Mermaid Blanket: Skein 1

Well after a hard couple of days at work I have a day off. Pancakes in the morning, Lots of internet reading, crocheting, and going to see Magic Mike XXL with some gal pals. Perfect day really. Now I am doing a last minute load of laundry so I can return to work and the real world tomorrow.

I have the crafting bug HARD and am still riding high after finishing the granny square blanket. I am doing a project for myself this time so I can share more 'in progress' posts without fear of ruining any sort of surprise. Have you seen the super cool mermaid blankets online? There are a few different patterns out there as well. From what I can tell though most of the blankets are 'lapghans' so they just sit on top of you like a blanket. I'm interested in something a little more lifelike. More cocoon. Actual feeling of being a mermaid. Sure I might have to struggle in and out of it or hop around like I'm in a potato sack race but I still think its the way to go. Despite the patterns available I am making this up as I go along. I am trying out different stitches along the way and sort of making this a sampler project. I found the loveliest Red Heart Soft yarn in 'Deep Sea' (perfect, I know) and am not changing colors so I am trying to add some interest and texture with different stitches. It would be a quicker project if I just went with one stitch I'm sure but it feels good to try new stuff on a project that does not have the pressure of being a gift or on a time crunch.

When I found the yarn I bought several skeins and I thought I would share what it looks like after skein 1;

My game plan is to start at the bottom and work up and then return to the bottom to add the fin. Progress is progress. I plan to continue sharing as I go along. Has anyone else made a mermaid blanket of any sort?

Happy Crafting!

Movie inspired craft: UP

Beware! Extreme cheesiness ahead!

The crafting bug has been gnawing at me lately and lots of my ideas have been revolving around my sweetie, who will be leaving for the peace corps this summer. He doesn't even know where he is ending up yet but he has asked if I will come and visit him. I had the idea to make a money jar that said "Plane ticket to...?" but then I thought of a better idea- UP.

We both love the movie Up so I decided that I would make a Paradise Falls money jar.

I already had a mason jar I wanted to use and I had found a map-patterned piece of scrapbook paper that I wanted to use for the lid and label. So it is not an exact match but this is one of those times where it is really the thought that counts : )

 

Supplies: 

-Mason jar with lid (do not need the solid center part)

-lightweight cardboard

-paper for lid cover and label (as fancy or simple as you wish)

-mod podge

-marker

-Scissors

Optional: 

-fancy scrapbook scissors for the label

-exacto knife to make the lid cover cutting easier

      

 1. Trace the top of your jar onto both the cardboard and paper

 2. Cut a money slot for the lid cover
 3. Glue cardboard and paper together

 4. Cut a label for your jar. Write your message and mod podge it on (I tried to copy the lettering of 'Paradise Falls' from the label in the movie)

 5. Fill with money! (I cheated and transferred the contents of my several 'coin dishes' that I have around)

I sent the last picture to my sweetie who liked it so much I am making another one for him.

This would also make a super cute gift bag- complete it with a copy of the movie Up, add an Ellie badge and tie a balloon to the bag.

Weddings, and Derby, and Pie! oh my!

This month has been CRAZY. But now it is almost over and we can get on to more important things, like Halloween!!! But seriously what a month.

I made pies for my friends wedding... 27 pies.

 Crusts

 Heading to the bakery to bake them in the giant oven. Thanks bakery!!!

 Delivered. 

 Pie table. 

County Apple, Peach Blackberry, and Cherry. Nom. 

For as much as I flipped out about this project it all came together in the end. I may be a terrible procrastinator (ahem...friend's t-shirt quilt I still haven't finished...ahem) but when it comes down to it I get shit done. 

The day before the wedding I was running around doing last minute projects, including making helmet covers for my roller derby team! We were short a set so I found a pattern on the internet, ran to the fabric store and busted them out! On Saturday after my hair appointment (which on a separate note I am never doing again) I sneaked over the arena where my girls were setting up for their bout. They ended up loosing but I am so proud of all of them and I am sad I could not be there for them. After a day of recovery it was back to grindstone. Now here we are a few minutes from October and it starts all over again! Another bout to plan, more baking to be done and costumes to figure out and be made. Let the epic-ness continue! 

Farewell September. You have been busy. 

