Corner Crafts

New Blog!

2010-04-26T21:40:00.001-06:00

So the new blog is UP and running. It has all the old posts from here and the cake blog mixed together. And it even has NEW posts already! Yup Little S's birthday party was this weekend and I posted it over there. So please check it out. Also if your a follower that doesn't automatically transfer over so be sure to follow the new blog! And of course grab the new bottons!

This will be my last post here at Corner Crafts. Something Exciting is happening though. I'm taking the plunge, I'm starting a website for my cakes. More professional and easier to market. We've decided to stop our wandering ways (for now) and are settled here in SLC for the foreseeable future. So I'm going to start marketing, and actually try to make a real effort to sell cakes! Wish me luck (and call and order!). So look for that in the next few days.

Flower Bow

2010-04-20T23:02:00.014-06:00

So last night my sister emailed me with a picture of this cute toddler flower bow she found. BUT she didn't want to buy it if she could make it. So she asked if I, being the Origami QUEEN, could figure out how it was made. Now I have a to do list longer than my husbands monkey arms (his arms are longer then his height, unusual I think) for the party. BUT she piqued my interest. SO I started working on it... It was fun and I spent WAY to long on it, BUT I figured it out! What do you think? I took a sheet of paper and kept folding it until I got all the folds the picture of the flower clip had. Then I cut off the excess paper. Then unfolded it to find a... square! yup each petal is made from a square of fabric. I used 4 inch squares for this clip, but think I'll try a 3 inch square for one for Little S.

Sorry for the bad picture quality, this is the bathroom mirror and there is NO natural light in that room. But I thought a picture would help with the size. I love having short hair, but don't usually find anything I can wear in my hair. These were perfect! I'm LOVING them SOMEDAY I'll get someone else to take a picture I like. But for now, here they are (and my new hairdo~!) I have a photographer girlfriend who I'm GOING to get together with someday and get new headshots!

The sewing was actually easy. But showing you how to fold it is a bit harder. I'll TRY... Here it goes.

Okay start with a square of fabric. I was trying different fabric options when I made this. I took pictures of the Jersey, but it didn't work out right. I want something thicker than the cotton, but not as heavy as the jersey, any suggestions? Okay, I used a 5 in square for these pictures, but 4 inches for the ones in my hair and will use 3 inch's for the one for my toddler.

First step... Fold it over with the right sides out, super easy!

Then fold it in half again, pin the raw edges and sew up the line

Doesn't that look nice? Now were going to OPEN up the triangle.
This part is hard to explain, but the open side is going to open into a triangle and the folded side is going to meet up with the sewn edge. you want the invisible green lines to match up!

It should look like an elongated kite. The raw edges underneath. Next we're going to take the top raw edge/point and fold it backwards pulling it down until it meets the bottom raw edge/point.

It should look like this with the raw edges touching in the middle of all the other layers. Now we're going to fold up the outer sides and this will create our petal look.

Voila! Last fold the edges in as much as you can down at the point, sew it together and your done! Make 7 of these putting them together to create a flower. Use a button on the top to cover the nasty point/edge and add to whatever you'd like, barrette, clip, headband etc...!

I used jersey, cotton, and denim. the jersey is OUT, the other two are okay. The thicker denim is nicer than the cotton hancerchief but I'm not completely sold on either. The search in on for the right material for this project! Let me know what you think, and if you make one (or make it BETTER) I'd love to see it!

I'm linking up to:
DIY day, Something I just whipped up Monday, Made by you Monday, Made by me Monday, Lucky link Tuesday, Trash to treasure Tuesday, Toot your horn Tuesday, Talented Tuesday, Get your craft on, Tip me Tuesday, Craftaholics anonymous support group, Show us what your workin' with, Pinching penny party, Creative Therapy session, We did it Wednesday, Make it yours day, show and tell, show and share, strut your stuff, Under $100, get your craft on, Transformation Thursday, show off your stuff

Silhouette earrings and necklace

2010-04-20T08:00:00.016-06:00

So I finally got around to making the silhouette jewlery I was hoping to make. I love these longer earwires, the tiles dangle and move well, and it looks great! I actually made two different sizes of images for the earrings. What do you like better? First is the small full images at the bottom of the glass tile.

Can I just say, taking a picture of your ear's is HARD! I've got to teach someone around here HOW to take a picture so I can make this look nicer! Or I guess let someone else wear them for a photo! But you can see the length and get an idea this way!

And next is the larger image but only half the face. What do you think? Since I have 4 kids, not two, I actually put images of the boys on the back side. And with my super short hair you can actually SEE the back!

Next up, the necklace. I'm still looking for the perfect spacer beads for in between, since I have so many kids. Obviously this works great with 1 or two kids, even three. Four is probably pushing it, but heck, why not! I love it! I can't wait to wear them tomorrow! These are actually made with glass tiles that are scrabble size. Much better than my first attempt with the 1 inch square! Not to big, not to small, with a teeny tiny ball chain!

For the backs of these I actually just put their initials. I know you can't really see them with the bail, but I didn't want a color, since they might flip over and I want to be able to wear them with everything, and plain white seemed silly. So an initial was a good choice. Of course I maybe should have made them smaller and put them lower! Oh well, next time!

See? They could really use some spacers... Anyway, I'm adding these to my Etsy store and they'd make GREAT mother's day gifts!!! You could also put the pendant on a charm bracelet, or like my grandma wears a charm NECKLACE (actually she has like 5 now...)

For a tutorial on how to create the silhouettes yourself go to this tutorial I did a few months ago HERE

I'm linking up to:
DIY day. Something I just whipped up Monday. Made by you Monday. Made by me Monday. Lucky link Tuesday. Trash to treasure Tuesday. Toot your horn Tuesday. Talented Tuesday. Get your craft on. Tip me Tuesday. Craftaholics anonymous support group. Show us what your workin' with. Pinching penny party. Creative Therapy Session, We did it Wednesday, Make it yours day, show and tell, show and share, strut your stuff, Under $100, get your craft on, Transformation Thursday, show off your stuff

A new TOY!

2010-04-20T03:32:00.000-06:00

I got a new toy!!!! A ruffler foot for my ancient sewing machine! Yippeee!!! It was so much fun to play with, and works great! I FINALLY got around to making this pettiskirt for Little S. In Seussical colors for the PARTY! She's going to be the belle of the ball! Sweet Sweet thing! I am SO excited to use my new foot for all sorts of things... Once I get past the party explosion I'll get back to normal crafting, playing and experimenting.

ANOTHER mess!

2010-04-20T03:28:00.000-06:00

So Little S turned 3 on Friday! She doesn't know yet though! We're doing her party on Saturday, so we'll treat that as her real birthday too. We're also moving around some stuff downstairs. My sister in law is moving upstairs so we have more room downstairs since we'll be staying longer so I'm moving my "office" out of the corner of the living room into the actual office! AND it all has to be done before the party so there is room for all the 3 year olds! And during today's shower this is what I found! She opened 2 glass jars of my beads and spilled them EVERYWHERE!

There were beads from the bathroom to the back door and through 3 rooms and a hall. But the beads weren't the biggest mess. THAT was the spilled Mod Podge all over the wall, table, scripture case, self healing mat, storage box, carpet, poster board etc...

It looks crazy blue on this black case with the flash! Funny... I made the mistake of trying to clean it up. I should have just waited until it was dry and peeled it up! I did have to toss some stuff, but not everything, and I was able to clean most stuff. The cut mat is looking rough though. It's wiped off, but there is a sheen in certain area's and it's a bit tacky? in some areas.

Flashback Friday- 2nd birthday party

2010-04-16T16:42:00.000-06:00

I totally forgot I hadn't filled this out before I set it to automatically update. Anyway. This was my oldest 2nd birthday. Way before I began making cakes. It was her first real party with friends, and that makes it my first real birthday party too! Since my mom, sister and niece were visiting we actually threw this party the month before her birthday, just after Easter, so I picked a spring theme. It was the perfect weather, April in AZ, and we had a great time. An egg hunt, food, a few other games and just a short 1 hour gathering. It really wasn't much, but I was still newish to the area and wanted to get to know the other mom's.

Co cupcakes with green coconut grass and peeps.

Chow mein nests, with chocolate eggs

And jell-o eggs with bunny marshmallows in them. I used plastic eggs, and it was a major problem. I now have the jello molds and we still like to make these every year. This year our holiday boxes are all in storage, but next year. The kids like to pick what they want to put in the center to surprise the other family members. It's fun! The main part of this 2 year old party (most of the guest were even younger) my daughter and neice helped us out with the decorating by putting out all the eggs for us! It was short, sweet, easy and fun!

DON'T don't do this at home

2010-04-15T07:55:00.002-06:00

So today was just not my day. First this, and now a totally simple craft completely ruined because I'm lazy. I wan't to make Dr. Seuss shirts for the family for the birthday party coming up. I decided to try the freezer paper stencils that I've seen all over the place lately. After reading these clear and simple instruction's from Dana at Made I went to collect supplies. I got everything I needed, but when I was buying the fabric paint they didn't have red or black in the regular paint, only in the spray paint. I figured it would be even easier and better so instead of trying another store I got them. Apparently I didn't read Dana's instructions clearly enough... BIG MISTAKE! Don't EVER get the spray paint if you are using a stencil. I'm sure they are great for certain looks, just not the one I was going for.

It started out simply enough. I printed off the image I wanted and cut it out. This was a bit on the detailed side, but I figured all the examples of freezer paper stencils' I've seen look so crisp and nice that it would be okay. WRONG.

The ironing was the best part of the next few steps. When I started to spray the color on I should have realized what would happen when I saw how thin it sprayed out. But no! I sprayed red first over a few key areas, then let it dry and added more freezer paper over the red to create the black lines.

I could see it soaking into the shirts, good, right??? Then it dried and I took off the freezer paper...

