Monday, July 15, 2013

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Sweetening The Deal

Hum.

It's only 7 more days till my giveaway is over, and I have to be honest-- I'm a little disappointed by the lack of further interest in it. Thank you to those whom are currently participants and commenters-- you make my heart glow with warmth. On the brightside, I guess this means there's a bigger chance to win *wink wink*.

I thought I had a zipper to make the make up bag... but it turns out I didn't. What this means for the winner is that I'll be adding a few more things to the pile before the deadline.

Today inspiration struck me, and I thought it'd be really neat to create a mug cozy to add into giveaway.



Here it is all finished up! I made one for myself, since I am a huge tea drinker (hot and cold), I figured I'd get far more use out of it. I hope the winner is the same, hehe! This will be the one I put into the giveaway.

It's funny because that tiny little black applique on the skull is what sparked it. I used two others in the creation of the jewelry piece I promised to make for the giveaway.

But anyway, enough talk... here are some progression shots of the mug cozy as it is being made.




I was going to add in two, but I lost the inspiration for the one above it... and I don't I liked how I cut it, anyway-- the bias tape would've covered the skeleton's head.
The inner lining is felt, which makes a perfect insulator for those hot and cold drinks. The lining is a heavy weight canvas material to prevent any sweaty drinks from bleeding to the front of the cozy.

Here it is in action:




Speaking of cute, I'm also quite proud of the necklace I made for the giveaway. I was bummed I couldn't tat it, but I figured that would be the case... I'm just starting to learn how to needle tat, which is a lot different than shuttle tatting.

I had some leftover applique trim that I cut into individual sections; I sewn them together to create a nice little center piece.
I tried my hand at a bit of knot tying-- like for hemp jewelry-- for the strand. I slipped in a few black seed beads throughout the length for added pretty.




A few minutes of digging around and I found some plastic pearl beads, purple ribbon rosettes, a charm, and a little length of chain-- perfect!
Next thing you know, I created a piece of jewelry from nothing but the scraps and things I had lying around, hehe.


I love it so much, I am going to use this same train of thought and creation to revamp an old necklace I made some time ago; I still have several applique pieces, lots of seed beads and string to make one more.

20 comments:

  1. The cup holder is sooo cute!

    I would have entered the giveaway, but I don't wear makeup, so it would have been wasted on me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am adding a few more non-makeup-wearer-friendly items, so if you do decide to enter, you could just opt out of the receiving the make up completely. This is going to sound greedy, but I wouldn't mind having the make up-- they are my favorite colors and brands, after all, hehe.

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  2. I didn't enter because I hadn't been a regular reader when it was announced. It didn't seem fair.

    I had to comment on the necklace, though. It's really gorgeous! And the cosy you almost made...well, spiderweb is one of my favorite designs!

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    Replies
    1. I don't mind if someone's been a long time reader or not-- but I see where you're coming from. I tend to feel the same if I only just recently followed someone holding a giveaway.

      Delete
  3. Yes, same as with Pixie, I don't use much makeup so I think someone else should win it, otherwise I will just be giving it away. But I think your necklaces are lovely, and the mug cosy is stunning and such a clever idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like I mentioned to Pixie, you could opt out of the make up if you like-- I don't mind, hehe ;)
      There will be plenty of non-make up wearer friendly items in the box to compensate for the make up goodies.

      Delete
  4. OMG that is SO cute. I've been out of the blogging loop for a few weeks or I would have entered - I will now for sure!

    The necklace is so brilliant, too. Very, very beautiful!

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  5. Ditto for me, Madame MM. I didn't enter because I don't wear makeup. Far better it goes to someone who will actually use it! :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Might be redundant at this point, but just see what I said to Pixie and Laura-- the same can apply to you!

      Delete
  6. Oh, what a gorgeous cup holder - love it! And that necklace is super cute too.

    I think hosting a giveaway outside of a major blog party will always have problems pulling people in. There is just not enough traffic on any given week. Either way - better chances for me to win!

    But I am stealing your giveaway idea at 100 followers anyway :) (I have 5 to go). I think it's a great way to celebrate and to show some blog love to ones followers at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I initially knew that I wouldn't get such a huge response-- but I did expect as little as 10 entries for all the readers I do have, hehe. I don't know the real reason, but I feel like a lot of them aren't reading my blog because they're truly interested in it... =/
      Hate to sound cynical, though.

      I am glad that the majority are those that stood by my blog for a while; commented, and gave me feedback. I find it quite enjoyable to write content people love reading.

      Delete
  7. I love the mug cozy and the necklace ! =)
    Oh, and I really enjoy hot tea =) Cold tea makes me think of "Ice Tea", but I don't think you had this in mind, had you ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!
      You're right, I didn't mean iced tea XD
      I mean like a cold chai or earl grey on a warm day, hehe =P

      Delete
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  9. The necklace turned out just great! lovely idea to use an applique as centerpiece

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  10. Love that necklace! I actually have not entered any blog giveaways for the last couple of years because I have a lot of clothing and makeup so I feel it would be better for someone else to be able to build their makeup stash/wardrobe. Either way, I do think the things you have made for it are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks :)
      I suppose that is enough to stop anyone from doing so =P

      Delete
  11. I love it! Instant New follower!

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