Altered Accessories

Been a While.. Craft Show Results!

2012-03-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. I know its been a while, I've been really busy couponing and crafting! I actually had a craft fair this past Saturday. It was called "March to the Arts". It was very small but worth it. People really liked my crafts. I had my cards, necklaces and coasters. I made over $100 with no entry fee so pure profit. :) very happy about that. We were placed in a fairly small room but here is my setup.

Tablecloth wasnt my idea. But... It worked ok.

Next time I will make sure to make a lot more Memphis and UT Coasters.

I got a feel for the cards that people liked too.

Rush!!!

2012-02-03T12:43:00.001-08:00

I got such a rush last night while couponing. I know I didnt get a lot of items or even a big haul, but the rush from being able to use all my coupons was huge for me! I was so excited I was able to get all my items for $5.80.

Just about all the in-hand manufacturer coupons I used at Kroger had an online coupon to go with it. They were already uploaded to my Kroger card. So i was able to double the manufacturer coupons in store and get the online coupon as well!

I got the eggs, ice cream, and cheese for free with kroger coupons for being a loyal customer.

the coupon for the cheese was valued at 4.39 but the cheese was on sale for 2.49 so i made 1.90 profit

The ice cream coupon was 2.99 but it only cost 2.50, so i made a .49 profit

The KY was a 4.0 oz bottle for 4.15. i had a 2 man coupon and a $3 online coupon, scoring a .85 profit.

I had a .50/2 coupon for the pineapple and used a .75 catalina that printed when i checked out.

The rice was on sale 10/10 and so i got 4 because i had 2 coupons that were 50/2. those doubled to 1/2 so i saved $2/4. making them .50/each but i also had an online coupon for .50 off, making them about .37/ each.

the chili was on sale for around 1.39 and i bought 2 because i had a 55/2 coupon, doubling to 1.10 making them .84/each

The smoothie was 3.29. i had a 75 man coupon and 75 online coupon making it 1.79

the yogurt was 5/2 but i only bought 3, i didnt have any coupons for those

the floss was 1.29. i bought 2 = 2.58. i had two 75 off coupons 2.58-1.50= 1.38. then i had a 75 off online coupon too. making it .63 for 2. or 31/each

total was 28.38 before tax.

$4.07 after all coupons (before tax)

1.73 tax

Grand total of $5.80

2012-01-30T08:59:00.001-08:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

New Piece of Art.

2012-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

I have an empty space on the wall above my bed, so this weekend, I thought I would do some crafty art to fill the void. :) Well, I came upon this piece on Pinterest and decided I would try and attempt it.

http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/2011/01/paint-chip-wall-art.html

This piece cost me nothing. Zero dollars. I had spare wood in the garage and the design calls for Paint Chips from Home Depot. I love Paint Chip crafts! <3.

Anyway, i did not use spray sealant to secure the paint ships, That was my first mistake. I used a hot glue gun. Shame on me. The edges continued to come up and curl.

I am going to continue my projects however, no matter how it comes out.

Although, It may not make it to the wall above my bed. LOL.

Here is how it started... I laid out ALL my paint chips ahead of time. I chose to use the textured tiles from Martha Stewart. They were the perfect colors and had lots of texture! I did not cut them down to squares like she did in the tutorial. I do not have a paper cutter and attempted to cut with scissors first on other paint chips. Yeah.... did not turn out pretty. I abandoned that one.

So I laid them all out...

Then, I measured the length of my completed art and had my wonderful husband cut the board down to size. Then I spray painted the edges.

Next, I began to hot glue the pieces together. REMEMBER: dont use a hot glue gun or mod podge. GO for the spray sealant!!

Then, I covered it all in Mod Podge. WHich was very messy and a disaster, because like I said, all the edges curled up and the glue got under and made lumps....

And that was where I stopped. For Now. I am letting the pieces dry and tomorrow, I will attempt stain.. Wish me luck.

