I have found so many fun things to do with my polymer clay this was my first try at a pen for Candace on her birthday.

I always knew that this stuff would be a good time but didn’t think it would be this fun! You basically construct everything as you normally would, bake at the same time and degree that the instructions say, just be careful when touching the pen tip after baking as it will be quite hot.

Then thanks to Joanna’s tips on making canes in different colors I came up with this. It makes me so happy to write with it.

Many of the organizational tools that I have keeping my craft space sane have been swiped from my husband’s woodshop. This first organizer is perfect for beads/headpins/clasps for jewelry beading. For only $10 from a home improvement store, it came full of bolts and screws, which my husband cleaned out, and left me plenty of space for my beads. It is great because each of the clear trays is divided for different size beads and comes out of the gray holder so I can pass them around the table and lay them out when friends are over making jewelry. As you can see at the top is a screw driver handle that comes out and the screw driver heads are in a pull out tray at the bottom. My favorite parts about this are that I can securely carry my beads wherever I go and it narrowly stores them on my shelf. I use it all the time!

Below are mini magnetic dishes, about 3″ across. My husband brought me home a box of 4 of these dishes from a tool store. They are wide which is great to toss my pins in as I sew without having to precisely stick them in a pin cushion. The black bottom is also magnetic so you can even hang it vertically from a metal cabinet. My favorite part about this is that since the bottom is magnetic if you drop pins on the floor you can just hold this wide magnet over it and gather them up. I hate picking up pins! (I hate nail maintenance more!)

I have toyed with the idea of making an animal or shaped stuffie to set the dish in for decoration, but haven’t yet. Any ideas?

P.S. Check out his shop while thinking about your craft organizational needs. I know my husband is proud when he sees me putting his ideas to good use.

I previously posted about going nuts with the no-sew bond to make my bags stiffer, and thus was eager to try the roll hanging next to it on the rack at the fabric store: iron-on vinyl. My first attempt was on a bag for a swap partner who likes to carry her groceries home in her own bags.

I ironed the vinyl to the entire piece I had cut out for a large bag lining, then sewed the bag together. I thought it might be good for carrying home cold groceries so the moisture wouldn’t soak through the fabric bag. (Let me know swap buddy if you have found this to be a good idea.) This might work well also for lining diaper bags since I know I have spent much time cleaning up spilled juice or a busted hand sanitizer bottle from the bottom of the bag. It is easy to iron on and the result is waterproof and very shiny!

I thought I had a brilliant idea to make diaper changing pads; cut a square, iron on my vinyl and serge the ends, but the vinyl cannot be machine washed, so obviously that won’t work. But I must find something else! What have you used iron-on vinyl for? Any ideas that have worked well for you or things I could try? (I have 2 yards of it left!!)

I have been throwing around the idea of doing a learn to knit or crochet series. I would post weekly with new tips and tricks, plus different stitches. I would also post a pattern each week that would pertain to what was taught that week. So like a knitting / crochet class, but online.

I know there are a lot of sites that show the basic stitches, but I would make each lesson more involved than I’ve seen. Plus with weekly patterns to do before the next lesson, it would be a great way to learn how to knit or crochet!

Is there any interest in this? Would you like to see this? Would you find it helpful? Please comment!

ETA:  I removed the poll – not sure why it wasn’t working

I’m a thrifty shopper and crafter, so I’m always looking for a good bargain. This always leads me to the remnant / discount section of my local fabric store. Unfortunately, they are all labeled as remnants, with no indication of the fabric content listed on them anymore.

I had bought a few really cute prints that I wanted to use as outers on fitted diapers, but I had no idea if they were cotton or polyester or a mixture of the two. A quick internet search led me to this great page, and I was able to identify my fabric contents in no time at all!

How to determine fabric content by using the burn test.

Snip a piece of fabric equivalent to 1″ square. Using a butane lighter and holding the fabric with a pair of tweezers ignite the fabric over a non-flammable surface in a well ventilated area.Examine the quality and color of the flame, the odor produced, and the quality of the resulting ash or cinder. Use this table to help determine your fabric’s content.

