The Copper Caravan

Time Away...

2011-06-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

So I just spent a total of about 6 months traveling. It was fantastic, full of new people and experiences. Hopefully soon I'll have a change to blog about them! lol

Busy little Bee!!!

2010-11-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, this summer/fall has been insane for me. I was going through a lot in regards to home and personal life and I feel as if I'm back on track. So much so in fact, that I am finally opening the official "Copper Caravan" shop on Etsy! I know, I know. There are many of you who are saying "It's about time!" and I'm glad that you're excited for me. :)

So far it's just an empty shop, but I'm in the process of coming up with a logo and banner and getting some items made for inventory. It's going to be a couple weeks yet but I just wanted to throw an update out there. I'm really excited and hope that in time I will be able to use the added income to realize another one of my dreams. Please stay tuned for more info on all fronts!! :D

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecoppercaravan

Etsy

2010-07-03T10:17:00.001-07:00

I love Etsy. It's such a great place to support small business and the wide world of handmade art. I recently made a few wonderful purchases.

I stumbled across this shop back in February and was in love - such gorgeous vintage inspired pieces! The aprons especially caught my eye, as did the array of armwarmers. Well the other day, in need of some retail therapy, I was going through my list of "favorite sellers" and decided to have another peek at some of Tamilyn's goodies. How excited was I to see that she was having a "buy one, get one" sale"?! Yay! Double bonus! I ended up with two splendid pairs of arm warmers.

The first pair is called Cherish... lovely gray repurposed sweater sleeves with a pretty layer of embroidery and the merest hint of shimmer from iridescent sequins and shell like buttons- they have the perfect amount of slouch and are cozy through and through!

The second pair that I got, called Captain, are just as wonderful. Not half as girly, but every bit as comfortable and just downright cool. I love the fit as well and the navy blue wool will compliment almost all of my wardrobe. The rosettes are such a fun and unique touch.

Please check out her shop, she's a wonderful seller to work with and her pieces are unique and well made! http://www.etsy.com/shop/tamilyn?ref=top_trail

Also recently purchased was a wonderful fused glass pendant from Clint and Lacey Loumaster at Wood and Glass. As many of you know I have an affinity for compasses and when this pendant caught my eye I nabbed it up immediately.

The colors are beautiful and calming and I love the hand drawn quality of the sketch of the compass. It's most definitely a wonderfully crafted piece.

You can find them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/woodandglass They sell everything from vessels to wine stoppers to mosaics... a wide variety of really cool and useful items.

Many Lands, Many Hands: New Book from Gary Reef's Ning

2010-06-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

So here it is folks! The Create and Pass Journals have been published as a Blurb book!! It's been such an adventure for those little journals. Who knew what a wonderful future awaited them?! I am so honored to be a part of this collection, and for my piece to be able to be seen by so many people. It's quite an amazing thing really.

If you'd like to purchase your own copy of this inspiring book just follow this link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1428133

Without further ado... a sneak peak at Many Lands, Many Hands.

Another petticoat?!

2010-05-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

This time we're moving ahead a few hundred years to the 1950s. Last week I had to take a break from creating my Tudor gown to do a little sewing for work. Every Monday night we have a car cruise and management decided to make it a 50's themed night, poodle skirts and all! How excited am I? :D Well, about a month ago I was talking to one of my managers and she had mentioned needing someone to sew some poodle skirts. Um...hello?! I can sew! She was thrilled and last week they finally solidified the plans and I was making skirts. Never having made a poodle skirt before I was pretty darn excited. I went online to figure out the best pattern, ran to the store, bought 12 yards of black felt, some funky fabrics to make appliqued poodles and got to work. The six skirts turned out perfectly and were a huge hit. I even have an order for two custom skirts from one of our vendors!

Being the lover of dress up that I am, I of course couldn't just have a plain poodle skirt with no fabulous underpinnings. I mean really, why bother with the skirt if you have no crinoline to give it shape and help with movement? I didn't make them for work since they weren't in the budget but I've wanted one anyway so why not just whip one up for myself? I proceeded to purchase 12 yards of 72" wide purple netting. Now I just needed a base slip. In my fabric stash I happened to have some funky hot pink polka dotted taffeta. Perfection!! I then begun then began work on the most obnoxious garment I have ever made!!

I kind of feel like a sort of mad cupcake...

It came out so nicely that another girl I work with wants me to make her one as well. They really make the skirts so much more special and fun. Monday nights are going to be such a great time this summer!

2010-05-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks a go I started working on a craft apron. I've been wanting one for ages, especially since when it comes to painting and inking I am an absolute mess. I think there's more on me than whatever my canvas is. I've been painting a lot more lately so I really wanted to finish this up and it gave me a nice break from the sea of brown taffeta that I've been working with for a week. :) I had 3 fat quarters of some really fantastic fabrics so I decided to make it a patch work apron with a large center pocket.

After working on my petticoat last night I revisited said apron. I had already made the patchwork panels, I just had to sew the backings on them and put the whole thing together. I wanted it to have a slightly rustic feel so I left many of the edges unfinished and did a lot of stitch detailing.

I eventually may add a pocket to the top half but we'll see. I also want to add some loops/small pockets along the waist to hold tools and maybe even add some buttons for some added interest.

Tudor Gown: Taffeta Petticoat

2010-05-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night I was able to finish hemming the taffeta. As it turned out it wasn't as tedious as I thought it would be and looks pretty darn nice if I do say so myself. :) Not too bad for my first time.

I had to work most of the weekend so I didn't get much sewing done but Saturday evening Jeanne and I spent a couple hours at the fabric store. Most of the time was spent trying to decide on my final fabrics for the gown and kirtle. I believe I am going to use a wine colored velvet for the outer gown. It may be a bit on the heavy side for summer wear but there are generally some cooler days when I'll be quite comfortable and I do go to a decent amount of autumn events and it will be perfect for the 12th Night Feast. For the kirtle I have about 6 fabrics to choose from. The prices are a bit higher than I'd like but will a 50% coupon I can swing it and I do have some nice options.

Today I was able to resume sewing and managed to pin the lining and skirt together, baste the top edges and hand sew the center front just below where the eyelets will be. I also stitched about a quarter of the lining to the skirt along the hem line. Unfortunately I'm a closer at work today and won't be able to do more until tomorrow. I should be able to finish the hem, work on the knife pleats and from there it's just a matter of sewing the bodies and the skirt together and hand sewing down the lining to cover the waist seams! Voila! I will have a lovely taffeta petticoat!

Tudor Gown: Smock and Petticoat

2010-05-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

Last night I finally begun the actual pieces for my Tudor gown! I have completed patterns drafted for my smock, petticoat and kirtle. All that's left is the gown and farthingale (which I haven't decided if I will make or purchase.

Due to my budget I decided to go with a lightweight muslin for the smock instead of linen (which I would much prefer!). For a base piece, although I would love to be as period as possible with my fabrics, the muslin will have to do for now. I began cutting and sewing last night. Despite the many garments that I've made I had never actual done any french seaming. Most of the garb I've made was really just whipped up and though construction was done well it wasn't done as properly as it could have been. I don't own a serger and wanted all of my seams finished on this piece. Since I'm taking the time and making the effort to draft the pattern I figure this one should be done right. :) I finished the smock on the machine fairly quickly and spent the next couple hours catching up on my stories and handsewing the arm holes so that the seams were completely encased. Even though it's a simple garment I'm really proud of the way it came out so far! I have yet to finish the neckline, as I must wait until the kirtle is finished to get the proper fit, but the seaming is lovely and it will be so comfortable to wear.

Today I began cutting the fabric for the next layer - the petticoat. While traditionally they are red I wanted something more earthy so I chose a dark, chocolately brown taffeta. It reminds me of a Dove chocolate commercial, where the chocolate is flowing and silky looking... mmmm... Thus far the lining is cut and after I grab a bite to eat I'll work on the top fabric. I really can't wait to get sewing on this one. With any luck I'll have the day off of work (I'm an on-call) and I will be able to finish the entire garment today, with the exception of maybe the hem, which is to be hand sewn down in a herringbone stitch, something else I've never done. I think I'm going to use some of my scrap taffeta and practice before I potentially butcher my gown though. lol Hand sewing is not exactly my strong point but that's half the fun of making this outfit - it's challenging me to learn new skills and really get outside of my comfort zone.

Later that afternoon...
So, I worked on the petticoat more since I didn't have to go into work today. Woohoo! I got a lot accomplished. I was able to cut out all the top fabric, put together the bodies and skirts of the lining and taffeta and make a few yards of bias tape from my leftover taffeta to finish the bodies.

Next up is hand sewing the entire hem of the outer layer of the skirt. It's going to take a while but I really want to make this gown special so hand stitching it is! It'll be good practice too since I'm not that familiar with that stitch. It seems to that it will be a tedious yet rewarding evening. :) Once I'm good and sick of the Herringbone stitch then it's on to pinning my outer skirts and lining together, knife pleating all around, finally sewing the bodies to the skirt and finishing it all off with hand sewing the lining down to cover the seams along the waist. Whew!! lol

Receive. Create. Pass.

2010-05-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

I love circle journals. They're such a fantastic collection of artwork, feelings, thoughts, ideas, techniques... I am very lucky to be a part of one collection in particular - the Create and Pass journals of the site Lovin' Mixed Media.

This is my contribution to this amazing collection. I call her Josephine.

I used a combination of acrylics, glaze, water color pencils and paint, collage elements, staz on ink, stencils and gold and silver ink.

2010-04-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here are the items for the Ren faire swap that I recently finished. First is this - at first I was going to turn it into a brooch but I ran out of pin backs so it became a necklace instead. I'm in love with this face mold and wanted to make a piece of jewelry with it so when I found my stash of the glass seed beads that were used on my beach fairy dress I went to town. I really like the way it came out - fairly simple but it still has that altered look that I adore so much.

