Amy's Creations

Retro Skirt with Crocheted Accessory

2012-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

I made this skirt for phnxreign99 in the January Birthday swap!

It has a crocheted flower that I made in layers to attatch to the wrap around. The wrap around is bias tape I made out of some quilting cotton.

The skirt is a basic full A-Line skirt with an elastic waist. It has a retro feel I think! :)

Edit: Here's a picture she took of her wearing the skirt!

2011-12-21T20:29:00.001-08:00

I made this for a swap. Her favourite colours were pink and green. I wanted to incorporate both! I found a fun patterned fabric and made the outside green and the inside pink. So now when you open up the bag it's like biting into a piece of summer. :o)

Just to be funky, I did a little macine ebroidery on the handles to make them pop in that same way as the case.

Yummy! It's matching pattern in a different colour.

And because I don't go half way on anything, I wanted this case to protect the laptop against all lifes foibles. I have chosen an unorthodox source for my padding, but it is so so so strong! (So strong I broke a needle going through it!!)

This is a foam bath mat. I DOUBLED it for the padding (and in the bottom it's triple!)

Satin Dress

2011-11-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

I've never worked with this material before! It wasn't as hard to sew as I thought, but it was SOOOO hard to cut! This stuff is crazy slippy. Very hard to make sure everything is lined up.

I learned a new technique while making this dress. I knew I didn't want any stitches to show up on my bottom hem, and I also wanted it to drape properly. I got out my "blind hem foot" for my Janome, and I made a blind stitch!

So there is no line or indendation running across the bottom. The backside of it looks like this:

The top of the dress is done with a casing showing a little bow on the shoulder. So it's fairly adjustable. All in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I might try satin again sometime.

Cupcake Apron

2011-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

What girl doesn't love the irrisistable charm of cupcakes? I know I love them! When I saw this fat quarter I knew I had to have it. I had some pink fabric in my stash that made the perfect trim!

I used a foot called the ultimate ruffler, which works amazing if you get the knack at it! It would take forever to make perfectly even ruffles by hand.

The first recipe I wanted to try with this was actually cookies. I knew someone who was in the hospital for a lung transplant who was coming home soon after some recovery time. What says ooey gooey love more than some fabulous home made chocolate chip cookies? Straight from the heart! I highly reccomend checking out this recipe I found - it is hands down the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever used.

Happy baking everyone!

Tattoo Banner

2011-04-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

I made this for an art quilt swap. My partner loves tattoos, and I really wanted to reflect this in the banner, plus her love for sewing!

The idea behind the banner comes from Ericas love of tattoos, traditional tattoo designs using swallows, and her love of sewing! My concept is that the birds are creating their own tatoo banner of Ericas name! They're busy making themselves a home nestled in the fabric.

Here's some shots of the process. Click thumbnails to enlarge.

And here are some yummy detail shots!

Grey Circles Dress

2011-03-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

So, while meandering aimlessly (okay that's not true, my aim was to buy something fun!) through Fabricland, I came upon the sale section, as per usual. I looooove a good deal. I came across this beautiful fabric, which was 75% off! That put it down to $2.75 a metre. It was lovely in every way - a great pattern, silky to the touch, quite unique.... but it was a stretch knit. I have not made clothes with a fabric like this before. If you'll notice, almost everything I've ever sewn is with a cotton of some sort.

Do I dare???

I dared. And it wasn't flawless. And it wasn't easy. But after using WAY more pins than I was used to, and winging and shaping it as I go, I came up with this dress.

I wanted scrunched up shoulders, and a flat straight across neckline.

The dress flows really nicely, and hides the curves I don't want seen while showing just at the part of my leg that will make me look taller.

I got kinda bored, and started being a goofball. :o)

The "Cousin It", The "Hair Stand", The "Pokahontas",

The "Treasure Troll", The "Vogue Look", and the "Help I'm Being Blown Away!!"

*giggle* I love strobe lighting. Fun Fun. ;o)

Car Accessories

2011-02-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

I got my first car a couple weeks ago! I'm really excited about it! It's a 2005 Toyota Echo, and it hasn't even reached 50,000kms yet! It's a totally cute little rounded shaped hatchback. It got great ratings everywhere I looked, and people I know who have owned them have said nothing but stellar things. One guy even takes it through harsh Northern Canadian winters. Sweet that the lil' thing lasts so hardilly!

So for my new car, I decided to give it a lil' home sewn love!

I designed this tissue holder to attatch to the back of the seat. No more fumbling for the tissues in the back seat, no more snow from your boots saturating the tissues with yuckiness. It's always right where you can reach it now!

And of course, once you are done with said tissue, you can't just throw it on the floor! (Well you could, but ew.) So also in perfect reach is this handy waste bag! I also added a front pocket to store plastic baggies or whatever.

To top it off, I lined it with oilcloth! It's a waterproof fabric that people usually use to make table cloths with. But I found a really cute damask fabric in the summer, and it's come in so handy! This fabric waste bag can handle any mess! But no messes in my new car or you'll ride on the roof! :oP

Crazy Stitch Wrist Cuff

2011-02-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

This was a fun little project that I made as a thank you for someone who made a little extra effort on my behalf, just because. She had wished for something just like this, so I took my own spin on it as a surprise for her! She should have it in a couple of days. :o)

I used zigzag stitches and free hand machine quilting for most of it. I used some yarn fibres to give it a little texture, and I used seed beads to make a leaf to go with the flower button that I had.

I got my new labels in! Love them!

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It looks funky! It was a lot of fun to make, like a kid with fingerpaints is how it felt. Always good to try a project that doesn't need to be neat and tidy. ;o)

Pretty Pink Apron

2011-02-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie post to show a cute apron I made for a swap! I like how it came out. It has a tie at the neck that goes through a casing, so you can make the top really small or quite wide. It fits anyone just nice!

Peanuts Christmas Dress

2011-01-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a dress for Christmas this year that would be something that would be 100% unique!

I'm a major peanuts fan (especially snoopy), and I chose a winter fabric featuring the characters playing in the snow!

I had the intention of wearing it for Christmas eve to church. When I was a kid I played Snoopy when we put on the Charlie Brown Christmas play one year. It was so much fun getting to be my favourite little cartoon character, and it's quite known that I've always adored the comics. I was a little sad that a lot of my friends weren't at the same service this Christmas, it wasn't the same without seeing them. So I didn't get to show them the dress either. But I still had a ball wearing it out!

Side note:

It makes me soooo happy when I see things like this on the home page of craftster.org! Yay! ;o)

Heeeeere Kitty Kitty!

2011-01-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

I made Jessica a kitty cat hat for Christmas this year. She loved it! She was boudning around with a huge smile on her face when she opened it. We took some fun photos in the studio of it!

It was just a simple cap pattern with increasing and working in rounds. I just made up the ears as I went along and then I sewed on the pink parts and stuffed them with polyfil.

And just for fun to scare you...

Blue Flower Skirt

2010-08-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

This was a quickie skirt I made. I had a customer at work offer me this huge amount of leftover fabric that she had... this was one of the many cute prints.

I actually really like this skirt, but it didn't take more than an hour to do. It's a basic elastic waist, with two side seams. All of them are reinforced though, so there are no raw edges anywhere to be seen. The bottom white trim was actually made from a pillow case that I cut up. I didn't like the feel of it on my head so I just cut up the one I hadn't used. Gave a really crisp feel at the bottom and holds the skirt stiff there which is cool.

So without further ado, the skirt - plus some fun shots where I got carried away jumping. Tried to show off how it puffs out. ;o)

Weeeee!

Don't ask how many times I tried that shot... my legs are stiff from landing in heels! XD

Blocks Apron

2010-08-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Cute little apron that reminds me of cupcake sprinkles! The perfect thing to bake while wearing this!

Patchwork Skirt

2010-08-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

This was my large item for MareMare in the Make-A-Friend swap. It took a serious amount of time to sew, putting together the layers, and using a gathering technique to get that little ruching effect. I also had to reinforce the stitches after a certain incident... But they're all very strong seams. Vertical and horizontal.

I love the little house on the prairie feel that this has. Kind of a Cutesy-Shabbyness to it.

Travel Kit

2010-07-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

I made this travel kit for MareMare. She's my partner in a swap, and about to go on vacation! So it was perfect timing.

The kit includes two luggage tags, a passport jacket, and a little wallet to hold cards. All in a cute matching fabric!

Luggage tags:

Passport jacket with her name stitched into it:

Wallet with room for 6 cards:

Sloth Art Quilt

2010-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the depths of the jungle, the branches climb ever higher.
Reaching towards the sky they compete for the warmth of the sun.
A breeze blows, brushing the leaves side to side.
A heavy, humid, sweet smelling air rustles through the fur of a particularly sleepy fellow...

"Ahhhh, I could lay like this all day!"

(See it big)

Great idea! Let me paint you while you're at it! With thread that is...

This is a close up of his little leg. I used a satin stitch around his outline, and I used a technique called 'thread painting' to do all the shading in there. Basically, I just set the darning foot on it and go all over the place with thread as if I were sketching.

"Pleased to meet you! *shakes paw*"

I did this for the tree as well. I wanted to show a little depth by using a darker and a lighter colour on each side.

His face in close up actually [i]feels[/i] pretty neat to touch. This is all free hand as well. Sometimes I loaded the machine with two threads at once to give him an extra fuzzy layered look. I think it creates the depth that I wanted.

"See, it really does just take eating and sleeping to make a happy life."

All of the leaves are 100% unique - no two are the exact same! Like snowflakes, but in the jungle! ;) They are all quilted to make them extra thick, then I attached them one at a time to give a full layered look.

(Click thumbnails too see larger images)

I wanted to give the sloth and the tree branches a poofy hug-able look, so I used invisible thread to go around them. It's kind of, well, invisible on the front, but you can see the effect from the back.

"HEY! Are you showing them my bum?! You better not be showing them my bum!"

This was definitely a fun project. It was for the Friends of Craftster Wist Swap. My partner Sloth003 named him Monsieur Sloth upon receiving him. It was inspired based on the fact that she obviously loves sloths, and that she had seen a project on here that was art quilt of trees that she really loved. I wanted to create something special, a mascot for her if you will, that she can enjoy as decoration all the time.

I'm starting to notice a theme in art quilts that I've made. The last one was a manatee, this one is a sloth, I wonder if I'm starting to have a certain affection for animals that just don't get enough attention. I kinda like that it's becoming a "thing" that I do. haha!

