Crafty Rx for a Bad Mood

Ever just have a day when you feel useless at everything?  Yesterday was one of those for me....  Work going nowhere, tired of my messy & undecorated apartment, unable to work out because of an old foot injury, and just feeling alone.

So a little venting:  Why don't I have some actual hobbies or exciting events in my life?  I feel like I don't even have clear interests anymore (I'll blame law school).  Once, I knew where I wanted to go in life and had definite interests that I pursued.  But now I just feel kind of lost and incompetent.

Luckily, though, there's one thing guaranteed to pick me up from any blue mood:  using scissors!  Yup, just spend 15 minutes cutting out pretty pictures from magazines, and (if you're like me) you won't be able to help feeling a little better.  Sure, maybe nothing's actually improved, but a quick round of snipping gives me hope that things will be better soon.

DIY Zen Garden

Curbly user DIY Maven shares a video tutorial on how to make a low-cost (under $10) zen garden.  You too can make one that's soothing on your budget.  (via Craftzine)

Love Letter Box

Folding Trees comes through once again with this beautiful picture from Craftster user nicolatte (you can also see more views here). 

You can also learn how to make your own box.  So romantic!

DIY Recycled Disco Ball

Um, this is so happening.  Yes, I'm really gonna have to do put this idea to the test:

That's right: you can make your very own disco ball out of old cds.  With glue (or better yet, a glue gun), a styrofoam ball, and some spare time, you can add some sparkle to your life.  Here are a couple different tutorials: this one from wikihow, and this one from National Geographic Kids.

Cute Embroidered Notecards

Craftzine recently posted about these adorable notecards from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Bird and Banner. Much of Bird & Banner's stock includes the sweet phrase, "When you see this, think of me," but I am a big fan of these new cards with pre-punched holes and embroidery floss.

They say it takes under 10 minutes to make a card, and I'm sure your loved ones would like a nice reminder that you care! At $18 (plus shipping) for a pack of 5 notecards, these might not be the cheapest craft ever, but I think that it wouldn't be too hard to try making some simple embroidered cards of your own.

I'm Loving...Barbara Fleck's Plastic Bag Art

Okay, guys, you are welcome in advance for sharing with you these amazing mandalas from artist Barbara Fleck, which I found via craftzine.  You will love me for this.  And I love these so much I'm ready to make one myself.

It's just so cool how she uses familiar logos to remind us of the prevalence of consumerism while she reuses everyday objects to make art. 

  

How To...Make a Shirt out of a Muumuu

Time for a trip to the thrift store.  You can find out how to transform a muumuu into a cute drape-neck top on San Francisco's Stitch Lounge urban sewing blog.  It turns out that you can actually make a few shirts out of the average muumuu, but you can also just use the free pattern on the site with one yard of any knit fabric (just use a sleeveless shirt for a template and then follow the instructions for cutting out the draped front).  Who knew a muumuu could be this cute?  (via ReadyMade Blog)