Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Today is Friday, so it's time for another great recycled find! This week's find is this beautiful

Vintage Memories Mosaic Mirror

by artfulaccents on Etsy who is based in Michigan. Here is what the seller has to say about this item:

"Every time you look at this beautiful mosaic mirror, you will see something different in its collection of vintage broken china, buttons, jewelry, glass tiles, a key, a spoon, and pieces of a miniature tea set.

The pieces of china are among the most beautiful in my collection. Included are some pieces of china with reproductions of paintings from Fragonard, one of my favorite artists of the 18th Century.

Overall dimensions are 11" wide x 12 1/2"high.

This has to be the prettiest mosaic I have ever seen and so uniquely created with recycled "stuff"!

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Today's Fabulous Friday Recycled Find is this colorful bracelet made by GoGoGirlz on Etsy and based out of College Station Texas.

This bracelet is made from soda and energy drink can tabs and even the flowers are made from aluminum cans. I have seen stuff made from cans before but this is by far the most colorful and interesting piece I've seen in awhile.
Here is what GoGoGirlz has to say about the item:

"This bright and colorful trashion fashion bracelet is made from recycled energy and soda drink can tabs.

The eco-friendly, 4-layered flower is made from pink, yellow and orange cans. The bottom flower is backed with foam for strength and comfort. The chain is made from can tabs woven together with flexible, colored wire. It measures approximately 8.25 inches and fastens with a lobster clasp. If you have a larger wrist, this is the bracelet for you! Custom sizes and colors can be created at your request. Convo us.

This unique, attention-getting bracelet will turn heads and get you wonderful compliments".

This bracelet is $15.00 with free shipping. Awesome deal for such a unique piece of art/jewelry.

Besides this awesome colorful bracelet, GoGoGirls also offers a selection of other interesting goodies made from recycled items such as book marks, earrings, hair clips, scrapbook embellishments and pendants. Also offered in the shop are beaded bracelets and other jewelry. (I love the cowgirl bling!)

This shop is on my favorites!

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

This week's Fabulous Friday Find is an adorable Scandinavian style dress and sunhat made with a recycled vintage tablecloth.

This can be found on Etsy in a lovely shop based out of Sweden, KajaDesign
Here is what the seller had to say about the dress:

"This is a dress from what I like to refer to as my "Table cloth collection". Vintage fabric, mostly from the 60's and 70's. Very retro and very eco friendly!

This one has some of our most beloved summer flowers, so I combined it with lavender blue lining and a matching seam binding.

The pattern is my own and has a very good fit, and is superpractical. Especially for small children, since you don't have to pull it over the head. Just slip it over the bottom and button it up over the shoulders. Perfect over a tee or a onesie!

This is a complete set with a sunhat. This model was very popular in the 50's here in Scandivia. It is tied under the cheek and has two holes, which was used to pull out the pony tails or pig tails through for older children."

I am always amazed at what I find when looking for recycled items. The possibilities are endless. This is one more item that will not be in a landfill for a very long time.

Ten on Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, so here are my ten random ramblings for today:

1. My daughter goes back to school Thursday. She seems excited as she will now be in middle school and finally going to a new school.

2. Is it just me or do they go back earlier every year? and why are they starting on a Thursday?

3. It's been so freaking hot in Tucson this summer, so ready for it to be over already. Hurry October!!!!!!

4. Last night at around 8:30ish it was still 94 degrees. At 3:30 this am it was 84 and really sticky. ugh.

5. I am working on new listings/photos for my shops on Etsy and on Artfire. I have decided to move my bottle cap creations to Artfire and close my other Etsy shop.

6. Is it just me or is Artfire starting to have an increase in traffic? My views have increased a lot in the last couple of months.

7. I had almost equal number of shop hits Sunday for Etsy and Artfire shops. That amazed me. I really think that things are going to take off soon and give Etsy a run for their money.

8. I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?

9. I have a couple of errands to run today and then off to work this afternoon. yay.

10. I am working two days a week now instead one. This has been the worst summer of my life. I have had my hours cut since the end of May. Struggling for money for everything. Ah well, I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. I am sure there are others in the same boat.