Anywho, here's Monsieur Sloth again, signing off. Because, well, he's kinda tired from showing off his schmexy lil' bum to all of you!

"Ahhhh, I could lay like this all day!"

(See it big)

Pictures of Vincent

2010-07-09T18:43:00.001-07:00

I received some thank you pictures from my boyfriends cousin Cynthia! She put the overalls I made Vincent for Christmas on him and took some shots. Such a cutie!

Ni Apron - Version 2

2010-07-08T20:48:00.001-07:00

This is the second version of the Nights Who Say Ni! apron. It's got a more square, modern look with straight lines. (The first was rounded and frilly.)

It also has a different design on the pocket! (Which is bigger and in the centre this time.) Notice their revised battle call at the bottom! haha! I love that part.

We are no longer the NIGHTS WHO SAY NI!!

Orange Skirt

2010-07-08T20:22:00.001-07:00

I made this circle skirt for someone, and it turns out it didn't fit. I was so sad! I really love it, it's full and fun, and makes a full circle when you spin! I wanted to re-make it for her or alter it but never heard a response about it. Hopefully she found good use for the fabric and made something she could use. I feel bad about this one, but here's a pic anyway!

Water Bottle Cozy

2010-07-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

These things are great for going for a walk or a jog, and can be so stylish! This one is done with the theme of the Spanish Inquisition from Monty Python.

It's quilted for a plush feel that keeps the cold in longer. The applique is of the red uniform from the sketch.

Angry Fruit

2010-07-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

These are some fruits with an attitude!

Created by making applique's and also painting for the eyes, and stitching for the details.

THE LARCH Pillows

2010-07-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

These are inspired by Monty Python, where a slide projector rolls out a picture of this text, then a picture of a tree. The narrator blandly announces:

I traced in pencil the text, then followed along with a zig-zag stitch for a bold, polished look.
The person I gave these to says she and her husband randomly say this quote to each other. I'm hoping now they'll hold the pillows up like the slide projector while they do it! haha.

Selvi's Bag

2010-06-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, my time as Selvi's sponsor is coming to a close. It really deeply saddens me, but at the same time, I'm so happy for her. She's taking entrance exams to teacher training institute. She's really pursuing it. I feel as proud of her as any other family member could, I'm just welled up with happiness. She will make so many lives richer. Everyone please cross your fingers for her. If you are also the praying sort, please say a lil' prayer for her success.

As a graduation present from high school, I'm sending her this bag that I've made from scratch. The pattern is from the book One Yard Wonders. Wonderful book! I don't use patterns often, but there is a lot of great stuff in here. It's something she can use to carry notes and such to and from class. I made it special, not just with her name on it, but I got a friend of mine who speaks Tamil to translate a meaningful quote for me. I used fabric marker to copy it onto fabric and sewed it into the flap of the bag. I want her to see it each time she opens her bag, and realize all the love there is in this world for her.

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. "
-Helen Keller

The intention behind the quote is two fold. I want her to think of the times with her mother, however faded in her memory, whom she lost when she was young. And I want her to also know that even if we're not going to be in contact any more, that she'll always be in my heart.

Frog Mario Pillow

2010-06-06T21:17:00.001-07:00

This is a chunky post folks, strap in!

This is one of the biggest undertakings I've done for a swap. This is a revised method to the Megaman Pillow I made for my boyfriend at Christmas. Instead of taking each square, sewing it to the next one, then the next one, then eventually forming a row, where you would then take all the rows and sew them together into columns, pressing open seams each time (which left a bit of a messy look through the semi-translucent fabric), THIS TIME I used fusible web.

For this method, I would line up my squares the way I was going to place them, just like before. But instead of sewing one by one, I got a big piece of white fabric, and I stuck them down on it with the fusible web and an iron. After they were all ironed, I did ONE LONG SEAM across each row, and then when those were all done, I did ONE LONG SEAM along each column.

This meant four key differences in result:

-The fabric wasn't see-through because it had a white backing
-It was SO MUCH FASTER
-It was stronger
-It looked infinitely tidier.

After I had all of this done, I gave him a border, added a back-side, sewed&stuffed him up.
All in all, I think I shaved off a 1/4 of the time that I spent on the first go-around at this.

With all that said, I present Mario in his frog suit, in all his pixelated glory!

All of these are from my 'in-progress' shots. I made sure to take tonnes this time. I hope anyone attempting this type of project finds them useful. Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Layin' out the pieces.

I've been using fusible web and ironing each piece down to the white backing.

It's uh... pretty freakin' huge at this point. Don't panic. It's supposed to be.

Here I'm starting to sew a seam, row by row, to hide the rough edges. This is where the shrinking starts.

Do everything in one direction first. Don't go one vertical, then horizontal, then vertical, etc. Start either vertical and finish across, or horizontal and finish across.

Shrinking! Now that you've gotten everything done one direction, you can go the other way!

Remember how big he was before? This is how much it shrinks!!

Trim the excess crap from the backing piece and give it a proper, clean looking, formal border.

Before Stuffin'.

After Stuffin'!

Et Voila! You now have a beautiful pixelated pillow!
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see photos of your project if you make one! It would make me super happy to know that I helped someone get inspired. :o)

Owl Family

2010-06-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I made an owl mamma and a couple of babies from some scrap fabric I had. This was for someone as an extra surprise in a swap. They were sent with the pink circle skirt in the Friends of Craftster Raffle.

I actually really like how they came out! Owls are nice, not my favourite thing or whatever, but they seem to be soooo popular right now. I still like lil' lop-eared bunnies better, but to each his own! ;o)

Mamma

Baby One

Baby Two

Hanging out havin' a hoot!

Holy Upgrade-zies!

2010-06-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

I've been so neglectful to my blog here. Truth is, it's because I've taken on so much stuff lately! My main thing of course, is planning the trip Kellie and I will be going on in September. Three weeks in Nepal baby, wooohoo!! She and I will be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, alongside a team of other Canadians. Also, there will be about 500 people from all over the world coming at the same time! It's actually an international build! I couldn't be more excited. We will be staying on an extra five days after all that, just to sight see and experience some cool stuff. I'll deviate from my traditional 'craft blog' theme with a few pics or a video when we return.

Anywhoodle, I'm just going to do a massive upgrade of some of the smaller things I've been making. I'll make separate posts for significant items. I'll try and make your load time a happy experience for this loaded post. Click thumbnails to enlarge!

Cutsie Pie Blue Apron

Frogy Baby Outfit

Frogy Baby Bibs & Burpee

Frog Pin Cushion

Green Baby Bibs & Burpee

Green Kids Tank

Heat Therapy Bag

Kids Summer Tank

Pink Mini Purse and Wallet

Wrist Pin Cushion & Machine Band Pin Cushion

Pink Circle Cushions

Baby Girl Pouffy-Pants

Coin Collector

Purple Cushion Covers

Ruffle Cushions

Strawberry Wristlet

Mario Invincibility Star Scarf

Monty Python Swap - For Onyxnox

2010-04-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

I just finished up a super fun swap! It was called the Monty Python Swap!!! Yay! If there are any fans out there, you are going to get a kick out of what I made! Videos of each sketch will follow the projects.

First, there is the box for her desk supplies that has the lyrics to the "bruce drinking philosophy song" with her favourite part on the top. I did it in a layered style on top, with an ink drawing of Rene Descartes being a drunken fart. The whole song is wrapped around the sides.

I made her a knitting needle case that had the whole speech of the "dead parrot" on the back, including an appliqued Norwegian Blue who is all too recently departed. I used vinyl to do the needle pockets, and there's a pocket on the inside cover that was intended for the type of knitting needle that has an extension cord in the middle. She tells me that she's going to use this case for brushes though, so I'm sure she'll find great use in it!

And the item that was supposed to be the small, the fastest to make, ended up getting so embellished! I used a forest fabric to do the scene of the "Nights Who say NI!". On the pocket you will find a specific shrubbery - One that looks nice. And not too expensive.

Circle Circle Skirt

2010-03-12T22:51:00.000-08:00

This circle skirt has circles all over it! I love this fabric, it's strong, but has a soft feel to it. Best part is that it was MAJORLY on sale. I only paid $3.50 a metre for it!!!

This was made for a swap. It's different than other swaps where you get a partner and you craft for that one person and they craft for you. In this swap, everyone submits one medium item of any kind, and all the names of the entrants are put in a hat. Prizes are pulled and then everyone sends to the person whose name was picked for their item. So everyone gets a surprise!

I hope people want it. I decided on an elastic waist so that it would fit everybody.

Shot that actually has my face in it... :oP

Scarf, Mittens, and Ear Warmer

2010-03-12T22:45:00.000-08:00

Sooo belated! I thought I had posted these!

I made these for Slingmomma in a swap around Christmas. They're made from polar fleece, and the flowers were crocheted with Red Hart yarn.

Set

Close up of flower

Scarf rolled up

Mittens

The Ear warmer is reversible!

Featured: Elephant Jewelry Holder Tutorial

2010-03-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

The Craftster blog has linked to my tutorial for tute-tuesday!

http://www.craftster.org/blog/?p=7609

Check it out!

January Birthday Swap - Scented Sachets

2010-01-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

I made these for SunSpotted for the January birthday swap. She requested some scented sachets, and I just learned how to make some! They're not too hard, but I like to use pretty fabrics and decorative stitches. Even if they're hidden in a drawer, I'll know they're pretty! ;o)

I also sent some yarn as an extra goodie. I've had some skeins that are barely used set aside for swaps where partners want supplies.

Orca Whales and Owls (inspired by Hotel Song)

2010-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

This isn't my first project inspired by Regina Spektors music. (You might remember the PAINTING inspired by another song of hers.)

I had made these pillow cases for Regina Spektor, whose concert I went to in September. They're based off of "Hotel Song" (Link at bottom of post). I brought what I made as a gift for her to the concert. People in the crowd saw it and loved it, thought it was really cool that I made it myself. A couple even took my e-mail down so they could buy their own from me later.

People let me move forward towards the front near the end of the concert seeing that I had something for her. (That was really cool, much love to them!) I got right up at the rails they had up. It was great! I was reaching forward to try to get the gift to her. Not sure if she did or not, but a security guy said he'd give it to her after the concert.

Anyway, I had my e-mail and a card inside, explaining that it was hand made, and inspired by her song. But I never heard back from her, not even from her 'people'.

