Top DIY Ways to Clean Craft Clutter

Just a small part of our mess, er, craft.

 

If you are like us, your work space is probably part organized chaos and part chaos. As we recently converted one of our rooms into a central work/craft/office station, we uncovered some challenges. How do you organize space to fit zombie sculptures, glass etchings, jewelry, belt buckles and supplies, like beads, machine parts, wire, and all of the other miscellaneous things we have accumulated?

After scrolling through Pinterest for ideas, rearranging things a few times, I mean a few hundred times, making adjustments to what we wanted to accomplish, and laughing along the way, we finally created a great work space for us.

After we completed our project we took a step back and wrote our own list of the Top DIY Ways to Clean Craft Clutter. We hope these tips will help you create the work space of your dreams.            
                
9). Sell all of your projects. Have clearance sales on etsy, The Craftstar, weebly or wherever you sell your wares. Heck, you may even want to have a yard sale or sell some of your items at a flea market. Remember the goal here isn't to make money, it's to clean out your craft clutter.


8). Give away all of your handmade creations to friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the street- whatever it takes to clean out that clutter and regain some space. It's never to early to start handing out holiday presents! And this way, you won't panic when the holidays do roll around.


7). Donate all of your supplies to your local YMCA, a boys and girls club, pretty much any group that hosts a summer camp is in need of craft supplies. If you have a surplus of things besides glitter and beads (which I am not knocking, just referencing stuff from my private stash), consider donating items to organizations like Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  



6). Stop buying, bartering, and trading stuff. Period.

5). If you are that person people call when they want to 'get rid' of things, stop answering your phone. Since we do a lot of repurposing, we are those people. And in our case, we had to temporarily stop checking our mail as customers have sent us items to fix, repurpose, and recreate.
 
4). Stop starting projects. This also includes starting new projects as well as finishing those projects that are halfway done, or even those that are half of an idea. Each time we find ourselves entertaining a new idea, we feel the need to get more stuff. Then at some point we realize we have more projects not started than we have completed. What! How did that happen? And where did that mess come from? See. Stop starting.



3). Stop coming up with new ideas. Just turn your brain off, at least the creative side.

Sweet Goodwill, how I miss you!

2). Stay away from thrift stores, no matter how many times you find yourself singing along to Mackelmore. Even if it was only $.99, it will still clutter that craft room. In fact, avoid flea markets, craft stores, Construction Junction , or any other place where you feel the compelling need to buy things.  








Now the moment you have been waiting for!
Introducing the Number 1 DIY way to clean your craft clutter. Yes, we know there are two number ones. Why? Because they are of equal importance and 'cause I said so.

1).  Stop looking through Pinterest to find ways to organize and decrease clutter, instead, just start working on the clutter. You will be amazed with these results! If there is one thing you MUST DO, this is it.

1). Stop Crafting. This is really the easiest solution. But if you enjoy making things, it may be a little hard, if not impossible.  

While organizing what some may consider the start of a hoard, we had to figure out how we could make our space work for us. We were able to accomplish that with a sense of humor, by trying new ideas, and staying open to the reality that maybe we would have to change some off our habits, not just our collections.

Zombies and Brains: Introducing SS Zombie Apocalypse

If you read our blog or follow us on Facebook, you know one of us loves zombies and one of us, well, not so much.

It's no surprise that we opened a new shop on Etsy. The SS Zombie Apocalypse is a place where we can sell our brains, skull, and zombie merchandise.

Some of the items are a little disturbing, but I can confidently say they are also, from an artistic perspective, quite awesome. Since I write 90% of the descriptions and happen to be the one who doesn't like zombies or blood, you can only imagine how much I struggled to creatively write descriptions about these gory, sick zombie creations. You may also be surprised to know how many synonyms there are for words like gore and bloody.




Before/After

Check out Caroline.

Isn't she angelic, adorable, and celestial?

No, not at all.

Caroline is more bloody, gory, and apocalyptic.

The before and after photo highlights and captures the amount of work that went into creating this beautiful angel more than any words I could write.

Before/After

Next up, Cherubs.

Actually a Zombie Cherub Candle Holder.

No words needed.






In addition to our Zombie Sculptures, our new shop will be a place to find our skull jewelry, brain items, and glass etchings. And as always, we can and are more than happy to do custom work, just send us a message.  

Dancing Shoes, Copper Bracelets, and Sea Shells

In almost everything we create, we really try to up-cycle or repurpose items as there is something quite fun and magical in transforming discarded objects into something new.
Sometimes up-cycling is easy, and other times it requires just a little bit of imagination. Here are some projects we recently created by up-cycling and repurposing. Hope you can find inspiration in our pieces!  