Mess, but at least you can tell what it's supposed to be. I was scared to take the next freezer paper off. I actually was able to get the right kind of paint in white so my circles worked out just fine, but the thinner black freezer paper over the top? Not pretty. You can't even read it! It actually looks better in this picture than in real life~ Crazy. So what next? I'm going to give up on the shirts until some other stuff is done, and if I have time try again! And hey, now my hubby and I have matching shirts for painting the basement!

Kiss the pig

2010-04-15T00:19:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago I got a call from the librarian at B's school, Spectrum Acadamy. I thought it was about B reading too much, or not returning books maybe. But it was about George!?! She, the Librarian, wanted to encourage the kids to sell book at the book fair, so when B told her about George it gave her an idea. She wanted to use George as part of her incentiveprogram. She asked if she could advertise that if the kids sold 300 books that Miss Jamie, the Principle, would have a "date" with George and have to kiss him at the end. I said sure! Well the kids did it (sold enough books), and they LOVED the idea of the pig. She said she was shocked at how EXCITED everyone was. In fact when I got to the school they have fliers and pig stuff all over! So cute. Monday was the big day and my daughter told me about this video tonight! So here is the (very long and needs to be edited, but I didn't film it) video! (yes, that's me holding George)

Don't take a shower when you have kids

2010-04-14T21:55:00.000-06:00

I love my kids. The only thing I have missed since having kids is a daily shower. Maybe it's just my kids, but today I proved again that showers and kids are a bad idea. My older two were at school so it was only the younger two at home. Of course the youngest, S, is the MOST destructive of the 4 kids. For some reason ages 3 to 4 1/2 is the most difficult for me. Mostly because of the destructive nature at that age. They've been the most expensive ages of all for us. Flooding, drawing on walls, destroying clothes, books, floors, carpet, furniture etc.. These 18 months are the reason we won't pay for our kids college. We've already done our part. ANYWAY. Showers and kids. So this morning when I got out of a shower (at most 10 mins) this is what I found:

That is Mayonnaise. Yup, an entire brand new jar. And that's not all. We have a food storage room in the basement that is SUPPOSED to be locked 24/7. Apparently someone (no one has claimed it yet) left it opened and S got into it. Not only was there Mayo all over the desk but the chair, floor, shelf and even the Pig! Also a box of brownie mix opened and poured out, and an entire skein of yarn unwound and wrapped all over the entire downstairs. Like Parent trap! I was also keeping the stuff I'd finished for the party in that room. GONE! All the paper I got to cover the walls for the party destroyed and the picture frames I just finished painted strewn all over and scratched, you get the idea. The 4 year old? He just spilled some Lego's, nothing in comparison!
This is a prime example of why we call our kids D.A.'s at this age. My folks started it when my baby sister was young and my kids have inherited the title, each in their own time. It stands for: Destroying Angel! They can Destroy the house worse than a hurricane (I should know, we had a tree go through the roof during Hurricane Ike in Houston), but they are still sweet, adorable, Angelic beings at the same time. So our D.A.'s! This is the same child who did THIS. Point proven! Anyway. I guess I'll have to take showers at night or wake up earlier... HA, wake up earlier, good one. Have I mentioned I'm practically a vampire? I'm beyond night owl, night it is.

New wreath color for the party!

2010-04-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

The party is still a week and a half away and I'm working on decor right now (in addition to about 300 other things it feels like!) and an easy quick fix was to repaint the acorn wreath! I'm so excited. I love planning party's. I spend week planning and getting excited for something that really only lasts a few hours. But for me the fun is in the planning. She's only turning 3, she won't even remember it, but I will and the other kids. It's also fun that we have so much family around! We actually have cousins her AGE to invite. I hope they can all make it!

Invitation reveal~

2010-04-13T18:58:00.000-06:00

So I got the idea for a book from this blogger, Michelle and she ordered and designed them with/from Cassandra on Etsy. Anyway, I took the idea of a book and ran with it. Of course I wrote my own story. So I bought blank cards from a scrapbooking section. That was a BIG mistake! They weren't sized properly for my printer and even the custom setting didn't work! It was a major pain but in the end I worked it out. Next time I'll buy the printer friendly blank cards!
To design the cards I used Publisher. I have to say I LOVE publisher. I publish a family newsletter every 4 months on it, do my business cards, labels, stickers, Christmas cards etc... All on publisher. I also use Photoshop for a lot of projects, but publisher is easier to use for some projects. I print all my envelopes with publisher too, using a homemade address book from excel.

When they were done printing I put the two cards together, so it's 8 front and back pages. I wanted them to stay together so I used a sewing machine to sew them together. It was easy, fast and fun! The back page had all the information on the party. They turned out even BETTER than I'd hoped. AND they were still light enough that they only took one stamp! I am SOOO exciting for this party, it's coming together really well!

Party invite

2010-04-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

So I've been a little MIA on posting the last few days. It's not that I'm not crafting, I AM! It's just that I can't really share most of it yet. You see it's all for the big birthday bash I'm throwing my youngest in 2 weeks. SO I'll try to remember to post little tastes of it... After 4 straight days, and over a two dozen problems I FINALLY finished the cute invites and they are in envelopes and ready to mail!
I made the envelopes in Publisher. If you don't have Publisher you SHOULD! My copy is from back in 2003, but I LOVE it. I get Microsoft Office for Publisher alone. I use it all the time, stickers, Invitations, Christmas cards, family newsletters, business cards, etc...
Anywho I'll try to be better about posting, but I don't want to give too much of the party away until I'm ready to reveal it all. I am hoping to get the blog's merged this week AND to celebrate my baby girl and the merge I'll be having a giveaway. So keep checking back!

How COOL is this!

2010-04-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

My sister told me that she got a bunch of hits yesterday from a foreign blog. When she went to check it out it had my Holey Egg's featured! SO fun! So if you can read Turkish (or have google chrome to translate for you) check it out! http://www.10marifet.org/yazi/yumurta-nasil-ziyan-edilir. I was actually featured on quite a few blogs and it was SO fun. Not only that other people liked something I made, but there is just something completely giddy about finding a full in box of comments! I got 23 comments, a record from me AND I got 1200 unique hits in one week. I know that some of the bigger blogs get that in one day, but for me it was just SO exciting! So thanks! And I hope you like what you see and keep coming back (especially after the big blog merges and name/address changes!)

Colored Zippers!

2010-04-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

My zipper order came in today! Now I can make a purse, clutch, coin purse or even a headband in any of these colors from my etsy store in one or two colors! And if they sell well I'll happily order more colors too! Suggestions or requests? I'm excited to get started on a new order from my mom! I can also do two colored purses!

Better late than never... Our Eggs!

2010-04-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

We tried a few different tecniques trying to come up with something easy enough for the kids, with lots of fun and different options. We tried stickers that you take off, they got all wet and gummy and were difficult to get off. We tried rubber bands, but they kept slipping off the eggs. We tried glue that you could rub off when dry, didn't come off... So when looking around various drawers for inspiration we found this green tape.

It was great! The kids could all use it easily, we could do all kinds of different looks, and it was fun! Since we were out of town all last week (spring break, meeting my new nephew!) we didn't get to our eggs until Easter itself. It was a fun afternoon activity and I'm glad we didn't miss out!

Question?

2010-04-05T12:41:00.003-06:00

So I have this blog that I just started in January, I have a cake/food blog that I started back in 2007, AND I have a private personal blog with all the fun stuff about my kids and day to day life. That's a lot of blogs. When I started looking around at craft blogs I decided to start a new blog and keep my crafts and food's separate. But now I'm questioning that decision.

Background: My husband is supposed to be starting a PHD program in the fall, but we're worried about funds. So I've been trying to build up my cake business as well as an etsy store to try to support our family over the next 5 years until he's done and has a job somewhere. But it's not working and it looks like I might have to go get a "real" job in addition to parenting our 4 asperger children.

Posting on both blogs, trying to get followers for both, and working on selling stuff on Etsy as well as my wedding/birthday cakes is actually lots of fun. But when I'm crafting my food blog is suffering, when I'm cooking my crafts are suffering. SOOOOOOO the whole point of this point. Do you think it's better to have the food and crafts separate, or would it be okay to merge the two blogs and have crafts and food/cakes, on the same blog?

Edited to add: any suggestions for a name if I put them together? Stick with Corner Crafts, or Bittersweet Cake shop or mix the two to be Bittersweet Craft Shop ORRRR Something totally new???

Giveaway winner!

2010-04-02T23:36:00.002-06:00

So I was supposed to post this at midnight on the 31st, but I was out of town for spring break. I knew when I set the deadline I would be gone, but what I didn't realized was that the family condo I was staying at didn't have internet access! AARGH!

So without further ado...

So I used that random.org thing'y but when I tried to post it it kept going back to 1 through 100, how are the rest of you giveaway blogger adding that to a post? Anyway from numbers 1 to 120 (comments and followers- here, twitter, facebook...) the winner was lucky number 4.

"Nelly said...

Super cute socks!

March 27, 2010 7:30 PM "

Congrat's Nelly! Email me at mycornercrafts@aol.com with your shipping address and what size(s) and colors you want and I'll get those off to you! Thank's to all who commented, or became followers on my various sites! What should I do for my next giveaway next month? Silhouette jewelery? Canvas? Zipper purse?

Flashback Friday- Thread crochet blessing dress

2010-04-02T01:56:00.005-06:00

I actually bought the pattern for this dress back in Japan when I first got interested in Thread crochet. We weren't pregnant yet, but getting ready for it. Then the next baby was a boy, so this didn't work. Then we had a miscarriage and THEN got pregnant with this little girl. But because of the miscarriage I was nervous to start it, and couldn't quite get as invested until pretty far along into my pregnancy. Good thing I get manic once I get started. I finished this dress start, restart (the gauge wasn't quite right and after doing half the top I restarted) to finish took 2 weeks!

