. Ya ready? Y'excited? Okay here goes...

You know that shiny layer of paper that covers every cereal and cracker box? I sometimes (though not always) peel it off. Especially if I want to get amazing adhesion between cardboard layers. What I do is I just stick my fingernail between that top layer of shiny paper and the rest of the cardboard and peel the dang thing off. I throw the peelings back into the recycling bin whence they came, and I'm left with a supremely glueable surface!!!... (Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but still.)

So for example, once I've cut out the branch...

Step 12: I peel off most of that silly layer of shiny paper and then I apply the glue to my branch. See?
Step 13: And finally (for today), I attach the branch to the box and stick a light book on top to make sure it is super-glued on there. Nope, that baby ain't goin' nowhere.

Oh and by the way, if you happen to take any process photos, feel free to share them in the dedicated "Loving is Listening Flickr Group", yes sir. And lastly there's new "Loving is Listening Button" down in the sidebar there for ya, in case you're joining along!

Next up:  Taking a break for an extremely lovely "You Guest It" on Thursday. I'll be back on Saturday with the next installment of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". Until then, you have a great week!

♥M

All other posts from the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along": Introduction, Part 2 and Part 3 (Finish)

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Introduction

Hi!

Guess what.

I'm starting this new-to-me year of blogging with something I've never done before: a craft-along! Actually I'm calling it a recraft-along because there are no new materials used in this craft, aside from the glue that is. The project is made entirely of paper recyclables. I invite you to join me 'cause it'll be fun fun fun and the result will be very pretty!

What are we making?... A valid question.

When I was toying with the idea of doing a paper craft-along, I was reading a booklet called "The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember". Numerous times in this little gem of a book, Mister Rogers mentions how important listening is when it comes to truly caring for others. And I, for one, 100% agree with him. Unfortunately I am far from being the model listener. I'm so distracted with everything I do, I often tune out even my most beloved people. And worse still, I sometimes fail to listen to my own heart. Know what I mean?... So, I thought I'd make myself a gentle reminder. I distilled Mister Rogers' message to simply say "Loving Is Listening" and created a spring flavoured design to go along with it.  And then I thought, if I could use this reminder, then maybe others could too? Thus, the recraft-along was born.

Now, you could simply take the design, and produce it on a flat piece of cardboard and frame it. That would be great. Personally, I'll be refurbishing a cereal box. I'm thinking my altered cereal box could be used in a few different ways. It could serve as a fancy gift box for Mothers Day, eh? Or as a decorative storage box? But it might also work as a sweet flower pot. In fact, that's how I'll be using mine. I promise to show you pictures of my flower pot a little later on. So the final use of this thing is entirely up to you!

If you choose to work through the recraft-along with me, there are a few things you might want to keep in mind.

1. This craft was designed for the intermediate crafter. But no worries. If you want to do it, it doesn't matter what your level is. The recraft-along is here for you and so am I. But also, I would NOT suggest this craft for kids as there are craft/utility knives involved.
2. If you have a question, leave a comment in the comments section. I will do my best to answer any recraft-along questions within the comments section so that everyone has access to the answers.
3. Despite how it looks, this is not the quickest craft. It will probably not get done in one sitting. I mean, it is possible to get it done in one sitting, but it is unlikely. And in fact, there's no need to rush it. You'll get better results if you don't. So take your time and enjoy the process.
4. There's a newfangled "Loving is Listening Flickr Group" somewhere... Oh HERE it is. Upload process and finished photos there if you like.
5. You can do what I do, but you don't have to do what I do. In other words, feel free to take the design and make it your own, change things up, move elements around, use completely different materials. See, I don't know everything you like. So go bananas and totally do your own thing with this! And then post photos to the Flickr group so I can check 'em out! 

Note: The "Loving is Listening" design is made available for personal use only. Please do not make items for sale from this design. Thanks.

One last thing, I'm still working on a craft-along button. It should be ready for next time methinks... Okeedokey, I think that's it for now.

Oh and here's the button now! (If you wish to get a button for yourself, the button code is located at the very bottom on the blog!)

Next up:  The Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along officially begins for real... Wahoot!

♥M

All "Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along" posts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 (finish)

Be My Guest!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! Starting now, this blog is accepting submissions for guest-posts... Eep!

Seeing that this is an equal opportunity craft blog, submitted ideas can come in all shapes, sizes and types. As you may have surmised, I enjoy everything from paper crafts to sewing, quilting to the fiber arts, home decor to jewelry and well... just about anything as long as it's nifty and re-used! If you are a member of Michele Made Me and have a clever idea for a sweet and simple eco-craft tutorial that is your own work, well-written, and beautifully photographed, I want to help you share it with a wider audience.

If all goes as planned, guest-posts will appear on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month as of March 2013.

Your initial email submission should contain the following:

1. Your name and email address
2. Your blog url
3. A clear and concise explanation of your idea (3 to 5 sentences)
4. One beautiful photo of your completed craft

If your initial idea is accepted, your completed guest-post should include:

1. Clear and beautiful photography throughout.
2. Clear and concise explanations.
3. At least one gorgeous photo of the finished project.
4. A short bio telling the reader who you are and why you create things.
5. Links to your blog and shop (if you have one).
6. Links to your 2 favourite blog posts to be used by me in a short introduction to YOU!

It should be stressed here that not all submissions will be accepted. As the owner of this blog, I reserve the right to choose what I feel best fits this space.

Email your submission to:

michelemademe AT gmail DOT com  →  subject line "Craft Submission"

I can't wait to hear from you! 

♥M

P. S. Here are a few resources to help make your guest-post extra-sparkly!

Take Better Tutorial Photos Series

Writing a Great Tutorial

Edited to Add: P.P.S. Yippee! The Boy's new bedroom is featured HERE on Apartment Therapy today. Thanks Dabney for the invitation and lovely write-up! 

Thank you Kate Pitner!

"Being in the Nutcracker Ballet has always been a dream of Trixie Lou's, and now it's finally happening! Getting the role of dancing as one of the flowers with the Rose Queen is absolutely beyond thrilling for her. She especially loves her beautiful dress!" [Kate Pitner]

The above note came with Trixie Lou, the gorgeous handmade ballerina Christmas ornament by Kate Pitner. I discovered her in my mailbox yesterday. I received her as part of Blu Penny's Annual Handmade Ornament Exchange. I'm as pleased as punch with every precious detail of her. Isn't she a dancing delight? Thank you so much Kate! And thank you Cindy Ann for organizing this brilliant exchange. Hugs to you both from across the ether!

Learn more about Kate and her work HERE. And Cindy Ann and her work HERE.

♥M