Channeling My Creative Side

I have been a busy bee lately - I've made a few Christmas presents and a few things to help decorate my apartment. I can't show you everything but here are 2 of my favorites :)

New decor for my hallway

Penguin Christmas ornament made from an old lightbulb

Fish Bones

Awhile back I grabbed some fish earbones from work. I had an idea stuck in my head that I needed to try. I wrapped some wire around them and turned them into a pair of earrings. These otoliths (ear bones) happen to be from the sheepshead or freshwater drum. Turned out pretty cool!

The Otoliths before

Finished Product!

Craftyness

Well, I have been unemployed for about a little over a week now (I have exciting news on that front so stay tuned). With all my spare time I have been busy catching up on pinterest projects. One good thing about crashing at my parents house is the bins of old craft supplies. I was able to create much of these things from stuff at hand rather than purchasing everything. All of these will be making the move with me to the apartment YAY!

Apron!

Tote bag

Coasters

Pillow Case

A Few last Audubon Things

Hummingbird

Thought I would share a few last pictures I took while working at the Audubon Center. Above is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that was buzzing around the bushes while I at dinner one night. I was pretty excited to sneak up on him and actually get a picture of him perching.

My last day at the Center started with bird hike. It was lead by extremely knowledgeable birder and it was nice to get out of the office. The mosquitoes almost carried us away though. Despite the annoying bites, we saw a fair number of birds including this baby bluebird!

But before I left the center I had a few more things to leave behind. First off, I made Jeff a birch bark picture frame as a Thank You gift for putting up with me the past 3 years. It turned out pretty nice. And it was made with materials found on the property.

Secondly, I had to write on the wall of the staff house. This a tradition where each person who has lived in the house leaves a message behind for future folks. I couldn't figure out how to sum up my experience so I kept it pretty short and sweet. I also put it right by the note left by people from my first year. AWW!

I will certainly miss many things about the center but am excited for whats coming up. Besides, many of these people have become good friends and I will be in contact with them for years to come :)

Canoe Paddle

Me and the Paddle I hand made!

For the past month, I have been working on making a canoe paddle by hand. One of the volunteers at the center teaches people how to make bent-shaft canoe paddles and I have been going over to his house to work on it. I finally finished it this week and I must say, its pretty AWESOME! I learned how to use a bunch of new tools and didn't even injury myself! Okay that is a lie. I did need a band-aid once but that is doing pretty well for me :) Anyways, I am excited to get out on the water this beauty!

My paddle

Close up of the blade

A deer I made while waiting for my varnish to dry!

Magnets!

Last night I was finally able to sit down and do pretty much nothing. I pulled out my crafty stuff and made some magnets. I used glass beads for the top and old magazines for the patterns. They turned out pretty cute and are now attached to the one metal thing in my room - my lamp.

Paper Earrings!

Confession: I joined pinterest a couple weeks ago and have become obsessed!

If you don't know what this website is, check it out. You have virtual bulletin boards and as you wonder the internet, you "pin" things up on them. You can also see what other folks are pinning up. This has lead to me spending more hours than I want to admit looking at things - especially all the little crafty things. I have 2 main boards. The first is called "For my Someday Apartment" and is full of fun things to make when I finally get my own place. The second is "Cute Gift Ideas" which is full of things I want to make and could probably give to someone.

Today, I felt inspired so I picked a project and tried it out. Paper earrings!

Step 1: choose a piece of paper

Step 2: glue to cardboard and seal. Let dry

Step 3: add earring back and voila! you have a pair of earrings :)

My finished pairs

Next time, I am going to try and figure out a way to make them shine a bit more and maybe add a bead or something for a little more personality. All in all pretty easy. Now, lets just hope I don't waste too much time on this website :)

Fish Printing

For the past several years, I have been hoping to fish print a couple tote bags. The problem was, I just couldn't find anything in the size I like and with handles I liked. Right before Christmas, I found one that would work and bought 2. I made one for myself and one as a gift to my sister.

Walleye

Bluegill

They turned out great! I even let my inner dork show and put the latin names of the fish underneath on my tote. :)

P.S. No fish were hurt in the making of the totes. The center I work for has several rubber fish that we use with school groups to do fish printing. I also used fabric paint so I can wash and use this tote without wreaking the print :)

VIOLA! Mittens!

Well, I started these mittens back when there was snow on the ground. They are cut from old wool sweaters and turned out really cute. Fortunetly, I will have to wait until fall to enjoy my nice and cozy creation.

underwater basket weaving

OK, it wasn't underwater but I still managed to make a basket.....with alot of help.

It is made from birchbark strips woven together.

It turned out nice but tested my patience. This process also reminded me that I really am not a crafter.