Friday, February 26, 2021

Vintage Collectibles Repurpose Refresh Upcycle Handmade DIY Crafting

 


Welcome to LilacsNDreams! I’m a little excited, and motivated right now. So, that is the reason for another posting here this week. 

At the top of this page under my banner you will see other tabs that you can click, and it takes you to another page that is associated with this main page of my blog. One of those pages I have hung onto is something I am slowly working on. Trying to anyway. It is a page I wish to use for the items I will be offering for sale. I am in the process of changing from using LilacsNDreams Shoppe to LilacsNDreams Shop. Shortening it a little bit, and a little more memorable too. 

Things are so crazy with EBay, their payment system there, how they do things, the rules they have, and for me it just isn’t fun selling there anymore like it use to be in it’s earlier days. 

I like Etsy, but they have been doing some changes themselves, and I do not like these more recent changes. For one thing the fees are terrible!! Not only do you pay the percent with them, but they charge you a percent if the sale you got resolved from an advertisement. When you put the numbers together you end up paying around like 12% - 15% roughly. For some items sold there you hardly make any kind of profit. I was fortunate since my sales were not much there I was able to opt out of the offsite ads, but some were not able to. They have no choice if they want to sell there, they pay the fees like that. Even more upsetting is in the spring Google went from paid selling, to a free selling. If you do things correctly you have chances of being placed within Google Searches yourself. Something Etsy talks about, and is included with fees. So, why charge sellers for Google when they have made the changes. Etsy fees stayed the same with No changes. Sad. 

So, this is where my LilacsNDreams Shop page is being worked on to use more for me selling things I have to offer. I intend to do some selling with Facebook Marketplace as well since I will be offering shipping with things there too. Doing things this way, using these places for selling I should be able to offer just a little bit better price on items since I won’t have all the fees to consider when doing those wonderful numbers. 

I will still use USPS for shipping, but getting the little bit cheaper shipping price using Pirate Ship. Invoices/Payments will be done using PayPal. I have used them for years with no issues. Trying to do everything as cost efficient as possible. If I would ever do enough sales to justify I am an online seller than I could move onto having my own website, use shopping carts there, and have it feel more like an online shop. Till then I am doing the best that I can.

So, that’s the news I wanted to share with everyone. Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend too. Take care, and be safe everyone! Toodles . . . . .






Monday, February 22, 2021

Mini Wooden Crates Handmade Restyled Repurposed DIY Crafting

 




Mini Wooden Crates Handmade Restyled Repurposed DIY Crafting with LilacsNDreams! Welcome to all who are visiting.

Today I am going to share with you an item that is used for crafting, and give you a few ideas that have been shared too. All of the pictures below came from one of the Facebook Groups that I follow, Dollar Tree Farmhouse DIY. So much fun, others helping others, and sooo many crafty ideas are shared there too. Many crafters you will find get a lot of their supplies from the Dollar Tree stores, and Dollar General stores along with other places too. With these 2 stores you get new products you can create with. Painting, Mod Podge, glue, calendars, placemats, wired garbage cans, pizza pans, sheet pans, and the list goes on. 

So, one of the members of the facebook group asked for some ideas that have been done with the wooden mini crates that are sold at the Dollar Tree store. What you see below the picture of the crates is just a few things of what everyone was sharing. 


Crates shown are what is being used for the craft ideas people were sharing


The mini crates here were painted, chalkboard tags added to the front, some wooden balls making mini pulls, and these mini crates were placed inside the bigger crates which have been painted, and stacked too.


This project was created with the mini crate which was added to 1 of the handled cutting boards. You can see what was painted, paper/cloth added, wording, ribbon, etc. How cute for a counter top, or on the table too.


This is cute too! Looks like the crate was stained, had some stained feet added to the bottom, white wording was added on the side, and some cute embellishments were added in the top of the open crate.


This is another crate stand that had been made by putting the smaller ones into the bigger stacked crate boxes. Chalkboard tags added to the front, and this piece shows how they can be used for pull out storage drawers probably in the bathroom.


Another popular craft to make with this mini crate is the appearance of stacked books with wording, some saying, names, dates, etc painted on the side. This one was decorated with some twine wrapping the books together.


