Crafty Doodads

Knitting like a mad woman!

2011-01-11T18:54:00.000-06:00

Do you ever pick up a craft you haven't done in a while and forget how much you love it? I have rediscovered my love of knitting in the past couple months, partially due to the awesome knitting group I go to every Wednesday. I discovered it on Ravelry, and have been going for a month or two now.

The first project I completed was the "Love Muff" from Knitting MochiMochi. It was a fun project, and a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sometimes I think we all find mental road blocks that stop us from doing things and getting over the road blocks is refreshing. The road block on this project was the color change. I didn't want to weave in all the ends. But I discovered you can carry the yarn up the stripes; just be careful to keep the carried yarn loose or it will pucker.

Next, I worked on a project for my dad, a Ron Weasley hat. This project was very intimidating; I thought color work would be impossible and i could never learn how to do it. But I did it! I have never been so proud of a project. I didn't come without trials though. The pattern called for size 6 needles for a woman's medium hat. Of course, I thought, surely my dad's head is much bigger so I should go up a size in needles (size nine to be exact). Wrong! It was way to big. I tried several different needles before I finally went with what the pattern called for. Lesson learned, gauge is important...use the right size needle.

Once the hat was done, the edge curled a bit so I knit a white liner for the inside. The liner also hid all the carried yarn. My dad loves the hat. I think this is a project Mrs. Weasley would be proud of.

LOST birthday party

2010-07-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was my lil sisters birthday. We debated a lot the theme for her party. Originally, we decided on Alice in Wonderland. She is a huge Johnny Depp fan and loved the new movie. I had planned on a tea party, with tea pots for center pieces and mixed-matched tea cups. But we felt that the party might be a little to childish for her; after all it was her 17th birthday. So finally we decided on a LOST theme. She is big into the show and it has enough distinct characteristics you can plan a theme around.

Sis requested a two tier cake (which I had never done before), but it turned out great. We used red velvet cake, and buttercream icing. The "sand" was light brown sugar, and the wreckage we used cereal treats and fondant. I had never used fondant before, it was pretty easy to work with...but tasted gross. I'm sure professional bakers fondant isn't as gross because no one would want a cake to taste like this fondant did. Okay, enough of my fondant rant.

The waves in the bottom tier we made by ruffing up the buttercream base, then spreading tinted piping gel over top. When sis said she want the water clear like the ocean, I didn't think I could do it. But, the waves turned out better than I could dream.

To continue the LOST theme, we made Dharma wraps for the drinks and Dharma cupcake picks. The party was a success and sis's friends had a good time.

Spring Flowers

2010-04-19T09:49:00.025-05:00

Spring is definitely my favorite time of year. I love all the spring blooms. Watching the flowers bloom is amazing. You can look at a flower early in the morning and it will be just a bud. Then you come back in the afternoon and it is in full bloom. My parents garden is overflowing with flowers.
I took a look around the yard found some pretty purple flowers growing in the yard. I love the light purple color. But when I went to cut them for a bouquet I found something odd.

Flower Pens!
These are a fun spring project. I thought I would share how they are made.

Tutorial:

What you Need:
Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Floral Tape
Ink Pens
Fake Flowers

Step 1:
Remove flowers from stem. NOTE: Mine pulled right off the stems. I'm not sure if all fake flowers are like that...if not you can cut them off.

Step 2:
With pliers of scissors cut off the tip on the bottom of the flower. NOTE: This will help the flower lay flatter on the top of the pen.

Step 3:
Lay the flower upside down on your surface and place a bead of glue in the center of the flower. Next, put the end of the ink pen on the bead of glue and hold in place until the glue dries.

Step 4:
Begin wrapping the floral tape around the base of the flower and around the ink pen. NOTE: if you have trouble getting the flower tape to stay in place as you begin wrapping, use a bead of glue to hold the beginning of the tape in place.

Step 5:
Tear or cut the tape when you finish wrapping. The tape will stick to its self, no need to glue it. Your Done! NOTE: The caps did not fit on the pens very well after the pens were taped. But I normally loose the caps to my pens anyway.

Let me know if you have questions or comments!

