Colors Not Yet Invented

Hurry up, Summer....

2011-04-04T17:47:00.005-04:00

Well, it's no surprise that it's been FOREVER since I blogged... Geez. I should be ashamed. I guess between a full time job, boyfriend, and (collectively) 5 kids I have stayed pretty busy. It's been lots of fun, though. I just haven't crafted much. Last weekend, however, the bf and I got crackin' on a super fun spring/summer project. Of course, it was 30 degrees out. Go figure... Will winter ever end? Really. Anyway, we used plans you can find at http://www.ana-white.com/ (go Ana!! She used to do the knock off wood blog and now has that page) to start making the outdoor sectional. So far we made one section. :) Here are the fabulous photos I took.

The handsome bf cutting: (I bet my dad is glad to have someone do my wood cutting besides him!)

All cut and ready to go....

Finished product:

Now I just need to figure out fabric for the cushions. Well, and we need to make like 6 more sections. :)

We also got another member of the family: Little Rico. His is part Maltese and part Yorkie (Morkie). Cute as all get out. Weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs!

Well, I think that's all I have for now. I'm sure I'll be back. In like July of course. ;)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Lined Car Trash Bag Tutorial

2011-01-16T09:08:00.006-05:00

Since I'm completely in love with the iron on vinyl I got at Joann's, I decided that I needed to make some more stuff with it. I've seen similar bags before, but I wanted it lined so it made fore easier clean up. Here is a tutorial for anyone who wants to make one too!
You will need fabric, iron on vinyl (optional), boning, and velcro. I cut the fabric as follows:

(2) 11.5 in x 14 in (one piece lining and one piece main fabric)
(2) 13.5 in x 14 in (one piece lining and one piece main fabric)
(2) strips 2.5 in x 14 in for straps- the length they are will depend on your car- I measured my specific seat before I picked a length for the straps.

Then cut the vinyl the same size as the lining pieces and iron it on. (I wish the blocks on the back of the vinyl were 1" squares... that would make things less complicated)
Then find the middle of the larger pieces of fabric and mark 2 lines to each side of it- one inch over and 2 inches over each direction. This will help you make an even pleat.
Fold the fabric so that the lines meet (you will be essentially removing 2 inches of fabric by doing this, which will make the front and back line up)

Pin the pleat in place
Pin the front to the back with the pleat at the bottom. It is easiest to do this by pining both sides and then the bottom. Remember the top will be larger to help with the opening. Do this to the lining and main fabric. Sew the sides and bottom of the lining and main fabric. Leave a 3 or 4 in opening down the side of the lining fabric to turn inside out later. Set aside.
Now fold the strips of fabric right sides together and sew down the edge, turn inside out (which I really don't like doing) and iron flat.

I forgot a picture, but turn one end of each strip in and finish the edge.
Now place the main fabric inside the lining so that right sides are together and pin the top. I start at the seams so that they line up and then pin around the rest.
Now place the straps in between the 2 pieces, equal distances from the seam and pin. Sew around the top and turn right side out. Then topstitch the edge around the top. You can see it in the next picture, but I start getting lazy at the end of a project and don't do great taking step by step photos... sorry.
Now there are several steps missing, but I sewed about 1/2 in down each side from the top down the seam in order to make the sides for a little pocket for the boning which will hold the bag open. I should have taken a picture because it's hard to explain. I then cut the boning the same size as the front of the bag and placed it inside the opening in the lining. Pin it to the top of the bag and sew a stitch under it to hold it in place. You can now sew the lining closed also. That brings us to this picture:

Now sew velcro to the ends of the straps and hang in your car! Voila! Hopefully it will help my car stay a little tidier. No guarantees, though...

The lining got a little wrinkled but it should be a breeze to wipe clean if it would get dirty.

Happy sewing!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Grocery Bag

2011-01-11T20:07:00.002-05:00

When I said something to my brother about making his girlfriend something he mentioned that she would like a resuable tote for the grocery store. So I finally got around to making one today. It is actually patterned from a regular grocery bag. You can get step by step instructions here.
The lining:

It has a little pocket on the front that it folds itself up into. It's tough to fold into that pocket, though. I'm not sure I'd use that very much.

Fits perfectly into the purse:

Now I just have to get it shipped off to Oregon... I hope she likes it!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Where does the time go?

2011-01-10T21:24:00.005-05:00

So once again, I have disappeared for a while. I haven't been doing as much crafting as normal, but I think I was on crafting/quilting overload from the memory quilts. It averaged to like a quilt every week or 10 days or something. I guess I needed downtime. (Okay that and, as Deb likes to point out, I have some other pretty awesome things that are taking some of my attention!!) :)

Anyway, I am posting some things that I made for Christmas and haven't gotten around to yet.

I made these hand sanitizers for my neighbors. I did them for my son's teachers last year and they were quite a hit, so I decided the neighbors would like them this year. I'd tell you if they liked them, but they havent' mentioned it.

I made this little boxy cosmetic bag for my friend Kim. I just mailed it today, though, so she hasn't seen it yet! I lined the fabric inside with iron on vinyl!! So her make up goodies won't mess up the fabric. It was the first time I used it and I love it. So much fun.
Then I filled it with gross candy that she likes. Shhhh... don't tell my son. :)
I gave these coin purses to the girls in my family with a little Walmart gift card inside. They weren't as neat as the etched personalized glasses I did last year, but they were cute. I found them here
And check this out:
Yup- that was one of my Christmas gifts from my parents! ONE OF. Yeah, I got more. I got a garage door opener too! (and lots of other stuff) Do you know how awesome that is?!

Anyway, I have sewn a little and I am excited to try the quilting function on here. Should be lots of fun!

Till next time... which is averaging out about a month... ;)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Memory Quilts

2010-12-27T20:58:00.004-05:00

My grandma passed away a year ago this December, so I talked to my aunt about using her sweat shirts to make her children memory quilts. She helped me get them ready and cut into squares and I made 5 quilts for Christmas presents. I am very proud of them, since they are the first real quilts I have ever made (I have done rag time ones, but these are my first that had to actually line up) I even hand sewed the binding on the back of the quilts, so that was another first. Here they are:

I made tags for the back of each quilt:

I used flannel sheets my aunt gave me for the backing of the quilts, so that made it a lot more cost effective

I think they turned out well and everyone seemed to really appreciate them.

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Teacher Gifts

2010-12-22T07:33:00.004-05:00

I finished my son's teachers gifts yesterday and thought I would share. I got the idea somewhere a while back but I don't remember where (sorry). Anyway, I got the glass at Hobby Lobby several months ago and just etched my son's teacher's names and an apple, then added candy and a ribbon. Quick, cheap and easy!!

I also made a glass mug for his play teacher/director.
Teacher gifts:

A little better view of the etching:

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Gift Exchange

2010-12-14T11:11:00.004-05:00

In November I signed up to do a homemade gift exchange and I have been excited to share what I made, but wanted to be sure my exchange partner got the gift before I blabbed about it on here! So, now that I know- here is what I made for my partner!

My favorite is the pin cushion/thread holder. I am dying to have one of these, but just haven't had time! I have huge huge HUGE projects going on for Christmas!

I added velcro so that it was easily emptied without accidentally dumping your pins in the trash.

Then I made pot holders

And a personalized casserole dish. I love these- they make great gifts!!

Here is another view of the dish:

All wrapped up and ready to go! I also added a camera strap at the last minute because I've had it here and figured someone should use it! I made several and haven't done a thing with them!

I had a great time with this. It was super fun making stuff. I think that next year the Christmas in July exchange would be better in terms of scheduling though- I have soooo much going on!

Only 10 days! :) :) :)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

MIA

2010-11-22T16:55:00.003-05:00

Hi, everyone (which is probably no one at this point). My aunt has requested that I update my followers as to why I haven't been blogging! I have been hard at work making Christmas presents, so although I've been crafting (and sewing) away I can't post anything because my family would see their presents before Christmas! So I apologize, and please know that after Christmas I'll have LOTS to post about what I've been up to!

I'll try to post some Thanksgiving stuff, but working full time and doing my *huge* Christmas projects is taking a lot of time. Thanks for checking in!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Fall, Halloween, Costume...

2010-10-21T20:54:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been forever again... work has me so busy that at the end of the day I really don't want to even get online. But I've been meaning to post this stuff. Here are the fall/Halloween decorations around our house. The dining room table:
Above the TV armoire:

These are the ghosts my son and I made last year with tomato cages, sheets, felt and lights:

Our unlit ghosts:

I made these pumpkins last year too. They are glass/mason jars with tissue paper modpodged on them. I found them at the first blog I ever followed, Not So Idle Hands.

Then most of my time has been devoted to my son's Halloween costume. I think it turned out pretty cute! He won a contest we went to Tuesday.

Side view:

And it's even cuter with his adorable little face showing! But I just don't trust some internet crazies! :)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

"BOO!" Your Neighbors!

2010-10-06T19:49:00.002-04:00

My friend Kim in Virginia got the cutest little gift from one of her neighbors! It was a "boo"basket complete with a sign for her door letting everyone know she and her husband had been boo'ed and a little poem explaining the game (you have 2 days to make 2 baskets and print outs and leave them for your neighbors). It's too cute, so my son and I started it in our little town! :) Here are our 2 baskets we made: They have little Halloween signs and candy.

Here are the signs we printed out to send with our baskets:

You can get them (and different ones) at http://organizedchristmas.com Hope you enjoy starting one in your town!!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

PB Growth Chart Instructions

2010-09-22T16:51:00.003-04:00

A couple people expressed interest in a tutorial on how I made my growth chart. It's super easy, and I can't actually do a tutorial since I already finished mine, but here are some instructions.

You'll need a 6 ft piece of 1x10. You can get a precut piece at Lowes. Mine was 9.00. You'll also need a black paint pen. I imagine that a sharpie would probably work, too, but I used a paint pen to be sure.

I found a board that was straight and even, and looked good (actually my parents did, to be honest, cause they picked it up for me). Try to find one that doesn't have a stamp on the side you want to use. It was a pain to get that stamp off. I had to sand it down till it was gone. That took awhile.

Then I just laid it out and took a tape measure and made small marks every inch. After that I used a ruler to make the marks long lines- I put a 4 in line at every 12 inches (a foot) and then at the 1/2 foot marks I used a 3 in line and at the 1/4 foot marks a 2 in line and every other mark (an inch) I used a one inch line. That is confusing but if you look at the picture it will make more sense.

