Gift Idea #1: Meet a True Artisan from the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers ~Bonus Video!

One of my favorite stops at the Texas Renaissance Festival when we visited a few weeks ago, was William O’Neals booth--the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers.



Ever since I was ‘bitten’ by the candle making bug, I’ve been fascinated with how ‘experts’ make them.



I have made jar candles and show you how to do that here, But I’ve never made beeswax pillar candles. (He sells jar candles too.)



My sister, Heather, who took us to the faire with her and her husband, said she could get me some wax at wholesale prices. She uses beeswax in some of her herbal products.

      

I’ve got far too much on my plate, what with all the sewing projects that have piled up and Christmas just around the corner, to actually work on candle making at the moment. But I’m looking forward to making some beeswax candles in the spring.

If you decide that you, too, don’t have time to make your own candles for Christmas, like I did last year, then perhaps you need to contact him at jay@naturecraft.net  His website, NatureCraft is under construction. The company is small so they aren’t taking orders on the website as they aren’t sure they could keep up with the demand.  However, he will be selling at the Texas Renaissance Festival for the next few weekends…through Thanksgiving!

There is just nothing like the smell of pure beeswax candles..or perhaps you might want some soap..or other gift items from their shop. They use only essential oils for their products.



What I especially loved about William O’Neal’s demonstration, was the way he decorated some of the many candles he had already made. It was so ingenious..and creative!




He let me take a few pictures…but I promised not to show how he made the wax strips that he attached to the outside of the candle.

 

Once he had placed the curly strips in spots all over the candle to his liking, he held the candle by the wick and dipped it in a huge vat of hot melted wax to seal and affix the decorative strips to the candle permanently.

             
               

This man was a true artisan..and I felt privileged to get to watch him at work. Tim had to literally drag me away!     You can watch a video of William at work here.

Have you ever tried to make your own candles? What are your favorite scents? 

Happy Homemaking!

Ten Days of Fun: Freckled Bug's Apron, Cute Tote Bag, Grandkids, Giveaway Winner!

Wow--Ten days can go by so fast! No way did I get everything on my list done while participating in the Ten Tasks in Ten Days challenge. ( I can't imagine why---though the photo above might give a clue. :o) I'm so glad that Gina at Shabby Chic Cottage started the challenge though. It really made me get a few balls rolling! Thanks Gina!

 
I did make some homemade soap (almost) with the grandkids and we had a lot of fun! Basically, five of my ten days were used to just have fun!  And I sure did and so did the rest of the family. :o)

I was also THRILLED to win a DARLING apron from the Freckled Bug as part of Diana's Texas Blogging Gals Recent Giveaway.

Wow--I just about fainted for joy. Though I can hardly imagine cleaning is this gorgeous apron!  I did alter it a bit by gathering the waistband with elastic so Rebekah and I can both wear it. :o)  It goes great with my home sewn blouse. :o) I love the colors especially!







  If you want to see more of the beautiful things the Freckled Bug Makes--just check out her blog.

Ten Tasks in Ten Days Challenge at Shabby Chic Cottage

1. Finish Mom's couch cushion covers  - I'm starting today! Got four whole days to work on them while all the children are gone for the week.

2. Help son get driver's permit. --  Jacob finished his first six hours, studied the book...and we are going to the office tomorrow morning! Hurrah!

3. De-clutter dear hubby's closet.  Oops--well..rats! NO, I didn't--but I did re-decorate the bedroom. :o) It's gorgeous though not painted with the proper colors yet. (I'll tell you all about my PAINTING plans tomorrow!)

4. Finish purple square dance skirt. --Sigh...no I didn't do that either. I sure wanted too, but instead I've been working on a cute little "Just for Fun" tote bag for my daughter-in-law's birthday. Does that count?

5. Lose five pounds.  Lost 3 pounds--but whose complaining about that? Aim high I always say!

 6. Learn to sell on Ebay!  So--close and  yet so far. I really need to to do this--and now that I want to buy paint I'm more determined than ever.  My conscience..I mean--my daughter--talked me into waiting until we sell stuff on ebay to buy the new paint colors that my friend, Maria Killam, recommended last week. I'll tell you all about that wonderful event tomorrow. :o)

7. Ship Dad's mementos to distant family.  Sigh--no not yet. But hopefully, this week. :o)

8. Get finances completely up- to-date.  Almost done! Yippee!!

9. Write Christian's lesson plans for summer school.  (Nope--but he's on vacation this week...so I'll do that at the end of the week.)

10. Add ruffle to checkered square dance skirt.  Rats! And I so wanted to do that--but no sewing machine until this week.--Hope springs eternal!

However, I did get my quilted wall hanging sent to Debby of The Cozy Blanket. I'm so glad she liked it. :o) 

And so goes life!  What projects would you like to get done this summer?

Happy Sewing!
Donna

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

 I know..you've already seen this, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why I posted this on April 1st! I guess I really was ready for Mother's day! :o)  I've added a few things, but I thought I'd better post this just as a reminder since Mother's day is just around the corner. Enjoy!

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Ready for some quick Mother's Day gift ideas? This is one of the easiest and funnest gift ideas I've ever had. It just occurred to me that Mother's Day is just around the corner, so I thought I'd share these aprons I made last year for my daughter-in-law and her little girl, Lena.

Last year, I wanted to make a quick birthday gift for my daughter-in-law, who was about to deliver her first baby, my granddaughter, Lena. I splurged on the pre-made denim aprons from Michaels. (It was a Sunday so Hobby-Lobby was closed.Rats!)  The denim aprons are pricey!