Blogging and Bruce the Moose

2010-04-15T11:20:00.006-05:00

A year and a day...that's how long its been since I last posted. Its crazy how life sometimes takes you down certain paths. I started this blog to develop my writing skills, as a creative outlet for my crafts and to meet new people. But somewhere along the way I got into a rut and stopped blogging.

I want to share my creativity with others. I want to connect with people who are interested in the same things as me. Sometimes I just want to know I'm not alone in the world. Hopefully, I can again use this blog to express myself and boost my creativity. Anyway...onto the creative stuff!!

Meet Bruce the Moose!
He's from Vancouver, Canada and loves all things Canadian. I made him for my sisters band director's birthday (my band director too, back in the day). Bruce is a bit of an inside joke for the marching band. He's made of fleece and the flag is felt.

Bruce loves road trips. Recently, he mad went on a trip with the winter-guard to championships. The winter-guard won first place in their division. Bruce likes being part of a winning team.

It came from a dream...

2009-04-14T15:25:00.009-05:00

My button wall art collection is steadily growing.
My latest pieces came to me in a dream. Really they did!

In the dream I am looking at an article in a magazine, and there is my map wall art creation. In my dream world, I wrote the article.

I have tried to remember if I really saw this idea in a magazine or if my mind took something I've seen in real life and changed it around. I think there was something similar, map coasters I think, but not fabric maps.

The buttons I used are all nautical themed and the embroidery is based off a cross stitch pattern.

Christmas Wreath

2008-12-10T12:57:00.003-06:00

Wow. Long time no see. I have been busy with work and Christmas projects.

I made a wreath! I think it turned out awesome. It doesn't have as many ornaments as some of the other wreaths like it, but for the first one I've ever made I really like it. It's hard to tell in the pic, I used silver garland to wrap my wreath base and hot glued on shatter proof ornaments.

I am also decorating my tree with all handmade ornaments...so that means it only has about 10 ornaments so far. Its getting there. I will try to take pics of it soon and post them.

I've also decorated my office at work. I'll post pics later. I can't believe Christmas is almost here! Where does the time go?

Halloween Part 2

2008-10-21T15:24:00.011-05:00

Wow. I thought having a month long Halloween segment would help me post regularly, guess not. But I am posting now so that's something. I just want to apologize in advance for the bad quality of some of the photos. All pictures are from before the miracle of the digital camera.

Ghost Busters Rock! This was a cool costume. My mom took a simple jump suit patten and turned it into the coolest ghost busters costume ever. It has a velcro panel in the front, when pulled down, reveled insides (ie bones, heart, etc.). The costume was basically a ghost dressed up as a ghost buster. I wish I had a picture of the panel, so you could see what I am talking about. My mom made the ghost buster symbol out of felt. Bro even had a proton pack. My dad took a toy proton pack similar to this one, and painted it to make it look more authentic. Of course, I can't find any pics of it. Its frustrating when I know I have pics of all of the costumes and accessories but can't find them. I bet Nov 1st I will find all the pictures I am looking for :0P

Little Mermaid Costume. I have a hard time deciding which of my Halloween costumes is my favorite, but this one is high on the list. I am not sure what year this costume is, but I think I'm in second grade because that is when I cut my own hair. It was really long. Ok on to the costume. The tail had a metallic looking green mesh. It really made the tail shimmer. I also like the fake rhinestones my mom used for the jewelry. And of course there is a Crown. Almost all of my costumes had a crown.

Prince and Princess Costumes! I don't know what year this is from either. I guess my parents didn't think to put the years on the back of pictures. But its cool that my bro and I had a theme. Easier for mom! We loved to play with the horses long after Halloween was over. What was cool about these costumes was the two for one deal. Not only were you a princess or prince, but a horse too! I liked the horses because they had elastic so they stayed around our waists without us having to hold them. I think if they had been stick horses we wouldn't want to carry them while trick or treating. I really like my bros, the silver material really looks like armor. He even has a helmet!

Slimmer. This is a pumpkin my dad carved. Probably the same year my bro was a Ghostbuster. I can't remember what we used for the arms. I think we used ping pong balls for the eyes.

Here is the side view of the princess costume. Till Next time.

Halloween!!