You get the picture

Well I haven't been quilting as much as I like but I have been finishing up quite a few small sewing projects around the house. This project was inspired by my surroundings. I love having a lot of pictures up on my walls but I don't like putting holes in my walls. I have used 3m strips/ hooks for years but they fall down a lot and can get quite spendy. I have this shelf going around the top of my wall already I thought if I could figure out a way to attach the pictures to the shelf then I wouldn't have them falling down all the time and I could put more pictures up and make more space on my shelf for all of my other cool stuff.

 Here is the before. I have about 12 pictures on the wall (plus a bare hook and some other random stuff).

 I sewed two strips of fabric together. One was to tie around the shelf and the other one was to attach the picture frames to. I sewed lengths of scrap fabric and ribbon to the 'picture strips' to attach the pictures- making them easy to change out.

Finished! Now I have 21 pictures on my wall that are not going to fall down. If I were to do this project again (or tweak the one I have) I would have made the picture strips come down a bit farther to meet up with the dresser more. But I was just using scraps from my bin- a quick no cost project that serves a great purpose! Win!

Now on to those other projects I have started...

Mini Easter Bonnet DIY

Happy early Easter! I am so excited to share with you a perfect little craft project just in time for the weekend- Making your own Easter Bonnet!

I really don't think we wear enough hats these days and my love for vintage and old movies always makes me jealous of those glorious hats!!! So I decided that I would make an Easter bonnet that would be a little easier to wear day to day. This project is great for both adults and kids! How adorable would it be to have little matching bonnets for all the little ones in your life? Super adorable. Lets get to it!

Mini  Easter Bonnet Tutorial

Difficulty: Easy (young children will need help with gluing)

Cost: Cheap!

Supplies: 

 I bought:

-Little straw hats (in the doll section of the craft store) the small ones were 67 cents and the larger one was 79 cents. They also came in many different sizes- pick whichever one you like!
- headbands
-fake flowers (These were on sale so I couldn't resist but you could also make your own paper or fabric flowers!)
-little butterflies (could also use little birds, mini Easter eggs, etc.)

Total cost: $7.08

 

I had: 

Ribbons and bits of lace. You can also use beads, scraps of fabric, or anything else you can glue down!

Tools: 

 

 I only used some scissors and a hot glue gun! Be careful if you use hot glue...I always seem to burn myself at least once a project. You can use any other glue you like but I love the quickness of hot glue. 

Steps:

1. Start with one of your mini hats and start decorating! Think of Austen novels where they are sitting around decorating their bonnets. And with fancy hats there is no such thing as too much! 

2. Decide how you want to wear your bonnet. 

I liked the idea of putting it on a headband and I think this is an especially good way for kids. I took a cream colored headband and glued some lace on top of it. Then I decided where I wanted my bonnet and glued it down. 

You can also had hair combs or clips underneath or I just left one plain and used bobby pins to secure it where I wanted it.

 

And for a little extra treat: 

Thinking of a 365

Been thinking a lot lately about a 365 project. Basically doing something every day for a whole year. As the new year draws closer I am craving meaning and direction and I think perhaps this kind of project could help me with that. I think of myself as a creative person but I know that I lack direction and discipline. One week it is jewelry the next it is dolls the next quilting. I am all over the place and I always have been in most areas of my life. I changed my major about 4 times before I just wrote my own. I have extremely eclectic taste in music, movies, food, fashion, and often get on 'kicks' that are intense but short lived and inevitably fizzle out until the next thing comes along.

I thought my life direction would present itself to me in a nice little package in college. Didn't happen. For the past few years since I have been floundering in a world of low wage jobs as my friends start careers, get married, and settle down. Of course I do have a pretty good idea of things I do not want to do but that isn't the most helpful. I know that I do want to do something creative. I want to work with my hands and make.

I do not know what it will be yet but I think a 365 project will help me out of my rut. From reading about/following several others it seems like a really great exersise to do. It might not fix all my problems or answer all my questions but perhaps it will give me the structure I need to get to the next step. Maybe it will be a 365 days, maybe 52 weeks, maybe it will be a year of different monthly themed projects. Whatever it is I am going to figure it out soon because what better time to start than the new year.

Have any of you attempted a 365? What were your projects? How are they going/ how did they go? I would love to hear about more!

T Shirt Quilt

I made one for myself a couple of years ago but it was more of a 'blanket' since I didn't put any batting in it.

