"Sewing Projects"

I'm learning how to sew. But the process is very sllllooooow. My machine does not like me yet so I started out by just taking the cover off of her and letting her get used to her new surroundings.

The first "sewing" project is this memo board I've been wanting to complete. It took 2 friends to help me get it finished. The big buttons are actually customizable brads, by way of the fun I-Top doodad. These brads are the 28mm size - the largest; and I used real fabric to cover them (Paula Young fabric). After covering 12 brads, we all decided that you really don't need that awkward tool - just use your thumbs to push the 2 parts together. Of course, it took $18 to figure that out! (double click photo for more detailed look).


The 2nd "sewing" project was inspired by my need to use up yarn. My wonderful sister-in-law (Hi Holly!) gave me a bunch of beautiful yarns and this particular skein was going to be a crocheted hat but by the time I finished it, it was too tight to wear! I unravelled it and decided to cover this straw wreath instead. The felt flowers were handmade - great way to use up extra felt and the dried flowers were from Michael's.


Now I actually did sew after these projects. But my camera ran out of batteries so couldn't take a picture. Will get those on the blog this weekend. Hint: crochet + pillows, as inspired by this talented blogger.

Zero-calorie Donuts!

Who wouldn't like these?!

They're life size (except for the giant cupcake next to them, which is more like the super-sized shape of a gigantic muffin from Costco) and even have swirled frosting over them! I was making these for my kids' school craft fair. Except. They cancelled it so now I'm thinking of posting them in my neglected Etsy shop so I can make a few $$ to buy my latest obsession: FABRIC! If you're at all interested, I hope to have them posted in my shop by this weekend. Have a fabulous day!

Random

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! Happy Valentine's Day! Here are my 2 little ones checking to see if the flue is open so Santa can get in **grin**. I don't think my 8-yr old believes anymore though he did say that the Easter Bunny can't be real because rabbits aren't that smart but Santa is real because he is a real person :)) We hope he'll still feel that way next year!

Cookies they left for Santa. Didn't have a lot of time to make homemade cookies as we were headed for Florida so used some that were given to us by neighbors and friends:


The cupcake craze continues at our house...these cuties were knitted and actually little purses. Pattern purchased from a talented lady at Etsy - can't recall her name right now but you can do a search for knitted cupcakes and am sure her shop will come up. I changed the pattern a bit to make the chocolate base higher and added a few more rows for the top part.



These are mini cupcake purses, about 3" x 4" and come with intricately detailed mini matching cupcake notecards. I sold these at a craft fair - expected them to just sit there but the tween girls loved them.



The next images are more paper purses except these hold matching necklace and earrings made by my Mom. The jewels are in a handmade card. Most of the patterned papers used are Amy Butler and also SU! Designer papers.







Ignore the bad lighting...these are batches of assorted scones. I finally learned how to make scones for EATING and not for HOCKEY playing :-)!! My Mom's recipe is the best and these are really tender and not very sweet. I used chopped up leftover chocolate candy bars (believe it or not, we have leftover chocolate candy bars from Halloween - unwrapped them all and froze them for future baking use!) and chopped dried cherries and dried cranberries. My kids have been eating a scone a day for breakfast since returning from our Florida trip. Sure makes for an easy breakfast!

Taking a break...

Hello blogging friends. It has been awhile since I updated as life just caught up with us.

First and foremost, my Dad has not been well and was hospitalized for a week for congestive heart failure. He has been suffering since summer but his cardiologist (who has since been replaced/fired) did not diagnose this condition correctly and it worsened and last Friday he was finally admitted to the emergency room. He also suffers from 2 forms of blood disease, in which he needs to get well and stronger soon to continue his chemotherapy.

Needless to say, it has been a difficult time for all of us and more difficult for me as I am not anywhere near them. I will, however, be finally flying down there to help my Mom out in getting things lined up for Dad's aftercare and any other necessary arrangements we need to make to get him home healthy, safe and comfortable.

My in-laws volunteered to come down early for Thanksgiving to be here for my children. My 2 little ones are the busiest children I know with all their afterschool activities so that alone will be a handful to handle. Right now I'm busy stocking up the pantry and freezer so they will have an easier time getting meals prepared. I've also gotten request from my kids to make sure i stock up on baked goods for the freezer (spoiled children - they only want home-baked cookies).

Also, if you've noticed on my sidebar that my Etsy shop is missing. That too had to be closed temporarily as I could not imagine crafting when I should be attending to my family. I hope to return to that wonderful place when time allows me some frivolity. I did have my last "hurrah" with crafting last weekend when I participated as a vendor for my son's school where a percentage of our proceeds from sales went back to the school. I had great success and am thinking that craft fairs are another fun way to make money (without the added headache of figuring out shipping or finding the right box to ship stuff out in).

Here are some fun photos for you all to enjoy. I will post again after I return from Florida and hopefully I'll have nothing but very happy and healthy news.

These are some things I made for the Holiday Boutique:




Snowman Poop tic tacs - the snowman is a Quickutz die cut; cardstock is all SU! and the ribbon is also SU! (may be retired); the stamped "Snowman Poop" was done with JustRight stampers.

Owl Post-It Notepads - inspiration for the Owls comes from here. This talented lady used nothing but punches to make these adorable owls. She also has on her website the instructions on how to make the notepads.





The felt candy cane mice were from a sample my Mom got from someone last year. I made mine a little bigger. The tag is stamped with PaperTrey clear stamps (I just love their stamps!) and used SU!
cardstock and retired silver cord.

The Santa Tags were also inspired by the same stamper linked above. I used mine to make tags and you can go check out her site to see how else she used the adorable Santa heads.

These last 2 photos were my attempt at crocheting. The stacked "Oreos" were made using a found free pattern on the Internet and the cupcakes were a pattern provide to me for free by an Etsy seller whom I purchased a pattern from (I purchased a crochet a tea set pattern). I've since found the cupcake pattern on-line - all for free. So, if you can crochet, try these! They are fun and quick to make. These I sold and they sold the quickest. I am now making a batch of both as party favors for my daughter's birthday party.