What's on my worktable and a couple of questions

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A few days ago at work I had was stitching around these little birdies from a scrap of one of my favorite fabrics...
and the next day I worked on them with some paper supplies...I really enjoyed this impromptu project!  As you can see, I also added one with a little crocheted butterfly doily that I'd received in a Birdsong swap last year.
 This one is my favorite.
 Then I made the leftover paper scraps into an array of tags...
which I sewed pretty buttons onto, just for fun.  If I ever reopen my Etsy store, I'll include these as little thank you gifts when I send stuff out.
Or maybe they can be gift tags...

I also embroidered these little squares from vintage stamped transfers I'd bought years ago at a flea market...
 Because, as you know, I am loving french knots these days


Then in a moment of, "I need to leave for work and I have no projects to work on" panic, I grabbed the little sponsor kit I'd sent off to Birdsong 3 a couple of years ago...
I had included fabrics, buttons and a transfer of birds. I am really loving the challenge of creating with just what you have on hand -- it leads to some interesting assemblages!
Pretty new fabrics...and a pink measuring tape!
And I found a huge piece of new burlap yardage with little sparkles in it -- both of the fabrics above are sparkly but it's hard to see in the photo.
I made another rag wreath -- this time I'm considering adding coffee filter flowers to it.  Opinions? Would you buy it?  I'd like to make this the newest item when I re-open my Etsy shop.  I'd have to charge about $30 for it though because it uses yards and yards of fabric.  Would you pay $28 for this wreath?  It has about 150 individually hand tied knots on it.
Another project my family has helped me with: transferring all of our family videos to DVD.  I used a Roxio VHS to DVD gizmo that I'd gotten for Christmas a few years ago.  I am so relieved and happy to have this project done!  Ever since the Black Forest fire a couple of years ago it has been high on my to-do list, but it's one of those projects that is time-consuming and hard to force yourself to sit down and do.
It has left me with this empty DVD container that I hate to throw away.  There must be some use for it.  Anyone?  Crafty ways to make it beautiful and functional as something besides a DVD holder?
Thanks for your opinions/ideas!

Comments

20 North Ora said…
Lots of cute creative ideas. Thanks for sharing.

Judy
April 3, 2015 at 9:50 AM
Linda @ A La Carte said…
So many cute things! Love the birds and buttons. The wreath is gorgeous and I like it with the flowers. Yes to putting it in your Etsy shop if you reopen. Maybe use the empty canister for ribbon spools?

hugs,
Linda
April 3, 2015 at 10:59 AM
Linda said…
Wow, those button cards really are gorgeous. I'm a buttonaholic, and my friends don't understand the disease, so it's assuring to see that others have this beautiful affliction also. I'm also green with envy over that material with the evergreen tips. In that empty DVD holder I can see home-made cookies (with a hole in the middle) simply stacked on the spindle, perhaps with an appropriate bow, flower, etc. topping the container!
April 3, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Jeanne said…
I love your gift tags! It's fun to play with little items like that, not a lot invested while your try different things.

I've been playing with tags also, here is my project with them.

http://jeanneselep.blogspot.com/2015/03/spring-paper-tag-project.html
April 3, 2015 at 12:59 PM
Maggie said…
love how you used the old library cards in the first project....adorable!

Sorry, don't have any ideas for the empty cannister. I held onto several for a couple years, and finally tossed them because I could never find the inspiration to transform them. Maybe you'll figure out something brilliant to do with them :-) !!
April 3, 2015 at 3:22 PM
Linda Sue said…
If I were still into buying rather than selling I would buy your wreath for 45 dollars. It is really nice! Love your stitched circles! Etsy is a bug! The prices are so high , I keep mine low thinking that they might sell better than the high priced same stuff...maybe it is psychological, the more it costs the more you want it? Not sure, I used to make about 800 dollars a month on Etsy, now- zip. ( thanks for the plug by the way) LOVE what you do!
April 3, 2015 at 7:49 PM
Kathy said…
Wow, how wonderful that you can actually have time for creating a work!!
Etsy, for me anyway, is a hard row to hoe on handmade things. It is so difficult to charge a decent amount for your labor because people compare against factory-made prices. I think your wreath is easily worth $45 but probably should be higher because of the amount of time it takes to make it.
April 4, 2015 at 11:19 AM
jeanniemc said…
Would buy the wreath in a minute! It is so pretty and priced just right...the button cards would be awesome to sell also--would buy them too! I love to buy on Etsy because the items are hand & US made and everyone seems to be so talented! The time and effort everyone puts into their creations makes me appreciate all the hard work.. Love all your items!
April 4, 2015 at 6:33 PM
Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said…
Love all of your beautiful creations Laurie. Considering how much time you spent on the beautiful wreath, I think $28-30 is a very fair price.
April 5, 2015 at 8:20 AM
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