Paper Clip Angels - my way

Simple, inexpensive, cute, angel ornaments are perfect for small gifts, tree decorations or even holiday jewelry. I saw this idea on pinterest and then googled it too. And there are many listings on how to make these cuties, but here's my take on it.

First you need to know that these paper clips are called ideal clamps and aren't as easy to find as you may think. Try an office supply store.

The beads are 12mm pearl beads. Again, these weren't available everywhere. Finally found them at my favorite fabric store, but couldn't find them at a craft store.

The ribbon is 1/8" wide ribbon and fortunately easy to find.

1. Use a small nail to make sure the bead hole is open.

2. Fold ribbon in half. Then fold cut ends around loop of floss threader. Place bead on floss threader.
3. Pull bead over threader onto ribbon.

4. With bead on ribbon, place ribbon through paper clip as shown.

5. Place loop of ribbon over bead.

6. Pull tight.

7. Make a knot above the bead and at the ends of the ribbon.
8. Congratulations you have a beautiful angel ornament.

Gift Guide Feature

Have you seen it? My piano bag was featured in a gift guide!  Here is is in the Macaroni Kid online newsletter. I have even more music bags now, so be sure to check them out in my Southpaw Crafts etsy store

Piano Music Scrabble Tile Tote

A Little Bit of Heaven

When I first saw this quote/sentiment, I thought of two of my friends who lost children as babies. At the craft fair this plaque drew tears on more than one occasion. Loss is hard. Grief is hard. If you know someone who could benefit from this 8"x8" MDF plaque (can be a wall hanging too) it is available by special request only.

Welcome :)

Welcome to the Southpaw Crafts blog.

I'm Margaret and I'm the CCO, chief creative officer. I'm a left (southpaw) who was raised in the south. I now live in a different part of the south. I married a South and look what happened (see picture). Not one of those 5 cute kiddos is a lefty, but they are all mine and I love them and their blue eyed Daddy.

For more about me visit my "About" page  on etsy. It even has a picture of me with my hair not in a pony tail!

DIY Simple Easel

As I was finishing up my wood block nativity I realized I needed some way to make the stable stay up. I used 1/4" MDF to make the 12 inch square stable so there was no way it was going to stand independently. After lots of looking around and research at craft stores I decided I could make my own simple easel.

Ingredients:
5" piece of 2"x4"
5/16" dowel

Tools:
drill
5/16" bit
saw

The rest is self explanatory from the first picture, but in case you want to read about it anyway.....
1. Cut the 2"x4" using a real saw (my miter box took waaaaaaay too long).
2. Cut two short dowel pieces approx 2" and one longer piece approx. 6" long.
3. Drill three partial depth holes in your 2x4 in a triangular pattern. (see top picture)
4. Push dowel pieces into holes with the long piece in the back.
5. Presto - be impressed - you made an easel.
6. Paint if so desired. You could even glue the dowels in if you want. I choose to leave mine unglued so I could take them out for storage if I wanted to.

Craft Fair!!

Here is my one and only picture of my booth at the craft fair thanks to Jessica at the booth next door. The weather was perfect - mild day (low 80s), a little breeze, no snow (oh wait this is TX), no rain, etc. The crowd apparently thought the weather was perfect too because I think they were all out playing soccer or something. (Just kidding). I'm not sure if it was the normal crowd or not, but now I know why you only find blog posts about successful craft fair experiences. No one wants to write about anything less than a sparkling success.

So looking on the bright side, I did make some money. I do have lots of inventory ready to ship. I now have fitted tableclothes, signs, onesie display rack, etc.

Lessons learned:
1. BRING YOUR CAMERA!
2. It really does take 2 or more people to set up those canopies. Fortunately I had help.
3. It is possible to over prepare.
4. Credit card readers may be great for some people, but I only lost 1 sale due to not taking cards. I guess it depends on the event you are attending.
5. Crafters are happy, helpful people. Everyone seemed to help everyone else in setting up tents and taking them down too.