So, that pretty much had me deflated. Others who've sent stuff to people whose work they love have at least received thank you e-mails, one person even got pictures back from Robert Downey Jr, whom they had sent a crocheted Oscar to. He was holding up what he made her with a big grin like he loved it as much as the real-deal. Sweet no?

Well, I've been pretty bummed about not hearing anything back. So it took me a while to finally post this project just waiting on the hopes that maybe she'll actually acknowledge the gift. I guess I realize now that she either never got it, or doesn't care. I'm not sure what's worse really.

Well, here's the pics anyway. These are pillow cases, one with an orca whale and one with an owl. They're based on the lyrics of a song she wrote called "hotel song". It goes, "I have dreams of orca whales and owls, but I wake up in fear". So I thought pillow cases with each would be a neat little art project to go along with it. They are totally custom appliqued, no pattern, I made them myself based on some pictures I googled.

Play Song

Here are some in progress pics, to show you the detail that went into piecing them together.

Megaman Pillow Update

2010-01-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

I've been FEATURED!!!! :oD

http://www.craftster.org/blog/?p=7028

I'm over the moon! I was so nervous to post this project, because there are so many talented quilters on that board I was afraid that I couldn't keep up. So I want to thank those who encouraged me, and all who hit "this rocks" to vote for my post! I'm so happy that you all love the megaman pillow I made my boyfriend for Christmas. :o)

This is my second time being featured. It's bringing me confidence that I should post more of my work on craftster, now that I know people enjoy it. Thanks!

Edit:

I was also featured on Geekcrafts! Holy cow!
http://geekcrafts.com/quilted-megaman-pillow/#comments

Mega Man Quilted Pillow

2010-01-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

I wanted to show some in progress pictures of the pillow I made my boyfriend, Alex, for Christmas.

I put in around 25 hours work on it, and it all started from a little graphic the size of my pinkie nail. I blew it up in Photoshop, marked out a grid, broke the colours down into a guide, bought matching fabric, and cut enough squares to put him together pixel by pixel. I then quilted the top, made the back, stuffed&sewed it up and excitedly wrapped it in a ginormous box!

Finished Image:

Cut Squares:

Planning:

Putting together one row at a time:

Sewing them together:

Slowly putting together the completed rows:

Finished image before quilting:

Alex luvin it!

Bone Pillow Tutorial

2010-01-08T23:03:00.000-08:00

My boyfriends' mum Deb recently borrowed a pillow I had made in sewing classes when I was a kid for a long car ride up north. Ever since the summer she has dropped little *cough* hints that she loves it and wants her own oh-so-very-much.

I'm a sucker for a fan.

So I had to try and remember how on earth I had made this thing. I came up with a pattern which is very close to what I had used back when I was 10. And I also decided that since it worked so well for her neck pain, that I'd share a tutorial so others can make bone pillows too!

So I have taken pics all along the way to show exactly how it works. And it's really not to hard for the sewer with a fair amount of basic experience. If there is anything confusing about the tutorial, leave a comment and I'll try to answer it or re-work what I've written to make it clearer for others too.

Enjoy!

The Bone Pillow

Step One:
Fold a piece of pattern paper into quarters, and cut out a shape like this.

Step Two:
Unfold the paper and lay flat on fabric. It should be the shape of a dog bone. Cut three pieces of fabric from this shape.

Step Three:
You now have three equally shaped pieces of fabric.

Step Four:
Take two of the pieces and place them print-sides together, so that your "ugly side" of the fabric is facing the table on the bottom piece, and up towards you on your top piece. Pin these together.

Step Five:
Take your pattern piece, fold it back into a quarter, and line up the edges to your fabric. Mark with a fabric marker the mid point of the bone's curve. Repeat to the other short side. This marks where you start sewing, and where you stop sewing. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew from one marking to the other. Make sure to back-stitch at the start and the stop. Leave the other half of the bone un-sewn at this step.

Step Six:
Leaving the bottom piece flat on the table, fold open the top pieces un-sewn half to reveal the "pretty sides" of the fabric. Take your third bone shaped fabric piece and lay it face down on top of the other two. On the side that has two layers, not four, pin together. Mark the mid point again, and sew along the area that you have pinned. Make sure to back-stitch at the start and stop, and make sure that the stitches at each end meet exactly at your previous start and stop from step five, or overlap slightly.

Step Seven:
Now place the two remaining un-sewn edges together. Pin. You are going to sew these two layers together as well, MAKING SURE that half way there, you leave a gap the size of your hand. This is important for when you are turning it right-side out.

Step Eight:
Go around all of the edges and make tiny snips into the fabric, with extreme caution not to snip through your stitches. You should leave at least 3mm away from the stitches. You can space the cuts about an inch or two apart. The snips are important, because this helps your curves become smooth when stuffed. Other wise, you will see little dips where it is too tight when completed.

Step Nine:
Turn your bone pillow right side out. Stuff with polyfill, or whatever your preferred filler is.

Step Ten:
At the opening, turn in the raw edges to match the seams. Hand sew the opening shut using a whip-stitch. Hand sew on a label if you have one! (Taking opportunity to show of my new labels here! hehe.)

And there you have your bone pillow! Great for necks and backs during car rides, on the couch, or even camping!

Faux Fur Fears

2010-01-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

I officially swear off of faux fur for a very VERY long time!!

It got all over everything, including me! I was cutting it so that the edge of Cynthia's baby blanket would be nice and soft. It was such an awesome idea, until I realized the mess it would make!

Here it is all over the cutting mat:

And all over me:

And that's when... that's when it happened.

I noticed it growing. The fabric began to shake and spread! It was quickly becoming a monster AND THEN! ---

--- It consumed me ENTIRELY, and I became fur myself!

I am now infected, and spreading the faux fur virus to everything I touch! Oh the horror. The dreadful horror! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!11!!!ONE ONE ONE!!!111

Run. Run for your life before it gets you too!

(Ps the blankie turned out awesome.)

Christmas Pressies!!!

2010-01-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, since it's totally past Christmas now, I'm going to post pictures of all the presents I made this year! I'll post separately for any tutorials or in progress pics. This is more of an overview! ;o)

Heating Pad Cover - Mum

Jingle Bells Banner - Mum

Water Bottle Cozy (In blue, this pink one was a trial of the pattern before my dads, I gave it to my gym-class instructor) - Dad

I also made Dad some Candy Jars, I need to photograph them still.

Gnome Quilt Square - Graham (My boyfriends father)

Bone Pillow - Deborah (My boyfriends mum)

Naughty Kitten Table Runner - Jim and Doris (My boyfriends Grandparents)

Alt Ctrl Del Keys Pillows - Jeremy (My boyfriends brother)

Baby Overalls and Baby Quilt - Cynthia (My boyfriends Cousin)

Baby Fat-Pants and Booties - My friend Vanessa (Technically this is for her shower that I couldn't attend)

Snow Man Table Runner - One for my parents best friends (like family) Reg and Phyllis. Also one for my Aunt Trish/Uncle Paul whom I visited. I also made another in a similar style for Reg and Phyllis' daughter Deborah. It used a light blue star fabric. Unfortunately it has no photo. :o(

And my huuuuge project this year, taking well over 25 hours, is.... *drum roll*

Quilted Pixelated Megaman Pillow - For my love, Alex.

Extra Extra Update of Thomas and his Blankie

2009-12-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, I can't help but post some shameless extra pictures of Thomas and the blankie I made him. I love that I have a tiny little fan!! I rarely get pictures of people using or holding up what I made for them, so it's totally cool to see it here.

Vanessa tells me that he focuses on the dragon applique I put on it all the time. I love this kid, ain't he perfect? He's going to have his fathers sense of humour and his mothers graceful kindness. Luv him already.

Peanutbutter Balls

2009-12-16T23:22:00.001-08:00

Mmmmmm, these are so inexpensive, so easy, but look so rich! Woot! I've included the recipe that was written, and a link to where I found it at the bottom! Try them, you'll love them!

You’ll need:
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 T. butter (or ‘margarine’) slightly softened
1 1/2 c. powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 c. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate & use more if you want to cover the ‘buckeyes’ completely)

Makes 2 dozen (24) 1″ +/- round candies.

—

Combine butter and sugar (I used a fork to ‘cut’ it in, but I’m sure a hand mixer would work a LOT better/quicker)
Add peanut butter and mix to combine.

Roll mixture into balls and place on a cookie sheet (on a piece of wax paper or foil.)

Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then place in freezer for 15-30 minutes - or longer if you’ve got things to do, etc. They’ll be fine.

When you’re ready to coat them, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (you’ll have to reheat it a couple times if you use the microwave.)

If you like, dunk in coconut or sprinkle powdered sugar on top to make it pretty.

Retrieve the now hardened peanut butter balls, stick a toothpick in and dip into the chocolate - halfway or all the way, the choice is yours. Place on the same cookie sheet and continue until they’re all done. Once they’re dipped/covered, it’s back into the fridge for 15-30 minutes and then they’re ready to go devour!

Recipe From: Here

Bon Apetit! ;o)

Hugh got featured on Craftster!!

2009-11-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was made to have to pick up my jaw from my lap as I clicked on Craftster.

My manatee quilt that I made for RhymeswOrange, was in the featured projects section of the front page!!! Wow! I've never had any of my posts there or in the hot topics board before. This is really special to me, because I worked so darn hard on that quilt.

Featured projects usually get rotated twice a month, so he'll be up for a little bit! Scroll through the featured projects area until you see blue and gray with seed beads.

Here's the Craftster Main Page
And a link to the Post I Made
And of course their Archive Page of the set of featured projects as a whole from this set.

And for when the links change in the future, I screen Grabbed for posterity! ;o)

Hugh the Manatee - Art Quilt Swap 2

2009-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

Meet Hugh,

So named by my swap partner RhymeswOrange who received him this week! :)

I made him for the art quilt swap. This was her list of themes:

1. surrealist artists
2. skulls
3. "V-J Day in Times Square" photograph
4. cardinals
5. manatees

Manatees?! How irresistibly awesome!!! So I went to the drawing board. I wanted to do something cartoon-y. Something that really popped. I wanted to have elements of texture. I wanted it to have a subtle sparkle like in water.

