because you asked…

Twice this week I have been asked about this blog and why I don’t update it anymore.  It’s not that I don’t create, I have two years *gasp* of creative work that hasn’t been shared. I’m a perfectionist, and I was spending so much time getting photos ready for my blog that I wasn’t crafting anymore.  I will try, at least for the two people who asked, to post things every now and then.  I’m not going to worry about the quality of the photo because my iPhone is usually what’s handy, and I’m not going to worry about traffic on my blog because this is for the people who want to see it.  I will share things that are near and dear to my heart.  Here’s a preview of some things that have happened since May.

Some sewing has happened…

  

even by T3 who made her first sewing project this summer.

Some vinyl crafting has happened…

   

and T1 graduated

 

and then left for college.

This is only a glimpse of creativity since May.  You can image what the last two years have been like.  I may share some of my favorites along the way, I will hopefully share some new creations also.  I will make no promises.  Life takes priority.

 

 

Scrabble quilt

Since it has been sooooo long since I last posted, I wanted it to be a good project. This scrabble quilt is a perfect way to get back into the swing of things. I made this for my mom for Mother’s Day. I was inspired by Ashley at Oh sew many rags. She actually takes orders if you are interested. This is a very time consuming process but well worth it. I used my silhouette to cut the freezer paper stencils for all of the letters, awesome time saver! I used Ashley’s suggestion of 6×6 squares and I used a tan flannel for the backing. My mom loved the quilt!

 

Hopefully I will post again soon since summer is here. I do have a few more quilt tops to quilt and some Sweetwater fabric to make quilts!

Welcome Kimber

My sweet friend had her baby Sunday.  Kimber Dawn.Isn’t she precious!!! I finished some items for her room once she arrived (her gender remained a secret until arrival.)

This is fabric her mom picked out and I did have it finished before her birth. Mom LOVED it.

These items (as well as a pink burp I didn’t photograph) were delivered the day she arrived.  Mom was a K-State basketball player and the burp cloth was appreciated 🙂 I used my Silhouette to make a freezer paper stencil to recreate the burp cloth found on Pinterest. I also used a decorative stitch on the sewing machine I got for my birthday. YEAH!!!!

On the next visit I was able to take a few more burp cloths and her diaper basket.  Kimber’s mom loved everything.  I got to spend more time holding sweet Kimber.  I managed to leave my sunglasses, so darn the luck, I’ll have to go visit again before school starts. I’m so glad she is here and healthy and that my friend had a safe delivery.

making school supplies

Sometimes you just can’t find what you’re looking for while school supply shopping, other times you want to try a fun pin using duct tape. So we made a few supplies outside of the cart full of crap stuff we purchased.  First I made some pencil pouches for T1 & T2.  They wanted them big enough to hold A LOT of pencils but small enough to fit in the backpack with lots of books.

sorry for the blurry pic.T2 gave me free reign on the fabric so I used some Lucy’s Crab Shack scraps.  I still need to show you guys all the stuff I’ve made with Lucy!

Using the Pinterest inspiration, T3 and I made some duct tape pencil bags.  They were quick and fun!

Using this same idea, I made an Art folio for T4. He was supposed to have an art box and fit all this stuff in that little box.Needless to say, it didn’t fit.  So I had some extra zip lock bags left over and decided to use some fabric, duct tape and bags to make an art folio.He approved and I was happy because he now has an opinion about clothes and school supplies and frequently rejects mom’s ideas.

Last but not least is a cover for my school issued iPad.  It’s not the best iPad holder but it came with the iPad.  I just made it a little better.  I also used the inspiration for the pin floating around on Pinterest to make a stylus pouch.  It works for now but I may need to invest in a better cover eventually.Yep, you should recognize some more Lucy scraps.  I love Lucy 🙂

jungle baby shower

My dear friend is having her first baby and I helped plan one of her showers.  She doesn’t know what she’s having so we used a gender neutral jungle theme. We had an awesome pineapple tree (as seen on Pinterest) and veggies as well as some animal cracker cupcakes in vanilla and raspberry lemonade and some jungle juice (I will reduce the amount of sugar next time).

I also made her some handmade gifts.  I had posted this cute giraffe softie on Pinterest and she loved it, so I made her one to match her nursery.

I also made a couple of gauze baby blankets, one of them I left white but the other I ombre dyed.

And here is the basket liner I made.  I also made her valance and crib skirt but I didn’t pull the pictures off my phone.

Her baby should be here within the next two weeks.  I wish her a quick and healthy delivery!

Sitting here getting my hair done

It’s rare that I post a picture of myself on my blog (especially one this scary looking), but posting from the beauty shop chair is the type of blogging I’m going to have to do. I finished a marsupial order last week. The Americana was my favorite, especially since it was designed for this lady’s friend in the military.

I also tried an idea from pinterest using an old book and succulents. I LoVE how this turned out!

Used an app that’s been on my phone for awhile called photo cork. You have to get the paid version if you don’t want photocork added to the end of your photo title.

I hope to take pics of my recovered chairs today. Used some Lucy’s Crab Shack. Sweetwater, you make we swoon!

How to catch up on 4 months?

I’ve been gone from the blog world but not from crafting. I don’t really feel too bad about not posting; I’ve devoted my time to my family and my job. I do want to share a few of the projects I’ve completed since February. I’m posting from my phone and I used apps to edit all the pictures. I’ll mention those at the end. I’m hoping that if I can post when I have a moment, probably not sitting at home with our crazy schedule, then I can post more frequently.

I’ll start with St. Pat’s Day. You’ll see some pinterest inspiration in these pics.