I printed out the numbers 1-6 on the computer using a font that I thought looked most like a ruler (I used a ruler for comparison) then I transferred the numbers with carbon paper. I just used the black paint pen to trace the lines and to color in the numbers and I was done. I plan on covering it with a clear varnish, but that is for another day! :)

Also, just an FYI, start at what you want to be the bottom of your board/ruler when you mark off your inch marks, since most of the 6 ft boards will be a little longer and you want the additional space at the top, so that your measurements are correct (I learned that the hard way...) In other words, I should have been working from left to right as opposed to the other way.

Good luck! I'd love to see anything anyone makes!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

PB Growth Chart Knockoff

2010-09-18T21:04:00.003-04:00

100 years ago (which was also the last time I blogged) I saw this PB Kids growth chart and loved it. Of course, it was 100.00. Seriously. I was not about to pay that because I could clearly *easily* make it. So I added it to my mental list and never got around to it.... Till tonight!
Here, my friends (if there are any of you left out there), is my version:

And in its home in the basement play room... I can't wait to measure my son and add a cute picture! All in all it cost me a whopping 10.00. I think that's a far cry better than the PB price, no?

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Hooray for Pencil Pouches

2010-08-19T20:36:00.004-04:00

I saw these adorable little pouches on someone's page and I can't for the life of me find the bookmark. I know I saved it- I even commented on the post. So if this is your idea I stole, please tell me so I can give you credit. There is a similar one on Skip to My Lou, also. Anyway, I really REALLY wanted a reason to make them because they are so cute(!) so I was excited when I saw that my son needed one for preschool! Then I needed to make one for a little girl who's pants I was hemming (always try to do a little extra something...) and for a friend of mine who is having a tough time right now. Anyway, here they are:
Complete with new little side CNYI tags I made today :)

My son's dinosaur pouch:

I asked him which dinosaur he liked best from the fabric (secretly hoping he wouldn't pick green, since it was the same color as the lining, and of course he chose green.)
My friend's:
With a bible verse I found on Skip to My Lou when I was looking for the pouch tutorial I lost.
And the one for the little girl: Okay, so this is before I had to redo the entire thing because there is an "h" in her name. I'm not completely dumb- I figured an "h" was normal, but they usually call her "Vanna" without an h so I figured it was H-less. I figured wrong. But it's fixed now.
Till next time...

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Lounge chair covers

2010-08-14T07:29:00.004-04:00

My mom had some old lounge chairs that were in good condition but looking a little rough, so she wanted to make some covers for them.
They are comfy but not looking so great, since they've spent much of their lives in the cellar...
So she bought 4 of these 3.00 towels from Walmart
I turned the top down about 14 inches because she wanted to be able to add a pillow, and this made a little pocket for the pillow.
Then I measured the chair and decided how far the sides needed to come over, so in this case the chair was 20 in across and the towel was 30 in, so I divided the 10 remaining inches by 2 and the sides needed to fold in 5 inches each side. This allowed the cover to slip overtop the chair.
I unfolded the top part to fold the sides in, and marked a sewing line 14 inches down (where the pocket would fold. This is sort of hard to explain...
Fold along the line and flip inside out (very hard to explain...)
It will look like this... a finished pocket that will slip over the chair.
Then I sewed along the bottom of the part that will hold the pillow, leaving an opening in the middle to stuff a little travel pillow in.
The opening:
Then I calculated how much of the towel I would need to cut off in order to attach the other towel. I didn't want stripes in the middle of the chair. This will depend on the length of your chair, but in this case was one inch above the stripes on the top towel and even with the stripe on the bottom half towel.
Cut

This is the bottom half of the cover (am I the only one who has a really hard time taking photos of myself doing something? Since I'm right handed and the camera button is on the right side it's really tough...)

Then pin right sides together (so the seam is in the back of the cover) and sew

Then drape over your lounge chair and you're ready to relax!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

A coat of paint...

2010-08-09T20:27:00.004-04:00

I have had blankets shoved under my end table to the point that the poor thing was literally popping open. I knew I needed an alternative (since I HAVE to have the blankets- I'm cold blooded!) and my mom had this great basket:
It was chippy but I figured that'd be fine for my purposes and maybe even give it some more character. So I did nothing to prep the surface (as is normal!) :)

Then I coated it with Krylon Leather Brown Gloss. (One coat looks a little stripey)

It still has the chippy character. I am not sure I actually like it, but don't people work really hard for that finish?

After 2 coats it looked pretty good. I think it looks fine next to my couch, but I hope we won't be needing the blankets anytime soon. I don't look forward to winter...

I'm always pretty excited about what some Krylon can do! :)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Photo Scavenger Hunt

2010-08-08T08:15:00.002-04:00

Alrighty, here are my photo entries. No one laugh, please. I'm not a professional (or even close) and I took all but 2 of these this morning... I sort of got a late start. I don't have photoshop, so my editing skills are limited... But nonetheless it was a great time! I love taking pictures!
Here they are...

1. Shadow/Silhouette
2. Motion Blur

3. Magazine

4. Ten

5. Glass

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Success!

2010-08-07T11:26:00.009-04:00

I planned a family movie night and invited about 50 friends, relatives and neighbors and it turned out GREAT! We actually had about 40 people come and I think everyone really enjoyed it.

Here is the invitation I sent out:

We set up in the very back yard by hanging a piece of drywall on the back fence.

We used my parents projector (thanks, Aunt Bon for a great Christmas present!)
Here is a picture of the movie projected on it:

Aunt Tracy and Deb brought TONS of popcorn and cute little bags for it to go in:
Seriously- I mean a TON of popcorn. There were 2 bags this size! And it was delicious!
Love the popcorn bags!
Crystal showed up with glow bracelets for all the kids. They LOVED them! That was really a great touch! I should have thought about that! Maybe she needs a blog! :)

I made a movie poster and hung it on the front door just for fun:

Here is a "during" shot, but it is just the kids in one section. Most of the adults were behind the camera and there were more people to the right. So it was a good turn out! Hard to get good pictures in the dark though!

I wish I could post all the pictures of the kids playing and watching the movie. It was a great time- I'm so glad we did it. I think we'll start planning our next one! :)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Photo Fun

2010-08-05T22:43:00.002-04:00

I found a few photo contests and I am going to give them a try! One is a weekly photo scavanger hunt at Ramblings and Photos and the other is a month long photo hunt. I love taking pictures even though I am certainly an amateur! It will still be fun. Stay tuned for my pictures!

(and for a super fun end of the summer bash idea and photos!)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

An Award!

2010-08-04T07:58:00.000-04:00

I've been missing because we were living it up camping! Woo hoo. But it really didn't feel like camping, since I worked and we visited my grandmother in the hospital (she had back surgery).

At any rate, while I was out and about, I received a beautiful award from Kimbo (A Girl and a Glue Gun). She is awesome. She also probably thinks I don't care about this award since it's been several days! (Sorry- I do care!!!)

You should look and see what she did with a clear shower curtain! It's great! Check it out here

But my all time personal favorite is the Levi Apron!!! I love it! You can find it here. I made one pretty much the minute I saw it!

So the rules are that I need to share 7 things about me, and then pass the award on to 15 others. Well, here goes.

1. I just got a *full time* (with benefits) job at work, and that's pretty much a promotion! (so I'm pretty excited!)
2. My brother lives way out in (not so) sunny NORTHERN California (NOT San Francisco- I mean NORTH. Like almost Oregon north) and I miss him and wish he'd come back this direction.
3. I have the best parents in the world. Sorry if you thought yours were. :)
4. I just got an HTC Evo and it rocks my socks!
5. I love watching Medium, but I just started in the last year, so I have a DVR FULL of Medium episodes from all the reruns. Literally- it is full. 100%. It records about 2 or 3 a night and I dont' have nearly enough time to watch 2 or 3 a day!
6. I hate winter. I mean really. I. HATE. WINTER. Cold is not my friend. I freeze.
7. I am a little OCD about scents- like candles or air fresheners. They need to be season appropriate... For example, you can't burn/plug in Apple Cinnamon or Pine in summer. It's not okay.

All right- that was pretty hard to think of 7 random things. And besides, I'm sure no one wants to read 7 things about me anyway! :)

So, I'm passing this award on to:
1. Anna at Noodlehead- She has some amazing sewing tutorials and I love her header- drawn by her children
2. Susan at Living with Punks- She has such cute stuff! I love her pillow cover to messenger bag. I love anything that turns into a bag, I think!
3. Sam at Mom.Undecided- She's having tons of giveaways now to celebrate her birthday so check it out!
4. Katie at Paisley and Polkadots- The cutest little quilt and accessories on here!
5. Michelle at Dilly Dally and Flitter- The first blog post I read of hers, I swear I almost cried I laughed so hard. Then I called my aunt to read it to her and crack up again. :) She's great!
6. Tracey at I'm Just Your Average Mom- She's going through some tough times right now, but staying postitive and focused.
7. Larissa at Just Another Day in Paradise- She has a super cool felt bracelet tutorial.
8. Rhonda at Life As I See It- Beautiful photography!!!
9. Lisa at Moore Minutes= Love the camping party. I have thought about that for my son's 10th party... Yes, I actually think about things 6 years away...
10. Melissa at My Craftie Life- Lots of great ideas!
11. Alison at Oopsey Daisey- there is a delicious looking dessert on there! Woah... Watch out!
12. Elizabeth at Twelve Crafts Till Christmas- What a great idea to make a craft a month for christmas gifts! I love this blog!
13. Maria at You Craft Me Up- She has a super cool PVC pipe bow and arrow my son would seriously get in trouble with.
14. Rachelle at Fingerprints on the Fridge- She's probably had this award 100 times. She's seriously just that awesome.
15. Laura at Along For the Ride- She has a great 90 day kindness challenge (that I'm completely stinking at).

Well, folks, there it is. It took me FOREVER to finish this post! Thanks again, Kimbo, for the award!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Bailey's Treats

2010-07-27T21:08:00.006-04:00

When my aunt goes away, I "Bailey-sit" (that is, I dog-sit her dog, Bailey). So this time while she was gone, I redid Bailey's treat canister. It wasn't without permission, of course- I was sort of given creative freedom. :)

I saw this post a little while ago and decided that it would be perfect for Bailey's treat container. With some minor adjustments made for the fact that it was three dimentional and not a flat card! Anyway, here was what I started with. Not a great photo, because it was about 10 pm last night and that doesn't allow for great light!
This is how it ended up!
I made homemade barbed wire with a couple strands of a little more pliable wire
I drew this skull and crossbones because I don't have that cricut cartridge!

Here it is at it's new home!
Here Bailey! What do you think?

Happy dog? I think so. :)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Hooray for mail! And my cabinet makeover!

