#34 Sew Something and Actually Wear It

Ok so it's not the best picture of the actual clothing item since I was really taking a picture of my hair...

...but I made the skirt I'm wearing in this picture. I made it out of Ikea fabric that I've had lying around waiting to be sewn forever. I finally got fed up with my lack of skirts to wear this fall (I'm going through a hating pants phase) and so I finally sucked it up and made one. It was really pretty easy so I'll probably be making some more:)

Check

#79--Learn to Crochet

Sorry it's been so long. First of all I'd like to say: we're headin' to North Carolina again! Well be leaving the week after next so please keep us in your prayers again.

And now...Trey got me a book for Valentines day to crochet cute little animals. So of course I had to tackle item # 79 so I could start making some. And...I've still got progress to make but here is what I've got so far:
Trey wanted the hedgehog. It came out WAY bigger than I planned so I might try again...


Then I made a Moxie. I actually understood the concept enough this time to modify the pattern--like, a lot--so really I take full credit for this. Haha. I'm pretty proud of here even if she does look a little wonky. And that purse is my very favorite purse ever by the way. I love it. That little tidbit was free.


Moxie just *loves* her look-a-like. Can't you tell?

#42--Knit something besides a blanket or scarf

I've been waiting to post this till after my SIL's shower. It was yesterday so here you go! On a related note, baby girl stuff is TOO cute. I've got baby fever, bad, I'm still working on the hubs so well see...




I knitted a hat for my little niece! Actually, when my sister in law saw the scarf I knitted for my mom she said I should knit one for my little niece for when she's born! So I knitted the tiny little scarf and then learned how to make little, super easy, flowers. Then I decided to knit the little hat. Let me tell you...they say it is "easy" "for beginners..." I say BAH! That little hat was SO HARD to knit! I went through two sets of needles (you need round needles for knitting things like hats and socks). It was hard, but I am super proud of it. So there it is...my first thing to cross off my life list! Yay!And there is Trey wearing the hat. Lovely.

Crafty Afternoon

Today I had planned on cleaning the house and doing various other house-worky things. To be fair, I did start doing housework. Actually, the housework is what made me realize that I needed to get these other things done!

First of all, as I was cleaning off the table (aka my craft center for now) I noticed the sheets of wax paper I had left lying around that needed to be made into Martha Stewart's heart project. So I cut those out and put them together:



They didn't really give a good idea for putting the hearts up on Martha's site so I rigged this ribbon doodad. I taped all the threads down and then doubled over the ribbon and sewed it: it helped keep the hearts in their places and made for a slightly sturdy little arm. Not exactly sure where I planned to go from there so I just ended up taping the ribbon to the window. Whatever.

I'm no Martha but I think they turned out pretty well. Next time I'm going to use colors that have greater difference and LESS SHAVINGS.

Next, while I was putting away the dishes from the dishwasher, I was annoyed (as usual) by all the lids to our plastic containers being loose in the cupboard. So I decided to make a little pouch for them. Tada!


All I used was half an old pillow sham and some cardboard to make the back stay stiff instead of flopping all over the place. It was a bit of trial and error but I'm happy with it and it fits nicely on the inside of the door. No more lids falling all over the place!


I used the other half of the sham to make a pouch for all our plastic bags--another source of annoyance for me. We just have too many! They are great for things like kitty litter but I didn't have a good place to store them. So I made this super easy little pouch. And an awful lot of bags fit in it too! They take up much less space now haha.


And there is my little helper, sleeping the day away.


Since I'm all into re-purposing things now I feel like going and making my scrubs from my old job into a quilt. Haha. Now back to the housework...

Christmas Crafting

Christmas is over and I seem to be back in "no inspiration valley." Of course, this probably has more to do with the fact that I have let myself become a lazy lump, than anything else. I'm justifying it by mumbling things about the "New Year" to myself.

O New Year! Please bring new inspiration to me!

So...as promised. I'm going to post some pictures! Hazah! *please forgive the quality as I took them all with my phone. Yes, I am that lazy*

First some decor:

Yay, our empty little tree. I was not up to buying ornaments, seeing as I was barely up to getting a tree at all, so it is mostly bare minus some candy canes, icicles and a small random assortment from Trey.

I got the idea offline (read: Martha Stewart) to use shaved crayons and wax paper to make little shapes to hang in the window. She did hearts (which I like much better) but I tried making trees, snowflakes and stars. Ya. I like the trees...that's about it. I will also never use thick ribbon like that again. I hate it. Feburary might present a chance for round two.



Pipe cleaners provided us with a mini Santa and some reindeer and trees. This is also thanks to Martha.

Now for some presents!
First off...each family got a homemade card and some snowman poop. The snowman poop is marshmallows covered in glue and glitter and set in a little condiment cup. It took me forever to find something that looked like a bucket to put it in and I finally found these condiment cups (they come in packs of four at Walmart.) I also put a ribbon with a button on each cup. It was supposed to be for decoration but ended up making the little buckets work as ornaments too. Bonus! Snowman Poop goes with this poem:

You've been bad,
So here's the scoop:
All you get is...
Snowman Poop!

Haha. Anyway...


I read about doing these in an All You magazine as hostess gifts but decided to give some of them as Christmas gifts as well. I think I'll always keep them on hand from now on in case I ever need a last minute gift. All it is is teacups glued to their saucers with a candle in it. So easy but so cute. You can also take the candle out and use it for a place to throw jewelry or whatever. Love!



This is what I gave Trey's mother, step-mother and sister. They are heating pillows that you can put in the microwave to warm up or in the freezer to turn into a cold pack. They are filled with rice and cinnamon (to make them smell good):). I was so excited about making them and I made them with my new Christmas present from my mom:

Thanks mom! I've got big plans for this baby. Course...I'm still learning but I'm super excited. I'm keeping a running list of projects! Plus I have a little neice coming along in March. Hello cute little girly stuff! Eeeee!

Last but not least:
I made this for my mom. She requested a scarf when I told her I had picked up knitting again. I'm probably most proud of this because, as long as I've been knitting (since about 7 or 8 years old) I've never actually finished a project. So ya...I'm proud of it. And it's HUGE: about 10 inches wide and probably 7 or 8 feet long. She wanted a long scarf, what can I say? Now I've just got to figure out how to knit something that isn't straight (like scarves and blankets). I've got something in mind and I can't wait to check "Knit something that isn't a scarf or a blanket" off my life list!

Alrighty there ya go. I'm deep into loving crafting right now and I'm hoping to start a craft section of the blog (it's on the 2010 to do list) so hopefully many more projects will show up here. These are just my first attempts and I am very happy. Yay! Ok now have an awesome rest of the holiday!