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Reader Showcase: A Look Back at Summer 2014

First, I’m just bursting at the seams to share a piece of exciting news with you all:

Wednesday was a big day for me because…I finished the first draft of my eBook!  {Squeal.}

There are still many miles to go before I sleep and heaps of behind the scenes work that needs to happen in order to hit a November launch date, but I feel I have summited the highest mountain in the journey.  And I couldn’t have done it without all of the support and cheers that y’all have sent my way.  Thank you, friends.

Mountain Peak
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{Update: The eBook is here!  Come on over to my sales page to check out sample chapters, reader reviews, and explore the different packages for Thinking Outside the Gift Box: 21 Money-Saving & Meaningful Gift Ideas.}

But enough about me!  Let’s talk about you now.  This is the Reader Showcase, after all!

Yes you!
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Once a quarter, I like to interrupt our regular scheduled Thinking Closet programming, to point the spotlight on my amazingly talented readers.  You all never fail to inspire me with your innovative takes on some of the projects I have shared here on the blog…and rather than keep that inspiration to myself, I like to showcase it for all the virtual world to see.

So, it’s your turn to take center stage, dear readers!

Center Stage
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Summer 2014 Reader Showcase

Summer 2014 Reader Showcase at thinkingcloset.com where we turn the spotlight onto the readers and check out the inspirational creations they've been working on.  They knock the ball out of the park, every time!

Note: If you’d like to pin some of these projects, please click through to the blogs from whence they came to honor the original source (if there’s a post on it). Also, I’ll link to the original tutorials in case others would like to give some of these a try, too. Now, let the good times roll!

Crafting

The Menu Planner to Rule Them All played a spark of inspiration in Ludavia’s rendition…which includes the perfect “Happiness is Homemade” sentiment.

Magnetic Menu Board by Nifty Betty, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Magnetic Menu Board by Nifty Betty

Katie’s version of the menu planner incorporated a magnetic board that she can still write on…so practical!

Menu Planner by Katie Mae Quilts, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Menu Planner by Katie Mae Quilts

The only thing as intimidating as planning your own wedding is perhaps creating your own wedding scrapbook!  But Dagan didn’t let intimidation stop her.  She was able to take a few pointers from the Non-Scrapbooker’s Guide to Creating a Wedding Scrapbook…and came up with a beautiful masterpiece that she and her husband will treasure for years to come.

Wedding Scrapbook by Segal Adventures, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Wedding Scrapbook by Segal Adventures

DIY-ing

This one really impressed me…because a furniture makeover is no joke.  Let alone one in which you paint not only the outside but the inside of every single desk drawer like we did for our Roll-Top Desk Makeover.  Well, Betsy and her husband did a desk makeover of their own with fun peekaboo drawers!  (I loved the pics of their paint fight.)

Desk Makeover by Happily Ever After etc., Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Desk Makeover by Happily Ever After etc.

Scarf-ing

The 15 Minute T-Shirt Yarn Infinity Scarf Video Tutorial I shared during Shark Scarf Week this August proved to be a reader favorite.  I was so inspired to see how many transformed your old t-shirts into beautiful scarves.

Here’s Meg’s duo-tone version (love the braid):

Meg from Nutmeg Creative Cafe created a T-Shirt Yarn Infinity Scarf!  Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Duo-Tone Infinity Scarf by Meg from Nutmeg Creative Cafe

Vidya’s sweet daughter looks pretty-in-pink in hers!

T-Shirt Yarn Scarf by What's Ur Home Story? Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
T-Shirt Yarn Scarf by What’s Ur Home Story?

It’s the perfect project if you have an old painting shirt that you want to give a new lease on life!  That’s exactly what my buddy Amanda did with hers.

T-Shirt Upcycle into Infinity Scarf by Amanda, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
T-Shirt Upcycle into Infinity Scarf by Amanda

And get this: remember my crazy crockpot method for dyeing my Tie-Dye T-Shirt Infinity Scarf?  Well, Emily put the method to the test with her thrifted macrame plant hanger, and I’m deeeelighted to show off the teal-tastic results!

Teal Macrame Plant Hanger by Two Purple Couches, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Teal Macrame Plant Hanger by Two Purple Couches

Silhouette-ing

Dawn really thought outside the star with this one – – she nabbed the FREE cut file of the Nautical Star from my burlap banner project and incorporated it into a Star-and-Shark Flag for her lil guy.  Now, what kid (or adult for that matter) wouldn’t want to rock this shirt?

