Beanniequilts

2011-12-02T03:27:00.000-08:00

Three more pillowcases down and four to go. I'm having fun with these pillow cases. All of the fabric I bought for these three I bought at Portsmouth Fabric Company. I don't even think I checked to see who made it.

I started working on Christmas tags too. I am using the Winter Frolic cartridge. I was just stamping on the tag but I don't like how it looks so I think I have to figure something else out. I am trying to keep it simple since it is December 2 and I still have a lot to do. I have almost all of our envelopes addressed but I don't know what kind of card I am going to make. I also don't have a picture for the card yet either. I think we'll be doing a photo shoot this weekend.

Pillowcaes

2011-11-21T02:46:00.000-08:00

My kids now have 10 cousins. That is a lot when it comes to Christmas presents. I decided this year to keep it simple and make everyone a pillowcase. I received the pattern when I bought a pillowcase kit at a local quilt shop many years ago. I have almost bought all the fabric for the pillowcases. I still have to buy some trim fabric. The fabric I'm getting is all personalized based on favorite colors, activities, favorite animals... I am having a lot of fun buying it.

So far I have made two. I making two at a time. The above pillowcase I made two of for the two cousins who happen to have just turned or be turning 12. Below I show the decorative stitching. I bought my new sewing machine three years ago and haven't used the decorative stitching stitches much. Pillowcases are a great opportunity to use them.

So between now and Christmas, I won't have to much too post. I'm making more pillowcases, our cards, and one hat. I'd love to make our stockings and some decorations too but I am not sure I'll have time. I love wrapping presents and making gift tags so maybe I'll write about that too.

2011-11-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

Luke turning two and receiving presents gives me an excuse to make some cards. This time, I didn't copy the design out of a magazine. The patterned paper is Bitty Baby Blessings from Papertrey Ink (one of my favorite places to buy paper craft supplies.) I made the giraffe using Create A Critter. I made 6 of these cards. I wish I had a little more time to play around with the design of the card. But I often am in a rush when I make thank you cards because I want to send them out quickly to the gift giver. My goal is to have a baker's dozen made before Christmas so I can take my time.

Baby Girl Hat

2011-11-08T09:24:00.001-08:00

This hat is actually called the Olivia hat and the pattern is from this Etsy shop (just like the owl hat). One thing I love about crochet is how fast it goes. And baby hats being so small go even faster. And then this particular pattern uses two strands of yarn and a huge (size N) needle so it goes lightning fast. I want to make her one in every color. I don't think it will be warm enough to wear outdoors on a cold Maine winter day but in the fall, spring, mild winter days, or even in the mall it should be perfect. I don't actually take them to the mall. Usually it is Michael's, Kohl's, Target, or Walmart, but you get the idea.

Birthday Hat

2011-11-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The other present I made for Luke is an owl hat. About a year ago I bought a bunch of patterns from this shop. I am a self-taught beginner crocheter. I was worried that the hats wouldn't come out but they did. I used some bulky Bernat gray yarn and some worsted wool scraps for the hat. I wish I used yarn that was more feathery looking for the hat but I am still happy with how it turned out. I really like that the hat has ear flaps and ties. I made the size for a child 3-8 years because my son has a large cranium (like his father).

I was going to make Luke a special owl cake too. But I decided to just go with a regular homemade boxed cake and spend the time with my family instead. I love making special cakes but they take a lot of time and with a two year old and 6 month old time is pretty valuable. I really enjoyed the time with my family. Maybe I'll do an owl cake next birthday.

Birthday Stool

2011-11-08T09:01:00.001-08:00

I don't know where the time went but my son turned two on Sunday. I made and bought him "owl" presents. He loves the word "owl" and the only owl we could point to was in his animal babies book.

I decorated this stool for him and I am very happy with how it came out. I bought an unfinished stool at Michael's. My husband sanded it and I painted it with mint acrylic Martha Stewart paint. Then I used my Cricut to cut the vinyl. I used the owl from "Create A Critter" and the letters are from "Nate's ABC's". It was my first time using my Cricut to cut vinyl. I watched this video before I did it. It is pretty straight forward. I bought my vinyl from Expressions Vinyl which is the company that made the video as well. I bought swatches from them too and I am glad I did because I want to stick vinyl on everything now.