2010-07-24T13:24:00.009-04:00

I was kind of surprised this morning when the mail lady pulled up to the mail box and then backed in and beeped. I wasn't expecting anything (cause I only get good stuff if I order it, of course!) So you can imagine how excited I was to get this:

And inside were all these amazing goodies!!!
My dear friend Kim moved to Virginia a few months ago (so sad that she's gone...) and she sent me this great package! It had the most adorable card that was embroidered:
Look at these cute little birds!
A book by Francine Rivers- it looks great! I better hurry and read the other 3 that are waiting for me!
A Bible study! This is exactly what I've been looking for- like a workbook. I have to actually do something because just reading doesn't keep my attention when it comes to absorbing material.
And like 4 yards of material! Yes- 4 yards of beautiful pink material! How awesome is that! The note said to make something for myself, but I haven't a clue what I will make. A dress maybe?
Look how pretty it is! I love it!
Isn't she the sweetest thing? What a wonderful friend. I miss having her here, though!
And now, moving along to a recent *not so great* makeover (as mentioned in an earlier post about things not going so swell...) Here is a cabinet I picked up from the side of the road. Okay, so I didn't pick it up- I helped my dad. I was sooooo excited to have something to put my sewing stuff in, and I just knew I could make this pretty again!
So, me being the impatient one that I am, got to work and sanded the entire thing then used a 1 in foam brush and primer and covered the entire thing. Yes- with a 1 in brush. Heaven forbid that I wait and get a little roller from my parents the next day. Isn't that crazy? Well, that's not the craziest part actually.
The next morning when I checked, the primer would just rub/scratch right off. Oh my goodness. I was so disappointed. I spent a lot of time sanding and priming (especially with that little bitty brush!) and I was pretty bummed thinking the entire thing was ruined. The only other thing I could think of was to use Krylon Fusion paint that is made for plastics. I mean, if it sticks to plastic it should stick to this, right?! I hadn't planned on spending money like that, but what's a girl to do?
I sanded the primer off and tested an area with the fusion. Hooray! It worked. I was glad that all wasn't lost. Of course, now I had to sand the entire thing and repaint it. Good grief. Not my idea of fun. As I'm going to town with my sanding block, my mother (genius that she is!!!) mentions "um, your dad has an electric sander..." (like duh, Amanda)
So, enter my new BFF. At least for this project he was! This totally saved my back and arms, I'm sure. Not to mention a lot of time. So I was, once again, excited.
Here we go. Almost back to square one. Re-sanded. When I went to wipe it down with a cloth to remove the dust all the primer washed off. It was gross. Yucky water and I was scrubbing. I spent a few hours on this part alone. blah.
So a couple coats of spray paint later... (4 cans as a matter of fact, and they only had this white color that would go with my room. I really wanted the peachy orange to match the far wall...) I didn't do much on the inside stuff that wouldn't be seen. Actually, I didn't paint inside the upper cabinets at all. I didn't want to have to buy more paint and I needed several coats on the outside.
The drawers were a mess, but I just knew I could fix them too. And I did. Sort of. They aren't perfect, but they were *mostly* free.
Moved it to the basement...
Added the door and drawers (one drawer was missing, so the bottom became a make-shift shelf)
Started loading it with stuff!
My fabrics are hidden in this tall side.

More stuff in the totes. I got those boxes a while back at Walmart for 6.00 total. I originally intended to use them for my son's toys, but it wasn't too great since you can't see in them, and he constantly drug them all out looking for stuff.

I also added a flower to match my wall. I wanted the cabinet to be all peachy-orange but since that wasn't panning out, I figured a flower was better than nothing. I still think it needs something, but I'm not sure what to do.

Anyway, another mediocre project. It just wasn't a great crafting week for me! But, the cabinet cost about 25.00 total and it hides my stuff, so I won't complain...... too much....

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Basement Wall...

2010-07-21T15:46:00.004-04:00

Does anyone besides me have those times when none of the crafts you're making are working out? Because the last week has been a pretty big flop for me! I'm in a crafting slump or something! I have great intentions of doing wonderful things, but they just keep turning out mediocre. Here is the latest to add to that list:

My basement wall. It's been pretty boring and I wanted to do something cute and girly that would liven up the boring (blue) space. So I printed a huge picture (it was 30 pages) and taped it all together. It looks a little strange because I deleted everything that wasn't necessary so I didn't use all my ink.

Then I taped it to the wall where I wanted it. I thought I was going to use carbon paper to transfer the image but 1) you can't find that stuff anywhere and 2) the little bit that I had from the place I used to work wouldn't work anyway. **Disclaimer- I didn't steal it from my old employer- it was between sheets that we would occasionally have to fill out and after I would do mine, instead of throwing them away, I'd keep them. I have like 5 whole pieces**

So, I had to just use the papers as a guide and draw it on the wall. I drew it in pencil first and then traced my lines with white paint pen so I'd have a better guide. It's a little hard to see.
Then I started painting

And painting

And then I was done. And not exactly thrilled. But I guess it is growing on me...
It sort of reminds me of a 1994 stenciled wall, and I'm not crazy about that at all. Not that there is anything wrong with 94 or stencils. I'm just not that into them.

I guess it's better than plain blue. Now I'm trying to decide if I should paint a peachy orange flower on the armoire thingy I scrounged off the side of the road.... More on that later (another not so fantastic craft from this week)

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

The T-shirt Bag

2010-07-17T20:42:00.007-04:00

When my aunt saw my jersey bag and mentioned me making her a bag with an old t-shirt, I figured it'd be a breeze. I knew sewing with knit wasn't a walk in the park, but I was pretty confident that I could do it. For Pete's sake, I will NEVER sew another thing with knit again. Seriously, oh. my. goodness. I was a nervous wreck, and was pretty convinced I had ruined her shirt forevermore! I guess it turned out *decent* (which is pretty debatable actually). I was all geared up to do a tutorial, and I sort of did, but I'm telling you people- run for the hills! Don't attempt this! My tutorial is choppy because 1) my camera died about 5 pictures in and 2) I was so frustrated and ticked off I didn't care about pictures or tutorials anymore- I just wanted to FINISH the dumb thing! Anyway, moving on to what I have... :)

If you're crazy enough to attempt this, just remember I warned you! Gather your supplies- your t-shirt, lining fabric, fusible fleece, belting for the strap and all the cutting materials- cell phone and coffee are optional but highly recommended!
I started but cutting right across the bottom so I could work a little easier with the sides. I cut a few inches off the bottom, but left a few under the design since I knew I'd be sewing it to be "boxy" and it would lose a few inches at the bottom.
Cut the sleeves off by cutting up each side. I went 2 inches from the design.
Cut the top straight across directly under the neckline (or somewhere above the design and under the neckline if your shirt is larger)
I thought I was pretty much a genius by using masking tape to keep the edges from pulling when I sewed, so I added that and then pinned the sides right side together. (BTW, I'm totally not a genius and my idea pretty much STUNK!)
Then cut your lining fabric the same size as your measured piece of cut t-shirt. My shirt was 15.75 in by 17.5 in. My used a long piece for the lining and folded it in half, so I cut it .5 in shorter to allow for the missing seam allowance on the bottom.
Then cut matching fusible fleece to be ironed to the lining fabric
Iron the fusible fleece to the lining material
Cut a piece of lining fabric to be used as a pocket (I made mine shallow but long so it covered the entire length of the bag and made 3 smaller pockets- not necessarily by design but because that was the size the left over lining material was and I'm too cheap to throw it out). Sew around the edges with right sides together, leaving an opening to turn right side out. This is when my camera died, so after you turn it right side out, clip the corners and iron it flat, turning in the opening.
Pin in place on the lining, but keep in mind that you'll lose about 1/2 in at the top for the seam allowance. Be sure and pin the opening down, because you'll want to sew it shut when you sew around the pocket.
Sew the sides and bottom of the pocket. I then sewed up two more lines to make 3 pockets.
You could even do yours straight. I mean, if you really wanted to...

Sew up both sides of the lining, but leave an opening to turn the bag right side out.

Now the most fun part (I'm completely kidding now). Sew the sides and bottom of the t-shirt. Nothing I tried made this easy or even anything close to easy. It was horrible. I finally decided to go look online to find some tricks to sewing knits but lo and behold my internet was down... Stinkin' Time Warner. UGH! So I just kept struggling until (after about 2 hours. Seriously) I finally finished...
Then mark a line across the corners of the bag- both the t-shirt (which I didn't photo because it was just a continuation of the train wreck that is sewing knit) and the lining, and sew across to make the boxy part of the bottom. Cut the excess off and turn the t-shirt right side out and place inside the lining (so right sides are still together). Pin the strap where the seams meet on the sides and place the strap between the right sides of the fabric. Sew around the top, double stitching where the straps are connected then turn right side out and push the lining down into the bag. I had to finally hand sew the opening (which I never do because it's easier to machine sew normally) but the machine and I werent' friends by this point...
Then (after a gruelling morning) you're done. There it is... all that work and it's sort of lopsided. Oh, my. I hope my aunt doesn't cry when she sees that I butchered her shirt. :( Sorry Aunt Bon!

Here is the final bag- the inside:
The whole she-bang...
Maybe the fact that there's a hottie on there will make up for the poor worksmanship!

Linked to some/all of these great linky parties

Another Playroom Addition

2010-07-16T21:03:00.005-04:00

Here is a cute way to display your child's art work- I have seen this several different places, but here is how I did it (quick and easy!)

I had these pieces of wood that my dad gave me (cause they are good for a crafter!)
So I put them on my trusty (and borrowed) mat thingy that is great for painting on and sprayed them orange and green to coordinate with the room:
While that was drying, I found some paper that would go with the room colors and I cut it into strips that would cover clothes pins.
Here is the pile:
Then I just glued the paper on the clothes pins with Elmer's glue. I'm sure I could have modpodged them, but it seemed unnecessary, so I just stuck with regular ol' white glue.
Then I brought the painted sticks in and I measured every 6 inches. I put arrows up and down since I wanted to alternate the clothes pins up and down and the arrows kept me from having to remember which I was doing.
I just hot glued the clothes pins to the strips of wood and took them downstairs to hang.
Here they are in their new home.

So the play room is coming together nicely! It is colorful and fun and very spacious!
My space on the other hand, still needs a lot of work. :( Could it be much more boring?
I'm thinking it needs some excitemtent, much like this:

Or maybe this:

Or this?
At any rate, it needs something, and I'm thinking along the lines of a tree silhouette... We'll see I guess!

Cabinet/Shelving Makeover

2010-07-14T07:22:00.006-04:00

Blogger is allowing me to upload photos today (isn't that nice?) so here are the shelves my aunt and uncle gave me: (I didn't have any before pics with the shelves, because they were too heavy to move that way, and I didn't put them in just for before pics... sorry)
Some spots were a little rusty, so I just used a wire brush on those areas:
Then I took the hose and a bucket of soapy water to them. Washed 'em all down and left 'em in the sun to dry:
A couple coats of spray paint and some mod-podged fabric in the back and voila:
Perfect storage for toys and who knows what else!
Looks like they're working and the shelves are adjustable so that's great! There are actually 3 more shelves that could go in, but I thought these were enough for now. I'm sure they'll be loaded to capacity in no time!

