Fun Project, Fun Tip

Hi Y'all.   I hope that today has been a blessed day for each and every one of y'all.    I know in my neck of the woods, it's been hot and humid.    Who likes sticky?    I don't!    Today is one of those sticky kinda days, but the sun is shining and that's good.   They had been forecasting rain for us, but it's been pretty so far.    I have heard lawn mowers in the distance all day.   And one is mowing away, way off somewhere now, I can faintly hear it.    I just know that I am sooooo thankful for air conditioning.   hahahaha    I'll bet some of y'all are too.    

Mothers Day was a couple weekends ago here in the United States and I hope everyone got to celebrate their mother's and that all the ladies that visit here got to be celebrated for being a mother.     It truly is the hardest job on the planet for the least pay.     I'm not a mother, but I know all too well how hard my mother worked and sacrificed, taking care of her family.    Lots of hard work and very little reward at the time.     But I truly believe that my mother is very proud of all of her children.     We have all worked hard at being good citizens of the world and just trying to be decent people in the eyes of peers.    Scripture says that we are to honor our parents and I think we have all done that, hopefully we have brought honor to our parents.      

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Ok, so this is the project that I have been really wanting to share with y'all, but I needed to wait till I knew it reached the lady I made it for.   I didn't want to get it on my blog before she got it in her hands. The project was to alter toilet paper tubes, but instead, I opted for paper towel tubes.    It's the same product, just longer.    So, to start with, I took the pt tube and cut into 3 pieces and then split each piece down the side and pressed them as flat as I could get them.   I then used 3 L adhesive sheets and adhered all three pieces together.    A xyron machine would work just as well, as would regular glue. Just use what you have.    When this project come about, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.   I had already seen it in my minds eye and just needed to make what I had seen.    I didn't want to mess with cutting all these separate pieces and then try to get them to line up and glued together.    I thought I already had the sizzix die, but after going thru my collection, 3 times, I finally decided that I didn't have it, so off to Ebay I went and had it in my hands in about 2 days.

The die that I got was the ovals that cut different sizes at one time.    So I took the 3 ply layer of the pt tubes and die cut the pieces.   I got enough pieces from the one, 3 ply layer, to make the necklace and earrings, with careful placement of the pt tubing on the die.    I took smaller pieces and just cut the smallest oval several times.   I was really careful with my placement, so I could use ALL of it and have very little waste.

Once I got all the pieces cut, I stacked them and glued them in place.    The necklace uses all 4 different sizes and the earrings uses the 2 smallest sizes with the smallest oval on the front and back.  Then I used my "crop o dile" to punch holes for the jewelry jump rings.

After that, I used 3 colors of Inka Gold Metallic Rub on the pieces.    Some of mine is really hard, because it's so old, so I just spray it with a spritz of water and use a paint brush to brush on color.   The rest that isn't dry and I could just the brush it on without water.    But, I used Copper, Cobalt and Silver to cover the pieces in just randomly.

After I got the Inka Gold on it and was satisfied with it, I glued on some of shell pieces from Miriam Joy.    I used the ecru color on this set of jewelry.

Once I got it like I wanted it, I used the Wet and Wild Shiny nail polish from the Dollar Tree to coat the pieces with, top and bottom and on the edges, paying close attention to holes I had punched also.  I tried to get it sealed up good and I think I did.   After the first coat dried real good, I put on a second coat.   That nail polish is awesome stuff.    It is really shiny and has a wonderful feel in the hand, when you put it on a project.

You can see the slanted angles of the pt seams in the jewelry.    The finish I put on it reminds me of  wood with a metallic paint, or a rusty finish on it.    I was highly satisfied with this project.

I would never in a million years guess that this was made from pt tubes if I didn't know for sure.    I was tickled that I made the project as I had seen it in my mind.    That is always a success when something comes together as I had envisioned it to look.

I liked it so much so, that I made myself a set with turquoise and copper and cobalt and then used the turquoise shell chips.     The process was the same as before.

None of it is perfect, but hey, it's from stuff that would have been tossed out, so I think that makes pretty good, huh.

I really do like the turquoise set.   I have several tops that it goes with really well and I get compliments on it all the time.