This is why I ran out of pin backs. :) Pretty simple and rough, these are some faire favors that my partner can keep or pass out to friends.

I found this amazing fabric at Joann's and made one of my favorite faire garments - harem pants! Not just for belly dancers, I like to wear these under all of my gowns as bloomers of sorts. They're great when running from shop to shop in a thunderstorm - you can hike up your skirts as high as you need to and still be a bit modest. :) I hope she likes them. My partner does a lot of fighting and swordplay so I think they'll come in handy.

Next are some arm warmers. My partner has a condition that leaves her hands cold constantly so I whipped these up. The pattern is Trellis Mitts and they were made using Lion Brand Wool-Ease. The red was tough to photograph though. :(

Also in the package is a set of Butterick patterns that consist of hanging belt pouches, cool waist cinches and belts and some bracers. Also there's a silver spiral pendant that she can use for one of her many outfits and characters and 2 different styles of eyelets for lacings. You can never have too many eyelets!

I hope I can make it to the post office tomorrow to mail it finally!! It's got to make it all the way to the Netherlands! :-D

**Edited to add package info!!

Tudor Gown 101

2010-04-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

It is getting to be that time of year again!!

The weather is warming, plants are becoming green again and animals are getting twitterpainted! Me? Well, I'm getting ready to break out the sewing machine - faire season is upon us! Everyone loves having new clothes and we faire goers are no exception.

This year I'm undertaking quite a feat... for me anyway. I've begun drafting a pattern for a Tudor gown and get I need to get cracking. I have the smock, petticoat and about 90% of the kirtle all drafted out and mock ups of the smock and petticoat completed. However, July will be here before I know it. I still need to work on the kirtle skirt back and the most tricky of all, the gown itself. The hard part is gathering my materials and taking the time to do all of the hand sewing. I just cannot decide how I want my gown to look though, fabric choice is going to be a biggie. I really need to get some linen for my smock first. I may just cheat for now and use a lightweight cotton, but we'll see if I can find some decent prices online. I looove linen and I'd really like to be as period as possible for a change. :) This should be a pretty interesting journey over all. Hopefully I can start up again soon now that all of my winter swaps are finished!

Handspun and Handcrafts Swap

2010-03-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished yet another swap. This one was fun and frustrating. Fun because the yarn I spun up was colorful and frustrating because it didn't really spin up the way I wanted it to. The first one I had done was 4oz. of 100%wool from Dancing Feet Roving by Tomboy Yarns. It was a fantastic colorway called Tangerine Spice.

It ended up spinning up to about 220 yards of thin-medium weight. I'd love a yarn gauge so I could have a better idea of the thickness. :-/

Next up was 4oz of wool called Blurberries. For some reason this one spun up weird - it was kind of fussy and I'm not really sure why since this is the 3rd roving I've bought from this company and the other two were a dream to spin. Who knows. Anyway, without further ado...Winter Blurberry Pie:

From my partner I received some lovely bits and bobs. Here they are... my hand crafted items from Dolly Mixx! First up are the yummy smelling goodness of handmade soaps. There's also a big vial of Mandarin, tea tree and lavender bath oil - some of my favorite scents!

Then for the large there's the handmade notebook. Love the colors, love the textures - so fun. I love the beads as well, gives it so much added dimension.

Shy...

2010-03-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

See I don't have no costume, I don't wear no new clothes...

This tattoo pretty much sums me up in so many ways.

Brighton and Worthing, England and a day's layover in Boston...

2010-03-12T11:48:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago I found some really great ticket prices for London and for my birthday got to go on a little spur of the moment trip. My trip was pretty uneventful and I spent the majority of my time there sick in bed. I did manage to get some halfway decent pictures though. So, to chronicle my time in Brighton, Worthing and a day Boston here are a few photos from my trip:

I had about day to pack and get together everything I needed. Jane was not helping, though she may have thought differently.

A loooong Monday evening in Logan International...
This is what a major airport looks like at 3am... I never thought I'd say this but thank goodness for 24 hour Dunkin Donuts.

I finally got to go to bed after a day and half of solid travel. Planes, trains and a bus and a LOT of walking... ugh.

The hostel was in a really great spot, right around the corner from almost everything you might need. Too bad all the payphones around it were almost completely useless. This is a view from the dorm window.

I made my way through the North and South Lanes to check out the the beach.

On the Boardwalk, down by the sea...

I was in love with this color - and the fact that the paint was peeling everywhere you looked.

This one just amuses me.

Finally made my way to Brighton Pier.

The sky was amazing that afternoon.

Through the Pavilion Gardens...

Back in my bunk... it was time for a rest before dinner.

Meandering through the Lanes at night... it's really amazing how safe I felt there, even walking around at 10:00 at night by myself.

I finally stopped for a drink at The White Rabbit before heading back to the hostel.

Back at the hostel I ended up hanging out in the common room talking to a few of the people who happened to be bunking in my room. All in all it was a lovely first day.

The next couple days are kind of a blur. No pictures were taken since I ended up getting pretty sick. After three days in bed I just needed some fresh air so I decided to walk down to the beach and actually see some of Worthing, just around sunset.

Sunday afternoon I finally went into the city.

I had gotten so frustrated with the damn pay phones and stupid phone cards that wouldn't work that I broke down and bought a pay as you go...

Sunday evening sunset...

Walking through Worthing to get to Megan's house for an evening... a pretty time for pictures.

Went to the Pier on Monday where there were some fantastic murals... I think the mermaid is absolutely gorgeous.

I love how you can see all of the brush strokes and grit on the wall with this guy.

That afternoon I was lucky enough to get to take a walk with Bink, Noah and Sarah.

We all know how I love a good lamp post shot. The sky was once again just amazing. I loved how dark and gray the water looked in contrast to the waning light and pale yellow sky.

Heading back through the city for some window shopping... I want this outfit... :)

Again, I have this fascination with grubby walls and peeling paint... I guess I just have an affinity for textures and decaying structures. :)

I left Worthing Tuesday afternoon and spent one more day in Brighton. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately, as my camera was starting to die and I didn't have a way to charge it. The adapter I had brought had fried my hair dryer and I wasn't about to chance my camera being next.

I then made my way home on Wednesday afternoon. I had a full 24 hours to spend in Boston so I got a train pass for the day and went wandering... first along the Long Warf near the Aquarium.

Then to Fenuil Hall and the Markets...

I also went to check out the Holocaust Memorial. I wasn't really sure what to think about it.

I was both moved and to be honest, a little shocked and I would even say slightly appalled at the way it was presented.

Still being pretty tired from being sick I hung out in the area a little longer before deciding to go check out Boston Commons to see the old Burying Grounds.

I made my way back to the train station and took one more short stroll before heading back to the airport.

I saw some really cool street art on my way to the station...

All in all I'd give it a 6 out of 10. To date it's probably one of the worst trips I've had to be honest. I did manage to see some lovely sights but even still... can I get a do-over...?

Jane Austen Swap

2010-02-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

This is my second Jane Austen Swap... needless to say she's quite a favorite of mine. :) For this swap I decided to go big. The requirements were a large item and two smalls but since my partner had decided to make me a period gown I wanted to make my package to her reflect my thanks.

The first items are a simple pearl beaded necklace and bracelet. Nothing too fancy, as simplicity was a key theme in the Regency period. I decorated a small round box to put them in.

Next, one of the items that was requested was a journal. Yay! One of my favorite types of projects! This one was fun too because I got to find a Jane Austen quote. She's so sassy! I'm always surprised when people think of her as prim and proper. :) It's a bit mixed media (once again trying to branch out here). I used a print out of the silhouette that is supposedly Miss Austen herself, acrylic paint, gel medium, rub ons (thank you 7 Gypsies!), and a few bits and bobs.

Finally for package #1 is the large item - a shawl. It's my very first completed knitted shawl so I'm pretty proud of it. It's a lovely color and pretty cozy. It's large enough to keep your shoulders warm when worn as a shawl and small enough to wear as a neck kerchief for a more modern look.

So here it is, part one of two! Somehow the color red became an ongoing theme in this package, which I guess is appropriate since it is Valentine's Day weekend. :)

I have two other items to send out but I didn't want to hold up the whole package so I shipped this one off on it's merry way. Part two will come as soon as I've finished the final piece!

Not crafty but it's cool!

2010-02-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Evan came over tonight to trim my hair a bit. Well, I got a little more than a trim. :D He was talking about ideas he had for my hair so I said just do it!

Here's the boring before:

Here's the sassy after! I think on Thursday we might do some fun color.

Both sides are short like this , but with the top pulled over to the left you can't tell from these pictures. Basically I could mohawk it if I wanted too. hehe It'll be really sweet in a couple weeks when it's grown out a teeny bit though.

Altered bits and bobs...

2010-02-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

I made this little tin a while ago. It's full of mini BH sketches and it's made from a Camel cigarette tin.
I love the way it came out, and it's great to just toss in my bag for when I go to crops.

A little modge podge, a little emphera and we're good to go!

An oldie but a goody, it even won "Best of Craftster 2007"!!

I'm cheesy, yes, but this is a 4x4 minibook of cutesy texts from the ole boyfriend. Back in the day people would send love letters... now we flirt via email and text messages. My, how times have changed!
At least when I'm old and gray I can look through this little book and remember how silly we were when we first started dating. :)

Aaaahhh... from the crazy altered clipboard craze!!

This is one of my favorite pieces in my room. It's from the Scraplove Altered Puzzle Swap. My theme was medieval romance. Not surprised, are we? I think my friends did a wonderful job with the theme and I love having a little piece of everyone's art hanging on my wall!

Labyrinth Swap

2010-02-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while with all the swap stuff I've been working on. I've been anxious to post some of my items too, but due to possible spoilers I have to be good and wait, at least until I've sent out my packages. :) I'm not sending this one out until tomorrow but I just can't wait any longer.