Making the under dress was more of a challenge. I had to make the pattern up myself. The dress itself fit great, but the under dress was a bit too tight! But isn't this dress exquisite? You can't see it but there are small pink beads crochet into the dress. I bought a second pattern from the same designer. I wonder if I'll get to make it ever (hint hint hubby!)

It had a sweet little hat too. I should have made it bigger as well, it barely fit around her noggin! We moved when she was 5 weeks old so I didn't get around to getting her professional pictures taken until she was 2 months old! Luckily it still fit, barely!

These shoes! SOOO precious, but the shoes I made to fit the pattern didn't even come CLOSE to fitting my Sasquatch. I doubled the footprint size, and it was still too small in the end. But it fit for this one day, and really that's all it needed to fit for!

two colored diagonal zipper coin purse

2010-03-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to show what the two colored purses could look like as well as try out the diaganal purse not just the horizontal one so I made a new coin purse. Just a small sample until my new colored LONG zippers come in. This was made from a 36 inch zipper.

I think it turned out pretty cute. And my oldest daughter likes it so that's good! I need to upload the video I took of unzipping and zipping these purses! I'm SO in love with how fun they are!

Denim purse

2010-03-30T07:41:00.000-06:00

So while my two youngest are still wearing diapers they are getting old enough that I don't have to carry a diaper bag with me anymore. I just have a stash of diapers and wipes in the car for emergencies, but don't have to lug around 30 lbs with me anymore. BUT I don't have a purse, so my wallet, keys and cell are always in my pockets. Not only stretching out my jeans but it's simply NOT flattering. Really, ladies AND men, stop putting anything heavier than 2 key's in your pocket's. Seriously, look in the mirror sometime.
I've been looking for a cute purse. One of the reasons I made the zipper purses is so I can have one. I've been secretly in love with purses, but haven't had reason's to buy any for the last 9 years. So now I can start collecting some really cute ones. Last week I found this cute purse from Made by Rae and thought it would look really cute in some left over denim I had!

I was right, CUTE! I even used one of my new colorful zippers instead of a clasp. I even got to use my denim twin needles for the first time, don't you LOVE it! If anyone want's one I'd be happy to get the licensing from Rae and make a few more! I think a red, burgundy or cream zipper would look cute with the denim too. I used denim on the inside as well, but any fabric would be cute!

Silhouette jewelry

2010-03-29T15:27:00.002-06:00

I was thinking that personalized silhouette jewelry so I've been playing around and trying different options. The glass tile was too large to hang multiple images. But the resin style still isn't dry after 3 days! And it was super messy. So what size/style do you like? I'll get the supplies and start selling them once I know. Don't mind the wet spots in the images. I guess I didn't seal the images very well before I poured the resin on. I learned quite a few things that will help next time. But before I did a bunch more I wanted some opinions better than my husbands. So the glass tile (but smaller, any suggestions?) or on wood, or in the bevel? Also square, rectangle, round or maybe oval? I was thinking the glass tile in the scrabble tile size (third one down) but do you think it's still too large? I made a full set (second row) to see what it would look like with all 4 of my kids, but they were still too big.

Book pages easter eggs

2010-03-29T09:41:00.001-06:00

My sister saw my book pages wreath and said she was thinking about doing a book pages easter egg wreath. the next day I saw this post! Crazy! Anyway I loved them, and I made about 35 eggs. They turned out great! I used some more dictionary pages left over from my book wreath and it created this stripe down the center, kind of funny. Maybe I'll used some music pages next time.

So what to do? I already have a spring wreath for the season, so what should I do with all these eggs? I can leave them like this as a centerpiece, or make them into a wreath, or I was also thinking about making a chain of eggs... Any ideas?

Glass Jars finished!

2010-03-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to painting these jars. Actually I did it about a week ago, but didn't have any chalk. So I finally got chalk and finished them by rubbing the chalk all over them and wiping them clean. Finally I got to write on the jars. Of course I have TERRIBLE handwriting so don't look TOO closely. My Husband thinks this is silly. Since the Jar's are clear no reason to label and write on them he said... He just doesn't get it! But I'm happy with how they turned out and even collecting some more jars!

Zippers!!!!

2010-03-28T05:54:00.021-06:00

So I bought some continuous zipper yesterday. I knew JUST what I wanted to do with it! A Zipper purse! Not super practical having a purse you can completely unzip, but SO cute and fun. Since I hadn't made one before I took my time and lots of pictures.

First I folded the length that I wanted the bag's width. Overlap the edges and sewed up to the point, folding it in and sewing that down too!

After that I unzipped the rest and wrapped it around, creating a corner and sewing over the end, folding another corner and then sewing down.

I will look like this. Just keep sewing the two sides together until it's as long as you want it and end it the same way you started it, only backwards. Overlapping the ends first and doing the small point last. I also attached a zipper handle and sweet zipper flower.

This is what it looks like completely unzipped!

I learned a ton from my first one and actually gave it to the kids and made a few more. Another purse with a flower, and this sweet ruffled clutch.

And this red coin purse for my daughter. This was actully made from a regular 36 inch zipper that I got on sale. If the purse and clutch sell well, or at least generate a lot of inquaries I'll have to find some more colorful continuous zippers!

And I just couldn't help myself. I'm a fan of Craftaholic's Anonymous and just HAD to make this sweet zippered headband! Maybe tomorrow I'll get my hubby to take a picture of it in actual hair...

So I'm putting the purse and clutch up for sale on Etsy so check it out, and let me know if you'd like a different color or size! I am totaly in love with making them and would happily make a ton more for you guys!

Update: I finally got in my new zipper colors, see them HERE!

Fabric Easter eggs!

2010-03-27T08:00:00.003-06:00

I was looking for some fun easter projects when I came across this pattern from Retro Mama! I have some fabric left from my quilt and thought it would be fun to make some! These were quick and fun and since they were all made from left overs cost me nothing! I made 9, but am thinking of grabbing some of the dark brown I have leftover and making some more! (I love this paisley!)

My little ones loved them too! The second I got them done and took these pictures were the last time I saw them all day! They were larger than I expected, but the perfect size for these sweet little hands!

Giveaway- beaded socks

2010-03-26T03:36:00.003-06:00

So I though it was about time for a giveaway. These socks are from my etsy store. I could pick the size and color to offer, but the whole point of all my store items is that they are all personalized. I make everything to order. So this offer is for 3 pairs of beaded bobby socks. Any size socks, and any color/style beads including personalized alphabet beads. Depending on the size of the sock I can tell you how many letters I can fit around. I usually repeat the child's first name over and over, but I have done first and middle names as well.

These are great for your own child, or gifts for showers, birthday's or just because! Also in honor of my first giveaway as well as my first month anniversary on Etsy I'm offering a 10% discount on any orders from my Etsy store. I'm so new to Etsy so I'm not sure of the best way to do discounts. You can email me what you'd like and I'll set up a discounted order specifically for you. Or if you place an order in the next 5 days I'll refund you 10%, just mention this post in your checkout comments so I know to refund the 10%.

There are 13 ways to enter! Yup, 13!
1. Leave me a comment and your entered!

Want more than one entry? Just leave a comment for EACH of the following (I know it's repetitive, and a bit annoying, but it's the easiest way to make sure you get counted for each entry!). If you already have one or more of the following just remind me with a comment for each.
2-3. Follow either of my blog's. Add yourself over on the left sidebar (go HERE for my baking blog).
4-6. Put any of my button's on your blog. Just copy and paste (In the right column of both blogs).
7. Make a post about this giveaway on your own blog with a link.
8-9. Become a fan on facebook. (of either blog, click here for Bittersweet's facebook page)
10. Mention it on facebook.
11. Follow me on Twitter
12. Tweet about this giveaway!
13. Order something from my Etsy Store.

I'll leave this giveaway open until March 31st at Midnight!

Egg decorations!

2010-03-25T05:00:00.006-06:00

A few days ago I found this picture and story about Franc Grom. I thought, I bet I could do something like that with my handy dandy dremel! So first I blew out some eggs (for instructions look here on my sisters blog). then I played with a few eggs trying to pick the best drill for the job.

I ended up going with this high speed cutter. I can control the size of the hole this way. BUT because of it's shape it doesn't cut the inside... skin??? What would you call that stuff?

So then I took the small drill bit and ran it along the insides of the holes to clean them out. This was the smallest drill I could find. The 1/32th of an inch. Looking at the pictures of what Franc Grom does his is SO much thinner than my bit. I'm not even sure where he get's his, but I'd love to find a smaller set.

Also my eggs kept breaking when I put the holes to close to each other. I have to wonder how he get's rid of his inside "skin" as well as how he get's his designs so close together. Does he treat the outside with something first? Something to make it stronger? If I try these again I'd cover it with something, maybe mod podge, first to help strengthen them, and even gloss them up a bit. Then try it. I would love to have been able to get more detail but I didn't want to push my luck with even more eggs breaking.

So I decided to try this whole linking up party thing. I'm not sure if I'm going to like it, all these links on the bottom of my post's. But I want to try everything at least once. I'll most likely shave it down to just a few, but since I'm new to all this I didn't want to leave anyone out!

First day of Spring! And a re-vamped nut wreath!

2010-03-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've actually been looking forward to this for months! I was going to use pink on this wreath for Valentines, but it took longer to gather the supplies so it ended up being a St. Patrick's day wreath. But NOW... It's Easter and Spring! It's the time of the year when I get to decorate with lots of pinks!

It's really windy here this tie of year and the wreath hanger doesn't fit on the main door. So we ended up putting it backwards on the front glass screen door. It protects it from the wind, and still looks pretty!

Blog mess!

2010-03-19T15:01:00.001-06:00

Wow! My blog's (and the one's I've made for my sisters, Hollie and Chelsea) have looked pretty crazy for the last day! I thought I fixed them all last night but apparently I didn't. They are all working now, but I had to change all the buttons! So if you have an old button it no longer works (well the LINK works, but the pretty image doesn't! Please grab a new one!