Put on Your Dancing Shoes Earrings

These are perfect for your best friend or the girl who loves shoes!

We created these by drilling a hole in  vintage, toy doll shoes. Then we added  brown and gold seed beads to red jump rings. We even made the jump rings from salvaged wire.

Easy, creative and fun!




The Beach is Calling Necklace

We found this beautiful sea shell on the beach in the Outer Banks. We polished the shell, and used a Dremel to smooth it. We drilled a hole in the top, and used copper wire to add it to the hemp necklace.

The necklace speaks of warm, sunny days spent relaxing on the beach.

 

The Copper and Slate Bracelet

We created this piece by cutting slate into small squares, and then drilled holes into each piece. Once the pieces were formed, we simply added the copper wire jump rings.  

It's a great industrial chic piece!

 

 

What things have you repurposed or up-cycled? 

Brooch Bouquet: Part 1



Some of the pretties!

Pearly clusters!

I love love. And happiness. I also love centerpieces, floral arrangements, chandeliers, and wedding dresses. Oh, and cake!  Whether it's a beautiful wedding cake, a birthday cake or small bites of heaven in the form of a cupcake, I love it! Throw in a little fun, some DIY, a touch of glitter, and Pinterest, and it's really no surprise that I find myself helping several brides with their weddings.






Green gorgeous!

One of the things I'm super excited to start working on is a vintage brooch bouquet! I just adore these glittery, vintage, shabby chic bouquets. In addition to creating the bouquet for the lovely bride, I am creating a boutonniere for the groom and a smaller bouquet for one of her attendants. Yikes! No pressure.

I have read through several tutorials on creating the brooch bouquets, and of course they all seem so easy! But honestly, I have my doubts. There is something daunting and rather sweat inducing about wire wrapping 50-85 brooches, earrings, and pendants in a pattern to somehow, almost magically, create a floral bouquet that is not only beautiful, but elegant and tasteful.



Golden gems!

So follow me as I begin this journey of creating the brooch bouquets and boutonniere. You will see the joys, the heartaches, the happiness, and the frustration. And of course, pictures of it all!




Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I don't know what it is but I find something so therapeutic about baking. I love mixing the ingredients, experimenting with new flavors, and tasting the final product.

When I bake, I just kind of wing it. I usually start with a recipe, but then a few minutes later, I can't help but wonder about changing this, adding that, and mixing in this. While it's fun, I always feel bad when someone asks me for a recipe. I usually just tell people, 'What recipe? I just threw some things together and voila!' Or 'Kerplop,' depending on how my experiment worked.   

Since I post pictures of my creations and I have no plans whatsoever to open a bakery, I think it's only fair that I share some of my recipes. So presenting... drumroll please... My First Recipe!!!!!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup original soy milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Vanilla extract
Root Beer extract
1&1/3 cup flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt, or three quick shakes
 
Frosting Ingredients:
3/4 to1 stick of butter, room temperature
2-3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tbsp. root beer extract
Soy milk

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Depending on how full you fill the cupcake liners, this recipe makes about 9 cupcakes, .

2). In a medium size bowl, whisk together soy milk, sugars, and oil.

3.) Next you are going to add the extract. I filled a 1/2 tbsp. measuring spoon 3/4 full with the root beer extract and then added the vanilla extract right into the same spoon, giving me a full 1/2 tbsp. of both extracts. You can experiment with this by adding a dash of each to the recipe or even a teaspoon of each. Adding both of the extracts makes the flavor oh so smooth, with just a hint of the warm vanilla. 

4.) Mix in the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the liquid ingredients.

5.) Fill cupcake liners. To fill the cupcake liners, I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup so my cupcakes would be roughly the same size.

6.) Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The frosting was a little more buttery than normal, so when I make this recipe again, I will probably decrease the butter to 3/4 of a stick and adjust the powdered sugar accordingly.  

1). Mix butter with a mixer, until light and fluffy.
 
2.) Slowly add sifted powdered sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

3.) Once the butter and powdered sugar are mixed, and while the mixer is still on, add a little bit of the root beer extract. Once the extract is mixed in, taste the frosting to see if you need to add more. The flavor should be smooth, and not too overpowering.

4.) Next, with the mixer on, add a few drops of soy milk (2-3 capfuls, one at a time) to the frosting. Adding the milk makes the frosting nice and fluffy, and a little easier to spread on the cupcakes.