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

I have been featuring handmade items on Fridays that are made from recycled materials. It's always amazing to me the things that can be made from something that would have ended up in a landfill somewhere. Purses from plastic bags, bowls from old dish towels, windchimes from odds and ends from the kitchen. I also make items from recycled stuff from time to time. I made a ring and bracelet from recycled bottle caps, which can be found on my Artfire shop: Ring Bracelet I forgot to mention my bottle cap magnets, too.

Anyway, so here is this week's Fabulous Recycled Find:
Set of 5 Christmas ornaments made with recycled juice can lids

These cute ornaments were made by ScrappinCorner on Etsy.

Here is what the seller had to say about them: "I love how these cute ornaments turned out! I cut out a vintage image and decorated the front and back of these lids! They are perfect for stocking stuffers, tie them on a gift, or give as a teachers gift!

If you need more or less, let me know and I can set up a special order for you!"

...and shipping is free for this item as well.

What a great way to recycle!

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Today's Fabulous Friday Recycled Find is Hey Copper, a fabulous recycled copper teapot turned into a wind chime! Hey Copper was made by Sharon of Studio Musings on Etsy.com based out of California.
Here is what Sharon had to say in her listing: "Anyone longing for spring?
Made from a found, vintage copper tea pot, this chime will brighten up any corner of the garden! It has copper tubes for the chimes, along with beads in orange, green and yellow.
I painted the wooden lid knob a bright green and attached an old metal flower to it.
Although I cleaned it thoroughly, I left the natural patina on the pot.
It is on a swivel and will rotate with the breeze.
Great for indoor or outdoor hanging."

I love this wind chime. Great use for an unloved tea pot! Besides wind chimes, Sharon also creates beautiful mosaics and wall masks made with recycled items.

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Good Friday morning! Things are starting to mellow out a bit. BF is doing fine, he's already complaining that he's bored. Looks like he'll get to come home on Saturday. Yay!

So, on to this week's recycled find! Last week I put out a call on the Etsy forums for recycled items and had a great response, so I chose from this forum thread again for this week's feature:
Recycled Diet Pepsi soda can earrings by KimTetmeyerJewelry

Here are a pair of earrings that were created using a Diet Pepsi soda can. These are so cool and free shipping, too! Here is what Kim wrote in her listing:

Looking for recycled 'green' jewelry? Or maybe(like me) you just can't live without you daily caffeine fix. If so..These fun and funky earrings are for you. They are made out of a recycled Diet Pepsi can! There are no sharp edges...I promise! There is a ring that matches this necklace ...Check it out http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24557944 Feel free to convo. me if you would like this item made out of a different beverage can.

These red, white,and Blue earrings are perfect for all the upcomming summer holidays(4th of July, Memorial Day, etc..)

Besides these great recycled earrings, Kim has other interesting items in her shop including wire wrapped jewelry, "mermaid" glass jewelry items, and even yummy candy resin pendants.

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Today is Friday, so here is my recycled find! I had a lot of great items to choose from this week and was hard to pick only one!!

Today's pick is Recolored Crayons by TalkTagz on Etsy.com

So what's a recolored crayon?? Here's a description from the listing:
What do you do with the broken crayons in the bottom of that crayon box? You recycle them of course....This set of WE LOVE HEARTS have turned into little pieces of art that are ready to create again....

Each Recolored Crayon measures approx. 2 1/2" tall by approx. 2 1/2" wide x 1/2" thick. Perfect jumbo size for little fingers. Kids love to be suprised by the different colors they find inside.

This is a great way to recycle, I love this idea. Be sure to stop by TalkTagz's shop for other great items including recycled coasters, scrapbooking tags and cute ponytail holders.

Ten for Tuesday

Well, it's Tuesday, so it must be time for Ten ramblings for Tuesday!

1. I'm happy that I am actually keeping up with my blog! Yay me!

2. BF had to go to the ER last night. He's on dialysis and had a reaction to something in the dialysis machine. I'm a bit miffed at his clinic because they refused to tell me anything because my name wasn't on "the list", so I had to to call the ER's and find him myself. Said they couldn't tell me anything because of HIPPA. Fine, just tell me which hospital so I don't have to call 6 hospitals. Really.

