Craftastic Monday Link Party

It's time to link all your new & fun crafty projects to a new Craftastic Monday Link Party. Last week's party had some super cute ideas so today's features are all about the cute. 

 There's also a new Friday Link Party later this week for those of you with a crafty shop or handmade business:



I'd really like to continue hosting the Crafty Business Friday link-up, but need YOU to make it a success!  

If the number of links doesn't grow to make it worth hosting and taking time to promote, I will have to discontinue it.  If you don't have a shop or business but know someone who does, please share it. 

Crafty Business Friday is open Fri-Sun every week so you have the whole weekend to join in!  I've had a number of non-business posts there the past few weeks though that have had to be removed.  Projects and personal blogs can link to Craftastic Monday, but the Crafty Business Fridays party is for SHOPS and BUSINESSES only.

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Now for the Craftastic Picks features...

Crystalized Designs had this fun crayon water bottle cozy crochet pattern:



Fresh Vintage By Lisa shared how to make these incredible faux caramel apples.  I could not believe they weren't real!

The Scrap Shoppe did this sweet & easy apple embroidery hoop

Craft Klatch showed how to make this incredible waffle resin coaster:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

~~ Due to Pinterest inappropriately censoring pins and banning accounts, 
Sew Can Do no longer uses or supports Pinterest ~~  

I WILL feature these projects on both Facebook

& Twitter for your creations to have MORE exposure!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

For Shops & Makers: Crafty Business Friday Link Up!

It's time for the Crafty Business Fridays Link Party!

Any small business that is handmade or sells craft-related supplies (fabric, ribbon, beads, jewelry findings, notions, patterns, digital designs, etc.) is welcome to come link up.  The party is open from 12am EST Fri-12am EST Mon.

Share your shop's main page, a new product, a giveaway, or a special offer.  

ALL are welcome.  

Individual online shops, those on Etsy, Facebook, ArtFire or any other selling platform can share.  The photo link party is here on the blog every Friday as well as a post on the 
Sew Can Do Facebook page where you can link up in the comments there as well.  If it grows enough, I'll also expand it to Instagram.

Another great reason to link up is some FREE advertising!  Starting this Monday, I select one shop each week to feature as the Crafty Business of the Week at my well viewed Craftastic Monday Link Party.  Your logo & a link to your shop will be shared there to give your business some extra exposure.     

   
PROMO COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITY!

I'm considering putting together a Crafty Business Bundle Giveaway for Fall.  A handful of businesses each offer an item or gift certificate from their shops as part of a grand prize bundle.  Everyone will have giveaway entry options for their shops to gain followers and will promote said giveaway on their blogs/shops/social media.  If you're interested in participating, send me a message at info@sewcando.com.

Don't have a business? Use this handy party as a way to find out about the many hidden gem small shops out there and find out about their latest offers, new products & more. 

And please spread the word that Crafty Business Fridays is the place to be if you own a crafty business or love to buy crafty things!

<br /> <a href="http://www.sewcando.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img height="175" img="" size="" src="https://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/cerise422/Crafty%20Business%20Fridays%20Button%20Logo_zpsviipygpz.png" width="175"/></a><br />

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Crafting With Cabochons: Project Ideas & Tips

Crafting doesn't always have to be complicated or time consuming.  That's why I find crafting with cabochons so fun. I feel like this versatile craft supply isn't well known outside of DIY jewelry though, so I thought I'd share some ways to use them to inspire other crafters to try something new. 

What are Cabochons? They are glass domed flat backs that  have a smooth beveled surface (think flattened marbles).  They come in lots of shapes and sizes, but the most versatile is the round 25mm (1 inch).  

There's almost every design style imaginable too.  

I carry a number of inspirational & faith design cabochons in my store, Heavenly Fabric Shop, so since I'm blessed to have a good built-in cabochon stash, I used a few of mine to showcase some project ideas:)  

How to use cabochons: They can be glued to almost anything thanks to the flat back side.  I prefer to use E6000 glue with them since it's the strongest and dries clear and it'll hold like crazy.

What can you make with cabochons?

I did some DIY Inspirational Bookmarks using a few a while back.

I made fabric bookmarks and embellished them with HTV.  then I glued the cabs directly onto the glitter heat transfer vinyl I used & they've held up great:

Jewelry: Using a setting is ideal if you want to do something wearable like jewelry.  This is the most popular use for them.  You'll need to get bezel settings for that, which found in the jewelry supply section at most craft stores.  Getting the right diameter is key though (it's gotta fit inside the framed edge!).  

I used a basic thin edge silver one with a top loop to make this necklace.  I added a glass bead & silver leaf charm using a couple of jump rings and had an instantly pretty pendant:

You can also use simple stud posts to do earrings with the smaller cabochon sizes:

Keychains: Pair a thicker bezel setting with a key ring for a sweet keychain.