A Little Hut - Patricia Zapata: day 11 - how to make a coaster set

2012-01-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

A Little Hut - Patricia Zapata: day 11 - how to make a coaster set: I have a thing for coasters. I don't know what it is but I always need to see what selection is available in whatever shop I'm in. I don'...

Ahhh....

2012-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well... I have been working out a lot recently. I love it. I get all hyped up and sweaty. :) I usually stick to the elliptical, some tried and true machines that I'm familiar with and the ERG! (the erg is an indoor rowing machine). My gym just got one and I'm super excited to use it! No one else uses them, probably because they dont know how.

Anyway, I would like to venture into some more, different exercises, like the free weights, but I think I'm always too intimidated. Its like the "guys" area of the gym. Know what I mean? But. I have decided that I AM going to keep working out and stretching and trying new things because I want to be healthy, I want to lose weight and I want to actually look good in clothes!! These are my inspirations...

I want to be fit and healthy... Not skinny per se. I actually like my curves...

So like I said, I'm going to try. Working out is my new thing. Oh... and Crafting.

Card books

2012-01-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

Pinterest has led me to yet another craft!! This one was especially interesting to me because it gave me something to do with my "pack rat" assortment of things I have saved over the years. I recently found a craft for designing Card books. I have saved just about EVERY SINGLE CARD EVER GIVEN TO ME!!

This includes Christmas, Birthdays, Valentines Days, cards my mom and dad wrote me my first year of college, invitations, thank you notes, etc. I know....I have a problem, but it makes bittersweet memories going through and reading them all... funny inside jokes between middle school and high school friends, seeing my late grandparents signatures, etc. It means alot to relive those times.

The booklets consist of pieces of cardborad cut to be a little bigger than the size of your largest card. The front and backs are decorated and each card and cover has a whole punched through the upper left hand corner so as to be able to string or clasp a ring to bind them together. You will then need a big ribbon to secure around the middle when you are not using the book. Here are mine, (not completely finished)

Connecting the Dots: Want

2012-01-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Connecting the Dots: Want: Want more time? Turn off the TV. Want to feel better? Put down the cheeseburger. Put in the greens. Want to experienc...

Inspiration from a friend...

2012-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a comment my friends recently made on her blog... Connecting The Dots.... that really inspired me when it comes to making memories, experiencing new things and going new places.

My Couponing Weekend

2012-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I didnt do ANY chores this weekend. I made some coasters for my lovely coworker

and

I also made a trip to the grocery store. 4 times!!!!

I went to Walmart 3 times, and Kroger Once.

My first trip, I went and got $35 worth of items for $19. Not bad.

My second trip to Walmart, was only $.41 and my third trip was only $.05

I dont remember the individual costs before discounts/coupons but I remember the two trips together was $18 before coupons. So I got $18 worth of items for $.46.

I will upload a picture later.

Here is my haul from Kroger last night. The subtotal before discounts, coupons, and kroger card was $89.67

I had coupons for everything except the bananas, coke (3/$12), salami (10/$10), oatmeal, pretzels (4/$5), pasta (10/$10) hand soap ($.88) and green beans ($.75), but, they were all on sale.

The cheese was on sale 4/$5 and I had a $.50/2 coupon, but luckily, they had a blinker coupon for an additional $1.25/2. So i bought 4 bags. Original $4.19..... 5+5=10 - 2.50=7.50-.50= 4/$7. thats $1.75 a bag.

(final price in parenthesis)

I had a buy one get one coupon for the mixes. They were on sale for (2/.99)

The tuna was on sale for 1.29. I had a .50 coupon that doubled to $1. So it was ($.29)

The rotel was 10/10 and had a .25 digital coupon (.75)

All P&G products were buy 4, save $4. Or, buy more than 4 products and get $1 off each product.