Linked to some or all of the wonderful parties here

Woo Hoo!

2010-07-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

Well, I have a post planned to show some cabinets my aunt and uncle gave me that I redid for the play room, but Blogger isn't letting me upload photos and I'm too tired to keep trying.

I needed to post though, because I officially have had 10,000 hits!!! And my last post was my 50th, so it seems to me that a giveaway should be in order soon!

Stay tuned for that and for my cabinet redo! Thanks everyone for the 10,000 hits! :)

Basement Redo!

2010-07-11T22:51:00.010-04:00

I’ve been non-existent for a week and this is why! I’ve been hard at work on my basement. I needed a space for crafting, and now I have a huge one! Here is my basement in the WAY before stages:

And the "during" stages (when the house was gutted and being re-done- there had to be a bathroom somewhere!)
And more recently, how it's been for the last year and some months:

At the community sales this year, my dad got a dehumidifier and it worked like a charm, so I decided to get to work making the basement a space that could actually be used. On an extremely limited budget, of course. So I talked to dad about what I needed and started shopping around for the best prices. For starters I needed block filler (basically concrete primer) and I thought the only place I could find it was Sherwin-Williams, where it was 170.00 for a 5 gallon bucket. That was out of the question since it was over what I had to spend to begin with. I started thinking maybe the basement would have to wait until tax time, but then I kept shopping and a couple weeks later I realized they had the same thing at Lowe’s for 55.00 or a 5 gallon bucket! Now that’s more like it! So I painted all the walls with block filler and dad filled the holes with latex caulk, and already things were looking up!

It took me a while to decide on colors. I knew half of the space would have to be for my son to play since he’d never just sit down there while I crafted, and I wanted there to be room for his stuff, since he has TONS! So he wanted his wall blue (of course) and after waiting and thinking forever (I have serious commitment problems) I decided I wanted a peachy-orange color, so I went out and bought the orange paint (14.00 at Walmart for a gallon) I already had ½ gallon of blue from my son’s room. I had some great fabric in mind by Moda, but it was going to cost me 50.00 for 6 yards (which is about what I needed to cover stuff) and that wasn’t working with my budget so while I was buying paint at Walmart I decided to look at their fabric. Nothing. :( So I stopped in the clearance section and looked for curtains. Nothing. :( I got bummed but then thought about sheets! They had sheets for 3.00!!! A twin flat sheet is only 3 bucks at Walmart! And that’s a ton of material, folks! Seriously. I was pumped. So I spent 12.00 on fabric! I also got a few cans of spray paint to match the paint and fabric I got.
Then I painted some more!

I also shopped around for some cheap flooring for the last month, but had no luck. I would find something but there wouldn’t be enough, or it wouldn’t be as cheap as I needed so I just kept looking. I finally came to the conclusion that I’d have to just paint the floor to get by and put some rugs down or something. Then my parents gave me carpeting they had to go in their basement! How awesome is that?! I mean, I have AWESOME parents. I was pumped! I was hoping for lame paint on the floor and then I end up with SWEET FREE carpet! Woo hoo!
Here it is waiting to be laid:

My dad is possibly the king of Salvage! He got this before he retired from a job where they were throwing it away! THROWING IT AWAY! Can you imagine?! That’s craziness! Great save, Dad!
So I started laying it! Yup- I started laying it. I had help in the end, but I did do quite a bit by myself, and I’m pretty proud of that!

That was all me, then I got some back up: :)
I was already looking pretty good, I think!

However, when I was laying the floor, it occured to me that putting the play room side where the furnace, water heater, dehumidifier and condensation pipe were was a pretty bad plan. I really didn’t need the kids into all of that. So I switched sides at the last minute and got stuck on the blue side. Ughhh… oh well, I am just excited to have tons of space for my stuff! I was working out of a closet before and dragging it out and in and out and in… So I started loading stuff down:

There were still some problem areas:
So I used my bargain sheets and sewed a curtain to cover it, then hung a curtain rod in the wood above the concrete wall.
Much better!

Then I tried to organize my stuff a little, but I'm still shopping for an armoire for my fabric and things, and some shelving for the toy side. All cheap, of course!

I'm thinking the book shelf may need to be painted lime green? Just a thought. Any suggestions?

There was only one outlet in the entire basement, and it was clear across the room, 35 feet from my sewing machine, so my dad in his complete awesomeness ran tons of electrical boxes for me tonight!!! Suh-weet! And a new light over my sewing space cause it was a little like a dungeon! I’m super spoiled!
Look how great things look now:

He also bought this to go in:
Yeah, that's a basement window! I’d been shopping for one of those, too, but hadn’t had any luck. So woo hoo again!
Then for a little seating for my son, I had this old ratty papasan chair that was pretty rough and had been around quite a while:

A little spray paint and a removable cover made from the sheets:
MUCH BETTER! The other side is green so it can be flipped for a change! I think everything turned out better than I could have hoped for! I'm super excited and extremely thankful to my parents for their help doing it and the supplies!

I hope this INCREDIBLY L O N G post makes up for my missing the last week! :)

Happy (almost) Monday, everyone!

Linked to some or all of the parties here

Happy Fourth, Everyone!

2010-07-04T20:04:00.003-04:00

Well, it was a rough weekend, but I guess someone has to do it... I did a lot of this:
And this...
And some of this...
Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. :) Happy Independence Day!

God Bless the USA!

Camping Organization

2010-06-29T21:03:00.005-04:00

We love to go camping but sometimes getting everything ready can be overwhelming! Especially when we don't have a camper to store things in year round. My parents do, and we typically go with them, but I wanted to get something together to be prepared in case we ventured out alone! Here is the result:
I bought 2 plastic totes at the dollar store: (complete with cute pink lids, of course!)
I wanted to keep the silverware managable, so I separated the forks, spoons and knives:
Cut 2 pieces of velcro (one fuzzy and an equal length of the hook side)
And wrap them around the silverware to keep them together:
Then I put them in a little snap lock box that I also got at the dollar store:
Then I put things that could stay the summer in one of the totes (like our throw away dishes, coffee, creamer, splenda packets, coffee singles, table cloth, flashlight, batteries, toys for my son, cards, lighters/matches, Qtips, cotton balls, bug spray, sunscreen, mesh laundry bag, etc) I'll have to take the food supplies out at the end of the summer, but for the most part all of this stuff can live in this tote in the garage. I also got another tote that is the same size because I thought it'd be easier to pack our clothing and other stuff in a tote and throw it in the back of the car instead of trying to dig out a suitcase.
Then I made a list of things that need to be packed in the other tote. I printed it out and placed it in a clear sheet protector so that I can easily check the boxes off as I pack and it will still be available for the next time. I color coded in red the things that weren't necessary if we were going to a non-electric site so that I could easily figure out what I need.
I threw the checklist in the top of the tote, stacked the tote with stuff in side the empty one, put the lids on top and stuffed it in my garage until we head to the camp ground (like this weekend!)
Hope this helps all you tent campers (or even campers fortunate enough to have a camper to load full!)

Here are the things on my list to pack in case you'd like to make your own:
Clothes
 Shirts x_______ days
 Pants x_______ days
 Shorts x ______ days
 PJs x _______ nights
 Socks
 Underwear
 Sweats
 Swim Suits
 Tennis Shoes
 Sandals
 Flip Flops for showers
Equipment
 Firewood
 Newspapers
 Lighter
 Coffee Pot
 Roasting Stick
 Sleeping Bags
 Pillows
 Flash Light
 Matches
Shower/Bathroom
 Soap
 Shampoo
 Conditioner
 Deodorant
 Toothpaste
 Toothbrushes
 Towels
 Washcloths
 Lotion
 Sunscreen
 Bug Spray
Games/Toys
 Books
 Balls
Miscellaneous
 Camera
 Camera Dock
 Cell phone charger
 Walkie Talkies
 Walkie Talkie Charger

Linked to the parties here

Mom.Undecided Giveaway

2010-06-28T20:05:00.002-04:00

Hey, everyone! Head over to Mom.Undecided to enter her giveaway for a 15 dollar gift card to scrapbook.com! They have super cute stuff, and of course SCRAPBOOK PAPER! Love!

Good luck (even though secretly I hope you don't win so that I do!!) ;)

post signature

Toy Story 3 Fun!

2010-06-26T09:12:00.005-04:00

Last week we went to see Toy Story 3 (which was absolutely great! To my surprise...) I wanted to make my son a Woody vest to wear to the theatre and it turned out so cute! He loved it! The theatre employees were pretty impressed too! :)

Most importantly, he loved it. Here he is with his cowboy hat, "cowboy boots" (we really need to get a pair of those) and his horse, Bullseye. He was pretty seriously cracking me up this day!
I found the instructions here but I actually sewed mine, instead of the recommended gluing. I had planned on having a whole day of Toy Story Celebration, including some "Pizza Planet" pizzas

and some alien cupcakes for dessert. However, as is sometimes the case, he completely misbehaved in the store and I put everything back. (Am I the only one who gets completely bummed when I can't do fun stuff because my child doesn't behave?!)

Anyway, these are such cute ideas, and I would have loved to have done them. Maybe when it comes out on video I'll have a Toy Story movie night and we can do it then!

You can get lots of ideas from Disney here! And not just Toy Story if you go to the Disney page- all the characters. Great fun!!!

Linked to some or all of the parties here

Ohio State Jersey to Bag

2010-06-25T15:18:00.006-04:00

My son had an Ohio State jersey that I was going to sell in our garage sale, but decided to make something I could continue to use, and essentially didn't cost anything! (I used an old baby sheet for the lining and had fusible fleece and a magnetic closure on hand- I did have to buy nylon belting for the strap. I think it was less than 2 bucks!)
Here is his jersey- it is a 24 month, so you would need to do more cutting if you were using a larger size.

Start by cutting the arms off- I left a little extra room for seam allowance, but it wasn't really necessary since I ended up sewing inside the sleeve area anyway.
Then cut across the top, this time definitely leaving seam allowance. I wanted to be able to see the Ohio State emblem/patch at the middle of the v neck.
You're left with a square:
Sew along the bottom edge of the jersey (I did it twice just to make it more sturdy)
Then pin and mark a straight line to sew up the sides. Like I said, I actually ended up sewing up the entire length of the jersey because I couldn't get the sleeve area to look right otherwise.

Then you're left with the basic outside shell.

