I've been crocheting...

Do you ever start a craft project with the intentions of only making one of the particular item and before you know it the project has taken on a life of its own?

Yeah, that’s exactly what happened to me with crocheting baby hats. I started out with simply wanting to make the baby Owen a hat, but after making one I wanted to just tweak the pattern a bit and before you know it I had found four more sites with hat patterns and even created a few of my own. So far Owen has two hats both I’m only semi happy with and a few others I’ll probably donate. The hats are just so easy to make and you can do a full one in about an hour. It was a perfect project for me while I spent a few hours in the recliner.

If you want to make your own hat I used the following links for my patterns.

Hats! Hats! Hats @ Bevs Country Cottage

Newborn Set @ Crochet4fun.com

Raspberry toque @ Canadian Living

More decorating on the cheap...

Look what a $1 can of spray paint can do...



Do you recognize this corbel I picked up a few weeks ago for $1?

It’s amazing what a simple spray job can do for a piece.

I'm still not sure where in the house I'm going to use it but I love the way it looks in black. Have you transformed anything lately? I'd love to see some links to other projects, feel free to leave a comment with links to your projects.

Total for project $2

The Sometimes Crafter

Looks for something to satisfy your craft and organizational needs? I have the project for you.

Christina at The Sometimes Crafter has a great tutorial on how to make fabric scrap baskets!

I think these would be adorable on your desk, in the living room, bath room, bed room, ok everywhere. Making them even better is the fact you can adjust the size to your needs and even use fabric scraps.


I also love her tutorial on Hot Pads - They look so easy to make. I’ve got some Christmas gift ideas in mind.

These Fabric coasters would look great in the same pattern as the hot pads above. It would count as a whole set.

Christina also has a quick and easy burp cloth tutorial available to her readers. I have quite a few co-workers expecting children over the next year so I need to get practicing this.

I also love the tutorial on Fabric labels I would really like to make something like this myself so if I ever start making a ton of stuff I could sign it in a sense.

And of course I saved the best for last with her Egg Cup Pincushion tutorial. If only I could get my hands on a few good egg cups. I’ll have to keep my eye out this weekend.

You can also find Christina’s creations for sale at her etsy shop The Sometimes Crafter. She has some great quilts and coffee sleeves available. The pin cushion egg cups are only $6 – that’s a steal. Maybe I’ll buy one and pretend like I made it.

Upcycling Magazines into Envelopes

It has been a really busy few weeks for me and should continue that way for a little while longer. I am right in the thick of hiring season and 100 other things at work. With all this going on I haven’t really been shopping, we’ve just been trying to stay afloat and awake. My big plan is to get everything done this week and make up for the lost sleep over Memorial Day weekend. If you don’t see too many post from me this week don’t be alarmed I’ve got lots of great things planned I just need to get everything typed up and ready to post.

Until then I wanted to leave you with a craft. This weekend after coming home from work I spent some time making up a few recycled envelopes. They are so quick to make and allow me to reuse all my magazines.

In order to make the template I took apart a small envelope I had lying around. I then reduced it by 25% using our copy machine so I could have two sizes. As I read through my magazines if I saw a picture I liked I tore out the page to use. Next I traced the template to the page, cut them out, folded, and glued together. They don’t take much time to make at all and I did them while watching TV.

I made this whole box last night in about two hours. My next plan is to separate a few of them into sets for easy viewing. Sadly you can’t actually use them for mailing because the USPS machines won’t be able to read the bar codes and they’re a little thin they’d be great for putting them in other envelopes or including them with gifts.

Hopefully I’ll be able to list a few on etsy and maybe get a couple sets to a craft show soon.

Cheap Yarn

I know what your thinking, that’s a lot of yarn, it probably cost you a ton. (There goes meg again buying yarn even though she keeps saying she’s getting rid of stuff).

This yarn was all upcycled from > those sweaters I showed you back in March. It took me quite a while to rip out all the yarn and then re wrap it but I think I’ve got a nice stash started now. I love how my self made center pull balls turned out. I used the tutorial from Laughing Purple Gold Fish Designs it’s just so simple. I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own if it wasn’t for her easy tutorial, and it saved me about $50 to $100 from having to buy a ball winder.

Friday Finds

Stop by Ehow.com to learn about five simple earth day freebies. I so wish we had a Disney store nearby.

Ever wonder what stores in your area double coupons? Take a stop HERE to see a listing of all the stores that double coupons in your area. Listed by state.

This little mouse from Yarnigans will have you running to the store for some grey yarn. You can download the tutorial HERE

I love this knitted stool. I have to learn to knit better and asap.

Adorable Apple needlebook

and lastly I love this picture in its wooden frame. If you want to give him a shot you can find the design urban threads HERE for free download!

More frugal craft decorating

Even though we’re trying to refrain from shopping there are times when I’m ok with bringing new things into the house. One of those is for organizing items and decorating purposes. We’ve almost finished our whole house remodel and I want to start decorating and getting rooms finalized which is why you’ve seen and will see many frugal decorating posts in the future.