I used applique for the manatee body. it was done in a subtle patterned fabric. RhymeswOrange said she likes fabric that registers as a solid colour to the eye. I used a blue bubble fabric for the background, and for the waves I used a stiff lightweight sparkly fabric that holds shape well when ironed for the waves. I twisted it and sewed it into odd shapes to give it movement. I hand sewed on little seed beads to give it that sunny gleam! The quilting was done with invisible thread in the shape of waves.

I also learned how to make my own bias tape for this project. I wanted it to match. To hang it there are spaces for a rod to go across the back. There are two grommets in the rope to hang it so that it can go on hooks. Makes it hang square. :)

So there you have Hugh! The lovable bubble blower from the deep sea! ;)

Here's a snap of how I packaged him. When you open the lid to the box you see strings of bubbles come up!

Text says "Something bubbles from the depths..."

Update: Baby Stuff for Vanessa

2009-11-02T10:12:00.001-08:00

I finally got to see Vanessa's baby boy with one of the gifts I made for him. The dragon blanket is in the middle with the tan trim. :o)

Introducing Thomas, the cutest lil' dude you ever did see!

Ugly Gross Looking Drawr Thing, to Cute Modern Wall Shelf!

2009-10-27T13:30:00.001-07:00

I got this used at Goodwill and thought it had potential. These are the only before pictures I have:

*Shudder* They were dusty and bland looking. I had already started beating the ugly little blighter up. It took a lot of effort to rip off those fruits! All of them looked nasty.

Once I pulled everything apart to my satisfaction, I primed and painted it. I let it dry, and then I used scrapbook papers to add a little flare! I decided I didn't want to use all of the drawers as drawers, some I wanted to be their own little shelves!

Et voila! They hold little sewing notions, nick-nacks (shout out to Perlabella from craftster for those Turtles!) and other varying items. I gave it a clean look and a fresh use.

Closer...

And Closer...

Are you inspired? ;o)

Elephant Jewelry Holder - Tutorial

2009-10-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I received very nice feedback about the jewelry holder, so I've decided to post a tutorial so that you can all make your own! :o)

Supplies:
-Wood Block
-Sand Paper
-Screw in Hooks (Can be found at hardware stores)
-Paint
-Beads
-Glue Gun + Glue Sticks
-Ribbon, or fabric to make your own (sturdier)
-finishing nails.

Note:
Any smaller thumbnails can be clicked to be viewed in standard size in a new window.
Read all directions from start to finish before beginning your own set. If you are making more than one block like I did, do each step to each block as you go rather than finishing off one block at a time. It's way faster to do them together!

Hoh-kay! Here we go!

Step One:
Sand your block of wood thoroughly.

Step Two:
Paint a base coat on the wood using primer or acrylic paint. Let dry. Paint your block the background colour of your choice, or if you're using just acrylic paints just do a second coat. For mine, I used two layers of white acrylic paint. Let this dry thoroughly.

Step Three:
Trace an outline of your elephant in pencil very lightly. This will guide you where to paint.

Step Four:
Paint the body of the elephant using acrylics. Let it dry.

Step Five:
Add dimension by using highlights and low lights of the same tone. Add details if you wish. Let it dry between each layer of paint.

INTERMISSION - Paint drying! Make a snack, fold your underwear, give your kitty a belly rub. Vhat-ehvah!

Step Six:
Okay, so we're leaving the blocks alone for a bit. We'll focus on what will be holding your blocks up. If you are using ribbon, pick a strong type. Don't use anything flimsy or too thin.

If you are sewing your own, pick a fabric and cut it to a width 4X the finished size. Cut the length based on the size of your block. Make it a minimum of 25cm longer than the perimeter (so that you have extra length to hang it). Press in the raw edges to the middle, then fold in half so they are trapped inside. Stitch down to finish. Use a decorative stitch like I did if you're feeling fancy!

Step Seven:
Place your ribbon around your block to decide how long you want it. Stitch ribbon ends together at the top once you have settled on a length. Then set aside.

Step Eight:
Now that your paint is completely dried, heat up your glue gun. Glue down little beads or embellishments to make your design pop! I use itty bitty seed-beads, which can be a real pain and take a long time. But they look fabulous in the end! I also used a few extra gems that can be found at any standard craft store (but I got mine off of shoes that had no match! haha!)

Step Nine:
Now that your beads are firmly in spot, we're going to attach the ribbon. Line it up carefully, and before gluing try leaning it on the wall. You'll notice my ribbon isn't centre - it's lined up at the back. This was important because for me it was more balanced in this spot. So it's worth saying again, check before affixing! Once steady, use the glue gun to hold 'er down.

Step Ten:
Use those finishing nails near the top for extra stability. One on each side of the block, right through the ribbon.

Step Eleven:
Screw in your hooks. I used three on each, you can do whatever you like! Consider the jewelry that you'll be hanging and how much space between you need.

Tadaaaaa! You're done! Yay! Now you're ready to hang them up and to keep those necklaces tangle free and organized! Your elephants will feel so pretty! ;o)

IYP Swap - Jenicat

2009-10-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

This swap was from the summer. I made Jenicat two dresses and two jewelry hangers. She made me a necklace and a fabric bowl, and also bought me a little wine bottle carrier (which is great for taking my water bottle to the gym!)

Here's what I sent Jenicat:

A dress for her two year old. I call it 'the picnic dress'!

Details: I created a ruffled bottom with the same fabric to give it a girly flounce. The top features two rows of satin ribbons, and also a tie around the neck. I neglected to get a shot of the back where I did a square of elastic bunching :o( Oops.

A dress for her five year old. This one I call 'Pink Soda'. hehe!

Details: I used elastic to ruche the waist, and at the sleeve I folded a thin layer of the pink fabric over to add a slight pop of colour and sewed it to the under-side of the hem using a decorative stitch.

I also made her a set of elephant jewelry hangers. I'll do a separate post on them with more details, and a tutorial! :oD Yay!

Here are the items Jenicat made me. The coolest thing EVAH!!! She makes fabric bowls! These are really cool. I actually approached Jenicat because I've seen her talents and wanted one so bad. She was really awesome and said yes! (obviously since I'm posting this!)

She also made me a really nice necklace. And even though every swap I have always said I don't need any more... secretly I love them.

Jenicat had commented that she felt spoiled at what I sent. Maybe I mis-interpreted sizings, or maybe I forgot what sizes we agreed upon. Maybe I just like her that much. Either way, I don't want her to feel bad that my items ended up being bigger in size, because I know we were equal in the love we put into them. I can see that these are quality crafts she made me, and I will treasure them. I would swap again with you anytime Jeni, thanks for being awesome.

Quilted Mail Sorter

2009-10-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I made this for my mum, it was supposed to be a Christmas present. I just suck at waiting. I am always so excited when I make presents for people. I went upstairs and gave it to her the second I finished.

Ahhhh well, she was thrilled and that's the point. She uses it to hold note pads for the phone.

It's lined on the inside with black, and the edges were done with black bias tape.

PS: The fabric itself is black and white, so you're not missing out on anything. The pics of it look better desaturated so the wood in the background isn't distracting.

Custom Gift Wrapping

2009-10-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

I enjoy stamps now. I have officially fallen into their allure.

So fun. So pretty. So many uses.

Here's a gift I wrapped with ordinary postage paper. I spruced it up with a ribbon and flower stamps. I actually really like wrapping presents. I think the art of beautiful wrapping has been lost in our society. We all use those bags from the dollar store now...

Bike Basket Liner

2009-10-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

I used to have a milk crate on the back of my bike. It served me just fine for a while but it started slipping off. I haven't been carrying around as much on my bike lately so I decided to get a basket for the front.

Well, it was blah. So I jazzed it up with a fully lined liner! Thinking of adding a pocket to throw my keys in.

Face Cloth

2009-08-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

I made this really cute face cloth in basic double crochet with white scalloped edges.

The texture of bumps was done using a "front post, back post" technique. I alternated each stitch between doing back or front, instead of doing a full row of one and a full row of the other. It makes it look weaved! I saw a video tutorial and picked it up really quickly. This face cloth was my little experiment with the technique, and it scrubs the skin great. Not too rough, but really gets in to exfoliate! I bet the texture would be good as a dish cloth too.

Gift for Nanna

2009-08-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

When my grandmother first got her wheelchair, I asked if she'd like to go out with me to the fabric store (that used to be around the corner) and pick up a little surprise.

I got a foam insert and told her to pick any fabric she wanted and I'd turn it into a new cushion for her wheelchair. She picked out this nursery-rhyme, country, old style drawing kind of fabric. Pretty out there, but she loved it.

(Sorry for the bad pic... my dad took the photos for me. Bless him for trying!)

Somehow I lost this fabric and cushion for the longest time, until just a few weeks ago. Turns out instead of putting it in my scrap fabric bin (which was LOADED with useless scraps since I was a kid), I had put it in my off season clothing bin instead. I had to donate most of what was in there because it either didn't fit, or was just really not my style anymore. No wonder I hadn't touched the box in eons!

So as soon as I found it, I whipped up the cushion and showed it to my Nanna. She had completely forgotten about it as well, but loved the cushion anyway. Looks comfy!

Quickie Cat Pillow

2009-08-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Darling Della dutifully delivers delicate dander allllllllllll over my favourite chair. :o(

I decided this furry attack has to stop.

I made her this simple pillow in fuzzy polar fleece. It's very plush and soft. I thought for sure it must please her.

Well! Don't you be fooled by the photo. I put her up there so many times until I could get a picture. She sat on it for a minute, looked peeved that her favourite chair wasn't the same, leaped off and slept in the middle of the cold laminate floor. Of course periodically looking up at me to give me a "what did I do to deserve this egregious assault on my space?!" kind of look.

*sigh* Della I relent. You win the battle but not the war. I will block your fur from that chair...

For the Future Mrs. Kruse

2009-08-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Vanessa is having a baby! Yay! I just shot her wedding in July. She's very expectant! Here's some shots:

Anywho, so that lovely young couple is going to be having a boy! Only Nathan doesn't know it yet... so this was a covert operation. I sent this all to Vanessa tightly taped down and marked for her only. Nathan must be curious! Ha! Hopefully Vanessa is the one to get the package.

I made four things (plus an awesome quilt that took me a month to do, but forgot to get a picture of. Doh!).

There are two bibs...

And they each match a special item...

And because I'm just so gosh darn happy with that blankie, I'm gonna show a bunch of extra images showing the details. The dragon I traced and appliqued by zig-zagging all the way around it, which was a lot of stop and go. The quilting was free motion, and I put the word dragons in the corner! Click the wee ones to see big!