When the cupcakes are cool, ice your cupcakes and enjoy!!! You can add sugar sprinkles to the cupcakes, accent them with a piece of root beer candy or maybe even a straw.

  


Have fun trying my Root Beer Float Cupcake recipe. Let me know if you have any question, and if you make some of these fun cupcakes, please share the photos with me as I would love to see what you make. Most of all, just have fun with recipe!

Random Thoughts and Snippets

We had so much fun at the Circle of Friends Event at Trax Farms. Not only did we have the opportunity to talk about and sell our craft, we had the chance to meet some amazing people, both fellow crafters and customers.

From each event, from almost every sale, we learn something. During each show we make observations and create a list of strengths and areas to improve on. Our brains are always working. That being said, I wanted to share some of our random thoughts and snippets of conversations.

One of the things that is always so shocking for us to hear is, 'Oh my goodness! We're friends with you on Facebook! I follow all your posts.' I have no idea why this is so surprising for us to hear, afterall Facebook is this very public, international thingy that runs amok on the interwebz. But sometimes, we just forget. Thank you for reading our posts and commenting. It is so nice to hear that one of the posts made you laugh or that you loved one of our pictures.

One thing we repeatedly heard was, 'What the? What? What is that and who are you?' We've actually said this a few times to ourselves. We get it- sometimes it is hard to understand all the things we do. And it tickles us that we keep you guessing.



New hats from JSpirik Designs

We met so many great artists! Who knew the zombie making, found object sculpture duo would become friends with a talented lady who crochets hats. Secretly, she had Scott the minute she agreed to make him a skull hat. Special thanks to her family for welcoming us! But on the downside, we will need to do a lot more shows just to be able to support our new shopping habit.





During the show, I couldn't help but secretly crush on a few displays, After Dinner Designs, Brown Bird Green String, Papyrusaurus to name a few. Taking in the beauty of the handmade items and the aesthetics, I wondered how each artist made their tables look so appealing, cohesive and effortless.

As I walked around to meet some of the other artists, I was greeted two different ways, 'Um, aren't you with the guy in the Motörhead shirt?' or 'Oh. You're over at that table with those sculpture things that we keep hearing about.' In all honesty, I really didn't know how to respond. Initially, well, I thought perhaps I should deny it, claim amnesia. Then I felt paranoid as to why people were talking about us.

(Note to self, after the show donate the Motörhead shirt to Goodwill.)

From little kids who wanted to play with the insects and guess every part to the people who said, 'My children, my grandchildren would love this,' our found object sculptures were a hit with a variety of demographics.  
 
The telephone monster went to a new home, and even though he was my favorite creation, I know he will bring a smile to his new owner. We really do miss the walrus. He was such a good listener. No worries, there is a hippo in progress. While she may never be able to replace the walrus, I will be able find it inside myself to somehow go on.

Thank you everyone for making this show a success and for making us feel pretty darn awesome.  

The Voices in Our Heads

Like most people, I am sure you have spent hours, maybe even days, wondering what goes through a crafter's mind days before a show. So as we prepare for our first show of the year, I decided to take a moment to share the voices in my head- the thoughts that just magically creep in while I am doing dishes and gazing out the window or when I find myself avoiding a project.

Brain

But wait! Since there are two of us, and I am not the only one experiencing brief moments of irrationality, in a rare, never before documented moment, we decided to share The Voices in Our Heads.

 

The following is a collection of the thoughts we have experienced while getting ready for the show. Some of the thoughts have occurred almost simultaneously, some have been reoccurring, and some thoughts have been shared, almost in a Folie à deux.

 

 In terror, we have thought, 'What if we don't sell anything?' Then two seconds later thought,
'That's silly. Of course, we will sell something!'

 
Optimistically, we couldn't help but think, 'O.M.G. What if we sell everything and become millionaires?'  This thought, each time, was almost automatically followed by, 'Um, you must not be very good at math because even if you did sell everything, you still wouldn't have a million dollars.'

 

As we embrace but sometimes flee from our nerdiness, we couldn't help but ask, 'What if people laugh at us?' which was followed by 'That's almost a guarantee wherever we go.' If you have met us in person, you'd totally get this. You'd even laugh.

 

Three days before the show, I couldn't help but contemplate if I had time to add a few more items because I have this really great idea for new pins, etchings, paintings, necklaces... Fortunately, one of my voices won this battle and said, 'How about you finish the 12 other projects you spontaneously started yesterday?'