FABRIC	FLAME QUALITY	ODOR	ASH QUALITY	COMMENTS
WOOL	orange color sputtery	burning hair or feathers	blackish turns to powder when crushed	flame will self extinguish if flame source is removed no smoke
SILK	burns slowly	burning hair or feathers	grayish turns to powder when crushed	burns more easily than wool but will self extinguish is flame source removed
COTTON	yellow to orange color steady flame	burning paper or leaves	grayish, fluffy	slow burning ember
LINEN	yellow to orange color steady flame	burning paper or leaves	similar to cotton	takes longer to ignite than cotton but otherwise very similar
RAYON	fast orange flame	burning paper or leaves	almost no ash	ember will continue to glow after flame source removed
POLYESTER	orange flame, sputtery	sweet or fruity smell	hard shiny black bead	black smoke
ACETATE	burns and melts,sizzly	acidic or vinegary	hard black bead	will continue to burn after flame source removed
NYLON	burns slowly and melts, bluse base and orange tip, no smoke	burning celery	hard grayish or brownish bead	self extinguish if flame source removed
ACRYLIC	burns and melts, white-orange tip, no smoke	acrid	black hard crust	will continue to burn after flame source removed

A couple other sites I read noted that if you have a blend of fabrics (ie 50/50 cotton polyester) then you will see a combination of both types of flames / burning properties. While this wont tell you the exact percentage, at least then you know that it is a blend.

I thought this was a great resource, and I hope it can help someone else identify their unknown fabrics!

I have been hunting lately for new and easy ways to add a closure to the bags that I make. I wanted to share what I found this week on the button rack- mini overall hooks!

I liked the simple look of the hook and aged nickel finish of the button. It was simple to sew on and I think looked really cute. I am sure that I have passed these over before but I think they are a perfect finish, especially for small bags. Do you have any other things used for closures that were not originally intended for that?

I’m in the process of redecorating my dining room. Because I could do some serious financial damage, my husband has put me on a budget. I’m always at a loss for what to do for a centerpiece, but always come back to the trusty candles-option. I found the perfect candle holders, but ofcourse they were totally out of the budget. So I opted for an even better idea that was cheaper and looked better.

Aren’t they great? And if you look closely, they are just bowls and plates glued together. That’s it! Find some bowls and plates that you like, or use ones you already have. Get some apoxy, let them sit over night, and you have fabulous and original candle holders.

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I saw this cute pin cushion in a book and ran home to try it! I use pins all the time in my sewing but hate how lightweight the cushions usually are, slipping off the table as I try to work with one hand while holding fabric in place. This little pot adds stability to the cushion. The original used a pot about 1″ around larger than the cushion and was filled with sand around the cactus. With a young child I could see that quickly getting knocked over. Instead I made the cactus to fit snugly in the pot with just enough room to tuck in a few other necessary sewing supplies.

I handstitched 3 pieces of felt to make the cactus, one longer than the others to curve under and make the bottom. Then stuffed it in the pot. To weigh it even more you could glue a magnet or washer to the bottom of the cactus and glue that to the inside bottom of the pot. I am going to try this idea with other shapes as well to personalize a cushion for my sewing friends.

Today I wanted to show a gift my mom gave me: a beautifully stamped notebook. The cover, inside cover, dividers, and pockets are all stamped with a colorful flower theme. As you can see it is still blank inside because it’s almost too nice to be used, but I will fill it up soon when I find something worthy to fill it up with.

And then on the inside, more surprises! Nothing that she makes is ever boring!

I think decorating the dividers would be great for a child’s school notebook too, for the different subjects or a theme they like.

I have also stamped large and tiny pocket notebooks, pens, pencil cases, and index card boxes. Target sells a lot of these blank brown, cardboard paper products that make great gifts, so get stamping!

Bill Dooley October 20, 1953 – February 24, 2004

” Bill Dooley was the first missionary Bruce knew: “I remember thinking, this guy is NEAT-he’s so real and personal.”

“conversations with ABWE missionary Bill Dooley inspired and motivated Beth to consider missions as God’s specific will for her life.”

I would like to introduce you to Bill Dooley, my dad. He was a missionary for 14 years in Chile and later a recruiter for the same missions agency. He encouraged many to know God and love Him. At 50 yrs old, 3 years ago today he flew away leaving us with a hole in our hearts that would never heal. He was a great man and we miss him so much.

I wanted to share with you what I have made for my family so we will always remember him and keep him near. He wore this great sport coat all the time. He looked great in it. It was his favorite. For my mom’s birthday I made this bag for her from his coat. I attached his name tag he wore while he was at conferences and a great picture of his teethy grin. Love that smile!

I made the inside out of the shirt they got on their Alaska cruise their 25th wedding anniversary. The tie tips were a few of his favorites. The blue one he wore at our wedding when he married us. She loved the bag and it’s nice to know that a peice of him is still close to her.

I really started missing him a lot when I got pregnant and wished Lucy could know him. It kills me that they won’t get to play together. So I made her this Lion. (I have a slight obsesion with lions thanks to the Chronicles of Narnia) Papa the Lion is also made from the same sport coat. Recognize the tie? same one. This is the only way I know to keep him close. When you loose a loved one won’t you do the same? Don’t throw all their things away but make something new and keep them close. It’s all we have left of them. Thanks for letting me share this with you on this very special day to me and my family.