Bird Pin Cushion

I made a little bird pin cushion for my mom to go with this new bird sewing box I found for her at Joann's. The bird is weighted with a magnet. Now that I'm able to go home more frequently, I've been slowly upgrading my my mom and sister's sewing supplies so I am more likely to have what I need on hand when projects come up while I'm visiting. The box my mom uses for sewing supplies had a lid that doubled as a pin cushion, but the lid was no longer attached.

Hopper Magnets

I finally bought a 1" hole punch; mostly so I could make these magnets, but it will come in handy for making other items as well. They are epoxy stickers covering Edward Hopper paintings. Edward Hopper is my favorite painter and for years I had calendars of his artwork. Most people will know him for Nighthawks, but these are some of my favorite images.

Clockwise from upper left: Chop Suey, New York Restaurant, Table for Ladies, Compartment C Car

Thread Catcher

I decided I needed a thread catcher for my new sewing table. I like the thread cutter on my new machine, but it results in longer threads to snip off my projects.

I am taking advantage of my new metal table by attaching items with magnets:

The thread catcher is the perfect complement to my new thread holder:

I've also accessorized the table with these little spice containers:

Recycled Spools

I had 2 old empty spools that I wanted to save simply because they were old, but what to do with them to make them useful? They were just sitting in a box of random parts. Enter my new rotary tool obsession! I cut off one end of each spool, since there was one end of each that was in better shape than the other.

The pin.

This was definitely the most challenging of my rotary tool cutting, since I had to cut through the outer layer, six spokes, and the inner layer. I filled the holes that were created with hot glue to protect the label from getting a hole poked through it. I coated the labels with a layer of Mod Podge for additional protection.

The back of the pin.

The magnet.

They are about 1" in diameter.

Money Magnets

Now if they would only actually attract money! I have a couple handfuls of foreign coins from countries I have never visited. They have been sitting in my jewelry box, and now they are spread out on my dresser as I brainstorm and solicit ideas for what to do with them. My sister suggested magnets, which is a great idea since I love magnets and some of the coins are already magnetic. However, I already have far too many magnets so I still have a lot of coins to repurpose.