I loved the little bird I spray painted so much I tried another one. Remember the duck from the dollar store? I bought a $1 can of black spray paint from Wal-Mart and gave him a good coat.

I think he turned out very regal and fits right in with some of my green glass. This cabinet is now finished. The cabinet has stood in our living room basically empty for two years but now it holds a prominent spot in our dinning room showcasing certain pieces. I love the fact I can actually see our house coming together. We have three rooms to carpet and the kitchen to finish and then our house will be DONE. Well except for all those little projects, but everyone has a few of those laying around right?

More Friday Finds - 4/10

I've seen a ton of cute creations on the Flickr craft group this week and wanted to highlight a few for you.

A very cost effective Wedding bouquet from crotchet flowers.

Crotchet nesting bowls from a thrift store sheet.

Crotchet pink necklace

Easter bird ornaments

Vintage atlas Thank you seals


have you done any crafting this week? Feel free to share a few links in the comments section.

Frugal Decorating at its best...

So these projects are all over the internet but I decided I had to give dollar store decorating a shot. I purchased this little birdie at the Dollar Tree. Here is a semi pre-picture, before he was fully painted (I always forget to take before pictures – I’m just so excited to get started).

This weekend I spray painted our living room registers and just used the left over spray paint to finish off the little bird. I think he looks great on our buffet sitting with the vintage books I picked up at our last book sale. I’m so happy with him I’m now on the look out for even more things to spray paint. I might even try painting one black or another color in the future.

This whole project cost me $1.06 which was for the bird since I used the left over spray paint and the books were just bag filler but probably came out to less than $.10 a piece. What else can provide so much bang for less than $2 and 20 minutes of your day? You can't beat that for frugal decorating.

Have you done any spray paint decorating or blogged about it? I’d love to see the results. This project turned out so well expect to see more spray painted creations from me in the future especially after this Dollar Tree trip.

My Craft Thingies

Today’s Friday Find comes from SiSi at My Craft Thingies, a site where she shares her amazing ribbon crafts and other paper folding tutorials.

SiSi learned the basics of ribbon folding when she was young and has been perfecting her craft ever since. The blog, My Craft Thingies, is her way of sharing her ideas with the world.

These colorful Origami Cherry Blossoms are what first caught my eye and made me take a second look around her blog. They look so easy to make, I already have Matt scouring the back yard for some good sticks. I was thinking I might spray paint my sticks blank or even white for a dramatic effect but I’m not sure how the finished product would turn out. What do you guys think? I even have a similar vase that I was considering donating because I didn’t have a use for it… looks like I do now.

SiSi doesn’t just make cherry blossoms for me to stare at she has quite a few great tutorials listed on the left hand side of My Craft Thingies

Here are a few of my favorites (on top of the Cherry blossoms)

Origami Stars - One of my favorites

Kusudama Flower ball - I so have to make one of these and find a place to hang it somewhere in my home.

3-D Origami Hearts

Ribbon Stars

I also can’t forget to tell you about SiSi Finds another site where SiSi shares all her free and otherwise great finds on the internet. She has a ton of free sample finds up right now. A girl close to my heart – crafty and frugal.

Friday Find - Kat Knits

Isn’t this Grumpasaurus cute? I need to make one for Matt. He could take it to work and sit it right on his desk (kidding dear...maybe).

If you want to make one for someone special in your family visit Kat at Kat-Knits. It's a blog dedicated to her knitting and other crafting adventures. Plus if you visit right now she has a Grumpasaurus parade going on right now, featuring all the different creations from Kat's readers.

But Kat's blog doesn't just highlight the Grumpasaurus, she has some great projects and tutorials for you to view. Make sure to check on her other great (and FREE) tutorial post.

Easter Peeps The cutest things I've ever seen
Jelly Donuts
Arm Warmers

New Feature - Recycled Crafts

Today is a big day at OnOurWay because today I’m launching a new feature.

It seems that each day on the web I find another great project made from recycled materials. I also find people looking for how they can recycle items around their homes. This new web page brings both together in one location.
Stop by our new Recycled Crafts page to find great ways you can reuse and upcycle the trash in your home.

Recycled Crafts highlights great reused projects from blogs and websites all over the web. The page is categorized by items to be recycled such as paper, plastic bags, toilet paper rolls, and kitchen items. Hopefully this layout will make it easier for you to navigate. You can also use the find command in most browsers to search for a certain category. I would like to one day put them into a searchable database but I’m still learning.


This list encompasses the projects I’ve found to be amazing and useful for others. I’ve tried to find the best of the best but of course I know I’ve missed some. If you have a great recycled craft project or known of a blog that does email me and let me know. I also have another fifty or so projects waiting to be added so expect this page to update frequently. I hope you keep checking back for the latest and greatest in recycled projects. And please let me know what you think of our new page I'd love to hear your comments.


