Unfinished projects part 2

A very short tour of my miniature antiques shop:

..Unfortunately the dust is a bit more authentic than was intended originally! I bought this one room dolls house shop about 5 years ago, papered and painted it, and began turning it into an old fashioned style sweet shop, full of shelves and jars of colourful goods. I quickly changed my mind and decided it would better suit being an antiques shop, and had much more fun choosing items to put in it. When I left home for university, this stayed behind, and I never seemed to have time to finish it off. Recently I've been admiring a brilliant miniature version of the Bronte parsonage, and thought about recreating my own (when I can afford it!) Of course, I really should finish what I started before I attempt something else. So I am planning to add some lighting, re-wallpaper the inside and do something with the floor (perhaps carpet), and add a lot more furniture, to give it that overflowing effect of all good antiques shops! I may also re-paper the outside and try to give it a more weathered effect on the brickwork and perhaps add some moss, and, of course, add a name. 

Unfinished projects and new motivation!

While trying to bring some organisation to my numerous storage boxes of 'crafty stuff', I realised just how many unfinished and unused items were there. Some projects were started never to be finished, other items I'd purchased with a specific idea in mind of what to do with them, others just bought on a whim and put away till an idea came to mind.

In an attempt to be more motivated, finish projects, and use all the odds and ends I have around, I've started to make a list of things to try to make use of. Those shown here are just the beginning - I can't believe I've amassed so many things that have just been forgotten about!

Hundreds of coloured pearly beads. These were bought with the intention of becoming something like the beautiful beaded necklaces made by Miss Imogen Smith, which I have long admired on her blog. I'd like to do something with these soon, not just because they are so lovely to not be used, but also to stop them spilling all over the place every time I open my button jar!

 

These colourful painted pegs I got from the craft store for about 50p after Christmas. I was intending to use them to make some kind of memo board for the kitchen. I also had some vague ideas that I'd cover them in pretty washi tape, as shown on Claireabellemakes's blog recently.

 

Both of these fabrics were bought with no idea at all in mind what to use them for, but purely because I love the prints. The boat print I used a little of to make fabric covered buttons, as the print was small enough to work for those. Perhaps the rest would make a nice summery book bag? The elephant print I very nearly bought in 2 other colours as well as red, just because I thought it was super cute. I didn't know what to use it for at the time, and have since thought I could use it to cover a notebook (as on the Crafty Creative's blog) - alas, more unfinished projects.

 

These fabrics were both destined to become skirts. The one on the right actually did become a skirt (an unfinished one, at least..), although I'm still left with quite a lot that I don't know what to do with.

I've never made jewellery before, but I definitely need to learn. Trips to the bead shop usually result in buying pretty charms, so I've got quite a few more bits and pieces around. Those shown are just from the last few Crafty Creatives boxes -While I love the boxes arriving every month, I so rarely get around to doing much with them, with the last 3 just stacked in a corner at the moment. I'd like to use these charms for something so I can feel like I'm getting my money's worth from the boxes!

So, there we have it, a few of the first things I need to get around to finishing. I wish there were more hours in the day - I haven't done much crafting over the last few weeks because of working so much, and my sewing machine hasn't come out for months. I'm going to try to stick to the Creatives Unite principle - set aside a couple of hours each week just for that purpose. Hopefully I will achieve something!

This week...

...I've been making Easter nest cupcakes, thinking up tea puns for the work blackboard, doing some craftiness for PostCircle and writing letters, purchasing new stationary, reading books and visiting comic book shops :)