my box is cuter than your box

i love this idea!!

http://cateholst.typepad.com/aworkinprogress/pillow-box-template.html#tp




will definitely be trying it for the holidays.

the business of fun!

i feel like i should start this post by saying i understand proper grammar. i just don't choose to practice it. lowercase letters are visually more appealing to me and thus, i choose not to write with any caps. something about typeface font with no big friends to throw off the streamlined look of it all. if i type a capital letter, it's purely by accident. hey, it's a quirk. my husband reminds me i have a lot.
and back to the subject at hand! for someone who doesn't actually have a baby, i certainly have been making lots of baby stuff. this time, it was for one of jason's co-workers. she saw what i made for my sister and asked if i could make her the same set for her sister's baby shower. and like...pay me money...what!?! get paid to do stuff i would probably do anyways? okay! the only real direction she gave me was that the baby is a girl and the mom-to-be isn't really into girly-girl, frilly, pink stuff. it was easy for me to design since i feel like i'm the same way.
went to stonemountain and daughter fabric store (see link from previous post) and found the CUTEST (caps can be used to covey emotion) owl fabric. owls have been on my mind a lot lately, reasons i'll dive into in another post, but i had to have this fabric.
i did the same set: 3 burp cloths, 1 bib and 1 nursing cover (i forgot pics of the nursing cover, but it was in the same owl fabric used on 1 of the burp cloths)...and i got paid. it was pretty awesome. so, in light of all this, i decided maybe i should do this more. if i like making this stuff, and i am going to do it anyways, why not make a little money? now, i'm not quitting my day job or anything but hey, it's fun! so, i've started thinking about setting up an etsy shop. i haven't done it yet, because i want to be sure that i do it, and continue having fun with it...but i'm pretty sure i'm ready :)
one thing i thought about adding are pacifier clips. never done it, but super easy and one of those helpful things i feel like moms need.
so that's that. look for a post on the new shop soon. tell your baby friends. that is to say, friends who have or will have babies.
here are the pics from the stuff i made jason's co-worker:




i will post our halloween pics by this weekend!
xoxo

splish splash

okay, i really need to post more often. it's not like i'm not doing things that are post worthy- i totally am! i just need to make more time for blogging.
i wanted to post final pictures of the shower curtain. it's been done for a couple weeks now, but again, i got too busy to actually post the final pictures.
it's been absolutely great, i'm so glad i made it. it fits perfectly, and i love love love the fabric i chose. i think it could definitely be mistaken for a store bought curtain, and quite honestly, it was pretty simple. the hardest part was dealing with the huge mass of fabric and finding a space large enough to work with it. i also got very comfortable with making button holes, as that's how i did the holes for the rings....and side note: my machine does them automatically- yours probably does too! most people probably know this, but if you haven't seen it before, it's pretty amazing and awesome.
so, here it is:




next, i'll be posting our halloween costumes and the latest in baby gifts.
xoxo

it runs in the family...

this past weekend, i did something any crafter is usually horrified by. i let someone else, someone with no experience, touch my sewing machine and...are you ready...my scissors! gasp!
jason was recently invited (by a very cool group of 4 dudes) to join their motorcycle club, the Throwbacks. they all ride and appreciate vintage motorcycles just like jason. part of being in the Throwbacks means you have to have a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off (a cut), along with a nickname patch.
jason has always been vorhese, since long before i knew him so it made sense for the nickname to continue.
when we went to grass valley last weekend for a BBQ with the guys, they gave jason his patch and very strict instructions for him to sew it on all alone...no help from me!
so, i showed him the very basics on saturday and sent him on his way. and hey! he did pretty well...for a newb. i may have found myself a new assistant.

behind the curtain

so, i started a new project last night.

once we moved into our house, we realized that our shower curtain rod is an odd size. it's "L" shaped, as there is no back wall to block water. because of that, we need an extra wide shower curtain....approximately 95" x 72".

you wouldn't believe how hard that is to find. apparently, it is a lot more common to need an extra long curtain (ie- your curtain rod is hung really high) as opposed to an extra wide.

the best advice i could find online was to use 2 curtains or have one custom made.

so, per usual, i took that as a challenge.

i knew that i would never find a peice of fabric wide enough and long enough, so i will have to piece 2 pieces together. the good thing, is most bolts of fabrics are 45"-60" wide so all i needed to do was buy enough length to piece together 2 panels that are 72" long. the fabric i found is about 51" wide, so finished product with seams will be about 98" wide- perfect!

i found this really cute eyelet fabric at Stonemountain and Daughter Fabric Store that I found out is one of their newest offerings. it seemed made for a shower curtain and I really liked the butter color.

anyway, all i've done so far is cut to the correct length. i will be trying two new techniques with this project. i'm going to use french seaming to piece the two pieces together, and i'm going to try my hand at making buttonholes for the shower rings.

will update on my progress...for now here are some pics of last night's cutting and close-ups of the fabric. i don't think the pictures do the color justice...will try and adjust settings next time.

xoxo

oh baby (crafts)!