I’ve also made tons of baby sets. One was a custom order to fit a changing table. A huge 12×16 inch basket!

We made some Avenger stuff, cause sometimes you just need to. 🙂

I ombré dyed some curtains for my bedroom. I hate to admit that I still only have one hung. The other is on the floor in front of the window.

I entered a swap but didn’t get the picture posted. This is what I sent.

And I made a summer sign for my entry post.

I made some teacher appreciation and graduation gifts.

I’ve used two free apps to edit my pics. The quality isn’t as good as I hoped but I like the convenience. PicCollage and Labelbox, check them out in the AppStore.

I ordered some Lucy’s Crab Shack fabric by Sweetwater and will have some things to post soon!

bedroom project and some extras

So I didn’t get this posted last weekend but I did complete it last weekend.  The Mr. T helped a lot and we finished it on Saturday.  I love it and have some art work for above the board and batten it’s just not up yet.

So the wall is the weird green color, and yes, before you beat me to it, it’s very close to my quilt color.  The difference is my quilt is more blue and the wall looks like someone threw up mint!  I have been looking for paint colors and I can’t find exactly what I want.  I have also wanted a headboard for our king sized platform bed that the Mr. T and I made 5 years ago (and still haven’t painted or stained!)  I have a love for any board and batten project I find in blogland and have wanted to do this in our bedroom since we moved in.  We haven’t done ANYTHING with decorating our bedroom, not even pictures on the walls (and maybe some unpacked boxes… and yes that’s Christmas paper leaning against the wall.  Don’t judge!)

We used primed MDF boards from Lowes and it was a super cheap project

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The wall looks small without the bed

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The bedroom is far from done.  I need bedside tables that fit the smaller space, curtains and some wall art, but this is a good start.

I do have one piece on the wall in the bedroom, and old window inspired by Cheryl at I am Momma.  I have followed her blog for quite some time and she is a fabulous crafter. I made a cork board in the bottom middle using wine corks.  The two panels at the side are covered sheet metal so they are magnetic.  I plan to change the gray out with fabric when I find some I like.

Another birthday party for T3 so another snappy top bag.  This one requested Mickey so I busted out the iron on vinyl.

My last little project is a pencil pouch.  I’ve had this pinned on Pinterest for quite some time and decided to make one.  It’s very cute and handy.  The original post is from A Spoonful of Sugar with a good tutorial. After making two, I might increase the length by 1/2 an inch.  Will definitely add this to my gift giving list.

St. Pat’s decor is going up and Valentine’s Day is coming down.  I have a few ideas for green to post soon.  Happy crafting!

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vinyl and spray paint and clearance, OH MY!

This past weekend it was over 50 degrees.  Now to most people that just means and unseasonably warm January day, but for me in means SPRAY PAINT!  I have had a few projects that needed some attention and I was able to get them done. My a to z bookends didn’t show up against the dark wood bookshelf.  Green paint to the rescue.

And since it’s such an awesome color of green, I decided to paint a small table that color too.

I also painted a old brass floor lamp a rubbed bronze.  Hopefully I can show you that soon; it needs a new shade!!!

I ordered some vinyl form Expressions Vinyl, my favorite vinyl place.  They ship SUPER fast and are very reasonable.  I needed some green and gold  to embellish some travel mugs for my sister and her husband.  They got these mugs on clearance after Christmas.  Stainless steel (inside and out) with a leather like removable cup holder.  She sent them home with me so I could put their favorite teams on them.  The rounded sides are tough to put vinyl on but they turned out pretty good.  It is permanent vinyl that is hand washable.  Since the sale was so irresistible (ridiculously cheap!) my brother-in-law got me a few (quite a few) more mugs thinking I could dress them up and put them in my shop.  I played around and made one for myself, replacing the leather like holder with a quilted one.  Obviously I will have to use non-licensed ideas for the ones I sell, but for personal use, I love mine. Dr. Seuss rocks!

Speaking of clearance, I scored a king sized quilt at Target for $24.  T2 needed heavy curtains to block the cold in her room and she really liked the orange in the quilt.  We also found some tie back bars on, you guessed it- clearance, at Lowe’s that we still need to mount, to hold the heavy fabric back.

One last picture – our dog Latte, who insisted upon having her picture taken while I was taking pictures of the table.  She’s something.

Last group of Christmas Presents

We had our last Christmas gathering yesterday and I can finally post the rest of my pictures.  I have included a few orders that I have filled too.  I’m getting ready to work on some SNOW projects, just being hopeful :)!

This first project came from Dog Under My Desk and I added personalization to the back.  Thanks for such a great tutorial (although I wasn’t near my printer so I didn’t use her pattern, but I would have been easier if I had!) T2s friends loved them at their gift exchange on New Years Eve.

We also put vinyl on A LOT OF STUFF.  The monkey nightlight is for my nephew to match his monkey themed room I made the goodies for. The others are gifts and orders we (my friend Steph has been helping tons!) have filled.

created by Jen during Crafts & Spirits night 🙂

nightlight for T3 & 4s bathroom

gift for my grammy

order

Zach's nightlight

I made a marker roll & marsupial for my nieces as well as these dry erase frames for their rooms.

And last but not least, how about some Angry Birds with blocks.  T3 & 4 used the little Angry Birds that T4 got in his stocking and filmed (no I didn’t include the MANY videos they made) each episode of the Angry Birds game.  They worked on this for hours.  I love how creative they are!

I go back to school tomorrow 😦 but I am trying to adopt a new attitude toward all the changes coming down the pipe in education.

Source: Uploaded by user via Mandi on Pinterest

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