Now measure the length and width of the bag,

And cut a coordinating piece the same size.

Now is when I stopped taking pictures because I got too involved and forgot! If you want a pocket, add it to your lining now. Then iron your fusible fleece to the lining and sew the sides and bottom of the lining fabric (I used a folded piece). I then sewed across the corners of my bag and lining so it would be more "boxy" at the bottom and allow more storage space.

Then place your bag inside your lining so that the right sides are together. Sew around the top leaving 2 openings on each side of the bag so you can add your handle and turn the bag right side out.

After turning the bag right side out, pin the strap into place and top stitch around the entire top of the bag.

Before I finished the top stitching I also added a magnetic closure in the lining, but that would be completely optional.

Here is the inside:

The front:

The back:

GO BUCKS!!!

Linked Here

90 Days of Kindness

2010-06-21T21:04:00.002-04:00

Laura at "Along for the Ride" is having a 90 day of kindness challenge. I was very inspired by her post, and I'm going to take the challenge. It says to choose one area to focus on, but realistically I could certainly focus on a lot more than one. I am going to do this a little more broad, I think.

~I have a tendency to speak and react before I think, and I'm going to really try to take a step back and relax before reacting (or overreacting).

~I'm also going to try to be less critical of everyone and everything (I'm HORRIBLE at that).

~I am going to have more patience with my son, because I tend to get very frustrated easily (did I mention he's 4 and ALL boy?)

~I am going to be kinder to everyone in my life: strangers, friends and especially family. After all, I believe I probably treat them the worst (sorry, mom) :(

I think it's a great reminder, though, to focus on what is truly important. Usually, if you can do something for 90 days it will become second nature. I'm going to make myself a sign to keep a constant reminder of my challenge.

I encourage anyone else to take the challenge and let Laura know! I'd love to hear about it too!

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." I Corinthians 13

From Laura's blog:

"Without love, I am nothing. Without love, I give nothing. Without love, I gain nothing.

Maybe kindness is pretty radical after all.

Kindness is radical living.

It is going the distance with people
giving hope to someone who is difficult
having manners
not bringing up others wrongs
not keeping score
promoting others
putting others first
being patient when it's really really hard
forgiving others when it's even harder

Kindness is
patient
happy with what it has
humble
slow to anger

Kindness delights in truth

Kindness always trusts
hopes
survives"

Awesome. I'm in. I'm also completely accountable since everyone in my family will read this...

Father's Day

2010-06-21T20:46:00.003-04:00

This is what my brother and I got my dad for Father's Day. I saw it on HowDoesShe? and figured it'd be a nice way to disguise a gift card (as though my dad expects anything else!). I just covered a paper mache' box with father/grandpa scrapbook paper,

Divided the center with a piece of cardboard, and added pistachios. Complete with "Eat", "Toss", and "Spend" on the lid with the gift card.

Cute, easy and I think he liked it. He was eating the pistachios and had a place for the shells, so you can't beat that! :)

What I did today!

2010-06-15T15:56:00.005-04:00

We were supposed to go to the zoo today (again) but (again) we didn't get to. Why didn't anyone mention the "Furious Fours"? At any rate, I wasn't terribly upset because it gave me time to sew! I haven't been able to do much since the garage sale and all the clean up required afterwards!

Anyway, my aunt Tracy and her friend Deb asked me to make a cushion for a pew she has on the front porch. It's huge and was a little rough on the bum when Deb went out for a smoke. (Deb, you should stop smoking- it's not good for the lungs or the bum!) :) So I have been meaning to do it, and just got around to it today. I wanted to make a seat cushion and a back, but only had enough material to do the seat. I actually used a pair of chino curtains from Walmart clearance (only 11.00!!!) I bought them because I loved the stripes and couldn't beat the price! Even though I knew they were going to be something other than curtains.

Here they are:

Aren't these stripes too cute?!
So I sewed up a cushion to fit the seat (which I'm pretty proud of!!!)
Since I didn't have enough fabric to make the back, I decided I'd dig through my stash and try to come up with some pillows that she could use to put behind her. I didn't have any fabrics that coordinated, but then I found these placemats that I got at a garage sale for .25 a piece! Perfect! And the best part was that it was minimal sewing!
I just pulled a couple inches of the stiches out the side, then stuck my hand in to separate the two sides. They were pretty stiff, but I think they'll work nicely for outdoor pillows!

Then I stuffed them with an old pillow and sewed the edge back up. This one had that stain but it's not as noticable in real life. (Don't you love the trash can as my display table, complete with farm animals in the background?)
Then I made Deb a cute little ash tray because if you're going to smoke you should have a cute area to put your butt, right? :)

The final product:

I hope they love it! I think it's super cute!

Linked to all or some of the parties here

For Dad

2010-06-10T22:08:00.003-04:00

I've been catching some slack for not posting since the pinata tutorial, so even though I'm exhausted this evening (I havent' posted because we have community garage sales this weekend and I've been prepping. We actually opened today and did pretty well!)

Anyway, here are some older projects I haven't posted for whatever reason. I guess saving for a time like this!

This is a laptop bag I made my aunt Bon:

And before my lovely friend Kim moved away we had a couple sewing days and one of them we made this little bag to carry her nursing stuff in:

Kim "modeling" the bag: :)

That's all I have in me tonight... I'm pooped. (Too pooped to pop as Froggy would say)

Pinata Tutorial

2010-06-06T20:17:00.016-04:00

Here are the instructions on how I made my son's pinata for his ball party. They were 10 dollars at the Flower Factory but I made this one for FREE! Which is great in my book.
You'll need flour (in this picture I had wheat flour because I thought it may work, but it DOESN'T- not at all- don't even waste your time!!), water, a balloon (preferably a punch balloon because they're actually round) and elmer's glue (or ModPodge, which is what I actually ended up using in the final go 'round)
The balloon had this "sticky out thingy" on the bottom for the rubber band to go through, so I took the rubberband out and taped the "sticky out thingy" down.

The paper mache is one part flour, two parts water and about 1/2 part glue/ModPodge. This picture is when I was using the wheat flour and it's nasty looking. The white flour was much smoother.

Take strips of torn up newspaper and dip them in the paper mache'. Then apply them to the entire balloon, leaving an open area (I traced a kids cup on the top of the balloon to use as the guide for the opening) to put the candy in later. Let it sit and dry (or mostly dry, if you're impatient like me) and apply another layer. I did 3 layers total and it was pretty strong. I wasn't sure the kids were going to break it. On the bright side, we got through all kids taking 3 swings each and got back to my son (birthday boy) so he could try until it broke. (This is good, because anyone with a 4 year old knows that they like to be the winner! Or maybe it's just a boy thing. Or a kid thing...)
After my pinata set under the ceiling fan all night, I painted it with a few coats of craft paint and decorated it with a marker to make ball laces. I filled it with tons of goodies and used a hole punch to put holes around the goody hole so that I could thread ribbon through to make it "hangable". Then we hung it from a tree and went to town!
Till it burst open and everyone made a mad dash for goodies!!!
Here is the finished "prehitting" pinata again. :)
Hope this can save you a few $$ at your next party!

Linked to some or all of the parties here.

Today was the day!

2010-06-05T20:28:00.018-04:00

Today was the big day. The birthday party! Whew. I'm absolutely exhausted (so why am I blogging?! To post photos for everyone, of course!)

Here are some pictures from today:

I think everything turned out really well, and my son enjoyed it, so that was the most important part!
I made our pinata (super easy!) and my dad made the most adorable cupcake platter! There are not words for this! Made from an old Mickey Mantle bat- how precious?!

I think it may have been my favorite part!

Linked to some or all of the parties here.

Birthday Present

2010-06-03T22:41:00.008-04:00

I've been trying to think of something good I could make my son for his birthday present (in addition to his party and his actual birthday- going out to dinner and such). I finally came up with something- a puppet theatre that can hang in a door way. He and his mamaw are going to make puppets tomorrow so he'll have some ready on Saturday when he gets his present. I fully intended to make a tutorial, but I got about 1/2 way through and gave up. If anyone wants what I have, I'll post it. It was just taking way too long and I was trying to rush (like usual... do we see a pattern here?)
Anyway, here it is:

I think he's really going to enjoy it. Especially when his cousins are visiting!

I've been up to way more today, but some things I didn't finish, and another thing I can't post because it's a birthday gift for one of my *loyal* followers :) (Hi, Aunt Tracy!)

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have my finished baseball pinata and maybe even some sneak peek at birthday decorations!

Linked to some or all of the parties here.

Getting Crunch Time

2010-06-03T07:20:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm 2 days away from a birthday party! I have lots to do today, and tomorrow to get things together. I'm going to have some post soon with lots of ideas for his baseball party!

Other news (very exciting) I've been featured! That's right- It's a Hodgepodge Life featured my baseball shirt! Woo hoo! I have to say, I'm super excited! So thanks to Gay for my first ever feature! Her button is on the right hand side of my blog.

Back soon with lots of pictures/ideas/tutorials!

Happy Birthday!

2010-06-01T07:19:00.003-04:00

Just 4 years ago you were born. Such a sweet baby boy. I can't believe you are already 4. You have no idea how much you have changed my life.

I love you, little man.

Happy Birthday.

Happy Memorial Day! and More Party Prep

2010-05-31T20:43:00.004-04:00

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Here's a little picture from this morning. My parents pulling my son in the wagon to watch the parades in town. These are two amazing people. I am incredibly lucky to have the family I have.

Thanks to all the men and women who have served our country, and to their families. It is so appreciated. Thank you!

Now, more birthday preparation! I found both of these ideas on howdoesshe.com which is an amazing resource for fun crafts! Here is my version of the birthday board (we are doing a countdown to the party since his birthday is several days before his party)
His meals: (I should have made them smaller since they overlap the celebration part)

And a balloon wreath that we will certainly be reusing every year! It was so fun, and incredibly easy and cheap! He really loves it too.

Not too much longer until the big party. And tomorrow my baby will be 4 years old!!! EEK.

Mailbox Cover

2010-05-29T14:16:00.005-04:00

I'm getting ready for the big party! Only one week from today and we'll be partyin'! I made this mailbox cover today. I think it turned out really cute! I didn't do a great job with the tutorial pictures, though- it gets pretty time consuming and I was trying to hurry!
First, measure your mailbox across the top (curved edge) and across the bottom. I drew this on a paper after I measured and then drew out what my cut piece of felt would look like, since I needed to account for the flag attachment. My mail box was 21" across the top and 18" across the bottom length. I planned on adding 2 inches to the long side so when it went across the box it overlapped at the bottom, but I forgot and it worked out better without it actually.
Then I cut my felt 18" by 21"
The cut piece:
Measure up and over for the hole where the flag goes. Mine was 2.5" by 2" and 2.75" up from the bottom. Cut the flag square out.
I wanted baseballs and stars on my cover, to go with our ball theme. So I traced a lid onto white felt and cut out 2 baseballs.
One for each side:
I used the lid to make the lines where the laces go and then I used red thread (4 strands of regular thread because I didn't have red embroidery thread) to make the laces by hand.
Then I left out where I cut out the stars and sewed everything on. I also added super strong magnets to each corner (you can see where I sewed squares) I just cut squares of felt a little larger than the magnet and sewed 3 sides then stuck the magnet in and sewed it shut. Now it just sticks to the mailbox! Much easier than my original plan of sewing ribbons to it.