More Nativities

 This 3 piece set and the large 15 piece set will also be available at the November 3rd (just a week away) craft fair. Kits to make your own 15 piece set are on sale also. If you are local come see me at Zion Lutheran Church between 10 am and 4 pm November 3rd. :)

Itty Bitty Monster Alert

These not so scary monsters and fowl will be up for adoption at the craft fair November 3rd. They are dishwasher safe. If you'd like to adopt one before the craft fair email me at southpawcrafts at gmail dot com.

Sneak Peek - Craft Fair Prep

These last few days (week and a half) before the craft fair I've been busy with the details - finishing products, making display plans, a sign for my store (like it? it's on the tablecloth). I'm sure this display will look a lot better when it's not sitting in the center of my living room or serving as a workbench for partially complete products!

Monogram Wall Hanging

Just delivered this custom order monogram hanging. Black with silver monogram and white flourish. Of course the ribbon is black with silver and white flourish. Love it, but my last name doesn't start with "W"!

And the Winner Is.......

Lori Lillywhite!!!

Congratulations you are the lucky winner of the Southpaw Crafts Day door prize! I'll contact you shortly to arrange delivery.

I numbered all the surveys (including online entries) and then used random.org's random number generator to pick just one. Thanks to all who participated.

Southpaw Crafts Day - Door Prize Survey

Thanks to all who came to today's Southpaw Crafts Day. If you couldn't make it - here's your chance to be entered into my door prize drawing . Answer the survey questions below (cut and paste into an email would be great) and email to southpawcrafts (at) gmail (dot) com. Tomorrow (Thursday) at 3 pm is your cut off to enter the door prize drawing (for US and Canada only).

Survey - go to southpawcrafts.etsy.com for pictures of products. I don't have the Thanksgiving or Christmas products up yet - but they are cute. :)

1. What are your top 5 favorite products?
2. Do you prefer DIY wood and vinyl kits or finished products?
3. What is your favorite onesie design?

That's it - short and simple. Do it now before you forget. And thanks for your input it helps me improve Southpaw Crafts.

Door Prize!

Margaret

Turkey Tutorial!

Painting/ impatiently waiting for paint to dry.

 This cute turkey is super simple (making the tutorial is proving much more difficult than making the turkey).

Items needed:
a turkey kit which includes: a piece of 2x4 cut into a square - approx 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"
     6 colored popsicle sticks,
     the top of a 5 gallon paint stick,
     2 wiggly eyes, and
     vinyl cut out for the beak and waddle - or substitute your own creativity
brown paint and paint brush
glue - Elmer's school glue works just fine
patience to let the paint dry before completing the turkey

1. Start painting the neck/paint stick and body of the turkey.
2. While the first coat of paint is drying cut popsicle sticks in half. Even regular kids scissors worked on our popsicle sticks.
3. Paint back side of turkey pieces.
4. Let dry.
5. Decorate turkey face - put on eyes, beak and waddle.
6. Glue popsicle feathers on turkey. We found it helped to cut the corners off the popsicle sticks so that they could all lay flat on the back of the turkey instead of being stacked on each other.
7. After the feathers have dried, glue the turkey neck on the front.

Presto Turkey!!

Southpaw Crafts Day!! Wednesday, October 10th

Southpaw Crafts Day!!!

When? Wednesday, October 10th   8:30 am to Noon


Where? Margaret's house (email me if you need the address)


What is Southpaw Crafts Day?  An open house style craft event. Come see my creations and give me feedback. Enjoy some cookies and good company at the same time.

In appreciation for your time and company I'm offering a $5 craft (limit 1) that you can make and take home complete and a $3 make at home kids craft kit (no limit). Please RSVP for these items by Saturday, October 6th so I can have them ready for you. Please specify orange or brown charger and how many kids turkey craft kits in your RSVP on evite or email me - southpawcrafts at gmail.  Craft is optional.