3. HIPPA law is a joke because we overheard a patients entire health history in the ER. So much for privacy laws.

4. It's gonna be another hot day in Tucson. Someone needs to turn down the furnace.

5. I have the next few days off from work, we are in between semesters. No students to feed, so no work. Hours might be skimpy even when we go back. Summer is slow. May have to look for a second job or start praying that I sell a lot of pendants.

6. I am working on a bunch of new pendants, including a few map pendants for my Road Trip line. The sealer is cooperating nicely this time. The last batch had bubbles for some reason. Maybe just have a funky batch of sealer this time.

7. My daughter will be "graduating" from 5th grade next week. She's looking forward to middle school. Yea, she says this now, just wait...

8. I love the Goodwill shops here. Some things can be a bit pricey, but I have found two complete Scrabble games in the last month for reallly cheap. One was a buck, the other was two bucks. Yay me! Most of my and my daughter's wardrobes come from Goodwill or Savers.

9. I'm hungry. What's for breakfast??

10. Will be back Wednesday with a cool pic for wordless Wednesday. :)

Fabulous Friday Recycled Find

Today's Fabulous Friday Recycled Etsy find is an

Upcycled White and Yellow Plarn Tote Bag

by debs1967

Here is an awesome bag made with "plarn". What's plarn you ask?
"Plarn is made by cutting strips of plastic bags that are turned into a 'Yarn'."

Debs1967 made this bag by tightly crocheting together plastic grocery bags and light green string.
Tight stitches add to the strength and durability, leaving "no holes" that your change could fall through.
Also has a double layered handle.
It's lightweight and versatile enough to use for the store or as a purse, the beach, for the library, or anything else you can think of.

Debs1967 is based out of Melbourne Florida and has her shop open since April of 2008. Besides recycled bags, she also offers other beautiful crocheted items such as kitchen scrubbies and towels, appliques and even crocheted doughnuts! She is offering free shipping on selected items as well as a free gift with your purchase.

Fabulous Friday Find!

While browsing on the Etsy forums this morning, I had the pleasure of encountering angeldamico who offers ONE OF A KIND hand screen printed, hand dyed, hand painted, unique items such as shirts, handbags, hankies, scarves and even prints of her artwork. I really like her handbags and that they are one of a kind. She is based out of Chicago which is close to my heart because I was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Joliet. She's had her shop open since 2006 and it looks like she's doing well with 800 sales and great feedback. Go check out her stuff at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=48554

News that I used!

Thanks to all of you that participated in my poll. The lucky winner was "buy three items and get free shipping". Actually I was surprised because I would have chosen "buy three items, get one free and pay shipping". I am still contemplating a bonus for my shop, it will be along these lines. I think I'll wait until I have more items to choose from before offering a bonus-maybe like 20 more items, then I'll have about 70 things to pick from.

Grand opening sale ends tomorrow!

My grand opening sale ends tomorrow! get your $4.00 while you can. They go up to $5.75 April 1st. Along with the price increase, I will also be offering my customers a bonus incentive. Not sure what it will be yet though. I will also be listing new pendants. Thanks to all who supported my shop during the first month of opening.

5 days left of my grand opening special!

My grand opening special ends in 5 days! All of my pendants are now $4.00, will go up to $5.75 on the 31st. Get them while you can at this price!

Make a collage with GIMP!

Woo hoo! Here it is! I have finally finished my GIMP tutorial. Things have been a little crazy here with work and life in general! I apologize for not having any photos to go with the tute, hopefully you can figure it out and find it useful. If you don't have GIMP, you can download it free from gimp.org
This tute may be more beneficial to those already familiar with GIMP or Paint Shop Pro.

Making a collage with GIMP

by Carol Bryce

This is how I make collages using GIMP!

Open GIMP

If making a circle collage, click the little icon on the left side that is round/oval. Click on file then click on new. This opens a box called Create a New Image. This will be where you will create your round images.

Next set the size for your image. For one inch circles, it is 300 pixels for width and height. Then click on advanced options and set your x y resolution to 300. This is for good print quality. Then click OK.

You will have a box with dotted lines.

