Upcycled Giftcard Jewelry

What I have been up to lately… Raising money for my oldest daughter’s class trip, and we only need $200.00 more. If you would be willing to help us get there I would be so thankful!!! All items (and the like) I have listed are $18.00 and free shipping!
I Got some new (old, used) giftcards and I made them into these wonderful things!

Just click on any of the photo’s and it should take you to my ETSY shop!
(and no the giftcard does not come with the jewelry and I am afraid you can not load the jewelry with money once it has been made into something)

Purging the Garage & Found Treasures

Digging through the garage I found some old treasures. I was opening boxes with the purpose of purging. I really wanted to keep these things longer to give them more value and then pass them down to my kids or sell them when I am old and take that “trip of a lifetime”. The problem is that the items that I found were not huge moneymakers but instead, huge space takers.

First I found a few old vintage hats that had been in a box and needed to go to a good home. Here are two of the Mickey Mouse ears hats I have and a few other things.

Next were three lanterns that I have had in my life for 14 years and I would love to display them and they would make a lovely addition to my eclectic home, but to eclectic is cluttered and we still have children that clutter the place up a lot!

Lastly, I found my stash from my Grandmothers kitchen that was once a decoration in my home (same house as the lanterns) but my internal minimalist said no more!!

The one thing that would make me keep these cute old tins is to try my hand at candle making and use the tins. I have seen so many ideas of using old tins in crafts. If you Google “vintage tins projects” and do an image search you can see all the projects and really there are not too many ways people use them. I know they have value and my Ben-Hur Mustard sells for $25, but the idea of up-cycle restoration makes me want to hold on! No, I am purging not keeping and if I up-cycle something it is hard to say good-bye. Holding on to the past or holding on to what could be is still holding! Letting go is freeing, and sad sometimes. I know in 3 years I will franticly search the garage for the very items I will purge and wish I had never gotten rid of them, but 3 years from now is not today, and today the garage is a mess!

Shabby Chic Shaving Mirror

Going back to my mirror project… I also got this great shaving mirror from the thrift store that I could had sold for 3x the amount I bought it for just because it is vintage. Instead I thought I could try my hand at shabby chic, again. I took my time on this one because half way through I got the flu and the mirror sat outside on our back porch for two days all alone with out a base.

This is how the little lady looks now.

I love how this mirror turned out! I decided not to antique this mirror like I did in the last one, so I left it alone. This shaving mirror has two little cubbies that can store little goodies. I will be putting this one up on my shop as well this week when I get a couple minutes to sit down!!!
Have a great week!

Button Necklaces

I started a new studio (online store front) On Artfire that I am just now getting started on other then just Etsy alone. I think this one will be easer for people who don’t want to use Paypal to buy products online. I have just gotten product on this one and it still needs some work.
I am now selling my button jewelry Which I love!!! I have taken 3 mother of pearl buttons and soldered them together. I think they are beautiful! I get comments on them all the time and people LOVE them. This is an item that spans the ages. I get stopped all the time from the old, young and everyone in between! I think people love buttons because they are apart of everyday life.
Click on Artfire or Etsy at the top of this post to visit my shops!!
Thanks,
Kim

Mirror projects

Mirror Project! I love mirrors but I have never put up extras in the house. Yes, the bathrooms have mirrors and behind doors and such, but not decorative. I found a couple of mirrors at an estate sale this weekend and thought I would play around with an idea. So here are the mirrors.
The second one is a vintage shaving mirror I had already took it apart by the time of the photo. The big mirror will be our focus for this post.
I took the big mirror (a $60.00 mirror from the local hardware store that I got cheep!) I just sprayed the mirror with 4 good coats of white semi-gloss paint and sanded down the edges next I tried my hand at antiquing. there are many good tutorials on this so go find a good one and have fun!!
I didn’t take any pictures during the project because of all the acid being used but here is the completed project.

Now because I have no space at home I need to sell this beauty and find a new home!

Beauty from Beast Vintage Clock

I love turning ugly gold vintage into a treasure.
When the beauty is there just hidden under gold plastic. Gold is coming back into the trends but the trend is bright gold or gilding not this!! I loved the clock part and wanted to keep it pretty so I took that apart and didn’t paint it. THen I got my semi-gloss paint and had a good time and 3 coats of love. And the beauty came out!!

Beauty from a beast!

If you are wondering what that is behind the clock it is my Peacock from this post
Creating Life on a budget of zero
Now all I have to do is put it on my Etsy shop and sell it!! I will miss you Beauty!

Book Diorama for Mom

I wanted to show one of my book Diorama’s I made for Christmas for my parents that Live in Georgia and my brother’s family and mine live in California so I made my mom this.
If you want a costume book made for you let me know what you are thinking and I can see if I can do it.
You can see a few on my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lifeaccessories

Hope you love it as much as I do! My mom loves color and the paper I used has a shiny glitter as well the whole project was magical!

Wow, so long from my last post!! A lot has been going on with us. My family has had many illnesses and things going on all month. The girls took time sharing tonsillitis the week long stomach flu and all the while my husband has had a lingering cold. We got a new puppy from the shelter for Christmas for my little ham and she named the thing Princess. She has JUST started sleeping through the night and spend the days out with our golden retriever. At night The big dog stays out and the thing is in with us on our bed at on my feet. I don’t sleep well with anyone touching me. Once snuggle time is over then I can go to my side of the bed and fall asleep. But now…lets just say I can’t wait for warmer weather at night and the princess to live out where she belongs!!!
I have just started crafting today for the first time all year! I am excited about some projects that I have been working on to show off.