I'm still here

2011-11-02T12:31:00.001-07:00

Hello again- It has been a while. I am definitely getting a slow start but I am still not giving up on this blog. And I have been making stuff. I just haven't been taking or uploading pictures. But here a couple things I have finished since the last time I wrote.

Above is an apron I made using this pattern by the Apron Lady. And I used fabric I love by Lauren + Jessi Jung. I think it is called Hideaway. It is a Christmas present and I had no one to model it but the little bunny. The pillow in the picture was made my wonderful Grandma Joie and the afghan by a talented friend of mine. It was my first time sewing ric rac. I love the look but it kind of bugs me how it does not lie flat.

Here is a dress I made my daughter. It is from Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomerie. Indeed it was easy. I went all out and used Debbie Bliss baby yarn (I forget what it is called-cashmerino?). The heart button is a little crooked in the picture but can be set straight. I haven't put it on my daughter yet but I will need to soon as she is growing fast.

Above is a card I made (well actually I made several of them) and really love. And I totally copied it out of a magazine. It was in the Cricut cards magazine and Carolina Buchting created it. Her card said "BABY" and my card was a baby thank you card so I just had mine say "thank you" instead. I used tissue paper from the Janie and Jack store because one of the gifts I received for my baby was from Janie and Jack. I wonder if the recipient of the card noticed the tissue paper.

I really love my Cricut and am looking forward to using it more. I received a Gypsy in October for my birthday and can't wait to try that out. I also recieved the DVD Cricut for Beginners and I think that is really going to help me when I use the Cricut. Actually it already has helped me the one time I have used it since watching the DVD's. I'm still kind of new to paper crafting and I don't think I am too good at it yet but I totally love it. And I am okay copying stuff until I get better.

My son's birthday is on Sunday so my next post should have somethings I am making him for his birthday and a special cake.

Baby Quilt

2011-09-14T12:20:00.001-07:00

Well I am not doing too well at blogging but I am not ready to give up. However, I did give up on making a yo yo a day. I just lost interest and I wasn't sure what colors I really wanted to do.

Here is a picture of the baby quilt I finished last weekend. I am going to have a new little nephew any day now and I finished this just in time. The pattern is super simple. It is from a book called quick easy baby quilts or something like that. I can't find it at the moment. I love the duck fabric. I bought a huge amount of it when I was pregnant with my son and I was going to use it to decorate his room but I decided it was too modern looking. I love modern looking quilts and fabrics. They just don't go with my stuff. Maybe I need new stuff. Anyway, I machine quilted it and did my version of stippling. I call it my version because I am not sure I am doing it right but I like it.

I thought I'd have a picture of a knitted dress I just made my baby girl to post too. And I would have the picture but I didn't get to finish the dress because I sewed the arm holes shut. I don't think I'll make that mistake again but you never know.

rag rug

2011-08-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

I finished my crocheted rag rug this weekend. These aren't my favorite colors but they go with my kitchen. I had planned to do this for the past two years but became really motivated recently when I saw this rug. I really like it. I used a lot of my scraps and the rug feels good under bare feet. It only took me a week to make. I am sure someone with more time could make it a lot quicker.

Header

2011-08-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

My header needs some work. My family is beautiful but I kind of wanted more pictures of craft stuff (if I had taken the pictures.) And I didn't make the lamb hat (just the bee hat, quilt, and babies.) I was having the hardest time making the header and then I found this great blog post. I love Picasa now.

Hello Again

2011-08-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

I am going to give this blog another try. I am already pretty busy with two little kids, a part-time job and a craft blog/pinterest addiction (that is a full-time job.) But I am really wanting an outlet and a place to share my mommy-crafting-baking stuff.

So first up I want to share my new plan to make a yo-yo quilt. This is going to be a super long term project. My plan is to make one yo-yo every day. And if I feel like making more I can do more. I already have one yo-yo that I made two years ago. That is a little head start. I am thinking of doing a red, white, and blue color combination. Though I really love this one from Ethan Allen:

So maybe in a few years I can show you a picture of the yo-yo quilt I made.