Buster, our cat, almost always has to be near us. Many times he actually tries to ‘help’ me with my projects by plopping himself down right on top of what I’m working on. In his defense, though, I am a floor sitter. When crafting, I’m on the floor. If I actually worked on a table like normal people do, maybe he wouldn’t be in the way so much :). But, if I did that, then I wouldn’t have funny pictures like these!
Take a look at my not-so-helpful (but very cute!) helper…
July marks the first month of owning an Etsy shop!
Click here or ‘Shop’ at the top of this page to see items for sale and/or visit my Etsy shop.
After the craft festival later this year, I’ll add more items to my shop. For now, though, the large majority of items I make have to be saved for the festival.
Any tips on being a successful Etsy shop owner?
Recently, I began selling some of my crafts at a local store. I’m so excited! I hope to have an Etsy shop soon…we’ll see. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks to see if I’ve opened one :). Below are some of the items I took to the local store – chalkboards, chicken wire frames, earring and necklace holders, and ‘I love you because…’ dry erase frames.
Here are some other items I’ve made…
Do you have any business tips for me???
SavvyExpression finally has a tagline – Upcycle Your Life. While on a walk earlier this week, my husband and I were trying to think of a phrase. He threw out, “Upcycle Your Life,” and it stuck. It just fits with everything this blog is about.
up·cy·cle [uhp-sahy-kuhl] To process (used goods or waste material) so as to produce something that is often better than the original. (source: dictionary.com)
Generally, when we hear the term ‘upcycle’ we think of repurposing something old or something that would otherwise be thrown away. I often blog about this – using rummage sale finds to make something new. However, ‘upcycle’ can apply to so much else in your life!
Cooking – taking ingredients lying around the house to make a delicious dish. Fitness – implementing a new workout to become a healthier person.
Most importantly, spirituality – turning your life over to Christ so He can ‘process’ YOU and make YOU ‘better than the original.’
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6a)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We are trying our hand at potted gardening this year. One bell pepper plant and one tomato plant adorn our deck. So far, so good – I’ve not killed them.
The peppers haven’t started to grow yet, but we have found tomatoes. Yay! I just love seeing plants grow (weird, I know).
My dad and I are selling crafts at a festival later this year. Here is one item I plan to sell (if I don’t end up keeping it for my own house :)).
Simply staple chicken wire to a picture frame. The frame I used was about 24×21 inches from outer edge to outer edge. I did spray paint the picture frame first – I didn’t like the wood color it was originally, so I used a silvery colored spray paint. When I was finished, it looked too bland, so I added the fabric flowers.
This makes a great picture frame, as it allows you to quickly and easily switch out pictures as often as you like. You could also use it as a place to leave messages, love notes, lists of chores…the possibilities are endless :)!
I will definitely be making more of these.
Happy framing!
My dad and I are participating (for the first time!) in a craft festival. We were just approved today to have our own craft booth. I’m so excited :)! Our main items for sale are upcycled windows and frames. So, my task this summer is to rummage for items we can use for crafting.
On my first major rummaging adventure last weekend, I found a gold mine of old windows. I bought 9 of them for $33.00 (that’s just $3.67 each).
Here is one window I created and plan to sell at the festival. The problem – I have no idea how much to ask for it :/.
Below are step-by-step instructions, along with pictures of the process. Continue reading
This post from Girl Loves Glam was a great step-by-step guide for making fabric flowers. You only need a few supplies, most of which you likely have on hand – fabric, a hot glue gun, some type of circle to trace, a pen or marker, scissors, and a straight pin (optional).
I made two sizes of flowers and used three different fabrics. For the bigger flower, I used a yellow fabric and burlap. For the smaller flowers, I used the same yellow fabric and a white fabric. These flowers were used to add a little interest to the chicken wire frame I made (post coming soon – UPDATE: Here it is.).
These are two of the fabrics I used (burlap not pictured).
This time last year my idea of beginning a blog actually came to fruition. With the help of the hubby, I created savvyexpression.com. I gave it a (terrible) green background and called it good enough. Despite becoming extremely busy with work (and the rest of life), I’ve posted about many projects, recipes, and more. It’s been a really enjoyable experience that I hope to continue for years to come.
Now, one year later, SavvyExpression has a new look. It’s missing my picture and small bio, though. I’ll get this added as soon as I can.
Take a look around, maybe you’ll find something you like :). I’ll help you get started – here are some of my favorite posts:
Newspaper Decorations…Sort of 🙂
I created (yes, created!) a healthy meatless spaghetti recipe tonight, and it actually turned out really, really well! The hubby even really liked it. It’s been a struggle to find relatively simple and tasty meatless recipes, so I was so excited that we enjoyed this one so much. It seems the cooking genes I inherited from my dad and grandma are finally showing themselves :).
You’ll notice most of the ingredient amounts are approximations. When I was adding things to the skillet, I didn’t pay attention to the amount (sorry). Also, I’m not sure the sun dried tomatoes added much flavor. We just had some left over from another recipe and needed to use them, so my husband suggested I throw them in the mix as well. Continue reading