Part of our display

 

Panicked we have reminded ourselves to, 'Take a deep breath.'  Then ever so politely said,

'That therapy crap isn't going to work on me, I'll panic if I want too.'  

 

As we completed trial runs of our display, each of us have thought, 'Did I make enough stuff? Should I take 15 necklaces or 12? Should I take all the glasses or none?'
 
The last two thoughts, well, we wish we didn't have to share them, they're just so awful and we are still having a hard time dealing with their reality.


'Did the dogs really just rip open packaging and strew 16 handmade fabric flowers across the floor or have I officially started to hallucinate?'

and

 

'I didn't really just drop a finished, custom etched treat jar. No, No, I am just having a bad dream.'
 
Whatever you are doing, whatever you are working on, it's so easy to get caught up in the 'What ifs' but it's so important to remember to slow down and laugh a little, even if it is at yourself.
 

Where You Can Find Us

 

While we are eagerly filling out vendor applications and researching additional opportunities, we wanted to share with our fans the list of events we are participating in, as well as the shops where you can find some of our merchandise. As we add more shows and shops, we will update and repost this list.

Boutiques and Stores

 

Fresh Heirlooms
887 Fifth Avenue, New Kensington, PA

Some of our found object sculptures will soon be making an appearance at this awesome store. Fresh Heirlooms transforms salvaged and reclaimed pieces into amazing, new, functional furniture and home furnishings.
 
House of the Dead
4110 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA
 
You can find some of our zombie merchandise, including custom zombie cars and zombie pins, at this one of a kind zombie store located right in Lawrenceville. You will also want to check out all of their zombie apparel and other zombie collectibles.

Markets and Shows

Rivers of Steel Sunday Heritage Market
880 E. Waterfront Drive, Munhall, PA

This event runs April through September but as
of now we have only signed on for 3 market days:
May 5, June 15, and August 4.
June 15th is a very special day at the market! Market hours for that day only will be from Noon until 10pm! Come hang out with us and all the fun stuff we have to offer.

Trax Farms Summer Wine Festival

528 Trax Road, Finleyville, PA

 

Join us on June 22, from noon to 5pm! Check out over 10 different local wineries, live music, food vendors, and local crafts. Must be 21 to attend festival. There is an admission fee for this event. Once the link is live on the Trax Farms site, we will include it here.

 

.

Online

 

You can find our items in our Etsy, SkullSoup and of course on our Facebook page. We are really excited to announce our store on CraftStar, Skull Soup. Our online stores will each carry a varied selection of our items from upcycled vintage jewelry, found object sculptures, and our glass etchings. Don't forget we can do custom items too just let us know what we can make for you.

To Our Beloved Etsy Store

Last week, I received a letter from our Etsy store, gently reminding the two of us that sometimes it is a little hard to successfully manage all the different aspects in our lives. I spent a few days thinking about my response and how to handle the almost dwindling  relationship with our Etsy.



Dear SkullSoup Etsy Store,

I received your letter, and there are so many things I want to say to you. So many explanations I could give you, that I want to give you. I want you to know sometimes I am just busy and I forget to add new merchandise. I want you to know that yes, Facebook has been an additional way for us to market and sell our items. I want you to know that sometimes I feel blocked creatively and I have a hard time writing witty, compelling descriptions. I want you to know...

Oh I could go on and on, but really, it's not you, it's me. I hope we can still be friends.

Let's try to get together next week? We can do whatever you want, ok?

Yours Truly,
Scattered Fairy




Every now and then, relationships just need a little tender loving care and a little acknowledgement. How do you maintain your relationships and find balance?

Hello! Is it me...

Like so many others, we juggle many different roles and responsibilities. We do our best to find balance. Sometimes, with running a small business, managing our personal lives, maintaining additional employment, spending time with our dogs, planning for shows, and the countless other responsibilities, things get lost in the craft shuffle.

Overall, I thought the two of us were doing well. But, I didn’t realize how off balance we were until I opened my inbox and found this completely fictitious letter from our Etsy store.

Dear Skull Soup,

 

I am not sure if you remember me, but it’s your Etsy store. I am wondering where you are, I am wondering what you’re doing. Remember those days when you would check my stats two, no, three times a day? Together, we would rejoice just to see 52 shop views and 3 shop favorites. Now, you log on maybe once a day, you quickly check my stats and move on. It feels so cold, so impersonal.

Remember how excited you would get adding new items? Writing stories about each piece, loading those gorgeous pictures, and promoting me? Well, it’s been awhile since you have added anything. Was it something I did? Was it something I said? Have you...gasp...found someone else?  