2008-10-01T12:50:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it is October. Where has the time gone? Pretty soon it will be Halloween. I hope all of you like Halloween as much as I do. In honor of this spooktacular holiday, I'm going to share with you my costumes and pumpkins from years past. I was going to make this a once a week segment for the month of October; but I have a lot of pictures to share. I will try to post at least twice a week. So without further ado...enjoy my first Halloween segment.

1988...SheRa and Thundercats!
My mom is awesome at making costumes. She never said, "They don't have a pattern for that. " We told her what we wanted and she found a way to make it. My brothers Thundercats costume is a prime example. Mom took a muscle man costume and parts of the pattern to my costume to make Lion-O leader of the Thundercats! I think this is one of the best costumes she made. It one first place at our city's costume contest. Like the red furry creature on bros head?We always joke that the red hair was a rug or carpet, but I think its fake fur.

This is me, SheRa, alter ego of Princess Adora and also the twin sister of He-Man. I was a goofy kid. I think I am happy because I won clue...I won first place at the city competition too. I think I was 3 almost 4 in this picture.

As a kid, I loved to wear the gold gauntlets and gold boots around the house.

Mom always made Halloween special. I can remember being excited when the costumes were ready to be tried on. Mom would even take a vacation around Halloween to finish our costumes.

Dad says that people around us at the costume contests would say it wasn't fair us to win first place because we bought our costumes at specialty costume shops. But what they didn't know is that my mom made all of our costumes. I think it is a huge complement to my mom. She always worked very hard on our costumes.

Me at the costume contest

Dads First place pirate pumpkin.

That's it for today... stay tuned for more.
Check out more of my halloween pics here

Like it? Hate it? Let me know if you want me to continue!

Long Time No See!

2008-09-30T12:31:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile. Everything's been crazy lately. I moved into my own apartment! I really like it. I am now only 10 minutes from work; before I was an hour away. I am still not totally unpacked yet. I have a lot of decorating I want to do. Hopefully, I will be able to put up some Halloween decorations.

Even though I'm busy...I have found time to craft! I made a coffee themed tote bag, and coffee cup cozy. I'm pleased with how the bag came out. It took about an hour to make and I learn a lot about bag construction from it.

Here is what I learned:
1. Don't be clever and use contrasting thread for the top stitching, unless you can sew a straight line!
2. The straps don't need tons of fabric. I used about a 6inch wide strip and sewed it down to about 1 inch. Don't ask me how I managed this, because I have no idea. The straps ended up a bit wonky because there was too much fabric.

But all in all I like the bag. I made it for a friend for her Bday. The cozy I crocheted from a bunch of patterns. I messed with it until I liked it.

My friend is a coffee fanatic, she enjoyed the gift. Hopefully she will get some use out of both items. For here birthday we went to Nashville. We spent the afternoon walking around the Gaylord Opry Hotel. It was beautiful. Almost like an indoor tropical jungle. Paradise. We took a lot of pictures of orchids and other exotic flowers. I hope I can go back again and spend the night it was a cool hotel. I leave you with pics from the hotel. I will take some pictures of my other crafty goodness and get them up tomorrow...Hopefully.

On my desk... and This is....

2008-08-13T10:57:00.014-05:00

On my desk... and This is....( I know its cheating)
This was supposed to be my Sunday entry for this is...but I never had time to finish it. So you could say this post was a work in progress! And since I know I probably won't get around to posting my On my desk, I am going to cheat and use this post as both. I know I'm bad.
This is...My works in progress and On my desk....

First wip....
A pillowcase. I am doing a dessert (side note: desert, dessert...it gets me every time...very confusing) theme. This is the first time I used the iron on transfers. Before, I was tracing the transfers with a water soluble pen. I like the iron ons...but my lines did not transfer well they are a little wonky. I think it is because I didn't tack the transfer down; I tried to hold it in place with my fingers (I almost ironed myself). Next time I will tack it down and hopefully the pattern will stay in place better. I have not tested to see if the transfer ink washes out, but the lines are small and the stitching covers them well.

Second wip...
The beginnings of a fall wreath! I am excited about this one. I want my wreath to be simple and elegant. Fake flowers are not my cup of tea (silk plastic ones, that try to mimic the real thing), so this wreath will be embellished with buttons and felt leaves.

