scrappy cards

I'm a big fan of sending (and receiving) cards via snail mail. I think email is nice and evites are free, but isn't it great to get something in the mail that doesn't ask for a "payment due by" or "vote for ________". For Mother's Day I made the mom's in my life some scrappy cards. I just picked up a pack of blank cards from Michaels ($4.99 with coupon), and used scraps from my growing bin of scraps.

It's one of those projects that I don't think you can really mess up. It's fun mixing and matching the fabric and seeing these mini quilts, if you will, come together into a fun gift set.

more birthday love

My sister's Birthday was on the 17th. She's always growing her hair out and then chopping it off to donate to locks of love. She's in the growing out stage, so I thought I'd send her some hair accessories to make it less painful.

I too am growing my hair into a different style, so have been making headbands for myself. I prefer the skinny ones. You can buy a set of 4 head bands at Walmart for only $1. Black/Brown/Gold/Clear. I've been covering the gold and clear ones with fabric. You can find a tutorial here if you don't want to have to think about how to do it. She also has some cute embellishment ideas too. I've got more to show, but don't have pictures - some with feathers!

Yes, my son is the model. He thought he was hilarious. This is just 1/4" of felt rolled into a giant spiral. Hot glue every few inches. I found the alligator clips on etsy at mybeadjoy. They were pretty cheap. I think 25 for $2. There are all sorts of things at this etsy shop that you can't find at Micheals. The prices are great. The only downfall might be that the stuff is shipped from China, so it takes a few weeks...Same concept as the other one, but done with scrap fabric instead of felt.

Covered button super glued onto a bobby pin that has a base. Also from mybeadjoy.

There are two different kinds of bobby pins -black and silver. I've got some silver ones too. I think I prefer those. They are little bit longer.

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

man-bag

It is part of my son's "outfit" to shove a bunch of cars in his pockets each day. Unfortunately he just can't fit them ALL into his pockets, so I thought I'd make him a bag to carry them around in (this also helps avoid the fits being thrown because he can't physically carry 10+ cars in his arms at the same time!)

I used (sort of) the bag from Bend The Rules Sewing (the one with the apples), but made longer straps and different dimensions. . . so basically I just made it up as I went - but I had sewn the Amy Karol one before, which was helpful.

I used the "wrong side" of some denim fabric I had on hand and lined it (and appliqued) with some canvas-y type fabric from Walmart. The straps are just the two strips of fabric sewn together with the edges raw.I tried to make the bag as manly as I could (w/o spending hours and hours making it).

My husband is embarrassed when Carson carries around his "purse" full of cars.

quirky cuff links tutorial

If you are a sewer/crafter I'm certain that when you look at things other people made you think to yourself "I could totally make that".

That's me.

Plus, I was "accused" by my husband a while back that I'm motivated by money. At first I was slightly insulted, but it's true and as long as money doesn't rule my life, I think it's ok. As a stay at home mom, instead of being motivated to MAKE money I seem to be motivated to SAVE money. I craft for the creative outlet, but another reason (among many) I craft is because I like to give gifts and it helps when I can give a nice handmade gift without spending lots of money. Plus, my time is priceless right ;)

Which leads me to a birthday gift for my sister's husband. I saw these Lego cuff links at a local handmade consignment shop, $25 for 1 pair, and thought of him. I also knew I could make them. Check out how easier they are:

Buy blank cuff links off Etsy here. You don't even have to buy a zillion of them. 4 pairs cost me $2.50.
Find Legos. I like these square ones, but I think the ones that are 3 nodes by 2 nodes would work too. Luckily I have a friend that has a big bin of legos that don't complete a set. She let me rummage through it to find what I wanted. $0. Maybe you could find some at a thrift shop perhaps?Super glue the lego onto the cuff link. Make sure they are going the same direction.
See, easy.

Total cost (with shipping) $4.95.

Now I guess I ought to let my sister know that she should give her husband a shirt for his Birthday that needs cuff links.

birthday gift

My Mother's birthday was this past month. She makes those fancy crochet wash cloths (her's are simple and square, but I thought these apple ones were cute).

I've been meaning to try this.

I even bought crochet hooks and yarn.

I'm not sure where they are at the moment.

Oh well.

I (loosely) used a tutorial I found on Sew mama Sew. There are enough pockets for a small notebook and pen (or pattern I guess), a small pair of scissors, and 5 hooks.

It fit nicely in a 8 x 11 manila envelope with a small ball of yarn.

Happy Birthday mom!

birthday shirts only the mom cares about

Isn't that so true?! What three year old can get excited about getting clothes for his birthday?? Oh well, I had a fun time making them...

Freezer paper stenciled (which I've found an new love for. I hated doing it at first, but discovered that if I cut the image with those tiny finger nail scissors, it's much easier than using a razor. That might just be me...)
My personal fave. He runs around the house "roaring" at his sister with his "scary pider shirt". Only, she's not scared and roars and chases him back. . .
I cut the hemmed edges of the sleeves and bottom to make them roll. (Above two shirts are "remakes" of shirts I saw in Mini Boden).
This freezer paper stencil was totally inspired by this brilliant tutorial I saw over at Made during her (and Rae's) boy month. If you are at all interested in taking your images (or ones found off the internet) and then converting them to larger images to freezer paper stencil, you must read the tutorial. It's awesome! I'm going to try the Lincoln image as soon as I can figure out how to make it smaller. I'm thinking of putting four Lincoln heads on the shirt and paint it sort of Andy Warhol like.

happy valentine day

happy valentines day!