Both of these pictures show the front, and side of this stand. You can use popular arrow signs for the sides with the wooden crates/boxes, or you could even use some paint stir sticks put together. A rope twine had been wrapped on the sides adding a little more character to this stand. The mini crate boxes could set within the trays used on this stand. 


There are so many things that can be used to craft with, and create with at your dollar stores, things found from thrift stores, and so on. The possibilities are endless. The next time you see something you like, you want it, but don’t want to pay the price on it. Keep in mind that maybe you can still have it by making it, and spending a lot less than what you see in the store. Plus, you can alter a little by putting your color on it, some little touch you want to change, something you might want to add, and etc. 

Hope you enjoyed this, and maybe are able to get some ideas of things you can do too. If you’re not the crafty type, but know someone who is, maybe they can help you out with your idea. Don’t forget to check online too. There are a lot of crafters out there who would be happy to help you because they love what they do.

Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Hope to see you again. Till the next time take care, and be safe. Toodles . . . . . . 









Monday, February 15, 2021

Wooden Spindles Repurposed DIY Upcycled Craft Ideas



Wooden Spindles Repurposed DIY Upcycled Craft Ideas with LilacsNDreams. Welcome, and glad to have you stopping by today!




I myself have not done much crafting with wooden spindle pieces. I so adore the different things you can do with them! You can find scrap piles of the wooden spindles being offered from some of your favorite thrifting shops, or maybe inquire with some too. If you google it you can maybe find some offered by homes being brought down, and another place to check is with your Habitat For Humanity stores too. You might have some within your possession now with maybe an old chair that is falling apart, some old table legs, some from an old fence, finials from some old beds, another place is from balusters, and so on. 

Let your creative minds find many ways to craft different things with them. You can make different candle holders with them, make some different tiered stands that are popular, make side tables with them, ladders,  dragon flies can be made using ceiling fan blades attached, angels with different items for wings, and just so many endless possibilities it’s exciting. I have a few candle holders myself that were made from these. I have 2 heavy white ones that came from a baluster, and 1 is part of a table leg. I’ve had other simpler ones made that are lighter and painted a slipper pink, and french blue too. 


Wooden spindles are great to use for either small, or bigger pieces for different holidays of the year. Some can be made for different seasons, and you will find some made for outside uses with the porch, and gardens.



Here is an angel that I mentioned earlier. So many ways to make these, and have fun too! No rules, but made the way that suits you with your decor, style, and likes.


This is one of many dragon flies you will see made. This particular one was made using some old ceiling fan blades. I have seen some made using different wires to form the wings too. Again, endless possibilities which is so much fun!

The joys of crafting with all the possibilities is so fun. Even thoughts, and thinking about it you easily get caught up with the flowing creative juices. 

The pictures above were all found on the internet by googling wooden spindles images, and another great source for ideas is with Pinterest too. A couple of crafty places to see is with mixedkreations.com , and also with myrepurposedlife.com too. Couple of pictures came from them sharing their creative ideas. 

I hope the ideas shared here will help you with your own creations, and help you with some ideas to consider too. It’s always a pleasure having you visit LilacsNDreams. Hope to see you again soon. 

Take care everyone, and be safe with all you do. Till the next time. Toodles . . . .







 

Monday, February 8, 2021

Valentines Day DIY Handmade Homemade Gifts Ideas




Valentines Day DIY Handmade Homemade Gifts Ideas at LilacsNDreams. Welcome Everyone!

Valentines Day will soon be here. Maybe you have some last minute shopping, or creating you need to do.  You could deal with store bought gifts for your valentines interests, their passions, deepest desires, and so on. Instead of doing that you could consider giving a DIY valentines gift. Give a heartfelt handmade homemade gift which would make it something special for anyone who fills your life with joy, love, and heart. If it’s your spouse, your child, a coworker, teacher, etc. Crafting a gift is something special you can offer too. 

If you are not crafty you can still whip up something without to much time, money, or effort too. For crafting you would not have to get out the paint, glue, or other craft supplies to put things together. Assemble a customized care package with products that will be loved, and will be used. But, if crafting is your creative way for you to tap into that love language, then by all means go all out with your gift ideas.