This was really easy and could be done for any themed party! I think it will be too cute outside with some balloons, of course!

albums/ac266/karablogs/creations%20by%20kara/look-what-i-made.gif" title="Creations by
Kara"/>

Birthday Shirt

2010-05-27T20:06:00.010-04:00

I made my son a shirt for his birthday (And myself a matching one). We're doing a baseball theme, and I fell in love with some baseball fabric a while back, so this is the result:

Here's how I did it. I think it's called reverse applique. First, I got some cheap shirts at Walmart. Then I had my baseball fabric and some fusible interfacing.
Start by removing the pocket on the shirt if there is one. My shirt didn't have a pocket, but his size did. It's much easier without the pocket! They really sew those babies on there!
Here is the after: (You can definitely see where the pocket was, but I ironed it and then it was fine)
I used Publisher (have I mentioned I love that program?) to make a number 4 the size and font that I wanted. I printed it out and cut around it, so I had a stencil.
Place the "stencil" on the shirt where you want the number and trace around it with a washable fabric pen (The best things are washable crayons in my experience. I have several different washable pencils specifically for sewing and they aren't good)

Now cut a piece of the ball fabric that is larger than the number/design you want on your shirt. I allowed lots of extra space just to be safe.
Iron the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric.
Place the fabric right side up inside the shirt (because you'll be cutting the shirt away and don't want to see interfacing!)
Put lots of pins in so that your fabric doesn't move around. I tried to arrange mine so that I could sew around the number without hitting or removing pins.
Sew around your lines. I made 2 rows of lines, and made them "messy" because I liked the not perfect look better.
All sewed:
Now cut a little hole in the Tshirt and be sure not to cut through the 2nd fabric. Then cut next to your sewn lines leaving the patterned fabric showing through!
The inside of the shirt looks like this, so trim around the interfacing/lining in order to remove bulk. I didn't take a picture of the inside after I did that.
Here it is:

And look how cute it turned out for his birthday pictures! (Sorry about the edited picture, but I'm not sure I'm ready to plaster my baby's pictures all over the web)

Catching up

2010-05-21T07:53:00.004-04:00

Since I'm on vacation and not doing any new crafts, I thought I would catch up on some things I did within the last few months.

My son is very interested in what I'm doing, no matter what I'm doing. Of course, he's almost 4 and he wants to use the sewing machine, but I don't think that's the greatest thing. He has sewn a few things (just straight lines). I went looking for lacing cards at Hobby Lobby but they were very girly, so I made him some myself. I just took cardstock and cut out shapes and put holes along the sides with a hole punch. Then I gave him some yarn threaded on the large blue needles and let him go to town. Here is his finished "purse" for his mamaw- complete with a drawing of a rocket, of course!

I also made some "doggie bag holders" for my friends with dogs. I saw a tutorial somewhere, and I honestly do not remember where, but here are my finished bags- I think they turned out so cute. They velcro onto the dog leash and hold plastic bags in case your dog does it's duties somewhere besides home! :)

Back to enjoying vacation- zoo and beach today!

post signature

Tuesday Tag Along and Vacation

2010-05-18T20:05:00.004-04:00

Today I'm participating in Tuesday Tag along at Twee Poppets

I'm also getting ready for VACATION! Woo hoo! I won't be crafting much the next week or so, but I'll *hopefully* be living it up in the warm sun!

post signature

Boy's Bike Bag Tutorial

2010-05-15T08:14:00.015-04:00

The other day as I was running beside my son (who was riding his bike), holding my cellphone in my hand because my pants didn't have pockets, I realized that he needed a bag on his bike to carry stuff (like my cell phone, of course) ;) So the other night at about 10 pm I made him one. I apologize for the not so great pictures in advance, but it was 10 pm and that doesn't allow for the best lighting!
It doesn't match his bike at all, but I was trying to use what I had on hand, so this is as good as it gets. I started by measuring the space between the spots on the handle bars where the loops would go (so the width of the bag) and I measured over the handle bars (like the loops would go on top- hard to explain I guess) and then I cut my fabric. His bike handle bars were 12 inches apart, and the longest the bag could be was 6 inches to keep it from hitting the bar below (whatever it is called). I allowed for 1/2" seam allowances, so I cut the pieces I needed 1" larger than the finished size. I cut 2 pieces of main fabric, 2 pieces of lining and 2 pieces of fusible fleece that were 13" x 7". I wanted a pocket in the front of the bag, so I cut a piece of main fabric and a piece of fusible fleece that were 4.5" x 13" the lining for the pocket I cut 5" x 13" (you'll see why shortly). The straps to hold it on were 6" x 3" (I think).
Iron all the pieces and iron the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the main fabric.
Iron the strap pieces and turn the sides in and iron again.

Then fold in half and iron again so you have a finished looking strip of fabric.

Turn 1 short edge in and fold back in half and sew around 3 sides (2 long sides and 1 short side) the other side doesn't need to be finished because it will be inside the bag.

I needed the straps to be 5 in outside the bag, so I measured 5 in down and applied velcro to the top edge and 5 in down.
Finished loops:
Now to make the pocket for the front, place your pieces right side together and line up the top- the bottom of the lining will NOT line up with the bottom of the main fabric. (Love my lens cover in the pic? lol)
Sew across the top with about a 1/2 in seam. I actually just use the edge of my sewing foot. Iron the lining up from the main fabric:
Then fold the lining over the back of the main piece allowing the fusible fleece to make a little border of the lining (now the ends should basically meet)
And there will be an edge of the lining at the top:
Place the pocket on the one of the large pieces that will eventually be the front of the bag.
Now place the other large piece, right sides together, on top of the other 2 pieces:
Pin the sides and bottom and sew around:

Clip corners
I decided I wanted a box-like bottom, so i pushed the corners out and folded the piece together so that the seams were lined up on the inside then i sewed a straight line about one inch from the corner: (do this on both sides)
Then trim the excess:
Turn the bag right side out and start on the lining:
Place the 2 pieces right sides together and sew around 3 sides, leaving about a 3 inch opening in the bottom of the lining (this is really important later!)
Sew the corner edge so that it will match the main piece:
Here is the opening:
Kind of hard to see in this super bright photo, but place the main piece of the bag in the lining, with right sides together:
Line up the corner seams, and add the loops in the back of the bag- on the inside of the 2 fabrics! Be sure that the velcro is facing the lining- this picture is wrong- I had to fix it!
Pin around the top of the bag and sew the entire top edge:
Turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining: We're almost done!
Sew the hole closed and push the lining inside the bag. Then sew a topstich around the top of the bag. I do it as close to the edge as I can.
Then put it on your little man's bike! Or little lady...

A Winner!

2010-05-14T20:32:00.005-04:00

Random.org chose number 12!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

12

Timestamp: 2010-05-15 00:31:00 UTC

So the winner is

malia said...
WOW that drawer project is amazing! I love your camera strap too... already a follower (-:

Hooray Malia! I sent you a message via blogger. If you don't get it, please comment and let me know!

Thanks everyone for entering! I'm over 25 followers now, so I think I'll have another giveaway to celebrate! Maybe a cute denim apron?! Not sure yet!

post signature

Bean Bags for Craft Hope

2010-05-12T21:26:00.004-04:00

Well, I not only finished my alphabet bean bags for craft hope, but I also decided to do a colors and shapes set. I sent them all out today. I took pictures of the shapes and colors, but they're still on the camera. Here are the alphabet pictures:

The iron ons I made to make it easier.

One down....

All the blocks cut and iron ons applied!

Finished!!!

It was fun to do something to help someone less fortunate! I am excited to see what the next Craft Hope project is!

Robin Hood Bow and Arrow Bag

2010-05-10T18:42:00.010-04:00

My son loves Robin Hood (I think there is a new one set to come out this year maybe?!) and he is constantly using a hanger as a bow and arrow, so when my parents saw a bow and arrow at Dollar General they picked it up (it was only 2 bucks!).
Clearly the boy needed a bag for his bow and arrows (Robin Hood style, of course!) So I got to work. I just used brown felt, since it's much easier without having to finish the edges.

I started by tracing a bowl for the bottom of the bag. Then I measured the length that I wanted the bag by using the arrows as a guide. I wanted them to poke out the top a little, and I wanted there to be a little extra to turn down at the top. I used a long piece of felt folded in half and sewed around all 4 sides as the strap.

If anyone would like a photo by photo tutorial I could put something together. I didn't take any photos this time, but it literally took about 10 minutes, so no biggie.

I used a piece of boning to keep the top open so the arrows would easily go in. He's tickled pink, and I'm glad that I was finally able to sew him something!

Don't forget to go here to sign up for the camera strap giveaway! I'll be choosing a winner Friday!

Drawer Redo and Giveaway

2010-05-04T14:36:00.020-04:00

My dad had something similar to this in his garage and I was eye-balling it one day. He noticed, so the next day, I came home to this little beauty in my garage!

How awesome is that?! I know it doesn't look like much now, but I could absolutely see the potential!

So I took it all apart and cleaned it out back. Just a spray with the hose, and a little rub down with a rag. Nothing too time consuming! ;)

Then it was into the garage for a paint job! I sanded down some really rough, rusty spots, but not all of it and hit it with satin nickle paint on the body and gloss black on the drawer fronts.

Then I moved it into my computer/craft/sewing/play room and put it back together.

Looking good, but not quite finished...

Ah Ha! Lovin' it with the little tags. I started putting some stuff in it, but haven't labeled the drawers yet. I love how it turned out, and even more I love the storage for all my little things! Dad wants it back now! :) I'm planning a craft room that is going to be above my garage, and I think I'm going to stick with black for it, since I can coordinate all used furniture with a quick spray coat of black paint!

Now, on to something else! This little camera strap I made:

I'm going to do a giveaway, and this is the prize! So, if you're interested, become a follower and leave me a comment on this post. If you're already a follower, just leave a comment. (All 8 of you!) I'll run the giveaway for 10 days, so I'll pick a winner on May 14. Good luck!