Bed Sheet to Apron

2009-08-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

I found the coolest looking bed sheet for 3 bucks at Value Village. They have fabric that is almost identical to it in the quilting section of fabric land for $12 a metre! Occasionally I find the greatest crafty things there for cheap. It's like a yard sale year round! So I turn this thing into an apron.

I thought it was going to be a few hours, but this thing took the whole freakin day! I'm talking 12 hours on it easy. Luckily, it looks good. I have a few issues with my lack of skill at the bottom, but I'm learning. I love my big chunky pockets! They sit wide so you don't have to squeeze your hand in. It's fully lined and totally stylish for getting messy in the kitchen!

Chapatis anyone?

Art Quilt Swap

2009-07-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally went out of my comfort zone of gifts, clothes, and varying basic sewing projects and crossed into the wildly uncharted (by me) territory of quilting!

I joined an art quilt swap. This isn't a typical type of quilt like for a bed. It's smaller and is meant to be on display. I've never looked at fabric as a canvas before, more like a craft. So this was a whole new approach to creating for me.

And I loved it.

Here's the quilt I sent to my partner Goat Goddess:

I noticed she liked the theme of fall colours, so I bought some sparkly gold and red fabric and cut leaves from it. I used a purple sky to represent a sun set. I got this wikid tye-dye fabric to use as the tree trunk, and traced a silhouette of a ballet dancer. It was kind of funny, because she ended up personifying a tree as well in hers, and this was completely unplanned! :oD

Here's some detail shots, click to enlarge.

I love the gold thread that I used in the details, but it was a jerk to sew with. It actually started to fray in the needle. I had to re-thread the machine a few times for it to work. Very rude. :oS

This is the item I received from GoatGoddess:

I can't get over how similar the theme was! I love the colours, it goes with my craft space really well. It is made to fit right over my monitor! She included hooks for it to hang up as well if I ever want to. The face is hand painted and there's little beads in it as well. She says she only went with my colour theme from my list, but I think she nailed "dreamy" as well. It definitely looks surreal to me! :oD

This was a great swap, and I'd totally keep my eyes out for another one that's for art quilts. It's a lot of fun!

Easter Dress

2009-07-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Wow this is belated! I posted this on Craftster, and I must have completely forgotten to add it to my blog! Oops. Well, I know it's not Easter anymore, but that's what the dress was made for. I'm sure you'll all enjoy it just as much as if it were Easter right now. :oP

These wonderful photos were all taken by Hilary. Excuse the fact I'm posting so many pictures of myself. I know it's horribly vain, but she did a great job. I'm also going to justify it by letting you all know that truly, I'm just madly in love with this dress!!!

Camera Strap Cover

2009-07-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

I made my friend Hilary a Camera Strap Cover. I made myself a couple, but I didn't get photos of them. I should really do that and add them here too...

Anyways, this is Hilary, a photographer friend of mine and past school mate. Sorry for the poor quality photo, but I was actually there to be photographed for this dress I made, which is why I gave her the gift as a thankyou.

Wait now... Oh my gosh, I haven't posted those pictures on the blog either! Ooops! New post for that!

Take two... Here's Hilary:

Craftster Challenge Entry - My Calotype

2009-07-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Check out my entry to the Craftster Challenge #40: Picture This!

Click Me to See Entry!

If you like it, I'd be so grateful if you'd bookmark the page so you can vote when the entry period is finished. :oD

What I entered was my calotype (and a couple of cyanotypes) for the contest. The theme was to create a craft around your photography. I wanted to bring something that was very old into modern times. This particular entry was from a process that I learned back in college.

I created a digital negative in Photoshop to create a classical calotype on canvas!

I really hope people are as into the geeky side as I am, because it's quite thrilling to see your image appear before your eyes in development!

(Close up sample)

Paper and Stitches, make great cards Bi- ...kers

2009-06-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

What did you think I was gonna say? Prove I was. :oP

I found this really nice paper stock that has fibres and leaves mixed into it. It's wonderful and natural looking. I made these cards from it!

The one on the left was a get well card, and the other I made for Perlabella in the recent Invite Your Partner swap where I gave her a bunny.

Here's some details of the inside of Perlabellas card!

Cute little stitched on heart!

Angel Swap

2009-06-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

I must have completely forgotten to post these projects here! Oh dear!

There was someone who didn't receive a package in a swap, so I sent her a package! It was a childrens swap, so I was making the items for her son. She lives in the UK. She tells me he likes natural things, getting postcards from his Uncle, and hey, what boy doesn't like candy? So this is what I made him...

A Dangerous Dragon Drawstring Bag...

Filled With Canadian Treasure...

A Line To Hang His Projects On...

A "Cork" Board...

And They're Both Decorated with Turtles!

It would seem that he enjoyed them all! *Ahem* Especially the chocolate treasure! ;o)

Crocheted Bunny - IYP Swap

2009-06-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little teaser! But I have received word from Perlabella that she has the package I sent her now!! So here are some pictures of the bunny I made her!

This was the longest crochet project I've ever done. It was also made difficult near the end because at work I chopped through part of my left thumb with a paper guillotine... that was horrid. Right through the nail. It has almost entirely grown out now though! yay!

The other reason this was hard was because the legs and arms get really skinny and I end up exerting a lot of pressure on my fingers to try and see the stitches. Constantly readjusting is the annoying part of working in the round.

All in all I think she came out gorgeous though!

Here she is all but wrapped up and ready to go! I added the potpourri to give a little country look when she opens it!

For anyone who wishes to attempt this, I got the pattern here: http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=3

My proportions didn't end up coming out the same as I do a really tight stitch, and I purposely didn't make the feet that fat. J'adore le petit pieds! ;o)

My Travel Wallet

2009-06-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

A while ago I announced that Kellie and I were planning to go on a volunteer trip overseas. I made her a travel wallet. I re-designed it as I was just not satisfied with the first one. But once I showed it to her, it magically disappeared... I think she must have it already! Lol! Oh well, no pictures for the blog. It's made of the same fabric, but instead of a hard core, I used quilting batting. Like I did for mine!

Tada! It's wonderful no? I love the colours! This is the front.

And I'm actually even more fond of the back!

As you can see, I have now learned how to do lined zippered pockets. From a tutorial of course!! Heaven forbid I should use a pattern. *shudder* I added a zippered pocket to Kellies as well.

This is the inside. I included a special spot on the left for my passport. Buttoned in and safe. Underneath there is a spot for a notebook and a pen holder sticking out. On the other side there is room for plane tickets, and four card slots. Eeeee! I just love it! I should have learned to make these things sooner, it would have been great for India. So tailored to my needs!

And here's a close up of the scrapbook accessory that I used on it. I love it, perfect for a travel wallet! I used some stitches from my new Janome sewing machine (love!) to make the ribbon.

Burpee Cloth Tutorial

2009-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

As promised, the how to! If you saw my post that included a baby burpee cloth, I promised you all a tutorial on how I made it. Well, I've got the full breakdown for you, with pictures! I promise it's super easy, and everyone will want one once you've made them for somebody.

The fabric I chose for the front is 100% cotton. It's a thin flannelette. The back is just done in regular broadcloth.

I cut a rectangular piece, and cut a half-circle two thirds of the length up on both sides. This half circle is so the burpee fits comfortably into the groove of the neck without bunching the fabric.

You need two pieces - one front and one back. The two pieces should be equal in every way, and symmetrical down the length.

Match up your pieces pretty-sides together (as we called them in my sewing class when I was a kid! Also known as right-sides facing each other for your more seasoned technical people!) and pin.

Sew a 2cm seam allowance around the whole thing except for one space at the bottom edge. Be sure to leave this so that you can turn it right side out when you finish!

Trim the corners off so that it is not bulky when you flip it. Mind that you do not cut your stitches!

Find the hole you left. Turn it all inside out.

Use something small and blunt to poke your corners and edges to give a finished look. Be gentle, and don't be stupid like me using scissors. I haven't had a problem, but it's just not smart ya know? Scold me later. :oP

Turn in those edges at your opening inward to match the seam allowance and press with an iron.

Select a nice fancy stitch that you like. I like loopy-loops! Starting with your opening, top stitch all the way around your burpee.

Et voila! A beautiful burpee cute enough for babies to hurl on! ;o)

Amigurumi Turtles From Perlabella!

2009-06-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

I just received these awesomely cute amigurumi turtles from PerlaBella in the IYP swap. (Invite Your Partner).

I love their colouring, and their expressions are priceless! I picked this pattern for her to make, and she picked a bunny pattern for me to make her!

Bunny Teaser:
I don't want to show the whole project this post, as she hasn't received her package yet! Due time people, due time! :o)

Anywho, the crazy turtles! Yay!

"Uhhh.... Which way are we goin?"
"I dunno, I can't decide."
"Lets go both ways together!!!!"
"Dur... Okay!"

Mirror

2009-06-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well now, I've cleared more than a month of days since my last post! I'll have to end that!

I had promised a part two to my treasure hunt. I found the most tacky, heinous and horrible... and yet simply elegant mirror. It just needed a spruce up!

Before:

After:

BAM!

It's totally nice eh? I love how it looks! I wanted it hanging over the sink in my bathroom, but there is an outlet there and it stuck out... bah! So it's hanging in the bathroom but in a different spot. Looks spiffy! Huttah!

Close Up:

Thrifty Find - Little Teapot

2009-04-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I feel like Goodwill can be like a yardsale sometimes. Not always, but every once in a while, there is an item that strikes the eye as something of a treasure. In a recent trip, I was lucky enough to have found two! You'll see the other once I'm finished refurbishing it, as it took a bit of elbow grease to make it look pretty. However this item needed no care other than a good scrub-down. It's this uniquely fun, yet sort of odd little teapot!

I can't believe it, it's shaped like a sewing machine!! Holy cow right? Not normally my style of decor, but It's made for me, I'm sure of it. I thought of giving it away as an extra for a swap sometime, but I'm being greedy and keeping it. Anyone who is a true blue stitcher would find this to be pretty neat. If you're not then you probably think I'm silly for liking it so much, since it's not entirely glamorous. I'm just going to use it as an ornament, though it is fully functional. The sewing machine comes off the table! *squeels* How neat!

Bib Bouquet

2009-04-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

My best friend Kellie has a friend who is having a baby shower tomorrow. I've been working on something for her baby for a few weeks, and I polished it off tonight. I call it a Bib Bouquet!