Flashback Friday- first childs birthday party!

2010-03-19T08:00:00.002-06:00

It seemed fitting with the birthday party this week to flash back to my first birthday party after being a mother (not mine, my child's). Well technically it was her half birthday. Yes in my family growing up we only had three kids, and since we all loved parties we celebrated half birthday's to, getting a lot more parties that way (being treated special, picking dinner, getting half a cake, but not presents or anything). ANYWAY. This is my oldest at 6 months old (I can't believe she's 8 3/4's now time FLIES!)

We went with a Bug theme, creating 2 dozen bug cupcakes and getting her all bug themed gifts. Of course then the only family we had in town got sick and the next closest family couldn't make it so we ended up with 24 cupcakes for my husband and I. Not a great way to start the birthday traditions (and it didn't get any better, we moved the weekend before her first birthday so she got basic yellow cake with chocolate frosting and ice cream and that was it!). Anyway my birthday party creating skils have gotten better as well as my frosting abilities!

I remember how much my husband hated that frog on the far right. When it died he refused to let me get new batteries. It was REALLY loud. But the car seat mobile on the left all our kids enjoyed over time!

Recycling and organization!

2010-03-18T08:37:00.001-06:00

I saw this post at Not so Idle Hands and loved the idea. I have quite a few glass jars lying around. But I don't need them for my kitchen. No way, I go through WAY more flour in a day than any of these jars could hold. BUT remember my corner? Full of wall to wall, floor to ceiling boxes? Sometimes it's frustrating digging through and moving all those boxes for something relatively small. Or something I use a lot, but is in a heavy box and therefore on the bottom. So I thought this project could solve the problem for me!

So I took the lids and layed them out, using a spray can metal primer.

Now I loved the metallic grey she used, but my corner really needs some color. So I grabbed the Pink! I know it's not really a grown up color, but what can I say, I love pink, almost as much as I love red. Maybe I'll change it up someday if I get sick of pink, but for now it's a great spring color. And considering we're still getting snow I need a pick me up!

Then filled the jars and popped on the lids! You can see what I started organizing, ribbons, beads (for socks)wire, buttons, glass tiles (for an upcoming project), etc... Perfect...

Then I went by DI and found a WHOLE lot more jars! Now I have my glue sticks, pens, pencils, erasers, dremel bits, scratch pad, tape, thumbtacks and more right at my fingertips! Now I just have to close the shade and hope my almost 3 year old doesn't get too curious until I can find a slightly more out of reach place (right now she'll have to climb on a chair, then table to reach them, but I'm sure she won't mind...). This is my version of spring "cleaning". I would like to put labels on them, but rather than etch I think I'll add some chalkboard paint so I can move the insides around still!

St. Patty's dinner

2010-03-17T23:50:00.005-06:00

For our St. Patrick's day dinner we made Green Shamrock Pizza's (chicken alfredo). For the full recipe and instructions check it out here at my baking blog!

Happy St. Patricks day!

2010-03-17T08:31:00.002-06:00

My mother in law found a nice short wreath hanger and so we moved my Green St Patrick's day wreath to the front door. It's been there for the past few weeks and fun to come home too. I've just been forgetting to blog it and thought today was the perfect day. So Happy St. Patrick's day!

Socks!

2010-03-13T08:00:00.005-07:00

I started making these socks a few years ago for my daughter, nieces and baby shower gifts. I can usually finish a pair while watching a show or movie. Most of mine are packed up since my "baby" is turning 3 next month. But she LOVED these, and so did everyone else.

These were my top 3 favorites: personalized socks.

Red (my favorite color to dress my kids in, easy to find them when we go out)

And Rainbow! Anyway, I've added these socks to my Etsy store.
And the reason I still have some out? My "baby" loves to wear them on her hands!

My husband is going back to school to get his PHD so I get to be the breadwinner for the next 6 years! I'm trying to find some great items to sell than I enjoy making. One idea is to sell food grade silicone molds, like my Lego one (except I can't do Lego's because they are copyrighted). What do you think?

Flashback Friday- cross stitch baby gifts

2010-03-12T04:11:00.003-07:00

Back in the day, when I was pregnant with my first baby most of my friends and even my sister, were pregnant at the same time as me. It was fun all being due within 9 months of each other. So the last few months while I wasn't working and getting ready to become a mom I got back into Cross stitching in a BIG way. I made a BUNCH for my own baby (which will come in the next few months) and I made a bunch for my friends as well. It was so fun imagining all our our lives changing (we were all having our firsts!) as I worked on these. Of course way back when I hadn't even heard of a blog, or thought I'd want a record of all the stuff I've made over the years. So one of my wonderful girlfriends took this picture of her cross stitch off her wall! That makes me feel even better, that she still has it hanging on her son's wall! Hopefully I'll get copies of some of the others over the next few months as well.

Canvas

2010-03-11T12:08:00.005-07:00

So I finally got around to ordering my "free" canvas from Canvas People. Mine actually wasn't free because I went with a much larger size, but it was heavily discounted! We used to live in Japan and I fell in love. I miss it every day and while moving back hasn't worked out I do hope to visit and maybe even retire their someday. ANYWAY this picture I took on a wonderful spring day in April of 2004. It's been my screensaver for the past 6 years (wow, has it really been that long?) and I FINALLY have it on my wall.

I actually have a few other pictures I took that same weekend Japan that I love and I'm offering all of them on my Etsy store for my fellow Japan fans!

Silhouette Canvas's #65- silhouette art of my kids

2010-03-10T08:00:00.003-07:00

I've been looking for a fun Silhouette project for some time. I have another idea, using an old window, but I don't have an old window. Maybe next time... But a few weeks ago I was at Michaels getting some supplies for my Mom's birthday present and I ran across 4 8x10 canvas's for quite cheap. But what kind of medium to paint with? I found some thick acrylic creating a textured paint. Perfect!

So this is how I started. I took pictures of each kid in front of the window and bright sunshine (with no flash of course). My third (a boy) was by FAR the most difficult to get a shot of. But after 83 shots I ended up with 4 decent ones. Then I used photoshop bridge to create this image: (Here are my settings if you wanted to know:clarity: 100, vibrance: -100, saturation: -100, blacks: 100, exposure .35, tonal curve: point- strong contrast, sharping: 150, radius: 0, Detail: 0 and masking: 100).

Then I used Photoshop to cut what I did'nt need. I used the quick selection tool to select everything but the silhouette. Then I cropped each image to 8x10, trying to make them all as even and similar in size as possible.

Here is the final image I used.

I printed off this image and using my Xyron I turned it into a sticker. I also took my pen and did a bit of "fixing". I fixed the curls on her forehead that got lost in the editing, I also drew where I wanted to make the bottom pretty. And finally I added eyelashes, because let's face it silhouettes just don't look quite right without them.

Then comes the cutting. I found my small sharp craft scissors. If only I had them for the Bathroom mirror project! Remember which way to cut. Since I wanted mine to be a stencil I didn't care what the inside looked liked. So I started in the middle and cut away. I was careful not to cut too much, you can always cut more if you need to. If your cutting out a silhouette planning on USING the middle remember to start cutting on the outside.

Once I was happy with the stencil I took my "sticker" of the backing and stuck it to the canvas. I pressed along the edges, but not TOO hard because I didn't want to bend the canvas. Mostly just using my nail and a bit of pressure, to create the best possible seal.

Then I grabbed a brush and started painting! Once the paper get's wet with the paint it starts to ripple, so start in the middle, getting it as thick as you want it, without touching the edges. Then quickly brush the edges, working outside in, and peel off the stencil! Be sure to peel from the top down, better to have the top details sharp and sometimes the last bit you peel off can be a bit messy.

I had a few spots where the paint spread a little past the crisp lines I wanted so with a smaller brush I fixed those and voila! Finished! Just the look I wanted! Thick with brush strokes, glossy with nice sharp edges.

here are all four done, my children are girl (8 1/2), boy (7), boy (4 1/2), girl (2 1/2), which works out perfectly for this set up!

And finally hanging up. this is in the narrow hall between the bedrooms and bathroom, so I couldn't get a much better angle than this shot, but it looks great. I only wish the walls were a prettier color. I think when we move out I'll end up re-carpeting and repainting the basement as a "thanks for letting us live here and ruin your walls and carpet" gift for my in-laws! I should have just painted when we moved in, this sickly yellow is pretty difficult to look at day in and day out. Although not as bad as the 4 wall wood paneling in our bedroom!!! I'll have to get pictures of that room next time!

The PAIN of crafting!

2010-03-09T07:59:00.002-07:00

While I was working on my last few crafts my finger started to hurt~ I wasn't surprised by the big blister on my finger tip. Pushing a hanger through 8 sheets of paper over and over and over again hundreds of time is bound to bring on a blister. I guess that's what thimbles are for, but I'm not really a thimble girl. But the smaller blister? Who knew that just using a spray paint can could create a blister! Granted I used it quite a bit on the mirror frame and wording, but still???

Book pages wreath

2010-03-08T08:00:00.002-07:00

I've been loving all the new craft blogs I've discovered and started following. What great ideas and inspiration. I have no idea who started this! But it's all over the place! So easy too, especially since I had everything I needed at my fingertips!

Book? Check. I had this old dictionary lying around. Really with the internet who needs a dictionary? AnywayI used my black stamp ink pad I blacked the outside edges.

Hanger? Check. This was actually a surprise because I hate these wire hangers and thought I threw them all away. I'll have to remember to hang onto a few because I have a few other craft projects that need wire hangers.

I was looking at the many different wreaths. Folded paper, accordion style paper and rolled paper. I decided I liked the rolled style the best. So I start by rolling each page...

