Display Redux

I'm constantly struggling with the way I display the creations I sell at craft shows. Since I don’t do all that many craft shows, I can’t justify spending a lot of money for expensive displays. Besides, I like a display with a DIY look rather than a store bought display rack.

I have a large display I made for my beaded earrings made from peg board and covered with quilt batting and fabric. I pin my earrings cards to the padded display. The display gets clamped onto the table. It works quite nicely.

When I started making earrings from recycled aluminum cans, I needed a new display. I wanted it to be in keeping with the recycled theme, so I used some leftover pegboard and made two smaller display boards, but this time I decoupaged newspaper to the board. My earring cards covered most of the board and the “recycled” newspaper showed around them. It was okay, but I really didn’t like it much. It was only temporary.

This summer I have been selling my creations at an area Farmers’ Market. I'm only selling the creations that are made from recycled and up-cycled materials. My booth is done in “recycle green” and orange. I was hoping to be able to find a fabric with little recycling symbols all over it to recover the pegboard, but the only one I found had symbols that were too large. Instead, I found a pretty floral pattern with green and orange as well as some turquoise. I love the addition of the new color. It made me smile so I bought it.

Using the same process I used for the large displays, I cut some fabric and batting.

I used some spray adhesive on the boards, set the batting down, sprayed the batting, and set down the fabric.

A few staples around the back and I had my new displays.

Now I just need to figure out a new and better way to display my map wallets. Anyone have any suggestions?

Up-cycled Maps

So, do you remember the small stack of maps I picked up at the tag sale a few weeks ago? Well, it’s time to reveal what I’ve been doing with them.

  

I’ve been up-cycling them into wallets.

I am able cut the pieces for two to three wallets out of each map, depending on the size of the map.

I try to lay them out so I get some interesting cities or a variety of colors on each piece. If I plan them out well, I have surprisingly little waste from each map.

Each cut piece is covered with a light vinyl film to make the wallet tear resistant and water repellent and then I head to my one of my sewing machines.

I like to use my very inexpensive, very lightweight, Brother machine for sewing paper and plastic items. It operates almost like a toy, but it really is the best for the job. (I reserve my beloved Necchi machines for my other sewing.)

I sew all the pieces together with brightly colored thread.

     

Sewing paper is really quite fun.

And the wallets work up pretty quickly.

And there you have it! Another lilea b. creation, ready for sale.

Major Score!

We did some tag sale-ing again this weekend. I can't believe the great finds I scored. It's going to take me a couple of posts to show you everything. For today, I'll just show you the items I bought that will be used for crafting.

First, this bottle and jar cutter kit. I've wanted to experiment with cutting old glass bottles and making them into vases and such. You know how I like to find new recycling crafts.

Look at this kit. It had all it's parts and was never used. We found it in the basement of an estate sale. Hubby almost talked me out of buying it, saying it wasn't anything that we couldn't find in the form of "real tools". It was pretty cheaply made: all plastic, even the screws! But, I figured for $1.00, what the heck.

So, I took it home and put it together and I was pretty satisfied with it. Then I went online to see if I could still buy the tiny replacement cutters. Guess what I found. Two of these "cheap" kits just sold on ebay recently. One for $27.00 and the other for $34.52! Part of me wished I hadn't assembled it yet, and the other part of me was so happy I bought mine for only a buck!

So moving on...

For six dollars more, I found some zippers, a few buttons, some corduroy trousers, and some natural color canvas. The canvas is hemmed on the edges as though it was intended to be a tablecloth or something, but it's brand new. These items will all become parts of new purses.

For $12.00 I got 20 balls of yarn (11 of them are 100% wool), 3 spools of cording, circular knitting needles, a knitting stitch gauge, and a Vogue Knitting magazine. The wool will be knit and felted into more purses.

But, my biggest score was this:

Neckties! 27 of them!

Some of them are so unique. This brown one in the center has a picture of a room with throw pillows and a table and lamp.

Some are really bright and some not so much.

Many coordinate nicely with each other, which will be a really good thing when I start using them to make purses.

Neckties often sell for $2.00 to $3.00 at Goodwill and thrift shops. These ties weren't marked, so Hubby made an offer. We got all 27 for just $8.00. Score!

Stay tuned to see what else I bought!

Posts to look forward to:

Vintage Tags Sale Finds

A Bedroom Re-do

A Product Review

A Finished Object: Gaia

Inside My Vintage Books

Yarn Pottery

Up-cycled Maps

What keeps me busy.

In my "spare time" when I'm not working my day job, I have done many craft shows. One summer show in particular that I have done for the past three years is part of our local 4th of July celebration and it draws thousands of people.

It seems as though every year the 4th of July weekend is the hottest weekend of the summer and after three years of running my booth in the 100+ degree heat, I've observed and learned something very valuable: The people come for the food, they come for the music, and they come for the social scene, but they do not come to buy crafts. Hardly any of the people walking up and down the street are carrying purchases! So, I will not be attending this fair as a vendor again.

After making this decision many weeks ago, I was feeling sort of relieved that I had no summer shows planned and I could work on personal projects... maybe some Christmas presents. I could also get ahead on my stock for the fall shows I might want to do.

But then I was approached by someone offering me a great opportunity. It took me some time to come to a decision because there were some conflicts to work out and some questions I needed answered, but in the end I committed myself to being a vendor at a Farmers' Market a few towns away from where I live. The market runs every Friday evening for 12 weeks throughout the summer and I've signed up for nine of those weeks. I've been asked to feature my items that are made from recycled and up-cycled materials.

Yes, I know I've only given you a peek at the many items I make and sell, but be patient and I'll share them all with you eventually. For now, here is another peek: my earrings made from recycled aluminum cans.

A coffee flavored Monster drink.

I've had much fun creating these earrings. Some are more subtle and you would never guess they were made from an aluminum drink can.

A Coors Light can.

Others are more obvious and sort of kitschy.

Pepsi, of course.

Sometimes I spy an unusual can that I just have to have. A co-worker's son & his friend were drinking from root beer cans when I made my (somewhat creepy) request for the cans when they were finished with them.

There's a photo of this can at the end of the post.

Using different areas of a can will create earrings that look very different. Both the pairs below are made from the same can, one pair with more yellow than the other.

They are from an iced tea can I begged off a superior of mine at work.

Some cans are just so easy to be creative with!

These are from Arizona drinks.

Sometimes I like to make the two earrings a bit different; or maybe I do it because I can't find two areas of the can to match. Anyway, I like the funky look.

Here's a peek at that root beer can and a couple of others I've yet to create with. I must confess, I picked the red Tilt can out of someone's recycling bin while walking on the streets of Baltimore! This gives true meaning to the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure!" 

 

Creating what I love.

Ever since I was a very young girl I've loved purses. My best friend and I both did. We had bags of all shapes and sizes. Canvas ones, leather ones, big ones, small ones; we both even had one made of wood. I still have my wood one. It looked like a little treasure chest.

It's only natural that I'd eventually start creating my own. Recently, I've been combining my sewing talents with my love of purses and my interest in recycling and up-cycling.

Here's what I've been up to:

I've designed these shoulder bags using the pockets from from cargo pants, jeans, and dress pants. Some of the body and lining fabrics have also been reclaimed from curtains, table cloths, and clothing. 

This is just a sampling of what I've been up to. Watch for future posts featuring more of my purse creations.