So first off, I've finally finished with the Labyrinth swap, and what a bunch of fun it was! It's probably been one of my favorite swaps so far. I received a really great package from Pupper. Here's the lot all together:

First there's a felted William ( I heart him - but unfortunately so do my kitties so he must stay hidden for now) and a fantastic miniature felt Jareth doll. Just look at those killer cheekbones! A Labyrinth inspired necklace and cool "bubble" earrings, both of which will go with a lot of my clothes.Here's an amazing Door Knocker jewelry box. The clay sculpting is fabulous- I could never even dream of trying to make one of the door knockers!

Then there's a gold necklace and dangle earring set which will be great for faire.

Finally here is a William the Worm "Ello" sign and a William mini calender. Can you tell he's one of my favorites? :D

There's also an owl candle (not for lighting- he's too awesome), but I somehow forgot to take a solo picture of him.

Now for my package to Pupper. For starters we have a couple of knitted items. First off is the requisite Owl item! :) I love owlies, especially the one in this film. Barn owls are so beautiful. Here are 2 cotton owl potholders, pre-blocked. For the eyes I used some glittery copper ribbon. When you're dealing with the Labyrinth, you always need a little glitter! :-D

The next item up is the William scarf I made. I used Wool-ease for some warmth and I think the color works well. It's a simple garter stitch scarf with fringe and has a great "squish" factor. I do wish however, that I had made it a little longer. I didn't have my second skein of yarn with me though and and I was getting anxious to finish it. There's really nothing wrong with the length but as a personal preference I wish it were longer.

This is the largest item. I wanted to try my hand at a mixed media painting. I've dabbled in it before but I wanted to try something on a larger scale. I really didn't want to go 20x24 but I started playing around with some ideas and it just kind of happened. :)

I started off with some stucco, acrylics and gel medium...

It eventually made its way to this, with the addition of printed images, glass bead texture medium, foam & rubber stamping, Stazon, and a LOT more acrylic paint and gel medium. :) I love the way the colors came out, although the pictures do it absolutely no justice.

I think my favorite bit is the goblins in the bottom left corner. The words surrounding the picture say "I wish the goblins would come and take you away...)" Other quotes include: "What's said is said" and "What a pity". We all swoon over Jareth but for this I really wanted to showcase his meaner side.

Next is something I had commissioned for my partner by my best friend and an amazing artist, Jeanne Hunt (jeannebaby on Craftster). She's been working on some watercolor paintings and I was absolutely blown away. I really wanted one for my partner so I asked if she could do a small 5x7 Ludo painting. It truly puts my work to shame, but here it is anyway. :D The color and detail are absolutely perfect and the fact that she painted them without even referring to a photo is rediculous. She's seriously amazing.

Finally we have my favorite piece for this swap. The Junk Box. My apologies for the drawn out description but I LOVED working on this piece. My partner loves the character of Agnes, the old woman who lives in the junkyard outside the gates of the Goblin City. I really wanted to make something to represent her so from my love of altering boxes I came up with a little treasure chest.

It started off as a cast off in the $.99 bargain bin at Gabriel Brother's (and you better believe I stocked up on these awesome little boxes!). From there it got covered in Barbie doll toys, buttons, and other odds and ends found around the house. Hey, it is after all a junkyard scene!

For some texture on the sides I went the way of toilet paper and egg shells. I know it may sound weird but it really gives some great effects! Finally a layer of gesso topped it all off and it was time to get down to the fun part!

I once again broke out the acrylics, gel medium and iridescent paints and went to town. I wanted it to have a dark and ugly feel about it so I went with grays, blacks, and greens. I didn't want it too ugly though so shimmery purple and golds helped with highlighting. I used 3 flat backed marbles to mimic Jareth's crystal bubbles and finished it off with some black glitter (not in the pics though :( )

I wanted to inside to really *pop* so I stayed with the purples and painted the inside. Finally I added a quote from Agnes and felt to the bottom.

Edited 2/8/10
Okay, okay. So I have to admit that for some reason, when looking at all of my swap items together it didn't feel like it was enough. I decided to make one final item right before I packaged everything up to ship off. Every goblin friend needs to feel like they fit in with the crowd, right? Of course right. So I made these:
This was my first attempt at horns and I think they came out pretty well. Granted they look a little more "devil" like and I really wanted to add some texture but I was on a time limit since I still had to make it to the post office by 5:00. You can't tell in the picture but they actually are a slight shimmery copper with a more matte, muddy color over top.

I really hope she likes everything! It was such a blast to work on this swap!!

Card Box

2010-01-22T10:54:00.001-08:00

I love handmade cards.

To get something that you know took time, care and effort- well, it makes me feel loved. That's why I like to keep my handmade goodies safe and sound in their own little spot. I have another of these boxes for regular store bought cards as well.

When I'm having a rough day it's nice to go through them. It always puts a smile on my face, thinking of how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Thank you GeekCrafts!!!

2010-01-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

I was pretty excited yesterday when I received a message from Shayne of Geekcrafts.com. It turns out they wanted to feature the little crocheted Underpants Gnome that I made for the Craftster Fairytale Creature swap on their blog! What?! Heck yeah!! :-D Thanks again Geekcrafts!!!

http://geekcrafts.com/crocheted-underwear-gnome/#comments

Please go check out their site- even if you aren't all that geeky or crafty you'll get a big kick out of it. You want to see a toaster made from a VCR? How about a Barbie turned into a zombie? Or maybe a full size quilt featuring scenes from Lord of the Rings? Well folks, you'll find them all here on Geekcrafts!

http://geekcrafts.com/

Carded, Covered, and Paged

2010-01-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

They started out as just scraps of paper, leftovers from someone I was cropping with. I was in Texas for a big weekend get together and my luggage was lost in transit. Making these kept me somewhat sane...at least for a little while.

Wanting a travel planning journal I came up with this fun little number:

Here's a random scrapbook page. Not one of my favorites but I do like it...so yeah...

Swap time!!

2010-01-16T22:18:00.001-08:00

It had been so long since I'd done a swap that I couldn't help myself when I saw so many great topics posted on Craftster. I ended up signing up for 4 of them! They're spread out perfectly so I'll be able to complete them each on time. The themes I signed up for are the Labyrinth, Jane Austen (yes, again), the Princess Bride and a Handspun & Handcrafts swap.

The Labyrinth swap is almost complete. I can't post too many details since I don't want my partner to know what I've made her yet. This has been a really great swap for me so far and I hope my partner likes what I've made her as much as I've enjoyed making them. One of the items is sort of a new craft for me, though it's a variation of things I've done in the past. Just one more item and the package will be ready to send. I have already received the package from my swap partner but I wanted to get everything of mine done before I opened it. I should be all ready on Monday! I'm really excited to see what she's made for me!

I just got my partner for the Jane Austen swap last week and I'm soooooo very excited!! My partner has offered to make me a Regency dress! I was absolutely floored when I read her message! I have some ideas as to what to make for her in return but I'm waiting to hear about some of her preferences.

I received my Handspun and Handcraft swap partner today. This is going to be a quick, but fun swap. I get to make some lovely handspun yarn for my partner and they will craft something fabulous for me. I'm really excited about my partner - she seems really fun and her talents with polymer clay are just amazing. She has her hands in all sorts of crafty pies so I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

2009-12-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Jumping on the bandwagon with this one but they're so cute I just couldn't help myself. One of the many things I made during the holiday season this year was a new ornament for our tree.

Styrofoam ball? check! Random red yarn? check! Ribbon and a couple fancy toothpicks? check! Ah yes, the perfect recipe for a yarn ball ornament.

It's so simple but I love the color and the way it came out.

New on the Wheel

2009-12-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

I bought 4oz. of Superwash merino roving a couple weeks ago from Knitting on the Square. At first the colorway, called Thieves, struck me as pretty but in a sort of ugly way, if that makes sense. I had to have it.

Once I cleared off my bobbins of the Redwood and Corridale and started spinning it I was so glad that it had jumped in my bag come home with me. :) The colors are spinning up beautifully with lots of twists of blending colors. It's so much fun to watch the colors coming together. Even after drafting a bit you still can't really tell how it's going to look in it's yarny stage.

Sew what?

2009-12-14T12:24:00.001-08:00

Lately I've been in the mood to sew. I've been thinking about what kind of gown to wear for the 12th Night Feast coming up in January and it got me to thinking of my garb. I need something new for sure, I'm thinking Tudor maybe. I really need to finish drafting the pattern for my mid 1500s gown. If I can get that completed it'd be lovely. I already have the fabric for my chemise and petticoat. I wish there were somewhere local that sold more period type fabrics for the gown and kirtle though. I hate having to try and purchase yards and yards of fabric online, without the benefit of seeing it in person first. There's a lot of hand sewing to do too. I just don't know if I'd have the time after the holidays to finish properly and have it as perfect as I'd like it to be. We'll just have to see though. :)

In the meantime here's a gown I made for faire this past summer. Nothing even remotely period about it but it's for faire so it doesn't matter too much. Faire is my outlet for just playing dress up anyway and luckily at GLMF anything goes! :-D

Brittney found this fabric at Joann's and we were both instantly in love with it. She bought the red and tan version and I nabbed up the blue. That very night we went back to her house and whipped a couple gowns.

This one is pretty versatile. It can be worn as shown or open for more of a "coat" look. I wore it like that for Halloween and completely butched it up for a pirate outfit, knee high boots, dagger and all!

Walk in the Forest

2009-12-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

I finally finished setting the twist on all of the Redwood Forest. It came out really well, my first really nice and even singles. The skeins are a bit of a mess right now since I still need to measure it. I'm not sure of the yardage since I was in a hurry to get it set. It was almost 4am at the time. :-P

I also set some of the teal Corridale, just to empty off all of my bobbins. It's a little rougher than the Blue Faced Leicester that I just finished up but it's just a lovely. The color is amazing - I'm thinking it'll make a great scarf. The picture shows the yarn a lot darker than it actually is.

