Friday, August 28, 2009

Today I'm inspired by...

I can't remember the last time I cut a strip of paper dolls. I saw this CUTE design as I was blog surfing and thought I'd share:Go here DIY Bridesmaids Cards to see the tutorial. I love how the hair is cut different on each girl!
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And these cute little fortune teller (cootie catcher) candy holders:
by good 'ol Martha

:o) ♥

Hm...I think I'm getting in party planning mode...

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

My splurge...

:o)!!!! ♥
I bought a Zutter Bind-it-all yesterday!!! I'm so happy and can't wait to use it. It's so cute and little and pink! This little gismo will allow me to put mini books together like this:

~sigh~
It's so easy to make me happy.
:o)

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Yeah, but can she cook?

uh-huh.
Well...I'm no expert and I don't really have any particular specialty, but I hold my own on the basics! And this past Sunday I was a domestic goddess! I feel a little silly posting about food, but I was so productive in the kitchen on Sunday and I'm trying to post more regularly so here goes...
 
***
It started by making lunches for Doug and his friend, Ron who were working on painting a commercial building on a Sunday morning (no tennants at that time of the week). Delivered to them at 10:00 a.m. because when you start your work day @ 5:00 a.m. you are starving by 10!
Then my dear father-in-law called to say he wandered if I'd like to sew some sheets for him ('nother story for another time) and make him lunch. Sure, Dave, I'd love to!
Then I made a mini-meatloaf for Doug to take with him to Flagstaff ~ he's painting a cabin for a client and will be there all week (looks kinda' gross uncooked, and it's ground turkey so it looks really bland, but the picture had to be included...).
Then I made a batch of chili because hunting season is coming up and it freezes and travels well and is easy to heat up on a camp stove at the end of the day. (No, I don't hunt, but hubby digs it!) And cornbread to go with:

And chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies (also for the Flagstaff trip). Phew. My feet hurt at the end of the day -- and I think every dish in my kitchen had to be washed in the end! Doug will be in Flagstaff all week and I just might have a bowl of cereal every night for dinner this week!
Yeh, I earned my wife points today! This man is worth it! He works hard and takes such good care of Carrie and me. xoxox to you, Doug!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Aprons are "in" again!

I just love pink and orange!And I LOVE felt.

YEARS ago, when I was a teenager and also in my twenties, I was obsessed with felt. I made flowers, hearts, Christmas ornaments, and many mice with felt clothes. I loved the soft texture and the way it was so easy to cut and the edges didn't have to be turned under...
***
I'm back in love with felt.
***
Carrie and I have a dear friend, Kristi, who is celebrating a birthday this week (on Monday, August 24). She's a Crafter, Baker, and Smile Maker and I've known for a few months now that I wanted to make her an apron as a birthday gift. Here are some pix of the process:This blue tin belonged to my Grandma Bessie. I remember her pulling embroidery floss out of it when I was a little girl, teaching me how to stitch on random fabric scraps stretched in hoops. When she left the planet, I got this tin. It now has a combination of her floss (some is probably older than me!), mine, and now Carrie's. It was fun pulling it out to stitch around the felt flower I made to attach to Kristi's apron.
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And of course, I always get by with a little help from my [furry] friends. Fancy Jane even joined the action this time (Kristi, wash your apron before using!). And every time I get up from my chair Whiskers makes a beeline straight for it, then gets irritated when I kick him off. Carrie and I crafted with Kristi today and we gave her birthday presents. She loved her apron! :o) ♥
Carrie and I met Kristi when we worked at Recollections (a scrapbook store owned by Michael's that was a freaking amazing place to work!!!) about three years ago. She is a doll and we love her to pieces. She and Carrie are out "celebrating" tonight and before they left our house I snapped a few pictures. She was embarrassed, but all the shots of her are ADORABLE.And, yes, Kristi, as a matter of fact, I AM gonna' post you on my blog.

~ ♥ ~
Happy birthday, dear one.
xoxox

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Something amazing...

One of the things we just had to do last weekend during our trip to San Diego was to go back to the Architectural Salvage store. We were there three years ago and bought a really cool old beveled glass window that we have hanging in an archway in our house. We LOVE it! And we loved the store and all its amazing old, salvaged treasures. Here are a few of the treasures we saw:

Doug is right. This photo would make a great jigsaw puzzle!

~sigh~ Bottles... I ♥ bottles!!!
This photo is out of focus, but look at all the glorious crystals. The green tub holds strands and strands of crystals taken from chandeliers. This is one of the trinkets I brought home. I plan to hang it in the window of my craft room:
View from upstairs...kinda' dark, but cool, huh?
...yeah...some of it is fairly random...
Old bathtubs with windows in them! :o)!!!

This place is VERY close to the airport! It seemed like we could reach up and touch the planes -- one after another flew by. Eek!
Yeah.
Fun times.
~ ♥ ~

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Bargain Beach Blanket

Trip to Goodwill last week to purchase 5 sheets: $15
Two evenings of cutting and sewing: 8 hours total
Beach blanket to last us for years of good times: PRICELESS!
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So, it turns out that sheets on the beach are great! The sand shakes off easily and this will wash up very well. I'm excited! I was inspired by the beach blanket posted by Soulemama. Hers is cute, but I must say I LOVE the colors on mine -- they are just so BEACHY. :o)
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Doug and I had a great time in San Diego this past weekend. It was a much needed get-away for us. My sweet hubby has had more pictures taken of him in the past 6 years since we've been together than he probably has had in his entire life leading up to Me & Carrie. Lucky for me, he's a good sport and we got a lot of CUTE pix. I have a mini-book design swimming around in my head, so stay tuned for pictures of that in a week or so...
~sigh~ I love this man...

