Mushrooms and Snails revisited...

I have bee bouncing back to some of my old favorite themes lately with an upcoming showcase that I am taking part in. It is a woodland themed one held by my dear friend at http://www.facebook.com/paula.wagner.184#!/PrettyTwistedKnotsCrochetCreations?fref=ts
it's not until June but I have been having a bit of fun with something different than my dolls.

I have been dreaming of a cute snail pattern for years and today I was so excited when my first trial came out so perfectly, he's only in a plain homespun at the moment he needs a little dressing up or some pretty fabrics, but I just had to share this little fella.

xoxo

Wooden Spools


A love of vintage wooden spools has driven me a tad bit batty over the last few years.... you see I can't ever seem able to justify the soaring prices that their labels express.
I have watched ebay auction after auction and scoured many antique shops etc. (which resulted in a few purchases of smaller wooden spools)  So I finally set about to make myself some....

At spotlight I purchased round coasters by Kaiserwood. Then over time I accumulated a stash of these cardboard rolls that are found at the end of the roll of bin liner bags. They are a lot stronger and a skinnier than toilet rolls, and I really didn't want to roll all my pretties up on a toilet roll anyways   :)

I have oodles of PVA glue left over from all the kids projects over the years, so I put it to good use and glued the rolls between 2 of the coasters and.....

voilà!!

I love my wooden spools, they cost me about $1 each to make, considering the rolls are usually rubbish and the glue is left over. They take about 5 mins to make, while the glue dries and then wind up all the pretties. And now all my trim is easy to see, stored safely and neatly and they look great in the craft room. I guess if I was a patient person I would've painted them up all nice and shabby chic-ley... maybe one day.

Now to make some order in the rest of the craft room!!  :)