Another setting option is to use a decorative metal medallion.  These are lightweight, but add some extra flair to the center design.  Just glue the cab to the medallion and then glue that to whatever you want to decorate.  I carry this particular style in my shop in silver & antique bronze to fit my selection of 25mm rounds, but there many sizes, metal finishes and medallion designs out there to suit whatever cabochons you're using.

Magnets: Glue a magnet directly on the back of the cab (or after you've added a medallion) to make some handy magnets.  I did these for Easter at our house this year:

Decorations: You can use other items to layer and add extra detail too.  I combined a St. Patrick cabochon with a silver cab medallion and a pre-cut wooden shamrock to make a fun dimensional St. Patrick's Day decoration:

Candles: I used a cabochon & medallion with grosgrain ribbon to wrap a candle for instant decorative swag:

Hair Accessories: Add some smaller sizes to bobby pins or barrettes or use them as hair bow centers:

Religious or special occasion items: Since the designs I carry in my shop are faith-based, there's also the option to use them for things like rosaries.  I made an Our Lady of Guadalupe themed rosary with a cabochon and some matching design beads.  

Use other themed designs to make wedding, anniversary, birthday or baptism favors or gifts.  Dress up picture frames, artwork, keepsakes...the possibilities are endless.  So get some cabs, some glue & things to add them to and start some relaxing & rewarding cabochon crafting!    

 What would you make with cabochons??

Craftastic Monday Link Party + New Feature Opportunity for You!

Hey there crafters! It's time to link all your latest & greatest projects, tutorials and crafts to a new link party.  There's also a new opportunity for those of you with a crafty shop or handmade business!


At last week's 4th edition of Crafty Business Fridays, (my new extra link party just for handmade & craft-related shops), I announced a new way to get featured.

Each week I'll pick one crafty/handmade business linked at the Crafty Business Friday party to share here as the featured Crafty Business of the Week.  This week's featured business is:



eSheep Designs is a Spoonflower based shop offers unique fabric, wallpaper and designs.

  
Through today all fabric fat quarters are 50% off too!

If you want your shop or business to get a chance to be featured, come link up to the next Crafty Business Friday!  It's open Fri-Sun every week so you have the whole weekend to join in!

  
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Now for the Craftastic Picks features...

It All Started With Paint shared how to do these easy distressed terra cotta pots:





Handmade In Israel made this incredible hand cut personalized birthday card:

The Little Yellow Corner Store did this summery beach front porch set-up and even shared some fun themed recipes to go with it:

Hobby e Creativita showed how to make this fantastic driftwood sailboat:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

~~ Due to Pinterest inappropriately censoring pins and banning accounts, 
Sew Can Do no longer uses or supports Pinterest ~~  

I WILL feature these projects on both Facebook

& Twitter for your creations to have MORE exposure!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Share YOUR Shop @ The Crafty Business Fridays Link Party!

It's time for the Crafty Business Fridays Link Party!

Any small business that is handmade or sells craft-related supplies (fabric, ribbon, beads, jewelry findings, notions, patterns, digital designs, etc.) is welcome to come link up.  The party is open from 12am EST Fri-12am EST Mon.

Share your shop's main page, a new product, a giveaway, or a special offer.  

ALL are welcome.  

Individual online shops, those on Etsy, Facebook, ArtFire or any other selling platform can share.  The photo link party is here on the blog every Friday as well as a post on the 
Sew Can Do Facebook page where you can link up in the comments there as well.  If it grows enough, I'll also expand it to Instagram.

I also aim to help create ways to collaborate, cross-promote and share thoughts, so check out other shop links, give them some likes, comments and most importantly, shop them too!

Another great reason to link up is some FREE advertising!  Starting this Monday, I will select one shop each week to feature as the Crafty Business of the Week at my well viewed Craftastic Monday Link Party.  Your logo & a link to your shop will be shared there to give your business some extra exposure.        

PROMO COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITY!

I'm considering putting together a Crafty Business Bundle Giveaway for Fall.  A handful of businesses each offer an item or gift certificate from their shops as part of a grand prize bundle.  Everyone will have giveaway entry options for their shops to gain followers and will promote said giveaway on their blogs/shops/social media.  If you're interested in participating, send me a message at info@sewcando.com.

And if you don't have a business, use this handy party as a way to find out about the many hidden gem small shops out there and find out about their latest offers, new products & more. 

And please spread the word that Crafty Business Fridays is the place to be if you own a crafty business or love to buy crafty things!

<br /> <a href="http://www.sewcando.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img height="175" img="" size="" src="https://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac133/cerise422/Crafty%20Business%20Fridays%20Button%20Logo_zpsviipygpz.png" width="175"/></a><br />

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter