I Made That

Honestly, wish lists are such a pain. I really have to be feeling them. They may become a once-a-month thing.

For today, I wanted to show off some cuteness I made.

Now you can't tell from the picture, but it's actually a headband. Seen in action here...

Because sewing up my shirt, planning lessons, and planning my outfit wasn't enough for one night... the night before the game last week I decided I needed a hair accessory. So I stitched this baby up. I bought the patch on eBay. Actually, I ordered five. I've used two so far. Stitched the patch onto white felt by hand. Sewed the white to the black with my machine. Hot glued it to the headband. Glittered the white edge. Voila... cuteness. I got a lot of compliments. For how easy it is, I may try to make some to sell. We'll have to see...

Spring Break - Day 1

 It wasn't an overly interesting day. Caught up on soaps. Got in a crafting mood so decided I needed to go to the fabric store. 99 cent patterns...

 So I bought this one. Meaning to use it for a lovely piece of mustard colored jersey I have. Ummm... I don't have enough. Sads. But I've already come up with another idea for the mustard. And I have grey that I can use for this vest. It looks pretty cute.

I also lucked out that jersey was on sale! Got a nice kiwi color, that super cute stripe, and grey. Because I can never have too much black or grey in my closet. No plans yet for the kiwi or the stripe. But I'll start thinking now... summer is on the way and I'll be in need of some easy to wear maxi dresses...

Made a little stop at the thrift store. Here are two of my purchases. I know, you're thinking, "Are you really going to wear Hawaiian shirts???" Not these. These will be turned into super cute skirts for summer time. Look at me and my mad creative skills. I also bought a shirt (with tags still on it) that will be perfect for work. And a Hawaiian shirt that WILL be worn as is. But more on that tomorrow...

This is the state of my kitchen table. Fabric scraps, buttons, ribbon (out of frame), glues... I've been crafting. Actually it's looked like this since Monday night. I made two hair accessories for myself last week. I'm hoping not to lose my urge to craft this week since I'll actually be HOME for it.

No huge plans for tomorrow. Just little ones. That will be amusing (to me at least). Although if my parents are home from Cancun by tomorrow maybe I'll pay them a visit.

What did y'all do today?

Late... No Surprise There

So I'm making a wreath for my door for Valentine's Day. This is unheard of because it's not a holiday I typically decorate for. But this year I'm all about it for some reason.

Anyways, I totally realized that I never showed you the wreath I made for Christmas! This is totally relevant because the wreaths are the same type.

So... tadaaaa!

Yeah, that's black tulle. And so many of you are probably thinking, "BLACK?! And what's with the green and purple???" Well, hubby and I have a Nightmare Before Christmas theme going on here for the holidays. Ornaments, fancy feather wreath for the mantle, little snow scene with figurines, and even a vampire teddy bear for the top of the tree this year! So the black and green and purple obviously fit in.

Here's a close up of the stuff I put in. Glitter ornaments are from a dollar store. So are the snowflakes. The ribbon I got for fifty cents a spool. Mom had the black tulle already. And I used a coupon for the styrofoam wreath that's under all that tulle. So it ended up being a really cheap project. And I LOVE how it turned out.

So like I said, currently working on a Valentine's Day wreath. But it's not going to be obnoxious pink or red tulle. I'm actually making it white. And I'll add in random pink and red stuff. It'll be cute. Maybe I'll get pics up next week. And I'll have to include Tad's window. He put up his little gel clings that I bought on clearance last year and they're looking mighty cute...

I Need Suggestions

I've mentioned that I plan on doing as much crafting/sewing/making of my Christmas gifts this year as I can. Some things will be easy (pajama pants for the kids) and some will take a little more time. I can deal with that.

Most of you know that I'm also that aunt that lets the kids do and make whatever they want. So I'm going to try and get them involved with Christmas. I already have a couple ideas (especially an easy teacher gift) and can't wait to get them over here. But I need some more suggestions.

Requirements? Preferably something that only takes a couple hours. Between attention spans and the fact that I have to drive twenty or so minutes when I want them, these things need to be easy. It would also be great if I could get some ideas that use a lot of stuff I might already have. Or supplies I could find SUPER cheap.

So send your ideas my way! And if you've ever been a recipient of homemade gifts (that you didn't find lame), send some ideas my way.

Now I'm off to my mom's so we can hit the fabric store. Enjoy your Sunday!

Serious Cuteness

So remember a couple weeks ago when I was being crafty for a baby shower gift? Well, I finally got off my bum and uploaded pictures. So here ya go...

The cutest embellished onesies ever. I love this puppy material. And the tie applique? It pretty much makes me squeal.

Keeping with the theme of puppy... I love how these paw prints turned out.

And I was pleasantly surprised by how cute my dog house turned out.