This one is the real deal. Not perfect but pretty cool. My friend was going through his clothes and he was making a pile of t-shirts that he either no longer wore or didn't like the way they fit anymore and I mentioned that I could make him a quilt. He was immediately like "YES! I have always wanted one of those!" He was so enthusiastic in fact that I had to ask if he was being serious. After assuring me that he was in fact excited I took the bag of t-shirts away with me. Got some batting on sale and bought a clearance priced jersey sheet set to use for the back.

Happy 11.11.11 ! I hope this day is filled with good things for you all.

Harry Potter Crafts

Trying to do a bit of cleanup today around the house...no I haven't moved yet and it looks as though the snow is going to beat me. Oh well, it will get figured out! I wanted to share a few 'before' shots for you today with the Harry Potter crafts I did for the party the other day.

Also this is all evidence that you can do some really cool things with little to no money. Work with what you have, be creative and have fun with it!

 First up: Wands! The party was supposed to be BYOW (Bring your own wand) but being the nerd that I am I decided to make some after finding a super cool tutorial online. Sticks from the yard plus hot glue and paint that I already had= the most awesome Harry Potter wands ever! They seriously rivaled the one 'real wand' from Harry Potter World.  Cost: $0

While google-ing  'Harry Potter Parties' I found lots of kids parties. Go figure. But an idea I did really like was the platform 9 3/4 bit. So I went to a fabric store and found this in the remnant bin.

Tip- don't try to paint straight lines on grass! Dumb idea...I moved to some concrete to get the job done. I had to bust out one of those little knee saver pads to work on this project but it was worth it.

 I used a board in my garage to make the horizontal lines. I poured out a TON of paint...you actually don't need very much at all. To make the 'bricks' I found a smaller board about the right size and just staggered the bricks.

At the party it was taped right to the door so when guests entered the party they had to 'go through it'. Project cost: $3

 Of course I needed a sign for platform 9 3/4 ! Some people would say I am a hoarder..but I say I am useful. I rummaged around the garage again and found these old cabinet doors from when our kitchen was redone years ago. These have come in handy in many a craft project! I busted out a drill and put two small holes in the 'upper' corners to hang it from.

Then I busted out some red spray paint I already had and gave it a coat front and back. I traced a plate to get the circle and free handed the lettering and numbers (sketched it out a bit in pencil first). All the paint I already had and then We just used some cord I had to string it up. It looked pretty cool lit by the outdoor light as guests arrived. Project cost: $0

 For my Bellatrix costume I had this black costume-y 'basic' shift in my costume closet. I first cut the sleeves off and then 'sewed' them back on with a thick black cord. It was a bit skinny towards the  bottom so I slit up the sides to the hips, layered it over a black poofy prom dress and then used my mock black corset I made for the cemetery walk and layered that on top. I also added some gold paint swirls to the shift around the neckline and on the sleeves.  I don't have a good 'after' shot but for no money it was a pretty sweet costume. Costume cost: $0

 The day of we were still crafting, decorating, and cooking like mad. The birthday girl was going as Hermione and wanted a time turner. She is holding it in this picture. The hourglass is two mini bottles filled with a bit of salt and hot glued shut. Then we found two craft frames (the little plastic kind for needlework) so I hot glued those back to back and then built up some hot glue to put the hourglass. Once it set up I painted the glue with a bit of gold paint so it gave it a little shimmer and didn't look so much like glue! Found an old vintage chain in my jewelry making box and done! Might be my favorite craft of the day because it came together really randomly just grabbing things from around my craft room. Cost: $0!

A Very Haunted Harry Potter Birthday Party

It was a lot of work and we were scrambling at the end a bit but the party came together rather nicely and was a SUPER GOOD TIME. Probably the best 'Halloween Saturday' (as I like to call it) in quite a long time. I just can't help imagining what I could do with more time and money!

 Cauldron cakes, licorice wands, Bertie Bott's every flavored beans, and dips, chips, and other goodies.

 The Three Broomsticks

 Butterbeer!

 Group shot (thanks to Muggle camera woman Miranda)

 Fluffy

 Doby the house elf

 Time turner!

 Ron

 Hermione

 Dolores Umbridge

 Trelawney

 Harry Potter

 Professor McGonagall

 Trelawney (less unhinged)

The birthday kids. Hahahahahaa. I love this picture! I will write another post and go into some of the crafty details in a different post. But for now I wish you a good nights rest before All Hallows Eve.

Happy Haunting!