Next, click on file and new. This will be a new image and where you will paste your circles into. I usually make 4x6 size, but you can make it any size you want. From the drop down menu select inches and type in the appropriate size. Make sure your xy resolutions are at 300. You will have another Create a New Image box with dotted lines.

Go back to your one inch square image box and mouse over to the left side of the box where the measurement line is. You should see a bold circle and a thingy that looks like a cross. Place it at about 150 at the dotted line and drag the mouse to the other side of the box moving the mouse up slightly, ending right at the dotted line. You should see a circle forming. Go to the middle of the circle you just drew and look for a little arrow. Move the mouse up to make the circle go to the top of the box, not crossing the dotted lines. Next go back to the bottom of the partial circle and drag the mouse to the bottom of the box to finish the circle. You should see a circle with moving dotted lines. Now click on one of the boxes that appear in the corners and you should have a circle with moving lines. Do not click in the gray areas because you will lose your circle and will have to start over making another circle.

Now that you have your circle, click on file and open to open a picture on your computer. Select your picture. I have found it to be easier to make circles with GIMP if the picture is 300 pixels. So, if you need scale the image, click on image and click on scale image. Click on the little icon that looks like a chain link-that will unlock the image dimensions for editing. Type in 300 for height and width and change x y resolution to 300. Then click scale. Click edit, then cut. You will see a checkered background. Now go to your circle image and click on edit, then paste into. Your picture should now be round. Click edit, then copy. Now go to your 4x6 image and click edit, paste (or ctrl v). Your circle will appear in a box and will be in or near the middle of the 4x6 image. Now, click on the circle with your mouse and move it to the top of the page, leaving some room between the circle and the lines on the image. If you want duplicates, just repeat the ctrl/v or paste. You can fit three circles across the collage. You can do four, but I find it to be too crowded. Repeat the steps until your 4x6 page is full. Once the page is full, you will need to save the finished collage to your computer. Click on file, save as. Give your collage a name, such as one inch circles 4x6. Go down the page until you see the line that says select file type and click on the little plus sign. This will open up your file options. I usually use jpg/jpeg. Select your file type then click on save. A box will pop up with the photo quality. I slide the bar all the way to 100 then click save. You may also have another box pop up that will tell you to export the image from GIMP to jpeg. Click on export and you should be all set.

Grand Opening special! Free shipping!!

GRAND OPENING SALE!!
To celebrate the opening of Pendant Patch, all pendants are on Sale for $4.00!
Buy 3 and get free shipping. Shipping will be refunded!

pendantpatch.etsy.com

All about me!

I know I don't post a whole lot of stuff about me on my blog, my creations are more interesting than I am!!! Since I have a fair amount of followers now, I thought it would be kinda cool to interview/introduce myself. I have been thinking about interviewing other people as well, so if you want to have a spot in my blog, let me know! So, heeeeere's Carol! My picture was taken in 2004, so it's a little old. :) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

About me:
My name is Carol and I am originally from the Chicago suburbs-Joliet, IL. I moved to Tucson with my daughter and my family in 2000. I love the winters here, no snow to shovel! I have always had an interest in creating things. I can remember making wreaths and other wall decorations as a teenager. I also made macrame plant hangers that I learned how to make in Home Ec in junior high. A few years ago, I made hair barrettes from beads and safety pins, then jewelry, bottle cap stuff and now pendants. I enjoy cooking and baking as well. I am an evening shift supervisor at one of our local community colleges. We make pre-packaged food items for all campuses. It's fun and I like my job.
I got into the bead biz first on eBay about 6 years ago. I began selling beads after a failed attempt at making hair barrettes from beads and safety pins. I sold off the rest of the beads that I had and found that the beads sold better than the finished products, so Beads Out West was born. I bought beads in lots and divided them up and sold them. I began attending the annual gem and mineral/jewelry/bead shows here in Tucson and bought things there for my shop. I left eBay after the last fee increase nearly three years ago and found Etsy shortly after. I opened my supply shop on Etsy and about a year later, I started making things again-mainly earrings and bracelets and decided to try to sell my finished work. It was not very successful, so I tried a new craft with making things from bottle caps, it's going okay. I love making things with bottle caps. I finally sold off the rest of my beads and closed my bead shop in August 08. So, around Christmastime this year, I decided to try yet another craft, seriously trying to find my niche...I started to plan out a new shop, took a LOT of notes, wrote down a ton of ideas and Pendant Patch was born. I have only about 20 things listed so far, I am waiting for a shipment of bails to come in so I can list some more of my wooden tile pendants. Crossing my fingers that this is my niche!
My online presence:
Etsy: bottlecapsgalore.etsy.com and pendantpatch.etsy.com
blog: oldpuebloearringco.blogspot.com
Flickr photos: flickr.com/photos/beadsoutwest
Twitter: bottlecaps
My Space: myspace.com/cantinacarolina
ArtFire: artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=10543
IMadeitMyself: madeitmyself.com/user/pendantpatch.aspx