Forget other people – make your trash a new treasure

Rice Neck Warmers

I was in a sewing mood and decided to make up a few of these rice neck warmers. They are so easy to make, sew on three sides, turn inside out, pour in rice, and hand stitch together.

The two smaller squares were made from scraps. Even though it’s getting warmer I made them for Matt to use in the mornings while waiting for the bus. He can stick them in his winter gloves and keep his fingers nice and toasty.

I have a plan in my head on how to make one to use on your back but I’m still working out the actual creation of it. I figure rather than spend our money on one time use patches I'd save the landfill space and make a reusable one.

Quick and easy dish cloths

Quickly made up these dish cloths this weekend. It was actually a baby wash cloth pattern but I increased it in size to use in the kitchen. I really like the stitch because it almost feels like little scrubbers, plus they're just cute. And easy to do which everyone knows is the most important part for me, I can whip one up in about 30 minutes.

The pattern comes from Crochetville.org at this link.

Friday Find - Kirsten*Can

Isn't this play kitchen amazing? You probably think it cost a ton right? Wrong - You can whip one of these up in an afternoon for about $23 and fabric.

For the full directions visit the great blog Kirsten*Can and her play kitchen post.

While you're there make sure to look up her Little books tutorial, I have to make my own set asap plus you'll also want to read her Pillowcase tutorial and Stamp Carving post.
To finish it off Kirsten's beautiful Silhouettes, she made as gifts will have you making yourself a set in no time.

More Sweater Yarn

My craft this week was taking a picture of my craft to do next week.

I know not very creative, but I did get all these great sweaters for 50% making them about $1.80 a piece. I love the orange and green colors in the back and all the sweaters should make some great yarn.

I might even use one for some at home dyeing with directions from Laughing Purple Goldfish. She also has a great set of instructions on how to make a center pull ball of yarn something I hope I can figure out with this yarn.

Friday Find - We Wilsons - Resuable bag tutorial

This week's Friday Find is an amazing craft from Laura at we wilsons. The reusable snack bags are not ony adorable, personal, and good for the earth they're frugal too. Quite frankly the best of all worlds.

Make up a few of these and the next time you reach for a plastic bag grab one of your snack bags instead. You'll be saving more plastic from entering landfills and saving yourself money as well. Plus they are just so darn cute.

I hope to make my own set soon, they would work perfectly for my lunches, and if I can find some "manly" prints I'll make some up for Matt as well. I'm sure he'd love to take them camping. You could even make them with a zipper as one commenter suggested.

Stop by we wilsons via this link for a step by step tutorial and a pdf to download. You'll be making your own snack bags by snack time.

But Laura doesn't spend all day making and talking about reusable snack bags she has tons of great stuff at we wilsons - stuff you'll want to see. While you're there make sure to look at her:

- Airplane bag I HAVE to make one of these
- A giraffe stuffed animal Anyone who's read one of my comments knows how I feel about the humble giraffe

You can also find Laura's great work at her etsy.com shop - wilsons

Cat Chair Blanket Craft

About five years ago I received a huge bag of blue yarn from a friend (you can’t pass up free yarn no matter how much you dislike the color). I’m still trying to use up all the yarn but I swear there will be none left by the end of 2009.

I used a few yards of it last week by crocheting two quick and simple double stitch blankets for our new chairs. The cats love to sleep on the backs of the new chairs, but I was not loving all the hair they left behind. I figured making a simple blanket to lay over the top would solve the problem. So far both cats seem to be liking them, in fact I suspect they lay on them and laugh at the dog, chanting things like "she loves us more". He's tried to jump up and get a good nap in on one as well but so far he hasn't mastered balancing when the chairs rock. It's rather funny for us to watch while much more terrifying for him I suppose.

I’m also liking how little the solution affected our pocketbook. Buying two additional throw blankets just for the cats to nap on would have cost much more than I wanted to spend. This option was free, the best kind of solution.

Star Dishcloths

I was a little productive this weekend and also found a few projects I've worked on recently.



I originally whipped up these dish cloths for a member of the family which is why I used blue, but in the end they turned out a little too girly to go to the intended recipient. I'll probably use them myself or give them to a different family member. They are cute though and would make a great gift with a small price tag.

I'm not sure if this is the exact Star dishcloth pattern that I used but it is pretty close.

Last of the scarves

My last scarf post I promise. I've already moved on to a new craft, even though honestly it's not going so well. I hope to have at least one completed to show you next Tuesday.

Until then here are the few scarves I made last week.



and what I'm calling the Valentines day set. One pink, one red, and one combination scarf.



In total I ended up with 17 different scarves (one not shown). As mentioned I'm giving some away as gifts next year and a few have been listed at my etsy shop. These were so easy to make I am kind of sad to be done with them, but I know it's time to move on.


Next up on my craft list: baby wash cloths, dish cloths, cork wreaths, cork trivets and a re-purposed cable tote bag.

And remember to enter the giveaway for $30 in goodforthekids.com merchandise in this post