It's a floral arrangement of baby goodies, mostly bibs. All of the goodies I put in it are hand made. I whipped up 3 bibs, 2 burpees, and 1 onesie. I got a metal floral bucket and surrounded the bibs and etc. with faux carnations. I also added a couple of binkies for fun. I made the card as well with some of my new set of stamps called "boys will be boys" and some blue scrapbook paper. I think the whole thing wound up looking really cute!

These are all the things I included in the bouquet, plus the onesie from my previous post.

And here is a close up of the fabric, as well as the items separate so you can see them a bit better. I'll be adding a tutorial for the burpee soon, as it's a great item to give new moms and super easy once you get the pattern cut.

(Click to enlarge thumbnails)

Owl Onesie

2009-04-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

I made this around October last year, but I didn't have a blog back then! I found it upstairs, hidden away. Poor little owl!

I made it using scrap fabric, and I hand embroidered it along the edges when I discovered how to make zig-zag stitches really tight. I have no baby, I don't know many people with babies, but I love making stuff for babies! So how about you all just enjoy looking at his sleepy cuteness? He's fuzzy too!

Edit: I should clarify, I bought the white onesie, it was the owl part I made. I wanted something to actually practice on piecing together tiny design things.

Pin Cushion Swap - From StellaAndJim

2009-04-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well Stella, you sure spoiled me! I love everything you sent. I love that they're bunnies, I love that they have an interesing way of being used, and I love that you gave me a needle book too! I've wanted one for some time. :o) I'm pretty sure you embroidered that bunny's face on the pouch too, but I'm guessing.

Here's the pics! (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

The joke is "thumb bunny loves you" because you can wear it on your fingers!

Here's my favourite pincushion, because it's cute with plaid and a tiny clear button heart! The fourth one has a velcro strap that you put on your wrist and you can take the bunny face on or off. It's really convenient!

Midnight Mehendi

2009-04-18T21:48:00.001-07:00

I've been going to bed so early lately, which isn't really like me at all. I had a creative itch to scratch but didn't really feel like doing any major project. So, some simple mehendi was the answer!

I found a design I liked online and modified elements of it that I liked to fit into where I wanted the mehendi to be on my hand. Last time I did a palm design, this time I'm feeling a bit less shy to show my design, so I put it on the back of my hand.

I really feel like my life is flowing in a million directions right now, so I ended up incorporating a lot of water symbols. I feel so much calmer after having expressed how I'm feeling on my hand, albeit interpretive. I think I can fall asleep now though! With my hand hanging off the side of the bed of course, I wouldn't want it to chip off before morning! Gotta have that schmexy dark stain. ;o)

Pin Cushion Swap - PicNick Pincushion for stellaandjim

2009-04-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting FOREVER to post these photos!!! I'm so excited that she received her package so that I can put this spoiler up! I finished this Pincushion back in March. I was getting rather excited for spring, and I wanted Stella to have a nice reminder that the season was coming!

The top is a pincushion (recognize the fabric?), and the lid I made for the basket actually flips open to reveal a caddy for miscellaneous sewing doo-dads! The ribbon around it has embroidery of tiny bows to hold it in place. I hot glued it to the side and tied a bow in front. All in all the project took me maybe 1.5 hours, so it would be even quicker the second time around if I were to make another. If anyone is interested in the how to, message me on craftster!

Coin Pouch

2009-04-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

My Dad... He's not an organised person. We love him inspite of his messy ways. While my mum has relinquished the fight of "trying to improve" on this quality, I being young and possibly naïve, always try to give him the benefit of the doubt and restructure the way he does things.

Last year I went through a massive amount of his papers, books, and varying teaching ephemera that needed to be organized or thrown away. I bought him some magazine files for Christmas, and he has since done a wonderful job keeping each child's lessons separate, adding and removing books and lesson plans in preparation of each day with them. Now when he's ready to go, he just takes what's in the file and leaves, instead of searching through a pile of crazy. *sigh* Organisation is a beautiful thing!

Another of his shortfall areas in the clutter department is stored 24/7 on his butt. Ahem. Yeah, his wallet. Well I should say wallets, as he has so much crap in them that he has somehow needed two. I can't help but roll my eyes as he desperately searches for a card at a check out or for a piece of paper containing this weeks shopping.

I decided today I was going to take him by the hand and walk him through sorting out plastic, papers, money, business cards, and sad to say... old candy wrappers. *shudders* After going through his wallet we found 5 cards that needed to be cut because they were old, a duplicate of a rewards card, and triplicate of his car insurance contact. Oy Vhey!

After cutting the fat, I got him down to one wallet! One flap contains cash flow cards, another contains points and rewards cards, another contains insurance and ID, and the inner compartment contains cash bills, and now only three sheets of paper!! No more searching! It's wonderful.

You must be wondering by now what all this is about if it's in my craft blog right? This new wallet is much slimmer, but left us without any spot to put change. Aha! Sewing time!

I made him a drawstring coin pouch! It's very Robin Hood if I do say so myself. It's also divided to separate large and small coins of course! Naturally I couldn't have him throwing it all in one spot and searching desparately for a dime right? ;o)

He loves it. Here's some detail shots, you can click the thumbs to enlarge. It's a lined bag that pulls at the strings to close. When opened up, there's a fold of fabric to separate large from small. I made the drawstrings by swirl-braiding some yarn-ish strings together. It's pretty heavy duty to stand the test of time. After all, this will inevitably get sat on too! haha.

Mum's Birthday

2009-04-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's my mums birthday today. She won't be home from work until the evening, so I made her a little surprise! I just finished setting it all up and putting the birthday greeting in them.

Chocolate muffins and hand made decorations!

I also gave her a present last night, as she is working most of today. I didn't make this pillow, I got it at White Feather. It's a country store she loves just outside of Port Perry. I saw her looking at it and snapped it up that day. She loves it! :o)

Paper Goods Swap - from Digital Misfit

2009-03-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

I received these AMAZING items from Digital Misfit this week! They are so beautiful, I just love everything so much!

Box for Stationary:

Chunky House:
(Please note MULTIPLE areas she personalized it to who I am. Which I appreciate so deeply. She included stamps from all over, Beatles lyrics, and even a hand decorated in Mehendi holding up the Sun and the Moon.)

Stationary:
(I love these so much I just can't send them anywhere, I want to hang them! Click to enlarge.)

I'm madly in love with that blue geisha card. It's stunning. Thankyou so much DM, you are the best.

Altoid Tin Swap - Favourite Singer

2009-03-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

For this swap my partner was from the UK! The theme was a favourite singer for the altoid tin, plus we were to do an extra.

The person she chose was Robbie Williams. I sent it off yesterday. Here's the set and the tin:

I made a bookmark, and sewed a little pouch. I also included a mirror that matched my black and red theme. :o)

The beading was put on one by one. Glue gun, bead bead bead, glue gun, bead bead bead, etc. It took a while, but it came out EXACTLY how I wanted it to. It looks like he's swimming in sparkles! :o) hehe! I know she'll be thrilled with that.

I asked for my tin to be about Regina Spektor. She used quite a few of my favourite lyrics from her songs. Here's the items and tin:

Unfortunately the bracelet was broken, but I should be able to fix it. I like the theme she did, we ended up going with such similar colours! That record bowl is mini and cute, and has already been put to use holding hair pins and bracelets in my dresser.

India

2009-03-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

I get so many people asking me to tell more about my trip, or to see my videos, and I always go back to youtube and copy and paste each URL for them. So I figured it would be much easier for everyone if I put them all on one page! :o)

They're in order from top to bottom, first to last. If it's too small, the button that is on the bottom right will enlarge it to full screen.

If you have any other questions, just ask me!

Selvi's Birthday Pouch

2009-03-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

I sponsor a child through World Vision, whose name is Selvi. She's from southern India. I've sponsored her since I was 13 - and now I'm 22 - to give you an idea of how long I've been her sponsor. I went to meet her last February. She's such a wonderful girl. She wants to be a teacher! I couldn't be more proud of her. She'll really make a difference in her community. I better not go on, I could cry typing this! lol.

In May she will be turning 18. I wanted to give her something special for her birthday this year, as it's a big one. I bought her a little wooden box with flowers and vines carved into it, and a small metal incence holder from an area of Toronto known as "Little India". I'm sending her some pics of this winters snowfall, and I also made her this little pouch with her name embroidered on it. I know she'll love them, I just can't wait to hear back from her! Unfortunately, I know this will take months.

It's getting me worried, at the same time as being happy for her, that she's growing up so much. I don't want to lose contact with her after she's finished schooling. I really consider her to be my friend. I'd like to think that we are closer than just two souls wandering opposite sides of the world.

Happy Birthday Selvi, you're a bright light only starting to shine.

Part Two of Paper Goods Swap

2009-03-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Along with the sqirrel who demanded some respect, I sent some other things to Digital Misfit. The package not only included the storage tin, but also an altered book, and some stationary.

These are the cards I made her, following her love of natural forest colours.
(Click to enlarge thumbnails)

And here is the Altered Book. Also matching the forest theme I went with.

The book features a neat little hiding place for her to keep her things. Despite the pretty papers I decorated the front with, if the book were to sit on a shelf with other books, nobody would be the wiser as the spine is unaltered. Clever yes? Here's a peek at how to make your own hidey hole book:

Clamp, seal the edges with a 1 part water 2 part white glue mixture, let dry, and cut pages out of the middle right to the bottom. Seal inside of niche as you did the outside pages. Tada!

Bubbles Painting

2009-02-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today was just awesome! My friend Tara came over and we spent the day collaborating on a painting. I had this idea of a silhouette of a person blowing bubbles, and wrapped around the bubbles, my favourite lyrics by Regina Spektor.

Tara was so amazing with the paint, she does incredible work. She did most of the background. Admittedly, I only did the purple side of the background - and she showed me how to do even that! She has better blending techniques. I made the bubbles while she traced the face. Then we each coloured in and added to what the other did. She added some more colour to the bubbles, and I added more hair. Then we painted the edges black and let it dry.

It looked great, but I was excited to add that detail that makes the painting whole for me. The words. When I hear these lyrics sung, it makes me inspired to really change the world. To take the good parts of yourself and to let them fly out of you without holding back - it's what makes this world continue to have a soul. I get so much feeling out of these lyrics. I feel they are truly sentiments to live by.

