What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

I (Heart) Making Stuff

*First things first...Little Lady is doing well. Her antibiotic shot seems to have kicked in and made her feel much better. She has spent the day playing and being really active. I keep a lot of my crafting supplies in the living room in baskets. I have one basket that has a Ziploc bag full of pompoms in it. She will go over and get into the basket and get out the bag of pompoms so I will give them to her to bat around. She is a funny girl. She seems to be full of energy and back to her regular self. I can deal with the Infection OR the seizures, but both at once was making me whacko. I thought I was losing her. But, I'm not. *Enough cat talk. (For now).

I've never really considered myself a crafter. But, I do love making things. I get an idea for something and I make it. I mostly make holiday things as my house is bursting with regular stuff, but I can always seem to justify another holiday decoration. In the past year now that I am home, a LOT, I have made more and more things. What with the housework and homeschooling, I have found that making something is something that I can do by myself for me. And, so I do. There's glitter in the crevices of the lower kitchen cabinets and hot glue remnants on the carpet, but that's okay. I have a busy mind and busy hands.

First I devised these mini cones. I've always made bigger cones, but I wanted to make smaller ones just to see if I could. I think it turned out cute. I especially like the "SMOOCH" on the handle. "Smooch" was one of The Beans first words. I massed produced 15 of these guys. My first mass produced item.
A Valentine's paperweight. Several years ago I bought a packet of school photos of two sisters from Kindergarten to 8th grade. I have doubles of each photo in three sizes and of both sisters. So, I have a lot of these photos. I particularly liked the smile in this photo, so I placed it inside the paperweight with a piece of scrapbooking paper that looks like an old journal and some hearts. I added in the "L-O-V-E" cut from another piece of scrapbooking paper and it was done. The back is lined in red felt and the outer rim has red rick rack around the edges. I think it is simple, but cute.

Tonight I started a collage using another photo of the same girl in the paperweight. I wonder where that little girl is now and how old she is now. Wouldn't she be amazed that I am using her in my crafting fodder and posting her on my blog

I spied some sweet little dollies on another blog - all made from bits and bobs and yard sale finds. They were just so stinkin' cute, I just couldn't believe it. I immediately started digging in the craft bins and the holiday bins pulling out anything red, white, pink or Valentine-y. I pulled out enough to make roughly 10,000 dolls, (ha) but have only made two so far with another in progress. The ones on the other blog are still cuter than mine, but I am working on it!

This little gal sits on a covered matchbox. She is wearing a cupcake liner dress with rick rack decor. I gave her a rusty heart to hold and a little ladybug. I kid you not, I have had these little wooden Japan heads rolling around in my crafting bins for nearly 20 years. I never knew what to do with them, but I always kept them.

This little gal is standing on three checkers with vintage trim. I love her little spun cotton head and Dresden wings. The wings, I might add, were The Bean's idea. "Make her a Cupid", he said. So, I did.

The heart was a vintage wedding decoration. I glued it onto some dotted Swiss fabric and added the rhinestone heart. It was fun to throw a bunch of junk together and make it turn into a little person! I am hooked now and have ideas for Easter, Patriotic and pretty much every other day of the year. I even placed my first order on Etsy for a fresh supply of spun cotton doll heads.

Hmmmm....what shall I make tomorrow?

5 comments:

  1. Oh man, cute stuff there. (And I love that he thought of wings. Awesome.)

    Glad to hear the cat is getting better. My silly cat had that UTI for like 2 months. That was hell.

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  2. I love it all, especially the cupid, great idea Bean! Glad to hear miss kitty is doing better!

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  3. Absolutely adorable...I love the little girl made from cupcake liners...very creative!

    Glad the kitty is getting back to normal!

    Hugz,
    Michele

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  4. Anonymous9:05 PM

    Hey, Shara! How do I make the cones? I work at a scrapbook store and we are doing a VAlentine's swap and those would be super cute! Let me know. Tracy

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  5. Hi Shara- I just got my beautiful cone in the mail. I wanted to thank you! It's a keeper. Where did you find that paper?

    Amy

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