Bubble Skirt!

I love the snow, but I am so over it! I am itching to get outside and get my hands into some dirt and plant flowers here at this new place! Now that we have had sunshine for two days for the first time in 4 months, I am really anxious for Spring! Since I can't get outside yet because it is still freezing (though today and this week it'll be in the 50s!), I am getting into projects here inside.

That being said, this morning I had a sick, sleeping baby, and anywhere from 30-45 minutes before he wakes up. I also had spring-y scrap material and a little girl that needed a new skirt!

Yes, I know, I should have done the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, put laundry away, showered, or done something productive like that. But, when that's all you do all of the time?! I needed a break.

So, let's get sewing!



I came up with this! A bubble skirt!


I had no pattern, just a measuring tape and a 3 year old who thought that when I took her measurements was the perfect time to twirl and pose. I've had this going on in my head for a while since seeing a few tutorials floating around on the 'net, and planned on taking pictures to chronical my steps, but as I stated above, I have a half hour and didn't take the time. Maybe on the next one! But usually I sew 'close enough' and with the attitude of 'I can fix it if I mess it up, let's just get it done.' So, I'm not sure photographing my steps for you would do much anyways...eh, I'll try in anyways. But, I digress...




"Elli, I just want you to know that you have the coolest Mom in the world."

"I wish my coolest mom would hurry and finish my skirt."

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, an I think E likes it too :)

I think I might need one for myself.... Hmmmm....

Crafty Crafties Part 1

Just to prove that I actually have been doing things, I am going to post some pictures of the fun.

I have been making stencils out of freezer paper and painting my clothes. I am trying to figure out a design I can do that will incorporate fabric bleaching with the painting too. Kindof a negative/positive thing. Any ideas? As cool as these are, they are unfortunately one-of-a-kind. I can only use my stencil one time. I usually tear it when I pull it off of the fabric (becuase it's ironed on). I guess that I could cut out a completely new one, so it isn't exactly one-of-a-kind, but what fun would that be?!

So here are some of the designs I've done:

This is one I made for the back of one of Mike's dress shirts. Turned out pretty cool.

This I made for Jackie. She loves the tv show 'House.' Everything is first diagnosed as lupus on the show. A pretty good likeness. I am going to make her a Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs" shirt too.

I love sea turtles. I kept this one.

Handmade IS better. Just promoting my stuff in a way, I guess.

I copied this clipart from a website. It took WAY too long for me to finish this one. I am happy with it, but it was too complicated. I like to get things finished fast, and that didn't happen with this one.

I want to make some things for Elli too, but I don't know what. It seems like a lot of pressure to pick out something to put on a few shirts for her. Any ideas?

Stay tuned! More crafty crafties to come! And a friend of mine will be giving away something of mine on her blog soon for her 500th post! I'll let you know what that happens too :) - and what it is ofcourse!

Autumn

So I guess it has been a little while since I've posted, eh? I have been really busy and haven't made the effort to get down here in the basement and blog anything.
The weather has cooled down significantly here, at home. On this particular day I HAD to put on Elli's new tights with her little dress and vest. I think she looks like a little Punky Brewster! I can't help dressing her this way. She'll either look back and say "Geez, mom." or "Look how cute I was! " Probably the first.
She loves to find "poppies" out in my flowerbed. They are little seed pods that grow in the impatients. They swell up real big and then pop! when you touch them. She's holding some here in the picture. My flowers are so massive that I have some poppies for the record books. And I think that we've popped so many, that they have spread all over my flowerbed. I swear, I didn't plant them everywhere that they are coming up now. It's a nice little surprise...glad I was lazy and didn't pull up my weeds :)

On another note, Singer Co. is going to replace my sewing machine for me. I, hopefully, just bought a dud of a machine and this next one will work. A very good friend of mine is going to let me borrow hers until I get my new one...however long that's going to take. Why is it that whenever I really get into the mood to make something, it never works easily for me?

Quilting queen

Here's the latest quilt I've created. I really like it. I love the colors and the size - it fits right on top of my queen size bed. I like to keep it on my couch, though, where I can cover up with it and it brings so much color into my room.

The colors of it remind me of my coleus that I planted this season. Don't you think?

I am thinking of making a couple of these quilts to sell in my etsy shop when I get it going. What do you think?

Painting

I meant to blog this, hmmm....forever ago. This is one of the paintings that I did last year (I named it "Fiddle Heads") and sold to the local community college. Pretty cool huh? Too bad that since they bought something last year, I'm not eligible for them to buy from again until next year. Oh well. I'm glad that I got some good pictures of it. (Thanks Lois)
On another note, I am making several things right now in the hopes of getting an etsy shop. I'll let you know when I do, so you can come buy cool handmade things from me!! :)

Crafty

I've been crafty this week! Check it out! I made 2 quilts and bleached some jeans....can't decide if the jeans are tacky or not, so I'll probably wear them to painting class.

The blue quilt:

The brown one (I love this combination), Mike thinks it's nice :)

My jeans:

Shrinky dink dink

I've been playing with shrinky plastic again! I've had a lot of fun (and received several compliments) of the stuff I've done so far! Here's a pendant/key chain/ whatever she wants to do with it thing that I made for my sister Becky - I mailed it to her....haven't heard from her....she should have recieved it by now in the mail....I wonder if she got it....if she likes it....I wonder...
Anyways. Here's the before picture and then the after. Pretty cool how it shrunk to 1/3 of it's size and like 9 times it's thickness. I've really enjoyed it - and probably won't be able to stop for a while! It's a fun way to recycle #6 plastic!