Star & Shark Flag T-Shirt by Mama Sonshine, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase
Star & Shark Flag T-Shirt by Mama Sonshine

Here’s another FREE cut file that was improved upon.  Elizabeth had the smarts to use the pineapple shape I doctored up for my Stamped Wrapping Paper Tutorial as the centerpiece of some “New Home” cards she made.  So perfect, considering pineapples are symbols of hospitality!

Pineapple "New Home" Card by Elizabeth Peterson, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase
Pineapple “New Home” Card by Elizabeth Peterson

My Ohio buddy Audra took the FREE cut file from my Love Banner and added in little houses…perfect decor for a house-warming party.  Congrats on the new digs, girl!

Housewarming Banner by Joyosphere, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Housewarming Banner by Joyosphere

Christine was able to use the FREE cut file I shared in my first Gender Neutral Onesies post to whip up this adorable-ness for her little girl.  She is about as cute as they come!

Elephant Onesie by Christine Bergeron, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase
Elephant Onesie by Christine Bergeron

And here’s more onesie fabulousness, this time, some freezer paper stenciling inspired by some of my past tutorials {like this one and this one} by the talented Nicole Fink.  Her new nephew is going to be oh so stylish!

Freezer Paper Onesies by Nicole Fink, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Freezer Paper Onesies by Nicole Fink

So one of my favorite Silhouette projects to date has been the DIY Subway Art Canvas I made for my friend Gianna.  Well, Christine’s variation on that concept turned out so marvelously.  She incorporated “Newborn Stats” as well as a footprint of her son into the canvas.  How cool is that?!

Newborn Stats Canvas by Where the Smiles Have Been, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase
Newborn Stats Canvas by Where the Smiles Have Been

Sewing

I always smile to see readers’ fun fabric choices on their own version of the Beginner Sewist Burp Cloths.  Isn’t the chevron and patchwork fabric combo that Sarah chose fantastic?

Burp Cloths by Sarah Herrera, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Burp Cloths by Sarah Herrera

Sandy went above and beyond with her burp cloths, adding appliques to embellish them.  So creative!

Burp Cloths by Blissful Living, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Applique Burp Cloths by Blissful Living

Blogging

The How to Revamp Your “About” Page post lives on…and I always enjoy checking out new-and-improved “about” pages that hit the blog-o-sphere.  Nicola’s hit with great force!

Nicola's New About Page from Nicola Tweed, Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
Nicola’s New About Page by Nicola Tweed

And I got to give one of my MOO Business Cards to Michael E., which later motivated him to get some MOO biz cards of his own!  I love the print-finity option and how you can have multiple backs to your biz cards – – perfect for someone with a photography business like Michael!

New MOO Business Cards for Michael E., Featured in The Thinking Closet's Summer 2014 Reader Showcase.
New MOO Business Cards for Michael E.

If You’ve Been Showcased….

…feel free to grab a “featured” button!

Featured Button for The Thinking Closet Reader Showcase
Right click to copy the url or “save as.”

Archived Reader Awesomeness

This marks the sixth quarterly Reader Showcase…and believe me, each and every one has been a bevy of inspiration.  So, if you want to explore more, click the images below to do some time-traveling!  Prepare to be amazed.

Reader Showcase: Spring 2013 | The Thinking Closet
Reader Showcase: Summer 2013
Reader Showcase: Fall 2013 | The Thinking Closet
The Thinking Closet Reader Showcase: Winter 2014
Spring 2014 Reader Showcase at The Thinking Closet.

I Want to Feature YOU!

At the end of each season, I’ll be posting more of your projects inspired by The Thinking Closet here for the world to see. If you’ve ever created something in the past that was inspired by something you saw on this blog or if you do so in the future, I’d love it if you’d send me a photo or two of your creation to thethinkingcloset {at} gmail.com. And if you have a blog or are on social media, I’ll be sure to link to it!  Promoting my beloved readers is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world; and I ain’t lyin’.

Have a fantastic weekend, friends!

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11 Comments

  1. Wow! That was an impressive showcase. I had to wander over to many of those blogs and check them out and even pin some of their photos. It’s so exciting to see how your creative DIY post or blogging advice can spark creativity and change in others, and they in turn, influence you (e.g. the appliques on the burp cloths). A very engaged community you have!

  2. Thank your for showcasing my dyed macrame plant hanger!! And thank you for pioneering a new way to use dye! It’s a process that’s always intimidated me a bit, but this method… soooooo easy! And YAY!!! for your e-book progress! I can’t wait to read it 😉

    1. Of course, Emily! I just love how it really transformed that thrift store find. And I am just so honored you tried my out-of-the-box technique and can vouch for its ease of use. I’ll point folk to you next time I get strange looks about it, lol. Also, thanks for all the eBook support! You are a rockstar of a friend!

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