Then I fold up the bottom. One to keep the point from getting in the way on the other side, but also to thicken up the base of the roll to keep it secure on the wire and keep the pages from sliding around on the wire wreath.

Stick the hanger though the papers. I actually used a paperclip to start a hole, but a thumb tack would work well too. I have a blister on the tip of my pointer finger from pushing the paperclip through the 6 layers of paper!

Slide it around to the other side. Keep going until...

You get back around to the other side. Re-hook the hanger closed and then I bent down the hook so it didn't stick out above the paper rolls.

Finally hang it on the wall! Back to my same old same old problem. My lack of space in our half of my in-law's basement! But I found an empty wall. It's not the best place, simply because I can't see the wall, it's around the corner from the main living room, but it's up. Someday I'll once again have my own space and can find a great place for it. Most walls have low hanging vents from the heating system and I didn't want to risk hanging it low enough for my kids to destroy it. It would take them less than a second I think! Luckily I still have about half the dictionary left, so I can either make a gift for someone or fix mine if my kids find a way to reach it! Anyway, I LOVE it!

First Quilt started! (#92)

2010-03-07T08:00:00.002-07:00

So I brought down the extra table and moved around some stuff in my corner "craft room" to fit it in. Then cleaned off my desk... Of course within hours the new table was FULL. After a few weeks I FINALLY got that cleaned off as well this weekend. I unpacked my sewing machine, oiled it up and did a practice project.

I ordered my fabric and got to work. First I picked which colors would go where and and I also designed my layout. I started my cutting the small squares and then the strips for the first squares.

Started sewing...

Yeah! My first squares! I made 58 of these! I also made some of the longer rectangles before I ran out of the moda jelly roll I bought. The original quilt design was for a lap quilt and I switched it up to a queen size for my bed, so I needed more fabric.

Anyway, I pieced together what I could without those last 18 rectangles and here it is!!! hopefully the Jelly roll will get here soon and I can finish up! I'm so excited and really enjoying it so far.

Scrunchy ruffles scarf

2010-03-06T08:00:00.003-07:00

I saw this scarf and tutorial. I went to the fabric store to look for some jersey, but it wasn't on sale and I thought, I bet I can find some jersey someplace else. So while I was at the thrift store getting a frame for my calendar and I decided to look through the skirts. I found this. My favorite color in jersey with plenty of material.

I didn't have any black thread. Since the reason I'm making this is 1) to use my machine before I start my quilt and 2) because I like it! I decided to go with the navy thread and hope it didn't show up. Luckily the elastic thread I had was black. I cut the skirt in to 4 long rectangle panels and sewed them together.

I'm sure it would be easier with just one nice long panel, but this skirt was only $1 so... Win! I also cut both ends apart to create thinner tails on the ends of the scarf. So my scarf is 10 inches wide (with 5 inch wide ends).

Thread the bobbin with the elastic thread by hand loosely. You'll also have to loosen the tension on the bobbin so it doesn't pull and break. Thread the top of the sewing machine like normal. You can use a straight stitch or zig zag or even an elastic stitch.

Start at one end in the center of the tail all the way to the other end. Then the other tail, as well as the center. I think my tension was too loose and it didn't scrunch as much as I'd hoped. But when I tried it on I already wished it was longer, so more scrunch would only make it shorter so I decided to leave it. It was quick and easy and cheap. If I was to do it again I would make it narrower, longer and more scrunchy. So I'll be on the lookout for another jersey skirt!

I tried to take a picture of myself but my bathroom has no natural light, no mirror in the house does, so it's difficult to take my own picture. I'll try to get my husband to do it for me one of these days.

Flashback Friday Crochet baby blankets

2010-03-05T01:50:00.008-07:00

So after finishing the thread crochet tablecloth for my mom I got back into yarn! I got into baby blankets, they are just SO easy and so fast and it's satisfying to have a project you can finish (unlike the thread crochet tablecloth or cross stitched stocking I'm STILL working on for myself!). I made one for both of my sisters babies, for cousin's kids and for my sister in law's baby. I also got to make one for my latest two babies. This one was for P's baby blessing (that's my mom, he's about a month old here)

And this one was for my baby girl! I just LOVE the ruffles on the outside of this one! The inner square went really quick, the ruffles took a LOT longer! But it was done before she was born so yippee! This is my youngest, S, 1 day old! I need to lay out these blankets for better pictures. This just doesn't do it justice (but she's sure cute and chunky, huh?)

Nuts for St Patrick's day! #69 Seasonal wreaths

2010-03-01T08:00:00.003-07:00

I, like many others, saw this wreath that Dana made and fell in love with it. Since most of us don't have access to so many and such pretty acorns all us fan's have used other nut's and items. Here and here are some examples. So I started looking around for what I might use. I thought the beads were a great idea because you don't have to worry about them rotting. But I couldn't find the same beads easily and I was at Costco and saw their huge bag of Almonds and thought it might work out well.

The wreath I found at DI for $1 so I was ready to go. I went with 18 inch, even though it's too big for the doors here I want to make sure it's big enough for where ever we live next. I set about hot gluing the almonds to the wreath! I have a pretty cool hot glue gun so not burns, but at the same time they didn't stick as well. I'm still nervous they'll fall off too easily. When I put the wreath down to take a picture of it George, our micro mini pot bellied piglet, started eating on the bottom nuts! I had to put him in his room to get the shot.

I knew I was going to go with a dark color to start off, and I could have just painted it right away, but I wanted to prime it first hoping it would help seal it a bit before starting. So here it is primed (I think I'll do what Dana does and keep changing the color to match the season, so I'll use the primer again).

Finally I went with a dark green for St. Patrick's day! I'm running out of space in our half of the basement and don't have a good door to place it on where it won't get hurt by the kids. Plus with our low ceilings it hangs WAY too low. So I put a nail up at the top of the wall (only a few inches higher than my head) and hung it there. With the panel behind it's pretty ugly. I'm still hoping to find a better spot for it. If only I had a front door!!!

Frosted Glass Mirror! #71 "etch" some kind of glass

2010-02-28T03:54:00.003-07:00

I was actually inspired by Roadkill Rescue at Infarrantly Creative. I read her post and really wanted to win the prize, I thought what do I have that I got for free that I can re-make? And I remembered this mirror that my sister in law was going to give to DI and my husband rescued thinking I'd like it. I actually didn't get it done in time, I missed it by a day. But maybe next time.

First I taped off the mirror and spray painted the frame black. Then distressed it a bit. I'd like to rub a dark gloss onto it, but don't have one available. When I get some I'll go back and finish off the frame.

I don't have a vinyl cutter, or a Cricut, so I planned out the mirror words and printed them off on paper. I ran them through my Xyron machine to turn then into stickers and stuck them together. I couldn't find my sharp craft scissors so I had to use normal ones. I cut out all the large words, but without the super small and sharp ones that was the best I could do, still trying to get it done in one day.

I used bathroom related words and changed fonts and sizes for every word. After cutting out what I could I took off the backing and stuck it to the mirror. You can see the smaller words that didn't get cut out. I'm hoping to go back and re print and cut out those words later. I used bathroom related words and changed fonts and sizes for every word.

Then I pressed the sticker/paper to the mirror using a credit card, just like you would do with a vinyl stencil. I didn't want any bubbles that the etching could get through and mess up the words.

I taped off every part of the frame so the etching couldn't get through.

And instead of using etching cream I discovered and fell in love with this great new product. Frosted Glass in a spray can! Crazy easy, looks just like etched glass AND the best part if I don't like it later I can clean off the "frosted glass" and do something else! I'm counting it as #71 because what I wanted from this goal was something that looked like this, not necessarily having to use the cream to get it. Yup a rare picture of me. Gotta love pictures taken by kids that you find on your camera later. Like the new cut? Not that you can see it. I'll try to remember to take a new picture to update the sidebar one.

It's a smallish basement bathroom so it's hard to get a good angle for a good picture. You can't really see the writing, but I LOVE it! It makes the room feel bigger having a mirror on both sides of the room. And it's super fun having these bathroom mirrors.

#1- Start an Etsy Store

2010-02-24T02:33:00.009-07:00

It's not big yet, only a few items, but it's started. Actually I've decided to start by becoming an online store for my families (first my parents and now my sisters) business. Let me tell you a little about it. 28 years ago, I was 4. My dad was selling vacuums and hated it. But a job is a job, especially when you have 2 young children. Anyway, my mom is an artist, truly an amazing artist. Also my parents gave me a unique name (well the spelling at least) and she wanted something personalized for me. So she bought a pair of plastic barrettes and painted my name on them. I had a LOT of hair. People saw them and liked them. When I got invited to birthday parties that is what she made for me to take to the birthday girl. My dad noticed this and thought; these could really sell and make a great business! He started the business with him selling and my mom doing all the painting. It worked and that was his job until he sold it to my sister and brother in law! We all worked their growing up, putting the barrettes on cards, and my sisters even became painters. 28 years later it's still a great business. So I've decided to throw my hat in the family ring.

As time goes on I'm planning on adding other items to my store, but for now It's at least started. Feel free to comment and let me know if you have an idea or if you'd change something!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-02-22T08:00:00.003-07:00

Today is my Mom's birthday. When I was visiting last week I noticed that my sister had given her a family picture with hand prints on the mat. SO cute. So when I got home I thought it would make a great gift, so I totally copied it! I went out and found a frame at DI and repainted it. It took forever because for some reason, I think it's the cold weather, the paint was curdling (best way to describe it). I sanded it down between each layer, and ended up painting it 4 times (one red, 3 black). Then I sanded down the edges for a rough look with a bit of the red showing through. It still wasn't perfect but I was pleased with it in the end.

For the hand prints we tried both paint and a stamp pad out on some scrap paper. We went with the paint in the end. It was a more true black. Although my 2 1/2 year old moved her pinky so it looks like she has 6 fingers! We even got George's (our pet pig) hoof print on the mat. So now Mom has 2 out of 3 (Chelsea, your turn!). Happy Birthday Mom!

