My goodness, August is officially behind us! You can tell from one day to the next that we are entering autumn. Things are getting a bit cooler, a lot damper, and it is absolutely time to get organised for the new season of crafting.

A Summer of Al Fresco Crafting

I managed to survive the summer heat by taking my love for crafting outdoors. We tackled some wonderful garden projects using things like old rugs (I have several videos on those!), but I also decided to drag some of my indoor projects outside.

One of my absolute favourites has been finishing off a rocking chair that my father in law bought me many years ago. It has been coming along beautifully while I worked on it outside, and now that the weather is turning, I can finally bring it indoors to finish off all the piping and trim. I am using something incredibly special for that piping: a beautiful vintage silk fabric that my own father brought back from Egypt in 1963! Using this material ties the memory of my dad to my father in law, bringing those precious family memories together. It is vintage, just like me!

We also hit a massive milestone this summer: 138 videos! A couple of my favourite recent projects included:

• Upcycled Wine Bottle Hummingbird Feeders: We used a basic wine bottle (after enjoying the lovely wine, of course!), aluminium pop cans to make flowers, and wire and beads for beautiful embellishments.
• DIY Garden Cushions: Have you looked at the prices of outdoor cushions at garden centres lately? The cost is astronomical! I showed you how to redo faded lawn furniture using towels, stretchy fabrics, or cotton sheets.
• Outdoor Coordination: We used deep ocean blues inspired by Greece and nautical shell themes tied together with bits and bobs from the dollar store to make our outdoor spaces look beautifully cohesive.
• Tea Towel Aprons: On one particularly rainy day, we made aprons out of tea towels, creating a basic pattern that is perfect if you want to sell your goods at autumn fairs.

Preparing for the Vancouver Island Exhibition!

I am so incredibly excited because this September, I have a table at the Vancouver Island Exhibition (VIEX)! While other lovely folks will be selling their handmade goods, I am going to be there promoting my website and sharing the joy of crafting.

To prepare, I have been making some fabulous promotional items to really make my table stand out:

• Custom Canvas Bags & Aprons: I used printable fabric from Staples that goes right through your computer printer. It prints out in a fabric format and works like an absolute charm! I created a very intricate logo to cover up some old writing on a canvas bag, and I made a matching apron to wear at the fair.
• The Signature Baseball Cap: I am putting my logo on the top of a cap, gluing it down, and doing a lovely blanket stitch all the way around the edge.
• Free Memory Bear Pattern: My son and I generated a QR code for a free pattern! When people scan it at my table, it will take them straight to my website to learn how to make a beautiful little memory bear out of old t shirts. It is the perfect solution for those baby clothes you have been keeping for decades but do not know what to do with!

Say Hello to Silky the Camel

Let us talk about a project that took me several months to complete: an AI generated three dimensional camel pattern that I brought to life! I call her Silky, and her video is all set to be released very shortly.

She was quite the charmer to create, complete with gorgeous bead embellishments around her seat. I originally wanted to use ‘lapkins’ (those beautiful Middle Eastern adornments we talked about last month), but they were just too tiny and fiddly for the machine on this particular scale. I am so pleased with how she turned out, even if I did have a few moments of sheer stupidity trying to figure out how the pattern pieces fit together!

A Little Rant on the Cost of Crafting

Now, I want to discuss something that is really bothering me. My mum and dad always told me there are three things you never discuss: religion, politics, and money. Well, I am going to break the rule and talk about money.

The whole purpose of my crafting journey is upcycling, reusing, and recycling. We used to go to the dollar store to pick up cheap bits to make our projects special, but I think they need to rename those shops. There is absolutely nothing you can buy for a dollar anymore! Everything is going up, and crafting is getting more and more expensive.

My absolute mandate is keeping crafting affordable. So, for the month of September, we are refocusing on using things you already have around the house:

• Joints for Stuffed Animals: Stop buying expensive plastic joints! I use the lids from my Tylenol containers.
• Bases and Legs: Empty ribbon rolls make fantastic, sturdy legs for gnomes.
• The Perfect Cones: My husband’s coffee wife drinks pomegranate juice, and those uniquely shaped bottles are absolutely perfect as bases. Why buy expensive styrofoam cones when you can recycle? I was even eyeing the recycling bin at my physiotherapy appointment the other day—I just cannot turn my crafting brain off!

What is Next?

To prove just how affordable we can make things, I am taking one of those pomegranate juice bottles, adding a sock I picked up cheaply, popping a head on top, and turning it into an angel or a snowman. I am going to gussy it up with wings and do a full cost analysis to show you exactly how little it can cost to make something beautiful.

On the resources front this month, I only have a couple to share: Crafty Mermaids (great for small objects) and Strictly Primitive (if you love weird, primitive Halloween projects!). I will also continue working with those lapkins to adorn the handles of my canvas bags.

It is so nice to get the summer gardening cleaned up (even if pulling out the hostas yesterday means I am feeling it today!), and it leaves my brain free to just keep spinning with new ideas.

Thank you so much for watching and following along. I will be posting a video from the VIEX event itself, so stay tuned! See you soon, friends!