 

Aprons for Embellishing from Michael's

However, the craft stores sell much cheaper options..in just about any color you like! I pay about $2.50 to $3.00 per apron, if I don't sew it from scratch.  (Wal-mart, Hobby-Lobby, and Michaels all carry them. Hobby-Lobby has the very best selection. Wal-mart has the best prices.)

The supplies you will need are:

• purchased apron for embellishing
• fabric paint or iron on letters
• fabric scraps
• ribbon and or bias tape
• a few 1" buttons (white is my favorite color)
• embroidery thread (optional)
• stitch witchery for the leaves. (iron on webbing)  Cut some in thin strips if you don't want to buy the 5/8" wide stitch witchery tape on the roll for the stems.

I've done a tutorial already for how to embellish a tote bag ( a very good Mother's Day gift idea in itself!).

Click here for the Yo-Yo Flowers Tutorial.

If you are a seamstress, you could make matching mother-daughter aprons for you and your daughter. You can make matching ones for yourself and your mom, for your mom and daughter or even one for just your mom.

How about a fabric covered journal? You can read how to do this here.

You can also make one for you and your son! I didn't give instructions for that, but for those of you who are crafty, I think you could figure out what I did. I bought the large apron pre-made but cut out a couple of matching ones for the little guys. These were for my daughter-in-law, Amanda, who just had our third grandson!

With a little creativity, there are all kinds of things you can buy to embellish and all kinds of ways to embellish just about anything.

If you don't want to make the yo-yos, you can always just gather ribbon and tie it in a circle. Gathered ribbon makes cute flowers too!

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 Just a quick reminder, that I'm gone to a tournament with the kids and can't get to the internet except to check emails via my Ipod..maybe...   I'll be home Sunday evening. :o) This is a previously scheduled post. :o)

WeekEnd Reader: Sewing and Craft Projects You've Shared

 This week...most everyone seems to have been really busy with their sewing machines!

But they are painting too as you can see here....Enjoy!

 

 Whimsical Owl Cabinet by Deb at Jeremiah 29:11

I loved Deb's pictures of this refurbishing of her tall wooden cabinet! Amazing! This is only two of the four panels she painted.

 

Cute pouch from recycled denim  by AntMee

This is a cute little pouch by Antmee and she has a link for the pattern on her website.

I love the applique and the zipper pull! 

Spring 2010 Top Contest Entry

by Melissa at Until Wednesday Calls.

As I said yesterday, I would have voted for this gorgeous refashion in a minute. Melissa shows darling pictures of herself modeling this. You will want to read about how this came to be. 

 Skirt and Matching Flower Embellishment from Thrift Store Nightie

by Pitterpat and the Stickycat

Pitterpat is a new reader who shows you several things she bought and refashioned recently on this post. I love the flower on the blouse especially though the skirt is cute too.

Fake Silk Screening/Refashion by Making Do With the Not So New

This is absolutely amazing! I love what Melissa did with this! What a great idea...you will want to see how she did this and the cute dress she refashioned!

Great job everyone!

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 Want to join the show for Next Week?

I love seeing your latest and greatest creations! If you would like to get in on the fun..just follow the steps below...

All you have to do is ....



1. Do a post telling about your latest creation or Work in Progress.

2. Mention on your post that you will be featured in my Saturday's Show and Tell with a link back to Comin' Home, so they can see all the entries in the show if they like.

3.Click on the McKLinky button below. A window will open allowing you to paste your link to your project.

4.. Then you will be able to crop the photo you want on your thumbnail image.

5. You can copy the  button that says "I was Featured at Comin' Home" and paste it on your sidebar if you like.

The Show and Tell will be closed on Friday at 12:00pm.

After that, we will all go visiting! 

That's all there is to it. I'm looking foward to a great Saturday Show!

Tutorial!!! How to Make a Purse from Old Blue Jeans

I've always wanted to make a purse from a pair of old blue jeans, but hadn't had the time to try it out until last night. This is so easy!  The only thing that isn't finished yet is the twisty handles, but I had to share it with you while I had the time to post. First you draw a line about and inch and a half down from the inseam across both legs.

Then cut the legs off with pinking shears to keep the raw edges from unraveling too much.

Turn pants wrong side out and then pin along a 5/8" seam line. Stitch TWICE for extra strength.

Flatten out the bottom of the 'purse' by pulling the fabric from either side of the seam line out. You will end up with points on the side seams and the inseams.


Pin these flat and stitch 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. Stitch again. This gives you a 'base' for your purse. Trim the points off or fold to the centers of each leg hole to make a stronger base for the purse and tack in place.

You need to do this for both leg holes. When you open out the seams and pull the corners flat, the seam line used to close the leg holes should be at the same level as the crotch. They should match.



Now turn the purse right side out. Great job!!  Now the hard part is done!  On to the fun stuff!

My next step was to pin some really nice leftover cotton lace to the bottom to make it look more like a skirt than shorts. I stitched it on by hand. But if you thought about it in time, I guess you could do that with the machine before sewing the leg holes closed. But I didn't think about the trim until afterwards..Ha!

 
I had some ribbon on hand which I laced through the belt holes, but you could even use a small real belt or cotton rope. Whatever you think would make it cute, would be great!  Also, I sewed some really nice buttons on the front. I was going to put button holes in, but I was afraid it would be too much trouble to use when opening and closing the purse, so I used velcro circles inside the jeans instead. The buttons are just for looks. 


The last thing would be the handles. I had not finished those when I took the pix, but I just cut three long strips from the leftover pants legs, folded them in half lengthwise like bias tape and stitched them closed for straps.

I braided the three strips to make one pretty handle, but I haven't posted a picture of that yet. You could also purchase purse straps to finish this, but that would defeat the purpose of 're-fashioning' just a little.
Enjoy!
Donna @ Comin' Home