Creative Dawn

I will have a few new posts over the next few days.  This is a project that I finished a few weeks ago.  There have been many ideas for can tabs and lampshades have been done before so this isn't a new concept, but my way of assembling it is probably different. This is a larger shade and took me longer than expected to complete, but it turned out great.  The tabs are wired with green floral wire.  The strips of tabs are sideways and there was 16 in each row.  Hope you like my version.

These bags have been mentioned in a few past posts and now after seeing my Mother in Law still using hers figured it was time to blog about it. This is her bag, and where this cabbage fabric came from I don't remember but it is a fun pattern and great colors. The handle is also extra long so that it can be slung over your shoulder. A few years ago I made tote bags for Christmas gifts.  Everyone got a bag filled with goodies.  They weren't small bags, they were big enough to carry a good amount of stuff.  Most of the fabric was bought at discount prices and I also used sheets that were purchased at the Goodwill to save on money.  The simplest ideas are sometimes the best and this proves it.  I was trying to do a green type of gift and my family loved it! 

My husband is going to want to keep this one, but my plan is to give it as a gift to his brother and wife for Christmas.  I may just need to make another one for us!  For months now I have been saving bottle caps from different beers and finally had enough variety to make this trivet.  The frame was a find at Tuesday Mornings for .99.  I just had to break the existing tile out first.  The bottle caps were all glued down and then used grout to finish it off.  It is great gift idea for the beer lover and you could even use caps that are all the same or even pop caps.

I try to do my share and not use too many plastic bags from stores and use reusable totes when possible.  Most of the bags are a larger size and are very handy but at times it is necessary to have a smaller bag.  I couldn't really find any so of course had to make one!  The fabric is from Hancock and was from the marked down area to save a few pennies.  The handle and trim are just ribbon that was on hand already.  The little bag is about 10 x 12 and a perfect tiny tote. The fabric has a Snoopy print, a favorite of mine!  My first ever art contest was a picture of Charlie Brown that I sketched so there is a special place in my heart for Peanuts in general.  The size of the bag is also perfect for a lunch bag so that you don't have to use a paper sack.  

Another frame!  Yeah!  This one was going to be used for another purpose, but when I tried to take the back off, I broke the glass.  It could have been easily replaced, but instead I decided to embellish it and use the frame itself as the art piece.  I have a few containers with bits of this and that so I just started gluing things on.  There are buttons, screws, puzzles pieces, beads and other stuff just randomly attached to the frame.  It was kind of fun to just keep adding.  The idea came from a Nate Berkus Show when they cleaned out a junk drawer and made art out of it.  On the show they painted the entire thing in one color, but this frame looks cool with all of the colors in it.  It has personality.  This would be a fun project to get the kids involved in too.  They could use bits of broken toys, crayons, game tokens, the possibilities are endless.  Hope this gives you a bit of inspiration today!

It took a while to collect enough can tabs for this frame, but it was worth the wait!  This is an idea that I cannot take credit for.  One of my college friends posted a picture of a vase that she made out of the tabs and I thought that a frame would look good too.  The frame is just basic and was 1.49 at the Goodwill.  Grey seemed like the best color to paint it to go with the can tabs.  After that, I just started hot gluing them on in rows.  The frame still needs a picture, but for right now it looks good without anything in it.  There still are some tabs left so I am going to keep collecting them and see what idea may 'POP' into my head.  Sorry, couldn't resist!  There are so many possibilities for items that you can recycle.  It is really fun to create something out of what others may throw away.  My great aunt Marcie was a creative whiz, she made the most unique things.  I still remember as a kid going to her h...

Hello!  This is a project that I have been trying to figure out for a while now.  I have a sweatshirt that is comfy but the logo on the front wasn't acceptable.  At first I tried to take out the stitching but that didn't work.  Finally, this idea acame to me after looking at my favorite zip up hoodie and deciding that it was no longer wearable because of holes and a broken zipper.  The logo/design was still cool! I got this peanut butter cup idea of putting the two together.  Cutting out the design was the first part and because of the size of the area to be covered I had to leave a bit extra around it for the other sweatshirt.  I stitched the AC/DC to the red sweatshirt and now I have a recycled sweatshirt project. This to me is a great idea and now during my trips to the thrift store I can buy those hoodies that I may have passed up because of the design.  I redid a sweatshirt for my husband using an old t-sh...

Yesterday, while organizing some stuff, I came across a sketchbook that I had no more use for.  The pages were filled with doodles from past projects and scribblings that I do when I'm bored.  Before things like this are tossed, I remove the spiral binding and toss the rest in recycling.  The one from yesterday was a larger one and after I looked at it, decided it would be a cool simple bracelet.  The thought of attaching beads was something that sounded good at first, but didn't work out.  The best solution was to keep it simple.  Using a needle nose pliers I cut the binding down a bit then twisted and attached the ends together.  It is not something for everyday wear, but it is unique and would be a great addition to a fun outfit. 

Who doesn't have empty CD cases laying around.  You lost or damaged the CD, but don't want to throw out the case.  Here is a cool idea.  I took 16 empty cases and duct taped them together.  I cut out yellow paper to fit in the cover of 12 of them and drew pictures for the other four.  Instant art with a unique frame.  I did my own drawings, but you could use photos or put in your kids artwork, anything that you can think of.  I used duct tape to add a hanger in the back for ease in putting it on the wall.  You could also do a smaller version by using only three or four cases and putting them in a straight row to hang vertically or horizontally.  In the future, I might put something to brace the Cd's a bit more, but in general the results are good.  The possibilities are endless with a bit of imagination.

I love cats, unfortunately I don't have any right now.  I had some great pets in the past and made a collage of them.  My cats were Purrcilla, Oliver and Mystr.  Purrcilla was all black and the others black and white.  Hm...color theme again?  I took some pictures of them and used a copy machine, not a scanner, to make the collage.  Some images were enlarged to various sizes and because I used a copier instead of a scanner/printer, there are different shades on the pictures.  I laid out the pictures before glueing them and didn't realize until it was finished that it kind of resembled the shape of a cat sitting.  This is a favorite of mine because it reminds me of my beloved pets.  This is also a project that anyone can do, it's a great way for kids to be creative and to also use up old magazines.  You can collage anything from landscapes to portraits.

Hi, my name is creative Dawn and I use stencils. But...I do create them myself. Sometimes when you are drawing or decorating you need a design that is consistent, so I cut out my own stencils to use. It's great for symmetric designs like butterflies or margarita glasses. The painting and drawing afterwords is freehand, but sometimes creativity needs a little assistance. I usually use card stock or heavy paper, many times it is something that was used in the past to map out an idea so it's a form of recycling. These are some of my design patterns. You may see them pop up from time to time in a project. One of the many tools used to be creative!