I also started a Christmas prezzie for my lil sister. It's Vanessa Cater's Sunday Market Shawl, found on Ravelry. It's a really simple pattern but using Paton's Kroy Sock FX yarn with it's subtle color changes I think it'll turn out pretty well. I'm using a larger needle size than suggested and doubled the amount of cast on stitches to make it more like a wide wrap than a small shawl.

Back to my Roots

2009-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

The very first craft that started me on this crazy journey of handmade wonders was mixed media and altered art, long before I even knew that it was ever called that. I recently did an altered altoid tin that reminded me of some of my old pieces.

It's called Dare to Dream. I haven't decided whether or not to add words to the lid. I'm thinking magazine clippings that say " Dare to Dream, Dare to Be" but I don't know. It seems to me that it needs a little *something*, I just can't decide what. :) It'll come to me eventually and in the meantime I'm pretty happy with it.

Holiday Hell

2009-12-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

I've been super busy with having out of town family staying with me for the Thanksgiving holiday and the bf being in the hospital, but I'm finally back on track! I whipped this scarf up the other day and it got me back into the groove. Lovely yarn (Brae Tweed) and even lovelier once knit up into the Mustard Scarf! I've named this one Down the Brae, after the yarn name and my favorite Celtic music radio station.

The squish factor is amazing and I just loooove the color. Can't decide whether to add a button as the pattern calls for or just leave it to be used with a fabulous shawl pin. Hmm....

I got my Phantom Spin a long fibers the other day too. Tomorrow I should be able to play with them a bit and maybe post some pics. They're soooo soft, I just can't wait!

Smilie for Today! :-D

2009-11-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

Getting my fix!

2009-11-16T10:13:00.001-08:00

Last night while on Ravelry I noticed an ad at the bottom of the page for a Phantom of the Opera Spin-a-long for November/December. Instantly interested, I clicked the link and was taken to Extremespinning's Etsy page (droolworthy fibers-yum!). I read the description and wasn't halfway through before I had already decided to purchase the fibers and join in. The theme is Phantom and the batts will be a blend of "merino, soy silk, bamboo, alpaca, and glitz, multiple colors for mixing and blending". I'm really looking forward to spinning those up! The colorways are inspired by this Phantom photo.

A handmade surprise is also included from Etsy seller Yarndemon. I checked out her shop and faved her immediately- SUCH cute items! I'm pretty excited to see what we're getting. The package won't ship until the 25th so I have about 2 weeks until it arrives. That will give me just the drive I need to crank out those Christmas prezzies. After all, I'm going to want to be able to take my time and enjoy my spin-a-long!

Fellow spinners- extremespinning has some beautiful fibers for sale, check them out when you get a chance and for my knit and crochet friends- Yarndemon's stitch markers are adorable!

I finally broke down...

2009-11-13T18:57:00.001-08:00

For a couple years now I've been holding out to purchase my dream camera...a Cannon Rebel. Finally admitting to myself that it's really not going to happen any time soon I broke down and went to the store the other night to look for a simple point and shoot. I ended up leaving with this little pretty:

No more crap pictures on my cell phone! It's high class all the way now!I already knitted up a case for it with some handspun of mine. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to play with it and get some new pics of some of my projects.

Speaking of projects, I started on one of Stefani's Christmas prezzies. It's a set of 4 cotton butterfly washcloths. I should be able to finish two of them tonight. With a little perseverance they'll be done by the beginning of the week and I can start on another item.

Impass

2009-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

I can't decide what project to start next. There are quite a few to complete in the next 2 months in order for me to be ready for Christmas. Perhaps I should start with the slightly more ambitious ones and get them out of the way, like the thread crochet or cabled items. What if I just bang out the easy ones and be done with them but then potentially not have time to finish the bigger items? Man, I'm really horrible at this whole decision making thing... Maybe I should just put them all in a hat and draw names. :)

Wait! By jove I've got it! I know how to start! By getting off this damn computer! lol

Ants in my Pants

2009-10-30T09:23:00.001-07:00

I'm really dying to get my hands on some new fiber!!! I don't have a stash like most spinners- at the moment I'm stuck purchasing just enough at a time to keep my wheel with something to spin, which isn't hard since I limit my spinning time to make what I have last for a while. I'd just loooove to get to the point where I have at least a small stash of lovely things to play with and experiment with. I'm off today so I plan on finishing the rest of the Redwood Forest since I got too busy last week with my grandma going into the hospital. After I finish with the Redwood at least I have about 2-3 oz. of the Corridale left. Whew!

I also want to finish at least ONE Christmas prezzie this weekend. I'm not doing so well in the gift making so far, being slightly obsessed with getting, cleaning, and learning about my new loom the past couple weeks. :-) Oops. I can probably make a lot of progress on the set of butterfly washcloths for Stefani though, I just wish I could remember what color her bathroom is! (insert rolling eye emoticon here) I'd like to start on the filet crochet breadcloth as well. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out using black crochet thread instead of white as shown in the pattern picture. I need to grab up a couple skeins of some bulky weight yarn for Annemarie and Brittney's gifts too sometime in the next week too. Those should be fun- I love playing with cables!

Speaking of Annemarie, I finally found the tablecloth I started for her!! It somehow got lost in the move last spring and I'd been trying to find it all summer. Well last week while looking for green felt to make my little sis her Peter Pan hat for Halloween I found it buried in my craft closet. Woohooo! Thankfully it's a little farther along than shown this pic! :-D

Western Reserve Spinners and Weavers Guild

2009-10-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the meeting Tuesday night, arriving a few minutes late which was actually kind of lucky for me. On the way in I met a lovely lady named Liz, also late, and sort of a newbie herself. She's been to about 3 meetings so far but was able to show me the ropes. We went in and arrived there just after the speaker had begun. Okay, now I know it's going to sound completely dorky, but the discussion was about moths. I know, I know. I can just see the looks on some of your faces. You're wondering something along the lines of "What the hell is she talking about", but it really was interesting, especially for someone who stores yarns, fibers and fabric- aka "the perfect lunch" in moth world. After the hour long talk/slide show it was time for the actual meeting to start.

While the speaker was gathering his things this gave Liz and I a chance to talk for a few minutes. She told me about the previous meeting that she attended and about the demos and workshops available both during the meetings and at other types of fiber events. I also learned that she has an alpaca farm and is hoping that the guild will give her some new outlets for fleece sales. I shared my interest in purchasing fleeces and wanting to play with and learn more about different fibers. Well, how excited do you think I was when she said that if I'm planning on coming to the next meeting she will try and bring me a bit of her alpaca to experiment with! (insert dancing banana emoticon here) At this point, being on a time constraint, I really needed to get going. I stayed long enough to introduce myself to the group and sadly declare that I had to leave, but not before getting a business card from Liz and signing up for the monthly newsletter.

From what I can tell it seems to be a pretty interesting group, and informative too. There was even a woman spinning, one knitting and another doing some card weaving during the slide show- so that's fun. It looks like I'm the youngest of them so far, out of the 30 or so people that were there. Oh, the wisdom of all things fiber arty that must be collected in such a group! I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone and learning some great new things.

2009-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

She's all clean from top to bottom! She was pretty dingy - the towel I used was looking pretty rough when I got done. It's a vast improvement for sure. Now that it's all done though I just need to order my replacement parts. One will be the reed (shown here) You can't really tell but the edges ares a little on the rusty side and some of the slats in the middle aren't looking too hot either.

The other pieces are the 600 heddles and some new pegs for the back beam holding the warping threads. The ones on there currently are a bit brittle and keep breaking off. :(

Here she is though, all bright and happy! I'm hoping to be able to order all the parts in a couple weeks and be weaving by the end of November! In the mean time I can be good and start working on Christmas prezzies again! :)

Tonight is the Guild meeting too. I hope i can make it. It'd be nice to be able to get started learning a bit and then by the time next month's meeting rolls around I'll have my loom all set up and can weave on my merry way!

2009-10-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is all that's left of the Redwood Forest to spin up! Then it's time to set the twist on 3 bobbins full!

Shiny "new" toy!!!

2009-10-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

I picked up my loom today (thank you Rich and Aaron!!!) and brought her on home. Hmmm...not sure why I think it's a "her"...but ah well. :) Getting her into the house was a lot easier than I expected, there was just enough room to make maneuvering a breeze, though she's damn heavy! The guys did a great job getting the loom in the house and set up in the right spot. I still had to head back to my dad's afterwards so by the time I got home I was beat and almost ready for bed. I did some cleaning with Murphy's Wood Oil soap on all the accessories though and they're looking better already. Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the loom and do a bit of oiling on the gears and metal bits. There's a lot of cotton warping on the back so I think I might be able to set it up and make sure it works properly. The heddles are a bit rusty so instead of trying to clean them one by one I may just buy some replacements on Woolery.

Thanks to a fellow Blogger for finding this pic of Reed Loom Company Weaver's Friend loom working it's magic! Very cool.

Tuesday is the monthly meeting of the Western Reserve Spinners and Weaver's Guild so I'm pretty excited about the near instant gratification of getting information from people that have been doing this for a while. There's even a Spin-In an hour before the meeting. I bet I could finish up the Corridale top I'm working on if I get to make it early enough!