So, I had to make myself another set and used a lot of PURPLE on this one!!!    Yes I said PURPLE and it was about time, wasn't it!    hahahaha

The colors for this one was purple, copper and turquoise.    Oh my gosh it is gorgeous!!!!     I didn't have purple shell chips, so I took my Inka Gold purple and made a wash with color and water and brushed it on the chips and let them dry.   Yay, it worked!!!!    And you can still see some turquoise on the shell chips and that makes for more visual interest.    

For this set, I took on the task of making a bracelet.    You can't see the clasp too well, but I even made the clasp, by shaping the wire and hammering it.   It looks awesome on my bracelet and so easy to get on and off.

This is the completed 3 piece ensemble.    Oh I have had a blast with making these and am working on some more that is just 3 layers of regular chipboard aka cereal box.    Oh yeah, I also made all the ear wires too, for the earrings.   It was a fun project.    Sure hope you liked seeing my altered pt project.   Hope to have more fun stuff to share with y'all before too long.

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Ok, who likes to exercise?   Not me!!!!   But, I'm "learning" to like it,,,,,slowly, kinda, sorta.    hahaha
My tip for today is this.    I have severe allergies and I just can't spend as much time outside as I would like.    But, I have been trying to get healthier and that has been a dilemma.    How can I get more exercise in if I can't get outside?    HOUSE WALK!!!     It works people!!!   Who knew?   Well, I didn't, but now I do.   Just this past week I started walking thru my house at a normal pace and stop every minute or two and do short bursts of jogging in place, I do believe it is working.   I have been going to an exercise class 3 times a week since the last of January and I am feeling better.   The house walking is making a difference!    Give it a try.    Get a step counter and slip it on you somewhere where it will register every step and see what you can do.   Start out with trying to get at least 250 extra steps in an hour and then increase your steps at a comfortable pace.    It works y'all.    I feel better knowing I am doing something good for myself.   If you give it a try, let me know, and we'll work on getting healthy together.   I don't know how many more years of life I have left in my sack of bones, but I just want to be able to serve the Lord as well as I can with the time I have left and getting healthier will help me serve my  Lord and Savior better.    If you remember back to the first of the year, my word for 2107 was dream.     This is part of my dream.    So, help me dream big, get healthier with me.   Woop Woop, Yay,  WooHoo!!!!!

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Well, I hope you have seen something here that made you happy, or made you smile.     If so, then that means that I have done my job well.    I put forth the challenge to see what you can do to recycle a paper towel tube or toilet paper tubes.    It's fun and it can also keep a little bit of something that would have been tossed out, out of a land fill somewhere.     Recycle, reuse, repurpose!     That is the crafters new motto, well it should be anyway.    hahahaha    

I hope you have a great rest of the day.   If you haven't taken the time today to thank God for being a part of it, do so.     We can't even begin to imagine how much God loves us and the lengths He has gone to have a relationship with us.    I sure wish we all took that just a little more seriously.    If we did, I promise you, there wouldn't be as much pain and heartache in the world today!!!    We would be looking out for one another instead of finding new ways to hurt each other.    This is true.     We would be living lives that  honored God instead of making a mockery out of God.    I don't know how much more God will tolerate from a world that is so filled with hate for Him and His ways.     I am a Christian and I am not ashamed to say that.     You will never ever hear me say that I am perfect, but every day I keep striving to be more Christ-like.     I keep striving to honor the One and Only Savior, Jesus Christ, the Messiah!!!!!     And while I keep struggling, He keeps picking me up, helping me to be a better me, for His service.     My service for Him probably won't look like your service to Him and it probably shouldn't.    After all, we are all different, with different giftings.    So, find the way you can serve Him, and set out to do just that.     Start by telling someone today that "Jesus loves you"!    I promise that will bring a smile to someones face.     I told that to a precious little young lady that was checking me out here in town and she smiled so big and then teared up and said that it had been an awful long time since she had heard that.     She hugged and thanked me and I asked her to just thank Jesus.     That's how easy it is to serve Christ!!!!  

I pray that you will find your way back here soon to see what I have been up to.     Till then, remember that God loves you and I do too!!!!!    hugs and love, Patty