How to make a recycled wool sweater Peep garland

Peep-tastic!
Generally when you think of wool sweaters you think of winter and Christmas crafts well not me. I was flipping through Felt Me a Smile: Heart-made Projects to Make and Give and boy was I smiling with page after page of pure cuteness! Specifically this bunny just called to me and reminded me that Easter is just around the corner.
One of my all time favorite bunnies is the bunny Peep and I thought that was just the bunny to make.
I found an outline online (that was fun to type :) of the Peep. I simply pinned the pattern to a bit of yellow recycled wool felted sweater and cut it out, and then cut more out, until I had all the Peeps I could make from my sweater scrap!
To make the eyes and nose I used a bit of black Tulip dimensional paint.

After the cute little faces were dry I ran a bit of thread through the bunny Peep ears. The recycled wool felted sweater is thick enough to hold the thread.

If you too like to make cute little felted things then I bet you will love:
Felt Me a Smile: Heart-made Projects to Make and Give
by
Toyoko Sugiwaka

More about the book from the publisher Potter Craft:

" Cute, quirky, huggable, & lovable animal-inspired projects for crafters of every skill level!

These 16 simple, useful, and wonderfully whimsical animal-inspired projects are guaranteed to elicit smiles all around. They use felting, embroidery, crochet, and fabric-painting techniques and are suitable for crafters of all levels and interests thanks to the step-by-step photographs, templates, and stitch-by-stitch instructions. Fans of today's popular Japanese crafts as well as animal-lovers everywhere, will find these ideas totally irresistible—from the twinkle-toed poodle baby booties to the adorable pair of hugging bears."

Joyeux Mardi Gras Chain link fence decoration

I am now addicted to decorating my chain link fence gate! One of my neighbors commented to me that he looks forward to seeing what I come up with every time. Well, here is the latest decor to celebrate my French peeps! I simply covered it with Mardi Gras beads. Happy Mardi Gras!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there are chances to win 2 sets of 3 fabulous craft books, your choice of Indygo Junction patterns along with info on the Vintage Inspired Modern Style Design Challenge, a tutorial on how to paint on fusible web and a recipe for vegan Oreo cookie cookies.

Aileen's Musings
Get your grunge on with Aileen's Grungy Heart Shrine tutorial.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi get's to work with the new Claudine Hellmuth HSN kits!

Crafty Princess Diaries
When does quality matter? Tammy takes a look at her second trip to a local yarn store and considers the cost of good yarn.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Sew a cute pin cushion bracelet to keep your pins (literally) on hand.

Mixed Media Artist
Mixed media cards were the order of the day when Michelle Mach hosted a challenge!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
An old purse gets a new look with Simply Spray paint.

Craft Gossip Recycling

Enter to win a whole big bunch of Simply Spray Paint.

RockPaperInk

Sister Raye: Chie Mihara Makes the Best Shoes in the World

An old purse gets a new look with just a coat of Simply Spray Paint

Sometimes transformations can be so simple. Such is the case today. This Coach bag was rescued from my neighbor's trash. I loved the hardware details. If nothing else I thought I could cut them off and recycle them into a new project. But I really did love the shape of the purse but not the color. I don't like brown at all!!!! Well, as the title of today's post and the product's name that I used to complete my transformation states- all it took was a can of Black Simply Spray Paint for Upholstery to recycle this brown unusable purse (IMHO) into a fabulous stylin' black one.

The great part about using Black Simply Spray Paint for Upholstery was that the texture of the tone on tone print was still retained because the paint soaks in rather than sitting on top of the fabric.

How to crochet a chain silver lame bracelet

I am a BIG fan of making something that is generally made out of one material out of something completely unconventional and unexpected and that is just the project that I fell in love with from the book Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry.

In Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry there is a crocheted chain necklace. I just had to make some crocheted chain! Off to the stash and I found some Lion Brand Silver Lame Metallic Yarn and I went with a size F hook.

I followed the basic stitch pattern and construction in Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry but I made a bracelet.

Confession: I actually brought this project to a meeting and I whipped this bracelet together in 2 hours!

I love it! I will most definitely be making more of these!

If you like making crocheted and stitched jewelry too then I bet you will love:
Handmade at Home: Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry
by
Emi Iwakiri

"Crocheted and Stitched Jewellery is part of a brand new series of craft titles from CICO. Beautifully packaged as a jacketed paperback and printed on woodfree paper, this series brings you a number of popular crafts at a very affordable price. Using traditional Japanese crochet techniques, Emi Iwakiri shows you how to create these adorable designs that include ribbons, beads, bows and even scraps from your sewing box. There are stunning ideas here to suit every occasion, from a classic cream silk pearl necklace to a vintage-style crocheted flower necklace. Try making a luxurious beaded collar to add a touch of glamour to any outfit, an elegant linen flower to wear in your hair or as a corsage or a fun, multi-coloured pompom bracelet for a modern, striking look. Whether you want to create original jewellery for yourself or to give as presents, you are sure to love Emi’s gorgeous Japanese designs. And once you have mastered her simple basic techniques, you will be able to create your own bespoke pieces in no time."

How to make an origami Easter bunny paper garland

Yes, I know it's not even Valentine's Day yet but when I spotted the origami bunny tutorial in Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant I just had to try it out right away! So I did. And then I did some more....and well let's just say I made origami bunnies like bunnies make bunnies!
I used some scrap pink, light blue and light green paper and got so good at these cuties I was walkin' around making them. I decided instead of drawing faces on these guys (the paper that comes with this book is pre-printed with the cute details) but since I made so many...well I thought I'd just draw but then I thought about using a tiny pom pom for the nose.

Well, when I started to play with the placement of the pom pom it looked more like the tail! So these little bunnies are bunnies from the back or front either way I think they are just too darn cute.

To turn them into a garland I threaded a piece of pastel thick thread onto a needle and stitched through each of the ears mixing up the colors of the bunnies.

If you too like to fold your fun then I bet you will love the Cico book:
Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant
by
Mari Ono and Roshin Ono

"Make your own origami zoo with Mari and Roshin Ono's collection of amazing animals. Whether you love cute and cuddly animals like the baby bear and the cheeky monkeys, or are friends with the feathered variety, you are sure to go wild for any of the 35 innovative designs. There are four great chapters explaining how to really bring your paper to life. Animal Fun has classic designs like the crane and fox, while Safari takes its inspiration from the Serengeti with projects for zebras, giraffes, lions and more. Next is Sea World, home to ocean dwellers including the dolphin, sea turtle and even a blowfish, and the Forest chapter has ideas to transform your paper into a tree-dwelling owl or squirrel. Every project comes with simple step-by-step instructions and clear photographs, as well as helpful arrows showing you where to fold. Each design has also been given a skill rating, so start with a simple one and once you've mastered that move on to something a bit more challenging. 50 specially designed pieces of origami paper are included with the book, meaning you can start folding right away."