The larger Dawn was on sale for 2.99-1.00 for PG and I had a .50 coupon that doubled plus an additional .50 and.25 coupon. So. 5.98-2=3.98-1-1=1.98-.25-.50=(1.23/2)

The smaller bottle was 1.49 regular price but I used a .50 coupon that doubled for so it was (.49)

Toothpaste was on sale for $2.69. 2.69-1PG=$1.69. I had .50 coupon that doubled. making it (.69/1)

Same for toothbrush 2.49-$1PG=$1.49. $.50 coupon doubled to $1. so total was (.49)

Floss was 1.29. I had a $1 off so it was (.29)

shaving cream was on sale for $2. Has .55 coupon that doubled. (.90)

Febreze was 2.49-1PG=1.49. I had a $1 man coupon and $1 dig coupon. So i got each for (.49)

(2/.98)

Old SPice was 1.99-$1PG=.99 I had a $.50 dig coupon so total was (.49)

The final total was $40.85. Yay!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well I managed to accomplish a few new things today. I gave the coasters to my family for gifts, They loved them and encouraged me to sell some on Etsy. I guess I should try. Anyway, here is what I did today and yesterday...

This is the 3D branch art I started. The holidays caught up with me and I will finish when I get back from out of town. I used the Martha Stewart paint chips from Home Depot to use as the leaves. I also used them to make gift tags for my coaster gifts! See the pink gift tag below!

I saw an awesome display using old tickets and concert stubs so i decided to do the same. I had saved every ticket to every movie I have ever been to! Crazy I know. But, unfortunately some of them were so old, you couldn't read them anymore and some got destroyed in the process. My concoction did not turn out as pretty as it was in the picture because I had way too many movie tickets and not enough concert/game stubs and I used mutliple 8x10 frames instead of a big 16x24. But here it is in progress.

Here is that glue/sealer that I have been using instead of Mod Podge..

Here are the final pictures of my University of Tennessee Coasters. I may make different college and pro team set and sell them. Let me know if you want some!

I just got sick of stuffing random socks in a drawer that didnt have a pair so instead of making that cute lost sock display I saw on Pinterest, with clothespins, i just painted on old shoebox:

New Craft

2011-12-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

I decided to make decoupage tiles. After going to 3 different stores that were completely out of Mod Podge, I landed at Michaels who did have some but I broke down and bought something else which was cheaper and I had a 50% off coupon. Turns out, it works just as good. Lucky Me! I will have to come back and let everyone know what it's called. Anyway, I went to Home Depot and bought 15 almond colored 4x4 tiles for .13 each. What a deal! I also bought 2 different sheets of orange polka dot scrapbook paper at Michaels. Here is what I made. And Yes, that is UT (University of Tennessee) Orange. Go VOLS!! My Alma Mater.

Cute huh? Well, my first one was not so good looking, so it is not pictured here! I am hiding the evidence. Anyway, I have decided to use my wedding photos and make coasters for everyone for Christmas. My husband Brian and I just got married, honeymooned, remodeled our kitchen, floors and bath, and bought a new car in the past 9 months so Christmas money is tight. I can make a set of 4 personalized coasters for around $2. Deal! And who doesn't love a handmade gift? I will upload them when I finish!! What do you think? Etsy worthy maybe?

New Creations

2011-12-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well I have managed to sell a total of 6 necklaces this week. I have altered my Etsy shop to be a little more professional and took some more pictures to help sell more necklaces. I really like the response I get from friends and coworkers when I wear my necklaces to work! Here are some of them...

I love Pinterest!! I have found so many crafts I want to try and give out as Christmas gifts. Problem is...finding the time to do them!! I'll keep you posted on what I get done. First, I need Mod Podge!

New to Crafting

2011-12-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

I have always loved handmade items. I recently became introduced to Etsy.com and Pinterest.com and fell in love with all the neat crafts and other handmade items. I have given a few tries to different crafts, some doing better than others. One of my favorite was making the Ribbon & Washers necklaces. My coworkers seem to love them too and have sold 5 today for $10 a piece. So, I decided to create a blog and an Etsy Shop hoping the community will like them too! Enjoy!

If you decide you like them too, You can email me at AlteredAccessories@gmail.com or visit my Shop, Altered Accessories on Etsy.com

I will custom make any color necklace you want. I also use gold washers. Thanks! And Happy Crafting!