Third wip...
A scarf. This is turning out different than my original idea, but I like it. The main part of the scarf is butter suede...is think that's what they called it at the fabric shop, I don't remember. I used my new found skills with my darning foot to machine quilt the scarf. Then added the apple with my new felting tool...but that is for another post. The quilt batting I used for the inside is making the scarf stiffer than expected. But maybe after it is washed, it will soften up. If not, its OK...I wanted this scarf to be more of a statement piece anyway.

Last but not least...Crochet Flowers
Have you ever wanted to start a project but though "there's no way I could do that"? That's what I thought about crochet flowers. I have known how to crochet since grade school. I may not be able to crochet a sweater, but I know my way around a ball of yarn. But for years I thought flowers would be really hard. Turns out there not. Once I mastered the magic ring (my saving grace found here). Now I've been crocheting this little guys like crazy. No idea what I'm going to do with them. But I like the satisfaction of completing something once thought impossible. I used a great tutorial found here.

That's it for today. Till next time.
To play this is or on my desk click the buttons on the left side.

Spell with Flicker

2008-08-08T11:51:00.003-05:00

This is a fun program. It grabs flicker images to spell words. Find it here.

Cool Wreath

2008-08-06T16:14:00.001-05:00

Peggy & Toms First Party
Originally uploaded by Treasured Heirlooms

Wanted to share another wreath I found. What a cool way to display toys. I could see some one doing this with their chidren's first toys! How cool would it look in a child's room. I want one of my one.

My crazy crafty world

2008-08-06T12:41:00.004-05:00

Does anyone else find it hard to focus on just one project. I have, it seems like, a million craft projects going at once.
I have chairs to finish reupholstering. I have embroidery projects, crocheting, sewing, Christmas stuff (I know its early but it pays to plan ahead), resin pendants, scrabble tile necklaces, and more. And now I have another project/ craft I want to do. I should be banned from flickr so I don't find more crafts I want to try.

Back story: Soon,I am moving out of my parents house and into my own apartment. I've been thinking about how to decorate and decided I wanted to make a wreath for my front door.

So off to flickr I skiped to look for ideas:

wonderful wreaths uploaded by: Roxy Creations

Here is a montage of some really cool wreaths. I have a lot of ideas for mine. I want to do one for fall and one for Christmas. I can just imagine one hanging on my front door. I hope to find alot of things I need for this project at yard sales and op shops. I want to make a ornament wreath for Christmas and I'm sure I can find a lot of ornaments at yard sales!

WOo new project (like I really need another one)!!!! ;o)

On My Desk

2008-07-31T12:10:00.003-05:00

On my desk this week...

More Button Art! The top on is a hello kitty design. She is holding a spoon and wearing a chef hat. The Bottom on is a robot holding a balloon. Click the pic for a closer look.

Underneath the button art is another pillowcase I am working on. This time for me. I am using Aunt Martha Patterns. All Desert themed. I'll be dreaming about cupcakes and candy with this pillow.

Next is a flour sack tea towel for my grand mother. More Aunt Martha patterns. I love the retro 50's look of the animated kitchen ware.

And last but not least... a quilted purse I am working on. The fabric is fabulous...a Disney princess design but its in a subtle white and lavender. Its for a friends b-day. It late of course. I have a lot of trouble getting handmade presents done in time. I really need to work on things way in advance. :o(

This purse has been giving me problems thought. I started out quilting it with a normal presser foot but it was pushing the top fabric out of whack. I ripped out all of the stitches and tried using my new darning foot. Which worked a lot better. Except it is hard to make straight lined. Now I realize I need a walking foot. I went to buy one yesterday but the store was sold out. Just my luck. Guess I'll have to continue using the darning foot for now. Though, I think all of the line stiching is complete. Any more quilting on the purse I can do designs.

To play along...Kootoyoo.

This is...what makes me happy

2008-07-20T19:48:00.005-05:00

This is...
Whoo! I finally remembered to post my this is this week.
So here it is...
This is what makes me happy.
Flowers in the spring time...

Snow...

Amusement Parks in the summer...

My Family...

