Beginnings of an Idea

I recently had an idea to make a Love Bird Doll. Of course, I was inspired by the upcoming Valentine's Day.

So I started by jotting down a sketch (above). I am not good at drawing, but I have been sketching out ideas lately for dolls and for jewelry.

After I sketched out an idea, I started making a pattern. I plan to upcycle old clothing to make this doll and I may make a couple, so I decided to make a pattern. (Old manila files work wonderfully for my purposes in making patterns.)

And finally, this is basically the final pattern cut out.

Now I just need to make the actual Upcycled Love Bird Dolls. (I hate cutting! That's why this is all the further I have gotten....)

Upcycled Key Pendant

Remember the inspiration post from Sunday? I showed you a plain unusable key. Well, now that key (and others!) have been transformed into funky one-of-a-kind upcycled key pendants!

One side has pretty paper applied with a hard glaze on top. The reverse side has left alone and shows the key. I tried covering that side, too, with a message (i.e. "I love you" for Valentine's Day), but that didn't really work out. I really prefer this way because you can still see the key.

What do you think?

Tuesday Tip for Greener Living!

Don't throw out that broken umbrella!

This tip is probably a little more for those on the crafty-side, but even if you think you are not, check it out. It may be easier than you think. I saw this and had to share.

Recycle dead umbrellas into great bags of all kinds. I have often ruined a umbrella to the point of no return, and wondered what to do with it. Make it into a bag!

Or, you can fix your umbrella!

How do you make your life green?

What do you do to make your lifestyle a little greener? Do you have any simple (and maybe even obvious and easy) tips for recycling, saving energy, etc.? Let us know here in the comments.

Happy Birthday to my Jim!

Happy Birthday to my beloved boyfriend Jim!

Inspiration

An old key that no longer unlocks any locks. Waiting to become something unique and fabulous!

New Year, New Decade, New Blog Direction

(the snow falling outside of my backdoor)

With the new year – and new decade – B.B. Bellezza is entering a new phase in blogging.

The B.B. Bellezza Blog will take you on my artist journey to save the planet: one pair of earrings at a time. I am inspired by nature and preserving it and hope to inspire you to think differently about recycling and reusing what you may already have.

I will be showing you my inspirations, letting you in more on my creative process, continuing to give you even more simple tips you can make right now to help change the planet. You can expect even more jewelry and other products made from recycled materials and I may even share a few tutorials to make your own cool stuff out of repurposed materials.

December 09 Giveaway Winner

We have a winner for December's Giveaway!

Addie of Waldeck Dry Goods won!

If you didn't win, don't worry! You can win for January. To enter, you just have to be either an email subscriber or a facebook fan. (To join either - or both - see to the right on my blog)

This month, I am giving away a brand new scrabble tile pendant design. It has an original photography image that I took in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (See the B.B. Bellezza January 2010 Newsletter)

Here are the rules for the giveaways hence forward:

1. In order to enter, you just must be an email newsletter subscriber or facebook fan. If you are both, you are entered twice automatically. You do not need to do anything else to enter.

2. To win, you must either have a mailing address in the United States or be willing to pay the shipping to receive the giveaway item if you are not in the U.S.A. If the winner does not have a U.S.A. mailing address and is not willing to pay shipping, a new winner will be picked.

3. I will pick the winner sometime at the beginning of the month and email the winner (or send an email through facebook.) The winner will be chosen with the random number generator at Random.org. (I count the numbers this way: email subscribers are the first numbers and facebook fans are after. It is arranged by order that you signed up.)

4. The winner has 3 days to claim their prize by responding to the message I send. The winner should respond with their mailing address. (If I am giving away a customizable or choice of items, they should also respond with their choice, again, within 3 days of my email.)

5. If I do not receive a response within 3 days, I will pick a new winner who will have 3 days to respond. If that person doesn't respond, there will be no winner for the month.

6. I will send out the prize within 2 days of their response. (Custom items may take a couple extra days.)