"This is how it works
You peer inside yourself.
You take the things you like,
And try to love the things you took.
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some - Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood.
And walking arm in arm,
You hope it don't get harmed.
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again"
-Regina Spektor

Respected Squirrel v.2

2009-02-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well, here's the new one! Everything was done the same, except this time I did it all with blue papers instead of pink and purple. Oh - and I bought an ink pad so I don't have to hand paint each letter stamp. It was much faster and looks way cleaner. I think I'm getting into stamps. Lord help me to keep it minimal, it's too expensive to collect stamps.

I like my first version better, but I think that's because I went with colours I found aesthetically pleasing. I must remember to keep others prefrences in mind from now on instead of drifting off. I think she'll love this on the blue!

PS: For anyone curious, I made these using apple juice cans with the top carved off. I have a certain addiction to apple juice... so I kinda have a never ending supply of this type of can.

Eff-ing Respect!

2009-02-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Well, This is one squirrel who demands a little attention to his au-thor-it-AY!

The project was originally for a paper goods swap, but I'm not sure if I should send it. She distinctly said she didn't like pink and purple, two main colours I used. Mainly to draw further confusion at the angry squirrel, and to startle people who assume its girly look is all inviting. ;o)

She does love squirrels, and she said she has a penchant for cursing in beautiful art projects. These were my aims for it. I think I hit it, but I'm second guessing myself. If I were to send it, I'd want her to love it as much as I do. Because I really, really, really love this project.

Who could hate this tiny innocent creature??

What I may do for her is the same thing, but in colours she will appreciate. Not looking forward to doing that squirrel again though, I painted all those lines by hand with a safety pin. That's right folks, the tip of a pin!!! Totally worth it for the effect in the end. No paintbrush would give me that look, and markers/pens just wouldn't cut the mustard.

Working Shots: (click to enlarge)

Flower Mehendi

2009-02-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

I did some mehendi on my hand last night. I was up pretty late. I really like how this one came out, I tried to keep to a theme instead of day dreaming like I did for my birthday design, which was a mish mosh of whatever made me happy. (You can see a bit of that design in my post about the needle book I made for a swap.)

I love how it came out. It's hard for me to keep minimalist, there are some areas I think would look better if I put in a little more (like the base of my index finger), but I don't want to go overboard. So, this is the final design. All set for valentines day! Should I have done a heart? Naaaah, too cheesey.

Travel Wallet

2009-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited, because recently Kellie has decided that she is going to be coming with me on a Habitat for Humanity/Global Village trip this year! I knew I was going to already, and she had expressed interest when I told her all about India last year. But now that she's confirmed that she's super gung-ho about this, I'm waaaayyyy past excited that she's coming with me!! :oD

So, in daydreaming about the trip, I decided to make us something that will be very helpful. I have seen on etsy something that I have been wanting for a long time; a travel wallet. It's sized to hold not just money and cards, but passport, papers, plane tickets, and a pen! Truely, it's genious.

Deciding I can't afford a 50 dollar luxury, I searched for tutorials online. I found a couple, but didn't like all the layout features. So I went with a similar construction process... and as per usual - winged it. No pattern. Just created pockets I found practical, then created the main structure, sewed the pieces in place, and trimmed it with bias tape (omg it was a baaaad experience and I learned from it after re-sewing one edge FOUR times).

For Kellies wallet I bought a fabric that reminded me of a purse she used to have. I figured it would be a guaranteed win with her, let's hope so. She'll enjoy the fabrics looks, and I'll enjoy that it was in the %75 off fall fabrics sale with my premiere card! ;o)

All in all, a two day project complete, I am feeling very satisfied with it. There are one or two things to fix up, but they're minor. Such as the pockets for cards not being tight. I'll add a button and ribbon closure on top or something.

I have to make one for me as well. Mine will be in different fabric. I might do a slightly different layout, perhaps move the pockets a little. Who knows. I have time!

Some Old Highschool Art

2009-02-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

These are some things I painted, drew, and made in highschool. I was musing through old folders while backing up some files onto Bubbles (my external hard drive), and found these photos I took of them. I figured I may as well post them.

Swimkids Painting:

I made this for my boss, Julie, when I left swimkids and went to college. I worked there 5 years and I loved my job. Not only that, but I was a student there since I was four years old when the business just opened. When I started as a little kid, I hated water. Now water makes me feel alive. I love swimming, and this pool was the root of my love. I still miss teaching sometimes.

This painting now hangs just outside of the door to the pool. I'm so glad everyone gets to enjoy it.

Yoshi Sketches:

I had a big thing for Yoshi once upon a time. I learned to draw him. Nuff said on that old cartoon flame...

(Pardon the blur)

Trinket Box:

This circular box features a photo by a childrens photographer whose work I adore. She was one of the first photographers portfolios I bookmarked. Love her lighting, and the way she captures their expressions.

Shawl / Half Poncho

2009-02-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

I made this last year, but never posted anything about it. I was going to teach my boyfriends mum how to crochet, but she wasn't into it after all and gave me the yarn she had bought. Later I taught her a bit on some brown yarn I had, but we frogged it as it was only a few rows of Single Crochet stitches.

This was made from just the one skein, I even had EXACTLY enough left over to make a small flower (seen bobby-pinned to my hair). The yarn I never would have picked for me turned out to be very stylish and transformed into an awesome shawl-y poncho... something. In any case it keeps me warm but not too warm. It's a happy middle.

I looked up a pattern somewhere, but I didn't follow it. Basically I just noted how it increased and just did it at points I thought were flattering. Then I looked up how to make scalloped edges in a book at chapters. So it's kinda free hand I guess. If I ever find a pattern that is similar, I'll post it.

Et voila!

OTT20 Swap - Mirthfairy

2009-02-09T14:24:00.001-08:00

Today in the mail I received my One Tiny Thing from Mirthfairy! Woohoo! She incorporated two of my themes, plus one of my prefrences.

For this swap, we were to exchange one tiny thing. You write a list of 5 themes for your partner, and you make something small based off of one or more of them.

My themes were:

1. Cameras
2. Travel
3. Cute animals (fav's are lop eared rabbits, turtles, and skunks)
4. Saris, Kimonos, etc (cultural dresses)
5. Regina Spektor (musician)

And Mirthfairy's were:

1. food/sweets
2. renaissance art
3. twee (really cute things)
4. german folk art
5. birds

We both said we liked practical things. She made me an ipod cozy. It has a picture of a bunny in a kimono. How funny is that? Love it! Thankyou Mirthfairy, this is so awesome! And the fabric is swell. ;o)

(Back)

(Front)

I based mine off of her theme of Twee and Birds! This needle book has multiple pages that matches the birds I embroidered on the front. I learned to do a buttonhole stitch for this. I've never done real embroidery before. I really enjoyed it actually. Never thought it would be my thing. I might incorporate it into a future project.

(Front)

(Front and back spread)

(Inside pages)

January Birthday Swap - BTStars

2009-02-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well, last week I received these boxes and cards from BTStars as my other Birthday Swap present! It's been a busy week, so I'm posting pics now. Sorry BT!

She made every card around a Beatles song or Lennon quote, and the boxes are all painted and trimmed. Topped with lyrics to some wikid songs. Eleanor Rigby is pretty much my favourite, so I'm glad it's on the biggest box, but also matches my craft room! It's almost an identical shade of purple!

These are the three boxes she made:

And here are some pictures of the cards, and a few favourites!

(Click thumbnails for bigger picture)

Thanks again BTStars! What a beautiful package! I bet you worked so hard on them, it really shows the dedication in it picking out all of my favourite songs!

Gingerbread and Snowmen

2009-02-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

Claire came over today for some old school winter play and belated Christmas fun! We had bought all this sugary wonderfulness from bulkbarn before Christmas, intending to make gingerbread houses, but we didn't get around to them. So we did them today!

My house:
It's got a pond that's frozen to skate on!

Claires House:
She even made a bon fire with orange and red m&m minis and silver/gold candyballs.

After our sugary goodness was all finished, we went outside to do some playin in the snow! I'm going to send these pictures to Selvi, my Sponsor Child, so she can see snow and what you can do with it. :o)

We made a snow-bot and a snow bear! lol. Their eyes are made from beer caps, the bears nose is a draino cap, and the snowbots arms and ears are made from catfood tins and apple juice cans. haha!

January Birthday Swap - Gift from Eightdandelions

2009-02-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today I received a beautiful gift from my wish list, made with TLC by Eightdandelions!
It's a rollup for my crochet hooks! Isn't it beautiful? It's quilted in a flowery/paisly fabric, (gee, I don't like paisley do I?) with spots for both my big, medium, and small hooks. I just LOVE everything about it!

In her note it said,
"Happy Birthday! ^_^ Hope you like your crochet roll, I know it's not perfect but it was sewn with love. Wonky, lumpy love. ;) xo, Eightdandelions. eep!"

Well, I love it. I love that it's made with 'wonky lumpy love', although I think it looks perfect. It's a well thought through design with a beautiful fabric and it's all tak-stitched at each end so I'm positive it'll last me some great years.

Thankyou Eightdandelions! I'd definitely swap with you again!

January Birthday Swap

2009-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

I joined the January birthday swap!

My send date is tomorrow. I left it as long as I could before I was too excited and had to post pictures! This is what I'm sending to Javastain, in addition to three prints of my photography. Javastain, if you're snooping, thats okay. Just tell me you've seen them and I'll post it on craftster. ;o)

This is what I dub a Bloomin' Yarn Bag!

She wanted a bag that she could keep her progressing yarn-y projects. I've got a bit of experience with drawstring bags, so I was excited to go at my fabric without a pattern and just chop and sew!

The beauty of this bag is that you can literally have it beside you with all your yarn inside, and the working yarn comes out through the centre of the flower! No more cats chasing old school balls of yarn! Tuck it away and pull it through the centre. Neat huh? I might just make another for myself.

I used a gromet to make the edges smooth, and I stuffed each petal with polyester fill. Around the gromet I hand stitched in some teal beads to be the seeds. The stem is ribbon, which is matched to the drawstring. Note all my careful detailled stitching! ;o) I have a tendency to race through edges, but I'm so proud that I went nice and slow making sure my two rows of straight stitch touched exactly along the points of my zig-zag on the sides. It wasn't a preset stitch, I did three rows per side. Let me just go on and gloat about its neatness a little more.... *gloat gloat gloat*

Kay I'm good! Picture time! :o)

First Swap - Altoid Tin with Belladune

2009-01-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

For my first swap ever on Craftster, I signed up for the New Years themed Altoid Tin swap. I got partnered with a fellow Canadian, Belladune!