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Happy birthday, my little cat.

To those who are not cat lovers, and especially those who aren't pet owners, this might seem a little lame, but today is a special day at our house. Three years ago today Whiskers Jay was born in the closet of what is now my craft room.

Mama cat was a stray that we took in a month before his birth -- named her Melvin only to find out that instead of being a stray male she was a pregnant female. (Oops.) By then Doug had already committed to letting Carrie and I keep him/her so he was stuck.

We agreed that NO MATTER WHAT, we would NOT name the kittens, thereby avoiding the risk of becoming too attached to release them to the good homes we were going to find for them. eh-hm. Whiskers was born first and I don't think he was on the bottom of the cardboard box more than 5 minutes before Carrie deemed him "Whiskers" because he had two little lines coming off either side of his little baby kitten nose.
The rest is history. Mama cat went away and so did the other kitten from the litter and Whiskers remained our cat. He's a quirky, goofy, not-the-brightest-crayon-in-the-box kind of cat, but we love him. He will celebrate tonight with special kitty treats.

>^..^< ♥

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Diaper Cake Recipe

Diaper Cake Recipe
by Carrie and me
~ ♥ ~

2 packages Huggies, size 1 disposable diapers
heavy string or twine and a large needle
empty paper towel roll
ribbon
2 yards of tulle
round piece of cardboard (we used a layer cake board)
toy or baby items for top of cake
a baby shower to go to

String diapers together by sewing a continuous strand. We pierced them at the top center about 1/2 from the edge (35 for bottom layer, 28 for middle, 21 for top). Pull the ends of the twine and gather the strand of diapers around the paper towel roll and tie.

Wrap another piece of twine around the outside of the diapers and pull tight, creating a swirl of diapers -- this step works best with an extra set of hands! Wrap ribbon around this piece of twine to hide it. You can either pin the ribbon with a diaper pin, or do as I did and sew the ends together with a needle and thread.

When all of the layers are stacked, place on the cardboard circle, and then place the entire thing into the center of 2 yards of tulle. We gathered the tulle up to the top and stuffed it down into the center into the top of the paper towel roll.

Carrie painted the letter "I" (for Isaac) and embellished it with ribbon. She put a wooden skewer down the back of it and used that to anchor it into the top of the cake. Little doggie (color inspiration for this "cake") is perched on top.

Oh yeah -- remember the garland I made a couple months ago? We draped a piece of it (the little red hearts) from the top layer and let it fall across the front. That ended up being a sweet little touch.

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♥ I was sentimental. Twenty-one years ago I was using diapers that size to put on Carrie, and now she's stringing them together for her friend Chrissy's baby shower. ♥

************
Our dear friend Kristi makes a really cute diaper cake -- she rolls each of the diapers individually, wrapping each with a strip of paper and then holding the layers together by wrapping each with an individual folded up receiving blanket. She put all kinds of baby goodies on each of the layers with a big stuffed animal on top -- adorable!!!
***********

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Redemption

Ok. I woke up this morning EARLY and couldn't go back to sleep. I was thinking about this leftover fabric and another pattern I'd seen @ Keyka Lou Patterns. This one is a "city tote" pattern -- not the itty-bitty thing I struggled with yesterday. So...I downloaded this pattern and proceeded to use every last bit of this fabric I'd bought yesterday (barely had enough!). I had FUN sewing it, and I love how it turned out.
Between Carrie and I, neither one of us is sure if we'll ever use it. Ha! Can you believe it? I will...at least once. I love these colors together, but don't usually carry a bag like this. ~sigh~
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And, as per the usual, Whiskers was there helping me again today. I gave up and let him stay on the table and he was content. He sure has a swishy tail though! Isn't my pin cushion cute? I got it from Natalie Jo over at Piccalillidays
:o) ♥



Saturday, August 1, 2009

Lesson Learned

This post is for Marti, Liz, and Valerie - my dear family members who think that everything crafty I touch "turns to gold" (Liz). Today I:
- used the bubble pouch pattern I FINALLY ordered from Etsy that I have been wanting for over a month ($6).
- spent $28 on CUTE fabric @ Sally's Fabrics, and $7 on interfacing @ Joann's.
- cut enough fabric to make 6 bubble pouches (because I was SURE I'd be giving these as gifts to every female on my Christmas list this year).
- had to have Carrie help me with the directions because I was confused (I really DO know how to sew and follow a pattern!!!)
- knocked Whiskers (the cat) off my sewing table at least 100 times.
- learned that using heavy interfacing in a small project isn't a good idea.
- listened to the TV blaring the movie "Alien" while I struggled with sewing a smooth curve around a SMALL pouch (Side note: hubby has seen "Alien" oh...TEN times already!?!?!?).
- made the loop for the button way too big and realized it too late.
- realized I'm not good at judging the size of a finished project by looking at the pattern itself because let me tell you, this pouch is LITTLE, hence the name "bubble pouch." (I've BLOWN bubbles larger than this pouch.)
- realized I don't like working with velvet (picture of this one not attached because it's just too embarrassing).
- :o( didn't have fun with my sewing machine.

Sad. Just not a good day for sewing. I think I'll go back to paper for a while...
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