IF you want to participate in this is head on over to Three Buttons

Whoo!! The X-Files: I want to believe

2008-07-17T16:57:00.001-05:00

I don't know about any of you. But I am super excited that the new X-Files movie is comming out soon! I am counting down the days and trying to think of a craft I can make that is x-files related. I think I am going to make a fake badge and name tag to where to the movie!! Any other sugestions?

Bowling = fun!

2008-07-09T12:31:00.005-05:00

Its funny how something that I am bad at, can be so much fun.

Take bowling for instance.

I suck at bowling...my highest score ever is 100. But...I love to bowl. Its a conundrum.

Rolling a 10lb ball down a lane to knock over pins...watching your carefully placed ball land in the gutter at the last second. It is all frustrating, but a good frustrating (if that is even possible).

And when your ball finally hits some pins you jump up and down in victory. Ok...so it was only 3 pins, don't steal my thunder.

Wearing shoes that probably 100 other people have worn.

Searching the entire place for the perfect ball (a blue sparkly one!).

Rolling a granny ball to see how long it takes to get to the pins.

I have never had so much fun doing something I am bad at.

High score this week end = 73.
Fun score = of the charts.

Some times its not about winning, its about having fun with friends. Rejoicing for the small victories in life. Like hitting a strike when all of your other tries where in the gutter.

On my desk...

2008-07-02T19:08:00.005-05:00

On my desk...
Another button art collage! This time an owl embroidery with blue buttons. I am excited about these button collages I really think they will look good hanging on my walls. This one still needs the fabric glued to the back.

Button Brooches! I bought a great bag of scrap ribbon. It has really awesome patterned ribbon and some great basic ribbon. I think I am going to make key fobs with some of it.

Reversible Headband! This is the first head band I've made. They turned out pretty well. I love the fabric. Both came from a yard sale. I really like sailor themed items. And It seems to be really in style.

If you want to join "on my desk" head over to kootoyoo

What I'm working on...

2008-07-01T15:19:00.006-05:00

Latley I've been thinking a lot about my future apartment. Yes, I am leaving the nest and flying on my own soon. I have mixed feelings about it; but I know I have to venture on my own. Anyway, I know most apartments don't let you paint so I need cool wall art to offset the bland walls. So here it is my cool wall art!

It's inspired by the button collages I have seen on ETSY. I love making them so far I have two made...but I haven't had time to take a pic of the second. They are super easy to make and quick too. The hoops are 4 inches, I think. I was lucky to find them at a yard sale! I also have two 10 inch hoops for button collages also from yard sales. Come to think of it most of the buttons came from yard sales. This one is a seahorse under-the-sea theme, the pink buttons are supposed to represent coral.

I want to make several in different sizes to hang in a cluster on my walls. I will probably find cordinating ribbon to hang them all with. I can't decide if I want to hang them with all the same ribbon or different ribbons. I guess I'll decdide when I make more.

Button collages are a good way to use your button collection. And if you are like me you have a lot and can't part with any of them.

I still need ideas for easy art for my walls. If you have any ideas for me leave me a comment.

Quilt Show 2008

2008-06-30T12:34:00.005-05:00

This past weekend a quilt show was held in my home town. I was super excited. I've been wanting to learn quilting, but all my quilt projects never seem to get off the ground. Any way,My mom and I went and had an awesome time! There were so many cool quilts. I am so inspired now to really start learning to quilt. I got to try my hand at a long arm quilting machine. It was totally cool and now I really want one. But it was a little out of my budget...okay it was way out of my budget, but a girl can dream can't she?

I think I'm going to start with small lap quilt or wall hanging instead of trying to jump into a full size quilt right away. I'll let you know how it works out. Here are some of my favorite quilts from the show. All of the photos I took can be seen here on flickr. If you have any quilting tips for me leave me a comment and let me know! Top: This one has a really cool illusion effect. Up close when I was taking the picture I didn't even notice it. Bottom: This one is made from neck ties!

Sounds Sounds Everywhere

2008-06-27T12:02:00.003-05:00

Blue Angels Show
Originally uploaded by Sports Addiction

This week is Freedom Fest Week where I work. They have hydroplane races, airshows, and more. My building is about two blocks from the festival area and the jet planes are doing practice rounds. Everyone I have talked to say they hate the sound. But I love it! Low flying jet planes is one of my favorite sounds. The big roar, the shaking of the buliding when they fly really low its amazing. I think I am the only person in the building the jets don't bother. It is a little distracting though...everytime they fly over I want to run to the window to look at them. I probly won't get to see the actual air show but seeing and hearing the pracitce runs is the next best thing! Here are my Favorite sounds: the cunch of leaves in the fall, low flying jets, thunder, and laughter.