I created a scrapbook themed around her best moments of 2008. On the top I used a metal fixture that says 2008 on it, with matching paper to the scrapbook itself. I did matching green ribbon and tiny beads all around the outside. On the inside is the fold out scrapbook. It has a place for "best craft project", "best photo of the kids", "best photo of my hubby", and "best WOW pwn". Wow is a game she plays online.

I cut all the pieces for the scrapbook to size. And both the scrapbook and the tin is magnetic! She has them on her fridge at home. :o)

Belladune didn't have an altoids tin specifically, but she had a small slidey tin. So for hers, she decorated the mini tin, and put it inside a altoid tin sized box that her 3 year old son painted. lol. Cute. So inside this box she had her tin, and some extras she made.

She made me some beatles shrinkey dink magnets, a bracelet designed around the henna Selvi did on my hand (my sponsor child whom I visited in India), and the inside of the tin was painted with a gold peacock, just like Selvi had on her dress. I was so touched. It was the most personal and kind thing to do. How sweet is Belladune? Sweet as a crashed transport truck full of refined sugar spilled all over everything, that's how sweet. <3

I can't wait til the next swap starts. I signed up for the "One Tiny Thing" swap. That'll be so much fun!

Little Boxes

2009-01-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

I made these in the summer with the intention of selling them to fundraise my trip to India, but never got them out there to be seen and advertised. Dunno if I ever will. We'll see for my next Habitat trip.

They're all hodge-podged with a PVA glue/water mix. It's made from left over wrapping paper I'd saved since highschool that I just loved! Don't say pack-ratting doesn't get you anywhere. These came out awesome. The only one that isn't made with that paper is my Davinci Time Box.

Text Reads - If I place a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.

Text Reads - Just Dance

Text Reads - On lid: Endurance In frame: Time

Telephone Cup Embroidery

2009-01-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

I just have a basic machine right now. I would love to get a big fancy machine at somepoint, but for now, a small singer is what I'm using.

So, I figured out a way to do some embroidery by "hand" so to speak. I drew out my image in white fabric pencil, and traced along with the sewing machine. My trick? I set a ziz-zag stitch to button hole width, so it was perfectly tight and looked just like an embroidery machine did it! :o)

They will be pillows. They aren't finished yet, they've been kinda on hold. I'm gonna use a super fuzzy fabric for the back I think.

Swap Info

2009-01-06T07:53:00.001-08:00

I've seen this survey in a couple of places, I think it's really helpful when I read them. So, he's a little info on me that may be helpful to you if we were to swap! :o) Send me a message on craftster if you want to propose a personal swap - my user name is Retro_Rose.

For Craftster Swap Partners…

I’m addicted to creating: Little sewing projects, pillows, crochet, amigurumis.

What is your favorite colour?: Plum, aquamarine, earth tones, but not at all in combination! lol.

What is your favorite colour to go with your favorite colour?: Black or white. Things look good punchy. Other than that, use your own judgement for what matches well. :o)

I’d never refuse to take: Stamps, Amigurumis, Beatles themed objects, Socks, Clothing, Stationary.

Some things I’ve been wanting: An ipod case (one where you can use the buttons and see the screen), Crochet hook organizer, Decorated craft storage boxes, Long circle skirt, Nice 8x10 or smaller painting of my cat Della, Customized stationary for letter writing, Sewing machine cozy to keep the dust out!

And a little bit more about me: Well, I'm a vegetarian, I love kids, I'm a photographer. I do portraiture mostly. I still enjoy sitting on swings in parks, I love to be outside in the sunshine, nature makes me feel alive, I love to travel - but so far I've only been to India. I went there as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I plan to do more travel in underdeveloped countries, hopefully with HFH again.

Do you have any pets?: I have one kitty, Della. She's sweet as pie.

Do you keep a journal/art sketch book?: I do have a sketchbook, I'm not particularly good at drawing, but when I get ideas for projects I jot them down in there and sketch out plans.

Do you have a portable CD player, mobile phone, or ipod?: I don't own a cellphone, but I have the new ipod nano, and the thing is my life. On the go, at work, and at home.

Do you need another random trinket box?: Not a small trinket box, but something mid-sized to store supplies in can't hurt.

Do you need a CD case/folder thing?: Nooo, not really. I keep my music on the computer. I'm bad and don't often buy CDs...

Do you need another purse?: If it's super creative in a quirky way, I'd love one! My last purse was a watering can. I loved that thing to death. But I really don't use purses all that much. I'd much rather a lined shoulder bag that can handle my copious amount of library books.

What crafts do you do/want to do?: I do a lot of sewing. Random things, from clothes, pillows, mini stuffies, etc. I've also learned crochet last year and find it very addictive, because unline knitting, I feel you have a lot of freedom to create different shapes instantly. I'm into scrapbooking a little bit. I do mini projects more than create pages. Such as mini books, scrapbooking a frame, whatever.

What crafts do you admire?: Intricately sewn garments blow my mind. I love seeing things that are quirky, but practical. And when people put a lot of effort into toys for kids, I think that's the most loving thing you can do in this industrialized world.

Do you collect anything?: Not really. I could start if there were something awesome to collect...

Do you wear earrings?: All the time. Love love love.

Do you wear bracelets/cuffs?: Bracelets if they have a nice polished look. Not so much into wrist cuffs...

What's your wrist size?: Goooood question.... I think it's about 6 inches around.

Do you wear necklaces?: Yes, once again I do prefer a polished look. Glass beads > buttons...

Do you want gold or silver findings?: I wear more silver than gold.

What is your shirt size?: Medium to Large. Depends what brand or style. Message me on Craftster for measurements.

What is your shoe size?: *cough* 5 1/2 ... sometimes 6.

Would you like some clothes made for you?: I would freakin LOVE you if you made me clothes!

Do you have a favorite animal you would like something made with?: I like turtles, lop eared rabbits, skunks, red foxes, otters, snails, and frogs.

Do you have a favorite TV series you would like something made with?: Not a tv series, but a comic. I'm a Schultz fan. I LOVE snoopy. Pictures of him interacting with Woodstock. Linus, or Charlie are awesome.

Do you have a favorite book you would like something made with?: Memoirs of a Geisha

What is your favorite food?: Vegetarian Sushi, Indian, Tacos, Pizza, Pasta, and Rice.

What is your favorite smell?: Satsuma, by the Body Shop. I love rich fruity scents.

Are there any colors you hate?: I'm not a big fan of yellow, anything neon, or grungy colours.

Would you dislike receiving items made from animal products?: I would prefer not to receive anything leather thanks. I'm okay with wool if it isn't from Australia. Sounds odd if you haven't heard of it, but just ask if you need to know why.

Is there anything you would rather not receive because of religious references?: Not for religious reasons, but anything depicting Satan or demons or negative evil things from any religion creep me out.

Do you have any actual allergies?: No, but I dislike smoke.

Is there anything else you would dislike?: It's hard to displease me craft wise, unless something had no thought put into it or it had an unfishished look. But nobody likes putting their heart into a swap and getting something lesser in return.

What are your favorite movies?: Memoirs of a Geisha, Corina Corina, Annie

Who is your favorite person from those movies?: I couldn't really say a person, I love how they're so well put together.

What music groups do you love?: The Beatles, and Regina Spektor.

Any favourite lyrics?:

"This is how it works -You peer inside yourself. You take the things you like, And try to love the things you took. And then you take that love you made, And stick it into someone elses heart -Pumping someone elses blood. And walking arm in arm, You hope it don't get harmed. And even if it does, you'll just do it all again."-Regina Spektor (On the Radio)

"The farther one travels, the less one knows. The less one really knows." -Lennon (The Inner Light)

Who is the best dresser on TV?: Lord... who knows. Everyone is dressing to the fashion nines these days! lol. Although, the clothes from the 1920's - 1940's are neat. You know, Doris Day type of skirts. I love that shape.

Who are your celebrity crushes?: Never had one.

Who is the best cartoon character?: Snoopy

The Plushroom - New Species

2009-01-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

In November I invented a new species of fungi. I call it - The Plushroom!

This fungi grows on warm beds. It's attracted to body heat and pet fur. Although not particularilly flavourful, it does have some side affects of being tasted. It will leave a cotton-y feel to the tounge when licked. It has non-oral side affects that are caused by physical contact. When subjected to touching the Plushroom, humans and pets alike experience warmth, drowsiness, and an odd sense of comfort. Known species so far are plaid and beige. It appears they have bred themselves into a hybrid. Scientists have recently begun research as to how to reproduce them in a lab setting.

Cut your symmetrical Plushroom pattern, fold in half and fold fabric in half. Do not cut fold. Cut two pieces, one for each side. Measure using string 1.5 X the length of the total perimiter of your cut fabric. The extra point-five comes in handy, as every sewers seam allowance prefrences vary. Cut one long rectangle of fabric at least 5 inches in width. Use a wider width for a chunkier Plushroom, and a thinner width for a flatter Plushroom. This will be used as your side. Sew the lengths of the rectangle along the perimiter of your cut Plushroom front, "pretty" sides together. Do the same for the Plushroom back. If you have any excess length of your long rectangle once all sides of the Plushroom have been covered, cut it now. Do not sew shut. Turn your Plushroom right side out. Stuff with peferred filler. Hand sew the bottom of your rectangle together. Voila! A lovable fungi for your bed or couch - The Plushroom!

Amigurumi Turtle

2009-01-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

I made this little guy for my boyfriend at the end of the summer. I just love him! He took me a day or two, but it was well worth it. It came out awesome for my first ami! I think in future I will use a smaller hook though, just so there isn't so much space between stitches.

New Blog

2009-01-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had created one other blog, but I put it under my hotmail account. So whenever I signed in, I'd have to re-sign into my gmail account. It got annoying pretty quick.

SO!

I present to you - Amy's Creations - A new blog on the exact same topic. This time though, the layout is by me. :o) I think it gives me a lot more room than the old one did. The first blog I made I used someone elses layout. But what's the good in having a blog about creativity if you don't photoshop your own style of layout together. So I did. Nyah! hehe!

Features my love of paisley and henna designs. So pretty! ;o) And aquamarine is a powerful colour, but relaxing at the same time. Ahh, I like. It's good. I'm done.