$5 Brown "Gratitude is mostly ATTITUDE" charger

$5 Orange "Gratitude is mostly ATTITUDE" charger

 

$3 Kids Turkey Craft Kit

Why? Southpaw Crafts (that's me) is busily preparing for a craft show and since I love everything I make I need help knowing what other people like. Complete my product survey for a chance to win a door prize.


What if? I can't make it because I live out of state. - October 10th I will post a survey and instructions on this blog. Complete the survey by October 11th for a chance to win the door prize.

Can I invite a friend? Yes, please do. If they would like to do the craft please have them RSVP. Thank you. 

6" x 24" "O Holy Night" Nativity DOOR PRIZE!!!!!

Gratitute is mostly attitude

When my kiddos got home from school today the first thing J said was, "it's Thanksgiving stuff." Yes, thanksgiving is about gratitude, but gratitude is an attitude to cultivate year round. (Now if I can just remember that when I'm feeling ungrateful that would be great.)

Christmas in September!

I finished this beauty today.

I absolutely love it.

My up and coming photography skills just don't do it justice - the lovely cranberry red background with white silhouettes depicting the nativity.

I'll have this available in the etsy store soon and at the November 3rd craft fair at Zion Lutheran church.

Halloween Fun in the Dark

My kids love to play with anything that glows in the dark - glow sticks, glow in the dark clothing, and of course flashlights. So presto - the starry night flashlight and the pumpkin face/ jack o lantern flashlight. Yes they are as fun as they look.

If you prefer to make your own, I also sell the decals/stickers so you can put them on your own flashlights.

About Southpaw Crafts

I recently created an "About" page on my Etsy store. Stop by and take a look.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/southpawcrafts/about/

The Latest Bright Idea - Fun Light Switch Plate Covers

The light switch covers have arrived!

Now showing at southpawcrafts.etsy.com  (Hint: Look for a coupon code in the shop announcements. It is good through the end of September.)

Q T Pi aka Cutie Pi onesie

Now available on southpawcrafts.etsy.com

Freezer Paper Stencils

Freezer paper is wonderful! One side is plain paper. The other side has a waxy finish. I found it in my grocery store next to the aluminum foil. When ironed the waxy finish makes the paper stick, but it is easily removable. Here's how I used it to make this cute shirt for my daughter.

1. Pick your design. In this case I used a cookie cutter to trace my design on freezer paper. You can also place the freezer paper over your design and trace it.

2. Cut out your stencil.

3. Iron it on. I used the cotton setting without any steam. Be creative you can iron it onto a pillowcase, a t-shirt (preshrunk), a book bag, a quilt block, oh the possibilities.....

4. Pick your paint. I used regular acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium or you can use fabric paint. In my picture the fabric medium is white. I choose purple paint and added a little silver paint for sparkle. Mix the fabric medium with the paint as directed on the bottle. Mine said a 1:2 ratio of fabric medium to acrylic paint.

5. Put another piece of freezer paper or a piece of wax paper under the area you will be stenciling to prevent paint from getting on other surfaces like the other side of your shirt. Use a brush of some sort to dab the paint onto your shirt. If you have to use several layers to get adequate coverage be sure to dab and not brush the paint so that it will stay within your stencil. I've only had problems with that on a shirt that needed 6 layers of paint i.e. don't try to paint white on a royal blue shirt.

6. Wait for it to dry. This is the hard part. I recommend at least 12 hours of drying before removing the freezer paper.

7. Remove the freezer paper by pulling slowly from one corner.

8. Iron on low for 20 seconds or so to set the paint. Use an ironing cloth to protect your iron. If you start to smell the paint you have definitely ironed it long enough (next time not quite so long).

9. Wash as usual. I try to turn the shirt inside out before washing but that probably isn't absolutely necessary.

Kids Sewing

Here are two of my favorite kids proudly displaying their finished pillowcases.

Success!

This week I taught 13 kids how to sew pillowcases.