Where do I get inspiration?
I get inspiration mostly from reading bead magazines and craft books. Sometimes ideas come to me when I am browsing the craft shops. Bead Style is my favorite magazine. I check out craft books from our local library. I also like Tammy Powley's work. Etsy sellers are also a great inspiration for me. If they can do it, so can I!!

The next craft I want to try:
I want to start making soap again. That is also a lot of fun.

What I am working on now:
My next creation will be more pendants! I have a bunch of graphics that I need to print and get busy!

I have so much ambition, but not enough money and time to do it all. So I guess I will take it one baby step at a time.

Thanks so much for learning about me. I hope you found it interesting and entertaining...LOL

My new Etsy shop Pendant Patch

Well, I am finally announcing the opening of my new shop on Etsy. I have spent a lot of time planning and doing some research and decided that having one concept in the shop is the best way to go. So, I opened up Pendant Patch and I am offering handmade pendants and chains. I will be offering pendants made from wood/scrabble tiles, bottle caps, dominoes and glass. I am editing listings as we speak to add a pic of my packaging. I am also going to add chains today to the shop. Come on over and check it out! Adding new stuff everyday.
pendantpatch.etsy.com

I found my banner for Pendant Patch from a great seller on ArtFire- libertydoll- http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=12192

Why Buy Handmade??

I posted this on this blog last year, but it is so worth repeating. I found it on MySpace and do not know who wrote it, so I can't give proper credit, but here it is:

Why buy handmade?
Because once upon a time there were shoemakers who made shoes, and you bought then from the shoemaker... they lasted, and they were lovingly made... The bread was baked by a baker, who did what they loved doing, and you could taste it. It tasted like love, a nourished your body much better than the empty processed stuff of today. Because People still DO make things with love, and THEY ARE better! You can feel the love when you touch, taste, or feel, or see it!
Lets bring the humaneness back into our purchases, and buy from the makers again! Why give your money to corporations that farm out work to 3rd world countries at ridiculously low wages, exploiting the peoples, and feeding their greed. Know where your purchase was made, and by whom, and that they got a fair price for their wares, and so did you. You also get the satisfaction of knowing that you are able to talk with the maker if something is wrong with it, or if you just want to say thanks for making such a great… whatever. Not only that but buying handmade you can usually work with the artist/artisan to get the perfect product, even if that means then creating one for you.
You also know that your input sways the next or newest product in however blatant or subtle ways. So you know that your needs and desires are creating the trends, not some corporate bigwig who probably doesn’t even use/wear/get your product.
When you purchase handmade you also feel special, knowing that you are giving your money to the peoples, instead of the corporations who have nothing to do with the creating/creative process, who’s main concern is making a profit. Not that us artisans don’t want to make a profit, but we are actually making these items you/we purchase.
So do something good for your soul, for your peace of mind, for quality over quantity, and buy handmade!
You can find all things handmade at www.etsy.com
Or shop in my store....bottlecapsgalore.etsy.com

Nothing Special News!

I am excited! The scrabble tiles that I ordered from cheapoldcrap on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5779402 arrived today and I am just about set to start my new craft. I just need to print up a couple of collages that I ordered from Majik Design http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6205510 and get a new blade for my Exacto knife. Hopefully I will get to start tonight or tomorrow.

I wrote out a basic outline for the sealed bottle cap tutorial that I plan to write and offer here on my blog for everyone. Hopefully I will have it done by next weekend.

I have decided to offer blank bottle cap pendants as supplies in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19212960