On a side about knitting...today I found a missing pair of handwarmers in a lovely self striping sock yarn that I made last year. I had been wondering where they went! With them were my US size 3 straights. Woohoo! On the straights is another (though not quite finished) hand warmer. Just gotta make the other one and I have a matching pair, and just in time for chilly weather. :-)

Kismet

2009-10-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

While browsing the Fiber Friday thread from last week on Craftster I got the urge to jump on Craigslist to look at wheels and bobbins. Obviously I'm not in the market to buy anything, being quite content with my Ashford Traveller, but I couldn't help checking out the local scene. On a whim I decided to check out looms as well, just to see what people were looking to get rid of since I'm pretty keen on learning the age old art of weaving. Much to my surprise I saw a headline listing a vintage "Weaver's Friend" loom. I checked out the listing, saw the photos, and my jaw dropped to the floor. I swear it had to be a misprint. There was no was way on earth that the price could be correct for that size loom! It gave a number to call for more information, so call I did! I got a call back shortly after and spoke with a lovely woman who explained that the loom was purchased in an estate sale and was going to be used for a small side business that she and her mother wanted to start. In an unfortunate turn of events her mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and has since become wheelchair bound. The dreams of their business together were dashed and it has since become an item of regret, taking up a good portion of the living room. Really she just wanted it gone, but to a good home. Having an evening off of work I set off to take a look. You know that old "love at first sight" story? Yeah. It can happen. I stayed and chatted for a bit then had to make my way home, but not before paying the mere $150 asking price and setting up a time on Sunday to go pick up my new toy!
I was so excited that I couldn't even think of anyone to call who would understand how COOL this is. Then I decided one of the best people to tell first was my dad. He was really excited for me, our family being really interested in history and keeping the trades of the past alive. The loom was made by the Reed Loom Company in Springfield, Ohio which stared back in the late 1800s. Shortly after Mr. Reed's death it was taken over by Paul Linker who kept the company open until the mid 70's when he passed and they stopped manufacturing them. Basically, at the youngest possible age my "new" loom is at least 30 years old!

I think I may go back to French Creek Fiber Arts to learn some loom basics since that's where I took my spinning classes. Peggy was a great teacher and her shop is fantastic. It's kind of a long haul from here, but I think it'll be worth it since I'm already familiar with her and she has really reasonable class prices. Although I did find the Western Reserve Spinners and Weaver's Guild. They meet at the Farmpark (about 20 minutes from my house) once a month. As is turns out, their next meeting is a week from today so I may just check them out first and go from there.

Another issue to work out is where the heck am I going to put a 52 x 52 in. loom?!? lol I'm really too impulsive sometimes. :) It should fit in the back room of my house, but just to get it inside I think the front door may have to come off! Luckily there's enough room to do some rearranging of the furniture.We're just going to have to wait and see how it goes on Sunday. Improvise will be the name of the game I think. Thank goodness that's one of my talents!

Spin Spin Sugar

2009-10-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Current spinning project: 8 ounces of hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester top, in Redwood Forest that I picked up from Frabjous Fibers. Soooo lovely to spin. It's making quite a fine laceweight- my first.

I really have no idea what to make with it so I may put it up for sale. I'm working on a solid dark teal Corridale top as well and can't decide if I want to ply it with the Redwood Forest. Do I want to go for two gorgeous singles with lots of yardage in each or a ply the two complementing yarns and end up with less yardage but a really striking colorway?

Decisions...decisions....

Heroes

2009-10-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

They come in many forms. Even crazy Finns. Meet mine: Riku Rantala and Tunna Milonoff
These guys take in the world the way that I could only dare to dream. Hopping from country to country, to me they are living the ultimate high life.

Perhaps one day I will be fortunate enough to even get a taste of life on the road as they have been doing it for years.

Persuasion Multnomah

2009-10-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm in a KAL for Jane Austen's Persuasion. The theme being water, waves, blue, oceans, etc... I found my inspiration close to home. Living about a 10 minute walk from the shores of Lake Erie, I took a stroll and ended up having a lovely evening reading, with this as my view:
Realizing that my Opal yarn would be perfect for this project my plans of making a pair of lacy cream colored fingerless gloves were swapped for a lovely, small shawl which can easily double as a fantastic neckerchief. With winter coming up I find this to be a most perfect accessory.

I've chosen the Multnomah, a beautiful little shawl with the feather and fan border representing the waves along a shoreline. The yarn I’m using for this is inspired by the shimmer on the Lake. It’s a thick and thin 2-ply. The thin, shiny yarn is the shimmer and the slightly puffier cream yarn reminds me of the little cloud fluffs. The light color also seems to fit the feel of Persuasion for me as well -the simple softness and beauty of Anne.

Foray into the North and South

2009-10-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

My first attempt into the wide, wide world of double pointed needles went swimmingly! I was always so wary of trying, thinking it would be fussy and annoying to work with so many needles at once, but oh how wrong I was!

I am absolutely in love this new world that I've discovered. There are so many more things that I can knit now! Gloves... socks... hats... legwarmers.... oh la la!

Christmas...

2009-09-26T09:52:00.001-07:00

It's coming along and this year I'm hoping to get ahead of the game. Normally I don't start projects and prezzies until it's almost too late. This year I'm taking the initiative and starting on things NOW. I'm done with my list for friends, now comes the tough part of family members. Luckily since everyone in my family is pretty artsy/craftsy they'll appreciate the time and effort of handmade gifts. With my work schedule I should have enough time during the morning and early afternoon to craft and maybe for once get my gifts done before Christmas Eve!

Jacquie Blue

2009-09-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make something for one of my little sisters and since fall is at our doorstep a scarf was a logical choice. The Medallion Motif scarf is really fast and fun, and quite pretty. I call this one Jacquie Blue. :) Hopefully I can update this later with a pic of her wearing it.

Dusty Cables

2009-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

So I finished my dusty cables scarf last night just as the credits were rolling on Little Women. I tend to watch it a lot when I'm sewing or working on a yarn project. I've seen it so many times that I can concentrate on my work and still know what's going on onscreen. Beth getting sick and dying gets me every time! Anyway, enough of me being a sap, back to my scarf. :)

I like the cable pattern but I'm not too thrilled with how the edges curl inward. It's not bad and doesn't take away from the scarf, it's just a personal annoyance I guess. I might end up giving this one away. We'll see though. I do have 17 other scarves. :)

2009-09-23T10:45:00.001-07:00

Last night I worked on the Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! cowl. Love the pattern, love the yarn and I finished in one sitting! The color will go really well with my winter coat too.

As a bonus, the pretty "brooch" is actually an old clip on earring that belonged to my grandma waaaaaaay back in the day. :) Can't go wrong with true vintage!!!

Back in the swing of things...

2009-09-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

I've been in a pretty big slump lately with all the things going on at home here. It's rough, I'm not gonna lie. But I'm not going to sit here and whine about it either. Instead I'm going to post some of the things I've been working on to keep myself occupied while being out of work the past month. I start this weekend again so I'm trying to crank out as many finished items as possible. :)

This scarf was made about a month ago while my grandma was in the hospital. I'd spun up this yarn last November and was waiting for the right project. Well since I needed something to work on while spending a long day in the ER I figured I'd just bring up my skein and whip something up. It's a simple ribbed stitch edging with alternating blocks of knit and purl stitches. I can't wait until it's cold enough out to wear wool!

This is a pattern I found on the Lion Brand website. Loved it when I made it for my friend Stefani and always wanted one of my own. I had a skein of this lovely green Vanna's Choice and made it in a couple afternoons.

I actually made this scarf sometime last winter but didn't like the flower pattern. I tossed it aside and found it again about a week ago. I figured since Autumn starts in a few days I might as well just finish it. I could have put a button or other flower on it but the one in the pattern was so unique that I really wanted to try working it out. I'll probably make another few of these as gifts since they're great stash busters but that damn flower is gonna go.

This scarf is called the Brulee Scarf. Super cute and super easy, but garter stitch is SUCH a bore that I put it aside and will finish it later.

I'm almost done with this beauty. I found the book One Ball Knits at the library the other day and it had some really cute patterns in it. I have a TON of this lovely purple yarn and wanted to make something with cables . Tomorrow it'll be done and I can block it. I can't wait to see how pretty it is when it's all ready to wear! I also plan on making some purple cabled armwarmers to match.

While that's blocking I'm going to make a cowl out of this fantastic chunky yarn I have. I should be able to work it up in the course of an evening since it's such a simple pattern and the yarn is so nice and chunky. Then all I've got to do is find a fabulous button for it!

inner sighing...

2008-07-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

clap, clap, clap A Fairytale Creature Swap!

2008-04-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Clap is you believe in fairies!!

I made these for a fairy tale creature swap. I haven't ever really worked with clay before but I think these came out pretty well. The smaller of the two is my favorite. :)

Jackson

2008-04-20T11:34:00.001-07:00

All I have to say is...
CUTE!!!

I don't care if it IS spring!

2008-04-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a pair of these.

Debbie Mumm yarn is yummy, but I'm not fond of this pattern at all. Considering maybe frogging it.

Ack!!!!

2008-04-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

An Underpants Gnome!!!!

2008-04-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

So here it is...the Shakespeare Swap. Ah, this one was a creative one for me. I used a lot of things that I haven't used in a while and even some new stuff.

Here is the whole package that I sent to my partner:

This is a close up of the Witches Brew jars that I made. Each of the jars are for a different item that was listed as the ingredients for the potion made by the witches in Macbeth. Adders Fork... Month Old Toad... Wing of Howlet... Wool of Bat... Tongue of Dog... Toe of Frog...

My partner likes purses and I found this amazing fabric so I knew I had to use it for this lovely pleated clutch pattern that I've been wanting to try out. The clock fabric is a nod to her favorite quote from Twelfth Night "The clock upbraids me with a waste of time". The fabric is 100% cotton, lined with a medium brown broadcloth and has a magnetic clasp closure.

Finally the monster of all projects..the Macbeth Book shrine. I took several of her favorite scenes from the play and tried incorporating them into the book somehow, using a ton of different techniques and supplies. Some of the scenes shown are Great Birnham Wood, Lady Macbeth after reading the letter from her husband in the beginning, the fight scene at the end between Macbeth and MacDuff, and of course the banquet scene with Banquo's ghost. Along the edges of the "pages" is the famous "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" quote and finally there's a nod to the doorkeeper with the large metal door handle on the front of the book.

