Thrift craft

My craft style would definitely be classified as thrift craft. I'm really not a big crafter, and it's not a financial priority for me. I like doing crafts with the kids, but generally we do inexpensive crafts or kits they've received as gifts. Well things are a-changing. I have bought more craft supplies in the last month than in the last year, easily. The craft blogs are just too amazing, and they're having an affect on me and my spending habits.

My creative project this week, however, was a thrift craft. I found my inspiration for it on Bek's blog that sent me here. I had these little wooden boxes that were the packaging for the pewter letters I bought of Carmen's initials. One box broke, which left me with two intact boxes. I just loved the decoupage projects I saw online, so I used some paper scraps and here's what I came up with:

First I tried a bird. I'm fairly happy with it, but I really tilted the lower wing at a funny angle because I felt like I needed to cover the little holes from where the pewter letters were wired into the box, and I wish I would have just left the holes exposed and put the wing at a more natural position. Looking at the picture now, I think this box needs a little something more. Still, it will be a cute gift box for the next birthday party Carmen goes to. I'll have to make sure I buy a very small gift.

March 21, 2007: I bought earrings for a birthday party coming up on Friday. The earring box was significantly smaller than the wooden box, so I took the rest of the coordinating papers left from making the bird and put them through our paper shredder to fill up the extra space in the wood box. So much cuter than I expected. The inside of the wood box looks like a nest feathered by the bird on the lid with the earring box as the egg. It's adorable, and so not going to be appreciated by an 8 year old.

I think my second box worked out much better. I tried several patterns and layers of paper, and ultimately I was happiest with solid colored shoes patterned on the inside.

I learned from my first box, and didn't try to cover all the holes. Instead I worked with the holes to tie on a tag. I'll probably save this box for a baby present. Maybe I'll give shoes, or maybe I'll fill it with as many pairs of baby socks as it can hold.

My Great Grandma Antoinette made this quilt from fabric scraps leftover from sewing. For me the biggest challenge of thrift craft is saving scraps for future crafts. I'm not a saver, but I try to keep things if I can think of a future plan for them.

I have a sister in law that makes these great picnic blankets from old blue jeans. I got her original picnic blanket as a gift, and since then she's made one for herself and her denim blankets have become the anticipated bridal shower gift in the extended family. Ah, the advantages of being a saver.

I'm trying to save up some materials for a blanket I want to make. A woman in my ward lost a young adult son to cancer and she took all his t-shirts and made them into a scrappy blanket that they keep as a throw in their family room. Have you seen the baby blankets made from flannel that are like this?

All the unfinished edges of the fabric are sewn to the front and then the blanket is washed to give a fuzzy border around each patch. That's basically the idea with the t-shirt throw. I'm now saving all of Steven's t-shirts with funny pictures and sayings on them for a scrappy thrift blanket.