Some more pics:

How to make tags

2010-04-30T15:43:00.010-04:00

I made some tags for all the things I've been sewing lately, and it was super easy, so I wanted to share in case anyone else would like to do it.

I bought some printable fabric (I think you can make your own using freezer paper, but I've not tried) I bought Sew-In Computer printer fabric by Tailor because it was the cheapest. I got 4 sheets for 5.99 but used a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby. Not the kind that you iron on, but that you print directly on.

Then I used Microsoft Publisher (Love that program!) and started a custom page 1.5"x.5" and removed the margins. Then I just made the design that I wanted, which was something basic and simple that would go with anything I put it on.

When you go to print them, set it to print multiple pages per sheet, but be sure to add a little space where it says "horizontal gap" and "vertical gap". This will make it much easier to cut out. I didn't leave a lot of space, but just enough to make cutting easier. I was able to make 80 tags on one sheet of printable fabric!

Be sure and check how to treat your fabric so that the ink is set. The brand I got can't be washed, but it works for me for now. I just had to iron mine on high heat without steam. Then I cut them out and put fray stop around the edges. If you skip this you won't have a tag after a little while because the stuff frays pretty quickly.

Let the fray stop dry about 15-30 minutes and start attaching your tags to everything you make! :)

Linking to:

"

Happy Birthday

2010-04-28T20:02:00.004-04:00

Today is my grandma's birthday. She passed away in December and it was a hard day without her. Which is true for a lot of days. I want to be sure my son remembers her. She loved him so much. I know because she would count the minutes since I had brought him to see her. :) "Now, Amanda- I haven't seen him in 2 days!" I love her so much, and I miss her dearly. I called her about 10 times a day most days and it's been a hard adjustment not having her here.

We had dinner tonight and my aunt, uncle and mom came over. We planted 2 trees (Nana Trees) in my flower bed that we'll eventually transplant. My son drew her a picture and we sent it to heaven on balloons (Nana's favorite color- at least according to him).

It was a sad day, but I'm glad we were together and I'm glad that I have memories of my grandma.

I love you Grandma. Happy Birthday.

post signature

Lots to catch up!

2010-04-24T21:18:00.005-04:00

Well, I've been a little out of the blogging loop. I guess I've been online a lot, but mostly looking at other blogs instead of catching up on mine. I have lots of pictures that I need to upload, and I think I'll just get most of them up in this post. I've been doing a little less crafting because I had thyroid surgery Monday and although it's been an easy recovery, I've been laying around and not doing much.

Anyway, here are the things I have been doing:
A friend of mine has been pretty sick, and just started back to work, so I made him a card. I think it's tough to make "guy" cards so this was my attempt at something caring, but still manly. I need to get it in the mail Monday with a bag of candy. Cause candy always helps :)

This morning, after eating a muffin and a pop tart (pop toaster for those who know us) my son decided he was still starving, and I haven't really been grocery shopping, so I dug through what we had around and we worked together to make some yummy monkey bread. It was good! It was nice because we can do it together (he rolled the dough in sugar after I cut it- he loves to help) The recipe is at the bottom of this post, but it's just a basic one, nothing too special.

I've been making jewelry tiles for a while, but haven't ever posted them on here for some reason, so I made an order of them with our mascot. Then I did up a little bottle top magnet too.

Sorry about the lighting- it was 9 pm and I don't have the greatest lighting I guess!

Monkey Bread
Ingredients:
Refrigerated biscuits (I used 2 of the "Large" biscuits)
1/2 c sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 c butter
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c pecans

Preheat oven to 350*
Spray a bundt cake pan with oil and add pecans (I didn't add them all, because I layered them with the biscuits)
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl
Cut biscuits in quarters and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture then place in cake pan. I'd add some then add more nuts.
Then melt the butter in the microwave and add the brown sugar.
Pour over the top and bake for about 35 minutes till done.
Cool for about 10 minutes and flip over onto a plate and enjoy!

Linked:

Homemade Boy Birthday Gifts!

2010-04-17T11:47:00.007-04:00

Today is my cousin's 7th birthday party and since I'm always running low on cash, I made him some presents. I think boys are hard to make things for to begin with, but especially older ones! This is what I came up with!

To make the "bath slime" (it's actually just body wash) you simply take 1 cup of vegetable or olive oil, 1 cup of shower gel (any scent), 1/4 cup honey and some green food coloring. Stir them all together and pour into a container (I got this one at Hobby Lobby). Then I attached a card saying what it was and a nice green poufy!

I also took a Walmart 2.00 frame and personalized it for him. We're all huge Buckeye fans, so I made scarlet and grey circles with jersey font "friends".

There are play slime recipes everywhere, but I can tell you that in my opinion this one is the best! We also made Martha's and it was too solid. You couldn't play with it. This one is less firm.

1.In a glass or ceramic bowl, add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup white glue.
2.Stir in 4 drops food coloring if desired.
3.In another bowl, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon borax in 1/2 cup water.
4.Slowly add the dissolved borax mixture to the glue mixture. Stir well.
5.When not in use, store in a tightly sealed jar.

I only made 1/2 the recipe since I didn't want to use every drop of glue we had. And there was still plenty to play with for one kid!

Linking up to:

Signature...

2010-04-16T07:10:00.000-04:00

Just testing my new blog signature...

post signature

Bubbles

2010-04-11T20:47:00.004-04:00

I saw this post about making bubble snakes and knew that it was a "must do" with my almost 4 year old! So today we had a little extra time to kill outside while dinner was on, and we went to town.

The bubble blower is just a bottle with the bottom cut off and a sock pulled over it. I wet it and wrung it out then just stick it in a bowl with a little dish soap and blow! It was so much fun- he loved it!

Linking up

Spring Fling

2010-04-10T18:26:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday Tip Junkie and several others are having a huge giveaway with lots of great things you can win! Be sure and check it out! Here is the link!

Be sure and leave comments so you will be entered to win!!!

Laptop Bag

2010-04-09T18:12:00.006-04:00

I made myself a laptop sleeve/bag using 4 fat quarters, fusible fleece and an old belt! I actually love how it turned out, which is impressive, since I'm not usually pleased! What do you think?

I really like how the belt that I used as a strap is frayed. It actually matches better than it appears in the picture. It is sort of army green and there is army green in the bag material.

Linking up

My son's super cool camping room

2010-04-08T15:30:00.013-04:00

I have seen a lot of blogs where people show the ways they have redone their houses, and I think that I could definitely share some frightening before pictures and some amazing after pics! I can't take much credit for any of them, with the exception of drawing what I wanted the house to look like on a piece of graph paper and then waiting till things were ready to paint, but my dad did an AMAZING (and I mean seriously awesome) job on my house. He pretty much worked single handedly (he wouldn't have it any other way, trust me...) and the results are nothing short of incredible. So, anyway, here are some before pictures of the area that is now my son's room. It would have been the main bedroom, because the other bedroom was TINY- I mean super small. Like 8 ft by 9 ft small. But none of the rooms are the same now. This is just the area that his room now occupies.

Yup. It's really that bad. And you can't even tell how badly it smelled by the picture. I'm guessing the people who lived in this house before we got it had about 700 cats. All in the house. All peeing on the walls. Seriously.

And there is actually a window boarded up in the closet. I'm not joking. They boarded up a perfectly good window to make a closet. There was a wall on the opposite side of the room with nothing on it that would have made a perfect closet. But no, they chose the window wall.

So here is his AWESOME redone room:

Never mind that his bed isn't made perfectly- he was napping when I was taking the pictures. Here is the opposite wall. How cool is this?

Here are some of the "in progress" photos. The painting was basically done, but the trim wasn't up and the carpet wasn't in.

Did you notice a little pig hiding next to the closet? Yeah, that's Wilbur. After all the camping mural was painted my son decided that he wanted Wilbur in his room. Silly kid. So there is "shy" Wilbur hiding on the other side of the closet door. My mom and her friend Amy did the mural and they did a wonderful job! Here are some of the extras that make his room really special:

Just an old fishing pole that was here when we got the house. I hung some picture frames from it with pictures of our California vacation. Very cute!
This was one of his birthday presents 2 years ago from my mom and dad. My dad made it (okay, how awesome is he?!)

And a shirt that my brother made for my son with an actual fish! I framed it because it's still to big for him to wear. But it's all still intact so some day he can wear it.

Just another picture of the mural. I think his room is super cute and so much fun for a little boy!

Chick Runner

2010-04-06T06:03:00.007-04:00

Since we were having Easter at my house, I thought I needed something a little "springy" to add to the table and jazz things up a little. So here are pictures of the little chick runner I made. I found some inspiration on the internet and went to town!

Linking up to:

Magnetic Board

2010-04-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

I wanted to make my aunt some cute magnets for work, but I didn't think she'd have anywhere to stick them, so I made her a little magnetic board for her desk! The best part is that it was from stuff I had laying around! I had this old frame that was missing the glass. It had the back, but I didn't have it in for the picture.

I have lots of 5x7 galvanized steel step flashing left over from Christmas presents I made, so I used one as a template to cut a piece of scrapbook paper that I liked.

I thought that I'd just put the paper in front of the steel so that I could easily change it for seasons or holidays, but the frame was kind of cheap and didn't really hold it tightly, so I put 3 pieces of double sided tape and attached the paper to the steel.

Here it is with just the plain magnets (before I got the cute ones made)

And again, the finished product! Easy and cute!

Linking up to:

Something I'm Planning

2010-04-01T21:32:00.001-04:00

I found out about a blog called Craft Hope not too long ago, and I stopped in there this evening to see what the latest craft project is. Well, I think it's one I can help with. I am going to give it my best shot, anyway. It is making bean bags for orphans in Liberia. Not just plain bean bags, but educational ones. So I'm even more for that! Check out the link here. Super cool idea, and I think it's certainly doable. I'm sure that my mom will help me, and maybe I can get others excited about it too! I'll try to post some photos when I'm done! Maybe even some "in progress" ones! :)

Custom Jars

2010-03-30T09:18:00.004-04:00

I made these cute little jars the other day, inspired by Martha's etched jars. I just felt like I wanted something I could change when I wanted to, so I added my own little twist.

Then I made one for my aunt, who needed a little space to save some tax money! Her's isn't changable since she isn't allowed to use it for anything but taxes! :)

I started with this jar:

Then used Metallic spray paint to make the lid pretty

2 coats did the trick.

While that was drying, I used goo gone (wonderful!) to get the gunky stuff off the jar

Then I taped off a square that I wanted to spray with chalkboard paint and painted it with 2 coats of chalkboard paint

After it was dry, I thought it was a little boring:

So I added an etched design above and below the chalkboard area.