Hair Bows and holder!

2010-02-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

My sister just sent my daughter, S, this hair bow holder for a gift! I figured it was a good time to share the curly hair clips I made her a few months ago. I thought I took pictures of the process, but looking through my old pictures I couldn't find them. I guess I didn't. But the directions are super easy. I have some ribbon left, I think I'll take pictures of making some so I can show you! The only thing I would have done differently is to cut the ribbons shorter. The shiny ones are simply too long. I should go back and trim them. Anyway, they've been sitting in a drawer until now~ Thanks Chelsea!

Twine wrapped Monogram

2010-02-19T14:15:00.001-07:00

So I've been MIA lately, first a bunch of family was in town and then I went on a trip up in Coeur d'Alene Idaho visiting more family. And while I've been busy my goals and crafts have gotten a bit neglected. Actually I'm in the middle of about 5 crafts right now, but no completions lately. They are all big one at the moment. So two days ago I was at Michaels picking up some supplies for a birthday present for my mom when I saw this.

And it made me think of this. So I thought, why not~ I have a glue gun, and twine, should be a snap! Right??? Well my twine is the thin stuff, VERY thin. I thought it would make the letter look larger so rather than buy som thicker twine I went for it. Let me say it's harder to hid the white lettering with such thin twine. And it took MUCH longer! But in the end I liked how it turned out.

Now because we're temporarily living with my in laws in their basement I haven't decorated or hung up much. But I do have a family picture up, And since my in laws have the same last name I didn't think they'd mind! So one more thing hung up! I think when we move I'll actually hang it with some smaller groups of pictures, like the extended family group shots, and grandparent pictures. But for now this works well! So while it's not one of my goals it was fun to do a "quick" and easy craft while catching up on Lost with my husband after a long weekend away!

Valentines hair

2010-02-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Both of my girls have short hair and tender heads. So I tend to try to be nice about it and not "do" their hair every day. But while we were visiting my family it was not only Valentines, but my niece's birthday and baptism. So with that many special events rolled into one I just had to do something cute. I grew up with SUPER long hair, like down past your bum hair. My mom did it every day in some cute way. But my girls just aren't into it, and obviously I rebeled since I havn't had hair past my shoulders since... 1995? In fact I chopped it off again this weekend, the longest strand? 2 inches. ANYWAY, I needed something cute you could do with short hair, and then I saw this!

I only got two hearts on my youngest, and 1 heart on my oldest, but it turned out cute, subtle, but sweet. I liked it!

Flashback Friday- Cross Stitch

2010-02-12T03:38:00.003-07:00

I actually don't remember when I started this one. Or even when I finished it. But it was sometime during my High School years. I remember wishing it was two little girls, since I have little sisters, not a little brother. But now it fit's nicely since my oldest 2 are a girl and a boy. Since they are only 19 months apart they were always really close. Then school started, and now it's not the same. Hopefully they'll get over it soon enough and be as close as my sisters and I are when they are older.

Anyway, another old Cross Stitch. Maybe next time I'll show you the back of one of my cross stitches. According to my mom they are unusually clean and organized. Also I need to share my current cross stitch project....

Flashback Friday- Thread Crochet

2010-02-05T01:40:00.004-07:00

Usually how I get into a new craft is I see a project that I love and learn how to do it. When we were in Japan and I had just learned how to crochet I saw this book. THE book, insiring! It had the most beautiful thread crochet patterns. I made a few of the smaller pieces before I decided to make this one for my mom for Mothers day.

I started it to late for that year, but finished it in time for Mothers day the next year! And she loved it! The think about rounds is the first hundred rounds goes SO fast, by the time you get to the outer rounds it takes forever for just ONE round! It was so worth it. I started a different style for myself, a tuilip based one, perfect for the spring. But it's about triple the size so I'm STILL not done! Maybe it's another goal to add to my list...

#80- The Moebius Scarf!

2010-02-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

I finished my first knit piece. I love checking things off my 101 in 1001 list! I made it on circular needles which made it was hard to gauge the right length (since I could never fully stretch it out). So I went a tad bigger, starting with 170 rather than 150, than a few of the patterns I read said. I wish it was just a TAD bigger around the shoulders, maybe a full 200. Also seeing it on I might just take out the last row and add a few more inches. But I like the color and pattern. Oh, and I apologize now for my modeling "skills". I am having a TERRIBLE hair crisis right now... To keep growing out? Or to cut... Maybe on a good hair day I'll post some pictures and let you help me pick. But for now, tired eyes and bad hair just get cropped to focus on the real fun...

There weren't any patterns that I fell in love with out there, so I kind of made up my own. I based it on "4 knit rows, 4 purl rows, repeat" pattern. And while I love stripes that sounded too boring. So I did 2 knit, 4 purl, 6 knit, 6 purl, 4 knit, 2 purl, repeat. I did that 4 times. I'm thinking one more time ought to do it. But for now it's done.

I still can't believe I did it. My first knit piece! I actually picked up a learn to knit book a few years ago, but it was SO not helpful. But this time I started with a book that I thought did a great job teaching. It was the "I taught myself knitting" from boye. I'm so proud! It's so fun learning a new craft. There are so many new things I want to make! I already have a sweater picked out for #81, but I'm going to do a few other small projects before I tackle that one. Also I need to find the right yarn for a full sweater. Any advice? The Moebius scar can be worn around your shoulders, around your neck OR

doubled up around your neck for especially cold days!I like all these ways. I'm worried that with extra width I won't be able to do the neck versions, but it will make the shoulder version nicer. Maybe I'll leave this one as is, and start longer for another version, and go super wide for that one. I'll have to think about it.

"She in Big Twa-bow"

2010-02-04T04:03:00.002-07:00

In the words of my 4 year old boy, "P". "S", my baby girl (2 1/2) got in BIG twa-bow (trouble) today. I was painting a new project today. It's TOTALLY NOT WORKING and is SO frustraing. I painted 4 layers in the afternoon. My kid totally left it alone, and were great about not touching it. But even after, the 4 thin layers it still wasn't magnetic. SO frustrating to spend money on something and have it not work. I thought that maybe I painted the first layers too thin so I decided to add a few more thin layers. I'm worried if it will work or not and if I wasted half a can of magnetic paint for nothing! Any advice out there? HELP!!!

Anyway, I painted the fifth layer and went to put some supplies in the sink. I came back around the corner and found this:

Finding the culprit was easy. She hid in her room, but I just followed the clues. See that face? She KNOW'S she's in trouble so she's already getting mad at me for the punishment that she knows is coming.

Of course me taking her picture always perks her up! Maybe she thought she got out of it. But no-way Jose! Now I have to go help my sweet hubby clean the floor!

Twigglebox Giveaway

2010-02-01T17:48:00.011-07:00

Here is a cute personalized giveaway from my sister's business, Twigglebox. Find the details on her blog here. You can with this hair bow holder:

And my favorite a pair of personalized barrettes as well as a hair bow assortment and daisy clips! I know I'm going to sign up (can you believe I don't have one yet?)

All you have to do to enter is:

Become a follower on her blog
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Sign up at twigglebox.com for our e-newsletter and promo's
Make a purchase at twigglebox.com (my favorite choice :-)!

#68 a picture frame dry erase calendar

2010-02-01T01:50:00.004-07:00

Yeah! First goal completed only 100 left! I'm new to blogging my crafts and I completely forgot to take a picture of the frame and picture before I started! You'd think after blogging for almost 3 years now I would be better prepared!

Anyway I saw this idea and fell in love, Here and Here. They both have great tutorial's, I didn't take enough pictures. I'll do better next time. Anyway we're in my mother in law's basement without a lot of room. So I decided on a 16x20 frame. I found this awful yellow one at Thrift Town for $2. First I spray painted it Crimson red.

Then I sprayed over it with Semi Gloss Black, while it was still wet I took a cloth and lightly wiped over the top. The places where it was rubbed the red showed through. It matches the other frames in the room very well now. I was really pleased with how well it turned out actually.

It's so hard to get a picture of the details, especially with the glossy finish. But here is the best close up I was able to get. It's a nice subtle look and I love it!

Then Following the directions from the other blogs I drew the calender and days of the week on the inside of the frame with permanent marker. When I went looking through my fabric box I couldn't find anything light enough for the back of the frame. Apparently I like dark colors, so I'll have to keep any eye on the sale and scrap items at the fabric stores. But for now I used some tan craft paper. It's a bit wrinkled but it will do for now. So next just fill in and enjoy! I put it right by the door that leads upstairs so we can all see it and add to it anytime we leave the safety of our basement.

I linked this post to Make your Monday's here.

knitting update or #80

2010-01-30T03:51:00.002-07:00

So I've been working on goal #80, learn to knit and make one full project. The learning part is coming along but finding the right first project has been rough. I tired a hat, but my circular needles were WAY too long, I think I'll have to get some double sided ones. Then I fell in LOVE with this scarf, but there weren't free directions and who know how long it will take me to get around to buying the book. I tried to make it up myself, I got the general gist, but obviously it's not right because it was just too hard to cable the third cross over every time. And looking at the scarf pictures on blogs all over I could tell it wasn't right. so I'll save it for another day and I kept looking around, looking around...

I few years ago, actually more like 6 or 8 years ago, I was watching TV and fell in LOVE with this twisted cowl scarf thing I saw on one of the actresses. I've looked everywhere trying to find a pattern for it. I've looked up every keyword I could think of all for nothing. And while looking for instructions for the above scarf idea I came across a Moebius scarf. A twisted scarf! It was perfect! So after looking at dozens of moebius and twisted scarfs I found a pattern I really like. So my first kniting project is officially started!!!