Here is the wonderful package that I received!!

First up is the Midsummer Night's Dream tote that I've been using since the day it arrived. It's made from a recycled, thrifted wool sweater. My partner over dyed it this beautiful dark green, then embroidered the trees, felted it and then beaded and embroidered some more. So cool and so fun! I've already gotten a ton of compliments on it!

Here's puck along the side holding a bead flower.

The super soft lining fabric.

How amazing is this - it's an Emma Thompson/Beatrice doll from Much Ado about Nothing!! Knit from head to toe - even her skivvies. And if that isn't impressive enough already she made her outfit. It's even removable so that I can dress her in other Emma Thompson roles!! I love it!

Finally here's the Romeo and Juliet cuff. I wish you could see the details on this! It's scenes 2-5 from the play and it's just amazing! I wish I had a closeup of the wedding gown - gorgeous work, and such a clever idea. It's soooo comfy too. I've already worn it several times!

*** all photos taken by my wonderful swap partner astormorray! ***

Jam trousers anyone?

2008-04-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that I will actually get to see this man live, on stage, in a month and a half. I will truly be in comedy heaven.

Had a dream the other night....

2008-04-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

One of the witches from Macbeth was teaching me how to spin yarn. It was green. Weird.

Quite an undertaking for the Shakespeare swap!

2008-04-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

So, I have been working on this project for the Shakespeare Swap. It's much more work than I anticipated! I can't say what it is but these are some of the techniques and items I have already used:
-sponge painting
-letter stamping
-embossing
-painting
-collaging
-felt
-fabric
-creating 3-D objects with paper
-gold leafing

Whew!! And I'm still not done.

Sewing and Quilt Expo

2008-03-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today Jeanne and I went to the IX Center for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. It was 3 whole days of everything fabric and fiber art related. Four hours of this afternoon were spent walking the aisles, booth by booth, taking in all the fantastic fabrics, drool-worthy fibers and kick ass new gadgets. I found a few booths that I really loved. Oh, had I about $1000 to spend there today! Ugh. It would have been brilliant. I also wish we could have taken some of the classes that were available. Next year I think we're going to try and plan it better so that we can participate more in some of the activities. Towards the end of the day we walked through the the galleries, filled with some amazing artists and even got watch a fashion show while grabbing a snack before we left.

I will say, there was one particular booth that absolutely made my day. Jeanne and I were walking past and sitting in front were 3 spinning wheels and two looms. My interest was peaked. We went over and watched a felting demo and then found ourselves entranced by all of the beautiful handspun. The owner came over and started talking to us as we were checking out a lovely scarf that was on the larger loom. She described the weaving process and asked if I'd like to try my hand at it on the smaller loom. What the hell, why not right? It was a small lap loom and I only made a few passes but I was hooked. I want one. I've always been a bit interested in weaving but now I'd really like to learn more. Since the owner was so nice I asked her about the spinning wheels, having never seen someone actually use them in real life. She gave us a run down of it's parts and showed us how to spin. The ideas immediately flashed through my head. She gave me her business card and told me about some of the classes that her shop gives. I may have to take a couple! Spinning looked like so much fun and the more I've crocheted and got into knitting the more and more interested I've become in handspun yarns and fibers. It's really just the next logical step! ;-D

Yay for the Sewing Expo for giving me just one more craft to dump my money into!! :D

The Golden Girls Swap!

2008-03-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

I LOVED this swap. When I saw the original post about it I just knew that I had to join, and I'm so glad that I did! I had a fantastic partner who totally spoiled me and while working on the projects for her I really got into a craft that until know I had just dabbled in, but know really enjoy and want to learn more.

The main idea that I had was to make one item that showcased each girl and then one to incorporate them all. The magnet tin is for Rose. While magnets don't directly relate to her, I thought they were kind of lighthearted and frivolous - much like Rose. :) The tin was originally a Camel cigarette tin. I covered the top with a photo of all the girls and added a string of pearls and some antique buttons that I had laying around. The final touch was a layer of diamond glaze over the whole picture. Inside is a set of magnets with pictures of each of the Girls on them and some scenes from the show. The quote that I used is from one of the most popular episodes - where Dorothy and Rose are writing their song about Miami.

Next up is Sophia. Since she is the famed cook in the house I decided to make an apron, with her infamous line "Picture it, Sicily... " on the front. I found this super cute fabric with the sheep on it to symbolize the farming village she grew up in.

On to Dorothy. Being the intellectual of the group and a teacher I turned a mint tin into a book and made some bookmarks. One is a book thong and the other is a ribbon slide bookmark. Making these and playing with jewelery findings really got me in the mood to make some jewelery. These were one of my favorite swap items to make. I even made another of the ribbon slide ones for another friend of mine. :-D Oh! And the quote for Dorothy reads:
Dorothy "I have a date"
Blanche "with a man?"
Dorothy "No, Blanche, with a Venus fly trap"

Finally we come to Blanche. Being so full of herself, and that fact that I wanted to play with my jewelery making stuff some more I decided a jewelery set might be fun for her. After all, she does always have to look her best! I had a 7 Gypsies glass top tin and turned that into the jewelery box. I used my wonderful Tim Holtz alcohol inks on the lid to keep that sheer look and under the lid added the quote to some white Bazzill. For the base I took a scrap of some pretty blue fabric that I had and put it over a circle of cardboard and added some fluff and voila! A nice puffy base. The jewelery itself is really simple - just some eye hooks, glass beads and pearls, but being the first bit of jewelery I've ever made I really love the way they came out. Simple but sweet.

Last but not least there is the item for all the girls. Being that whenever they have a problem or have something to celebrate they head into the kitchen for some cheesecake I couldn't very well leave that out! I made a set of cheesecake recipe cards. There are 5 recipes in all. There's a little bit of everything - you have your classic New York style, the no-bake cheesecake and even some yummy fruit ones!

All of the pictures were taken by my awesome swap partner jloveg. This is what I received in return - she went all out!!

-super cute Rub Ons that are absolutely perfect for some scrapbook pages
-two lovely little fabric flower pins. The blue and yellow one reminds me of some pattern paper that I have.
-a blue and silver butterfly pendant - very Dorothy indeed! I think I have a silver chain that will hold it perfectly!
-3 clever magnetic bookmarks with the most perfect quotes on them! I've never seen that type of bookmark before but they'll definitely come in handy on the road!
-cheesecake!!!! in the form of very yummy looking earrings, a necklace and a key fob. I love that the necklace and key fob are whole cheesecakes and the earrings are little slices - so cute!
-there's a nod to Rose with some sweet little sheep stitch markers. I don't have any stitch markers at all so these with definitely come in handy!! I can't wait to try them out! I'm going to have to make a cute little drawstring bag to hold them in my needle roll so i don't loose them.
-a Dorothy paper weight with the quote "How come whenever my ship comes in it's leaking?" A perfect Dorothy quote- love it!!
-last but not leastly two bags, both different styles- one paisley and one with big, lovely, pink flowers. Paisley is one of my favorite prints, and it's funny because the fabric used on the lining is the same fabric that I used a while back to make a Regency Era gown! The bag with the flowers will be PERFECT to carry crochet/knitting projects.

Thank you jlove g for making this such a great swap.

Swap, Swappy, Swap, Swap. The 1950s and Jane Austen

2008-03-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

I've been kind of obsessed with Craftster swaps lately. Not really sure why.

In January I did a 1950s swap. I had a WONDERFUL partner and she made some amazing things for me. Maybe that's why I'm so hyped up on swaps right now - she got me into a great crafting groove!

So, without further ado, here is the package that I received from perlabella!

A 50s Corvette cozy. I keep my cell in it since i have a terrible habit of dropping it. :-P

Since I've become so domestic since moving in with Bri I got a lovely green potholder. I like to use it when I bake. ;)

I absolutely love this decoupaged box. It came to me holding a fantastic little beginners embroidery kit but since the color of the wood and all the red in it matches my kitchen perfectly I've turned it into a recipe box.

This might be my favorite item - the embroidered roller girl!!! Isn't she perfect? I just love it!

This was the package that I sent to her. :)

She's a big Lauren Bacall / Humphrey Bogart fan so I when I found this stencil of Lauren Bacall I knew it was perfect.

I LOVED working on this. The pic just doesn't do it justice. It's three 4x4 canvases, each with a pic of a pretty pin up. I edged each pic with a mix of black acrylic paint and texture medium. Then, while that was setting I added some black, blue and green rhinestones. Lastly I added the chunky black ribbon to hold them all together and make them a wall hanging.

Here is a teal and brown quilted sleeping mask (with matching bag- not pictured here) because really, what true 50s girl doesn't need her beauty sleep?

This is a small wooden box colored with walnut ink and a gold shimmer walnut ink. The letters are MM rub ons. Inside the box was a set of Bogart/Bacall magnets. Each one is a shot of their romance on screen. :-) Super fun little project.

Now for Jane Austen. Here's what I sent:
This is a cameo wall hanging using a stucco texture medium. This picture is actually in its half finished phase, before I added embellishment around the edges and the ribbon to hang it from. I am an idiot and forgot to get a pic of it completely done, but this way you at least get an idea. Oh! And it's the supposed silhouette of Jane Austen.

Since I had seen that my partner makes Regency gowns I made a work apron so that the pretty frocks won't get dirty.

This is a wooden keepsake box with another famous pic of Miss Austen done by her sister Cassandra. Inside was a small drawstring bag holding two sets of glass marble magnets, one set for Persuasion and the other for Bride and Prejudice.

a PC of my very own!