You could make a box with some makings of like a self care package. In a box, or basket you could put like a mini bottle of bath salts, a candle, small bottle of bubbly, chocolate, and so on.


You could make some I Dig You treat bags. Use some small plastic shovels, use some gummy bears, chocolate coins, put some chocolate candy pieces at bottom for the dirt, etc. Use sandwich bags, write a valentine message on a heart shaped tag which you can then attach with some twine.



Make some cute Coffee Mug Mixers. You could add some loved sweetness to their morning coffee with some made mix-ins. Use silver, or plastic spoons for this. Pour some melted chocolate into them. Sprinkle, or top it with some mini chocolate chips, some nuts, some shaved or crunched peppermints, and any other flavored garnishments you know of. 



Do some lovely, and fun Printable Wine Labels. You don’t need to show up empty handed. You can have fun sticking a custom label with sweet sentiments to any wine bottle. 


Do the Baked With Love Gift Basket. Ok, you can lean on your shopping talents with Amazon, or wherever you choose. Maybe whip up some budget friendly gift baskets. You could complete this with some mixing bowls, measuring spoons, baking embellishments, and so on.

Don’t worry about Valentine’s Day quotes, valentine sweet and funny Valentine’s Day cards to make, lyrics, and things like that. Most popular thing to use for help is to Google it. You don’t have to use word for word for your gifts, but it will surely help you think of something, or give you some ideas.

Well everyone I hope this helped you in some ways to get ideas for what you would like to do Valentines Day with that special someone. Have fun with it!

Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams everyone! Great of you to stop by, and hope to see you again. Till the next time take care, and be safe with all you do. Toodles . . . .





HAPPY VALENTINES DAY  ❤️  ❤️  ❤️










Monday, February 1, 2021

Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking


Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking with LilacsNDreams. Hello, and Welcome to all who are visiting!

I don’t quite have my valentine piece done to share the completed vision with you. I picked up a few more things to try with it. Sorry about that. So, I grabbed another topic to discuss with everyone. I know I’ve covered some of the Blogging, and Social Media Networking before, but I wanted to share a little more with it today. 
Blogging, and Social Media Networking had grown fast over time. Today it is still very much used with online sales, marketing, brick and mortar stores use different forms, and so on. So, a question is Why Blog? There are different reasons I will point out to you. 

1) Social Media Networking is one reason for it. Blogging is another form of Social Media like Pinterest
FacebookInstagram, and so on.

2) Another reason to Blog is it gets you published. How you ask? By working with things in regards to like your SEO, your keywords used, topics used which helps you get noticed in search engine rankings.

3) Another reason to Blog is for you to get your message out there that you want shared with others. There is no right, or wrong words and pictures to put out there. It’s up to you what you wish to share, what you want others to see, and what the message is that you would like others to relate with. 

4). Blogging is another way to share some tips, ideas, tutorials, questions, answers, and just sharing. 

5)  This has become a great way for teachers, and students to share work, class notes, pictures, etc. Kind of like a newsletter for some companies, and places too. 

Blogging is not just for one form of profession, but for many forms and ways of things that people do. Online Sellers, Brick and Mortar Store owners, Big Companies, Small Companies, Journalists, Photographers, Publishers, Writers, etc. Many people have turned to forms of Blogging as the Social Media Networking area grew.

Choosing the right platform is a task that you yourself will have to look at, and determine the fit for you. Couple of popular ones are with Blogger.com, and Wordpress.com. Some platforms will be for free, and some will offer paid versions too. Some people have websites that they include a blog with it, and I’ve seen some use their domain, or one of their domains, for a blog too. Choose the platform that works for you, that you are comfortable using, and depending on what you want to do for your blog too. 

As you can see I use Blogger, and I have used them for years. I have wordpress too. But, I don’t spend much time with it. I am use to blogger, I’ve accustomed to the ease of use of things around here, its been easier for me to learn to do things without changes done all the time. I have noticed I can be seen in search with wordpress, and if I work things like I should my blog shows in search engines too.

I wish everyone well, have fun in all you do, enjoy, and please be safe. Thank You for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Take care, and see you soon. Toodles . . . . . .