Christmas in July - May Theme Crafty-Mama!

The May theme for the Holiday Handmade Crusade was "Crafty-Mama." We honored our mum's in May by using a little extra Mother's Day crafty mojo to make a gift for the winter holidays. Participants were free to expand the theme to craft for their grandmothers, stepmothers, new mothers, any woman that is special in their life. Crafting for the kiddos was A-OK too! Because without kiddos, would there be crafty-mamas???

Mother's Day has long passed now, but maybe this post will inspire you to make something for your mom over the summer...

First off, Craftster user Loulabear has been making gifts all year long without a specific intended recipient. It's good to stockpile!

She made these awesome recycled magazine gift bows:



And some eco-themed stamped stationary:



Craftster user Christephi made gifts for her grandmothers...a walker bag,



and a seriously cool recycled denim apron!



Detail shot



My favorite entry for May was sent in by Pam aka Gingerbread Snowflakes , who submitted her entry via e-mail. She writes "My Mom loves and collects dragons so I made her a sea dragon ornament using punched tin!"



Pam has a few great posts on punched tin such as, How to Make Punched Tin Butterflies, Embellishing Your Beautiful Punched Tin Butterflies and Punched Tin Inspiration and Ideas.

If you would like to learn more about the Holiday Handmade Crusade, visit this post. Otherwise, join me for more Christmas in July goodness tomorrow!

Christmas in July - April Theme Eco Friendly Crafting

The April theme for the Holiday Handmade Crusade was "eco-friendly crafting." The challenge was to re-use, revamp, recycle and upcycle! It was a bit of a slumpy crafting month for the crusaders, so I only have one favorite project to share today. It's a brilliant one though! Hope this inspires you to hit up the Goodwill instead of the mall this Christmas!

Okay, ready to fall off your chair in a fit of cuteness overload?

MUSTACHE MUGS!!!



Craftster user LrsChic writes: I made mustache mugs for my Dad, myself, and either my brother or my boyfriend. I can't decide which of them would enjoy this more. Yes, I did say there's one for me! I love these mugs.

I found the mugs at the dollar store, already with the black circle around the top. I thought some black mustaches would look wonderful on them. Since Michaels craft store was having a sale, the ceramic paint pen only cost me $1.99. Hooray!

The adorable action shot:



Project variation: Awhile ago, on Craftster, I saw a fun project where the crafter had personalized mugs with a ceramic paint pen by putting the recipients coffee preferences on it. For example if I were making one for myself I would write: Milk only, no sugar.

There are so many coffee mugs waiting to be embellished at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army for 50 cents and up. This idea is eco-friendly, affordable and unique! Thanks LrsChic!

If you would like to learn more about the Holiday Handmade Crusade, visit this post. Otherwise, join me for more Christmas in July goodness tomorrow!

THOM :: THIS IS A CHRISTMAS SPOILER :: DO NOT READ BELOW!!!

My brother Thom has really been riding the green wave so to speak, and seems more interested than ever in all things environmentally friendly. This melts my hippie chick sisterly heart! For his Christmas gift I wanted to do something that was up-cycled, preferably from something that he had owned before, into something useful.

I enlisted my mom to scour her attic for me and she brought me three of his old t-shirts, which I turned into...

re-usable shopping bags!



The idea popped into my head when I came across this listing in zJayne's Etsy shop. She makes re-usable bags by the dozen, if you don't have the time to make these and you'd like to purchase them instead. I, however, felt certain that I had access to a ready supply of t-shirts, so I chose to make them myself. I *did* add a nifty detail to make them look a little more finished.

*suh-weet wrapped handles*



The handles really ice the cake for me - I'm feeling complete nerdy happiness over how sturdy the handles are! And since both of my brothers are kinda lumberjacky, not only are these bags sturdy, they're HUGE! I could fit a load of laundry in one of these puppies. Hopefully they're a hit!

Cheers, S