Make It Monday Patriotic Gifts

Before I get to Make it Monday, I am letting my readers know I will be shutting down my PatternbyEtsy shop at the end of May. My regular Etsy shop will remain. I left Etsy feedback as to the things I thought would make Pattern awesome. All regular Etsy shops will have guest checkout, which is one of the main reasons I opened a Pattern shop. Now, all my customers can use guest checkout if they want to while shopping right at my main Etsy shop.   Don't forget about my two sale sections, clearance sale, and 10 dollar gift ideas.  One of my favorite bracelets sold out yesterday.

 Today, for Make it Monday, I decided to take my love of painting, to make some patriotic items. First is an apron, with flags, and an eagle. Second is a pair of girls size 2 canvas sneakers with red white and blue flags. Both of these can have names and dates added, so do that when ordering. Great gifts for Father's Day, military members, parties etc. I am going to try to get some matching glasses done also. These two items will be listed in my Etsy shop tomorrow.

Happy Memorial Day Red White and Blue Items on Etsy Teamsp

This is week 2 of my new series of blog posts, featuring members of Team Support and Promote.  Any member of Teamsp can participate.  If you would like to join Teamsp, there is a banner on the left hand side of this blog, just click it to go sign up. .

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, in the USA, so I chose the theme of red, white and blue items.  Each picture below, is a different Etsy shop.  I will give a very brief description of each item, and then you click the provided link to visit the shop that goes with each item.

First up from MspdesignsUSA is this adorable hen and chicks PDF applique pattern. 

 Next from, Shelleyscrochetole, is this lovely crochet red, white and blue baby blanket.

Next from CorvusDesign, is this beautiful leather wrap bracelet, with red white and blue tiles. 

Next from, Sportyracks, is this wooden wall hat rack, or coat rack.  These can be personalized.  Who doesn't love baseball?

This beautiful pendant comes from, Whittywirejewelry, and is stunning.  It is dichroic glass and wire wrapped. 

Last but not least from, Missy69, that's me, is this beautiful acrylic abstract painting of red, white and blue roses. 


Be sure and check out all these featured handmade items.  Don't forget to come back next week to see what amazing items get featured. 

Learning Some New Techniques

Hello, to all my readers! I know it has been a bit since I posted, again, but life has been crazy these past 10 days. Now my air conditioner is on the fritz. Trust me if you have ever been to Florida, then you know it is already plenty hot in May. I am hoping that is getting fixed today, but we have had so many curve balls, who knows. We have been having fun too, with Mother's Day, my daughter's birthday, and lots of her friends had birthdays all the same week. I have had no time to do anything crafty, until yesterday.

 Yesterday, I had a whole day to catch up on a lot of things, including learning some new jewelry making techniques. Those of you who read regularly know that I am always wanting to learn new techniques, and perfect old ones. I feel pretty comfortable with my wire wrapping rings technique, I could do a little fancier but you know, it is wire. I also know that a lot of people are doing the wrap bracelets, but I always wanted to learn to do them myself, so I did.  There were a couple of things about the technique that I didn't care for, so I am doing my own sort of way.   I love bracelets, and anklets, by far my favorite jewelry choice. I don't care for wire wrapped bracelets, and just beads, not so much either. So, I did some leather wrap bracelets, and a hemp chord braided bracelet. Both are new techniques and ideas. One thing I do like is you use a button for the closure, which makes the bracelet so easy to get on and off, and there are some really awesome buttons out there. My mom collects buttons, and she gave me a few vintage buttons. Now that I sort of know what I am doing I will be on the hunt for buttons. Anyway the leather wrap bracelet below, has a patriotic red white and blue theme, with a very cool resin support our troops cabochon for the button closure. I made the resin piece over a year ago, and could not decide what to do with it. Check this bracelet out, plus my new clearance section, in my Etsy store. 

