for some odd reason I've been saving my empty spools. DH keeps trying to throw them away as trash! Can you believe it? I mean, shesh I paid good money for that thread and the spool it came on. I should be able to do something with it, right?

Well, anyway. My quiting group is doing a fund raising sale and we're to make what ever we think will sale.

A design company donated their old upholstery samples so many of us are making tote bags of various sizes.

I've also been saving my crystal light cannisters. I was thinking of covering them with pretty upholstery fabric and cutting a slot in the lid to make pretty little banks.

Ok, back to the thread spools...the only thing I can think of is the dolls, but all my spools are the same size so I'm not sure that would work.

What do you do crafty with your empty thread spools?

I've seen the spool dolls done with all the same size spools, using a round wooden head, yarn hair, fabric clothes and some with fairy or angel wings.

You could still make the dolls.
The spools would be the arms and legs. Just use something else for the body and head. Stuff it. Make a pin cushion out of it. Make her into the quilt police. Make her heavy and holding a bag for thread scraps. Recycled and functional. Let us know what you decide.

Like maybe make a fabric rectangle for the body and just attach the spools for the arms and legs, might work to do the head as a spool too, just make a smaller body...I have plenty of yarn for hair.

Any other suggestions? I've seen them as christmas tree decorations but I'm not sure if they look nice enough to sell. You know, not like your kid made it for you in sunday school class-while that is precious when your darling angel makes it for you, not quite so nice when it's for sale.

I have one that can hang on a Christmas tree that is a spool and a ball for the head and buttons stacked and strung for arms and legs and then hair on it.

There is a web site that has crafts for kids that had quite a few ideas using the spool. I can't remeber the name but i am sure if you do a search there will be some great ideas.....let us know what you come up with!

Now that I have all these ideas. I can't find the bag. I don't know if I put it up so dh wouldn't throw it away as trash or if he got to it already....Oh well, I'll have more soon.