I just made a little design on contact paper and put it on the jar, then cut the design out with an x-acto knife

Apply armor etch generously and let it sit for 10 or 15 min. I have seen where many people say to remove it after 5 minutes and reapply, but I found that it makes no difference if you take it off and reapply, but sometimes I ended up moving a bit of the contact paper and ruining my design, so now I just leave it on the entire time.

Be sure that your etching creme doesn't run-

(While you're waiting 15 mintues for it to etch, you can make another craft- that's what I did! I will post it later)

Rinse the armor etch off in the sink:

Remove the contact paper and you're done!

Then there is the version with just the etching- I just used scotch tape and contact paper. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Linking up to:

A "crafter" AND a "fixer"! :)

2010-03-23T08:15:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago a little hook fell off of the side of my desk. My son promptly wanted to call Papaw so they (he loves to help) could fix it. I told him that I could fix it and we didn't need to call Papaw. He responded (ever so seriously) "Mommy, you're a crafter- not a fixer! Papaw is a fixer!"

However, my parents are vacationing in Hawaii (lucky them) so I actually had no choice last night but to fix my toilet! It has been slowly leaking and refilling for a while but it did it so rarely I wasn't very worried about it. That is until the night before last when it started doing it every minute or so. It was driving me crazy (it's the bathroom in my bedroom) so I shut off the water supply to it and when I got a chance yesterday I replaced the flapper. Yup. It took about 2 seconds. I was pretty proud of myself. Especially since I think I'm certainly a fixer now :) I was going to take pictures, but I mean, who really wants to look at a toilet?!

St Patty's Day

2010-03-16T21:25:00.005-04:00

At St Patty's day I let my son decorate a box that we then "place in the moonlight so the leprechauns will hide their treasure in it" (That's how it works after all!). In my mind it's a shiny blingy box but he chose otherwise, so here is his box: (my aunt helped with 2 sides when he got bored)

Now tonight while he's sleeping, the leprechauns will come and leave their treasure in his treasure box. They also leave little green footprints where ever they walk, and unfortunately they drag toys out and don't put them up!!! (no pics of the mess yet incase he wakes up through the night UPDATE-- Pictures are below)

Here is the treasure: (milk chocolate gold coins and a new t-shirt for his school party)

Just a little something fun that he will always remember!

UPDATE: Here are the messy pictures.

Happy St Patty's day everyone!

Linking up to:

Wooden Nickle Magnets

2010-03-11T06:05:00.003-05:00

I made these cute little magnets last week. I saw them somewhere, but I honestly do not remember where. Here is how I did it.

I took a bag of these wooden nickles from Hobby Lobby:

I cut some circles from coordinating scrapbook paper (I made 2 sets of 3 magnets) on my (okay, really my mom's) cricut. I think I cut them 1 1/4 in.

Apply ModPodge. I used the Matte finish, but there are several options.

Et voila! Let them dry and glue a superstrong button magnet on the back with E6000- ready to go!

I couldn't figure out why my pictures looked overexposed, but my camera settings were changed. Oops!

I think a set of the green ones would be very cute with the letters S P R I N G mod podged onto them! I also think it'd be a cute way to use kid's artwork!

Coupon Organizer

2010-03-03T15:34:00.009-05:00

Here is a little coupon organizer I made for my friend's birthday that is coming up Friday!
I made one for my cousin's birthday yesterday but I tweeked this one a little.

Here are the supplies you'll need if you want to make one: 2 coordinating matierials, some thin cardboard (like from a cereal box or frozen pizza), fusible fleece, and a file folder (for the little folders inside)

I cut the fabric the size of a normal printer paper- cut one of the main fabric, one of the lining and one of fusible fleece.
Then cut 4 triangles that will be used for the sides of the organizer.
Apply the fusible fleece to the wrong side of the main fabric.
Put the fabrics together to see where the velcro should go, and mark both sides.

Cut a piece of cardboard a little smaller than the paper since it will be inside the sewed pieces.

Sew the velcro on the main fabric and the lining material where you marked earlier.

Place the fabrics right side together with the velcro ends opposite each other and sew 3 sides closed.

Turn the piece right side out and place the cardboard inside (which sounds easier than it was!) be sure it's snug since it won't look too great if it's baggy.

Fold the top edge in and sew closed.

Sew the triangles together, leaving an opening at the top to turn them right side out.

Turn right side out and fold the top in and sew closed

Placing the tip of the triangle in the corner of the bottom of the organizer, sew up the side (that is a little hard to explain but hopefully the photo helps)

Fold the organizer and sew up the other side of the triangle (this was a little tough with the cardboard)

Here is the finished side:

I made a template with printer paper for cards to put inside to organize the coupons then I traced them onto a file folder I had and cut them out (I only made 6 dividers since that was what fit onto the folder)

Here is the finished organizer!

With the dividers:

And again:
I hope my friend likes it!

Linking up to:

I'm Back!

2010-03-02T18:15:00.006-05:00

Well, I haven't been doing much crafting because 1) I'm pretty much completely broke and 2) I have been working more- refer to 1. But today I was back on the wagon! :) I made a bag for my cousin for her wedding day. I'm going to fill it with things she may need in case of emergency (first aid kit, sewing kit, deodorant, lotion, an apple- they say to eat one on your wedding day to combat bad breath, and anything else I can think of!)

Here are the bag supplies:

I measured the bag, added .5 in for seam allowences and made the lining from the material. Then for a little extra I added ribbon on the handles and around the top. I think I'll add something else too, but I'm not sure what. Maybe HT for my "Hott Tousin" :)

I think it ended up pretty cute! Especially for what it cost me- only 57 cents for the bag on sale at Hobby Lobby, 2.50 for the material that I still have plenty of, and I think a dollar for the ribbon, which I also have plenty of left over! Not too shabby!

I made some other things today too, so I'll try and post them tomorrow!

I'm linking up to:

I've been missing!

2010-02-06T11:03:00.006-05:00

Sorry I have been missing in action! I have been devoting all of my spare time to car hunting. It isn't going great, though, so I figure it's back to the crafting board! I made some Valentine presents and wanted to post them here for you all to see!

I made something for my son's teachers (yes, there are entirely too many of them!) and my family, but I just realized that if I post it, they will see it! I will put them last, so Aunt Bon, Mom, if you're reading this, don't go to the bottom! Stop at the teepees! :)

I also made my son's Valentine's. I saw these somewhere else, but I honestly can't remember where it was- it's been a month or more ago, and I do a lot of blog hopping! *** UPDATE- I was just blog hopping again and found them- they were at HowDoesShe.com*** Anyway, we made heart crayons for his class and attached them to cards that say "Have a happy Valentine's Day for "crayon" out loud!" Yes, they are a little cheesy, but aren't they cute?! Anyway, here is how we did it!

I got this tray at Crafts 2000 (it is actually for candy or chocolates)

Then we took all the paper off of old crayons and broke them up (I actually had to do this, because I used a knife. It was too hard to break them that small)

Then we put them in the tray (I forgot to take a picture of that step) and put them in the oven at 200* for about 15 minutes. Take them out, let them cool and this is what you get:

Then you can make cute Valentines (I'm going to work a little on these...)

Overall they are really cute, and he could help, so it was a lot of fun!

I also made a gift for my very dear friends who just had a baby. I saw these forever ago while she was pregnant and I knew they would be perfect for her! They are little "pee pee tee pees" (How funny!). I just used a bowl for a circle pattern then cut it in half and sewed up the side to make the teepee then sewed them together. They are for putting over a little boy's pee pee when you are changing their diaper so that they don't spray you! :)

FAMILY STOP READING NOW!

I made sugar scrub for my son's teachers and my family. All you really need is oil and sugar, but I also got Vitamin E oil and essential oils so they smell good.
Here are my supplies:

You just use about 3 parts sugar to 1 part oil and add a little vit E and essential oils. You can really just wing it until you get it how you like it. I made honey almond scented and I made cute stickers to go on the top of my lids. I will try to post them so you can use them. I just printed them on sticker paper and added some ribbon to the bottom of the tin.

I think they turned out really cute, and the scrub makes your hands (or feet or whatever) feel amazingly soft!

I can't figure how to post the .pdf or .pub file here, so if anyone knows how I will try again! If you want the file, I can also email it to you.

Valentines Wreath

2010-01-26T09:37:00.004-05:00

When I saw this wreath at Tatertots and Jello I knew I needed to make one for Valentine's Day! I love it! Here is my version:

I think I'm going to print out some "Be Mine" letters for February! I love it!

Girly Tea Treats

2010-01-25T15:35:00.005-05:00

My son's "girl friend" (they're 3!) is having a birthday tea party this weekend, and I've been making "tea time treats" like crazy! I think they are super cute! I planned on making felt cookies and such for her to have when she had a tea party, but when I was at Hobby Lobby I ended up getting some other items that I just couldn't live without! Here is my before shot:

Nothing too exciting, of course, but here's my finished project (minus the cake stand because I'm not done with it- that's what the other 2 things are unfinished)

I'll be sure and post a picture of the cake and cake stand when they're done. I hope she likes them! I sure had fun making them, and my son LOVES them! He's quite encouraging of my crafting! I love it!

Catching up

2010-01-23T16:23:00.007-05:00

Well, I've been reading blogs and doing crafts for several months, so I am going to post some pictures of things I've made.

First off, I was tired of an old combination dry erase/cork board that had seen much better days, so I decided to make my own *prettier* versions! I got 2 cheap 10x13 frames from Walmart and I went to town. I had some fabric that I fell in love with and decided to add it to my computer/play room. I just used the fabric pulled tightly over a piece of cardboard (from SpecialK cereal) and hotglued, then I put it behind the glass- ready to go as a dry erase board! Then I used the old cork and cut it to fit in the frame to get my *new* corkboard!

See here:

Here is a picture of the curtain I made to match (not exactly thrilled with it, since I didn't have enough fabric to have it slightly gathered like I wanted, but hey- I'm on a budget!)

I also got super carried away and modpodged my mouse pad! I hadn't quite mastered the art of modpodge yet, though, so it ended up a little warped! EEK! Still better than it was!

I guess that's all I'll post for now. I am in the process of making a super cute gift for a little girl in my son's preschool class, so I'll have that up soon!

It Begins!

2010-01-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am, making a blog! As though I have all the extra time in the world! I am an avid blog reader, so I guess now I can be an avid blogger also! Soon I will post some crafts that I have made and I also plan to use this to keep track of crafts that I want to someday make!

Linky Parties

2010-01-01T07:03:00.010-05:00

My pages are being taken over by linky party buttons, so I'm going to list all my parties here so that we no longer need to see all the buttons on every post!

Monday

Made it Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Gypsy's Corner
Dirty Hands Beautiful Life center>

Thursday

PonyTails and Fish Scales
Friday

Saturday

Sunday