Upcycled Hand Painted Large Coffee Can for Table Decor, Vase, Wine Holder, Parties, Showers Made to Order

I love to take garbage and make it beautiful. This used to have coffee in it. It is a large coffee can. I painted it with red, white and blue acrylic paints. Nothing fancy for this one, but I will be putting a plant in it, and it will be table decor, until after Summer, and then it will be moved outside in the garden. I am making this item a made to order item in my Etsy shop, Melissas Menagerie of Stuff. You can pick what you would like painted on it. If I can do it, I will. This would be great as table decor, a wine holder or other beverages, for parties, showers, weddings, and other events. Visit my Etsy shop for details. Don't forget to use coupon code, christmasinjuly, now through July 12, 2015 to get an extra 10% off all my shop items.

Patriotic American Flag with Soldier Silhouette Wine Bottle Into Solar Garden Light

This is the second solar garden light, I painted on Memorial Day. This is a wine bottle that I turned into a solar garden light. This one has the red, white and blue from the USA flag, and a soldier saluting the flag, painted onto the bottle. Add the light, put it in the garden, and voila garden art. I have two more to share in the coming days, that are not patriotic in nature. I finally almost have the infant baby boy cocoon finished, and next week I will share a very special Father's Day cake idea, and upcycled jar project that you can try too.

Upcycled Wine Bottle Into Solar Garden Light Red White and Blue with Eagle Abstract Art

Yesterday, was Memorial Day, here in the USA. A day to thank, reflect, and remember those who died serving their country. In honor of Memorial Day, two of my wine bottles were painted in a patriotic theme. This is only one bottle, two different lighting camera options.

 This one was done in red, white and blue, with an Eagle painted on the flag colors. The Eagle even has a red, white and blue eye. This was not exactly how I envisioned it, but I am really pleased with how it came out. After two layers of sealant, it looks amazing out in the front garden.

I have finished three other bottles as well, but I will share them one by one in the next few days. I also painted on a Magnolia leaf today. That was awesome, and I can not wait to share it. I am still working on the baby boy crochet cocoon, and some jewelry pieces.

Patriotic Red White and Blue Eagle Hologram Christmas Ornament

For the last little bit of resin I had left, I decided to try some of my new hologram stickers in the resin. Now, it does not work exactly like a hologram should. Both images show up inside the resin. So, you get to see both images of this beautiful Bald Eagle. I used red, white and blue beads as border colors, and then drilled the hole and use hot pink wire to make the bail to hang it with. This would make a beautiful Christmas tree ornament for anyone who loves the USA, has served their country, or was even born on one of the patriotic holidays such as 4th of July. It was glazed with a glaze to make it shiny and to protect it, but it doesn't look real awesome in the images. I actually prefer the resin pieces unglazed. The other pieces that came in this last pour will be shared as soon as I decide what to do with them, but they are beautiful butterfly pieces. You can purchase this ornament, and check out all the others, by visiting my Etsy store. 

Two Solar Powered Garden Fairy Houses From Wine Bottles

I love to paint on things, other than just painting paper, or canvas. Wood is my favorite. Glass is not one of my favorites, but it is a challenge every time. My mom had been saving a ton of wine bottles. She loves to paint on glass, and was planning on painting these. But, she got so many she just did not know what to do with them. Some have been sitting in my garage, for quite some time, then you brought more, lol. A few years ago, I painted a bunch of them, and they are garden watering bottles. You just fill them, invert them, and stick them into the ground near the plant. It works wonderful, and now I have so many plants, I need to make more.  The paint is all still there, even after three years, just not as bright from the harsh sun.   But, I got this other idea first. I bought one Solar powered light, that is small, for like garden use. Then I took two of the large bottles, made sure the solar light would slide down into the bottle, and then painted the bottles. Originally my intention was that they would look like a lighthouse. Which they do. But, then I remembered we live in a state where we get frequent harsh storms, with strong winds, so I figured I better put it into the ground just a little bit. So, I dug a small hole, and put it in there, and filled the dirt around it. Voila, now it doesn't look so much like a lighthouse, but more like a Fairy House. So, that is what I will call them. The red and white one, does not have a solar light yet, but I will get it this week. I am going to take a picture after it gets dark, to see what it looks like. I am going to put these all around my gardens, and maybe save some electricity too, when we have night get togethers. I will be listing these in my Etsy store, as made to order only. You can pick how you want them, but I have to say they take a full day from start to finish, and several layers of paint, and sealer. They would be great for a night wedding, or party. If you were real clever you could probably even hang them from a tree with sturdy wire or rope.