101 in 1001

2010-01-27T03:14:00.010-07:00

So I saw this post about setting 101 goals in 1001 days, she just started. It was inspired by this post which is from a woman who just finished! It was really fun to see what both of these women chose, especially what the second woman did and didn't accomplish. I really LOVE this! I've spent the last few days getting my list whittled down to only 101 things! Harder than you think. Knowing we'll be poor college students takes certain goals or interests out easily. And knowing I have 2 and 3/4 years allows me to set some goals I wouldn't be able to with a shorter window of time! I grew up setting goals and I think it's a great way to really get stuff done. So I'll be posting on my various blogs (depending on if they are personal, crafty or food) when I complete them. In fact I already have a few in the works (the curtains for the bunk beds). This list if full of stuff I've wanted to do for years, weeks or even just days. I putting them out here in the blogshere to hold myself accountable. Some are not hard but time consuming and some are hard, I think I found a good mix of stuff I might have gotten done without this list and others I'm really trying to challenge myself with. So without further ado... My 101 goals to complete in 1001 days.

1. start etsy store
2. create line of molds for cakes and cupcakes for store
3. get my food license when we move within 90 days
4. get my business license when we move within 90 days
5. get the new cricut cake
6. triple the amount of wonky cakes for my gallery of cakes
7. get a website for cakes
8. make 6 wedding cakes in one year
9. pay off pre phd student loans
10. pay off van
11. sell Houston home
12. support the family at least one month completely by the end of the second year
13. sell vacation ownership
14. up our life insurance
15. make chore chart
16. create savings account for kids
17. get piano
18. put kids in piano lessons (at least older 2)
19. put younger kids in something, like gymnastics
20. create and stick to a tight monthly budget
21. potty train P and S
22. train the pig
23. get S's middle name changed legally
24. video at least 4 family events a year
25. go on a date with my husband once a month for a year
26. go on a parent child date once a month (each child gets 3 a year)
27. get Bill's wedding ring fixed
28. take a family vacation every year
29. go camping once a year
30. take kids waterskiing
31. have Thursday game nights every week for 6 months
32. do FHE WELL 50 out of 52 weeks
33. have family prayer once a day for a year
34. visit the temple once a month for 12 months
35. read scriptures every day for 4 months
36. hang pictures within a month of moving
37. get family proclamation or something else fun in vinyl
38. create display or shadow box for blessing outfits
39. raise master bed (so pig can fit underneath
40. learn Japanese (conversational)
41. exercise in some way 3 times a week for 4 months
42. update food blog twice a week for a year
43. update craft blog twice a week for a year
44. read each book I've bought, or buy
45. throw 2 adult parties every year (not THAT kind)
46. start a garden
47. can some kind of food 4 times a year
48. learn to make tamales
49. start an iron chef dinner group
50. make my own yogurt, don't buy any for a month
51. make my own cream cheese at least twice
52. take photography class
53. make and print blurb book for 2007
54. make and print blurb book for 2008
55. make and print blurb book for 2009
56. make and print blurb book for 2010
57. make and print blurb book for 2011
58. make and print blurb book for 2013
59. start blurb books for pre-blog years
60. make baptism slideshow for J
61. make baptism slideshow for p
62. scan all negatives (7 albums)
63. master photoshop
64. update large multi picture frame yearly
65. make silhouette art of some kind of the kids
66. learn to create scrapbooking papers and kits
67. make moveable growth chart
68. create picture frame, dry erase calendar
69. make seasonal wreaths, here,
70. use Dremel for cherry blossom art of some kind
71. etch some kind of glass
72. learn to use a pottery wheel
73. learn some glass blowing
74. buy a jig saw and make something
75. finish crochet turtle for Chelsea
76. make crochet fruit
77. make crochet princess dolls
78. make crochet tool set
79. finish B's crochet swirl skirt and make one for S
80. learn to knit, make one full project
81. knit a full sweater
82. make a petti skirt
83. sew window treatments
84. make curtains for kids bunk beds
85. make skirt for myself
86. make seasonal placemats
87. paint extra large sumi-e canvas
88. paint master bedroom in new house
89. paint kids room(s) in new house
90. paint a wall with magnetic paint
91. paint a wall with chalkboard paint
92. make my first quilt
93. finish JAP cross stitch
94. make nativity candles
95. make stocking holders
96. make Christmas wreath
97. finish Christmas cross stitch stocking
98. make stocking for everyone
99. make tree skirt
100. make a Christmas quilt
101. make homemade Christmas gifts for sisters and parents

So October 24th 2012 here I come!

Newest project supplies!

2010-01-24T07:07:00.002-07:00

So I've had this project in mind for almost a year now. I've been slowly collecting the supplies. One of the reasons it hasn't gone quicker is because I haven't had my sewing machine unpacked (or room for it) so there really wasn't a point. But last week I rearranged my "corner" to include a small table so I can sew! So here are the supplies: Some wire curtain hangers and hooks.

And 4 different fabric options (one for each kid). I also got the thread! I'm SO excited to get started! Now I just need to clean off the new table so I can put the sewing machine on it (the second it got put up a bunch of junk got placed on it!)

So where is this fabric going to go? We're living with my in-laws right now and all four kids are in the same bedroom. And it's sometimes hard to find some alone time. So the plan is to make curtains for each kids' bed! Here is the boys bunk (their actually sleeping in them right now, that's why the blankets are in bunches!).

The girl's beds... I'm not sure where the youngest is? I think she rolled over onto the beanbag. Anyway.. I wanted matching curtains, but I figured it was better for the kids if I let them pick out their own. So in the end good mommy won over OCD-matching-alphabetizing mommy. Yeah for me! Now if only the rest of the day had gone as well!

Sisters!

2010-01-24T04:27:00.001-07:00

My sisters have both started Craft blog's this last month! I was lucky enough to get to make their blog templates! I really enjoy doing the templates and learning how to do new stuff each time. Like make the "grab my button" widgets, and the menu at the top. Anyway... For my baby sister it's her second blog (she has a family one too) and has been bloging for awhile. But for my middle sister (I'm the oldest, could you tell?) it's her first blog, as well as finally getting a website for her business! I'm so excited because she's the one I get to see the least and she's super creative (well we all are, we get it from our mom!). SO go on over and check out my sister's blogs!

Party day is here!

2010-01-16T23:59:00.001-07:00

It's party time, time to collect all the stuff I've been working on and put it together! First the hard candy (apple flavored)

Then the candy melts,

and the gummie's!!!

I also printed off some Lego coloring pages. I used regular crayons instead of the homemade Lego ones. I put those in their gift bags.

I also had a "guess how many" Lego game (63 if your wondering.) The closest guess was only 16 away, although the farthest guess was a LOT more. But for 7 year old's they did great!

And a Pin the... Dot???... on the Lego. I took a picture of one of our Lego's and blew it up. Then I photoshopped out one of the "dots" and printed extra "dots" off. I don't have a massive printer of course so I printed off a few different sheets and pieced it together. Not as smooth as I'd like it to look like but it turned out good, and the kids had fun.

Of course the Pinata! (that's my sweet oldest daughter hitting it now, with my son's friends in the back).

AND the cake. For more details on the cake check out my cake blog here. My son loved his party and that's really the most important part, but I was happy with how it turned out too, so bonus! My younger son is also talking about having a Lego party for his birthday in July, any advice on things to add to make it better for a 5 year old party instead of 7 year old party?

What was it??? A Pinata!

2010-01-16T11:57:00.014-07:00

But of what? A Lego head! I got this idea and pattern from Manic Mommies, but I wasn't able to find all the Styrofoam shapes and sizes so mine doesn't look quite the same. First I had to paint it, white and then Yellow, leaving the mouth white. I wanted him to look a little scared...

So I picked this face from the Lego head images I found. And it's finished! It was quite the sturdy pinata, out of all the one's I've made (I try to do one for each kids parties) it took the longest to break. Each kid got three tries before it finally broke! It would have been nice if it wasn't quite so sturdy since quite a bit of the candy was pretty beat up by the time it broke, but I'll take cute over breakable any day!

Lego Crayons

2010-01-15T23:50:00.002-07:00

One final use of the Lego mold for this party (I might think of some others for our next Lego party, I have 2 boys) is melting broken crayons for the gift bags. I've read about how easy it was, but hadn't tried it before. It worked like a charm! 7 mins at 300 degrees and this is what we got!

After letting them cool they un-molded great. They are shorter than the other stuff I made because I couldn't fully fill them, but they color and that's the best part! Although it was much harder to clean the mold from the crayons than any of the candies were. I had to really scrub it off. Because I want the mold to stay food safe I'm not sure if I'll use it for crayons again without a bit more research.

Lego Candy Melts

2010-01-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

So I decided to try one more thing, Candy melts. But they broke when I pulled them out so I didn't make any others. I think if I used better melts (these were wilton) it would work better? I don't really like the flavor of candy melts so I don't work with them very often, so I don't know how to best work with them. Anyone out there have better advice?

Anyway, they were a hit, and the kids loved them so I wish I had made a few more!

What in the world???

2010-01-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

That's what my husband said when he saw this:

Any ideas what it might be? Hint: it's for the birthday party!

Lego suckers???

2010-01-15T11:36:00.002-07:00

So today I attempted to make Lego suckers. I ended up with plain hard candy. But it didn't go as smoothly as the gummie's did. Here is the recipe I went with
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 light corn syrup
1/2-1 1/2 teaspoons flavoring
Food coloring
Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook it over med-high heat, stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Boil until it reaches the hard-crack stage, which is about 300 degree on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and add food coloring slowly, then add the flavoring. Pour slowly into the molds. Don't worry about any bubbles, they'll go away on their own.
It went totally smooth until it came to the part to put the flavor in. I went with the wrong one! My son smelled them all and picked Cinnamon, so I picked up the red bottle and poured it in. But it was CHERRY! Ewwwwww Then we poured it into the mold.