2008-01-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

I loooove my Brian so much! He set me up a computer of my very own!!! Now I can put all my crafty crap on it without littering up his computer. Not that he really minded my stuff being on there but I always felt bad cause I have sooooooo much stuff. Between patterns and bookmarks and all sorts of silliness he wouldn't have been able to find anything of his on there. Now I can upload and save to my heart's content!

:banana: !!!!

OMG, a HUGE honor!

2008-01-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

So I logged onto Craftster this morning to find this in my inbox: " Congratulations! One of your scrapbooking projects has been chosen as the "Best of Craftster 2007" for the Paper Crafts board! ".

I literally squealed!! Ever since the day I stumbled upon craftster I've been amazed at the amount of talent that is amassed on a single board - everything from fiber and fabric art to paper, clay, photography...just EVERYTHING. It's all so fantastic. Now, for the powers that be to rank me up there with the finest, well, I'm flabbergasted, and VERY thankful!

Check me out!!! Not one, but TWO of my pieces have been chosen and are in the Top 5 of their group!!!!!!! My Denny's album and scrapbook sketches tin....
http://www.craftster.org/bestof2007/

Just scroll down until you get to PAPER CRAFTS, JOURNALS & BOOK MAKING: Scrapbooking: Completed Projects. It's the 33rd row down.

And the "Best Boyfriend Award" goes to.....

2007-12-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

Brian!!!!

Yes folks, he's done it again! Always a fantastic gift giver, Brian outdoes himself again with the most perfect of prezzies. A much desired sewing table!!!! No more cutting fabric on the floor, sore backs and knees, or kitties playing with pattern pieces! Paired with the cutting mat that I will be getting with the Joann's gifts cards that his parents got me it's the absolute ultimate Christmas gift. A million thank yous go out to my dearest love and his wonderful parents!!

Meet the babies...

2007-12-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Isabella

Jackson

Sorry for the crappy pics. I had to use ones off of my phone. As soon as I get new batteries for my camera I can post better ones. These will have to do for now though. :)

25 Days of Christmas

2007-12-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest Scrapfreak blog challenge:

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? - hot chocolate with marshmallows
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? - everything is always wrapped
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? - both
4. Do you hang mistletoe? - not normally, but now that Brian and I have our own place I should.... ;)
5. When do you put your decorations up? - Decorations are brought out the weekend after Thanksgiving. We have a lot to put up and it takes a while to get everything situated.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? - turkey
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? - having my cousins up from Nashville and all 7 of us kids opening gifts together. It was always CRAZY.
8. Do you collect anything for your Christmas decor? - I don't but my grandma does and that pretty much fills the house.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? - yes, but you can only open one
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? - I usually put it up and do the lights and Nathan puts on the ornaments
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? - Don't mind snow, just hate the wind and slush that has to come with it.
12. Can you ice skate? - yes but I prefer roller skating
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? - anything my dad has ever made me, those are always the best
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? - being able to show my family how much they mean to me
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? - Death by Chocolate
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? - putting all the decor AWAY
17. What tops your tree? - an angel that was my great grandmother's
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? - giving. I hate getting gifts.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? - silly: I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, serious: Little Drummer Boy
20. Do you send Christmas cards? If so, handmade, store bought, or photo cards? - nope
21. Favorite Christmas movie? - A Christmas Story... a total classic and as an extra bonus - set in Cleveland!
22. What do you leave for Santa? - cookies
23. Have you ever shopped on Christmas Eve? - guilty as charged
24. Red or green? - red
25. Do you get ready before opening presents on Christmas morning or do you go straight to the tree PJs, bedhead, and all? -PJs and bedhead all the way

Motif Scarf

2007-12-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

I felt like crocheting the other night and wanted a quick project for a skein of yarn that I've had laying around forever so I grabbed the Motif Scarf pattern from Lion Brand.com and went to town. It came out really well so I think I'm going to give it away for Christmas. It's really easy and quick and I loved working on the pattern so I'm probably going to end up making a few more. They're so pretty too and the style is perfect for a couple lovely ladies that I know. I really puts me in the mood to crochet though and I'm dying to run to the store and buy up some nicer yarns and bust out a couple more projects. Right now all I seem to have is a bunch of mediocre acrylic - not ideal for the gifts I want to make. Hmmm... Anyone know where I can get a money tree...?

little kitties!

2007-12-19T06:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Brian and I became the proud owners of two adorable little kittens. We have a brother and sister, 8 weeks old. They are as rambunctious as all kittens are, and perfectly sweet when they are asleep. At first I was just going to pick up a little girl, but while I was there I couldn't help noticing how cute the boy was and well, I had to have them both. I sent Brian a text asking if we could have two. "Really? Send a pic" was the reply. I did and when i didn't hear back from him with a yes or no I made the executive decision of a yes! When he called a little while after I got home and asked me if I brought home two and he just laughed when he heard the answer. He loves them though and didn't mind a bit. Jasmine, on the other hand is NOT pleased. She'll get over it though. :) We have yet to name them since we wanted to wait a while to see each of their personalities so as soon as we do I'll post them.

the knitty gritty...

2007-12-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

So yes, I've finally begun to delve into the wide, wide world of knitting. I've dipped my toes in and the water feels fine!

Being a crocheter, I wasn't sure how I'd handle the two needle thing. I'd heard of so many people who can do one fiber craft and not the other that I was honestly a bit nervous. Could I do it, will I fumble around like a buffoon? Only one way to find out. I loved Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker book so much that I figured her Stitch-n-Bitch book would be a good way to go. I found it on half.com, grabbed some needles from Joann's, some yarn from my stash and $10.00 later I tried my hand at becoming a knitter. I cast on with no problems, and started in on my first swatch. A little lopsided, some small mistakes, but nothing I didn't learn from for the next swatch around. Garter stitch - no prob! On to purling. Click, click,....click, click.... a swatch completely purled. Not so bad!. :) Now onto stockinette. Deep breath. Cast on....knit...purl....knit.... purl.....got it! A lovely stockinette swatch with hardly any outrightly noticeable mistakes! I can totally do this! I then made ribbing and seed stitch swatches. Whee! I really think I'm going to like this! Now I just have to learn to increase and decrease and I'll be well on my way! :-D

Scrapfreak Blog Challenge...

2007-12-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

this week's blog challenge is to answer the following questions:

What are your...

5 favorite paper manufacturers? basic grey, Tim Holtz, Junkitz, 7 Gypsies, KI

4 favorite things to scrap? travel photos, Brian, my friends, travel photos :)

3 favorite techniques? distressing, embossing, stamping

2 favorite trends of the moment? huh. I'm not sure! lol

1 favorite reason to scrapbook? there's no right or wrong way - just YOUR way!

Cabin Fever

2007-12-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Yes. It's setting in. All I do is work and on my days off sit and crochet or practice some knitting, or do some other crafty business and think about a trip. I don't really go anywhere these days, I can't even afford to just drive around let alone leave the state. It's really frustrating. I'm getting a bit cabin-feverish, and there's no cure in sight. I've seen some good shows on tv and watched some good movies, but nothing quite compares to walking ruins, gazing at scenic vistas or meeting someone new from a faraway country. The restlessness is getting overwhelming and I need to get out.

Work, work, work!

2007-11-13T21:09:00.000-08:00

Not only are Brian and I working our butts off on the apartment with painting and moving furniture, but I have ten days to make the money I need for my monthly bills and my trip to Ireland. I'm going to be so dead by Thanksgiving!! One of our sister stores is looking for servers to pick up shifts so whenever I'm not working at my store I'm going to try and head over there. Ugh. The people that eat there completely suck and I'm not going to know anyone, but what's a few days of hell to a week and half in Ireland/England right? I'm just going to have to keep telling myself that over and over and over. It's gonna be rough but I think I can make it. I hope!!!

It's finally official!!!

2007-10-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

We've been approved for the apartment!!!! When Brian came in tonight and told me I so excited that I literally lept off the couch and gave him the biggest hug! We're going to the apartment on Monday to sign the lease and we should be able to start painting and moving stuff in on Thursday. New place, here I come!!

Craft Room.

2007-10-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

What beautiful words!! Soon, very soon, I will have my space, my own place. I can mess it up, relax in it - it will be my little creative haven away from the world. I'm so excited- a WHOLE ROOM just for my art! I can't even imagine - space to do all the crafty things I love! I'll have my desk for scrapping, a sewing table, a cozy corner for crocheting and (gasp) knitting. There will be plenty of room for storage in my big closet and a place for all of my Sterilite drawers. I'll get to decorate the room with as much art and inspiration as I can manage to fit. As long as it will fit, I'm even going to have a bed for those sleepy moments when I might want to take a nap. :)

My dream fabric storage:

Getting closer!

2007-10-23T07:26:00.001-07:00

Brian saw the place on Saturday and really likes it! Yay! Now we just have to fill out the application and fax it over to our soon-to-be landlord. I'm getting so anxious. If the place was already ready to move into I'd be sleeping there already. Oh, how I hate having to be patient! I'm all packed except some clothes, a few odds and ends, and a few necessities. November needs to hurry up and get here!

Two more weeks!!!!

2007-10-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

For those that don't know, I'll be moving soon!!!I'm very excited, and yes, my house will be fine for those of you that know the situation. I'm not just going to leave my family hanging, but I do need to get out on my own. Everything is all worked out. :)

Brian and I will be getting a two bedroom apartment in Lakewood. It's in a good neighborhood and just around the corner from many of our friends. Not only will I be getting to finally live with my dearest love, but the craftster in me will have a wonderful new place to decorate!!!

This is my inspiration:

Earthy. Ethnic. Warm. Inviting. Cultured.

Thank goodness Brian and I are in agreement with the color palette and the feel of how we want our place to be. I think I could pretty much do whatever I want and he would be okay with it. Our landlord is allowing us to paint too, which is amazing so we really have tons of options and colors/textures to play around with. I would really like to mix up the place with everything from Celtic and European decor to some Middle Eastern and Asian flavors. It should be a lot of fun!