I miss the days when we would track my traffic sources together- Pinterest, The Find, and Facebook. Now, do you even notice where the views come from? Are you still on Pinterest? Facebook is still bringing me some traffic, in fact, Facebook is bringing me the most traffic. Wait just a minute, are you cheating on me with Facebook? Oh, that’s silly of me, of course you aren’t.

We once talked about adding etched items- wine glasses, jars, pilsners, and whiskey glasses, but that all seems like a distant memory or maybe it was just a dream.

I now accept PayPal, gift certificates, and credit cards, yet it doesn’t seem like it’s enough to even catch your attention.

I miss selling your beautiful items. Please add some new merchandise, and check the expired listings. I need to be seen. I need people to want me.

Love always,

Your Etsy store 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.

I’ll be waiting.

Ouch. Sometimes reality checks hurt. Looks like it's time to update our shop, and of course, respond to this letter.

Rejection: Let's Talk About It

Rejection feels weird, it is uncomfortable, and it can challenge you.

 

Whether it’s artists markets, crafts shows, or boutiques, we are fortunate to live in a community where there are quite a few opportunities for artists and crafters. Becoming a vendor is as varied as the venues.  

Often, acceptance into shows is juried. In a jury selection, you fill out an application, send pictures of your work, as well as links to where your work can be viewed, and a biography. Next, a panel of judges review all applications and make their selections based on a predetermined criteria. As most venues only accept a limited number of applicants, you can imagine how tough the competition is especially when there are so many talented makers.

Recently, we applied for a few juried shows. While we were accepted into a few of the shows, we were not accepted into all of the shows. And well, no one likes rejection. NO ONE.

What do you do when you are rejected? How do you handle someone telling you that while your work is amazing, it is just not what they are looking for? How do you find a way to pick up the glue gun and glitter again?

Scott handled the rejection well, not even pausing for a moment, and then he moved on. I would like to say that one day I will be so lucky, but for now, I handled things a bit differently. First I swore I would never craft again. I whined. I childishly pushed my craft supplies around the table, and I even packed up my stash of glitter. Then a few minutes later, I laughed at myself, and maybe, I whined a little more.

Then I decided to do something with this ugliness, this rejection. I had, in some way, to accept the rejection. In doing so, I decided to look at the reasons why I craft or, really, do anything that I love.



Drawing is not my strength, but here I am trying something new.


I realize I craft because I love to make things. Whether it is matching random colors and prints or challenging myself to learn a new technique, I love the creative process. I love the invention of creating new pieces out of broken, discarded items. I love the excitement of finding vintage pieces at thrift stores or even at my grandma's house, knowing that I will find a way to repurpose these leftovers into something magical.

A customer showing off her bracelet 

I also craft to make others happy. It’s such an amazing feeling when a customer takes the time to message me on Facebook or etsy to tell me how much he/she loves their purchase. When someone chooses to buy one of my handmade items, I am amazed and humbled. When I am out running errands or even grocery shopping, I am always a little caught off guard when someone compliments my jewelry or handbag, but I am also thrilled.

 

 All of these reasons, in their simplicity, will keep me crafting and ready to take on new opportunities. Rejection, I'm not sweating it anymore.

Jump Ring Tutorial

Did you know recycling and repurposing items can be pretty easy? Well, it can be! Just check out our quick tutorial on how to create your own jump rings. We would love to see what you make with the jump rings.

A Visit to Fresh Heirlooms

A few weeks ago, we decided to visit Fresh Heirlooms, located in New Kensington. Fresh Heirlooms moved to the neighborhood a little over a year ago, and is located at 887 5th Avenue. We are so glad to see new businesses in our neighborhood!

Fresh Heirlooms is a shop after our own hearts as they sell re-purposed items and etched glass. We spent our time investigating the nooks and crannies of the shop while chatting with one of the owners. Of course, we shared secrets and talked shop.

We picked up a couple of items including an etched humming bird vase. At one time, the vase was a wine bottle, but the amazing folks at Fresh Heirlooms cut, sanded, and etched the bottle to create a vase. It's just lovely, and will make a great gift.

We picked up a few other items including these fair trade pencils from India. Every now and then I just love using pencils to scribble ideas or quickly create a design. We purchased a hummingbird statue photo holder. This unique piece will also be a gift. Our purchases were nicely packaged in a handmade tote!

 




If you are in New Kensington, please stop by Fresh Heirlooms and check them out! We look forward to shopping there again soon. And we would love to work with them on some future projects!