Great idea! You and I are on the same wave length but perhaps for different reasons. We have had financial woes so I decided that I'd use mostly what I have to make Christmas gifts. I have sewing issues as well as horticultural and junk issues! So much insanity, so little time!

So far I have made two tote bags for my youngest sons' teachers from fabric that my SIL gave me. All that I purchased was some nylon strap for the handles. Since I began working at a fabric store (yes I know! Working in the "candy store" will make me or at least my fabric piles FAT!!) the strap was very cheap. I did have to get lining for the next three bags that I have planned but again, less than two bucks for each one.

I'll be making fleece scarves for my sons and maybe their bus drivers. I've taken up rag rug making to use up all of those bits and pieces that every seamstress has.

I started embroidering a baby sized denim vest (I kept it from the days when my boys were small enough to wear it) tonight. It will be a gift for a friend's new daughter. The vest looks like the ones that bikers use for their clubs' "colors" so I'm doing up the back of it with very girly pink, purple, teal and yellow baby biker "colors". I think that it's a hoot! Now if I can just find a pink or purple bandana and baby "shades" she'll be the baddest baby in town!

I hope to post pics as I get things done. I hope you all do too!

~~Mimi

What a great idea. Wonder if I can stop procrastinating long enough to try it. LOL. I still have all that glass in my garage I want to get out of there by making totems.
And I've collected a lot of little stuff for making fairy houses. Have stuff in the garage that is just sitting around waiting (and waiting and waiting) for me to finally paint it so it can go out.
Too bad I can't make Christmas gifts from anything....it would not go over with my family or friends tho. Seems no one but me likes my 'stuff'.
Meanwhile, I need to stop buying and starting using! Thanks for the push in the right direction!

hugs, Packrat Karen

Princess Mimi you are really getting things done! Karen we love your stuff as you know. I have to make myself a totem for my little Teegers grave, I decided. I probably have enough stuff to make 20, lol.
kathy

I am working desperately to finish up my totems with the glass that I have on hand. I am making a lot of little mini post toppers with bud vases just to use up the odd pieces. They are turning out cute. I've got 4 large ones in progress. My goal is to get my glass supply down to one box at least for the winter. In the spring I want to have a garden junk sale. I have about 30 large totems and feeders, 10 mini post toppers, and 15 votive/bottle bugs as of now. I want to finish with the glass so that I can work on some other projects that I already have materials for such as mosaics. I am really going to cut my shopping trips way down.
Syble

If only I can do that . I'll try !

I've been making Christmas ornaments out of scraps of stained glass. I have made 32 and have another 12 started...I still have to solder them. I am hoping that they will sell at my Occasional Sale in December. When I get them all finished, I will post pictures. I have a bunch of other projects that I have started over time and then just set aside and never finished. I am hoping to get a bunch of those finished as well. Because of all the medical expenses this year, Christmas will be tight around here. Hopefully I can make enough things out of what I already have. Not only will it help financially, but it will also help clean out the studio for the sale.

Yesterday I began a glass totem to put near Teeger's grave. I plan to have a solar light in the top of it. I didn't have the right color glass globs to decorate it (I wanted orange like his eyes) but remember that I HAVE glass beads. So I used them.
Today I will work more on it and possibly finish it. I can use a solar light that I already have, by stealing it from the garden.

I posted the above on my 10 minute blog. I still can't get peoples comments to embed under my posts (so you don't have to click on the comments link). Oh well. I'll just use it as an inspiration and craft diary for me!

Sorry that some are having financial troubles. I hope that your situations improve very soon! I am very fortunate at the moment. But one reason I want to tame the chaos in our house is so that we can rent a room or 2 again if we need to. (We live near a teaching hospital and can get very nice people doing internships for 6 to 8 weeks at a time.) I've thought about doing it again to create some cash to help dfosterd so i don't feel resentful when I pay for medications (no health insurance) or car repairs.

Here is a link that might be useful: 10 Minutes Each Day Blog

Just stuck my head in over here so I'm a bit behind.
I too need to acept this challenge as not only financial woes, but I really need to be more productive and get my "stache" down to something manageable.
Thanks for the kick in the behind!

OK, so I got to that tall stack of fabric and yarn that are in bags and piles atop my sewing machine in the corner (and an "ah-choo" of dust!) Got one fleece blanket almost all sewed up. It started because I was on a deadline for a decorated Thanksgiving basket...and I got a 3 yd. piece of fall leaf fabric that the ends needed zizagging........SO, about an hour later I got to it! I have a lot of "Gotta Get To's" too! Thanks for the nudge!

Love, Jules

me,too! i've been going through a bag of vintage and newer sewing things (and crafting supplies) my sister bought me last year. I decided to use the zippers and saw a pin to make that's really cute, and would make great gifts to give or sell in a booth or shop. I already had the pin backings and felt, and of course glue gun,lol!
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i do have tutorials on how to make them, with a glue gun, on my blog! very easy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu's Blog

Checking back in, this past weekend I got all my excess glass (except for one box) glued into an assortment of totems, plate flowers, mini-totems, bottle bugs and bird feeders. I completely cleaned out my sunroom and packed it all away and stored the results. This challenge helped get me started, but I have to admit that I had an out-of-town friend call and say they want to visit next weekend. That really put me in gear. DH and furchild are amazed how bare the sunroom is. I also need to be working on our Halloween costumes, so I am avoiding any thrift store shopping. I'll post some pics of my projects soon.
Syble

Here's my update:
I cleaned up the glassware in the kitchen, made 3 totems, 3 plate flowers and stored the rest, making room for the mosaic projects for Christmas I should have started a month ago.
Now I will be on to the garage.
I'm kinda liking this!
Oh, by the way, great projects ya'll.

Getting a late start on this, because I was gone, but I resisted going yard saleing with my DD and her hubby yesterday.
Does that count?
They did buy some snowman hats for me at a craft store to go on my cinnamon stick snowmen. Kept me from going and buying!! LOL
It is really HARD for me to go and not buy stuff-LOL
Too MUCH stuff usually!

You all are doing better than I am! Kudzu I love those pins, nice to see bigger pics. Texas fern I need to do what you and excessfroufrou have done. I have to attack my glass stash more. Just this morning I was looking out at the yard and imaging a totem or 2 in every flower bed. Would be kind of christmassy don't you think?

kathy

My update...I have sewn up three tote bags and have three more cut and partially sewn. I doing them assembly line style; completing the same step on each before moving on to the next. That seems to make it go faster. It also makes it feel like I've accomplished something when I only have 10 minutes to spend on a given day. I can say to myself, "I got all of the pockets sewn on today!"

I love those zipper pins! Very cute idea.

I'll post pics once I get my bags done.

~~Mimi