The Beginning - Cake Stands

I have always loved to do something, anything creative.  I love crafts, painting, cake decorating, photography... It is hard to pinpoint just one item I like the most.  The times that I find I am stressing and feeling frustrated and overwhelmed I eventually realize that it has been a while since any creativity has passed through my brain.  Then it is time to do something so I paint, make something, fix something else, etc.  I also love to make something "new" out of something old, or repurpose it for a different and even better use.  I dislike throwing things away that may could be reused for something else.  :) 

Being out of work for almost 2 years and really needing to find something has been very distressing for me and I find a release in my crafting. (which is probably why I have done so much crafting lately.)  

For Christmas I crafted my gifts for my family members.  This is something that has been done for years and I love it.  (We can go into that more later)  This year I crafted cake plates and candy bowls for the girls of the family, meaning my daughters and nieces.  This was the funnest and simplest item I have done so far!

CAKE  PLATE   OR   CANDY  BOWL

This plate base was a martini 

glass turned upside down. 

All I did here was take some old plates which I had acquired from auctions and garage sales, and any kind of something to make a pedestal.  I used crystal candlesticks, glass balls, ceramic tiles, martini glasses, old sugar bowls.  Really, anything!  The idea is to build up something to set the plate on.  So, I started stacking ... round candle holders onto upside-down sugar bowls just to see how it would look together.  When I was satisfied with the outcome I used E6000 glue to glue the glass pieces together.  Then this pedestal I just created was glued to the center back of the plate I had chosen.  WOW!  It was that simple.  I even glued a very pretty cut glass bowl onto a stack of (what looked like glass hockey pucks) glass candle holders that I had painted bright colors in the part that holds the candle.  Viola, a candy dish!

I am sure that everyone has some kind of candlesticks or old vases that are just lying around the house collecting dust or space.  Think before you throw it out, "Could this be repurposed?"

I wish I had take some pictures of the items that I made so that I could give you an idea of what they looked like, but there is a website that you could check out for the video tutorial. (which is what I did)  It is found at yourhomebasedmom.com

 Today, I am going to try and make a necklace out of some chandelier crystals that I bought several months ago.  I have wanted to do this for a while, but was not sure how I wanted to do it.  Now with an idea in hand and the materials I need, I am going to try it.  This I will take a picture of and post it.

So, until then.....  think repurpose.