I thought the gummie's thickened quickly. These suckers started going hard so fast I couldn't even spread it around very well. Then the sticks wouldn't stay in the big suckers and I couldn't get the base plate to stick into it (too hard by the time I tried, so they can't stack. Oh well, live and learn. It was fun to try and fairly simple, now that I know what NOT to do, I think we'll end up trying it again soon!

Learning to Knit

2010-01-14T07:43:00.001-07:00

As if I don't have enough going on getting ready for the party this weekend.... But I like to unwind at night catching up on my favorite shows on the internet when everyone else is asleep. But I feel so useless without something in my hands. I'm sick of my Christmas Stockings Cross stitch again (more on that later) and have 3 unfinished crochet projects I'm just not motivated by. SO I thought it would be fun to learn to knit...

This is after the first night, I learned to knit, purl, and even do these cool cables! I just loved the braided look. And yes, this is my practice sample. I'll take it all out when I'm done, but for now it's fun to watch it grow, even though it's ugly with the miss match patterns.

I decided to go with something a bit trickier just to see if I could follow the directions correctly. Other than repeating row1 twice (not part of the the pattern) I like it and think it turned out well. So any suggestions on favorite patterns for my first full (to keep, not unravel) knitting project?

Lego Gummie's

2010-01-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

Today we used the mold to make 4 different batches of gummy Lego's for the party. It was SO easy and fun. You just take a small sized jello, mix it with 6 packets of unflavored gelatin and add 3/4 C water. Then boil it (stirring the whole time) and pour it in once it's clear!

I tried using and plunger and doing just one at a time, but it started to thicken and harden before I could finish so with the next batches I just poured it in and spread it around. Then using a rolling pin I rolled the large base plate over the top so they have bottom wells so they can stack! Ten throw it into the freezer for 15 mins and then unpeel! The kids loved helping AND they taste great too! I couldn't believe it actually worked so well.

Lego Mold

2010-01-12T07:11:00.002-07:00

I saw this idea at Instructables and fell in love. I've been wanting to do this for my kids and my son's birthday theme was the perfect time! So first you make your 2 story wall around whatever space you want. I went big, but I usually do. Then fill it in with all the shapes you are interested in using keeping them just one dot apart each. You don't want to waste space by leaving them too far apart.

Next take these, I got my food grade silicone here, I used the copy flex so I could pour it into my lego's. I think I'll order some of the silicone plastique for my cake decorating. It was just SO much fun!. So you mix equal parts of the two together.

And pour it in. I ended up using 2 full pounds to fill in my huge board! It says it only takes 4 hours to cure, but it was still tacky on the back, so I just left it overnight!

Then peel off the silicone and there you go. The Lego's that remained in the mold popped RIGHT out. I let my 2 year old and 4 year old help with that part. They loved it, and I have to say I did too, there is something SO fun about peeling the Lego's out of this thing. Since the plastic is food grade there is SO many things you can do with it. Watch over the next few entries as I talk about all the different things I made using my new mold!

Lego Invitation

2010-01-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's my first son's 7th birthday today. This Saturday we're having a party for him. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted he said "Lego". This is actually the first year we've owned lego's! I've always had a baby around and it was never safe. But since we're on a baby break it seemed like the perfect time! So for Christmas my 2nd Son got quite a few lego's to start off the collection. They have both been having a great time. So that's the theme! Here is part of the invitation I sent out. The day/time/address and stuff was off on the side, but here is the image I used. I put this "Happy Birthday Jonathan" together late at night and he woke up to it. He loved it. And it turned out pretty cute I think!

Flashback Friday- First Cross Stitch

2010-01-08T23:59:00.003-07:00

I've been into crafts my whole life. Maybe because my mom is very crafty, or the fact that I only have sisters. But we always enjoyed crafts and lot of them. When I was young (I don't remember if I was 8 or 10, mom help me out) I decided I wanted to learn to Cross stitch. I finished everything but the roses that first year. The roses? I finished yesterday so I could post this!

So here it is FINALLY finished, my very first cross stitch! I have started and completed MANY cross stitches since this one but it's nice to have it done, I've been carrying it around for years.

First Quilt plan!

2010-01-03T00:48:00.003-07:00

So one of the things that been on my over-all goal list for the last few years is learn to quilt. So when my middle sister gave me yet ANOTHER beautiful quilt for Christmas this year I decided that I had to move forward on it. I know I CAN do it, I'm a visual person and quilts just make sense (the angles/corners/lines, etc... I can SEE how they work). But I'm sure it's going to be hard, time consuming, with lots of learning, taking out stiches, etc... But I look forward to it. I still learn something new every time I make a cake! A few years ago I actually bought some quilting books and even read them all. I just never seem to have the space to actually unpack my sewing machine (also it's my Grandmothers original sewing machine, the thing is OLD ladies, but I'll never get a new one if I don't prove to my husband it will get used... Well this year is the first in a long time I'm not nursing or pregnant, AND my mother in law, upstairs, has a sewing room, new ACCESSIBLE machine AND a serger. Perfect time to try. And then I found my inspiration and pattern. It uses a few different techniques, so what better to learn on. Without further ado here is the pattern I fell completely in love with (Made for Moda by Natalia Bonner!)

And while I like burgundy and even pink I'm not a fan of light blue. So I picked Aster Manor by Moda for my color scheme. I actually ordered the fabric this weekend so no backing down now! I'm telling the blogsphere so I'm held responsible to finish!

Flashback Friday- First Crochet

2010-01-01T23:50:00.003-07:00

This was actually my VERY first crochet project. We were living in Japan in 2003. We'd been there for 6 months and I hadn't brought any crafts with me (knowing we wouldn't have much space in our Japanese apartment). My mother in law was mailing our Christmas gifts to us and I mentioned I wanted to learn to crochet so she sent me some beginner's stuff! This was actually just a few days after Christmas and the first thing I made was this hat! This is my oldest B. when she was 2 1/2~

They had beautiful yarn in Japan and I ended up making quite a few hats during the next month. Then I discovered thread crochet... That's a post for Next Friday!

Yearly Ornaments

2010-01-01T12:03:00.001-07:00

Every year growing up my mom got us each a new ornament. So when I got married I had 20+ ornaments to start my own tree. So when I had kids we continued the tradition. The first few years we bought them. Then one year we were living in Japan for Christmas. I not only didn't have a tree, but no where to look for ornaments. Since I had gotten into origami while living in Japan I started looking around for a good design. I decided to us 'Stiffy' to stiffen some fabric and use that instead of paper. I found 30 different prints that I LOVED and got them. Then I found this star origami instructions and fell in love. I ended up folding about 60 stars and mailed 40 away to family members.

Then I got into Crocheting and thread crocheting! I found these great books on crochet snowflakes and made about 90 of them. I did give quite a few away again. I got them all done in one year, but didn't get around to stiffening them. So the next year I got around to soaking them in 'Stiffy' and pinning them out to dry.

I decided to stick with my star theme (there were some 5 pointed snowflakes... it counts). And found some inspiration in some wired ornaments. I have to say I liked these when they were first done, but the next year when I pulled them out they were flattened and just not what I had envisioned when I planned them. I think someday I'll try again with MUCH thicker wire for the outline and then wrap it tight instead of lose.

I would love to get into ceramics more. I'd love to throw vases and do glass blowing too! Someday... Anyway this was actually a craft through a church craft day (Super Saturday for those in the "know"). They were also a bit more expensive and time consuming so I only did 5 of these (one for each kid and one for my husband and I to share). I'd love to go back and make more of these some day to add to the balance of my tree.

Last year we were in the middle of yet another move as well as fixing our house to get it on the market so I didn't have time to make one, but I fell in LOVE with THESE and decided to buy them in honor of TX (where we were living at the time, I also have an AZ ornament from our years there). And finally this year I decided to try my hand at Mod Podge for the first time! Each side of these star's are different! They were fun to make and turned out GREAT! I used my Dremel to drill the holes. I LOVE getting to use my dremel!

So now I'm already looking for inspiration for next year! Any suggestions or ideas, remember it needs to have a STAR somewhere in the design! I'm thinking of glass etching, or felt??? Help!!

ANOTHER blog!!!

2010-01-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

That's what my husband will say when he hears about this. I have my (private) family blog, my EXTENDED family blog (that no one updates so I might just cancel it) and then my cake blog. We've moved every year for the last 9 years with another move on the horizon for this summer. Once we get settled in this next move we should be there for 5-6 years. So I'll be ramping up my cakes to a full blown business! I'm excited for that and LOVE making cakes. At the same time I just LOVE crafts, and while the cakes are a great outlet I enjoy all sorts of other crafts as well. I like to keep myself occupied (not that I'm not busy with 4 kids). I tend to get on kicks and focus on one kind of craft style for weeks/months at a time, and then switch to something else. My husband lost his job in June and in July we moved into his parent's basement. We're very lucky that they were generous to let us live there. But we moved from a 3600 sq/ft house to 2 bedrooms in a 50 year old house. All 6 of us! I didn't mind squeezing into the 2 rooms but the loss of MY room (not bedroom, my office/craft room) was hard. SO I claimed a corner of the downstairs living room. Here is what it looks like!

All of those boxes are different crafts supplies and stuff. Actually 1/3+ is cake stuff, 3 boxes are crocheting (yarn takes up a lot of space) and the rest are each different craft stuff. So far my crafts/talents/supplies include:
Cake decorating pans/supplies/tools/airbrush
Cookie cutters and cupcake stuff
Crochet supplies tools
Kids crafting stuff
Stamps
Scrapbooking paper/stuff (not much, since I don't scrapbook, it's just for other crafts, like baby announcements etc...)
Paints and supplies
Dremel and bits
Party supplies
Cross stitching
Pictures/albums and negatives
Sewing machine, fabric and thread
Xyron machine
and finally Misc...
And here is my desk and computer