I did it! I managed to make a ton of stuff, all in the MIDDLE of trying to pack and move our house. Every night i would (read: jason would) pull the sewing machine out, set up my table, clear off a tiny work space, then put it all away at the end of the night...only to do it again the next day. I had pretty good motivation because I was making stuff to send to my sister who is pregnant with her first girl. Her baby shower was this past weekend, so I had to finish and get the package in the mail on time. I actually was done over a week ago, but I had to wait to post until she got the goods!


I made 3 things: a bib, a nursing cover and some burp cloths. The burp cloths were super easy and actually got the idea while visiting my brother and sister-in-law who just had a baby (see enormous baby hat post from earlier). My sis in law mentioned that someone had made her some super cute burp cloths..the idea was simple, just take a strip of fabric and sew it on to a cloth diaper...makes something that is traditionally boring into something personalized and cute. Here are the pics of the ones I made my sister:













I cut the fabric, pressed the edges under, pinned, and sewed away! I used a zigzag stich just to make it more interesting.




Next, was the nursing cover. The purpose of this piece is to cover yourself while nursing a baby if you're out in public and don't want to bare all. (side note: i'm actually all for baring all cause: hey! you're a woman- hear you roar- and show off those baby feeders! However, I can see how there might be times you'd want to cover up and why the heck not when it's this cute to cover up!) I made this pattern myself by looking at others as a comparison. It's basically a rectangle + some straps. the straps fasten with D-rings and there is corset boning inserted into the top side so it bows out and you can see your sweet little baby's face. That way, you don't feel like you're just throwing a towel over your baby's head. Here are the pics...and yes, of course I tried it on.







Last, was a bib. Again, I made this pattern myself which was really simple to do. I used a cotton front fabric and a super soft chenille-type fabric on the back. I think it was polyester which i won't do again...not only do I not like the thought of polyester (although it was REALLY soft!), it was super messy when cut and left little furry pieces all over the place. Next time, i plan to use a super soft corduroy. Anyways, I also learned to sew on snaps for this piece. I'm not super comfortable with hand sewing, so this was good for me. I just watched a video online and tried it out! There is a video out there for almost anything, which is so helpful when learning something new! Here is the bib:








And here is the finished product, ready to ship:



One happy sister and one future happy neice.

Back in the Crafty Saddle

Soooo, it’s been quite awhile since my last post. Life got in the way and we were dealing with some issues and unfortunately, I had to put creativity on the back burner. But I’m back! And craftier than ever. I’ve been getting some inspiration from various sources, but the biggest being the house that we are in process of purchasing. This house in an amazing 1920’s craftsman with all the original detail and charm maintained.
The thought of crafting in the dining room with the hardwood trim and built in china cabinet and basement space (future crafting area) makes me squeal with excitement….not to mention makes me motivated to turn out some creative genius. Owning our own home is a big step for Jason and I, and we couldn’t be more excited. This house has seemed meant to be ever since the beginning. We had been looking for homes for 6+ months when we looked at this one. There wasn’t a huge bidding war like we had seen on every other house because they accepted our early offer and didn’t wait for other bids to come in to entice competition. The charm is fully intact, it has a full basement and garage for Jason. We casually mentioned to our realtor that we would LOVE to have any or all of the antique furniture/knick knacks that were still being housed in the basement (that had belonged to the previous owners) and BAM! – our wish was granted. We accidentally met one of the previous owner’s sons and had a great conversation with him regarding the warmth and love the home possessed.
Honestly, everything seems to have gone our way with this house so far and we couldn’t be happier. The fact that it’s felt like such a smooth, easy process has made it all the better.
BUT, I digress. I guarantee TONS of good craftiness to share in the near future.
I don’t have any pictures today but I’m in the middle of a new crobot project, starting back up on the afghan, and also making my sister some gifts for her upcoming baby shower.
More to come very soon!

Crafts and crossbones my little pirates.