This is possibly my other favorite. Right behind the tie. I just love the puppy silhouette.

And I had to do initials, which is what he's being called anyway.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

There's a matching blanket. Yup.

How cute is all of that???? And I totally had fun doing it. I need more people to have babies so I can do it again. I totally have ideas for little girls too... involving ruffles...

Damn. There goes an ovary rumble.

3 months, 1 week, 4 days

Until Christmas.

I'm not one of those people that obsesses and counts down or anything, but since I decided I want to make a lot of gifts this year I figured I should probably get started soon. Like, maybe I should start now! And yay for in-laws not reading my blog because at least I can somewhat discuss my ideas for them here!

Luckily I have six kids to find/make gifts for. Kids are easy. Among the ideas...

• marshmallow guns!
• good ol' fleece blankets with matching pillows
• a water bottle tote for my little jock nephew
• super hero capes and masks
• customized shirts
• finger puppets to go along with any books I might find

Reaching a decision is the hard part for them. Then there's the adults... my siblings-in-law are easy. I can get away with making them cookies every year and they'll be thrilled I'm their sister. Seriously, they look forward to it every year.

For my sisters I may try out some silhouettes of their kids, matted and framed. I think it will be cute. Maybe even some for my mother-in-law.

My mom and I have a super-cool-best-idea-ever brewing for a couple boys in our family, but I don't want to post it until it's started (because the pictures will be the best thing ever!!).

I have ideas for hubby (that can't be discussed because he reads here, hi honey!).

But I feel like I'm short on ideas for adults. So if any clever DIY types are reading, hit me up with some ideas! And if you're going to attempt the same insanity I am, FOR SURE hit me up. I'm actually pretty excited about all of this. Which is weird, because I never get excited for Christmas until after Halloween...

Hubby + Overnights...

Equals a bored wife who ends up making things. The last weekend of July was hubby's most recent (and hopefully LAST) series of overnight shifts. I'm a big fat chicken who has trouble falling asleep if my manly husband isn't home with me, so I need things to occupy my time.

So what did I do? Hit a couple websites with DIY projects and spotted instructions to make these beauties. I've already worn them both too!

This one is made with a paperclip and some extra ribbon I had lying around. The instructions called for a hot glue gun, but I just busted out a needle and some white thread to stitch those loops into place. Easy enough for me. (instructions here)

And this one is made out of... five or six paper clips. One for the ring and leaf, and four or five for the actual flower. I might make a few others in different colors now... (instructions here)

This was on a weekend it was too hot to bake, otherwise you would probably be seeing some sugary treats here instead of some oh-so-fancy paperclip jewelry. But I like it!

Finally, Valentine's Day projects

I just have to throw in a note that I don't think I can write "V-Day" without thinking it sounds dirty or diseased. Therefore I will be using the full term in my blogs.

Anyhow, I got crafty. It was fun. I made some little Valentine pins. These are only two, I didn't take pictures of the other two before I uploaded these.

I also made stuff for the kids and my sis-in-law. Aren't these little bags cute??? I may just try to sell some next year. They were a lot easier than I expected them to be.

Then there were projects that Tad helped me with. We made two of these, one for my mom (his grandma, duh) and one for his mom. There's also a couple close ups of the flowers. Yes, they're a bunch of smaller hearts fanned out to make a flower.

And of course I had to make some cheesy stuff for our apartment. There's this garland...

And there's Tim's massive Valentine's card. Because I didn't go out and buy one and this gave him twenty-seven things that I love less than him. It was fun. And got some good laughs out of him.

So see? I kept busy. And now it's all over. (And I'll send you a surly black heart pin next year James.)

I've Been Busy

So I resolved that this would be the year I learned to sew properly. While I haven't done that, I have made time to be crafty over the past couple days. See, I read blogs and the writers are just so creative and make such cute things that it inspired me. I know I'm creative, I know I have some stitching skills. Why shouldn't I be able to make cute things?

So I tried. And totally succeeded!

Felt seems really big in the crafting circles right now. People are making EVERYTHING out of felt. I've seen a lot of people make flower brooches and hair accessories, so it seemed like a good start. These things were super easy once I got started. I might even churn a couple out for my outfit today (going to Grandma's later for her birthday - birthday post coming tomorrow). I made these for a party I went to last night. (No, I didn't wear all of them.) Wanna see them in my hair?

Ignore the fact that the picture isn't great. I got so many compliments! So these are a keeper. Might even make some for cousins or friends. I put an extra panel on back so I can slip in a bobby pin or safety pin if I want to wear them as a brooch. I'm so happy with them!

Up next, I think I'm going to try some little Valentine-related things. And ultimately, little dolls. I've already sketched my first doll... but you can't see him. He's top secret...