What are your favorite sounds?

Meet Alphonse and Sally the elephant

2008-06-26T12:10:00.007-05:00

Meet Alphonse. He keeps your head warm on long winter days and loves cute kittens. Back story: My sis and I saw this hat (the o riginal Alphonse hat) while shopping, she really wanted it but I said that I could make it. So here is the finished product. It is made from gray fleece and the face is made of felt. I think he turned out way better than the store product.

I was surprised by how simple it was to make. I didn't really have a pattern for it just a basic shape. I sewed the basic shape first and then pined and sewed it to fit the shape of my sister's head. The face I sewed on with my machine. For the ribbon in the back I cut a slit and sewed the ribbon in. I was so happy that my sis liked it. Before I began the project my sis said "are you sure you can make it...you don't sew very well." I guess I proved her wrong. In all it took about a half hour to 45 minutes to complete.

I would also like to introduce Sally. She like to hold pictures, business cards, post-it-notes, or what ever is laying around. I found the elephant at my local craft store in the wood section and glued clothespins to the back to hold the cards and also for support. She now sets on my desk at work and holds my business cards. I've been looking for a unique card holder there are so may cool ones out there. When I saw the wood animals and shape at Hobby Lobby I knew they would make cute card holders. I was super tempted to buy a bunch of them but I knew I only had use for one. darn.

I'll leave you with some action shots of Alphonse.
Oh by the way Alphonse is a character from the anime Fullmetal Alchmist.

Peeping Al ;0)

On my desk...

2008-06-25T21:39:00.005-05:00

On my desk...
The green fabric on my sewing machine is me trying to learn how to appliqué. So far it is not going so well. I don't think I am using the proper needle.

The gray hat is an Alphonse (from fullmetal alchmeist) hat that I made for my sis.

The multicolored yarn is a free pattern I am working on from Mochimochi. It is going okay. Knitting has never been my favorite craft medium. I love all things knitted or crocheted...but I don't have the patience to completed large knitted projects. Plus, I don't have any knitting needles so I am using bamboo skewers!

The second pick is my attempt at pearler beads. I used to love them as a kid and I have seen so many cool projects on craftster. My problem is the beads don't melt evenly.

Looking at the picture makes me laugh because It totally describes my crafting style. I am so ADHD about crafts. I have about a million crafts and ideas I want to do. There are so many crafts so little time.

If you want to play on my desk head on over to Kootoyoo.

My first embroidery project!!

2008-06-25T09:04:00.007-05:00

Let me start by saying I am the biggest procrastinator in the world. This project I stared back in March and just completed it recently.

I love to make hand made gifts for my friends. So I thought it would be cool to embroider a pillowcase for my best friends b-day. Okay, so her b-day was back in April...but hey, better late than never right? This is my first embroidery project...except for the smiley face I embroidered on my jeans when I was 9 (it didn't turn out so well).

I am super happy with how it turned out!! Actually I can't believe how well it turned out. There are a few mistakes, but my philosophy on crafting is that its not supposed to be perfect.

I started off with the monkey. The hardest thing about him was the satin stitch...I always seem to go outside of the line. The pillow was supposed to be monkey theme but I couldn't find enough monkeys that I liked.

I did find Needlecrafter. It is full of video tutorials and vintage patterns. I learned most of the stitches I used on this pillow there. The video tutorials are awesome...I am a visual learner and watching someone do the stitches is better than looking at a diagram of how the stitch is done.

Anyway, I found the birds and the to belle ladys there. I had the most fun with them. They started out as two different patterns and I combined them. I made them to represent me and my friend. The hardest part of them is the lazy daises they never look even all the way around. Maybe I should have drawn them better when I transfered the pattern. I'll know that next time.

My friend loved it! I was a little concerned that she wouldn't. I never know if someone will like my hand made gifts or just think I am crazy!

I can't wait to start my next project. I think I am going to embroider tea towels for my grandmother.