Missy's wallet

2007-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE Craftster. I find so many fabulous gift ideas there. This one goes out with props to HappyFrog, who came up with this super simple way to make a card wallet.

I made it for my friend Missy, at work. One day we went over to JoAnn's on our break and I bought a fat quarter of this fabric. She saw it an practically drooled all over it. I knew I had to make her something with it. She said the pattern on it was similar to the pattern she has on her business cards so when I saw the tutorial for this wallet I knew that's what I would make. I gave it to her on Sunday and Wednesday when a bunch of us went out after work she was already using it! Yay! :-D

Disposable Camera Swap

2007-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics I got from Lizzle! I LOVE the city and airplane shots. They're two of my favorite things!! Plus she sent me a really cool chalkboard frame and special pens to use with it. I'd never seen one before - love it! :-D

Debonne

2007-09-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

The other day I got to hang out with my Joe. We went out to Friday's for dinner and then I took him out to Debonne Vineyards.

It was so nice and relaxing. No one was around, it was so peaceful. We just sat in the gazebo sampling some wine and talking, watching the sun set behind us. Note to Self: Their dry Riesling is heavenly. Next time bring a bottle home. :D

Since Joe is moving back home in a few days I made him a little keepsake of the evening.

Fairy Tale Creature Swap

2007-09-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

I got my Angel package the other day!

Let me say first off how awesome Red_Pooka is!! She totally spoiled me, I LOVE everything she made!! She put so much thought into all of it. Everything was tagged with descriptions of why she included each item. I got some pixie stix (yum!), a fairy stone (that I've already worn twice as a necklace), a stenciled shirt (that fits like a glove and is an amazing shade of green that goes perfectly with my green eyes!), and a knitted dragon (Smaug from The Hobbit!!), and what dragon would be complete without some dragon's treasure!!

Ok, here it all is!!

Fairy Stone:

Closeup of Smaug and his treasure (I love the details!! Right down to his jewel encrusted belly scales!!):

Celtic Dragon Shirt (hand stenciled) :

Action shot:

Two Years.....

2007-09-05T18:31:00.001-07:00

This Saturday is me and Brian's two year anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already. It seems like just the other day that we were at 80's Night and I was waiting all night for him to give me that first kiss. :)

I think I'm gonna scrap this pic as one of his prezzies. We haven't had a picture together that hasn't been on a cell phone for MONTHS.

I want one of these.

2007-08-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

Wouldn't this make the most amazing craft studio?

Such inspiration!!!! Daddy is a carpenter so I think I may have to enlist his help on a project. :-D

My new faire dress!

2007-07-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

So here is my new gown. Simple brown broadcloth. One of my favorite things about it is the small train in the back. It's so comfortable too. This will be well worn pretty soon!

Tag! I'm it!

2007-07-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well.

1. I LOVE disco. Seriously. It makes me want to just shake my booty.

2. My favorite shoes ever are flats and shelltoe Adidas. Mmmm... soooo comfy!

3. I once lived in Nashville, TN for 4 years during elementary school and Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a year when my mom got remarried.

4. I've been to 26 states in the US and 5 Countries.

5. I love Arizona Diet Green Tea.

6. I don't like anything that involves running. It's just too much work and makes my asthma kick in.

7. I hate soup and salad eaters at Olive Garden. They are the bane of my existence...run my ass into the ground for a measly $2. Cheap bastards.

A toot for me!

2007-07-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

On Monday I was lucky enough for my Denny's menu album to be featured on CraftGossips craft blog! Check me out! :-D

http://scrapbooking.craftgossip.com/dennys-menu-alteration/2007/07/02/

Thanks gals, for the props on my work!!

2007-06-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Faire is in two weeks.

I need a new dress.

Jeanne and I were going through our inventory of garb earlier today and I just couldn't help being bored with all of my stuff. It's not bad at all, and still in great condition, I just need something new and jazzy so this is what I'm making. :-D I'm going simple with some brown broadcloth (very breathable for our sticky, hot faire days) with a taupe waistband of textured silk. I'm very excited about this one. I love flowing gowns and this one is soooo perfect, it even comes with a lovely waistband to hide my big ole tummy. Woot! The fabric is in the wash now and should be done any minute. Then off to the dryer it goes so that I can start cutting tonight! I'm hoping to maybe even finish this evening....or at least come close!!

Eek!

2007-06-01T08:47:00.001-07:00

My first post on Etsy!! I'm nervous! lol

It's just a simple chipboard travel album but it was really hard for me to let go. I loved working on it so much and really just wanted to keep it for myself. Glad I took the plunge though!

I almost forgot...

2007-05-31T06:32:00.001-07:00

How cute is THIS one huh?! It's actually fabric for a circle skirt (as the lady at Walmart so politely pointed out - insert eye roll here). Pshh. Not any more! I'm going to use this and a pretty black and hot pink polka dot fabric to make a needle roll. I'm hoping to be able to start on it tomorrow. :-D This will be a really fun one to work on. Fun fabric, a fun project AND it's a fun gift. Woot!

Cranked out another one!

2007-05-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I made another purse. This time it was a messenger bag. I think I'm addicted. I wanted to make one for the craftster swap I'm in so I headed to JoAnn's. This fabric called to me. Really. I HAD to use it. The bag itself is black but when you open it this lovely little number pops out and says hello. :) It came out really well. There are a few little flaws but the unknowing eye would probably miss them, thankfully. I really hope SHE likes it though, since that's really all who matters in this case.

I did it!

2007-05-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made my first purse! It was a Jordy, from craftster. I found this fabric that my sister had and it screamed my friend Stefani's name so I knew I had to do something with it. I had been dying to try out Jordy's tutorial so it was perfect. I whipped it up in under 3 hours. I think I'm addicted to making bags now. I have this messenger bag in mind. I just bought some lining fabric for it tonight. I hope it comes out a good as I envision it!

Finally!!

2007-05-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

I finally got my sewing machine working! The stupid presser foot would NOT cooperate with me but it's all better now and I can get back to sewing again! I have a lot of things to work on. The first thing I made was something for a swap I'm currently in. I'd love to tell you what it is but I can't yet cause it's got to be a surprise. I can tell you that I whipped up a little pincushion with the scraps though. :D Let's see what else there is.... I have a costume for faire to finish, a dress for Amanda's birthday party to make, and I want to make a couple baby bibs. That's just for now, but now that it's back and running I'm sure I'll come up with some more fun little projects!

Scanning, scanning....

2007-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Now that Snapfish has group rooms I've created one for me and Jeanne so we can more easily share our faire photos and such, back from our pre-digital days. What a pain! But so worth it. :-D I've been scanning for about4-5 hours now - a labor of love.

Brian

2007-04-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

My rock, my world, my everything.

Itchy feet...

2007-04-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

If I don't go on a trip every few months I start to go a little crazy. Right now is one of those times. My last trip was to see Megan last November. I'm absolutely dying to go back to Britain. I love it there. I would move in a heartbeat. Frankly, almost anywhere in Europe would suit me. As it is, I'm stuck stateside until late summer, so I'll just have to post about my longing and hope it curbs the bug a little bit.

some traditional layouts...

2007-04-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

These are some LOs I did from using Elsie Flannigan's challenge book. :)

One of my favorite pics from Scotland.

Megan and Bob's engagement party.

My favorite Scottish pub.

A random pic of me.

Me, Meg and Sarah just before Megan left for England last summer.

A quick How-to

2007-04-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

One day I was playing around with some ranger glass slides and had the idea to give them some dimension. Since a few people have asked me how I made them here's a quick tutorial. If something isn't clear feel free to ask questions! :)

To make them I pretty much just stamped and alcohol inked 6 slides and used a thin line of diamond glaze /crystal lacquer to hold them
together. While the adhesive was drying I propped each side up with some random item to hold it in place. Once the four sides were set in place I edged the top with diamond glaze, put my last slide on top and let that set. I have ideas for 3 dimensional objects which I would either put in at that time and/or hinges to add so they can open up but I ran out of slides. Once all of the diamond glaze was set I used some embossing ink and some antique gold embossing powder along the edges to make them look kind of soldered on.

Some day I'll post a step by step with pics, but for now, that's all I've got.

Some canvases..

2007-04-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to give as gifts are altered canvases. :) These are a couple of my my more simple ones.

One for my grandma.

One for my Brian.

One for my Dad.

One for my friend Karri.

It's been too long.

2007-04-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

I REALLY hate not having a camera to post pics of my stuff. It's frustrating and kind of makes me work a little less hard on things. I like to be able to show it off right away and get some feedback. :) On an upnote I got my printer working so once I DO finally get a camera I'll be able to print stuff at home again.

In the meantime, here's a prezzie I made for Tigger. It's a Tim Holtz inspired glass box.

Enjoy the Journey.

2007-02-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday one of my best friends got married. I'm so happy for her. She and her lovely new husband have gone through sooooo much to be together. This was just the perfect day!

My happy place...

2007-01-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

I love driving my car. Seriously.

:-)

New Year's Eve

2007-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

This was a great New Year's- spent with my baby and friends!

Christmas. A week away.

2006-12-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

I hate the holidays. Hate them. No, I'm not a scrooge, I just have this thing where I don't like being obligated to get gifts. It seriously makes me loath the coming of Christmas day. I love giving them, I'm totally fine with that part. I love picking them out, wrapping them up and seeing the recipient (hopefully) enjoy them. If I could do just that part I'd be fine. As it is, that's not the way it works. I'd really just like to go away for the weekend and come home to Christmas being totally over with. That would be nice. This year more than ever though. I'm just too poor to give the people I love anything but maybe a hug and I'm hating every second of it. Yeah, I know the season is about being together but it's become too commercial to not feel that if you don't have something to give back you're kind of a shmuck. And I WANT to give, but I just can't so I'd like for next Monday to just be skipped over entirely.