Holiday World

2008-06-17T12:23:00.005-05:00

If you ever find your self in Southern Indiana there is a little town where it is Christmas year round! This wonderful place is called Santa Claus, In. Santa Claus is home to one of the best theme parks in the world: Holiday World and Splashin' Safari. I have been to this park at least once a year for my entire life. I love this place. I look forward to going there every year. In early spring (really anytime) I always say "I hope summer comes soon so we can go to Holiday World!" I know I'm obsessed. About a week ago it was finally time to go. We had so much fun. Holiday World has 3 of the best wooden rollercoasters, the Raven, the Legend, and the Voyage. The park is also theme with holidays: Christmas, 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. I have so many great memories of Holiday World. I think the best part about Holiday World is that I get to enjoy it with my family.

Cupcakes and Updates!!

2008-06-16T15:53:00.012-05:00

Hey all!
I am so bad about posting regularly :o(
I have so many projects to blog. Of course I don't have pictures of them yet. I am working on reupholstering a total of 5 chairs at the moment. I am having a hard time finding the fabrics I want to use. I can see the fabric in my head but the fabric stores just don't have what I want. I have a pillow case that I am embroidering for a friend for her birthday (her birthday was in April). Yeah I am really far behind, but it is very close to being done.

I do have one thing to share. I made cupcakes and a cake for my churches picnic. The first I call Monster Strawberry Cupcakes! They are strawberry, with colored vanilla icing. I used a grass tip for the first time! The first couple were a bit weird but towards the end, I think they looked better. I added oreo halves for the mouths. They were inspired by cookie monster cupcakes seen here.

Next is a fish bowl cake that I saw on Better Homes and Gardens. I have made several and really enjoy making them. I used yellow cake mix and added sprinkles in the mix. Blue Icing, nerds for the fish bowl rocks, and gummy fish!

Till next time same penguin time...same Penguin channel!

2008-04-14T12:32:00.005-05:00

Hi
Here is my latest project. Its a purse I made for my sister. The inspiration came from a tutorial on cut out +keep. I used an old sweater that no one could wear anymore. I think it turned out really well. The picture is a close up of the bag. The character is from Legend of Zelda a deku sprite. I appliqued the fabric and added some embroidery. The buttons are supposed to be fireflies. I think the buttons really make the bag.
My sis loves the bag. All it needs is some top stitching...but I haven't got around to doing that yet.

Completing this project makes me want to do more purses and get some other sewing projects complete. I have an entire stash of clothes that I want to turn into other things. I'm glad I actually use some of it. It gives me hope that I might actually use some of it. Part of my stash is bunch of old jeans, I want to turn them into a blue jean quilt. I think the hardest thing about some of my sewing projects is cutting out all the pieces. I started on a quilt years ago...I only have two quilt blocks. Maybe I will get around to completing them this summer.

My newest obsession in crafting is shinky dinks. They are so much fun, simple and quick. All you have to do is trace a design color it with coloring pencils, markers or crayons. Then you sick them in the oven and they shrink to 1/3 their size. My sis and I are big Naruto fans. So we made some earrings (things in the stores are so expensive now...why not make your own accessories!)
Also Hello Kitty and Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas are thrown in too.

Till next time same penguin time...same Penguin channel!

Hello Blogging World

2008-04-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hello Blogging world!

I have been trying to start this blog for a long time. I start and stop and just generally don't know what to say. So...I am going to bite the bullet and jump in.

I love crafts. I think that there is something to be said about people who take the time to make their own things. I love to sew. I started sewing when I was in grade school. There was a lady with 4H that came to our school about once a month. She taught us all kinds of projects and one of them was sewing. My mom and grandmother also sew and I have learned a lot from them. My biggest sewing project to date was my Halloween costume from last year. I am very proud of it. It took about a week to put it all together and the funny thing is...I never wore it anywhere! But I still like it. The fabric is a purple-ish, cranberry; that faded into a silver color. The mask I am holding is a full mask that I painted silver and then glued on some of the fabric from the dress. Sorry... I know Halloween was long ago.

I will post more of my projects later. I can't find all of the pictures right now. Next time...more of my favorite crafts and projects. Until next time...Same penguin time, Same Penguin channel!